The door opened, and he looked up, bleary-eyed and fatigued. This time, he knew the man who’d come into the room, and for a few seconds, the outside bled into the quiet he’d marinated in, a loud, raucous noise made of voices and chittering machines. Kane set a cold can of Coke down in front of Damie. A mug of hot chicken noodle soup joined it, and Kane pushed that closer until it was nearly under Damien’s nose.
“How’re you doing, D?” Kane pulled a chair around, angling it on the corner of the table so he could sit next to Damien. He slid a folder out from under his arm and placed it on the table beside him.
“Like I’m fucking dying.” He sniffed at the soup, wondering if his stomach could handle the salty broth. “I just want this day to be over. And I want Sionn… and Miki. I just want to go… fuck, anywhere but here. I want to go home. Someone’s home.”
“When was the last time you ate?”
“I dunno.” He had to strain to think. “I can’t remember if Sionn fed me. Shit, I have no damned clue.”
“Well, drink that while we talk. We’re almost done here,” Kane reassured him. “I’m the last one you’re going to have to face today.”
“And tomorrow?”
“It’s already tomorrow.” The man jiggled the mug’s handle. “Drink some of this, and we’ll get this over as quickly as we can, okay?”
“Just don’t… tell me you’re sorry about my mom.” Damien pulled a plastic spoon out of the soup, letting the broth dribble back in. “I don’t know… how I feel about that just yet. It’s just been… it’s been too much today, you know?”
“Yeah, I know,” Kane consoled. “We’re trying to get a hold of your father, but so far, no one’s had any luck reaching him.”
“I sure as fuck don’t know where he is.” He snorted under his breath, spooned up some soup, and slid the almost-too-hot liquid into his mouth. Huffing at the heat, he swallowed, then shook his head.
“When we find him, do you want to talk to him?” The cop held up his hands in mock surrender when Damien shot him a cold look over the mug’s rim. “It’s your call. Shit’s going to start to get very real for you over the next couple of days. Too many people saw you come in, and after being printed, a lot of people know you’re alive now. It’s going to be crazy. When you’re done, we’re going to take you out to the back of the station. My brother Connor’s just bought a Hummer—big black thing with dark windows, so we’re going to sneak you out in that. He’ll take you, Miki, and Sionn to our house. I’ll be home as soon as I can. There’s a gate—”
“Your house?” Damien cocked his head. “Miki didn’t tell me you lived there with him. Okay, no… wait, he did. With the dog.”
“Yeah, I moved in about a month ago.” Kane smiled. “It seemed stupid to pay for an apartment when I was there most of the time, and the workshop space I rent is just next door. Besides, with me around, he gets some food into him. Well, food that’s not made out of chemicals. I’m not surprised you forgot. You guys had a lot to catch up on.”
“Some. Mostly we were just… being us.” It was odd, having to explain to another man the rightness of Miki. Kane probably had to work around the minefield, probably blew himself up a few times before he knew the way in, but Damien could fly right through. He didn’t need to think about it. Shit, he’d more than likely laid a few of those mines himself. Miki probably laid down a few of Damie’s. Anything to protect one another. Anything to protect themselves.
Then Kane said something Damien never imagined he’d hear the man admit.
“I’m really fucking happy you’re here. That you’re alive. He loves you a lot. It nearly killed him when you died. I came after that, and I could see it. I love him, and I know I’m good for him, but having you here is going to go a long way in healing those broken bits inside of him.”
“You okay with all this shit?” He stirred the soup, releasing the heat onto his face. Damien stared down at the swirling noodles, carrots, and broth, wondering if he’d ever begin to feel something other than dead inside. “I mean… me coming back. I’d figured you’d be… pissed. Maybe jealous. You’ve had him to yourself for so long….”
“When I hooked up with Miki, he didn’t ask me to give up Connor or Quinn. Or any of the others.” The cop leaned forward until Damie could feel the heat of the man’s body against his side. “I’m not going to ask him to give you up. Hell, I’m fucking ecstatic that you’re here. There’s enough room for both of us in his heart. Shit, it gets pretty crowded sometimes. ’Course we’re going to have to share him with Dude and my dad. Those two are fucking tight. He and Dad. Dude, you can bribe him with a cookie.”