Cut and Run 1 - Cut and Run

off. Priss,” he offered with a small smile.
    Zane's eyes sparkled and he laid his hand over his propped-up knee. “Who are you callin’ Priss, Mr. Suited Up and Shiny?” he taunted.
    "If this is going to resort to name-calling, I've already got you beat, Spanky,” Ty warned with a smirk.
    "How do you figure that, Jarhead?” Zane replied.
    "'Cause I rock,” Ty explained in an even voice. “And you don't,” he continued as he pointed at Zane, pinky finger held out to the side daintily as if he were drinking tea.
    Smirking, Zane sat up, grabbed Ty and dragged him down onto the bed and under his bigger body. “I'd poke you, but you'd beat the shit out of me."
    Ty flailed briefly before he was pinned, and he blinked up at Zane suspiciously as he flexed his fingers under Zane's grip. “Power trip,” he accused softly.
    Zane waggled his eyebrows. “I gave you a chance to come peacefully."
    "You're easily distracted, aren't you?” Ty deadpanned.
    "Not really,” Zane said smoothly, dragging one hand down Ty's chest. “I'm still focused on you."
    Ty shivered as Zane's fingers raised goose bumps all over his body. “And that is the crux of our problem,” he reminded softly.
    "Problem?” Zane echoed, his hand continuing its descent.
    "All kinds of problems,” Ty affirmed. He reached up with the hand Zane had left free and smacked the bigger man gently on the side of the head. “Focus,” he chastised.
    Zane screwed up his face before looking down at Ty seriously. “You're not a problem. Not to me."
    "Sure I am,” Ty argued. “We know the bare minimum about each other, and correct me if I'm wrong, that's just the way we want it. We know we want to take each other to bed, but we don't have much else to go on. To me, that spells all kinds of problems,” he pointed out gently. “I didn't say I was complaining,” he added.
    "Grady.... “Zane groaned and rolled to his side, then curled one arm around his partner's waist. “I'm not trying to pick a fight here, but what do you propose we do about it? Neither one of us is all that good at talking. In fact, I'd say we suck spectacularly at talking."
    "How about you stop asking so many questions,” Ty suggested. “And I'll start giving a damn when you look like you need a hug,” he added cheekily.
    "You already give a damn,” Zane chanced.
    Ty merely smiled, his lips twitching as if he was trying not to. Zane grinned and stole a kiss.
    "Shut up,” Ty muttered before jabbing Zane in the ribs gently and rolling out of his grasp.
    Restraining the urge to yank Ty back into his arms, Zane instead let go and just lay there watching him. Ty sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, then cocked his head and stared at the far wall thoughtfully.
    "What are you afraid of?” he asked after nearly a minute of silence.
    That silence extended as Zane struggled with what to say. “Not being there,” he finally murmured.
    Ty turned his head slightly to look back over his shoulder. “Not being where?” he asked in confusion.
    Zane looked haunted. “I wasn't there when Becky was killed. I wasn't there when my first partner went stupid and drove home drunk. And I lost them both."
    "Yeah?” Ty responded unsympathetically. “I was there when my partner was shot and killed,” he said quietly. “I even took the bullet just like he did,” he said as he pointed to the spot low on his abdomen where a scar told the story of a through and through. “Still didn't do him a damn bit of good. Just ‘cause you're there, doesn't mean it's any less tragic."
    Zane closed his eyes and shrugged a little. “If I'd been there, I might have been able to do something. But I wasn't, and I lost them."
    "And if you'd been there ,” Ty said softly, “I would have lost you."
    Zane slowly opened his eyes to look at Ty's back as his breath caught. “I'm not letting you walk away again,” he said to him thickly without thinking about it first.
    Ty gave a lopsided shrug and then nodded, not turning to look back at Zane. “It's debatable, who walked away,” he said softly.
    Zane drew in a deep breath, held it, and let it out slowly. “We ... couldn't have done this then. We didn't know...."
    Ty nodded thoughtfully as he finally turned to look Zane over, but the look on his face clearly said that he might disagree.
    "How?” Zane asked, tilting his head to one side.
    "How what, Chief?” Ty asked softly.
    "How would it have worked?"
    Ty pursed his lips and shrugged again.