Ezra glanced up as the door opened. He tensed. "Rick."

Rick smiled tentatively at him. "Hey baby," he said softly.

"Get out."

Rick sat down on the chair next to the bed. "I’m sorry baby. It was an accident. I- I went out."

Ezra sighed. "What? Were you on PCP, meth, LSD?"

"Pot."

When Ezra just blinked at him, Rick sighed. "I got weed from Micky, remember him? I thought it would help keep calm while confronting you. He dusted it with PCP, baby. I’m so sorry."

Ezra sighed gustily. "Fi-" he paused and sniffed. "Have you been drinking?"

Rick leaned back as Ezra looked at him closer.

"Shit, you have been!"

"E, baby-"

"No! Fuck off," Ezra spat. "Don’t come near me!"

"Baby."

Ezra reached over and hit the nurse button.

"E, I’m trying to talk to you!"

"You’re drinking."

"Ezra, just a little. I just want to-"

"Is there a problem here?"

Ezra looked up gratefully at the nurse.

"Yes, there is a problem," Ezra said. "He’s not supposed to be here. He beat the shit out of me two years ago."

"Oh! Please, sir, you aren’t allowed in. You’re Rick Galyn, right? I’ll call security…"

Rick stood, looking down at Ezra. "I really am sorry." He left quietly, only a little unsteady on his feet.

Ezra shut his eyes tightly when the door shut, ignoring the still hovering nurse, reminding himself of what Rick was like what drunk, what inevitably happened every time he went out and drank or smoked. He would get drunk for real and the hard drugs would follow and Rick was pleasant under the influence of neither.

The door flew open again with a crash and Ezra flinched. The nurse had left while he was thinking. He glanced up, hand already on the nurse button, but it was only Rylan with Malachi behind him.

Ezra nearly snorted. Only Rylan. Hah. The man had choked him unconscious. And he was followed by Malachi, the six and a half foot, professional heavy weight fighter. Both looked annoyed. But neither was a drunken Rick. Even so, Ezra had to resist the urge to sink into the pillows. He couldn’t control his pulse- or the heart monitor’s beep- from speeding up.

Rylan didn’t seem to notice, but Malachi slowed down and hunched over, losing a couple of inches of height.

"Come on," Rylan snapped. "You’re coming home with us."

Ezra winced before nodding silently, not wanting to argue.

Rick could find him anywhere, he had already proved that time and time again, and he obviously knew where the guys lived, but he wouldn’t break in, not with four full-blooded fae. And even if he did, the boys would be able to fight him off, no problem. Well, they could if they wanted to. Whether they would want to was debatable.

Rylan and Malachi seemed thrown off by his quiet acquisition. Rylan scowled. "Fine," he said, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Get up and let’s go."

Ezra sighed and pushed the nursing button. The same woman as before came in, looking worried. She paused when she saw Malachi. "Is there another problem?"

She was already stepping back, probably to call security, when Malachi smiled charmingly at her. "No Ma’am, no problem."

Ezra smiled faintly. "These two are my current… husbands," he choked out. Married again. Dammit. "I’m going home with them."

Concern flashed across the woman’s face. "Are you sure, honey? You’re still pretty hurt."

"Positive," Rylan snapped.

The nurse sighed and nodded. "I’ll go get a chair. Will you need help getting dressed or will your husbands help you?"

"They will," Ezra said, smiling, and cutting off Rylan’s answer.

He sighed in relief when she left and let the painted on smile drop. "Both of you, out."

Rylan glared. "Why? Don’t you want us to help you change?" he drawled. "Slut."

Ezra gave him the finger.

The nurse was coming back in minutes. Even if he did get beat up, it wouldn’t be that badly.

But then, Rick had managed to do major damage in a couple minutes in front of people…

He nearly missed the two leaving.

He leaned over with a groan and ragged his bag onto the bed. Thank God for Cherie. She had gone and hunted down his bag after he had been brought in.

He pulled out the jeans and t-shirt Dimitri had bought him the first day. Cherie had also taken all of his stuff home and washed it, so, for once, as he slowly pulled the clothes on, one limb at a time, his skin didn’t crawl at the feeling of filth against it.

There was a knock several minutes after he was finished. He sighed. "Yeah, yeah, come in," he called, wincing when his voice came out raspy.

Rylan poked his head in. "Decent, snookums?"

Ezra glared. "Fuck. Off."

Rylan rolled his eyes. "Ah, poor baby," he said softly, nearly purring as he pushed the door open. "You must be in a lot of pain, aren’t you, honeybun?" He stepped inside, the nurse following.

Ezra snapped his mouth shut on the sharp retort on the tip of his tongue. "Yes, baby," he said, sagging onto his pillows. "I’m sorry for snapping, Ryliepoo."

Rylan’s eyebrow actually twitched. "It’s okay, my little chunky monkey. I know you didn’t mean it."

Ezra’s hand went automatically to his stomach. Chunky? Did he just get called fat? "Oh thank you, my pretty snoogliewoogliebabypie."

Rylan didn’t respond but his face slowly turned red.

Ezra smirked and fell silent as well. Malachi ducked out of the room, eyes shiny. He was biting his lip and as soon as the door swung shut behind him, laughter, muffled only slightly by the door, started up.

Rylan scowled but quickly turned it into a smile as the nurse came forward and set the wheel chair down beside the bed.

She helped him sit all the way and began to help him move his legs to the side, off the bed.

Malachi came back in, wiping at his eyes. He suddenly sobered and stepped up to them, gently pushing the nurse aside. He slipped an arm underneath Ezra’s knees and behind his shoulder and lifted him into the chair. Ezra started and clutched at his shirt but sighed in relief as he was lowered gently. Thank God. He was hurting.

Malachi smiled at the nurse. "Is there anything we need to know?"

She smiled back and handed him a pile of paperwork. "You need to sign this." She indicated the top page. "And you need to go to the pharmacy and get his medication."

Malachi handed the clipboard over to Rylan who scribbled his signature on the sheet and handed it back to the nurse. Malachi took the place behind Ezra’s wheelchair as the nurse took it.

"He shouldn’t do anything physical for at least a week and he should take it easy for longer. He knows when to take his medication and all the things he needs to do for physical therapy. She glared down at Ezra. "You’ll do everything you’re supposed to?"

"Yes, ma’am," he replied meekly.

She frowned, but nodded, obviously not satisfied. "And he should go twice a week to this clinic," she flipped to a page in the packet, "for physical therapy until he’s fully recovered."

Rylan nodded. "Yes, ma’am."

"Okay, that’s it," she said reluctantly. "You can take him home. But be careful with him," she warned, glaring. "He’s still very fragile."

"Oh, we’ll be very careful."

Ezra tensed but very carefully didn’t look over at Rylan. He scared the shit out of him.

Malachi pushed him out of the room. Ezra winced as they rolled over the doorjamb. It sent a jolt to every bruise on his body.

As they rolled into the elevator, Ezra’s wheelchair dropped an inch, the elevator and floor not exactly matching up.

Ezra grunted and clutched at the arms.

"Sorry."

"Suck it up," snapped Rylan.

Ezra didn’t say anything, just kept his hold on the arm rests. The drugs were already beginning to wear off. When the elevator doors dinged open, he tensed and stared down at the gap, the space growing in his mind. This was going to hurt.

Malachi went much slower this time, but still, the jerk made him wince and grunt again.

Rylan rolled his eyes and glanced down at him, mouth open to say something. He paused for a moment and then said, "You are really white."

Ezra glared, but didn’t turn his head. No movement sounded like a good idea. Now if only Malachi would stop.

But the tall human just kept pushing him forward, out the door over another bump. He paused in front of the stairs and glanced down at Ezra then at Rick. "Can you get the chair, Ry?"

Rylan sighed and nodded, tucking the papers under his arm. "As long as I don’t have to touch him," he snapped.

Malachi rolled his eyes and went to the front of the wheelchair. He picked Ezra up again gently and began going down the stairs, very slowly. Ezra twisted his left hand into Malachi’s shirt and stubbornly stared at the white fabric instead of looking down.

Malachi paused at the bottom. "Do you want me to carry you to the car or is the wheelchair better? The ground is a bit bumpy."
Ezra glanced over the parking lot, wincing at the ill kept pavement. Any of the cracks would just about make him pass out on the wheelchair. Malachi’s arms bounced, but there were no sharp movements.

"You’re smoother," Ezra said, trying to keep the flush from his face.

Malachi nodded, ignoring Rylan’s snort. "’Kay." He settled Ezra more securely against his chest and meandered across the parking lot, holding Ezra steady.

"You’re really fucking buff," Ezra finally said as they drew closer to the same van Leo had brought him home in.

Malachi smirked down at him and Ezra couldn’t help but grin slightly as the muscled arms holding him bulged a little. Men were men; they flexed if they thought anyone was paying attention.

Rylan just snorted. Despite his obvious annoyance, he unlocked the car and opened the door for Malachi before tossing the folded up wheelchair in the trunk.

Malachi set him down slowly in the backseat and raised a hand to buckle him in. Ezra glared and swatted at his hand. He could do some things by himself.

Malachi rolled his eyes and went to the front seat as Ezra slowly buckled himself in.

"So, do you need to go to the pharmacy right away or are you okay for awhile?"

"Pharmacy," Ezra grunted. "There’s one just down Cherry Avenue."

Malachi nodded and threw the car in gear. Ezra gripped his seatbelt and the door desperately, trying to diminish the shocks of every bump and turn. His head hurt. When they finally pulled to a stop, Ezra waited for a long moment before opening his eyes.

Malachi was looking back at him with obvious concern. "You’re staying in the car and waiting."

"Cool beans," Ezra muttered through clenched teeth.

Rylan just snorted again and slammed the car door shut behind him hard enough to make the car shake.

Ezra winced.

--

Malachi nudged Rylan. "Don’t be an ass," he muttered stepping over the curb. He didn’t take Rylan’s hand as he would have with everyone else although he did slip a hand around his shoulders and hug him briefly before letting go.

Rylan just snorted. "I don’t like him."

"Obviously. But, come on, at least be civil." He held open the door, ignoring Rylan’s glare. He rolled his eyes and yanked Ryan through the open door. "We don’t all need to love and adore each other and we don’t all need to be intimate, but we do have to at least like each other. Find some common ground or something. You can’t do that if he’s scared of you."

"Can too," Rylan mutters. "Mutual dislike."

Malachi sighed and elbowed him. "You’re a dork."

"Trekky."

They went through the store in silence, Malachi slapping Ezra’s prescriptions down on the counter and hovering near the drugstore pharmacy counter.

Rylan grabbed a basket and then prowled around the store, looking through the shelves. They already had a lifetime supply of lube thanks to his store and they had no need for more than the few condoms they had lying around the house. But whipped cream… He smirked and tossed the bottle into his basket, along with chocolate syrup and a jar of maraschino cherries.

He paused in front of the cameras and was delighted to find black and white film. Heh. This was always fun. He could make Dimitri go and develop the pictures he took on the ancient Nikon camera in the tiny dark room next to Malachi’s gym in the basement. Holly had insisted on it when he found out Dimitri had taken a human photo class once. Something about naughty pictures being easier. But it was rarely used because processing color film was hard and black and white film was hard to find.

Rylan liked the embarrassment he caused Dimitri as much as the pictures he got.

He was able to fill the basket and checkout before Malachi found him, a transparent plastic bag filled with pill bottles in his hand. They fell into step easily and walked back to the car silently.

Ezra was white and held out one trembling hand as soon as they got into the car. Malachi handed the bag of pills to him and he dug through the small plastic bottles. He struggled with the child proof cap for a long moment, yanking it out of the Malachi’s hands when the big man tried to help. Rylan sneered. "For fuck’s sake, let him help you."

"Fuck you," Ezra snapped back, finally getting the bottle open. He dumped a bunch in his hand and popped some into his mouth, swallowing them dry.

Rylan blinked. "Did you even count how many you just downed?"

"Fuck you."

Malachi sighed and once again leaned over the glove box into the backseat. He took the pill bottle and pills from Ezra’s still shaking hand. "Are you gonna die or something?"

"No," Ezra mumbled. "It’s just hydrocodone."

"Shit," Malachi said. "I thought you didn’t have a drug problem." He caught the questioning look Rylan shot him. "Vicodin. Highly addictive painkiller."

"Yeah, ‘cause fucking pot’s illegal here and impossible to fucking get. I always used to smoke that over the border," he grumbled.

Rylan rolled his eyes. "I hope you overdose and die."

"Me too," Ezra muttered.

Malachi snorted.

Rylan reached a hand over and caught Malachi’s hand in his. He raised it to his mouth and brushed his lips over Malachi’s olive skin, parting his lips. He glanced over at Malachi. His husband was staring back at him, a smile playing over his full lips, slanted gray eyes half lidded.

"Oh my god, you guys are one of those couples, aren’t you? The sweetness. Gag me with a spoon."

"You’re sounding better," Malachi said.

Rylan smirked at the huskiness in his voice.

"And you’re sounding like you want to get thrown over the dashboard. Funny, I had you pegged as a top."

Malachi’s grip tightened for a moment then relaxed. "I’m versatile."

"Apparently," Ezra drawled.

Rylan snuck another glance at his husband. He was flushing faintly. Rylan smirked. Damn. If he didn’t hate Ezra so much, he might actually congratulate him right now. Malachi looked cute when he blushed. Rylan smirked. Adorable. He looked adorable when he blushed. It made Rylan want to tie him up and-

"Watch the road!"

"Shit!" Rylan yanked the wheel to the side, narrowly missing a fire hydrant. "Whoops."

Malachi started snickering beside him.

"Ow, I think my brain just slipped out my skull. Hand me that vicodin again."

Malachi snorted. "No. The container says take two."

"I only took one."

"You took a handful."

"Fuck off and give me the pills."

"No."

"But I’m in pain and Ryepoo’s mad driving skills are making it worse."

"We’re here anyway."

"Where?"

"Hell," Rylan interjected. "Where the fuck do you think?"

"A gay bar so I can get properly drunk and laid."

Rylan opened his mouth to insult the slut, but Malachi gave him a look.

"He’s on drugs," he whispered.

Rylan held out for a long moment but he ended up snickering. "Fine, fine. I won’t kill him. But only because he made you blush," he whispered back.

Malachi squeezed his hand briefly before sliding out the car. He pulled the wheelchair out and set it up.

"Make sure the clicky things click, ‘kay?" Ezra called.

Malachi said nothing, but made sure the supports snapped into place.

Ezra started sliding out of the seat, swaying with every lurching movement.

Malachi sighed and picked him up again. He glanced over the cobblestone path and stairs to the porch. "I’ll carry you," he said. "Can you get his chair, Ry?"

Rylan rolled his eyes. "Sure." He watched Ezra carefully, but despite the fact that they were so close, Ezra didn’t do anything but once again comment on how fit Malachi was. And he was obviously high. Rylan had fully expected him to grope Malachi or force a kiss on him or something. But he didn’t and when they got inside the house and Malachi began to set him in the chair, he didn’t ask to be carried further. He seemed content to settle into it. "I need to sleep," he informed them.

Malachi sighed. "Where we putting him?"

Rylan shrugged. "Gonna have to be the first floor."

"Please somewhere with a bed and a bath."

Rylan rolled his eyes. "I’m not letting him strip you naked and put you in the bath."

"Good."

Malachi sighed. "I can hear you, you know. Nothing would happen."

"I’ll strip him and join him in the bath."

They all glanced up. Leo grinned and waved. Rylan smirked and dropped his gaze to his tan legs bared by clingy short shorts.

"No thank you."

Leo smiled widely and bounced over behind Ezra’s wheelchair. "I’ll just get you set up."

"I’ll go with," Rylan and Malachi said at the same time before looking at each other.

Malachi smiled. "You can. Leo actually listens to you and I want to talk to Dimitri anyway."

Rylan growled something out and followed Leo as he pushed the half-breed down the hall into one of the guest rooms. It was the one with the King sized bed and the bathtub big enough for all of them to fit in at once. Dimitri had it installed for Holly one day out of the blue because the elemental had this obsession with hot tubs. Rylan wondered how either would take the room being handed over to the slut.

Rylan caught up with Leo just as he pushed Ezra into the bedroom. "So, how much longer do you think you’ll be bedridden?"

Ezra said, "Probably another week, tops."

Rylan snorted. "You’ve been out for a week already and you seem barely better."

Ezra snorted. "I always get better way faster when I get out of the hospital."

"Why’s that?"

"Dunno."

"Do you know what kind of fae your dad was?" Leo asked.

Ezra stiffened and then winced. "Does everyone know everybody‘s business here?"

Leo grinned at him as Rylan sniggered. "Yeah, sorta. Do you know?"

"Nope."

"Well, it may have something to do with that. Maybe he was a spring fae or something. Do you feel better outside?"

"Not particularly," Ezra said dryly, snickering at something.

Rylan rolled his eyes. Weirdo.

"Well, whatever. I guess it doesn’t matter as long as you feel better. Do you want to sleep?"

"Yes," he said meekly.

Leo giggled and nodded. He scooped the taller man out of his chair with no warning.

Ezra yelped and his arms clutched at Leo’s skin, searching for purchase. His arms ended up around Leo’s neck.

Leo giggled and set Ezra down gently on the bed. His clothes and hair looked stark against the white sheets, but his skin nearly matched.

Leo leaned down and kissed Ezra’s lips gently.

Rylan just blinked. He couldn’t muster up the jealousy he knew he should be feeling. That shocked him more than the kiss itself.

And then Ezra blushed again and that surprised him enough that when Leo leaned down and kissed the half-breed again, all he could do was gape as Leo’s lips parted around Ezra’s and tried to coax the man’s lips apart. When Ezra’s lips slipped open in a gasp, Rylan stared, speechless as Leo kissed Ezra thoroughly and deeply.

Ezra was tense and unyielding under Leo’s assault. When he finally shoved Leo’s chest gently- very possibly as hard as he could at the moment- Leo pulled back and smiled at the half-breed. "Sweet dreams."

Ezra gaped after him as Leo bounded out. Rylan stayed frozen in the door as Leo brushed against him. The phooka paused for a moment, tilting his face up expectantly.

Rylan scowled own at him, wrinkling his nose. He smelled like the slut.

Leo pouted and kept going, getting out of the doorway.

Rylan turned back to Ezra but the man looked too surprised and embarrassed for Rylan to muster up more than a half-hearted glare.

He stepped back and shut the door before going to Leo. He was standing at the end of the hall, scowling, feet shoulder-width apart, arms crossed over his bare chest.

Ryan rolled his eyes and poked Leo’s nose. No way was he going to get into a fight with Leo. It would be like kicking a puppy. Or a bunny.

Leo frowned harder and swatted his hand away. "He smells good and you know it."

Rylan rolled his eyes. "That’s what you’re angry about?"

Leo stomped his foot. "He’s nice."

"He’s a slut."

"So is Holly and you know it."

Rylan rolled his eyes. "He’s been loyal since he married us. Besides, you don’t know what he was like before he met Dimitri. You’re just taking other people’s words at face value."

Leo scowled. "Rave said he was."

"Rave said he was different than he is now, that’s all."

Leo rolled his eyes.

"Besides, moot point. He’s less of a slut now than you are."

Leo sniffed. "I’m only a slut for my husbands. Which Ezra is now."

Rylan scowled. "Not for long."

"We have an investigation."

"He’s not going to help us."

"He’s nice," Leo insisted.

"He’s going to make us fail."

Leo snorted. "He will not. He’s sweet."

"He’s a sarcastic bitch."

"Has anyone even told him about the investigation?"

"Uh…"

"I will whenever he wakes up."

Rylan sighed, rubbing at his brow. "Fine, fine. If he agrees, we’re going to have to make him look like part of the family though."

Leo shrugged. "I like him. He’s a real sweetheart."

"Yeah, but what about the rest of us?"

Leo shrugged. "You’ll manage. Him and Dimitri get along already."

Rylan snorted. "Whatever."

---

Malachi tapped on Dimitri’s door and waited for a shouted assent before he went in. Holly was inside and predictably the one that yelled.

Malachi raised an eyebrow when he went inside. They were both naked, Holly on top of the covers, Dimitri under them, long braid half unraveled. He was sprawled on his stomach and Holly was sitting with his legs crossed, a cigarette dangling between his lips.

"Wow, this is a stereotype. Was the sex amazing? I don‘t think I‘ve ever seen Holly smoke before."

Holly smirked at him and Dimitri tilted his head to smile at him. Malachi’s eyes widened. He crossed the room and cupped his chin, tilting his face up to get a better look.

He grinned a little. "You have a little something right here." He tapped his chin.

Dimitri raised his hand to his chin and wiped the cum off his face, looking down.

Malachi laughed and patted Holly on the shoulder. "That’s hot."

He dropped down on the bed, smiling a little as both men leaned against him. "Ezra’s downstairs. Leo and Rylan are getting him settled in one of the room."

Dimitri tensed and Holly and Malachi managed to elbow each other as they both tried to run a soothing hand down his bare back at the same time.

Dimitri grinned up at both of them. "Thanks."

He sat up, holding the blanket over his lap.

Malachi leaned forward and kissed him gently. When he pulled back, he stroked Dimitri’s heavy hair absently. "I think Ezra’s probably already asleep. He was pretty out of it on the way here."

Dimitri nodded but still tugged the sheet out from under both men and slung it high around his waist.

Malachi raised an eyebrow as Dimitri stood and crossed the room to the bathroom. He was limping. Just a tiny bit, but he was.

Malachi waited until he was in the bathroom and water started running, before asking, "Gosh, you topped Dimitri. How was that?"

Holly smirked at him. "Figure it out for yourself."

"Subtle."

Holly just grinned at him as the water stopped.

Malachi stayed silent as Dimitri re-emerged from the bathroom. He had a thick white terry robe wrapped around him and as Malachi watched, he rummaged around his drawers, pulling out clothes.

Malachi watched, mouth dry, as Dimitri wiggled into a pair of pants underneath the robe.

A sharp elbow into his side from Holly made him clear his throat. "That was a fast shower."

Holly snorted.

Malachi glanced at him, not understanding what he had done.

Holly just shook his head, looking mildly disgusted as Dimitri answered. "I was just rinsing off. Is Ezra okay? Rylan wasn’t too…" he trailed off as he searched for a word.

"Much of a jackass? Well, he always is, but no. Ezra seemed to want out of there pretty badly."

"Ah," Dimitri mumbled as he slid off the robe so he could pull on a shirt.

Malachi watched openly. He may be sleeping in Dimitri’s bed almost every night but that didn’t change the fact that the man was shy and Malachi rarely got to see him naked.

Dimitri pulled on a t-shirt and Malachi was almost as happy staring at him now as he had when he was shirtless. The dark fae was in jeans, a pair so old they were faded to almost white. His shirt was an expensive looking v-neck in a pale violet that matched his eyes almost exactly and was still far more casual than anything he usually wore.

The tall man turned and ducked his head shyly when he saw Malachi staring at him. "I’m going to go downstairs now," he mumbled before leaving quickly.

Malachi grinned.

Holly elbowed him sharply. "Hey, be cool, man," he snapped irritably.

When Malachi just raised an eyebrow, Holly sighed gustily. "He’s making an effort to relax," he explained. "Around all of us but especially you. He usually doesn’t change in front of anyone. The least you could do is not gape."

"But he’s just so damn sexy."

Holly gave him a wide grin and leaned up to peck him on the lips. He grabbed Malachi’s crotch firmly. "Having naughty thoughts about Dimitri bottoming?"

Malachi shrugged and nodded. "The mental image is hot."

"Oh honey, you’ll get even harder when you find out whose cum that was on his chin."

Malachi’s jaw dropped. "Not yours?" It came out squeaky.

Holly smirked and looked down at his lap. "Told you so. And it was Leo’s."

That distracted Malachi for a moment. "You and Leo actually-"

Holly rolled his eyes and then rolled on top of Malachi. He shoved a hand down his pants and into his boxers.

"You’re insatiable," Malachi groaned.

Holly smirked. "It’s in the blood, luv."

--

Dimitri walked slowly down the stairs, trying to will the heat in his cheeks away. He rounded the corner to the hall with the guest bedrooms and was crashed into by Leo.

Leo beamed up at him as Dimtiri’s arms slipped around him, automatically steadying him.

"Hiya," he said happily, smirking wickedly.

Dimitri resisted the urge to look away. He couldn’t help the blush that rose to his cheeks. "Hello," he said softly, glancing at Rylan and once again trying not to look away. The blonde was glaring.

Dimitri let go of Leo, who pouted but giggled when Rylan slapped his barely covered ass. "To the kitchen, runt. I need to talk to Dimitri."

Leo nodded, red eyes bright, and skipped to the kitchen, floppy white ears bouncing.

Rylan waited for a minute after he disappeared before pulling Dimitri deeper into the hall. "I got your little questionnaire thing today."

Dimitri winced, but instead of teasing him about the sexual answers or yelling at him again, he said flatly, "You need to fill in all the answers. We already have enough problems without things like that." He was glaring, but his voice was almost calm. "It’s back on the kitchen table. For when you have time."

Dimitri winced a tiny bit. Rylan’s tone implied he better have time immediately.

Rylan glared at him a moment longer and opened his mouth to say something before snapping it shut and storming off.

Dimitri took a shaky breath and shut his eyes for a moment before slowly going down the hall to the only closed door. He opened it as quietly as he could and peeked in.

Ezra was awake, black eyes open and a little wide. His hands were on top of the layers of blankets and picking at the threading on the top quilt almost frantically.

Dimitri opened the door the rest of the way silently and padded over to the bed before perching on the side.

Ezra started and turned before relaxing a tiny bit. "Oh. Hi." His fingers continued to work at the loose threads on the blankets.

Dimitri gently caught Ezra’s closest hand in his, stroking the back of his hand with his thumb. "Why is this so easy with you?" he asked quietly.

Ezra blinked at him. "What?"

Dimitri sighed and shook his head. "Never mind," he mumbled. "I’m just being stupid."

Ezra looked at him skeptically. "Why is the… touching so easy with me?" he hazarded.

Dimitri sighed again before nodding. "Yes."

Ezra smiled at him, pierced lip quirking into a bitter grin. "Because you don’t know me. Because it doesn’t matter if things don’t work out between us. Because there is no chance of an ‘us’. I’m generally unimportant and that makes me easy."

Dimitri frowned. "Bitter. You seem more self confident usually."

Ezra just shrugged.

Dimitri sighed and laid down beside him. "You think too much. It makes you lose confidence."

"I’ve been bed ridden for a week. Nothing else to do. Besides, how would you know?"

The dark fae leaned against Ezra’s side. "Because I think too much. Why do you think alcohol makes me so different?"

"Because it lowers your inhibitions."

"Because I don’t worry about consequences when I’m drunk."

Ezra sniggered. "I’m usually fine, even when sober. Besides, I’m on pain meds. I should be high."

"They probably already went through your system," Dimitri said softly. "Fae blood does that."

"Well that explains a lot. Get me more, luv? They’re on the table."

Dimitri sighed and stood, wincing only a little. He picked up the bag of meds and looked through them to find the right bottle before handing it over.

He watched silently, choosing not to comment when Ezra took several, more than was probably recommended. "I’ll call someone tomorrow to block the pain."

Ezra glanced up at him. "Healers are expensive."

He didn’t object though and that was good enough for Dimitri.

"Me and Rylan are high court fae, Holly and Leo are both full-bloods, and Giovanni is a seer. We’ll trade something." He frowned a tiny bit. "Possibly front row tickets to one of Malachi’s tournaments if Ginger is free."

Ezra rolled his eyes, frowning a little. "Talented bunch, aren’t you?"

"Yes," Dimitri said simply. "Now relax, stop thinking about whatever’s putting those lines on your forehead and sleep."

Ezra pouted at him, but the worry lines smoothed. He looked at the ceiling. "Stay please?" he asked softly.

Dimitri glanced at him, surprised. He was red.

Dimitri nodded tentatively and lay down again on the bed. He settled by the half-breed for a moment, debating, but in the end, he curled an arm around Ezra’s shoulders, remembering curling up with the man that way before. He just wasn’t nursing a drink or a hangover this time.

Ezra lay tense for a moment before relaxing. "Why-" He yawned widely. "Why are y’all so hell-bent-" He yawned again before continuing. "On keeping me here?"

Dimitri tensed. No one had mentioned the investigation? Shit. But… He glanced at Ezra. The man was near gone, eyelids fluttering with the effort of keeping them open. And he didn’t want to ruin the moment. It was peaceful here. Ezra was a soothing presence. None of Holly’s anger or Leo’s never-ending energy or the weight of what hadn’t been done yet, like with Malachi. Ezra didn’t expect anything out of him. Or rather, didn’t expect anything positive. So it was impossible to mess up.

"We’ll talk tomorrow," Dimitri promised.

"Mmkay," Ezra mumbled. His breathing deepened and evened out almost instantly.

Dimitri sighed and buried his head in his hair. He smelled like mint