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Finan sighed contently as he took a sip of his beer, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back against the couch. He had been home from deployment for less then a week and had stepped straight into a new battlefield, Uhtred going head to head with miniature versions of himself. Oswald and Stiorra had quickly found they were a dynamite duo when they teamed up against Uhtred when he was solo parenting. With all of them still grieving Gisela’s death the year before and Finan returning to work, life had been stressful for Uhtred. When Thyra and Beocca had offered to take all three children for the weekend Uhtred had not hesitated. The first day the two men hadn’t left their bed. Today, they had at least managed to visit Leofric, Uhtred’s past Captain and long time friend.
The three men were enjoying a casual Saturday afternoon at Leo’s, peaceful, quiet, having a couple of drinks in comfortable companionship. The peace was soon broken by the distinct sound of a Subaru box engine that announced Leo’s nephew Osferth had come to visit. No one was surprised when two young men came stumbling through the front door, pushing and jostling each other. The town they lived in had a large military community thanks to the shared base not far away. Leofric’s nephew had lived with him until recently, having been with Leo since his mother died when he was child. He had moved out a few months ago to share a unit with Sihtric, who Uhtred and his brother Ragnar had rescued alongside their sister Thyra from a human trafficking ring 8 years ago.
The boys were not boys anymore, Finan noticed as they greeted each other. Osferth still bounced around with the energy of a labrador puppy, but they both stood almost as tall as Finan himself now. As Osferth bounded through to the kitchen to retrieve a fresh round of drinks for everyone, Finan looked at the young man who had come through behind him.
It was like Finan had no control of his own body when his eyes raked over the young man in front of them. He felt his face flush hot and red as his tongue darted out to lick his lip. The first memory he had of meeting a scared, scrawny teenage Sihtric that barely spoke, didn’t match with the man in front of him. Finan had spent more and more time with Sihtric, and all of Uhtred’s family over the years, especially after Gisela had passed. He had seen the boy grow from a beaten and broken rescue of Ragnar’s to a confident, strong and accomplished young man under the older Ragnarson brother’s influence.
He hadn’t seen the younger man for a few months having been deployed, Finan would have sworn he didn’t look this damn good last time he had seen Sihtirc! He had definitely noticed the boy in the last year, he had been desperately trying not to notice the boy in the last year. He wore his usual black combat boots and ripped skinny jeans, a black tee under a red and black flannel shirt. There were leather bracelets at his wrist, a scattering of black rings and studs in his ears and rings on a couple of fingers. He had clearly been working hard on his body, he looked solid and wellbuilt, his arm muscles barely contained in his sleeves. His hair was shaved on one side of his head, the long dark brown curls falling in disarray on the other side. Finan had a vivid image in his mind of how good it would feel to pull the man's head back with a handful of those curls, exposing his throat to be kissed and bitten.
His throat, Sihtric’s throat, had a brand new, intensely black tattoo, covering it entirely. The black ink seemed to spread from a center mass just below the younger man’s Adam's apple, flaring out dramatically to either side like wings. Exactly like wings, Sihtric had a freshly tattooed raven covering the scars Finan knew had been visible at his throat.
Finan shook his head as if that could dislodge the thoughts he was currently having about the other man. He ran through the list he kept in his mind just for those moments. Sihtirc was Uhtred’s family, like a little brother. Sihtric was 10 years his junior. Sihtric had a traumatic and horrifying past, he didn’t need Finan creeping on him. Sihtric had only recently broken up with the mother of his children and was living his best bachelor life focusing on himself. Finan and Uhtred’s relationship was still recovering from Uhtred losing his wife and their relationship. Finan was sure Uhtred didn’t see Sihtric as a brother and would be totally open to the idea of Sihtric…No! Finan knew it was no use, he had a crush on Sihtric.
Beside him Uhtred’s mouth had dropped open and now he was laughing.
“Ohh Ragnar is going to kill you!” he laughed out while getting up and moving closer to Sihtric to get a better look.
Sihtric’s step faltered and his smile slipped a bit at this, the tattoo artist had tried to talk him out of the placement already today. He had been sure Ragnar wouldn’t mind, Ragnar himself had a vast collection of tattoo’s, as did Erik, Uhtred and Finan. Unlike Finan and Uhtred he didn’t have to follow the armed forces uniform rules, he worked at Ragnar and Erik’s private security and military contracting firm.
Uhtred noticed the reaction the man in front of him had and was quick to offer him reassurance.
“It’s beautiful, Sitty” Uhtred said as he reached out, gently moving Sihtric’s chin side to side to get a better look. “Without Farfar Ravn none of us would have ended up in England” he smiled at the younger man.
Sihtric’s face broke out in a wide smile at hearing Uhtred’s words, then his face reddened to match Finan’s blush from earlier when Uhtred ran his hand along Sihtric’s jaw and cupped the back of his head fondly.
Finan leant back in his chair watching the pair as they squabbled with Osferth when he returned with the drinks. Maybe, he thought happily, he was on to something with Uhtred feeling more than just affection for the boy as well after all.