Been A While

They came to a stop in front of a door and pushed it open for him. Dennis noticed there was no lock on it. The men stood on either side of the door. Dennis swallowed as he stepped in, then froze.

The room was huge. Dennis didn't know rooms could be that big. Straight in front of the door was a king bed with a damn canopy over it, the curtains pulled back. He gawked at it before clicking his teeth closed and stuttering a turn to look at the windows on his right. They opened to a balcony and had a gorgeous view of the city. Nothing that beat out the fields he used to know, but still nothing to sneeze at.

(Dennis still didn't know if he even wanted to ever see those fields again. Probably not, given the circumstances in which he left them.)

Against the wall to his right, there was a dresser. It was a bit odd, because Dennis was pretty sure the door across the room from it and on the beds right side was a closet. The door on the opposite side of the was open to an en suite. Across from that door was a vanity. They both had dark wood. It seemed to be a theme.

"What is this?" Dennis croaked.

"Your room," the man with the beard said. Dennis shook his head. This was insane. "Yes."

"Ours is across the hall." the other man said. "If you need anything, don't bother knocking."

"I don't..." Dennis took in a shuddering breath. The bag on his back got tugged on and Dennis held it tighter on instinct. The man with silver hair shushed him and the bag got pulled on again. Dennis let it go. Better to not argue, he guessed. His heart still thumped in his chest.

"Jesse will clean your clothes," the bearded man said, "You can take a shower. There are a few clothes in the dresser of varying sizes. Pick out whatever's comfortable."

When Dennis didn't move, Left rested his hand on his back and slowly ushered him inside. Dennis turned around and watched as Jesse took the bag from the man and walked down the hall. Dennis peaked his head out to watch him leave and turn. It looked like a maze.

He looked between the older men on either side of the doorway. Then, he looked to the dresser. He raised a hand to point at it. Left chuckled and nodded. Dennis nodded back and walked over to it. He winced when he realized he still had his shoes on. Walking on carpet. Nice carpet.

"Sorry," Dennis muttered before dropping to pull the shoes off. He hesitated, trying to find a place to set them.

"You can just set them on the dresser," Right said. Dennis nodded.

He rummaged through the drawers and pulled out clothes that were his size. They were so soft and clean looking. It had been a long time since Dennis wore new, clean clothes. He looked at the tags. They were fucking silk.

"Shower," Right said. Dennis nodded, feet moving as he still stared at the tags.

Showers were hard to come by. Baby wipes were Dennis' go to. Figuring out the shower had been the real issue. He considered asking one of the men how the thing worked but decided against it. Best to not push his luck here. He made sure to take his time and get himself clean. He also kept the water cold. Even in a place like this, Dennis assumed hot water would run out eventually. Being a bad guest, even an unwilling one, wasn't in Dennis' plan.

There were a plethora of soaps and hair products in the shower. Dennis didn't know there were more options than shampoo and conditioner. He stuck with the basics. Except the soap. He found a scent he liked and used it as he shivered.

When he left, still shivering, Dennis expected the empty doorway. He chewed on his lip as he walked to it. The door across from his room was open. Left was lounging in the bed there, a mirror to his own. Although, even with the limited view, Dennis knew that room was larger.

Left caught him staring.

"Come on," he said, setting the book aside. Dennis listened. He wasn't sure he had another choice. He stopped at the foot of the bed and looked around the room wide-eyed. It was much like his, though with darker paint and tones. This one was accented with lighter furniture. Opposite his own with the light paint and dark wood. It was more lived in, as well.

Their en suite shower was running.

"How was your shower?" Left asked.

"Good," Dennis' teeth clicked together.

"You're shivering."

"Oh, I didn't want to waste the hot water." Dennis dropped his gaze to meet Left. The man looked upset. Dennis shuffled on his feet. "Did I take too long?"

"No, no," Left said. He reached a hand out. "C'mere?" Dennis swallowed down his fear and listened. The second he was within reach, Left grabbed his wrist and pulled him onto the bed. Dennis yelped. He got shushed as he squeezed his eyes closed and let the man manhandle him into the bed.

Dennis expected wandering hands. Instead, he got an instruction to sit up a little more as the covers were pulled down. Then, they were pulled over him and Left adjusted the pillows under his head and tucked the blankets close.

"There, pup," Left murmured, "Warm?" Dennis opened one eye to stare up at him. He looked... softer in this light. No hard lines and the glare he'd had from the office was gone. Melted with fondness. Dennis blinked and nodded. A hand patted his head.

The shower shut off. The door opened. Dennis shivered not from the cold.

"You put the stray in our bed," Right said.

"The stray is awake," Left bit back.

"Sorry, Dennis." They kept talking over him, Right moving around the room presumably getting dressed. As they spoke, Dennis closed his eyes and listened. It was normal conversations a couple had before bed. Things he heard his parents say and things he said once in college before that relationship ended.

"I don't know your names," Dennis yawned, "Should I know your names?"

"Probably," Left said, hand in Dennis' hair again, "I'm Jack."

"Michael." Right said. Dennis' nose scrunched and Jack laughed at the look.

"That's my brother's name," he explained.

"You can call me Robby." the man said with a slight chuckle. Dennis nodded.

The blankets behind him lifted up. Dennis shifted, ready to leave. A hand landed on his hip to keep him in place. Jack shushed him and he shifted as well. Before Dennis knew what was happening, Robby had an arm slung over his waist, pulling him close. His chin rest on Dennis' head and the scent of the floral soap Robby used engulfed Dennis.

"Prick," Jack grumbled as he got comfortable. Dennis felt his hand twine with Robby's.

"You could've done it," Robby said and Dennis felt the words vibrate against his back.

This was wrong. Dennis knew this was wrong. There were so many reasons he shouldn't be between the two men. The main being they had admitted they wanted to kill him at the start of the evening.

Except... Dennis couldn't remember the last time someone had been so gentle with him. They were soft and holding him and he was warm on a comfortable bed. Dennis buried his face in the pillow as tears formed in his eyes. He wasn't sure what for: the comfort or the fear.

Jack made a soft sound and let go of Robby's hand to cup his cheek and turn his face. Dennis choked and shook his head, trying to pull away. Robby shushed him and held him tighter as Jack wiped the tears away.

"It's alright," Jack murmured, "You're okay. Get some rest. You'll feel better in the morning."

“Did you know he talked to a recruiter? Did he tell you?” Jack’s voice boomed angrily across the otherwise empty garage. Robby didn’t have to ask who Jack meant, he could tell by the heartbreak in his tone.

“Ah, no he did not tell me that. It never came up,” Robby informed Jack flatly as he placed a socket wrench back in his tool box. Jack’s visage of rage simmered down to one of frustration. Did Robby and Dennis even talk? he wondered. Or did they just fuck?

“You look upset about that. Thought you would be proud.” Robby observed as he continued to pack his tool box.

“Yeah so did he,” Jack recalled inwardly flinching at the flash of disappointment across Dennis’ face when Jack reacted to the news.

“But you aren’t,” Robby said plainly, like even after having several seconds to process the news he still had no opinion on it whatsoever. It was infuriating.

“He doesn’t actually want to enlist. He wants to go to college, but his folks won’t support it.” Jack huffed.

“Okay, so he’s using the army to pay for school. Wouldn’t be the first kid to do that,” Robby said pointedly.

“He’s not cut out for it,” Jack remarked as he paced the floor, circling Robby.

Robby tilted his head and frowned skeptically. “He’s fit, he’s a quick study, he’s got strong character, he doesn’t complain. I dunno Jack, he seems as good a fit as any.”

The garage echoed with the large metallic crash of Jack angrily kicking a rolling tool cart to the ground. Wrenches and sockets spilled and rolled out across the concrete floor. Jack could feel Robby’s eyes scanning him up and down, not annoyed at the mess he was making of his shop, more intrigued.

“He deserves better. Better than signing his life away to something he doesn’t really believe in just to get out of this hick town and away from his shitty parents,” Jack huffed as he opened and closed his fists.

“You love him,” Robby said, a surprised chuckle tailing the observation.

“Yeah, I do, okay? Sue me,” Jack admitted as he crossed his arms to brace against the discomfort it brought.

Robby shut his tool box and stood with a grunt to retrieve the sockets that had rolled in various directions. “So why don’t you ask the kid to marry you then? That might give him something to stick around for,” Robby suggested. Jack couldn’t tell if he was being serious or teasing him. He didn’t care.

“I might,” Jack resolved, biting his lips and blinking back the onslaught of emotion the idea conjured.

Robby scooped up a larger round metal socket. Between his fingers it looked like a silver wedding band. “So is that why you’re here? To ask me to back off so you can make him your wife?” Robby asked, his tone congenial. Obliging even.

Jack thought about it for a minute. He imagined it just the way Robby suggested it. Whisking Dennis away to a courthouse wedding, maybe a new life in a different state with a different school district. Just the two of them. His sweet, smart boy, with all his aspirations…

“No. No, the opposite I think,” Jack said.

Robby scooped up another rogue socket. “You gonna tell me what that means, brother?” He asked.

“We should tell him we know about each other. That it’s fine. That he can have both. He can have it all. He deserves it all,” Jack explained.

Robby approached the metal tool cart, stood it back up, and placed the retrieved pieces inside. He looked up at Jack then, eyebrow raised. “Yeah? Is that what it took all this time to convince you to settle down? A cute little house pet buffer between us?” Robby asked, a sort of flat venom in his words.

Jack’s eyes softened as they bounced across the lines on Robby’s face, like he was rereading them and finding something new in them. “Mikey, you never wanted to settle down,” Jack said, and he really did believe that.

Robby’s gaze fell to the floor, his shoulders rose in a brief noncommittal shrug. “Yeah, don’t think I know what I wanted,” he conceded. It changed the weight of the atmosphere between them. It felt sharp. It felt vulnerable.

“Think you know now?” Jack asked softly. He approached Robby carefully, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder.

Robby laughed and shook his head. “No. Not like you do. With all the…official bells and whistles,” Robby admitted, “but I want him, and I want you. Reckon that’ll do for now.”

There was a lot to unpack with those words. Jack wasn’t a fan of the uncertainty they conveyed. He could picture a day years, maybe a decade from now. Waking up next to his husband, Dennis, to find Robby gone. Having ridden off into some distant sunrise on his bike. At least he’d have Dennis, and Robby for as long as he’d have them. He could live with that.