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Home. A four letter word that means so much more; a place to feel safe, to be warm, to be loved.
Kick never had one when he was growing up. His mother had taken off, his brother abused his trust, and he never felt safe around his father, not with all his side comments about people like him. As soon as he was old enough, he took off, south towards Mexico, intending to get lost in a sea of people and culture.
It worked for a while. He found a girl, thought he was in love, made some friends. He finally thought he was closer to making that home, only to find himself knocked off his feet, the rug pulled out from under him again.
After literally stumbling into the Ghosts, it took a long time for him to get comfortable with the team, to accept the brotherly bond that Ajax and Keegan were offering, and to accept the safety that the team so freely granted. Once he settled in, he was happy. He had found his home.
Until Rorke came along and took his brothers away, one by one.
Kick never blamed Hesh for going after Rorke that day, only wishing that he had been by his side. He was by Hesh’s side the next time they tried, and that time, they were successful. But while dead bodies tell no lies, they don’t tell anything else either, and so the next few years, they searched, hunting down any hint, tracking down any clue related to Logan but ended up with nothing.
Kick knew that to this day, that Hesh believed Logan was alive. There were times that Kick wished he still believed that too, but his hope had disappeared a long time ago. But Hesh had finally taken the steps towards healing too.
They both decided to retire from service. It had been a bit harder for Hesh, having planned on staying in the military longer term, just like his father. The only thing that had Kick staying around in the first place was the team itself, and the Ghosts were a shell of what had existed before; Merrick and Keegan retiring not long after they lost Logan. Neptune was now the last soldier standing.
It had taken them a while to find the right house; Hesh wanting some distance from town, Kick wanting a large enough garage for all his toys, and both of them wanting to have a handful of spare rooms to have the rest of the team over.
But here they were, standing at the foot of their sidewalk, two sets of keys securely in each of their hands, staring at each other almost in disbelief.
“Ready?” Kick asked Hesh, reaching out to grab his hand.
“I still can’t believe we have a house,” Hesh replied with a grin, leaning in to plant a kiss on Kick’s cheek.
Kick allowed Hesh to go first, falling in behind him as they headed towards the front door, only to find himself smacking against Hesh’s back as his partner stopped abruptly.
“Uhh...Hesh? Why’d you stop?” Kick asked, trying to peer around his partner’s broad shoulders.
“Did you buy those flowers?” Hesh asked, sounding alarmed as he pointed at the large pot of sunflowers that were sitting on the front step.
“N-no?” Kick replied, looking at his partner curiously, unsure why Hesh was seeming concerned.
“They were mom’s favourite flowers…” Hesh said softly, almost a whisper as he bent down by the pot, his fingers flickering through the leaves, as if he was looking for something. “Dad always made sure to get some for her birthday.”
Kick’s eyes flickered to the surrounding area, quickly scanning for signs that anyone was around, or that anyone had been around. His mind was telling him that they had to have been left by their agent, or the previous owners, but there was something about the whole set up that left him feeling unmoored.
“Sorry,” Hesh muttered, standing back up suddenly, sliding his arm around Kick’s waist. “Got a bit side tracked there. Ready to have sex in every room?” Hesh asked with a wink, his hand sliding lower to squeeze Kick’s butt.
Kick grinned in response, sliding out of Hesh’s grip to make a dash for the door, any concern about the sunflowers long forgotten.
“First one in tops!”