Reno

Shit.

Shit, shit fucking shitty shit, shit.

Fuck me.

"Well, heya, Dom," Elliot said with a brightness that anyone who didn't know him might believe. But he was doing it in front of two people who knew him well, just to different degrees. "What're you doing here? Slacking already?"

"Well, you see, I went looking for you after you wandered off. I didn't think it would take so long to get some sunblock, and well, they were getting ready to bring around the lemonade, figured you wouldn't want to miss it," Dom explained, apparently unsure if he wanted to glare at me or Elliot. Though, I had a not-so-sneaking suspicion that by the end, this man's anger would be fully and wholly directed at me.

"Lemonade?" Elliot asked, eyes going wide with completely unfeigned delight. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously," Dom said, still narrowing his eyes.

"Well, fuck yeah, I'm going to get some," Elliot said brightly, tugging my arm. "C'mon, I know you like that stuff as much as everyone else."

That was true. It was one of the few treats in this place that I genuinely enjoyed. It was supposedly some recipe from Mona's family, and Rip was only allowed to make it in a back room without anyone else around. Personally, I thought that was overkill, but I knew how people could be about their secret family recipes. Whatever it was made of, it was the most delicious lemonade I'd ever had and was second only to the tea my grandmother always made.

"Yeah, go get some," I told him as Dom's eyes locked onto mine. I wasn't an idiot. I knew full well Dom was waiting to say his piece. If he'd wanted to talk to either of us privately, all he had to do was slip away and wait until we were alone. No, he wanted us to know he knew and would say what was on his mind.

"Uh, you have to come with me, remember?" Elliot said, turning to give me an urgent stare and drop his voice. "C'mon. Dom looks about ready to pop a blood vessel."

"Probably because he's already figured out what was just going on," I told him with a sigh. "The guy's big, not stupid."

Elliot groaned, turning around. "Alright, what the hell, Dom?"

"Yeah, what the hell is right," Dom said, pushing away from the wall and marching toward us. "Do you have any idea what kind of fucked up shit this is?"

"What's ‘this' exactly?" Elliot asked, and I had to roll my eyes.

"Really?" I asked him.

Elliot turned to me, shrugging. "If he's going to get pissed, I want him to say outright what he's pissed about. Might as well get it all out and not guess what we're talking about."

It seemed pretty obvious to me what was being talked about, but I'd also learned that Elliot did best when he knew exactly what was being said or talked about. That wouldn't stop him from going off on tangents during a discussion, but at least what needed to be talked about was crystal clear in his mind. Well, it was either that or he wanted to make Dom come right out and say what he thought was going on so he could make the guy uncomfortable. Elliot generally only fucked with people when he was feeling playful, but I knew from firsthand experience he was not afraid to give someone hell if they pissed him off enough.

"Fine," Dom said through gritted teeth. "Then we can talk about how you two just got done fucking, how about that?"

"That seems pretty clear-cut," I muttered to Elliot, wincing. "Unless you need him to use some other?—"

"Fuck off," he snapped at me, crossing his arms. "Alright, well, I don't see how that's any of your business."

"You think they're going to be happy if they find out you two have started sleeping together after pairing you up? The whole point…well, I'm guessing the whole point was to make it so maybe you could have more of a friend than just me," Dom told Elliot, turning his gaze to me. "And that maybe you could start acting less like a dick and be a normal human being to people."

"Don't start being an asshole," Elliot told him, prodding Dom in the chest. "I'm not some dainty little princess that needs saving because you know better than me."

Dom grabbed his hand, squeezing hard enough to make Elliot wince before shoving it away. "I'm not rescuing a damsel in distress. I'm trying to tell my friend he's playing with fire here."

"There's nothing in the rules about it," I told him quietly. "And it's not like we've gone out of our way to make it well known either."

"You call screwing in the general supply cabin quiet?" he asked, eyeing the door. "All I had to do was get close to the door and I knew exactly what you two were doing in there. What if it was someone like Leon? Or Mona? Or anyone who would have had no problem going off to tell? And when the fuck did you start liking dick?"

"Davis Willis," I told him.

"I…what?" he asked, clearly not expecting my answer. Even Elliot gave me a confused stare as he tried desperately to see if he was supposed to have remembered that name.

"It was middle school. The first guy I'd ever looked at and thought, ‘Wow, I'd like to touch him.' It didn't take much thought after that to realize I was into guys. Especially when you start seeing all the other guys talking about the girls they wanted to touch or hang around," I said, though there had been…other talk too, but only from certain guys. The average teenage boy mostly turned into a gibbering pile of idiocy around the girl they were interested in and would probably implode if they managed to touch their hand. It took a couple of years of hormones before they managed to get themselves under control enough to function.

"Oh. Mine was Ray Philps," Elliot said brightly. "It was like…fifth grade or something."

"Damn, early bloomer," Dom said, momentarily taken out of his attitude to eye Elliot. "I knew you were kind of a slut back in the day, but you really got interested in guys that early?"

Elliot glared at him. "It wasn't sexual. Kids can have crushes. And it was perfectly innocent."

"Not always," he said thoughtfully. "My first crush was Ronda Mueller back in the fourth grade. Ten years later, we took each other's virginity."

"That is not the same thing," Elliot countered. "Holding a cute girl's hand in the fourth grade and then later, when you're both full of hormones, sleeping together is not the same thing."

"True," I added. "I had a girlfriend."

"What?" Elliot asked. "I didn't know you were bi."

"I was seven. I used to hold hands with this girl, Vanessa when we went to music class. Until the day the teacher scolded us for being inappropriate."

"Ina…what? You were seven! Who the fuck does that? You were holding hands."

"Hey," Dom said with a shrug. "I had some messed up teachers. And I mean, you ever think how weird it can be when people talk about little kids being heartbreakers or having girl or boyfriends?"

"Well…I mean, it's all in good fun, right?" Elliot wondered.

"Sure. Until you get those people who do the really weird shit that say like ‘oh, if I were twenty years younger' or whatever," Dom said, wrinkling his nose. "I had a woman say that to me when I was fourteen. Like, that's weird, right?"

"Eh, I had a drunk girl insist I was interested in her even when I kept putting her off. Shoved her hand right down my pants, grabbed my dick, and asked if I was interested now," I said, scrunching my nose at the memory. "I wasn't interested, even then."

"Wow, that's…that's actually really fucked up," Elliot said and gave me a sympathizing look.

"Wait, wait," Dom said, holding up his hands. "How the fuck did we end up on this topic?"

I jammed my thumb at Elliot. "He gives off an aura that sucks you into his chipmunk-brained world. I've given up trying to keep up with it. Just gives me a headache."

"I like how I'm the one with ADD, but it's somehow my fault that you guys got off topic," Elliot scowled.

"No, he's right. I'm letting the blame fall on you," Dom said.

"Of fucking course you are. Assholes."

"But seriously," Dom said, jerking his head over his shoulders. "Go get some lemonade."

"Like hell am I?—"

"It's fine," I told him before he could get totally indignant. "Dom wants to play big brother."

"Excuse me?" Dom asked, eyes going wide.

"Oh, Jesus," Elliot muttered. "I should have never mentioned that's how I?—"

"You didn't say shit," I interrupted before he could trip up and give away his private thoughts about Dom. They didn't exactly strike me as a friendship duo that was big on expressing their emotional vulnerably to one another, and I didn't want the cat out of the bag while we were dealing with a different can of worms. "And it's fine."

"It is not fine," Elliot protested, looking between us uncertainly.

"We'll behave ourselves," I told him, feeling the tick in my jaw begin. The sooner I got this bullshit over with Dom, the better. The guy was just trying to look out for Elliot, but there wasn't a need to treat him like an inept kid. Not that I hadn't thought of him that way before, but Dom, of all people here, should know better. "And I'll tell you everything."

"Not like I was expecting you to keep anything a secret," Dom grunted.

"Good, then I won't worry about telling him anything."

"Good."

"Great."

"Yeah."

Elliot gave a heavy, drawn-out groan. "Oh my God. You're going to kill each other. All your manly man's man testosterone is going to come crashing together in some big, sweaty… man-off! And I'm going to be left cleaning up the mess."

I stared at him for several seconds before turning to Dom, who was apparently unswayed by the display. "Please tell me you know how to explain that one."

Dom snorted. "He's dramatic. That's how I explain it…and a little weird."

"Please tell me that sounded sexual to you. I don't want to be the only one who thinks that sounded sexual."

"It…really, really did. And I'm pretending like he isn't imagining the two of us?—"

"You aren't, right?" I asked Elliot. At first, he looked offended, but then his mouth turned down, and his eyes flicked upward, a clear sign he was thinking about something intensely. "No. Get that thought out of your mind. Right the fuck now."

"I wasn't!" Elliot protested.

"That's a goddamn lie, and we all know it."

"Well, you can't tell someone not to think about it. That's the best way to make someone think about it."

"I'm not thinking about it," I said, refusing to glance at Dom because, goddammit, Elliot was right. By telling myself not to think about it, I would keep glancing at him and imagining what it could be like. I had enough trouble dealing with Elliot all the time. I wasn't going to drag sexual possibilities about his best friend into the mix.

"And I"m definitely not thinking about it," Dom grunted. "Now go. We're not going to kill each other. Apparently, you giving it up has taken some of the grumpiness right out of him."

"I hate that you have a good point about that," Elliot said with a frown.

"And I hate that both of you agree that that's a thing in the first place!" I growled at both of them.

"I want to talk to both of you…" Dom began.

"Then do it!" Elliot barked at him.

"But I want to do it separately," Dom finished, rolling his eyes. "Alright? I'm not trying to start shit."

"It sure feels like you're trying to start something," Elliot said with a suspicious glare.

"I'll start something alright, but it's going to be with you," Dom told him, eyes narrowed.

My brow shot up when Elliot cocked his hip, batting his eyes. "Ooh, promise?"

"Seriously?" I asked before Dom could say anything, only to straighten when they both stared at me. "What?"

"I…okay, fine, whatever," Elliot said, suddenly sounding flustered as Dom stared at him with a look I couldn't decipher. "You two talk. But there had better not be any bullshit, alright? I mean it."

"I'm sure we'll manage," Dom said, still refusing to look at me.

Some private communication was running between them, and it was getting on my nerves. Whatever was going on had something to do with what had just been said, and I didn't understand. Usually, Elliot would be tripping over himself, eager to explain something in full, exhaustive detail. Now, he was practically ready to start running.

I watched him go, frowning when he gave me a final, strange look before turning a corner. "He's heading the wrong way."

"He'll figure it out once he comes back to the present," Dom grunted. "Which could take thirty seconds or ten minutes when he realizes he's wandered half the ranch and needs to run back in the right direction."

"If he can even…" I began but found myself shoved against the wall of the storage shed. The simmering anger in me roared to life, and I felt the bite of my nails in the palm of my hand. It took everything in me not to immediately swing as he gripped my shirt in his fist, glaring at me. "Do you have something to share with the rest of the class, Dom? Or are you going to keep breaking your promise to Elliot?"

"Oh, I told E I wasn't going to start shit, and I'm not starting shit. See? We're just talking," he said, fist tightening so hard on my shirt I could hear the thin fabric beginning to tear.

"You've got a funny way of talking. Seems a lot like the talking I used to do that everyone gave me shit for," I snapped back at him, still resisting the urge to lash out.

"Yeah, and notice how you're not doing it? Now, is that because I'll fight back, unlike Riley."

"Enough," I growled, snapping my arm up. It wasn't to hit him but to knock his arm away from me, and to my surprise, he let go. I pushed him away from me, looking down at my shirt and scoffing. "You were there when I talked to Riley. I apologized, it was a dick thing to do, and I'm never going to do something like it again. That was between him and me, so you don't get to give me shit about it."

"Right up until you do something like that to E, then it's my problem," he said, taking a step back. He didn't look like he was readying himself for a fight, but I kept my eye on him all the same, just in case he decided to lash out again.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Elliot isn't Riley. He wouldn't let something like that happen in the first fucking place."

"Yeah, is that why you two looked beat to shit last month?"

"As a matter of fact, yeah, it is. Happy now? You know the huge secret we were keeping from everyone."

"As if everyone couldn't have figured it out on their own. You guys looked like you'd been in a bare-knuckle boxing match."

"Well, that was pretty much what it was. Elliot can take care of himself, and he's not taking any shit."

"He's taking something," Dom said, lip curling.

The fire in my chest blazed, and it was my turn to grab his shirt and yank him toward me. "Alright, I let that little ‘slut' comment pass earlier without a fucking word because I can let Elliot handle himself. But don't think that when it's the two of us, you're going to stand there and talk about your fucking friend like he's some sex toy I'm using. You got me? I don't give a shit if it does get me booted out of this place. I beat you within an inch of your fucking life, understood?"

Dom hadn't moved the entire time I'd spoken, his hands at his side as he watched me carefully. After a few seconds, he cracked a smile. "Now, isn't that interesting?"

"Not really," I grunted, pushing him away from me.

"Defending his honor."

"He can defend himself."

"He's not here."

"Exactly. I'm not listening to that shit, not when he's not here to deal with it himself."

Dom smoothed the front of his shirt, clicking his tongue. "Who the fuck thought that Reno fucking Taylor would be the one who treats Elliot like an adult."

"He is an adult. A childish, impulsive idiot, but an adult," I grunted, now feeling like I had somehow walked into a trap. "So what the fuck do you want to talk to me about?"

"You already covered most of what I wanted to talk to you specifically about," he said with a shrug. "You didn't swing at me when you had the chance, even though I was practically picking a fight. But the minute I said shit about him, you were ready to throw down."

My stomach squirmed uncomfortably. "What was the point?"

"The point was to make sure you weren't a threat to him, at least not an immediate one."

"An immediate one?"

"And that you weren't using him."

"It's probably better to say we're using each other."

Dom wrinkled his nose. "Look, I heard enough when I came looking for the two of you. I don't need you to start giving me details or some shit."

Maybe it made me a petty person or some of Elliot's mischievousness was rubbing off on me, but I enjoyed his discomfort for a moment. It seemed a fair trade, considering how little I had been enjoying our conversation so far. I was willing to accept it because Dom did have a strangely fraternal bond with Elliot, and from personal experience, big brothers were usually fiercely protective of their younger siblings. Or at least most of the ones I'd met were, and it didn't matter if it was a younger brother or sister.

"So, question for you," he began, looking back toward the buildings behind him as a clamor of laughter rose into the air. "What was that comment you made earlier?"

"Which one?"

"The big brother thing. Do you really see me that way with him?"

I hesitated, unsure this was the right moment to bring up how Elliot thought about Dom. It was probably better for them to have that conversation, but they didn't strike me as the sharing type. I'd seen guys act like this before with their friendship, and they could be stubbornly reluctant to share too much out of an unspoken fear of driving their friend away.

"What?" Dom asked, his brow furrowing again. "What's wrong?"

Jesus Christ, his concern was so obvious. It was so fucking sweet it was going to rot the hell out of my teeth if I let him keep going. I didn't think Dom was even aware of what he was doing or how he was reacting. It just came naturally to him. I wondered if he had younger siblings of his own or if this was just some special relationship he had with Elliot. It could be either. I was a clear example of how Elliot managed to have some sort of positive effect on other people, even if it came with a lot of kicking and screaming on my part.

"He'll probably kill me for saying this, but," I began with a shrug, "he loves you."

"I…what?" he demanded, his eyes bulging out of his head comically and his dark skin losing a shade or two.

"What?" I asked, startled by his reaction until I realized. "No! Not like in love with you, Jesus fucking Christ, and you called him dramatic."

"Then what the hell do you mean?" he asked, eyes retracting into his head so he didn't look like a cartoon character anymore.

"I mean like a friend. Like a brother," I said, shaking my head. "He's never said it, but it's obvious. And honestly? You act like a big brother to him a lot. Or at least how a big brother is supposed to act anyway."

He cast a shrewd look my way. "Got a couple of older brothers that aren't?"

"I've got older siblings, and they aren't worth shit. Yeah."

"Yeah, got a couple of those myself. One's doing life upstate, and the other one's going to get his life ended probably in the next couple of years. Never did anything for the family, even when they kept saying it was for the family. Assholes."

I couldn't resist. "Sounds like you got it figured out better than them, so why are you here?"

He squinted at me. "E."

"Seriously?"

"Why are you so surprised?"

"I don't know. I guess I figured it was because you were here."

"Nah, I'm here because they saw my record and figured I might be a good fit. I thought it was a good way for me not to spend the next five years behind bars and actually get to have something better. Kinda figured the whole ‘fixing yourself' bullshit was just that, bullshit."

"But Elliot changed that?"

"You ever asked him how he ended up here?"

"I…no. He told me a little bit, though."

"Well, since you already told me something you're sure he'd kill you over, I guess I can trade the same thing," Dom said with a shrug. "He got caught up with a not-great crowd. He used to do little, stupid shit before, you know, shoplifting, breaking into abandoned buildings because it seemed fun, you know."

"Small-time things," I said, thinking it matched what I knew of Elliot. He certainly had a temper when needed, but he was also impulsive. It wasn't hard to picture him getting into serious trouble over one moment of impulsiveness.

"Till he found some new friends. Sometimes I wonder how he gets caught up in the shit he does, but that's E for you. They convinced him to help rob a store. Easy in, easy out, no mess, no one has to get hurt."

"Right, but someone did get hurt, he told me."

"Yeah, some old guy running the store. The dick weed that put them up to the whole idea hit the guy so hard with a gun, a gun E didn't even know he had, it put the guy into a coma for a while. Shocked the hell out of E, and well?—"

"He mentioned it got ugly, and he turned himself and everyone else in."

Dom chuckled. "Where I come from, snitching on your people is a good way to end up in the morgue. But he knew that, had to know it…at least, I think he had to know it."

"He did," I said without thinking. "When he gets knocked out of his…hyperness, especially if he got knocked out of it as he probably did then, he gets to thinking clearer. I'd bet he knew full well what he was risking. Still did it."

"Yeah, kind of stupid of him. I told him that when he finally told me the story," Dom said, lip curling. "Told him that was really stupid, especially because the old guy was fine after getting out of the hospital. No real harm done, they had the money, and he didn't have to get locked up."

That got a chuckle out of me. "You apparently didn't know Elliot well when you said that."

"I thought I had a good idea what he was like, what he was about. I was stuck on the idea that there were smart people and dumb people. Always thought he could be smart, but he was overall pretty dumb."

"I can't give you shit about that when I kept calling him stupid."

"It's just the way I learned to look at things. But E…he can find ways to surprise you. Just when you think you got him figured out, he takes a sudden turn, and you're left standing there wondering what the hell just happened and where this new shit was coming from."

Not easy to argue with that, because Elliot had done the same thing to me. It felt like one minute I'd had him figured out, and then suddenly, he was arguing passionately against me giving up and sticking with the program. Then I thought I had him again, and suddenly he was not only putting up a damn good fight but, minutes later, was engaging just as earnestly in sex as I was. Then I thought I had him figured out for good, and the little shit was convincing me to accept his kindness and support.

"It hasn't been very long," I admitted. "But I know what you mean. It's hard to peg him."

"Yeah, and back when I told him it was stupid, he told me he didn't care if it was stupid or got him hurt. Told me he realized that when all of his shit finally resulted in someone getting hurt, none of it was worth it. What was the point of doing whatever the hell he wanted if other people got hurt, people who didn't deserve it."

That… sounded like the Elliot I thought I knew. The same Elliot who had been willing to fight me on the spot because of what I'd done to Riley. Willing to try to punish me for my fuck up and defend someone he gave a crap about. Though, I was pretty sure he had missed the brief but potent exchange between Riley and me during my needed apology. I'd caught Riley off guard, but when he'd spoken to me during the apology…well, I was still left with the feeling that there was more than sunshine and optimism inside that man.

"And that was enough for you?" I asked.

"Well, not just that. It was the fact that I realized he really didn't care if it was smart or stupid. He had made a choice, and he was going to stick with it. That meant making himself better, and that was before he even went to prison, let alone coming here. He'd always been getting into trouble, he told me, but when it went too far, he said that was enough. So shit, stubborn as he is, as…I don't know. He can't seem to focus on anything for too long. We've all seen it."

"True. That's why I call him chipmunk brain."

"Well, if he can get his chipmunk brain to focus on something long enough, then it means something to him. Hell, the fact that he's stuck around doing his thing with you for more than a couple of weeks is pretty impressive for him. Maybe he's learned some focus while he's been here…or the meds are working."

"Probably the meds."

"Maybe. All I know is when he focuses on something, he focuses. And it's because it means something to him. It's not just some…new, fancy thing he can play with and throw away. He talks a lot, but when he does shit constantly, without moving away, that's when he gives a shit, really gives a shit. And he's been keeping to what he told me from the moment I met him, and he hasn't stopped since."

I didn't want to admit it, but his words left me a little…uncomfortable. I didn't know if he intended to, but his insistence that Elliot stuck with things he truly cared about also extended to me. It wasn't like we had sat down and talked about what was happening or what it meant, but that felt unnecessary. We were two guys who happened to be pushed together and discovered a mutual attraction. Sure, there had been some more bonding, but when you lived and slept together, there was bound to be some easing of barriers.

And once it was over? Once we were separated because we got out of this weird probational period, or he was inevitably moved up a tier. Or even when he ended up graduating while I inevitably got left behind? He would go out into the world, restart his life, and there wouldn't be a need for what we had.

Maybe he cared about it now. I could accept that much as true. But when it came time for him to leave this place behind, to leave me behind, he would find something far better than we had now. I didn't feel bitter about it…not really. Enough that I envied him that inevitability, knowing damn well that if I achieved anything, it would probably be half as good.

But that's all we were, convenience and coincidence packaged into one small setting.

"You know," Dom said, crossing his arms again. "You're not supposed to ask this sorta shit, but considering what's going on, I'm breaking that rule…what did you do to get locked up?"

I could have avoided the question, and I had every right to. That was something you didn't ask, and it wasn't something I'd gone into detail even with Elliot. Even being asked now sent a flare of anger rippling through me as I stared at him, trying to decide whether I should let the question hang in the air or answer it.

"You're worried about him still," I said after a moment.

"Yeah, you still got your temper, even if you've got it under control."

"And if I told you I got here because of my temper?"

"How?"

I stared at him for a moment before clearing my throat. "Beating the shit out of my ex and his best friend."

Dom leaned back, and I hated that he didn't even try to look surprised by the news. Instead he looked me over, shaking his head. "Alright…did they deserve it?"

It was the first time someone had ever addressed what I'd done in those terms, and I had to take a moment to take stock. Apparently, it wasn't only Elliot who was full of surprises. Perhaps something about Dom had drawn him to Elliot and not just Elliot himself.

"They got less than they deserved," I told him finally, meaning it. "You don't beat two people like I did and get as small a sentence as I did because the victims were good people."

"Hey, some people can."

"Not when you're some poor kid from a shitty neighborhood. And not when all you did was beat some middle-class assholes who had it coming."

"True enough. I guess I'll have to believe you."

"Believe me, don't believe me, I don't give a shit. You can give Elliot shit about it if you want. See how far that gets you."

"I told him I wasn't going to start any shit, and I meant it."

"Alright. Fine…are we done?"

"Sure, I guess I got as good an answer as I'm going to get for now. Just?—"

"Spare me the threats. I'm well aware that if I seriously hurt him, I probably won't have a chance to walk out of here on my own two legs. Yeah, I got it, big brother, strong, angry man. Gotcha."

His face wrinkled. "You've been spending too much time around E."

"Yeah, well, I live with the idiot, so what do you expect? Take it up with Mona and Leon. They're the ones who set things up this way."

"Yeah, don't think I'll be doing that, thanks."

"So, do you think he's been lurking around listening to us the whole time, or is he back with the group?"

Dom chuckled. "I'll bet you he went back. Otherwise, he would have said something when we got a little handsy. But I'll bet he's been slacking his ass off waiting for us to get back."

"I'm not taking that bet," I told him as we walked back.

"Because I'd win?"

"Yeah."

We chuckled and almost laughed when we reached the clearing and found Leon glaring at Elliot. The latter sitting at one of the picnic tables, sipping lemonade and looking for all the world entirely at ease. He, of course, gave himself away when he glanced over and saw the two of us walking toward them.

"Hey, Leon," I grunted when we approached as Elliot scrambled to his feet, not subtly as he looked the two of us over. "Elliot, quit."

"I'm not doing anything," Elliot said sullenly, even as he continued examining us.

"Oh please," Dom said, waving him off. "Hey, Leon."

"Do I want to know why you two came wandering back?" Leon asked and then glanced at Elliot. "And why this one refused to tell me why you two apparently ‘needed to talk' back there?"

"Sorry," Elliot muttered, swirling his glass. "I kinda…blurted it out."

Considering Leon was here alone and only looking vaguely annoyed, I had to assume it was exactly what Leon had said. Otherwise we would have been in a lot more trouble than being on the receiving end of a glare.

"What?" I asked in irritation. "Are we not allowed to talk to people now?"

"I mean," Elliot interrupted, ignoring me when I glanced at him. "It's been weeks, Leon. I think we can manage to be away from each other for, like, a few minutes."

That was a good point, and I tried not to look too surprised. I had to remember that despite how chaotic and messy Elliot could be, he did actually have a functioning brain between his ears.

"Seriously," I added before the silence drew out to an awkward level. "I know you and Mona wanted us to stick together, but fuck's sake, we should have proven we can manage without living up each other's asses."

Elliot snorted, covering it up by taking a drink of lemonade. Of course, being Elliot, all he managed to do was try to drink while snickering, and the result was a heaving cough and lemonade splattering all over the picnic table. The three of us watched as lemonade dripped from the nose he was gently cradling with a pained moan.

"You…are such an idiot," I told him, unsure if I should be laughing or wondering what the hell was wrong with me that I actually found it cute.

The thought jerked me back from the moment as Leon made a half-hearted attempt to pat Elliot on the back. All I could do was stand there and stare at Elliot as he wiped what was probably a disgusting combination of lemonade and snot from his nose, complaining about how badly it burned. It wasn't like I didn't know I'd grown more than a little fond of Elliot. The more I learned about him, the more impossible it became to stick to my guns and see him as an annoying little shit I was stuck with.

But cute?

That went beyond begrudgingly finding him tolerable or blatantly admitting he was physically attractive. At what point had I gone from accepting his presence to finding something ridiculous and gross that he'd done…adorable? Sure, I knew now that he wasn't an idiot, just prone to doing stupid shit that didn't harm anyone but himself, and there was a lot more to him than just his antics and his rambling mouth but?—

I watched him silently as he finally waved Leon off and started laughing at himself. I never stopped being surprised at how well he could flip the switch in his head. Doing something like that in front of others would have had me seething and trying to find the quickest way out of the situation, or at least making sure no one brought it up around me. Yet here was Elliot, finding a way to laugh at himself over it, even asking a disgusted Dom if he wanted some lemonade ‘fresh from the tap.'

There were things I just didn't understand about him, and that was only one in a long list. He had the ability to laugh off just about anything that happened to him, especially if it was his own doing. He was capable of standing up for himself, but with most people, he chose to brush off problems with a joke or a smile. He was just as capable of the same care and compassion as Riley but had found a way to conceal it under his lighthearted nature…except when he felt it needed to be serious.

Maybe that was the mystery solved right there. Leon and Mona would probably be the smuggest assholes alive if they realized their little plan was working…or had worked. I couldn't say when I started seeing him differently, it could have been the first time we had sex, or it could have been that first night he stayed up with me, but something had shifted between us. I'd always been aware of it, but it had been so subtle, shifting over time, that I barely paid attention. But with that one ridiculous moment of stupidity, it felt like I could trace back every shift in our attitudes and feelings toward one another.

Not truly, of course. There were far too many little moments to keep track of and memorize. But I could feel the enormity of the change, how it had snuck up on us and lingered, constantly making little alterations. Like finding this moment endearing, being more exasperated than pissed when the little jerk wouldn't get up in the morning, actually finding his jokes amusing, or even just knowing he was ‘perving' on me, and instead of being self-conscious, I found myself horny.

"Why is he staring at me like that?" Elliot asked, finally piercing through the haze of thought I'd surrounded myself with.

To my annoyance, I wasn't surprised when Dom chuckled. "I think he's thinking about…well, something important."

"Reno thinking hard about something is a terrifying idea," Elliot said, his words joking, but the look in his eyes was concerned.

"The only one here who should avoid thinking is you," I told him, shaking the thoughts away. I'd go over them when I wasn't on display to people. Dom's knowing smirk was uncomfortable enough as it was. "So it's a good thing it only happens once a month."

"Alright, well, you can fuck off," Elliot sniffed, taking another drink of his lemonade.

"Tried that, and look, we're in trouble," I said, nodding toward Leon.

Leon sighed, rolling his eyes toward the sky. "You're not in trouble."

"I mean, getting the third degree because I was talking to someone without my assigned babysitter glued to my hip certainly feels like trouble," I said, cocking my head.

It was probably a little cheap to try putting Leon on the backfoot when the real issue was that we didn't want him to start puzzling out the truth about what was really going on between Elliot and me. That knock to my conscience was small, though, so I could stand it. Wasn't like we were trying to get him into serious trouble or hiding something morally wrong. We just needed him distracted from the fact that we might be breaking the rules by having…I guess, a relationship.

Leon put up his hands with another heavy sigh. "Alright, alright! Your point has been made. Fine. You guys have been at this for long enough without killing each other or breaking the more important rules."

"Hey! We haven't broken any rules," Elliot protested and I had to admit, he'd managed to lie with a believable face. Apparently, I needed to add that to the list of things I was surprised he was good at.

"Please, everyone is breaking rules around here," Leon said, dropping his hands. "You guys do remember there's a whole book filled with them, right?"

"No," Elliot said blankly while I sighed and said, "Yes."

Elliot glanced at me. "When the fuck did that happen?"

"Huh?" Leon asked, squinting. "It was written a while ago, and it's been revised several?—"

"No, he means when did I see the book to remember it," I said with a roll of my eyes. "And it gets mentioned on your first day. Mona even made a point of showing it to me. The thing is thick."

"Jesus, how many rules do we need?" Elliot asked, wrinkling his nose.

"It's not just rules for guys like you or me. It's also for people like Max and Mona, who are employees. There used to be different books, but they all kinda got slammed into one at some point," Leon explained, casting me a strange look. "Nice translation…when did that start?"

"Look, you live and work with someone long enough, you start to understand their, uh…what's the word? Weirdness?"

"Idiosyncrasies?"

"That's a lot nicer word than I should use. I'm sticking with weirdness."

"Yes, God forbid you let anyone see that you might enjoy being around him."

"Don't you start getting weird on me, Leon. I don't have enough room for Elliot as it is."

"You know," Elliot said with a sigh, looking over at Dom. "And here I was hoping I might get a compliment out of him this time."

"Pretty sure him not insulting or threatening you is Reno's version of a compliment," Dom told him.

"That…actually tracks," Leon said, frowning as if he didn't like the idea but couldn't argue.

"Fuck all of you?" I offered with a scowl.

"Yeah, I'm not sure I'm a fan of that idea," Elliot said, turning so he could smirk at me without Leon seeing.

"Plus, someone's already got their eyes on someone else," Dom said with a smirk. I would have just taken it as a joke, but I watched Leon's eyes widen and the color drain from his cheeks.

"Woah! What?" Elliot asked, suddenly elated.

"Absolutely not," Leon said quickly, shaking his head. "Get back to work and stop screwing around or I'm siccing Mona on you!"

"Huh," I grunted as Leon walked off, glancing over his shoulder to give us dirty looks as he went. "That wasn't obvious or anything."

"Who?" Elliot asked with wide eyes. "Someone in town or something? God, I heard from someone that the one store owner's daughter is kinda cute. And I mean Leon is?—"

No, no, I was absolutely not going to take even the slightest offense to what had almost just spilled out of Elliot's mouth before he caught himself. I still needed to process the fact that I…found him cute, of all things, I wasn't going to add unnecessary jealousy into the mix and make things even harder on me than they needed to be. Especially because jealousy meant something else was going on inside my head, and there was no way I was going anywhere near that.

Dom grinned, taking the glass Elliot put down and draining it. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not telling."

"That's a goddamn lie," Elliot growled, taking the cup and wiggling it at him. "You stole my lemonade! Now tell me the gossip like I know your gossipy ass wants to!"

"Do you know?" Dom asked me, ignoring Elliot as the man continued to try to shove the glass closer to Dom's face.

The truth was, I didn't know, and I didn't care to know. Trying to deal with my own shit was enough of a struggle. Worrying about someone else's life was just unnecessary. The problem was Elliot had stopped trying to get Dom to acknowledge the ‘crime' he had committed and was staring at me eagerly. Which meant Elliot was hoping I knew and might be able to tell him if Dom was going to be tight-lipped.

And it wasn't often I got the chance to torment him.

"I'm not going to sit around and gossip about his love life," I grunted, turning away from them.

"That's a no," Dom chuckled.

"No, that's a yes!" Elliot exclaimed, and I could hear him scrambling to get out of his seat. "Reno, come back here and tell me!"

"I'm going back to work," I told them.

Which was the only motivation Elliot needed to follow me back to the wood pile to continue cleaning up. Well, I would clean up and try to block him out as much as possible while Elliot would inevitably jump from pestering me to pestering Dom to get answers. Once upon a time, I would have found his persistence over something so ridiculous annoying and a good reason to continue blocking him out.

Yet even an hour later, watching him squirm in the discomfort of being out of a loop he didn't know I didn't belong in was just the kind of ‘cute' I could stomach.