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Nick raised an eyebrow, sed his shoulders, tugging Nick again "Give ht a s to co the fact that he wanted to He finally put a hand on Kelly’s head and bent over hi his eyes when he peered into Kelly’s He sainst Kelly’s cheek before giving hientle kiss, thenthere filled ar Nick’s reflection in the dark television as heKelly’s pancakes Nick knew he liked pancakes with M&M’s in them Kelly had married a woman who’d never even known such a simple fact about him, who’d never cared to learn
He let himself ponder that Ponder Nick Every time he’d woken up in the hospital in New Orleans, Nick had been there So with Nick, or curled up asleep in the chair in the corner But Nick had been there every time without fail He’d sat in the chair and read He’d slept curled up on the couch that was too short for hi on the bed near Kelly’s hand He’d stolen Kelly’s lunch instead of leaving to go to the cafeteria, and then called to get him more when he woke
Nick hadn’t left his side, and when the tied, Nick hadn’t even discussed co home with him He’d simply assumed he would People searched their entire lives for someone to just care about theranted
Nick returned and set a plate of pancakes down on the table by Kelly’s side Kelly watched hiht up on the idea of someone ould literally lay down his life for him, who had almost done so on several occasions Kelly had loved Nick for years, just like he loved the rest of the team Who was to say that couldn’t be o through life looking for soht here? Why did that have to be off the table just because Kelly had spent his entire life pursuing woht, a door he’d never known existed
Nick had a toothpick in hison it as he laid out Kelly’s breakfast where he could reach it Kelly plucked the toothpick out "Dangerous," he grumbled
Nick snorted, but as he was turning away, Kelly grabbed his shirtfront and pulled him closer Nick almost stumbled over the side table, and he had to put both hands on the ar forward into Kelly’s lap His eyes ide
"How long do I have to recover, exactly?" Kelly de to fumble around before you’ll sit back down and talk to reener as Kelly watched Kelly srip on Nick’s shirtfront so the man couldn’t escape
"Look, I love you," Kelly told him "You love me We’ve bled for each other Why can’t that turn into ue within e are"
"Who we are is kind of a big deal"
Kelly let hio and took a deep breath "Sit down, I want to talk about this"
Nick didn’t sit Instead he leaned closer, close enough that Kelly’s heart stuttered and he closed his eyes He could feel Nick’s breath on his lips, feel the scratch of stubble against his chin "Your pancakes are getting cold," Nick whispered before pulling back
Kelly’s eyes drifted open to stare at the plate of perfect golden pancakes with hed andHe hesitated briefly before he pressed another gentle kiss to Kelly’s lips This ti a littleheart, his shallow breaths, the fluttering in his stoer, and he liked it It wasn’t so, either, it was one of his oldest and dearest friends He tried to push forward to deepen the kiss, but Nick pulled away fro you more," Nick muttered He stepped away, but his hand landed on Kelly’s shoulder and squeezed "We’ll talk after I promise"
Kelly nodded, satisfied Because Nick O’Flaherty always kept his promises
When Kelly woke, he realized Nick had just waited for his painkillers to kick in and then given him the slip He had opened up the s and the doors to the back deck to allow the breeze to sweep through the cabin, then gone outside and hadn’t coled with the lever on the side of the recliner and finally got the leg down so he could try to stand He gasped at the pain and stoppedas soon as he stood, afraid to take another step His painkillers had worn off How long had he been asleep?
"Irish?" he called out
He heard a thump from outside on the deck, and Nick’s footfalls were heavy as he jogged to the door He appeared in the doorway, the sunlight streaed into jeans and a loose flannel shirt, and with the scruff and his curly hair getting longer, he looked pretty damn at home in Kelly’s cabin in the middle of the woods He also had his coh
A frown creased Kelly’s brow "What are you doing?"
"What are you doing?" Nick asked as he made his way over "Why didn’t you call for help?"
"I just did"
Nick ducked under the ar his hand around Kelly’s waist to help support hi outside? Can I go out there?"
"Yeah, but sit first," Nick muttered Kelly didn’t really have et your pills; let thehed and waited, staring at the open door as the breeze kicked up It smelled of sunshine and pine, with a hint of crisp air left fro and fall for weather like this He looked forward to the sunlight on his face
Nick thumped back down the steps with his pills and water bottle
"What were you doing outside?" Kelly asked, looking pointedly at the knife on Nick’s thigh
Nick grinned lopsidedly and handed him his pills "I’ll show you"
Kelly downed the pills, then held his arm out for help He slid it around Nick’s neck, an action they’d repeated dozens of times over the last week or so But this ti into Nick’s triceps, appreciating the strength in Nick’s fra in his scent and letting it stir everything from his mind to his body
"Wow," Kelly ainst his cheek "Yeah, it is"
Kelly looked up into his eyes, hoping to catch a gli He still appeared scared and worried, his brow furrowed and his eyes hesitant, but there was fire there too He wanted to explore this as badly as Kelly did, but he was holding back for obvious reasons
Kelly grinned "Kiss ain"