“You remember what I said to you in the hospital before we got the bad news?”
Duke blinked. Remember… Remember what? Oh shit. Quick said he would’ve been proud to have Duke as a son-in-law. A coffee mug with piping hot tea was placed in front of him and he looked up to see Quick watching him, waiting for an answer. “Yeah, buddy. I remember.”
“I wasn’t blowing smoke, Duke. You’re my man, fifty-grand and all. We’ve been through so much together. Now here’s another. We beat this thing, man. All of us together. Let go of the anger and be happy. Be happy with my boy because he deserves it. He went through hell, Duke when he found out about you getting hurt so bad. It took him a while to calm himself down, but when he did, that brilliant mind of his went into solution mode. That’s what he does.”
“I’m lucky,” Duke whispered, sipping his tea.
“Well,” Quick drawled. “You’re dating my son now, and this is my first time getting to interrogate his boyfriend.”
Vaughan groaned from in the doorway, having been silent while Duke and Quick hashed it out. Now he was looking mortified. Duke laughed, but Quick had a deadly serious expression on his face. He watched his best friend sit down in the seat across from him and clasp his large hands together. “So Mr. Morgan. What are your future plans? Where do you see yourself in… say, ten to fifteen years? Long-term goals if you would.”
Duke tried desperately not to laugh but it was ridiculously hard. “Um. Since I’m headed towards fifty soon, I’m thinking of retiring around that time, then applying for Medicare. I figure having a lawyer boyfriend will be helpful filling out those long ass forms.”
Vaughan spit his water across the room as he exploded with laughter, but Duke held his in and so did Quick. He watched as his friend took another drink of his water; nodding his head like Duke had given a great answer.
“What about employment? Do you got a job, boy?” Quick said, pulling up his old drill sergeant tone.
Duke stayed composed. Boy, huh? “Yeah. I got a job. A pretty thriving business. I’m thinking of firing a couple employees soon, though.” Duke grinned evilly.
“Okay, enough about employment.” Quick feigned nervousness. He knew damn well that Duke would never fire him. Quick and Judge both were practically co-owners.
“What are your intentions with my son, Mr. Morgan?”
Duke shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t know yet.”
“You don’t know!” Quick barked. “Damn. I thought you were gonna say you were getting ready to propose right before I came in.”
“Propose.” Duke choked on his tea.
“Heck yeah. Damn, Duke. What the hell does my son have to do, man… give you a fuckin’ kidney?”
Duke dropped his head into his hands as Quick and Vaughan had a good laugh at his expense. “So how long have you two been working on that joke, huh?”
“It’s all mine. I thought of it a few days ago,” Quick said humorously. “Was a pretty good one, wasn’t it?”
“Whatever,” Duke muttered. “You gonna be here all week with that act?”
“Now. On to more important shit. One: What the hell are you doing out of bed? Two: How did you find out?” Quick demanded as he rattled around pots and pans, looking for a specific one. When he found his griddle, he placed it over two of the gas range’s burners and turned on the flame, placing some raw chicken breasts on it.
Vaughan stood behind Duke, rubbing his shoulders. He hadn’t realized they’d slumped with fatigue until his boyfriend put his hands on them. Boyfriend. Wow, that was fast. He wanted to bask in the attention, but it felt bizarre with his friend in the same room. He tapped on Vaughan’s hand and he lowered his head, kissing Duke gently on the cheek as he did. “Babe. It’s a little weird doing this with your dad in the room, don’t you think?”
“No.”
“Yes.” Quick jumped right in, flipping the chicken breast, his back still to them.
“I told you,” Duke confirmed.
Vaughan went to his father and clapped him a couple times on his shoulder. “He’s not uncomfortable. Are you, Dad?”
“Little bit,” Quick deadpanned.
Duke laughed. That was Quick’s sense of humor at its finest and Duke loved it. Always had. It wasn’t slapstick or ironic comedy, simply that impassive, matter-of-fact, dry wit. They were best friends, and now they were… they were… they were something special. He was Quick’s best friend and hopefully one day, his son-in-law. They were a modern family to say the least.
“Judge told me,” Duke finally confessed.
Vaughan and Quick exchanged confused looks before looking back to him to elaborate. “Judge’s boyfriend, Austin, saw you at the hospital when you went in for your check-up earlier. He’s a detective. From what I heard, a pretty good one. He easily put two and two, ya know.”