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"I asked you if you wanted food," Nick said with a sriet comfortable He ju?" Nick asked
"Is it that obvious?"
Nick nodded, his frown deepening "Did I hurt you?" he asked, voice going softer
Kelly grinned slowly That intiht, was soentle finger over his bullet wound and shrugged "It bled a little Maybe a stitch pulled loose or soaze dropped to Kelly’s wound, and his face paled "Shit"
Kelly reached out and ran a hand over Nick’s palain before he spoke "I wasn’t feeling anything last night but good"
Nick looked both relieved and aet Nick’s mind off how delicate Kelly still was Nick was an exceptional cook They’d discovered that when they’d been stationed at Lejeune and had all gone in to rent a house together Nick’s job had always been to cook
"What do you want?"
Kelly shrugged, shaking his head He wasn’t really in the e of the coffee table, his hands clasped between his knees "This is last night catching up to you, isn’t it?" he asked, voice gri Nick’s eyes, and he was caught by them, transfixed by their color, by the earnest concern in theht now that won’t be aard"
Kelly began to laugh "I know it We don’t have to talk about it"
"I kind of think we do," Nick said "Eventually we’ll have to I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the feeling of having so between us"
"Neither do I," Kelly whispered
"And right now there’s a wicked big thing hanging there"
Kelly snorted
"I’ed, looking around the rooe of you being drugged"
"But you didn’t"
"But I feel like I did," Nick insisted
"Yeah but, if you hadn’t, you’d be feeling guilty for telling ued
"No I wouldn’t," Nick said A s you no and probably very frustrated, but"
The admission warmed Kelly all the way to his toes "So that’s how you do it," he muttered
"What?"
"I just learned the secret to the O’Flaherty charrin "You juststun the other person with honesty"
Nick chuckled, his cheeks beginning to flush But he didn’t look away They stared at each other, getting lost in the fa seconds before Nick leaned closer "Are you okay, Kels? And I don’t mean the hole in your chest"
Kelly nodded Then he frowned "No, actually"
Nick’s face clouded over, his brow furrowing and his eyes apprehensive
"See, every tiet these butterflies," Kelly explained, fluttering his fingers at his chest "And it’s weird because it’s you, and you’re you But I like it too AndI like that it’s you So I’m not sure what to do with that"
Nick licked his lips, leaving his tongue at the corner of hisKelly’s eyes were drawn to it briefly before he tore his attention away and focused back on Nick’s eyes
"I don’t knohat to tell you," Nick finally said
"How about tellingCome on, O’Flaherty, I know you have half a dozen excuses at the ready to use for things like this"
Nick was silent, chewing on his lip
Kelly’s s like this," Nick admitted
Kelly cocked his head "You feel it too, don’t you?"
Nick laughed "Butterflies whenever I think about ames with hed and conteed his thumb over the scar on the back of his hand "I think it’s unproductive to talk about it until you’ve recovered a littlea smile to cover the hint of fear Kelly could see in his eyes
Kelly wanted to push, to get past that s, what he was afraid of Because the prospects last night had opened up were all parading past Kelly’s mind, and he liked what he saw He needed Nick to be on the sah, and Nick obviously wasn’t yet Kelly knew one thing for certain, and that was that Nick wouldn’t be pushed, he wouldn’t be bullied, and he sure as hell wouldn’t turn that page faster if Kelly tried to do it for him
So Kelly just nodded "How about pancakes?"
"With M&M’s?"
"You have so to water
Nick gave hirin and stood He patted Kelly’s head as he walked by hirunted, reaching out to grasp Nick’s ar after?"
Nick stutter-stepped and backtracked to look down at Kelly "What? I gave you drugs and I’ your breakfast on a tray, what ave Nick’s arue when he sear "You’re really going to make me ask for it?"