Gabriel stepped out onto the deck at the back of Justin’s deck. The sun was already sinking below the trees and there were the first hints of the fireflies blinking on and off in the shadows. Justin was sitting in one chair with his feet propped up on another, an open beer in front of him on the table.

Walking over to the railing, Gabriel stared down at the woods and for the first time, his initial thought wasn’t about who might be watching them but the peacefulness of the neighborhood. There was a distant dog bark and the wind through the leaves of the trees, but nothing else. No people. No cars. The rest of the world just seemed so very far away.

“You get packed?” Justin asked.

“Yes. I’ve got a flight out to New York tonight, and then another tomorrow morning.”

“Marilyn has contacted the contract holder with the information we uncovered about Elba and Hamilton. The rest of the payment has been processed. Your half should be in your account now.”

Gabriel grunted. The money was nice, but it seemed a poor substitute for what he was losing when he walked out of Justin’s door.

“You got time for a beer?”

Gabriel smiled and turned around to find Justin holding up an unopened bottle. He wasn’t a great lover of beer, but he’d happily drink one more with Justin. “Sure.” He walked over to the table and sat in one of the open chairs before accepting the beer from Justin.

They sat in silence for several minutes, sipping their beer and watching the sky turn from pale blue with hints of pink to a navy with wide swaths of orange as the sun burned in the wisps of clouds. If this was the last time he saw Justin, he wanted a quiet moment like this.

Not that Justin was ever known for being quiet.

“We worked well together,” Justin started again.

“For the most part,” Gabriel teased.

Justin groaned and placed his nearly empty bottle on the table. Sweat from the bottle ran down along his fingers and made a ring on the wood. “Well, you’re not exactly handy with a computer, but you’ve got a knack for guns.”

“Thanks.”

Justin shrugged. His eyes were on the bottle as he picked at the label. “If I had to work with someone again, you wouldn’t be the last person on my list.”

Gabriel chuckled. “You’re such an ass.”

Justin looked up and flashed him a mischievous grin. “All part of my Special Sauce, G. Love.”

Lifting the beer to his lips, Gabriel took a long, deep drink before setting it down at looking over at Justin again. He was staring out at the woods, looking as lost as Gabriel felt. And he couldn’t leave like this.

“What would you say if I said that I wanted to stay?” Gabriel asked, his rough voice barely over a whisper.

“If you were to say that you wanted to stay, then I’d likely say that we should celebrate…in bed.” The smile that crossed Justin’s lips was small and tentative, as if he wasn’t quite sure how to react to Gabriel’s question.

“And after bed?”

“Sorry, I can’t think past sex.” Justin shook his head as if trying to clear it. “What do you mean?”

“If I stayed, would we date?”

“Yes, like normal people. Dinner. Movies. Cookouts with the neighbors. Sex.”

“I understand the sex part.”

The laughter and teasing left Justin’s expression and he finally turned serious. “What’s got you confused?”

“Dinner and neighbors and a normal life….”

“Sounds good, doesn’t it?”

A little sigh stumbled from Gabriel. “Do we really walk away from the lives we built to try dating?” They barely knew each other. Sure, they’d grown close and Gabriel could admit that on many levels he trusted Justin, which was something he hadn’t done with another person in a long time. But to give up the lives and careers they’d built for something that was so unknown seemed to be quite a stretch.

Justin’s expression clouded, and he scratched his jaw. Gabriel wasn’t sure if it was an angle that he hadn’t thought of or if he was just at a point in his life that he was more willing to leave it all behind. “I guess we don’t have to right away. We could try dating…with the other.”

“And what about when one of us has to travel for a contract? Would it bother you to not know where I was, if I was still alive?”

“Would it bother you?”

“Yes!” Gabriel said, lurching forward in his chair to stare across the table at Justin. He couldn’t hold the words in any longer. “Yes, it would drive me crazy to know you were out on a job and I didn’t know where you were or who the fuck was shooting at you.” When they’d separated in Iaso, fear had gnawed ceaselessly at Gabriel’s brain, driving him insane. He should have been there at all times to watch Justin’s back, to protect him.

And the thought of doing it time and time again when they were dating, it was sickening. He knew it would break him in the end, break what they were trying to build.

Justin dropped his feet to the wood deck with a heavy thud and quickly walked around to where Gabriel was sitting. He had enough time to spin in his swivel chair to face Justin before his face was grabbed. Justin’s mouth touched his and he sighed as that wicked tongue tangled with his own. The kiss deepened, taking everything Gabriel had to give until he was clinging to Justin’s shoulders. But what Justin gave back wrapped tight around his heart, getting it beating once again.

It felt almost reluctant the way Justin broke off the kiss and pressed his forehead against Gabriel’s.

“You kill me,” Justin panted.

“I’ve tried hard not to,” Gabriel joked. He brushed his lips against Justin’s for another quick kiss. “It’s hard enough leaving here today knowing that you’ll take another job and you’ll be alone. I’m supposed to be there to watch your back.”

Justin grinned wide. “Then stay here. Watch my back. And my front. Fuck, watch all of me, because I would love to watch every inch of you.”

Gabriel smiled and kissed him again. He really wanted to laugh, but in that moment, it was more important to kiss him.

“So, are you staying?” Justin asked when they came up for air again.

The happiness Gabriel found slipped a little. “Soon.”

Justin jerked away a little bit and frowned at Gabriel. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It’s part of the exit strategy. I have to leave and take care of a few things so that it’s safe for me to come back and stay.”

“You want me to help?”

“No, I need to do this on my own, but will you…will you wait?”

Justin smirked. “Wait for you to stay? I don’t know. I mean, I’ve got so many other mercenaries lined up to get in my bed and I—”

“Fuck you, asshole,” Gabriel snarled before kissing him again. This time he dominated Justin’s mouth until the man was moaning and melting into him. He slowly pulled away again, nibbling at his lips for a second.

“I’ll wait,” Justin breathed. “Just get your ass back here. I need you.”

Gabriel closed his eyes, soaking in Justin’s rough words. Nothing would keep him from returning to Justin’s side. Nothing.