Page 135 of Butterfly

“Hi…” Ollie whispered. “Good…drive?”

Teddy ruffled Ollie’s hair as he bit his lip. He glanced around the open plan space, but more specifically at the doors that led off from it.

“Are you asking which one is my room?”

Teddy nodded.

Ollie smiled and took his hand. He didn’t run to the other side of the flat despite his heart racing in his chest. He laced his fingers through Teddy’s and led him into the bedroom.

Teddy turned Ollie to face him, then leaned down, gripping Ollie’s chin to tilt him left and right as he studied Ollie’s nose. It hadn’t needed manipulating and had healed straight. There was the faintest bruise halfway down, which of course Teddy noticed and stroked with a finger.

Next, he checked Ollie’s neck, but the mark had gone. Teddy kissed where it had been though before backing off and pointing at Ollie’s jeans.

Ollie rolled his eyes and took them off. Teddy studied Ollie’s knees and squeezed his thighs.

“I’m better now,” Ollie murmured. “I promise.”

Teddy took a step back to look at him before frowning and pointing high up on Ollie’s chest.

Ollie looked down at Teddy’s finger. “Oh, that…”

Teddy’s eyes sharpened.Yes. That.

Red could be seen through the thin white fabric of his T-shirt.

Teddy flared his nostrils and reached for the hem of Ollie’s T-shirt.

Ollie obediently lifted his arms to let Teddy pull it off him.

He heard Teddy’s gasp before he saw Teddy’s stunned expression.

Ollie bit his lip, watching as Teddy took it in.

Teddy smiled. It trembled but grew stronger, and there were tears in his unblinking eyes.

Ollie had a peacock butterfly at the top of his chest.

It was big, in full, beautiful colour, and had been drawn by his own hand. Teddy had never seen this picture before. It had been Ollie’s secret, needled into his skin with the hope that someday Teddy might get to see it, touch it, maybe even kiss it.

“Do you approve?”

Teddy nodded, pressed his palm over the butterfly and closed his eyes. He breathed deeply a few times, sliding his hand over to where he could feel Ollie’s beating heart.

“I’m sorry,” Ollie whispered.

Teddy frowned before opening his eyes.

“I’m sorry about Gary, and Ryan, and all the others he took away from you, but he didn’t take me.” Ollie swallowed the fast-forming lump in his throat. “He tried to. He would have…” He lowered his gaze. “He didn’t slip. I know that’s what they told you happened. But it’s not true, and I don’t want to start our life together with a lie. I pushed him. I pushed him because he would’ve pushed me. I pushed him because I didn’t want him to have control over you ever again. I wanted you to be safe. I wanted you to finally know what it feels like to be free of your demon like you did for me.”

Teddy cupped Ollie’s cheek and lifted his face until they were eye to eye. He swiped his thumb over the tear on Ollie’s lashes.

Ollie didn’t cry for Pichard, and Teddy knew that.

Teddy pressed a closed-mouth kiss to Ollie’s mouth, then rocked back to grab his T-shirt and yank it over his head.

He slid his hand to the back of Ollie’s neck and pulled him into a hungry kiss. Ollie wrapped his arms around Teddy’s back, clinging on as his mouth was assaulted by a needy tongue and bullying lips.

When Teddy pushed him towards the bed, Ollie lay down, sinking his head back into his pillow as Teddy began kissing him everywhere. Across each of his arms, down his legs to his ankles, he kissed and breathed Ollie in as he went.

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