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Esposito was finally able to sit after one of the longest couple of days of his life, even though the physical act of sitting was still painful. He grumbled as he shifted into a more comfortable position and the pain in his right ass cheek receded. He leaned back in his recliner and picked up his remote, switching on the tv and channel surfing. He’d just settled on some random sitcom, when he heard a knock on the door.
Cursing all the gods that had inflicted this day on him, Esposito reached for his cane and slowly heaved himself out of his chair. He then took a second to let the pain go back to a dull ache before hobbling over to the door.
He looked through the peephole and was filled with slight anger. He half wanted to tell his partner to get out of here before he did something else stupid, but even through a peephole, Esposito could see the worry plain in his partner’s damn baby blue eyes. He took a step back and opened the door, trying to keep a stony expression on and willing himself not to break under Ryan’s gaze, though one look told him he was going to end up forgiving the bastard before the night was over.
Esposito was more than surprised when Ryan took a step back instead of attempting to come in to talk about it, as Esposito had assumed he would.
“Hi.” Ryan said softly.
“Hey.” Esposito said, leaning heavily on his cane.
“I, uh…” Ryan swallowed and looked away. “I won’t come in.” He said. “I don’t want to cause any more damage.”
Esposito instantly wanted to tell him it was okay and he hadn’t caused any damage at all and that it had clearly been too many mere accidents, but he held his ground and tried not to think about the fact that his partner had, only hours ago, bent over in front of Esposito with his ass in the air- Mind out of the gutter, Espo, you’re wearing sweatpants.
Ryan chewed some skin off his lip, the way he always did when he was nervous, and finally looked back up at his partner. “I just… I came by to say… I’m sorry.” He said, clearly trying to put as much feeling into his words as possible.
Esposito’s mouth twitched ever so slightly as he fought the urge to break too soon.
“I guess…” Ryan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Damn him. “I guess on some level I was jealous, you know? I really thought I was going to pass the exam, and it was just a huge disappointment. But you gotta know I didn’t mean to shoot you, Javi. I really didn’t. I thought you were the guy and I was just going to stop him from running any more and I didn’t realize it was you, and you know I wouldn’t do that on purpose. And I also didn’t mean to… kick your cane out from under you, I really was just trying to give you a hug.” He looked away again. “I think me not passing was just… karma because I took the last slot for the exam and left you out of it. I-I’m a selfish… ass.” He sighed and then looked back up. “I’m sorry.” He said.
Esposito needed to stop his rambling before the man started crying, because if Ryan started crying, Esposito was done for. “I forgive you.” He said.
Ryan’s eyes widened ever so slightly. “You… you what?”
Esposito shrugged. “I forgive you.”
“I… Why?” Ryan was clearly taken aback.
“Because you’re my partner.” Esposito said simply. “And you’re human. I probably would’ve done the same thing.”
But Ryan was already shaking his head before Esposito finished his sentence. “No you wouldn’t.” He said softly. “You trusted me to look into it and sign us both up, and I lied to you about it. And it’s only coincidence that Beckett was able to get us both slots. And you sure as hell wouldn’t have shot me.” Ryan ran a hand through his hair again. “I’m really sorry.” He said. He gave Esposito one last look before turning swiftly and walking down the hall.
“Kevin!” Esposito called after him. “Come back! I don’t have the energy to chase you down the hall.”
Ryan stopped and hesitated before turning around to look at his partner.
“Come inside.” Esposito said.
“But… why aren’t you mad at me?”
“I was.” Esposito shrugged. “Maybe I still am a little. But, Kev, you didn’t do anything that bad. Pretty much all of this was an accident. And I think, once I can no longer feel any pain, I’ll forget all about it. Now come inside, standing this long is exhausting.”
Ryan jogged back over to the door. “You need any help?” He asked.
“I’m alright.” Esposito reassured. “I can make it to a chair pretty easy.”
He slowly hobbled back to his recliner and gingerly sat down. Ryan had followed him inside and shut the door, but then just stood there looking awkward.
Esposito looked over at him and raised an eyebrow. “Uh, you gonna just stand there or are you gonna take a seat and watch crappy tv with me?”
“I…”
“Kevin, sit your ass in the chair.”
Ryan took off his coat and slumped down in Esposito’s other recliner.
There was no reason for Esposito to have two, except that Ryan was always over and needed a place to sit when they played Madden. Esposito had gone out and bought a second recliner just for that purpose. He of course told Ryan he got a deal on it at a second hand store, but the chair had actually been brand new.
The awkward air began to thin as they started to discuss the stupid sitcom and analyze how dumb the characters were. At one point, Ryan stood to grab them both a beer from Esposito’s fridge and, within a half hour, they were back to normal.
With Esposito taking medication, he was only allowed very limited alcohol, but Ryan seemed to be going for some kind of record. Esposito knew it was probably that Ryan still felt like crap about what happened and was trying to forget. But he let him drink it away, because sometimes a guy just needs to get drunk.
“Okay,” Esposito said, once Ryan was very drunk and it was quite late. “Time for bed.”
Ryan gave him a goofy smile. “Are you taking me to bed, Javi?” He slurred.
Esposito sighed. How was it that he was the one injured and he still ended up taking care of his partner? In any other circumstance, he would be happy to carry Ryan’s drunken ass to the spare bedroom (Did Espo need two bedrooms? No. Was he renting a two bedroom apartment so his partner could spend the night often? Maybe.), but tonight Esposito was barely going to be able to hobble to his own bedroom. So, instead, he slowly stood and held out a hand. “Yes, Kev. Come on, I can’t carry you this time.”
Ryan instantly brought out the puppy eyes again and Esposito tried not to melt. “That’s right.” Ryan said. “And it’s my fault.”
He looked like he was about to cry again, so Esposito interrupted. “No, no, it’s okay. Remember? I forgave you.”
But that didn’t seem to help. “Because you’re the best partner ever.” Ryan said, his voice cracking.
“I know, I know. I’m awesome.” Esposito said, still holding out his hand to try and at least attempt to pull his partner to his feet.
“No, no. I can do it.” Ryan hefted himself out of the chair and then swayed a bit. “I’m the one who needs to put you to bed.” He declared.
“Ryan, you can barely stand.” Esposito said.
“I’m fine.” Ryan said. “Here, put your arm around me. I’m going to take care of my partner.” He lifted one of Esposito’s arms and draped it around his shoulders.
Esposito knew it was going to be harder to resist, so he let Ryan “carry” him to bed. It was the clumsiest and most awkward way to ever be put to bed, but Esposito would do anything to avoid making Ryan cry again, so he let Ryan think he was helping, even though he was just making everything more difficult.
They hobbled into Esposito’s bedroom and Ryan was set on helping him into pajamas when he realized Esposito was already in pajamas. So, instead, he made Esposito get comfortable and then pulled the comforter over him.
“Goodnight, Javi.” Ryan said. He leaned down and kissed Esposito on the forehead, leaving Esposito in stunned silence, before straightening up and stumbling around to the door.
Esposito had planned to go check on Ryan after a bit to make sure he’d made it to the bed and hadn’t passed out in the hall or something, but a second later, he felt Ryan flop onto the bed next to him and start breathing slowly.
Esposito moved to look over at him and suppressed the urge to laugh at the still form of his partner, all ruffled in his suit with one arm at a weird angle and his legs spread out. Esposito sighed and threw the covers off himself. There was no way he was getting Ryan out of his bed, so instead he crossed over to the other side and began disrobing his partner just enough so he could sleep comfortably. He began with his shoes, not all that excited about having shoes on his bed in the first place. Then he gingerly sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Ryan up into a sitting position so he could remove his suit coat and tie. He undid a couple buttons at the top and the cuffs and then decided Ryan could sleep in that shirt. He moved to the pants, a wave of relief washing over him at the sight of Ryan in boxers. He thanked whoever was out there that Ryan never went commando, but then felt a bit bad at all the times Ryan had done this same thing for Esposito when he was going commando.
Shaking his head of the thought, Esposito threw Ryan’s pants aside and then pulled the blanket over the sleeping detective. He sighed and thought about hobbling over to the guest room (Oh who was he kidding, it was Ryan’s room), but instead decided it wasn’t worth it and got into the bed next to his partner. He reached over to turn off the lamp and suddenly felt Ryan’s arms reaching over to hug Esposito around the middle from behind.
“I’m sorry, Javi.” Ryan said softly, burying his face in Esposito’s back.
Esposito didn’t know if he was half asleep, still drunk, or both, but he smiled and patted Ryan’s arms that had settled around his chest. “I know, Kev.” He said.
“Hey, Javi?” Ryan said.
“Yeah?”
“Congratulations, Sergeant Esposito.”
Esposito, slowly so as not to hurt himself, rolled over so he could face his partner. He smiled. “Thanks.”
~.~.~
Esposito was once again settled in his chair flipping through channels and waiting for his partner to wake up. He was in the middle of a bowl of cereal when he heard shuffling and a second later he saw his partner holding his clothes and shoes, except for his pants which he’d put back on. He stepped around the chair so he could look at Esposito who smiled through a mouthful of cereal.
“I… I guess I’ll… get going.” Ryan said softly.
“Where are you going?” Esposito asked.
Ryan gave him a confused expression. “I was thinking home.” He replied.
“Oh.” Esposito looked back at the tv. “I was hoping you’d want to hang out. I mean, I’m stuck sitting here on my sore ass all day, I’d like some company.”
Ryan clearly wasn’t expecting that answer. “I… I didn’t think you’d want me here.”
“What makes you think that?”
Ryan hesitated. “I shot you in the ass, Javi.”
“A fact of which I’m well aware.” Esposito turned his head to look at him. “And I plan on getting you back. But I gotta wait until I’m all healed up.”
Ryan had absolutely no idea what Esposito was talking about and looked back over to the door.
“Kev.” Esposito used his cane to stand with a few grunts and sharp pains, but was eventually able to step over to where Ryan stood, still gripping his clothes. “What’s it going to take for you to believe me when I say I forgive you?”
Ryan sighed and looked away. “I don’t know.” He said. “I just… I wouldn’t forgive me. I’d have been so mad at you. Except you never would have done it in the first place because you’re not like that, and I just-”
“Kevin.” Esposito interrupted. He put a hand to Ryan’s cheek and smiled slightly. “Shut up.” He said in a soft voice.
Ryan seemed to be gripping onto his clothes for dear life as he looked up at his partner.
Still leaning heavily on his cane, Esposito inched forward slowly, using his hand on Ryan’s cheek to pull him closer. Their breath was hot as they stood close together, the smell of Javi’s cereal mixing with Ryan’s alcohol. A second later, Ryan’s eyes fluttered shut and he closed the gap.
The kiss was somewhere between light and desperate. Ryan immediately dropped the items he was holding and wrapped his arms around Esposito’s middle, half to be closer and half to help hold him up as he was sure standing was difficult.
Esposito pulled away and smiled down at his partner. “There.” He said softly. “Did that convince you?”
Ryan closed his eyes and lightly lowered his forehead to Esposito’s shoulder. “You are a way better man than I am.” He murmured.
“Quit putting yourself down.” Esposito said, using one hand to hold Ryan closer as the other was preoccupied with a cane. “Or I’ll kiss you again.”
Ryan looked up at him and smiled. “Is that a promise?”
In answer, Esposito kissed him again.
The kiss wasn’t as long as the last one as Esposito lost a little balance and stumbled slightly.
“You should sit down.” Ryan said, after helping him stand straight.
“But I want to kiss you more.” Esposito protested.
“Well, no one said we have to do that standing.” Ryan gave him a smile before helping him back over to his chair.
Once Esposito was settled, Ryan gave a half smile and straddled him, adjusting his position and making sure he wasn’t inflicting any pain. When he was given the all clear, he leaned down and captured Esposito’s lips in a hungry kiss, bracing himself so he could hover over him without putting too much pressure on his lap.
In any other circumstance, pressure on Esposito’s lap would be a good thing, but the last thing Ryan wanted to do was kill the mood by hurting his partner… again.
Esposito had his hands on Ryan’s back and moved them down slowly to his ass, squeezing slightly.
“You know.” Esposito said breathlessly. “When you told me I could pop you one in the ass, what exactly did that mean?”
Ryan snorted. “It can mean whatever you want it to.” He said softly, kissing Esposito again.
“I think I know what I want it to mean.” Esposito replied.
“I’ll tell you what.” Ryan bit his lip and smiled. “When your body is healed, I’ll let you pop one in my ass.”
“It’s a deal.” Esposito kissed him hard.
“Mmm, not too fast, Sergeant.” Ryan pulled away slightly. “You’re injured.”
“Ooh, say that again.” Esposito moaned.
Ryan leaned down for a soft kiss. “Sergeant.” A kiss. “Javier.” Another kiss. “Esposito.” He sealed his mouth over Esposito’s for yet another heated kiss, but Esposito only let it go on for a few seconds before pulling away.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” He asked.
“With what?”
“Me passing the exam.”
Ryan shrugged. “It’s an amazing opportunity. I’m happy for you.”
“Yeah, but what about you?”
Ryan smiled softly and leaned down to give him another kiss. “This isn’t about me. Tonight, we celebrate you. Congratulations, Sergeant Esposito.” He kissed him once more.