Page 28 of Pain
"They've made their decision. There's no point in arguing. How about we head back to my place and have a few beers and have Dyson call when it's done?" Matt rubbed his thumb over the pulse point on Xander's wrist. "It's been one hell of a day and I think we could both use a beer."
Xander gently pulled his arm back, his hand throbbing. "I hate not being part of this one."
"I know." Matt stared at him. "You know as well as I do, he's not changing his mind on this."
"You know him that well already?" Xander laughed.
"Am I wrong?"
"No, but you know the only reason he is doing this is because of what happened in the geek cave."
"Geek cave?" Matt raised a brow with an amused grin.
"It's what I call the computer room because that is where all you computer geeks hang out." Xander shrugged. "It makes sense."
"I guess it does." Matt laughed. "Not the most complimentary name you could pick, but I guess it's fitting."
"Sorry."
"Don't be. You're not the first one to call me a geek. It's a badge I wear proudly." Matt reached out and gently touched Xander's arm like he had before to calm him. "How about those beers?"
Xander blew out a long breath before nodding. "Yeah, it sounds good." If he couldn't go on the sting, at least he could sit with Matt and wait for the verification to come that the job had been completed. "You sure you won't mind the company?"
"I probably need it more than you do. Maybe you can find a way to keep me from staring at my computer all night. Bryon wants me to stop using it for this kind of stuff at home." Matt didn't look happy about that.
"It's for the best. It's safer here. I'm sure he told you there were spare rooms here if you decide to spend more time searching and need to crash here for a few hours."
"Yeah, he did, but it's still not the same as being able to wake up and work while drinking my morning coffee."
Xander grinned. "Well, the way I see it, morning coffee is like morning wood. It's meant to be enjoyed without any distractions."
Matt snorted back a laugh. "I've never looked at it that way."
"Try it. You'll see how much better your days start out." Xander shook his fist as his knuckles really started to ache.
"It's not broken, is it?"
"Nah, just sore. It will swell up tonight and be fine by morning." Xander looked at the bloody scrapes across his fingers. "My own fault."
"That it was." Matt rolled his eyes. "Never understood hitting things."
"Yeah, it's a bad habit of mine. Figure things are better than people."
"You do have a point." Matt nodded to Xander's car in the driveway. "You ready to leave?"
"Yeah, but I want to talk to Dy before we go, and I left my keys inside."
"And I need to thank the team for allowing me to join them." Matt headed in first, going down the hall without another word.
Xander followed, thankful that he wouldn't have to sit home alone tonight thinking about what Kasey and Dyson were doing. He still wasn't happy, but spending the rest of the evening with Matt would keep him from trying to talk Dyson into letting him join them. The last thing he needed was the team pissed off at him, but fuck, he still wanted to be part of this sting.
Dyson was the only one in the living room when he stepped back in. Xander reached for his keys, then turned to his best friend. "Be safe tonight. Make the fucker pay, okay? Cut a little deeper than normal or something."
"You know we will. No hard feelings, right?"
"Not with you." Xander still wasn't happy with Bryon, but that wasn't something he'd deal with tonight. "Call me when you're headed home, okay? Let me know it's done."
"I will. Are you going to be okay?"
