Luis and Paolo made tracks. There were no hugs or promises to see each other again soon, but as Paolo disappeared towards the forest, guided by Dante, Luis slowed his pace to match Sid’s. “Thank you for calling us. Sometimes I wish I could forget he ever existed, but when I thought something had happened to him, it fucked with my head.”
“Because you love him?”
“Because he’s my brother and he wasn’t always the person he became on the road.”
Sid sidestepped a patch of uneven ground his stressed limbs weren’t in the mood for. Then he chanced a glance at the younger Pope brother. He really was a beautiful man, but his high cheekbones and soulful eyes weren’t Dante’s, so Sid barely noticed. “I know you’re going to tell me I don’t know him like you do, but he hasn’t been that person here either. Prison was hard for him. I think he learned a lot about himself.”
Luis’s handsome face twisted under the weight of his cynicism. “I learned a lot about myself inside too. It didn’t change who I was, though.”
“That’s my point. He didn’t change because he’s still the same kid your mum left behind.”
“He told you about that?”
“Some.” Sid was done walking. He found a tree stump and perched on it. Luis eyed him, his curiosity clear. Sid ignored it. MS could fuck off. “It took a while and a lot of weed to get him to talk, though.”
“It’s good that he’s talking at all. Paolo made me see a therapist, and they reckon Dante’s more damaged than I am because he was older when our dad died and our mum manipulated him more than she ever did me.”
“What do you think?”
“Most days I think he’s an evil cunt who doesn’t care about anyone but himself.”
“And today?”
Luis blew out a breath and let a slow smile free that would’ve looked at home on Dante’s lovely face. “Today I think there’s a chance I might be wrong.”
He left Sid in the woods. Sid watched him go, then tipped his gaze to the tree canopy above him. Faint slivers of sunshine dappled his skin, not strong enough to warm his face, but bright enough to mean something. He took a long, slow breath and closed his eyes, this time hearing Dante’s quiet tread as he came up behind him and feeling the whisper of his breath as he brought his lips to Sid’s ear.
“Luis wants me to tell you something.”
“Oh yeah?” Sid leaned back, his spine moulding itself to Dante’s chest, though he was mindful of the injuries Dante had hidden like a pro the entire time his brother had been in his orbit. “Was it a warning not to corrupt your virtue? Because I’d have to respectfully tell him to go fuck himself.”
Dante laughed and kissed the sensitive place at the base of Sid’s skull, his soft lips chasing the resident ache away, just for a moment. “He wants me to tell you I love you again. He thinks you might not have believed me the first time.”
Sid sat up and turned around, heart expanding at a rate that might’ve scared him if he hadn’t fallen headlong into Dante’s earnest gaze. “I believe you.”
Dante bit his lip. “Good, because I do. I mean, Luis probably thinks I’m incapable of it, and before I met you he might’ve been right, but I do love you, Sid. So much it fucking hurts.”
“Wow.” A slow smile split Sid’s face in half. “That’s kind of convenient, because I love you too.”
Dante’s brows rose, and his hazel eyes widened a touch. “For real?”
“Why does that surprise you so much?”
“Dunno. It’s just—these last few days have been wild. I thought maybe I’d scared you off... that’s why I wasn’t going to tell you until it fell out of me this morning.”
“Ever?”
“What? No. I’d have told you eventually.”
Sid brushed Dante’s hair back from his face. “How long is eventually?”
“As long as you still want me around.”
“A long time then.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah, I reckon so.” Sid kissed Dante’s lips, the desire they’d shared from the beginning still burning strong. He wanted to tell Dante that he’d love him forever, but he knew Dante as well as anyone could, and right now, this moment was enough. Their present would become their future. It was how the world worked. Sid didn’t need declarations or promises. He just needed Dante to be happy.