Seb nodded, doing as asked, gritting his teeth as he sat down. The moment his ass hit the padded leather chair, the relief was instant. At least until Hudson kneeled in front of him and took hold of his pants. He carefully pulled them the rest of the way down, unaware of what he was doing to Seb. Hudson was in doctor mode. He gently but clinically undid the straps of Seb's industrial, Therian-strength knee brace. The familiarity of it, the intimacy, was almost too much. It took Seb back to a time when Hudson had fussed over him, rubbing ointment over Seb's knee when it was sore and swollen.
The brace came off, and Seb winced at the fire that filled Hudson's bright blue eyes. It was less sexy heat and more "you're lucky you're hurt right now because I seriously want to kick your arse."
"Oh, for the love of--look at your knee! And you're walking around like it's a minor inconvenience?"
"It is a minor inconvenience."
Hudson's head shot up, his expression grim. "Don't you dare, Sebastian. Or do you forget who you're talking to?"
"Never." How could he? Even when Hudson was indignant, he was beautiful.
"Then you damn well know better than this, don't you? Have you taken anything for the swelling?"
Seb cringed.
"I could throttle you right now." Hudson stood, then headed to one of the many secured cabinets around the room.
Seb could think of plenty of things he'd like Hudson to do to him right now, but knowing what was good for him, he kept his mouth shut. Hudson returned with a familiar-looking black tactical bag and a bottle of water. He handed the water to Seb before kneeling to rummage through the bag. He found the right drugs, popped the top, and tapped it against his hand until two pills tumbled into his palm. After sealing the bottle and tossing it back into the bag, he held up the pills.
"Take these. For the pain and the inflammation."
"Thank you." Seb smiled at him as he took the pills, then tossed them in his mouth, followed by a swig of water.
Hudson wasn't impressed. "Don't thank me yet. I haven't decided whether to strangle you or not. The moment I felt it, I told myself, 'He's sensible. He'll look after himself.' And then Dom called, and look at you. Sensible my arse. I have DBs in my lab with more sense."
Seb didn't know what to say to that. As Hudson removed supplies from the bag, Seb couldn't help his dopy grin.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Their bond meant they felt the other's pain if it was significant enough. The love they shared made it so Hudson didn't have to look at Seb to know Seb was smiling at him. He could sense Seb's gaze on him, just like Seb could sense Hudson's. Always. Despite the days, the distance, they were every bit as connected now as they'd been back then, which made being apart so painful. Not calling Hudson every time Seb felt him hurting was torture.
"You still have it," Seb said softly.
Hudson blinked down at the black bag as if noticing it for the first time. Anyone else might have been able to hide their reaction, but Hudson's fair skin betrayed him, his cheeks blushing furiously.
"I, um, yes."
"Why?" Seb cocked his head as he studied Hudson. Not that he hadn't mapped out the man's features years ago. How was it possible to n
eed someone more than air itself?
"Because I can't very well trust you to look after yourself, now can I?" Hudson's lips quirked on one side as he motioned to Seb's knee.
Seb leaned forward. "That's only half the truth, Doctor."
Hudson arched a thick black eyebrow at him. "Believe what you will."
With a grin, Seb sat back. All the medication in that bag was prescription. Hudson had to order them specifically. He kept them stocked in case Seb needed them. When they'd been together, Hudson had kept a kit at home and another in his office. Years after they'd broken up, he maintained the kit.
"Don't look so smug," Hudson muttered, removing the cap from the ointment.
Seb wrinkled his nose. "That stuff is rank."
Hudson chuckled. "You seem to forget that summer the cooling system and the backup generator at the morgue malfunctioned."
"Oh God." Seb gagged just thinking about it. "You're right. That was worse. Much worse." He closed his eyes and put a fist to his mouth. He'd gone in to meet Hudson for lunch and ended up bolting out. Lunch, or any food, didn't happen for a whole day. The smell had been so potent it burned. He hadn't been able to ingest anything stronger than vegetable broth, which meant he hadn't been able to shift into his Therian form because PSTC was impossible. He let out a bark of laughter, making Hudson laugh.
"What?"