It wasn’t hard for Kyle to get used to this domestic routine. It was simple but sweet: sleeping in with Nic, sharing breakfast, cleaning up, and then settling in to read or play games on his laptop while Nic typed like a speed demon.

There was a kind of easy familiarity between them now that they suddenly knew each other’s deepest hurts, yet still liked each other.

It was almost ridiculous. Kyle kept kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Within the week, part of him was convinced it would happen. But Nic had given him no reason to hold back, so Kyle was trying his hardest to be relaxed around him and his place now while he waited to see what would happen.

Taking Monday off had been hard enough, but by lunchtime Tuesday, it got weird not to be working.

Kyle checked his charity email remotely, but there was nothing in there he could answer without even the old database at hand. God, what had happened to that? He couldn’t remote-dial into it. Had everything been destroyed? He didn’t know anything yet, and the uncertainty was the hardest part.

And then there was the huge sword of Damocles hanging over his head: was he still going to have a job after this?

What the hell was going to happen with the charity? Did they have insurance coverage? Did it cover employee salaries? Were they going to have to move office buildings? Downsize?

It was enough to send him into shock. If Kyle were a nail-biter, they would have been worn to the quick. As it was, he was starting that habit by Tuesday afternoon, when he finally yielded to the temptation to get in touch with Denver. He didn’t want to disturb him, but he also needed answers.

And there was the minor terror that he’d lost his car, parked next to the building during the fire, or that it had been smashed out, too. Or that his apartment had been vandalized, or someone else at the charity had been hurt…

In particular, Kyle was trying not to think about his car yet, because he had no idea what he’d do if that turned out to be the case. He wasn’t usually one to stick his head in the sand, but he thought he was allowed a little leeway given the situation.

He had to focus on one thing for his text to Denver, so he chose: I can keep working on the brochure today.

A few minutes later, his phone rang and he moved to the front hall so he didn’t disturb Nic when he answered.

“Hey, Kyle. How’s it going?”

“Good, you?”

“Yeah, I’m all right.” Denver sounded distant—of course he wasn’t okay. If this charity was Kyle’s closest friend, it was Denver’s baby. But now wasn’t the right time to press him. “You’re probably looking for answers, huh?”

“Um… yeah. About things.”

“Your job’s safe,” Denver started with.

Kyle’s breath of relief was huge. “Okay.”

“I should have texted with that, sorry. I didn’t want to bother you… and Nic…?”

Kyle avoided that question. “No, it’s okay. I’m almost over the shock, I think.”

“Good. I saw you haven’t picked up your car.”

“Don’t tell me. I’m figuring that out later,” Kyle told him firmly.

Denver hesitated, but went on. “All right. The board’s going to be taking a couple days to think over how to progress. Nothing further happened last night in the way of hate crimes.”

Kyle let a breath of relief escape. “Christ. Is everything okay with that?”

“Insurance shit is all underway, and police investigations, but God knows.”

“It’s politically smart for them to push for a proper investigation,” Kyle reminded Denver in a murmur. “It looks bad these days if they don’t.”

“Right. We’ll see,” Denver sighed. “We know they don’t like us.”

They’d skirted trouble with the police, before Kyle’s time, for providing information on managing blood work for illegal prescriptions, and once, for not handing over the details of IV users. Not to mention their interactions trying to shield the street kids, the rent boys who were among the highest risk groups, from the cops. Denver still had an acute memory of every one of those incidents.

“We might be surprised,” Kyle urged gently. “Let them do their thing, but keep following up.”

“Believe me, I have nothing better to do than chase them down. The fact that I was assaulted in the process made them pay more attention. It could be attempted murder.”

“Shit,” Kyle whispered. He hadn’t thought of it that way. What if it was a personal enemy? Or was it just some random homophobe?

The burning cross on Andy’s lawn still made him sick to the stomach to think about. Here in 2017, not some backwater town in Georgia in 1997. No wonder Denver was shutting down. An extra decade or so made a huge difference in life experience, and God knew Kyle had run into enough homophobia these days, too.

“I’m sorry,” Kyle added, clearing his throat. “God. It’s fucked up.”

Denver was quiet for a few moments before he sighed. “I know. We’re going to take a couple days before we get back to anyone, though. Get everything settled with the arson investigators, and… all that. Don’t expect to hear anything until next week. But call me if you need anything.”

“I will. You? You sound like you need hugs. I’ll come hug you,” Kyle threatened.

That got Denver to laugh quietly. “Nah, I’m okay. You let Nic take care of you, too.” His tone was knowing.

“I will,” Kyle promised. No way was he going to deny anything while he wasn’t sure what there was to confirm or deny. “I am.”

“Good. Talk to you soon, Kyle.”

Kyle hung up and pressed his phone to his lips, his chest pained.

Who the fuck had such a grudge against them, or their cause, to do something like this?

Maybe it had been attempted murder. Maybe it was just poor timing—but they’d surely seen cars outside the building, too.

So they’d known people were inside the building.

That hadn’t occurred to him before now, and now that he thought about it, he was starting to have trouble breathing.

No. He had to put it out of his head. The cops were taking care of it.

He needed Nic. When he headed back to the living room, Nic’s laptop was closed and he was leaning back on the couch, his arm along the back of the couch.

Nic raised his brow and patted the couch next to him. “Or would you prefer bed?”

Oh, boy. Kyle’s whole body warmed with just that one sentence, and he grinned back at Nic. He really did want that. It had been so long since he’d been in a new relationship that he’d forgotten how intensely exciting it was.

But there was one thing outstanding on his mind, and when his smile faded, Nic frowned in question at him.

Kyle dropped onto the couch next to him. “Sorry. I do want to, but… I haven’t seen Kevin today, or yesterday.”

Now Nic’s smile was back, but gentle. “Yeah, I don’t blame you.”

“I need to see him. I can figure out a car situation, or—”

“I’ll come with you,” Nic volunteered without hesitation. “You’ve got a cool kid.”

Kyle blinked a couple times, then looked over at Nic. “Really?” He was surprised, but not unhappy.

“Yeah! Of course.” Nic was gazing steadily at him, waiting for his permission.

Shit, yes. Kyle’s chest lightened of one more load that had been on it. He hadn’t sure how Nic felt about kids, but apparently it wasn’t a problem. “Sorry I didn’t tell you about him.”

“It’s fine. It was just surprising.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Kyle murmured, leaning into him. “That was one reason I didn’t want to lead you on. A lot of guys…” He trailed off.

“I’m cool with it.” Nic clapped his shoulder. “But you gotta lead here, tell me what you’re fine with, and what he’s ready for.”

Kyle’s lips quirked into a smile. “Well, he liked you, so that’s a good start.”

The look of surprise and pleasure that Nic clearly tried to hide was so worth it. “Really?” Nic said, stretching out his legs. “Cool.”

Kyle laughed quietly. “Oh, yeah. He wants to do more Lego Batman things with you.”

“That was fun,” Nic admitted with a grin, then stood up. “So, we gonna go?”

Given a sense of purpose, he was almost as eager as Kyle. Kyle beamed at him with appreciation. “Yeah. I’ll text Evie and we’ll head over and take him out.”

“Ooh, where?”

“How do you feel about monkey bars?”

Nic laughed. “I haven’t been on them in years.”

“Get ready to monkey around, then.” Kyle leaned in for a surprise tickle at Nic’s sides.

Nic squirmed away and hurried for the door. “Jerk. I’ll get you.”

“Hopefully later,” Kyle winked, enjoying Nic’s blush as he followed at a more leisurely pace.

Then, Evie’s response to him proposing a playground date with Kevin came, and they were on their way.

With how reluctant Kevin was to like Dana, Kyle didn’t want to get attached to Nic until Kevin approved of him for sure, but it was futile.

It’s way too late. I’ve got my hopes up.