by Peyton Bogue
Rhys can hear how Sage’s heart is racing in his chest, and he squeezes him tighter as they both stay wrapped around each other for a moment, relaxing in the other’s warm embrace.
“I’m sorry,” Rhys says into Sage’s hair a couple of minutes later, his voice raspy and deep. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too, Ree,” Sage says, his breath hitching when he feels a wave of emotion hit him.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for, Sage. I’m such an asshole and I’m so sorry,” Rhys says, and his voice cracks brokenly into the quiet room.
“Rhys, you’re not an asshole, baby,” Sage says, leaning back and bringing both hands up to rub his fingertips across Rhys’s cheekbones, trying to soothe him.
“Yes, I am,” Rhys says pitifully, sniffling. Sage eyes him forlornly, a little stunned at the raw emotion in Rhys’s voice. Rhys is always so stone-faced and hard, rarely ever openly showing his emotions around anyone, which can sometimes include Sage. It used to upset Sage, having made him feel like Rhys didn’t trust him enough to open up to him, especially after they’d talked about the death of Sage’s mother, how helpless he'd felt as he watched her slip away from him, and all of the horrors he’d experienced in Afghanistan, or how he still hasn’t completely gotten over them. After opening himself up like that, so vulnerable and exposed to someone he cared deeply about, it was highly disconcerting when Rhys continued to shut him out and refused to let him in.
It’d taken months into their relationship for Rhys to finally open up to him, about how he himself was an orphan, alone in the world trying to navigate the power of being an Alpha werewolf that had been passed on to him.
Rhys guards his emotions close to his chest, and he’s not any less affectionate with Sage, but it sometimes feels as if he's still hiding his feelings from Sage. He’s not coldhearted—Rhys is probably the sweetest and most thoughtful person Sage knows—but he’s definitely not an open book.
Now, though, the sound of Rhys’s voice, like he’s moments away from completely breaking down, makes Sage’s heart clench painfully.
“I yelled at you,” Rhys continues, sniffling again. “And I said so many awful things.” His eyes become panicked then, and he says hurriedly, “You’ve got to know that I didn’t mean any of it, Sage. I’m so sorry. I knew you were exhausted. I could smell it on you as soon as you entered the building.” He sniffs again. “And then I had to go and pick a fight with you over nothing. God, I’m such a horrible person.” Rhys takes a deep breath, pulling away from Sage so that he can place his head in his hands again. “I shifted on you. I never do that. And I made you scared of me, Sage. That’s the last thing I ever want to do.”
His voice is absolutely wrecked and laden with emotion as he continues to take deep breaths.
Sage moves so he can lift Rhys’s head up again, and when Rhys doesn’t budge, he says desperately, “Baby, please look at me.”
Rhys picks his head up, only this time his eyes are glowing blood red again, and there are unshed tears welling in the corners of his eyelids.
“Rhys,” Sage starts, grabbing Rhys’s face again, “I know you didn’t mean it. You’re not a horrible person, Ree. I wasn’t scared of you, sweetheart. I was just trying to be cautious so that you wouldn’t get angrier.”
“That’s even worse,” Rhys replies pitifully again, closing his eyes in despair. “You were scared I was going to hurt you. I could smell it.”
“No, baby. I was scared you were going to hurt yourself,” Sage replies, and Rhys opens his eyes in surprise, and a tear escapes his right eye. “I was worried about you shifting and getting angry that you shifted during a fight, and that you would hurt yourself because you were upset and trying to stop yourself from wolfing out.” He grabs Rhys’s hands. “You already dug your claws into your hands, baby. I didn’t want you to keep hurting yourself, and I wasn’t calming you down, so I decided to leave so that you could have some time to yourself.”
Rhys sniffles again. “I'd never hurt you, Sage. Just the thought of it tears me up inside.” He closes his eyes and shakes his head forcefully, as if he’s trying to shake the thought from his head. “God, I could never hurt you.”
“I know, Ree,” Sage replies soothingly, nodding as he leans up and presses a kiss to Rhys’s forehead.
Rhys nods again. “I’m sorry I got angry with you. You were just trying to tell me why you were worried, and because I’ve been so out of control lately, I took it the complete wrong way. I’m so sorry, baby. I feel awful.”
“I’m sorry, too. We both said some things that should have been brought up differently. But you do worry me, baby. I know that you know your limits, but you haven’t been in control of yourself lately, and I just want to make sure that you’re okay,” Sage says, running his fingers over Rhys’s cheekbone again.
“I know, baby. I know you worry about me.” Rhys nods against Sage’s hands. He brings his own hands up to rub them over Sage’s arms reassuringly. “I’m going to take it easy, I promise. And I’m going to find out why I can’t seem to control myself because this argument never should have happened. I’ve been so wound up lately that I didn’t even stop to think you had a point and that you were right.”
Sage smiles at him. “It’s okay, Ree. We’re okay, now. I’m sorry we argued.”
“Me, too,” Rhys says, and Sage lets him lean forward to place an apology kiss on his lips. Sage’s smile widens. A moment of silence passes, and then Rhys says, “I heard you on the phone with Kai."
Sage nods. “I figured you did.”
Rhys glances down at his lap. “Why didn’t you go over to his place? When you left, you said you were going over to his apartment,” he says.
“I don’t think I was ever really going to leave, actually,” Sage responds honestly. “I really just wanted to give you some time to calm yourself down, not leave you for the night. I didn’t want to leave you. I just needed to talk to him so that I could get myself to calm down, too.”
“Yeah,” Rhys sighs. “I didn’t want you to leave either. It took me almost half an hour to stop from shifting, and then I took a shower so I could shock my body.”
“Why did you pick this shirt?” Sage asks him, thumbing at the fabric of his own long sleeve.
Rhys shrugs. “It smelled like you and I was really upset. When you left, my wolf went crazy. I wanted to go after you, but the way you smelled when you left. . .I just decided to stay put. And then I could hear you on the phone with Kai, and I wanted to wait until you were done talking with him so I could come down. I didn’t mean to scare you when I knocked on the window.” Rhys smiles at him, and Sage’s heart flutters at that familiar, private smile. “He was right, though.”
“About what?” Sage asks, fighting back a yawn. His body is beginning to crash now that he’s not wound up with nervous energy and he and Rhys have made up. The adrenaline is quickly starting to leave his aching muscles.
“I’m so crazy about you, Sage. I hate that I made you upset, baby. And when I thought you were scared of me. . .” Rhys trails off, but Sage doesn’t need for him to continue to know that Rhys was ripping himself apart at the thought of Sage being scared of him.
“I’m not, Ree. I promise,” Sage whispers to him, leaning in so he can connect their mouths together. He feels Rhys melt into it, and Rhys’s hand comes up to rest on the back of his neck, scenting him.
Rhys pulls back just as Sage moves to deepen their kiss, giving him a soft smile. Sage watches as Rhys’s eyes dim back into his normal gray as he says, “Let’s go to bed, baby. We can talk more in the morning, and if you want me to apologize to you again, I will. I’ll apologize to you all day if you want me to.” Sage smiles at him, chuckling. “But you’re exhausted, Sage, and you have to be up for work in seven hours.”
Sage smiles at Rhys’s words, feeling his insides melt. They’ve made up with each other, he knows, and he won’t be having Rhys apologize anymore.
Rhys sits up completely, pulling Sage up w
ith him, and climbs into their bed. Once they’re both snuggled into the mattress and their comforter is situated around them, Rhys pulls Sage into his arms and says, “I love you. I’m so sorry we fought.”
Sage turns in Rhys’s arms and wraps his own arms around Rhys’s neck, pulling him in to place a kiss on his lips. “I love you, too,” he says sleepily.
With that, Rhys smiles down at him, allowing Sage to snuggle into his chest even with his oversized shoulders and all, and curls up against Rhys’s feverish skin.
Sage is falling into a deep sleep almost immediately a moment later.
◆◆◆
The next morning finds Sage leaning up against the counter beside the Keurig in their kitchen, mug in hand as he sips his sickeningly sweet coffee slowly, trying his best to wake himself up.
It’s barely seven in the morning, and Sage needs to be at the precinct in half an hour to see if Hazel has any results on the hairs found in the shower drain at the cabin crime scene, but he’s so tired and sleepy. Those seven hours he’d gotten last night did nothing to dispel the exhaustion lingering behind his eyes.
Sage sits his mug down and brings his empty hand up to rub at his eyes, trying to work the heavy feeling of exhaustion out of his irises. The warmth emitting from his hand from the hot coffee mug only seeps into his eye sockets and makes him even more sleepy, and he sighs deeply through his nostrils.
He hears Rhys’s footsteps a second later, then hears him lean against the counter beside where Sage is currently slumped against, and then Rhys nudges him softly. Sage opens his eyes, feeling the residual tightness cause his vision to go a little bleary, and focuses his periphery to see Rhys’s hand extended out, offering him a bottle of eye drops.
Sage chuckles, reaching out and taking the eye drops. “Good idea, Ree.”
Rhys smiles a tight-lipped smile at him, watching as Sage uncaps the small bottle and tilts his head back, placing a drop in each of his eyes. Sage snaps his eyes shut tightly and shakes his head a little before tilting his head down and opening his eyes, blinking rapidly.
“Thank you,” Sage says, placing the eye drops in the pocket of his sweatpants and grabbing his mug.
“You work too hard,” Rhys responds, turning around from his place on the counter and reaching behind Sage’s head to grab another mug from the cabinet.
Sage gives him a look over the brim of his coffee mug, his eyebrows raised. Rhys backtracks then, shaking his head. “I just don’t like to see you this exhausted all the time, Sage.”
Sage swallows his coffee, nodding. “I know. Kai and I just got a new case, and you know how it goes.”
Rhys nods, scoffing lightly. “Yeah, I know.”
He’s quiet for another minute, placing one of his favorite coffee k-cups in the Keurig, and pushes the buttons to get it brewing, placing his mug on top of the drip tray.
Sage is a little surprised that Rhys is this awake and moving purposefully instead of the normal grogginess he’s used to. It’s really early, and Rhys isn’t due at the garage for at least three more hours, and he’s really not a morning person.
Rhys just leans back against the counter again, watching the Keurig, but his body language is anything but relaxed.
He speaks a moment later, and Sage suddenly understands why he’s willing to be up at this early hour.
“I know you're probably tired of hearing me say it, but I’m really sorry about last night, Sage. I swear to you something like that won’t happen again, baby.”
Sage sets his mug on the counter, turning back to Rhys with a serious face. “Ree, you don’t have to keep saying that you’re sorry. I know you feel bad about it, and I feel bad about it, too. I hope nothing like that happens again, because I hate fighting with you and that situation was a little scary, but I know you’re sorry, and I know you didn’t mean it.”
Rhys looks up at him from where he’d been staring at the steady stream of coffee pouring into his mug, frowning. “I don’t like that I told you that I didn’t take orders from you. I didn’t even mean to say that. And I don’t think you do that at all.”
“I could tell that it didn’t seem like you knew what you were saying," Sage agrees, leaning back again and crossing his arms, fixing Rhys with a stern look, “but I forgive you, so stop apologizing and come kiss me good morning.”
Rhys’s lips break out into a wide, wolfish grin, and then he’s turning towards Sage and pushing him further into the counter and kissing him deeply. Sage feels himself melt against Rhys’s overheated body, and he kisses back harder.
Rhys pulls back so that he can bite down on Sage’s bottom lip, and Sage feels his lungs release a gasping breath.
Rhys’s hand cups Sage’s jaw, but he pulls back completely and leans his forehead against Sage’s, smiling brightly and says quietly, “Good morning.”
Sage smiles back and chuckles, leaning forward and kissing Rhys again. He tastes like peppermint, and his hand is hot against Sage’s jaw.
Sage pulls away from him, letting Rhys grab his mug and take a sip of his coffee before Sage sits his own cup in the sink, washing it out and placing it on the drying rack. He turns around, drying his hands on a dish towel before he sighs deeply, his thoughts drifting to his impending detective work and the case that’s already making his brain muddled.
“What's got you sighing over there?” Rhys asks behind his mug.
Sage sighs again. “This case Kai and I are on. It’s just really strange and already got us a little stumped,” he replies, setting the towel down.
“You and Kai will figure it out, Sage. You always do,” Rhys replies, bringing the hand not holding his mug up to palm the back of Sage’s neck. "I am serious about you working yourself too hard, baby. You’re practically falling asleep right here.”
Sage sighs. “I’m okay, Ree. We’ve just got a lot going on right now with this case and we’re just trying to make sense of it. And these past few weeks have just been a little rough.”
“I know.” Rhys nods, rubbing his thumb at the top of Sage’s spine. “I just worry about you, is all. Tell you what,” he says, sitting his mug down and kissing the back of Sage’s neck, “you and I’ll have dinner tonight—I’ll make something quick and easy—and then we’ll call it an early night and go right to bed after. You’ve got to get some sleep, Sage. I don’t like how tired you smell.”
Sage feels his cheeks heat with affection, and he turns around to lean up and place another loving kiss to Rhys’s lips, smiling widely at Rhys's sincerity. “Sounds good, Ree. I’ll try to get home as fast as I can.”
“Good,” Rhys growls playfully, moving his head so he can bury his nose into Sage’s throat and inhale deeply. “Because I want to wrap you up in my arms right now and not let you leave until you smell rested and happy.”
Sage chuckles and pulls Rhys’s head down to kiss him again. “Okay, Alpha wolf. I can’t wait. But right now, I really need to get into the shower so that I’m not late to work. And you should go back to sleep for a little bit so that you’re not grumpy for the rest of the day.”
Rhys just tightens his arms around Sage and huffs, placing another kiss on Sage’s forehead, before he pulls back and lets Sage go, brooding.
Sage laughs at his petulant look, pecks Rhys’s lips again, and moves out of the kitchen towards their bedroom so he can take a quick shower.
He’d been too tired to go on his run, and he knows he’ll probably regret not working off his energy later, but the stiffness of his muscles from the lingering fatigue just makes him even more sleepy, and he wants nothing more than to just climb into their warm bed and sleep for a while. It’s not going to be too bad if he skips out on his run for another day.
After he’s showered and dressed in his work clothes, Sage heads back out into the kitchen where Rhys is buttering him two pieces of toast. He lets Rhys practically shove it down his throat, chuckling at Rhys’s insistence to make sure that Sage is fed, kisses him deeply, pushes him back towards their bedroom so he can go bac
k to sleep for a few hours, and heads down to the Camaro.
Fifteen minutes later, Sage is walking into the precinct, and the first thing he’s met with is Kai leaning up against Sage's desk and shoving a breakfast sandwich into his mouth.
“Man,” Kai starts when he sees Sage, “I’ve been waiting on you forever!”
“Why are you leaning up against my desk and getting crumbs all over my case files when yours is perfectly fine and right there?” Sage asks him in lieu of a greeting, placing his car keys on top of the desk. He chuckles lightly, not actually mad.
Kai sets the sandwich down on a napkin on top of Sage’s desk, wiping his hands together to knock the crumbs off of his fingers, and looks at Sage expectantly. “How did things go last night? Everything good?”
Sage nods. “Yeah, we’re all good. We talked last night and some this morning, and we've both apologized and worked everything out.”
“I’m glad to hear it, Sage,” Kai says with a smile. “Told you it’d all work out. What’s been his problem lately, anyway?”
Sage moves around his desk chair, resting his forearms on the back of his chair to support himself as he leans against it, and says, “I honestly don’t know. He’s just been really antsy and moody lately. He hasn’t treated me any different, except last night, but he’s just so testy.” He glances around to make sure no one is listening into their conversation and lowers his voice pointedly. “You know how Rhys normally has amazing control of his shift, right?”
Kai nods.
“Well, for the past month, it’s like he’s saying and doing things that he doesn’t realize he’s doing, or like he can’t stop himself from doing them,” Sage continues, bringing his head down a little to run a hand through his hair.
“Like what?” Kai asks.
“Like. . .” Sage trails off, thinking. “He’s shifting a lot more than he used to, and he’s even more overprotective over me than he normally is. And when he gets worked up, which is happening more lately, too, his eyes turn red and they stay red for hours.”