Chapter Text
The television is on.
Some series neither of them is really following. Muffled voices, occasional canned laughter, shifting light that glides softly across the walls.
The living room is warm.
Caz is lying half on top of Rennick. One leg tangled between his, one arm draped over his chest. His head rests directly above Rennick’s heart.
It beats steadily.
Strong.
Reliable.
Rennick’s hand rests heavy on Caz’s back. Not tight. Not clinging. Just there. His thumb moves faintly now and then in his half-sleep, as if checking whether Caz is still there.
Caz hears it.
The breathing first.
Slow.
Deep.
The chest rises and falls beneath him, carrying him up a little with every breath and back down again. Like a gentle rocking.
Then the heartbeat.
Dull. Even. Directly beneath his ear.
It’s one of those sounds you only notice when you become completely still.
Rennick is almost asleep.
His eyes are closed, his forehead relaxed. His mouth slightly open. And yes — very softly, barely audible, he’s snoring a little. Not loud. Just a faint, uneven sound that’s more endearing than annoying.
Caz grins.
A few hours ago they were shouting.
Now Rennick is lying here, completely unaware, half unconscious from exhaustion, looking like the most harmless man in the world.
Caz lifts his head slightly and looks at him.
Those sharp lines in his face soften in sleep. The usually controlled expression now open. Unguarded.
His fingers trace an absent line across Rennick’s chest, feeling the rise and fall beneath the fabric.
“I’m already here,” he’d said.
And he meant it.
He is here.
Here.
With this man who talks too fast sometimes, reacts too sharply, stays silent too long — but stays.
Who stayed.
Who asked him to stay.
Caz lowers his head back onto Rennick’s chest.
The heart keeps beating.
Steady.
Safe.
He closes his eyes.
The television flickers on, voices murmuring in the background, somewhere outside a car passes.
But in here, it’s warm.
Quiet.
Right.
Caz smiles against Rennick’s shirt.
Happy.
Not perfect.
But real.
And right now, that’s more than enough.