Cut and Run 3 - Fish and Chips

his weight rolled off Ty, and he lay against Ty’s side instead. Ty remained on his back, eyes closed and body limp. After a couple minutes of just breathing, Zane’s pulse began to settle, and he opened his eyes to look at his lover. Ty’s platinum hair was damp with sweat, and he had the back of his forearm resting over his eyes. The silver ring on his finger glinted in the light, catching the imperfections and scuffs Ty had already managed to inflict on it.
    Seeing the spark dance across the ring, Zane realized his throat was tight, and he had to swallow twice to rid himself of the feeling as he blinked hard against prickling in his eyes. His chest felt like it had a lead weight on it, and Zane squeezed his eyes shut. It hurt, that feeling, that weight and tension, and he couldn’t deal with it right now. He didn’t want to hurt like that when he looked at Ty.
    Reopening his eyes, Zane reached up with one hand to touch Ty’s cheek. “Okay?” he rasped.
    Ty groaned softly in response. “Remind me not to provoke you often,” he joked wryly.
    Zane chuckled, letting his hand splay over Ty’s pec. “I suppose you do need to walk occasionally.”
    Ty moved his hand to rest it over Zane’s, his fingers curling around Zane’s palm. He hadn’t opened his eyes yet. He seemed content to lie there with Zane and hold his hand. Zane had been about to pull away long enough to get rid of the condom, but he was loath to let go when Ty was so amenable. He felt their rings lightly knock together. At that moment it made him want things he knew he couldn’t have and shouldn’t want, but Zane squeezed Ty’s fingers gently anyway.
    “Zane,” Ty finally said in a low voice. He hadn’t moved, but his eyes were open, staring at the ceiling. Zane hummed softly in question. Ty remained silent for a moment, apparently mulling it over before he finally asked, “Any reason why we couldn’t just ditch the condoms from now on?”
    Surprise streaked through Zane so quickly that he caught his breath, and he had to force himself to resume breathing normally. He would never have guessed that question would come out of Ty’s mouth at this moment, especially considering how closely it resembled Zane’s half-formed desires. “No,” he answered, his voice low and quieter than he expected to hear. “No reason we couldn’t,” he clarified.
    He felt more than saw the movement beside him as Ty turned his head to look at him. Ty didn’t say anything else. He just seemed to be either examining Zane for further reaction or pondering what to say next. With Ty he just never knew.
    The silence around them seemed to roar in Zane’s ears, but it might have been the waves outside. He pulled his hand free of Ty’s and gently pressed his fingertips to Ty’s lips. Zane knew full well he’d committed himself to Ty months and months ago, even when Ty was still carrying on with barmaids in Baltimore. He’d never faced such an obvious statement of that commitment from Ty, though, even after Ty had flat out told him he wanted to be with him. It made Zane wonder what exactly Ty was thinking. His eyes were hard to read, and he didn’t try to speak with Zane’s fingers over his mouth. But Zane could see the corners of his lips twitching into the beginnings of a crooked smile.
    Zane lifted his fingers and laid his palm against Ty’s cheek as he mentally skimmed through several responses, discarding some as too intimate to bear, others too much of a joke. “You ask because…?”
    Ty tilted his head slightly, his eyes not leaving Zane’s as he considered the question. “Because there hasn’t been anyone but you in a long time. And I don’t think there will be,” he answered bluntly.
    There wasn’t any reason to play around, not when Ty was being so blatantly honest. “Good,” Zane whispered, his thumb brushing Ty’s bottom lip. “I’ve… felt that way… for a while now,” he admitted haltingly.
    Ty’s crooked smile grew, and he nodded. “I know.”
    Zane wrinkled his nose and lowered his eyes, a little bit of embarrassment tickling at him. He hadn’t thought he was that easy to read. Ty’s fingers brushed over his wrist, sliding up his arm slowly, but Ty remained conspicuously silent. Zane looked up again, trying to let the nerves go. If there was anyone he should be comfortable with, truly be himself with, it was Ty. As their eyes met, he nodded, acknowledging that Ty knew him pretty damn well. He knew the good and the