"Okay, who’s going to visit the slut today?" Holly asked the air.

Dimitri glanced up from his lunch. They were all seated around the table, having their first meal as a family since the mayhem almost two weeks ago, at Malachi’s insistence. Even Giovanni was downstairs, pressed against Leo, huddling under his arm. He looked nervous and was merely picking at his food, but he was down and that was a good sign.

"I wasn’t aware any of us were," Rylan said dryly. "He really isn’t going anywhere for awhile."

The sudden change of mind had surprised Dimitri yesterday and was worrying him now. How hurt was Ezra that even Rylan felt bad for him?

"I’ll go," he said softly.

Holly gave him a hard look, but didn’t protest. "Take Malachi with you."

Dimitri glanced at him, surprised, but said nothing, just glanced at the tall white haired man. Malachi shrugged and nodded.

They finished lunch, everyone but Giovanni and Dimitri slowly relaxing and beginning to talk to each other like the last couple weeks hadn’t happened.

When they were finally finished, Malachi yawned and turned to Dimitri. "Want to go now? I kinda want to get it over with so I can nap."

Dimitri nodded. "Now is fine," he said softly. "He might be awake, I think."

Holly nodded. "Cherie said two days and it‘s day two. Although I think I prefer it if he stays asleep until I visit him though."

Malachi snorted. "Brat."

Holly just grinned at him.

Malachi smiled and stood. "So, ready, or do you need to do something first?"

Dimitri shook his head quickly, long braid brushing against his back. He sometimes was awake for hours before he got dressed and ready for the day, but he always stayed in his room when that was the case.

Malachi smiled at him, dimples deepening. "Great. I’ll drive?"

Dimitri nodded and followed him out, trying to ignore Holly’s eyes on him. He didn’t understand the fire elemental’s behavior, but that wasn’t anything new. Hopefully, this change would be a good thing.

Malachi went to the SUV, one of two cars they had. The other was a sports car that jerked with every touch of the brakes or change of gear, and not something Dimitri was particularly comfortable in.

He opened the door for Dimitri.

Dimitri blinked but quietly slid into the car and allowed Malachi to shut the door behind him. Malachi slid into his own seat and they were off. The ride passed in silence and when they got to the hospital, Malachi jumped out and opened the door for Dimitri again, actually offering him a hand out.

Dimitri accepted it, still bemused. Malachi was slow to let go of his hand, but when he did, he smiled charmingly and led Dimitri into the hospital.

Dimitri followed him as he obviously knew where he was going. He followed the tall human up the stairs, unable to stop himself from watching his strong, broad back as he ran up the stairs, long dreads bouncing up and down.

They were met by a white clad nurse at the door, who frowned disapprovingly at them. "You two would Mr. Fidel’s husbands."

Malachi nodded.

She frowned harder. "You should have called beforehand."

"My apologies," Dimitri said softly. "Is he awake?"

This made her frown harder still. "Yes," she said reluctantly.

"Well, can we see him?" demanded Malachi, the very picture of a worried spouse.

The nurse sighed. "I suppose," she said. "Only for a little bit though, he really should be asleep."

Dimitri and Malachi exchanged glances but when she opened the door, both went inside. She hovered in the doorway after they were inside, but neither man noticed. It was obvious why Rylan had let it go yesterday.

Ezra was awake, but he was slumped against the pillows he had been propped up against. His face was deathly pale and he was hooked up to a dozen machines, wires sprouting from his arms like daisies. He looked brittle lying on the sheets, like a too firm touch would break him. Even his eyes, black and usually as sharp as a Raven’s, were dull, glazed either with sleep or drugs.

"Hi," he rasped quietly.

Dimitri sank into one of the chairs beside him and very cautiously brushed his hand with his own. When Ezra didn’t flinch, he curled his fingers around his hand. "Hello."

Ezra smiled weakly at him. "Looks like I shouldn’t have wandered off."

Dimitri nodded. "It looks that way."

There was a long moment of silence and then Malachi cut in. "What happened?"

Ezra started to shrug and then winced. He settled for saying, "Dunno. Got jumped while walking over here."

Malachi looked at him suspiciously. "They found you near here in the morning, didn’t they? Rylan heard from the receptionist that they found you only a couple minutes after you got beaten up. What’d you spend the night doing?"

Ezra glared at him. "Not your business."

Malachi sighed, but he couldn’t bring himself to pursue the subject and bully it out of the guy; he looked and sounded like hell.

When it became obvious Malachi wasn’t going to say more, Ezra turned back to Dimitri who was still holding his hand. "So, when do I get out of here?"

"When the doctor says you can."

Ezra scowled at the dark fae. "Bad answer. I thought you were all so desperate to have me stay with you people."

"Not this time," Malachi said. "You look like you’d keel over if someone spoke too loudly near you."

Ezra scowled at him. "Give me a couple days and I’ll be fine."

"I thought you didn’t want to stay with us."

Ezra smirked, scowl disappearing. "Right. Good point. I had forgotten that. I’ll just stay here for a couple months."

Malachi smiled back, just as smugly. "We are dragging your ass back when the doctor says we can."

"Bad idea that," Ezra said cheerfully. "The doctor will okay it as soon as I don’t need to be hooked up to an IV and all this other crap."

"So?"

"So, I’m not going to be allowed to walk or stand - not going to be able to, really - and not going to be able to take care of myself. My right side’s all wonky."

Malachi blinked. "Why?"

"Stroke."

"You had a stroke?"

Ezra rolled his eyes. "My head got bashed against the concrete too many times," he said matter-of-factly. "I had a grade two brain bleed, it clotted, I had an ischemic stroke and it got caught by the MRI. I had surgery, I’m getting better, but I’m not going to be completely recovered by the time the doctor lets me go. I’ll just stay here."

Malachi hesitated.

Dimitri said nothing, but his hand tightened around Ezra’s. Ezra smiled at him and squeezed it. "S’all good."

Malachi frowned at him.

Ezra just smiled, but a yawn caught him. He winced.

The nurse, still hovering by the doorway, scowled. "Everybody out. He needs to sleep."

Dimitri nodded and rose, releasing Ezra’s hand and allowing the nurse to shoo him and Malachi out.

"Someone’s going to be back tomorrow," Malachi called.

Ezra didn’t respond, and the door was shut quietly, the nurse inside, leaving Malachi and Dimitri alone in the hall with only the quiet whir of the air conditioner for company.

Malachi shoved his hands into his pockets as he began to amble down the hall. "He seems like he’ll be okay."

Dimitri said nothing.

"You’re worried."

"He had a stroke and brain surgery."

Malachi shrugged. "It won’t happen again though. He got beaten up; he’ll recover and it won’t happen again."

Dimitri hesitated for a moment. "I think it was Rick."

Malachi blinked at him. "The ex?"

Dimitri nodded.

"Why? He was an asshole, but-"

"Ezra smelled like him. And he mentioned that he had an abusive boyfriend."

Malachi frowned. "He doesn’t seem like he would put up with it. I mean, he’s pissed at us and besides Rylan, none of us has done anything."

Dimitri shrugged. "He sounded like he was with him for awhile."

Malachi blinked. "If it was Rick… he probably shouldn’t be left here with Rick paying his bills."

Dimitri nodded. "It seems a bad idea."

Malachi sighed and pushed the door to the stairwell open. He glanced at Dimitri out of the corner of his eye. "He’ll be fine," Malachi said softly, grabbing Dimitri’s hand and squeezing it. "Even if it was Rick and he doesn’t have the senses to stay away from him, we’ll keep him away from him."

Dimitri nodded and began to pull his hand away, but Malachi held on, grip tightening. Dimitri blinked at him and then their joined hands before looking at the floor, a tiny smile touching his lips.

Malachi couldn’t help but smile as well. Both ignored the glances they got. When they reached their car, Malachi pulled his hand away reluctantly, assuming that was the end of it.

But when they had settled in and Malachi had backed out of the spot and was heading home, one hand on the wheel, one on his lap, Dimitri reached over and gently clasped his hand, threading their fingers together tentatively.

Malachi smiled widely at him and raised the fingers to his mouth, kissing them gently before he turned back to the road.

--

Leo stopped them at the door, glancing at their clasped hands for a moment, before smiling. He said nothing about it though, just said, "I’m going to visit Ezra tomorrow."

"By yourself? Groups look better."

Leo shrugged. "Giovanni doesn’t want to go and you three have already been."

Malachi rolled his eyes. "You’re forgetting someone," he said pointedly.

Leo scowled. "Holly won’t go with me."

"Will too. Ask first, numb nuts."

All of them glanced up to find Holly lounging against the banister and looking down at them.

Leo scowled at him.

Holly stuck his tongue out. "Deal, bunny boy. We’re going together."

"Hmph!" Leo spun on his heel and stalked out.

Holly rolled his eyes. "Brat," he mumbled before looking down at Malachi and Dimitri. He surveyed them slowly, making both squirm, eyes lingering on their still linked hands. He smiled at them, surprisingly softly, before turning as well and leaving.

Malachi glanced at Dimitri. "It looks like he approves."

Dimitri nodded slowly, a little surprised. "I didn’t expect him to be."

Malachi smiled. "Me neither," he admitted. "But I’m glad he does. Would you like to watch a movie with me?"

Dimitri smiled slightly. "I would."

There was an awkward moment when they settled on the couch, Malachi unsure what to do, but Dimitri scooted closer to him and leaned his head on his shoulder.

Malachi smiled widely and wrapped an arm around his waist, hand settling low on his hip.

That was how Rylan walked in one them almost two hours later.

He stared. Dimitri pressed himself harder against Malachi, but the white-haired human smiled drowsily. "Hey, Rye."

Rylan shook his head and wandered out again.

Malachi chuckled and turned so he could kiss Dimitri’s forehead. "No problems."

Dimitri looked up at him through his thick eyelashes, lavender peeking out in shocking splashes of color. "I guess not," he said softly.

Malachi’s hand tightened on his waist and that was all the warning Dimitri got before his lips were caught in a passionate kiss. Malachi’s lips were soft and the large hand that tilted his face up was gentle, but his mouth was demanding, pushing Dimitri’s lips apart. Dimitri kissed him back, unable to resist, hands grasping at Malachi’s t-shirt.

Malachi pulled away first, but only for a moment before he leaned back in and kissed Dimitri again, this time much more gently.

Dimitri smiled up at him shyly when he finally pulled away.

They missed most of the movie, soft kisses and light touches being exchanged. When the credits began rolling, Malachi hit the stop and there was a long moment of awkward silence as the screen turned to blue, bathing them in an eerie glow.

"Can I stay the night with you?"

Dimitri looked at Malachi surprised, a flush building in his cheeks.

"Just to sleep, literally sleep, with you." Malachi ran his thumb along Dimitri’s lips. "I don’t want to rush things."

Dimitri nodded, mouth dry. He stood slowly, Malachi standing a moment later and taking his hand. He once again raised it to his mouth to kiss. "If you’re not comfortable with it…"

Dimitri shook his head quickly and gripped Malachi’s hand higher, silently tugging him up the stairs and to his room. He opened the door and was greeted by the site of Holly draped over his bed in an untied silk robe.

The elemental grinned at them. "Ooh, threesome?"

Malachi snorted beside him. "Not tonight."

"Aw," Holly said, pouting. But he didn’t look particularly disappointed as he scooted to the side of the bed, giving the two men plenty of room.

Malachi smiled at him and squeezed Dimitri’s hand.

"Who goes in the middle?" the dark man asked quietly.

Malachi smiled at Dimitri. "You do."

Dimitri hesitated for a moment, but ended up saying, "Okay," and moving towards the restroom.

Malachi shrugged, stripped down to his boxers and yanked out his ponytail before climbing in next to Holly.

Holly smiled at him and scooted over. "So."

"So."

Holly smirked. "I dig it. How soon do you think we could have a threesome for, like, real?"

Malachi grinned. "I take it I would be in the middle for that?"

Holly shook his head. "Hell no. Dimitri the first time."

Malachi laughed. "I appreciate you."

"I adore you."

The door opened again and Dimitri stepped out. His hair was still braided back, but his nice clothes had been abandoned, replaced by pajama pants and a pale violet shirt that was only a few shades darker than his eyes.

Malachi smiled at him and rolled out of the bed allowing the Dimitri to slide in without climbing over him.

Holly tugged him on his side and cuddled against his chest. Dimitri smiled gently and wrapped his arms around him, tensing for a moment when Malachi pressed against his back, but quickly relaxed, allowing himself and Holly to be held by Malachi’s long arms.