Cut and Run 1 - Cut and Run

back to your room,” Zane murmured, eyes tracking the other man.
    Ty merely nodded, not admitting that he was hesitant to leave Zane alone. “Your clothes would fit me like a burlap sack. I brought my bag,” he muttered as he wiped his hands off on the towel at Zane's side. “I'm going to go get you some ice first. I'll be back,” he added as he picked up the key card to Zane's room. He'd rather not leave the door open again.
    "Hey, give me my gun, would you?” Zane asked as he shifted, only to wince as the skin pulled.
    "Why, you planning on shooting me in the ass when I turn around?” Ty asked sarcastically as he reached for the holster.
    "Tempting, but you'd probably get off on it,” Zane said, holding out his hand.
    "Maybe so,” Ty drawled again, grinning widely as he placed the gun in Zane's hand.
    Zane's palm covered the gun, and his fingers curled firmly around Ty's hand. His eyes had gone serious when he looked up at the other agent. “Why did you help me?"
    Ty looked down at their hands and then up at Zane with open confusion. “Why wouldn't I?” he asked.
    That certainly wasn't the answer Zane expected. He figured he'd get yet another smartass remark. His face softened slightly, and he nodded slowly, letting go of Ty's hand. “Thanks."
    "Don't thank me,” Ty responded with a smirk. “Just don't get your prissy ass hurt again."
    "Better watch it, Grady, I might get to thinking you're taking a liking to my prissy ass,” Zane said, sliding the gun under the pillow.
    "I'm sure I'd like parts of it,” Ty shot back as he headed for the door. “Be right back."
    Zane grinned and pushed his face into the pillow to muffle his chuckle. Maybe Ty wasn't quite so bad as he'd thought. Still an asshole, though.
    Ty was gone for perhaps five minutes, quickly filling the ice bucket and grabbing himself a drink from one of the machines. He couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, no matter how many times he assured himself that he was alone. When he returned to the room, his entire body was tense again.
    Zane slid the gun in his hand back under the pillow once he saw Ty. “Everything okay?” he asked.
    "Yup,” Ty answered succinctly as he set the ice down and reached for his bags. “How's it feeling?"
    "Annoying as hell,” Zane said frankly. “It's not killing me, but I'm certainly feeling it. It's not too bad if I don't move a lot."
    "Well, I would suggest not moving, then,” Ty drawled as he set his bags on the other bed and began stripping off his clothing.
    Zane just raised an eyebrow in wry acknowledgment, watching idly. Ty yanked off his shirt and tossed it to the floor. He toed off his boots and kicked out of his jeans, sighing with the realization that they'd have to frequent a laundromat if they expected to stay smelling decent.
    He bent and began rummaging through his bag for clean clothing. His body bore the evidence of a life lived in the trenches, and it was easier to see now in the afternoon light streaming through the sheer curtains. Zane got a closer look at the tattoo and realized that it was a drawing of a bulldog wearing the distinctive white cover of a Marine. Two guns crossed behind the dog, the smoke from their barrels forming the letters “USMC.” It wasn't possible to make out the finer details. Zane would need to get closer to appreciate the artwork. A lot closer.
    The rest of Ty's body was covered with battle scars. There were wounds that Zane recognized as gunshots and knife gashes, and several older, more interesting patterns along his side that might have been caused by barbed wire. The one that was most recent was the one he had noticed before, low on Ty's belly. Zane knew it went all the way through to the back.
    None of it detracted from his physique. Not in Zane's eyes. Zane had his share of “mementos” from the job. But to him, the Bureau was just a job, albeit one he loved. Ty lived it. Ty did the job because he believed in it, though Zane suspected Ty would never admit it. It was a stark difference, and Zane lowered his chin to the pillow to mull silently over his own choices.
    Ty pulled out a new T-shirt from his seemingly endless supply, one with “ ExFed ” written across the front in purple and green letters, and he slid into it as he turned around and looked over Zane. “Sure you're all right?” he asked, sounding almost self-conscious as he covered up.
    Zane refocused on the man in front of him, blinking a few times. Ty looked uncomfortable