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If there was one thing Zane Garrett knew for sure, it was the fact that there was never a dull moment with the Grady family. He couldn’t remember a time he and Ty had gone up to visit the Gradys, and Zane had actually spent a single second feeling bored.
There were plenty of quiet moments, though, which Zane never would have expected after the first few time he came with Ty to West Virginia. After dinner-lounging was Zane’s favourite part of being with the Gradys. They all gathered in the living room; Earl and Mara on the loveseat, Deuce in Earl’s armchair with Livi on his lap, Chester in his rocking chair with one arm around Amelia and the other around his shovel, while Ty and Zane had taken up residency on the couch.
It was mostly quiet in the living room – nothing but soft, quiet murmurs between them breaking the silence. Zane’s arm was around Ty’s shoulders and his husband was leaning his back against Zane’s side, feet dangling over the arm of the couch as he played with the fingers of Zane’s hand that was draped over his shoulder. He felt completely at peace.
Mara excused herself, promising to be bring back refreshments, but when she returned mere minutes later, she wasn’t carrying drinks.
She was carrying a stack of what looked like thick, old photo albums and a grin on her face as she headed towards the couch.
Ty sat up in alarm, eyeing the photo albums as if they had personally offended him, before shifting that look up to his mother. “Ma…” He began.
Mara ignored him as she took a seat by Zane’s other side, laying the albums on the coffee table and patting Zane’s arm.
“How would you like to see some pictures of Ty when he was young and cute, honey?” She asked him, and Zane righted himself instantly, delight written across his face as his eyes widened and his lips curved up into a smile.
“I’d love to, ma’am.” Zane said, risking a glance at Ty, who was glaring at him.
“Ma, come on, he doesn’t want to see those.” Ty complained, and there was a definite hint of pleading in that tone of voice that made it hard for Zane to fight the sudden urge to snicker.
Mara reached behind Zane and swatted the back of her son’s head with a huff.
“Don’t you talk nonsense for your husband, Beaumont.” She chastised, as she sat back in the couch and pulled Zane closer to join her, an album on her lap. Ty glared at them both, and Zane sent him a grin that wasn’t even a little apologetic.
“Now, Zane, honey, this is Ty just an hour after he was born.” Mara said, as she opened the album and pointed to one of the pictures on the first page. He was wrapped in a blue baby blanket, cradled in a younger Mara’s arms. Mara was smiling, and baby Ty was staring up at her, eyes wide with wonder. His face was unusually pink, and Zane was about to question it when Mara barrelled on.
“Wasn’t even screaming when he came out. Little thing had his umbilical cord wrapped twice around his neck, as if he was trying to keep himself from coming out. Stubborn from the first second, this one.”
Mara’s voice was fond as she spoke, and Zane risked a glance at Ty, who had his head tossed back against the back of the couch and was muttering several quiet curses to himself, a flush high on his cheeks.
Zane returned his attention to the pictures.
“First time being held by his daddy,” Mara said, pointing to another picture. This one was of a much younger version of Earl holding Ty in his arms. Earl was grinning at the camera, and Ty was mid-wail. “First sound he made and it was all his daddy’s fault.”
There was a protest from Earl at that, but Mara waved him off, not at all interested in anything or anyone that wasn’t showing Zane Ty’s baby pictures. Zane had to bite back a snicker, and nodded as Mara flipped the page. There were several more pictures like that; of Ty with his parents, his grandparents. There was even one of baby Ty in his hospital crib with Chester’s shovel propped up against it. Zane couldn’t hold back his chuckle at that.
Mara kept flipping through the pages, pointing to certain pictures and telling the story behind them. Pictures of Ty’s first birthday, his first tooth, the first time he rolled over. Apparently, once he’d discovered how to do that, Ty had taken to rolling from place to place. Even after he’d learned how to crawl he still preferred to roll, and Zane couldn’t explain why that felt so fitting to him.
There was one of Ty on a pony when he was around three years old, with Earl standing next to him, and the look on Ty’s face was absolutely horrified as he sat on the small horse, gripping the reins as if they were a lifeline.
“Never were one for horses, were you?” Zane asked with a chuckle, as he leaned over to plant a kiss to Ty’s cheek. The skin was warm against his lips, and Ty scowled at him as he pulled away. Zane patted his head affectionately.
Mara took him through several more pictures, and several more albums. The photos showed Ty’s life from birth and until his high school graduation. The one of Ty in a very thorough cowboy costume, surrounded by what appeared to be classmates dressed in costumes of their own raised a lot of questions in Zane’s head, but before he could ask any of them, Mara was turning the page, moving on.
Looking at all these pictures gave Zane a look into Ty’s life that he hadn’t gotten before, and he felt warmth spreading from his very core. There were pictures missing, though, from every few pages, and Zane’s analytical mind wasn’t capable of not picking up on that.
“Are there pictures missing from these?” Zane asked, pointing at a blank part of an otherwise full page in the second photo album. The outline of a photograph having once been there was still visible, and Zane couldn’t help but ask.
Ty glanced over at the page, and his face fell as Mara cleared her throat, but didn’t speak.
“We removed all the pictures that had Richard Burns in them,” Earl said, his voice strong and firm in the otherwise silent room. Zane moved his eyes to look at him, eyebrows raised. Earl wasn’t looking at him, though; he wasn’t looking at Ty. “Ain’t want no reminders of a bastard who used my son and my son’s husband for his own wrong-doin’, and then tried to kill them.”
Zane was silent, as were the rest of the room, until Ty rose to his feet.
“Excuse me.” He murmured, as he walked out of the living room and continued out through the front door.
They all watched him go, and Deuce was about to get up when Zane held up his hand, stopping him and standing himself.
“I’ve got it.” He assured them, before following his husband’s path.
When he stepped out onto the front porch, the crisp winter air bit at his skin, and Zane shoved his hands into his pockets. He could see Ty in the driveway, leaning against Zane’s truck, face turned upwards and his eyes closed. Zane inhaled deeply, then approached his husband, not trying to silence his steps as he walked slowly across the gravel.
Ty didn’t open his eyes; merely inclined his head slightly to acknowledge Zane’s presence.
“You okay?” Zane asked, as he moved to lean against the car by Ty’s side.
Ty shrugged, inhaling deeply, as if steeling himself, before he cracked his eyes open. “Yeah. Just caught me off-guard.”
Zane nodded, shifting his weight, eyes trained on his husband’s profile. He knew Ty could feel Zane’s eyes on him, but he didn’t turn his head, just kept staring up at the dark sky. Silence settled between them, and Zane gave it a minute, then two, until he decided that Ty wasn’t going to continue speaking. Turning around, Zane shifted closer – close enough to place a hand on Ty’s shoulder.
“It’s okay to miss him, you know.” He said.
Ty’s head whipped around at that, and he stared at his husband with wide eyes. It was clear as day that he wanted to argue – to deny that he missed Richard Burns – but no words came out. A moment later, Ty’s shoulders slumped and he lowered his head, shaking it and inhaling deeply.
“He used me. Used us. He wanted to kill you, Zane.” Ty’s voice was barely above a whisper as he spoke. Zane watched him, careful and silent, as he tried to gauge Ty’s state of mind right now. There were moments in which Ty wanted to be held and comforted, and there were times in which it was better to just give him space. Now seemed like one of those times where distance wasn’t the best option, though.
Taking a deep breath, Zane moved his hand so he could pull Ty into his arms, one hand settling at the base of Ty’s spine, the other cupping the back of his husband’s head. Ty nearly melted into his hold, head falling to rest on Zane’s shoulder; face turning to burrow against the side of the other man’s neck.
“I know, baby,” Zane breathed, tightening his hold on Ty. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t miss the version of him that was there through your childhood. The one you saw as a father figure. The one who loved you.”
When Ty next exhaled, it felt as if he was releasing a knot deep inside of him that had just continued to get bigger and bigger the more he’d ignored him and, as always, Zane was right there with him as he let it go.
“I’m sorry.” Ty whispered, the words barely audible due to their volume and how they were muffled against Zane’s skin.
“Hey, no,” Zane said immediately, pulling back and nudging Ty’s head up until the man had no choice but to look at him. “Don’t you ever apologise for how you feel, alright? You’re right to feel whatever the hell it is you might be feeling, even towards a man who turned out to be evil.” He went on, his tone carrying an underlying tone of conviction that Ty couldn’t ignore.
He stared at his husband, blinking, and if Zane noticed the mistiness in his husband’s eyes, he didn’t let it on.
“No matter what that man might have been planning to do to us, no matter what he did do to us, there was also a point in which he meant a hell of a lot to you, Tyler. Don’t you ever be ashamed of missing that.”
Ty kissed him as soon as Zane had gotten the last word out, hard and desperate, and full of all the relief and sadness that had been running through him since the moment he’d been reminded of Richard Burns. Zane kissed him back; taking everything Ty had to give him and giving just as much of himself in return. They didn’t need words – not when they could communicate their emotions just as easily simply by letting their lips move together.
It seemed like an eternity had passed before their lips finally parted, and both men were breathing heavily, foreheads resting together. Ty’s arms were around the back of Zane’s neck, and Zane had his wound tight around Ty’s waist.
“I love you so fucking much. You know that?” Ty whispered, drawing a quiet puff of laughter out of Zane.
“I should hope so, seeing you married me.”
Ty snorted, swatting at Zane’s arm. Zane caught his wrist, bringing his hand to his lips and kissing the other man’s knuckles, a gesture so intimate that it set Ty’s heart racing.
“I love you too, Beaumont,” Zane whispered, brushing his lips against the skin of Ty’s hand. “Now let’s go inside, hm? It’s fucking freezing out here.”
Ty barked a laugh and nodded, allowing Zane to twine their fingers together and lead the way back towards the house. After a few steps of silence, Zane nudged Ty’s arm with his elbow. “So… You wanna explain that cowboy costume?”
“Nope.” Ty said instantly, releasing Zane’s hand and bolting for the front door before his husband could ask him any more questions; Zane’s bellowing laugh following behind.