Chapter 4

“Feeling better?” Grayson whispered, as they all sat on the outside decking, thanks to the worst of the weather turning south.

Konnor smiled softly and nodded. “Yeah. I'm sorry. I think it's just...going through everything with the therapist brought it all back and I'm having to deal with it all over again, just in a different way. Does that make sense?” He lifted his gaze from his bottle of beer and met Grayson's eyes unerringly.

It was a relief to know he could do that, without the usual guilt or anger getting in the way. Grayson knew how hard it had been for him; though he didn't have the nightmares that a lot of their friends did, Konnor hadn't exactly been coping either. Hell, he hadn't been coping for a very, very long time. But he was good at faking it and it was only his eyes, always so expressive, that gave away what he was really thinking.

This time, they were calm and content. Enough that he knew even if he couldn't fend off a panic attack, Lachlan could. Because, as much as any other boyfriend or fiancé would hate it, Grayson accepted that Lachlan knew Konnor better. He always would. And that was okay, because they'd spent their entire lives together, learning how to read each other's body language, making mistakes, having conversations that required no words. What they had, he was just beginning to develop with Konnor. It would be years before they were as in tune as Lachlan was with his fiancé.

Turning away for a moment, he watched Tam and Giovanni laughing over the barbecue; they'd offered to take over cooking duty so that Grayson could stay with Konnor. The way they'd stepped up, not only to work together without question, but that they even recognised how badly Grayson needed to be with Konnor right now, meant more than what they were doing.

He didn't care if they never ate again as long as he had friends like them.

On the other side of the decking, Lachlan, Casen and Darren were plotting something, with Cormag's quiet, random input. Grayson thought he'd heard something about a 'what if' story, but he didn't really know what that meant.

With the storm over and the sun still struggling to escape the clouds, it was far from a perfect day; there was a cold wind, choppy seas battering the beach and a dullness to the sky that suggested the storm would come back again soon. Yet, Grayson wouldn't wish to be anywhere else right now.

“I think it's good,” he said, eventually. “That you're refreshing it all and finally dealing with it. I know it's hard, especially after such a long time, but I'd rather you coped now, while everyone is here to show you how much you're loved and how much all that stuff in the past doesn't matter, than for you to bottle it up inside for any longer.”

Konnor grasped his hand and squeezed it gently, as his lips twitched with the beginnings of a smile. “You know I wouldn't get through any of this without you, right? Lachlan helps calm me down, sometimes, but it's you that got me this far. It's you who brought him back into my life, to start with,” he confessed, sending a rush of love and warmth shooting through Grayson's body.

Leaning in, he kissed his fiancé in appreciation for that faith in him. Then he whispered, “Do you want to make the announcement now?”

With a look of absolute delight, Konnor turned and looked around their group of friends, before standing. Clearing his throat, he waited until they stopped talking and looked his way, before speaking. “Um, Grayson invited you all here for reasons we don't really need to discuss, but I have something else to tell you,” he admitted, taking full responsibility for the announcement. Then he stopped and looked down at Grayson. “We have something else to tell you,” he corrected himself.

“Is everything alright?” Lachlan asked, frowning just enough to say that he wasn't sure what to make of this. Or what would happen because of it.

“Perfect,” Konnor replied, then took a deep breath. “Grayson proposed and I said yes.”

For a moment, silence reigned, then Lachlan jumped up and grabbed his best friend in a tight hug. Darren and Casen gushed with congratulations, followed by more muted responses from Cormag and Giovanni. Levi simply tipped his beer bottle in their direction, while Mack nodded.

When the path was clear, Tam walked over and encased Konnor in a tight, bone-crushing hug that he responded to in kind.

As Grayson stood up to hug his friends and accept their warm wishes and congratulations, he heard a quiet whisper from Tam to Konnor.

“I still love you. With my whole heart,” he began, only to squeeze Konnor tighter. “It's just in a different way, now. I hope you know I'll always be here for you. For both of you.”

Grayson wanted to cry, but held himself together with difficulty, as his fiancé broke down and cried into Tam's shoulder. He nodded his acceptance of his whispered words, so Grayson knew he didn't have to interfere. Between Lachlan and Tam, Konnor would finally find the closure he needed to help his recovery.

Until then, he kept everyone occupied with conversation and checked on the slow-cook barbecue that would be their celebration for tonight. Tomorrow, they might go a little more all out to celebrate their engagement.