The wine glass, half-full, swirled as Leo nudged it around the coffee table in absentminded circles.

Or was it half-empty?

Leo smiled ruefully to himself, his eyes straying again to the clock above the TV.

It was harder than he’d expected to be patient. He was bursting with decisions, overflowing with the need to share them with someone. And waiting for Dustin to get off work was hell for more than one reason.

Today had been the kind of day he couldn’t quite believe had even happened. Was it real? But every time he looked over toward the table where he normally left his key card for the building…

Finally, a knock!

Leo leapt to his feet and nearly sprinted to the front door. When he pulled it open, he barely had time to blink before Dustin was hugging him.

“Hey, baby.” Leo wrapped his arms around Dustin and held him, kicking the door shut with his foot. “You’re frozen. It’s cold out there?”

“Mm. Parked around the corner. Longer walk than I thought,” Dustin mumbled into his shoulder, his grip tight. When he finally relaxed and tipped his chin up for a kiss, Leo got a good look at him. He was tired.

“How was it? Overtime?”

“Yeah, I stayed late. Came straight from work. We got another tip-off, and…” Dustin trailed off, then frowned. “I guess I’m not allowed to talk to you about it now.”

Leo sighed and tugged Dustin to the living room. “Can’t say I give a shit about their rules right now.”

“Me neither. But I think we have the evidence to crucify the guy,” Dustin told him, rubbing his chin. “The IT guys are… well, we could have a lot more on him by morning.”

“Good,” Leo murmured. “You did your job after all that bullshit, and people are going to benefit.”

“I did.” Dustin managed a little smile, and Leo squeezed his hand. “And I’ve got tomorrow off. Glen offered.”

“I’m proud of you.”

Dustin’s smile was wider this time. “It sucks. All of this. But the victims are what matter. I know I’m good at this one thing—my job. I can help people.”

“Right,” Leo agreed. He settled on the couch and pulled Dustin into his lap, wrapping his arms around him.

Dustin glanced at the wine glass, then at him. “Are you okay after all that?”

“Never been better,” Leo promised with a smile. “That’s my first. Too busy thinking.”

“Oh.” Dustin breathed out and returned his smile. “Thinking about what?”

Leo chuckled. “Are you ready?”

Dustin slid off his lap so he could face him, slipping his hand into Leo’s. “Go for it.”

“I’m quitting school and coming out to my parents tomorrow.”

“Oh!” Dustin blinked a few times. The owlish look made him look even more tired. “Are those two things related?”

“Not especially,” Leo laughed. “But I’m ready to admit what I want—to myself, and to everyone else.” Dustin slowly leaned into him, and Leo kissed his temple. “Yes, that means… I want you.”

Dustin was blushing and trying to hide it in his shoulder. Then, he stifled a yawn.

Leo chuckled gently. “You’re exhausted. Let’s get to bed.”

Dustin didn’t even argue as he steered him up and over to the bedroom. He was quieter than usual, his eyelids heavy as he stripped off and crawled under the covers.

“I don’t want to sleep yet,” Dustin murmured. “You’ve had big decisions to make. You must want to talk about that.”

Leo shook his head. “It’s been a hell of a day. We both need to sleep on it.” He pulled Dustin against his chest, shifting around until they found a comfortable position with their limbs entangled but not too heavy on each other.

“My mind’s still racing, though,” Dustin finally murmured, his cheek against Leo’s chest. “Especially after you got… pushed out. It was so fast. It’s just so…”

“Yeah. I know,” Leo murmured. His chest tightened with frustration and helplessness. A few times that evening, he’d questioned his choice not to fight back. Letting them push him out felt like giving in. “But it’s not giving in,” he said out loud, half to himself. “I wanted something better for me anyway.”

“You don’t have to fight every battle that comes your way,” Dustin murmured. His fingers ran in slow, soothing circles across Leo’s chest and down his side. “Only the ones you want to.”

“And I didn’t want to fight that one. Not just because it means going public about… well, what I’ve figured out about myself. But partly that,” he admitted. “Hence… coming out. We’re dating now. It’s none of their business, really. But it’ll free me up to say and do whatever I want without waiting for that phone call.”

“You mean your new career?”

Leo drew a deep breath and let it out. Thinking about building a business from scratch overnight was absolutely terrifying, if he let himself think about it. “Something like that.”

“Are you going to be okay, with… rent, or the mortgage?”

“Rent,” Leo murmured. “I think so. I have some savings. I’ll have to keep an eye on it for the next few months and see how things pan out with new jobs. It’ll mean a lot more scrambling for jobs, faster than I thought.”

Dustin shifted until his other cheek rested on Leo’s chest and he peered up into his face through the semi-darkness of the room. “If you need to move in with me… that could be an option.”

The statement made Leo smile, then chuckle.

“What?”

“Thank you for the offer,” Leo told Dustin, stroking his hair and running his hand along the back of his neck. “But that was very you. Casually dropping it in like that.”

“I love you,” Dustin said, just as matter-of-factly. “It’s an easy choice.”

Leo stared at him for a few moments, trying to tell if he was joking. But he wasn’t laughing—just peering back at him, his expression hard to read in this light. “You… do?”

“I know it’s pretty quick. But there’s something different about you,” Dustin said. “And I want to see where that goes. That hasn’t happened before. They say you just instantly know? It wasn’t instant. I had to think about it and figure out why I couldn’t figure this out.”

“Right,” Leo chuckled. “And then you detected traces of love.”

“Shut up.” Dustin laughed as he flicked Leo’s nipple. “Jerk.”

“I love you too, you know,” Leo told him, wrapping his arms around Dustin and easing him up so he could kiss him.

Dustin kissed back hard, burrowing against him and wrapping his arms and legs around him. When they finally drew apart for breath, Dustin murmured, “So there. If you can’t find work fast enough, we’ll split costs and make it work. It’s half my fault, whatever you say.”

“It isn’t,” Leo grumbled. “It’s theirs.”

Dustin snorted. “Agree to disagree.”

“Oh… and… I’m in that group chat now,” Leo told Dustin. “With your brothers.”

Dustin made a startled sound. “Really?”

“I asked Josh for help getting work, and then… Roman gave me employment advice, and Falcon started asking around at the bar to see if Victor’s been spotted harassing other people, and… it all kind of spun out of control,” Leo laughed.

Dustin chuckled, brushing the tip of his nose against Leo’s. “That’s it. You’re adopted now.”

Leo couldn’t explain how damn warm and fuzzy that made him feel. He swallowed hard and nodded. “It’s… It’s really nice. Having them around. I see why you like them so much.”

“They go to bat for anyone who needs it,” Dustin agreed quietly. “What did they find out? About Victor?”

Leo had the worrying feeling that Dustin might do worse than even Leo had considered if he didn’t stop this in its tracks. It was always the quiet ones. He didn’t want to find out that Dustin had superglued Victor’s locker shut or slashed his tires. “I’m still pretty sure he didn’t directly cause this.”

“Still,” Dustin murmured, his eyes closed.

“Um… he doesn’t have a great track record with the gay community here,” Leo murmured, trying to keep it matter-of-fact. “Neither did his father, when he was sheriff.”

“Runs in the family,” Dustin muttered. “Typical. And you’re sure he didn’t report you? Just because you thought you were buddies?”

“You should have seen his face, man. I can’t believe I’m defending the guy, but…”

“Neither can I,” Dustin admitted, rolling onto his back.

Leo hesitated, then ran his hand up Dustin’s arm to his shoulder and turned onto his side to face him. He rubbed his chest tentatively when Dustin didn’t pull away. “I’m not choosing him above you. But I don’t want to jump on the wrong guy.”

“Oh, that’s just unfair,” Dustin muttered.

“Hm?”

“Appealing to my sense of… fairness,” Dustin sighed, looking at him. “Now I can’t be mad at him. Or you.”

“You can,” Leo told him, laughing quietly. “Go ahead. I’m defending a guy who’s a dick. That’s not very likeable.”

“It’s lovable but not likeable.” Dustin covered Leo’s hand with his, stilling it against his heart. “That’s the difference you’ve taught me.”

Leo laughed. “If it just took me being a dick and hanging out with another dick who made you feel like shit in the past, well…”

“When you put it that way it’s a bit less loveable. I’d stop now,” Dustin advised him, but he was laughing.

“I’m sorry, baby.” Leo kissed his shoulder. “We’ll figure out who has this giant problem with us, and talk to them, and make sure the department fixes its policies so they apply them equally or not at all. Better?”

“Much better,” Dustin said. He was still chuckling quietly. He went quiet after a minute and sighed. “Then we get your new business started, and make sure your family also knows we’re dating, and we’re all set. Right?”

“Until the next disaster,” Leo said with a rueful smile.

Dustin yawned and shrugged, rolling onto his side and scooting back until he pressed against Leo’s chest. “That’s life.”

Leo wrapped his arm around Dustin, rubbing his chest gently as he threw one leg over his. “That’s life,” he echoed. “Now, get some sleep.”

At last, Dustin didn’t complain. He nodded slightly, his hand resting over Leo’s. “Good night, love.”

Leo’s chest burned with warmth and appreciation for the incredible man who chose to be by his side. “Good night,” he murmured and kissed the back of Dustin’s neck. “I love you, too.”

After all that, tonight wasn’t the right time to tell Dustin what he suspected. It was nothing solid, just a hypothesis… but it made sense. He lay awake for minutes after Dustin’s breathing had evened out into a regular rhythm.

But with the brothers at their backs, he and Dustin could do this. One way or another, they had to. No matter where the road led, there was no turning back.