Cut and Run 1 - Cut and Run

patted him on the head.
    Zane nodded, feeling drowsy for the first time in a long while without the help of copious amounts of alcohol.
    "Take off those nasty jeans before you get your ass in my clean sheets,” Ty warned. Zane disrobed obediently as Ty watched him, leaving only his briefs to sleep in, then Ty stepped back and nodded for him to get into bed. “Fucking later,” he promised with a tired smile.
    Zane grunted at him and crawled over the foot of the bed and slid down to lay on his belly with a soft sigh, not even bothering to reach for a pillow. Ty stood watching him for a moment, then walked over to the door and flipped off the light before crawling in after him.
    "You'll be here?” Zane asked sleepily, shifting one hand to just barely touch Ty's arm.
    "If I'm not, look on the balcony,” Ty answered softly as he rolled onto his side and slid his hand over Zane's back.
    The other man hummed softly and dropped quickly off to sleep. With his eyes closed, the shadows and thinness of his face became more pronounced. Ty sighed softly as he looked over him.
    There was an obvious familiarity to this situation. Except before, their roles had been reversed, and Ty hadn't yet been forced to resort to substances to keep his sanity. He reached up and ran his fingertips down the side of Zane's face with a frown. There wasn't much to be done for him, either, nothing that Zane wouldn't resent.
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Chapter Eleven
    Zane managed to sleep a couple hours before the dreams and the shakes woke him with a startled gasp. He sat up quickly, reaching for the gun that wasn't there, looking around in confusion. The man in bed beside him groaned in response to the bouncing of the mattress and flopped onto his side. Seeing that, Zane remembered where he was and why, and his heart started to calm. He looked down at Ty, though he couldn't see much in the dark. He glanced to the clock and sighed. Two damn hours. He was wide awake now with little chance of more sleep.
    He scooted up to lean against the headboard and stare off into the dark, trying to order his thoughts. A day ago, he would have hit a bottle. Now ... he pulled one knee up to his chest and sighed.
    "It's harder to go back to sleep when you're sitting up, numbnuts,” Ty muttered sleepily without moving or opening his eyes.
    A smile pulled at Zane's lips. “I didn't realize that, thanks,” he murmured, reaching out to smooth a hand through Ty's hair. It was comforting to have him there, though Zane wouldn't have admitted it aloud. Although, he figured, he'd already said it in a way, hadn't he?
    Ty swatted at him grumpily and muttered again, tossing an arm over Zane's lap as he sat there beside him. He rested his face against Zane's hip and sighed sleepily. Settling his hand in Ty's hair again, Zane petted him gently as he let his head loll back. No more drink; it would be hard to get to sleep at night, hard to gear down. He'd probably be a worse mess in the morning, and Ty sure wasn't going to tolerate him popping pills to wake up and stay up. He winced. He should get that other tin out of his jacket before Ty had reason to find it.
    "Go to sleep,” Ty muttered against his hip. “And stop thinking about drinking."
    Zane thumped his shoulder. “Bastard,” he cursed quietly before allowing himself to slump. He stilled and calmed, looking at the dark shadow of the man curled up against him. It didn't seem like they'd spent enough time together all those months ago to have developed this sort of comfort, but it was there nonetheless.
    "C'mon,” Ty muttered as he lifted his head and scooted back, patting the bed next to him.
    "Ty,” Zane said tiredly. It wouldn't work. As soon as he went back to sleep he'd wake right back up. Too much time spent on a hair trigger. But he didn't want to keep Ty awake, so he slid down and turned to his side, facing him, and laid his head down.
    "Roll over,” Ty ordered in a hoarse, sleepy voice as he slid his arm under Zane's head. He gave his shoulder a push for good measure.
    Frowning, Zane let him push him to his back. Ty manhandled him until he was on his side again, facing away, and Ty snuggled against him. He wrapped his arm over Zane protectively and nuzzled his nose into Zane's hair with a sigh.
    "Sleep,” he whispered soothingly, knowing if Zane didn't, then he wouldn't either. It was impossible for him to rest with a tense body next to him.
    Zane laid there for a long moment, surprised, but he