by Sean Michael
"Should... clothes?" Dev's eyes were huge.
Dare nodded. "I need clothes, Devvy."
"We've got extras for me and Dev to change into." Bake grabbed a sports bag and pulled out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
He nodded, the room swinging a little bit. "Take me home."
Bake nodded. "You're standing, that's good enough for me." Bake helped him into the jeans, tugging them up and taking care of the zip and button.
"Can you just leave? Can you? Dare, this is crazy."
"Home." He was sure.
"It's what we've wanted since we got here, isn't it, Dev?" Bake kissed Devvy softly. "Let's get our man home. I'll handle the hospital when they call to bitch us out."
"They'll call to get their money. Let's go. Hurry." Although he wasn't sure he could hurry.
Bake's arm came around his waist, supporting him. Dev came around to his other side. "Come on, boys. Before the nurses cotton on."
Dare nodded. Hurry. Before the monsters came. Hurry.
They walked down the hall toward a bank of elevators, no one seeming to notice them. Maybe he was invisible. Maybe he was really dead and no one knew. The elevator doors opened, Clay coming out, his eyes going wide.
"Hold the elevator, man." Bake waved at Clay and hurried them along.
Clay nodded, holding the elevator door, staring.
"The boys need to go home," Bake murmured as they stepped into the elevator, the doors closing behind them.
"You snuck out of the hospital? I'm proud. My truck's close." Clay looked so proud of them.
"Excellent. Mine's on the other side of the damn grounds." Bake tugged him closer. "Lean as much as you need to."
"Home. I just..." God, his head hurt.
"Fifteen minutes, boy. Clay, you got a bottle of water in that truck of yours?"
"You know it. Lemonade, too. Is he gonna be okay, man?"
"He needs water, food, and to be fucking home. Hell, Dev's been trying to get him home since we got here."
They got to Clay's truck and Bake bundled him into the back, Dev on one side of him, Bake climbing in on the other as Clay slid behind the wheel. A bottle of water appeared in front of him.
"You want me to take you to your truck or straight home? Me and Bean can get your vehicle back, if you want."
"Yeah. Just get us home, man." Bake helped him drink some of the water. "We're gonna get you home where you belong."
"Home." He was fading again, leaning hard against Bake, his fingers twining with Devvy's.
"Ten minutes, Dare." Bake was warm and solid. There.
"Okay. You promise he won't be there?"
"I swear. He's in jail."
He closed his eyes, shivered. Devin's hands slid over his arm, petting him, and Dare could feel his brother's worry.
The truck was moving, but Bake was still there, holding onto him. Exhaustion was trying to get him again, trying to suck him down into darkness, into worry. Dev and Bake's hands were on him, though, relaxing and comforting as their warmth seeped into him.
"I... Did someone call the restaurant? Did I miss my shift?"
"It's all taken care of, Dare. Your boss understands you can't go in."
"Okay. I'll go tomorrow."
Bake snorted but didn't say anything, just patted his arm. His eyes closed. Tired. He was so tired.
"You should have something to eat when we get home, Dare. You want some soup? I think we have some chicken noodle in the freezer."
"I'm not hungry. Just some juice."
"Chicken broth is good for you."
He didn't answer. He wasn't hungry. He was just tired.
The motion of the truck nearly had him asleep when it finally stopped and Bake murmured, "We're here."
He nodded. "Okay. Okay." His arms and legs felt so heavy.
"We don't have any nurses to impress -- I'll carry you in." Bake's arms wrapped around him.
"Love." He rested his head on Bake's shoulder, trusting.
Bake squeezed him. "Yeah, I love you, too, spicy boy."
"I'm not Dev. You can tell us apart."
"Of course I can. I see you both, hmm? You and Dev aren't the same person."
"No. No, we're not." He shuddered. He was never pretending to be Devin again.
"Dev, pull down the covers and then strip. He needs skin on skin." Bake placed him gently down on the bed, the mattress so comfortable compared to the hospital bed. He sobbed softly, hiding his face in the pillows.
Hands slid over him, pulling the T-shirt and the jeans off his body, and then he was sandwiched in between Dev and Bake, their bodies supporting him. Then Bake pulled his little barbell off the nightstand and there was a quick, short sharp pain as it was slid back into his right nipple. They must have taken it off at the hospital; he hadn't even noticed.
"It's okay," Bake murmured, soothing his nipple. "You're home now."
"I'm sorry." He was. So sorry.
"Shh. Not your fault. Besides, you saved Dev's life. I don't think you need to be sorry for that."
"I... I can't. I need to..." He was beginning to shake, shudder. Where had Clay gone?
"We've got you, Dare." Bake held him close, Dev snuggled into him on the other side, hands clutching at him. "What do you need?"
"I want to go home." He was crying for real, now, sobbing hard because he was safe and he could.
"You're home, spicy boy. I brought you home. Here with me and Devvy. It's okay. It's okay." Bake rocked him.
"Dare, don't cry. Please, don't cry." Dev was holding him, squeezing him.
He needed to cry.
"Shh. Shh. It's okay, boys. It's okay. Let it out. Both of you can. I have you. I have you both."
Dev wrapped around him, face on his neck. "I was scared, Dare. I freaked out. I won't ever again. I promise."
"You were brave, Dev. You knew right away something was wrong, and you told me." Bake kissed him, Dev, touched them both.
"You came for me. Devvy. Devvy, did he hurt you?" Suddenly, Dare needed to know.
"No, he didn't touch Dev. Thanks to you."
"He hurt me." Dare shivered. "He hurt me."
"I know." Bake growled, kisses spreading over his face. "He's never going to do it again, though."
"He hit me. He... I... I want some juice." The kisses made him feel better.
"Clay! Juice, man." Bake bellowed out the order and then went back to gently kissing.
He heard Devvy chuckle. "Clay's gonna growl."
"Let him growl. Dare needs us."
"Here's some juice. I'm gonna grab Bean and rescue your truck." The bottle and a plastic cup landed on the bedside table.
"Thanks, Clay. We appreciate it." Bake's warmth disappeared for half a second and then was back.
A straw was pressed between his lips and he drank greedily. So good. When he was done drinking, they curled up around him, held him close and safe and warm.
"We have you," murmured Bake. "We have you."
"You can sleep, Dare. I'll be right here." That was his Devvy, cradling him, petting him.
"That's right. You're safe."
The covers were drawn up and they were all snuggled together.
"Home."
Home.
Hopefully the monsters wouldn't find him.
***
They were going to get in trouble. In trouble. In so much trouble. Dev held onto Dare, watching. Still, it was good to see his twin home, in bed. Sleeping.
"They can't put us in jail for breaking him out of the hospital, can they, Bake?"
"Nope." Bake smiled at him and stroked his cheek. "It's not a prison, sweet boy."
He kissed Bake's palm. "I think he looks better."
"He does. He was almost coherent, too." Bake kissed his nose. "And he's home, hmm?"
"Yes." He met Bake's eyes. "I feel so bad. So fucking bad about this. How could I have not known?"
"Because Mike was a wolf in sheep's clothing. And you thought you were sick, you couldn't have known he was pois
oning you."
"I let him do this to Dare." God, he was sorry.
"Hey, hey. None of that. This isn't your fault, Dev. It's not your fault, or Dare's, or anyone's except that motherfucker's."
"Yeah, but it could have been just me."
"And then you'd be dead." Bake growled at him. "How would that be better?"
"Don't bitch at me. I got my brother hurt." What if it had been Bake and Bean?
"I will bitch at you if it's what you need! You stop this business of 'it's all my fault' and start with the 'yay, he's alive and he's going to be okay.'"
"He is, isn't he? He'll come back like new."
"He will. And I've got good news for him, for you both, really." Bake looked like that cat who'd caught the canary.
One of his eyebrows rose. "What?" He wasn't sure what good was coming from 'you've been drugged, you both lost your jobs, you have a shitload of medical bills.'
"I've had Bean running numbers and checking out small business ventures and stuff. I do believe you'll both have jobs you enjoy and decent hours to boot."
"What? I... I lost my job."
"Which is one reason why it works so well that I've got something in mind for you." Bake grinned and didn't say more.
"You're not making sense, and I'm too tired to try to understand you." He cuddled back down with Dare.
"I want to tell you both together, really."
"Okay. When Dare's better."
"Yeah. Don't you worry. I'll take care of you both."
"You don't have to. I'm going to take care of him from now on..." He buried his face in Dare's neck.
"Boy, it's my privilege to take care of the two of you. And my pleasure." Bake's hand was warm on his back.
Dev turned to Bake, pressing close. "Hold me a minute?"
"I'll hold you forever, sweet boy."
"Thank you." He settled, eyes closing. "I'm so tired, Bake. Not like before, this is tired in my heart."
"It's hard when something like this happens. We all need some time to heal, hmm?"
He nodded. "I bet you wish you'd never met us."
"What? No! Don't say that, Dev. Don't even think it. You're my boys, and I can't imagine not having you."
"We're trouble." And he was sleepy.
Bake chuckled. "I'd say you weren't, but it looks like that wouldn't be true. Maybe trouble's just what I need in my life."
"Maybe." He kissed Bake's collarbone. "I hope so."
Bake tilted his head and looked into his eyes. "Now, listen. Trouble or no, you and Dare are who I want. You're who I love, and I'm not walking away from that just because of a little -- or even a lot -- of trouble."
"We love you, too. You know that, right?"
With a smile that reached his eyes, Bake nodded and pulled him close. "I know, sweet boy. Makes it all worth it, you know?" Bake's lips pressed against his.
He kissed Bake back, settled in those strong arms, then let himself trust, let himself sleep. Dare would need him soon.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Bake made breakfast -- scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. Nothing fancy, but it was edible. He brought it into the bedroom, putting it on the bedside table before opening the blinds wide. "Rise and shine, boys!"
Dare groaned and pulled the covers up over both of them. Four days home and the boys were hiding. Still.
"It's breakfast time." He grabbed the covers and tugged them back down.
Dev smiled at him, but Dare turned over, hid his face.
Bake shook his head. Damn it. Bake knew this had been traumatic for Dare, but Dare was supposed to be the strong one, and they needed him to be strong now.
"Dev and I can feed you if you want." He sat and picked Dare up, pulled his spicy boy into his lap.
"Not hungry." Dare shook his head, frowned.
Dev grabbed a piece of toast. "I am. I'm starving."
"Is my food that bad?" he teased. If only that was the problem.
"Just tired, Bake. Don't worry."
Devin's eyes met his. Devin was worried.
He smiled softly at Dev. "You've been tired for days. It's time to be awake for awhile with me and Dev. It's safe." He grabbed a piece of bacon and held it beneath Dare's nose. "Doesn't that smell good?" Who could resist fried pork fat?
Dare pushed his hand away. "Maybe later. Dev's hungry."
"So are you -- I can hear your stomach screaming at me. It's saying 'feed me,' and I'm worried if I don't, you'll eat me and Dev in our sleep."
"I'm not a monster." The words were muttered, almost whispered.
"Oh, Dare. Of course you aren't! I was teasing." He held Dare close and rocked him. "I just want you to eat something."
"I'm not hungry. Let Dev eat." Dare clung to him, moving with him.
"What can I tempt you with, my spicy boy? A muffin? A pancake? A waffle? How about a sausage?" He put a little suggestive leer into the last word.
Dev giggled for him, the sound soft, sweet. Dare's belly growled furiously.
He reached out with a hand to stroked Dev's arm and then he kissed the top of Dare's nose. "You're hungry and you have to eat."
Dare shook his head, chin set stubbornly.
"Don't make me spank you," he growled.
"I'll make you something else, Dare..." His Dev was beginning to panic already.
He wrapped his hand around Dev's wrist and squeezed gently, meeting his sweet boy's eyes. Dev's eyes searched his, looking for something -- reassurance, calm -- whatever it was, Dev found it, nodding at him and settling down with a plate of food, eating hungrily.
"Are you going to eat?" he asked Dare, giving the man one last chance. Maybe, though, what Dare needed first was to have his soul fed. Maybe Dare craved the threatened spanking more than he did the offered food.
"I need to rest, Bake. I'm not hungry. Just let me sleep."
"Spanking it is."
"Bake, no." Dare pulled away. "Leave me alone."
"That's not an option, boy. You aren't going to hide away from me."
"Leave me alone! Devvy! Tell him to leave me alone!"
"Don't you make him worry over you. You know your safeword." He flipped Dare over his lap.
"Devvy!"
Devin looked at him, eyes wide. "It's okay? He's okay?"
"He's fine, sweet boy. He knows his safeword. He'll use it if he's not okay. You know that, Dev. You know it." He held Dev's eyes for a long moment and then began to spank Dare.
"Let me go!" Dare started kicking, hollering, fists beating on the sheets.
"I can't do that, boy. I need you. Dev needs you." He punctuated the words with swats to Dare's ass.
"Devvy! Help me!"
Dev sighed, moved to kneel at the side of the bed, look at Dare. "I can't. Bake can, though. Bake's here for both of us. You're not me. You need different things than me."
"Yes." Bake nodded. Dev finally got it, finally understood. And Dare needed him to, Dare needed this. He kept spanking Dare, even as his hand began to ache.
"I hate you both." Dare sobbed. "So much."
Bake shook his head and met Dev's eyes. They both knew the truth.
Dev rolled his eyes, winked. "He can't hate anyone. It's not in his nature. He's just festering inside."
"My smart boy," he murmured, letting his pride in Dev show. "Let it out, Dare. We're strong enough for you." He'd found a rhythm with the spanking now, his hand landing again and again.
Dare screamed, the sound startling him enough that his blows faltered. "He hurt me!"
Bake nodded. "He did. He was a terrible man."
"He thought I was Dev. I'm not! I'm not the same!"
"No. You're not the same at all. I know my boys. I can tell you from Dev. Every. Single. Time. I know who you are."
"Please... Stop." The sobs came now, raw and harsh.
Bake could see Devin beginning to panic. "As soon as you've let all the poison out." He put love and reassurance into the words, into his eyes as he looked at Dev.