Page 136 of Rat

“And Hamish?” Rory asked.

Sebastian sighed through his nose. “He’s put his house up for sale, but with all the building traffic, and the sound, and dust, I doubt he’ll get the price he wants for it. I may even take pity on him and offer to buy it.”

“I think he’d rather burn it to the ground.”

Sebastian tipped his head back and barked a laugh. “I don’t doubt that.”

Their apartment was only a short drive, and when Rory looked up at their home, a small smile twitched his lips.

He and Sebastian ate together, had sex, worked out, and played chess, just like they had inside, but they did new things too. Sebastian liked being outside, he liked walking through woodlands, across fields and beaches.

Their hands linked as they walked, and Rory’s heart always did an excited thump when Sebastian reached for him.

It felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Sebastian was right.

They fit.

Sebastian liked Oodles but hated Flip Over with a burning passion after a kid pointed him out and called him a grandad.

Once a month, they ate chips at Rashford pier and sat on the bench where all their lies had come out into the open.

Rory felt a little less alone and broken each day. He had a home with Sebastian, a life, and when he walked into the hallway, he released a long breath, shut his eyes and stood for a few seconds.

Sebastian came up behind him and rubbed his shoulders.

“You’ve got another letter from Captain.”

“Have you read it?” Rory asked.

“Nope. It’s in the kitchen.”

Sebastian released him, and Rory strolled into the kitchen. He ripped open the letter, and his eyes roamed Captain’s scribbly handwriting. He’d been seeing Jarvis regularly, and although he didn’t say so in the letters, Rory hoped the sessions were helping. In each letter, he always wrote a paragraph about Ollie, and Rory’s heart soared when Captain told him Leo had been to visit.

His own visiting orders were still going unanswered, but he hoped with enough time, Ollie would give him a chance to explain and let him be there for him in whatever small way he could be.

Sebastian stepped into the kitchen and flung his jacket at the back of a chair. His tank top clung to his chest, and Rory gave him an appreciative look.

“I was going to do pesto pasta for dinner?”

Rory scrunched his nose and put the letter down. “I’ll cook.”

“I’m not that bad.”

“Yeah, you are.”

“You’ve got a weak stomach; that’s all it is.”

Rory snorted. “Weak after you poisoned it… Where’s the recipe?”

“On my laptop.”

Rory snorted, walked over to the laptop and flicked the lid open. He froze at what the web browser had been left on. “How to cheat at chess…”

Sebastian rushed over and tried to shut the lid, but Rory caught his wrist.

“It’s a typo.” Sebastian laughed. “It should say how to getbetterat chess.”

---