Cut and Run 4 - Divide and Conquer

vague
    direction of Ty‟s row house. “And he‟s the best you can do?” he asked
    with a growing smirk as he looked sideways at Ty.
    Ty stared at him, shocked by the relatively easy acceptance.
    “Bullshit,” Owen said suddenly. He didn‟t look surprised at all,
    merely angry.
    Ty lowered his chin and looked across the table at him, waiting
    for the reaction he‟d dreaded and known at least one of them would
    have.
    “Owen,” Nick said with a slight laugh. He held his hand out
    across the table. “What‟s it matter, man?” he asked good-naturedly.
    “It‟s bullshit,” Owen repeated with a shake of his head.
    “No,” Ty said quietly.
    “All those years in the field and you knew this?” Owen asked
    angrily.
    Ty cocked his head, narrowing his eyes at Owen without saying a
    word. Nothing he said or did would make it better if Owen was pissed.
    He was surprised it was only Owen, in fact.
    “Owen, man, it‟s not like it‟s catching or anything,” Kelly said
    quietly as he sat back in his chair. Ty glanced at him in mild surprise,
    then back at Owen as the man stood up suddenly.
    “You telling us all those fucking years you were supposed to have
    our backs you knew you were queer and didn‟t tell us?” Owen growled.
    Heads began to turn.
    “Jesus Christ,” Digger said angrily as he stood and grabbed at
    Owen‟s collar. “What‟s your problem, jackass? This is Grady you‟re
    talking to!”
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    Ty merely sighed and began rubbing at a spot of tension in the
    back of his neck. It had been there for a solid week now.
    “Let him go,” Nick told Digger calmly. Digger turned to look at
    him, scowling mutinously, but he released Owen‟s shirt, giving him a
    small shove just to make himself feel better.
    “I‟m outta here, man,” Owen snarled as he grabbed his coat off
    the back of the chair, tipping the chair backward. It crashed to the floor
    as Owen turned on his heel and stalked out of the bar.
    They watched him go in stunned silence.
    “What a fucking prick,” Kelly finally said in a shocked voice.
    “Don‟t worry about him,” Nick said to Ty softly.
    Ty gave him a weak smile and nodded. “Handled it better than I
    thought he would,” he admitted.
    “Fucking asshole,” Digger muttered as he picked up the chair and
    righted it, then sat back down heavily, still watching the door where
    Owen had disappeared.
    “Forget it,” Nick said with authority. Ty glanced at him, and Nick
    actually smiled at him and leaned toward him. “Grady, nothing you can
    tell us after all this time will truly surprise me,” he whispered seriously,
    though he was still smiling. He held out his hand to Ty, palm facing his
    chest in the same manner he had thousands of times before. Ty reached
    out and pressed his palm to Nick‟s, grasping his hand and crossing their
    wrists. It pulled their faces closer together, a position they‟d been in
    many times over the years as they‟d reminded each other not to get shot
    during a mission.
    Nick‟s voice was low and warm when he spoke. “I can see the
    fear in your eyes. But I don‟t give a damn if you‟re queer, man. And
    you owe me an apology for thinking I would.”
    Ty felt like crying in relief, but he managed to just smile and
    shake his head at the audacity. “You‟re right,” he conceded in a
    whisper. “I‟m sorry for thinking you might be a prick.”
    Nick patted him on the shoulder with his beer bottle, then let go
    of his hand and leaned back. He propped one foot up on the chair Owen
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    had vacated and tossed back the bottle, taking a long gulp. “So. I mean,
    really, is he the best you can do?” he asked again, teasing.
    Ty rolled his eyes and took his time drinking a few swigs of beer.
    “I love him,” he finally answered, giving it to him straight. He looked
    at Nick and nodded, lips pressed tightly together.
    “Seriously?” Nick asked in honest surprise. “Like, with-the-heart
    love or with-the-dick love?”
    Ty snorted. “To be honest, it‟s a little of both.”
    “He knows, right? You said you‟re fucking, so I assume it‟s a
    relationship?” Kelly asked.
    “Yeah. He knows.” His chest tightened. It was a relief to be able
    to talk about Zane with someone besides Deuce. He bit his lip and
    finally looked up to meet Kelly‟s eyes.
    “But?” Kelly prompted.
    “I told him I loved him after the last UC case we worked,” Ty
    admitted with a slight