"Let me talk to O'Neal." Now. He was getting tired, worried.
"You listen to me, Rick. You take care of him and if anything happens to him I'm going to make your life so fucking miserable. You and Simon both."
"You can't keep us separated!" The last was shouted, like Ken wasn't talking into the phone anymore.
"Hey. Everything on track?"
Simon sounded unflappable, calm, and he smiled. "No. I'm moving things up."
"Three?"
"Two. Can you?"
"Yep."
"You'll beat us. You're in charge of supplies." Simon chuckled. "Sure. I'm not buying beer." "Smokes aren't on the budget either, then." Prick.
"I'm shopping, not you. See you, Pat-baby." The phone went dead.
Bay moaned softly shifting. "When can I move him, Doc?"
"He's going to be a bit out of it the next couple of days while his body adjusts back to the meds. As long as you're
prepared in case he has another seizure, you can move him anytime."
The doctor wrote out a prescription. "It'll take a couple days for the Phenytek to kick in, but he may not have another seizure before it does. Keep him fed, make sure he gets enough sleep and isn't stressed and that'll help the chances of that not happening."
"Okay. I'll handle it." He handed over three hundred dollars. "Thanks for stopping by."
"Anytime."
The doctor left without so much as a backward glance at the kid.
Rick went over, looked down at Bay. "Hey, you awake, kiddo?"
Dark lids dragged up, Bay's eyes dull, sad. The kid frowned. "Where's Kenny?"
"He's with Simon, remember?" He sat down, hand sliding on Bay's arm. "The doctor was here. You had a seizure."
Tears filled Bay's eyes before they closed, Bay curling up. "Fuck."
"You have to tell me if you need meds, Bay."
"I'm sorry." Bay's voice was small, scared. "I want Kenny."
"We're going to go to him." Rick nodded. Security was already breeched; they needed to move.
"Was it bad?" Bay asked softly, those green eyes opening again.
"It was unexpected and a little unnerving, yeah."
"I need Ken to hold me." Bay shook a little. "My skin is crawling."
"Well, I'm not Ken, but I'm here." Fuck, but it was hard to be mad at the kid. He held his arms open, offering.
Bay pushed into his arms with a whimper. "I hate them. I hate them so much."
"Yeah, I bet. Doc said no stress, though, and I need you easy for the drive."
"We're really going to see Kenny?"
"Have I lied to you yet, Bay?" He rocked Bay nice and slow, keeping them close.
"No."
Bay rested against him, hands sliding under his T-shirt, stilling again as soon as they found skin.
He leaned close. "We're taking a big SUV, going up into the mountains. Simon and Ken will be there when we get there."
Bay smiled. "I miss him."
One thin hand reached up to stroke his face. "Nothing against you, Rick, but I feel... part of me is missing."
"Bay, I couldn't compete with my One True Thing's twin's ghost. I'm not hurt."
"So sad," murmured Bay, tugging him down and touching their lips together softly.
He didn't deepen the kiss, just kept the contact steady, strong.
Bay seemed content with that, pulling away after a moment or two, cuddling in, eyes drooping. "I like you, Rick. You almost feel as good as Ken."
"I'm glad to be a surrogate for a couple days."
"Not using you," Bay murmured, growing heavy in his arms. "Like you."
"I like you, too." The weird part was: it was the truth.
Chapter Seven
When Bay woke up the apartment was dark and he was alone. And he had to pee. He stumbled out of bed, holding onto the wall as he made his way to the bathroom.
He relieved himself and went looking for Rick, panicking when he couldn't find the bodyguard. He called Rick's name out a couple of times and went to the front door, tripping over the top step as he headed down. Rick wouldn't have abandoned him, he wouldn't have.
Warm hands grabbed him. "Bay? What did I tell you? You have to stay inside."
He wrapped his hands around Rick's arms, pressing against the tall, warm body. "I couldn't find you."
"I was getting your medicine." Rick walked him inside, petting him. "So you'll feel better."
"Eventually." He hated the pills, especially the first few days. "Did you get Phenytek? 'Cause the generic makes me sick."
"I did. I got a twelve-month supply, just in case."
That derailed him and he looked up into Rick's dark eyes. "A year?"
"Your father's telling everyone you've died. I don't think it will be that long, but I'm being safe."
Bay shivered, a ghost walking across his grave. He felt like
he should cross himself or something -- it didn't seem right saying he was dead when he wasn't really.
"Hey. I'll keep you safe, Bay. I will."
He nodded and buried his face in Rick's chest again, holding on. He felt safe in Rick's arms, knew Rick wouldn't let anything happen to him, not anything at all. "When are we going?" he finally asked.
"Tonight, when it's dark." Rick settled them down on the sofa. "It'll take us two days, give or take."
"Are you driving straight through?" he asked, curling automatically into Rick.
"No. We'll stop to sleep tomorrow." So strong, so sure -- Rick's voice relaxed him.
"Yeah? Cool." Maybe he'd feel good enough to make love tomorrow when they stopped. The pills made him feel wrong the first couple of days. Ken always made sure he didn't care.
"Should I take a pill now?" He hated taking them, but the seizures were worse.
"Yeah. I brought some soup and sandwiches and sodas, so you can eat, too."
"Not supposed to eat with them. So I'll take it and wait an hour, okay? If you start taking them with food you always have to." He rubbed against Rick, skin crawling. "Think I should have one real soon."
Rick opened a bottle, handed one over. "You want your drink?"
He nodded, taking it and holding his hand out for a pill. The drink was cold against his palm.
"Take your pill and we'll take a nap. Then we'll pack and go." He almost snorted. Pack. They each had two sets of clothes.
He dutifully took his pill. He wasn't sure he could sleep though, he was all jittery, like he'd been when they first got there, needing Ken, needing that touch, that presence. He pressed close to Rick, sliding his cheek against Rick's arm. Rick leaned back, settling him against the long body, cradling him. He burrowed under Rick's T-shirt, hands stroking over the muscled belly.
"Pills make me stupid, k? Just for a couple of days. I'm not, though."
"I'll help. You'll be okay. Before you know it? You'll be with Ken."
He nodded and pushed Rick's T-shirt up and off, rubbing his cheek against the warm skin. Rick's nipple peaked up and he slid his head back, finger stroking it idly.
"You're not well enough, pretty one."
"Want to touch you. Get touched," he murmured. He wasn't broken. Just tired. And he smiled as Rick's word's sank in. He turned and kissed Rick's nipple.
"Mmm..." Rick shivered, fingers stroking in his hair.
"I like your skin. Soft, warm." He rubbed his cheek against Rick again, hand sliding down to stroke the amazing belly.
"Thank you. You smell so good."
He sniffed himself, but didn't smell anything special. "What do I smell like?"
"Sex. Man." Rick shrugged. "You smell good."
He laughed softly and leaned up to kiss Rick. He was tired and he felt stiff and sore, but he wanted to feel good and Rick made him feel good. Rick's hands slid over his body, massaging, easing his aches. It felt like they kissed forever, tongues sliding slowly together, lips soft and warm against lips. They touched, Rick's fingers sliding over him, his exploring that chocolate skin.
Rick was warm, moaning, moving against him so slowly. His hand found Rick's cock, explored it, moved over it with dancing fingertips and then he wrapped his hand around it and started tugging, slowly, almost lazily.
"You need to rest..." Rick was purring, pushing into his hand.
"Okay." He kept tugging, hand moving a little faster as Rick's hips sped up. It made his breath catch, made heat slide along his spine, the look on Rick's face. His own cock throbbed, the back of his hand moving against the bulge in his pants.
"Oh. Oh, Bay. Pretty one. Damn." The words were moaned, whispered.
He kept watching Rick's face, kept stroking, hand wrapped around that long cock, his own hot and hard.
"Oh, fuck. Bay. I'm close."
He nodded. "Gonna watch you come."
"Oh..." Rick arched, throat working, so beautiful.
He slid his free hand down into his own pants, tugging as he stroked Rick off, eyes wide so he didn't miss a moment of Rick's orgasm when it came. Heat splashed over his fingers, Rick moaning low, eyes so dark. He watched for a moment longer, pleasure soft and insistent along his own spine and then he was coming, with no effort at all. It was a warm, pleasurable feeling going through him.
His eyes closed and he fell asleep, both hands still wrapped around Rick's heat.
***
Simon moved through the farmhouse, packing, smoking, ranting.
Goddamn. Those kids kept keeping secrets, complicating things. And damn it, he'd been enjoying playing with Ken.
He shoved clothes into bags, taking the odds and ends they needed. "If you want to take any of those movies, grab them."
Ken had been quiet since the call, moping, curled up on a chair and staring out the window. "Where are we going? Bay needs me."
"North. Mountains. Get off your ass and help." If the kids had let them know Bay was sick...
Ken got up, hands on his hips. "And Bay? Is Bay going to be there? 'Cause he doesn't sleep when I'm not there, he doesn't eat well and even with the meds, he tends to be off without me. You're the fucking assholes who insisted on separating us."
"We'll get there a day before they will. And
if
he's not well it's your fucking fault for not letting anyone know." He really didn't have time for this shit.
"It's nobody's fucking business! Nobody asked us what we wanted to bring along, we were taken. Fucking kidnapped!"
He stopped, looked over. "Do you or do you not remember the explosion that hit your bedroom?"
Ken gave him a pout, voice petulant when he answered. "You had a bag with all
your
stuff in it all ready to go."
"And were there clothes in it that fit you?" They made their bug-out bags special for each job.
"Nothing I would have chosen." Which might explain why the kid went naked most of the time.
He rolled his eyes and kept packing. Little shit.
Ken started pacing, walking around the room, stopping to pick things up and put them back down again. "I hate this. I fucking hate it and if anything happens to Bay I'm killing you and Rick and then dealing with the old man myself."
"I'd like to see you try."
"Anything happens to Bay and you will." Ken got right up in his face, green eyes bright and fierce.
He grabbed Ken's wrists, backed the kid up. "You mouth is writing checks your ass can't cash."