6.

Ryan was the person who went to pick up Mike when he was finally released from the hospital. He brought him clean clothes to wear, took the scattered newspapers and magazines from the nightstand next to his hospital bed and acted like Mike's personal babysitter. Ryan had made it his mission to go to Mike's place the previous days and feed his dog; he even spent some time playing with it. He didn't miss the chance to look around - it was tidy, but there were some books left on the table in front of the TV in the living room and stains of coffee mugs underneath them. The surfaces of Mike's furniture were covered with a thin layer of dust, which was evidence enough that there was no one around most of the time. He expected to see photos on the shelves, but was surprised and a little bit disappointed not to find any.

Ryan was patiently waiting for Mike by the car, talking to Parker on the phone and confirming that he wasn't at the station because he was not letting Weston check out of the hospital and go home on his own. He still felt guilty for what had happened to the younger man in the first place.

Mike was walking slowly towards the car, his face was still blue and purple, but the important part was that he was healing.

The ride in the car was silent. Mike was resting his head on the window, staring at the quickly changing scenery, until he straightened up and spoke.

"Why did you come pick me up, Ryan?" He finally looked at the older man, who was pretending to be looking really hard at the road, trying to buy some time, because he was honestly asking himself the same question.

Why was he picking Mike up? Why did he spend every single day in that hospital chair, next to his bed, holding his hand, constantly fearing that one day Mike would fall asleep and never wake up again? Why did he go feed his dog? There must be some nice old lady who lives next door, he could've just asked around and found somebody to take care of it. But no, he did all that. All the while, working on the most important case in his entire life.

"Because...well, because I wanted to, Mike, what kind of a question is that?" He pretended to sound annoyed, hoping that would stop Weston's questions.

"Thank you, Ryan," the older man hummed in return, nodding his head curtly, happy for the conversation to be over. Mike rested his head on the cold window again and closed his eyes.

7.

Ryan realized pretty quickly that Mike was tougher that he looked on the outside. He seemed to be taking the "accident" pretty well. He was healed on the outside and he was healing on the inside, too. Ryan was still worried about him most of the time, but he knew that Mike would either be okay, or become like Ryan himself one day – fighting with his own demons, broken and not letting himself be happy. He hoped the latter wouldn't be the case.

They went back to their habit of spending their nights hanging out. Mike was on a break from the case, though, he was supposed to take a week off and then start working again. So instead of going to the motel, Mike invited Ryan to his apartment one evening. Then it became a regular thing.

"I think I've grown too fond of your dog," Ryan said, while taking a swig of beer, scratching the dog behind the ears. Mike smiled and watched him out of the corner of his eye. The TV was murmuring something in the background, filling the comfortable silence between them with some kind of noise. Ryan could sense Mike tensing; he was probably biting his tongue, trying not to say something that was bothering him. Ryan waited, he didn't want to push him.

"So I was wondering..." Mike finally cleared his throat, pausing in the middle of the sentence and letting it hang in the air between them until he gathered the courage to continue. "Are you doing this," he gestured with his hand, pointing to himself and then Ryan, "because you feel obligated somehow?"

If Ryan said he wasn't expecting this question, he'd be lying. He knew why he was spending so much time with the younger man, but he wasn't ready to admit it yet. It wasn't just the guilt anymore. No, it was more about the fear he felt these first few days when Mike was unconscious. Ryan was always wondering whether he'd wake up or not. He wasn't sure exactly when he started caring so much about his annoyingly curious and bright-eyed partner. He just felt the need to take care of him; he wanted to see Mike safe, out of harm's way.

"No, it's nothing like that. I just wanted to make sure you're doing fine, that's all," Ryan shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant.

"Well, I can't say I don't appreciate the company," Mike went back to watching TV and drinking beer.

Ryan left the apartment some hours later, after extracting himself carefully from the soundly asleep man on his shoulder. He tucked him in, turned off the TV and the lights and went out.

8.

A month or so after Mike started going to work again Ryan went to the younger man's desk, where he was working on his computer, and casually sat on the chair next to him.

"I can't make it to your place tonight," he stated simply.

"Why?" Mike asked, still looking at the screen and typing something, his fingers working quickly on the keyboard.

"I promised Jenny I'd go visit her, check on her and catch up," Mike's response was a quick, "Oh, okay, that's cool, I hope she's doing fine."

"Would you like to come with me?" The invitation was out of Ryan's mouth before he could think about it. He surprised even himself. That finally stopped Mike from typing and staring at the screen; he faced Ryan with a confused look on his face.

"You sure you want the company?"

Ryan nodded. He wasn't certain what this meant. The only person he'd ever introduced to Jenny was Claire and he was in love with her. Now he was inviting Mike to meet his sister. Before he could over think this whole situation, Mike was answering with an excited okay. Ryan fought the smile that was trying to light up his face.

"Great. When we're finished there I'll drive you home."

With that Ryan stood up and went back to work.

9.

The dinner with Jenny was going well until Mike excused himself to the restroom. That was her cue to start asking questions: Are you dating? What happened to Claire? Is she okay? So aren't you in love with her anymore? When did this happen?

"Okay, Jenny, calm down! We're not dating, but I," he has never been so embarrassed in his life. He took a deep breath, looked around for any sign of Mike and kept on talking, "yes, I have to admit I have feelings for him, but I can't just…tell him. You know me. I am not good with voicing my emotions."

"Then show him! Look, Ryan, listen to me this time. What you had with Claire was doomed before it started. I know you had strong feelings for her and that's why you left, but don't do this again. Don't walk away from your happiness, just this once. You deserve it. And honestly, he's so cute, I am almost jealous," she grinned at him, finished with her little speech. Ryan snorted, but let her words sink in.

Mike came back a moment later and they went back to their nice dinner.

10.

"I hope Jenny didn't scare you off," Ryan joked. They were in the car, driving to Mike's place to drop him off and call it a night.

"Oh no, she's so nice. Thanks for tonight," Mike's smile was so sincere and his eyes shone so brightly, even in the darkness surrounding them.

Ryan parked in front of Mike's apartment building and turned off the ignition.

"Well, thanks again for the dinner and the ride. Goodnight, Ryan," Mike started opening the door, but Ryan caught his arm and stopped him. He used the moment of surprise to pull Mike closer to him and kiss him. At first Mike didn't respond, but then Ryan felt his hand moving to his face, then his neck. Mike kissed him back, uncertainly, like he wasn't sure if this was really happening, like Ryan would pull away anytime now and tell him this was all a joke. Ryan deepened the kiss to show him that he was sure, he wanted this, he wanted Mike so much.

Mike broke the kiss and when Ryan opened his eyes he could see the stunned look on the younger man's face. His lips were still open in an 'o' shape, his eyes were wild with emotion and he was a little out of breath.

"What was that for?" He swallowed and in this moment, Ryan knew he should tell him, he should not let go of this chance.

"That was my way of telling you 'I'm sorry' for...before. I'm sorry I got so distant after that night in the hotel room. I was too scared that I was going to fuck this thing between us up too much so I pulled away. I thought it was for the best. I must have came off as an asshole," he cut off his rant, expecting for Mike to say something, anything. When he didn't get any response, he continued, "Do you think you could give me a chance to make this right this time?"

Mike was taken aback, his heart was beating fast and hard, he said yes so quickly that Ryan almost didn't hear it and then launched himself at Ryan and kissed him again.

"Come upstairs," Mike murmured against Ryan's lips and after years of denying himself happiness, Ryan thought screw it and whispered yesyesye sagainst Mike's lips.