Deliberate Encounters - 2. Ch. 2~ Unexpected

Simon sat staring at the note in his hand, hardly believing what he was reading. He couldn’t understand why Richard wouldn’t have just woken him before leaving the morning after their bowling date. In frustration he read over the words one more time to see if he’d missed anything:

Simon~

Had to leave town unexpectedly for work. Not sure how long I’ll be gone but I’ll be back to you just as soon I can. I’ll see you soon.

~Richard

***

“Damn that man,” Simon muttered. It had been almost a week since Richard had left with no notice. Simon didn’t even know what he did for a living. He knew he could go out, but something held him back, and so there he was, watching the evening news. The story on right now was about a teenage kidnapping victim who had been safely reunited with her family thanks to a tip from an unknown source. The police requested that anyone with information about the identity of the person responsible for her safe return contact them.

Simon’s thoughts turned back to Richard and were interrupted by a knock on the front door. Simon got wearily to his feet as he made his way toward the door. A quick glance through the peephole had him throwing open the door to welcome Richard. His aggravation of a few moments before were forgotten as he pulled Richard close to him.

“Damn it’s good to be home,” Richard muttered, not realizing exactly what he was saying. He buried his nose in Simon’s hair before backing them further into the house and kicking the door shut with his foot. He felt Simon’s arms squeeze him tight and tried unsuccessfully to keep himself from wincing as Simon unknowingly pressed against where he’d been shot.

“Are you okay?” Simon asked worriedly as he pulled away. He’d felt Richard’s wince and lifted his shirt up as he looked for injuries. He found a rough hole that looked like it had been stitched together and was already beginning to heal. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Stupid accident,” Richard said as he swore to himself. He hadn’t planned on Simon knowing about his injury, knowing that it would cause him to worry. “Should have never happened, but I wasn’t paying quite the attention that I should have been.”

“Come in and sit down,” Simon told him, realizing that it probably hurt like hell. He led Richard to the couch and sat down, pulling Richard down with him. He was slightly surprised when Richard swiveled around on the couch to put his head in Simon’s lap. Without thinking about it, Simon started running his fingers through Richard’s hair. “You left for work and you come back injured, so what exactly do you do for a living?” Simon asked.

“It’s kind of complicated,” Richard told him. “For the most part I’m a private investigator, but there are other times when I go help out when I haven’t been asked,” Richard answered, losing himself to the feel of Simon’s fingers in his hair. He had forgotten what he was telling Simon until Simon prompted him.

“Help out?” Simon asked.

“Yeah, I keep an eye on the news. When things come up that involve the safety of an innocent person, such as a kidnapping, drug war, whatever, I go see what I can do. Nobody knows it’s me, but I do what I can.”

“I’m really confused,” Simon told him. “Where were you?”

“There was a girl that had been kidnapped. The police weren’t getting leads on where she might be. I’ve seen enough in my years to know that it can be really bad if a kidnapping victim isn’t found quickly, so I went to see if I could find her.”

“I just saw on the news about a girl being reunited with her family thanks to a tip from an unidentified source,” Simon started. Realization dawned and he met Richard’s unblinking gaze with his own. “You’re the unidentified source, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I am,” Richard admitted quietly. “My senses are very acute, as I’ve told you before. I can take cabs around a city and if I concentrate I can catch things that the police couldn’t. I usually take out the criminals and then leave the victim where she’s safe before calling in a tip.”

“That’s amazing,” Simon answered, in awe of the person who he had begun to date. From what he’d seen so far, Richard went above and beyond when he saw something going down that wasn’t right.

“I may as well use what I am for something good, right?” Richard asked. “I’m sorry I left like I did. I knew I’d have to explain, but I didn’t really have the time right then. The sooner I can get to where I need to be, the more likely I am to find them.”

“It’s okay,” Simon answered. He didn’t really want to share with Richard how upset he’d been to wake up and find him gone, especially now that he knew the reason. “How did you get hurt?”

“I was being stupid. I found where they were keeping the girl, and when they saw me, they held a gun to her head. Not the first time I’ve been in that position and it probably won’t be the last, but it sure ended differently. I was so focused on the guy with the girl that I wasn’t paying attention to what else was going on around me. His partner got in a lucky shot.”

“I was weak for a day or two so I holed up and waited for it to start healing up before I headed home. I couldn’t risk anyone seeing the wound and asking questions. I can only do what I do because nobody knows who I am. You have to promise me you’ll never reveal that you know who’s behind the locating of victims. It would bring about a lot of questions which I would have no good answers for,” Richard told him, his eyes serious as they met Simon’s.

“Your secret is safe with me,” Simon told him gently. “Are you going to be okay?” Simon was worried, he knew how bad gunshots could be and was afraid of losing Richard before they’d really even had any time together. He hadn’t realized that his hands had begun to shake until Richard reached up and grasped them with his own.

“I’ll be fine. I heal fast and though I’m not invincible, I’m definitely hard to kill,” Richard told him as he brought one of Simon’s hands to his lips and pressed a light kiss to the palm.

They sat in silence as Simon processed everything that Richard had told him and when Simon looked back down, he realized that Richard had fallen asleep. Not wanting to wake him up, Simon just sat and watched the man he was falling for. He was still a bit afraid of the feelings that were developing so quickly. The more he learned about the man sleeping with his head in his lap, the more he respected him. Not too many people, no matter what they were, would risk their lives to save a perfect stranger, yet not want the recognition.

Simon wasn’t sure how long he sat there when Richard began to stir. He watched as Richard’s eyes fluttered open only to focus on Simon’s gaze as a slow smile spread over his face.

“For a minute there I thought I was dreaming,” Richard said, his voice lazy and full of sleep.

“Nope, not dreaming,” Simon answered with a smile. “I think I’m about ready to head to bed though.”

“Guess I should get headed home then, huh?” Richard asked him.

“Only if you want to,” Simon answered. Truth was, he found he slept a lot better when he was held in the steel bands of Richard’s arms. He always felt safer when he was with Richard. He had also come to realize that there were so many facets to the man and each one showed just how stupid it would be to be even remotely afraid of him. Well, for Simon to be afraid of him anyways.

“I would much rather stay here,” Richard answered as he sat up.

“Why don’t you head to bed then,” Simon told him. “I’ll get everything shut off and locked up and then I’ll join you.”

“Sounds good to me,” Richard told him as he used his arms to lever himself up and off the couch. He had to be mindful of the pull on the skin around the bullet wound but knew that in a few more days it would be barely noticeable and wouldn’t cause him any issues. When Simon stood up, Richard pulled him into his arms again and captured his lips with his own. When Simon gasped in surprise, Richard took the opportunity to sweep his tongue between Simon’s lips and tease Simon’s tongue with his own. He heard the moans reverberating from Simon’s throat and had to force himself to pull back. If he wasn’t careful he’d push Simon further than what he was ready for. “God I missed you,” Richard muttered against Simon’s lips.

“Why’d you stop?” Simon asked when he had regained his breath and was able to form coherent words.

“Because you’re not ready yet,” Richard told him gently. “I don’t want to risk pushing you too far, you’re too important to me.”

“We haven’t known each other that long,” Simon whispered as he rested his head against Richard’s shoulder.

“Yeah we have, just not on a daily basis. It’s been a couple months since we first met, but don’t worry, I can wait as long as you need,” Richard reassured him. “I’m not going anywhere. It nearly drives me insane just to be away from you.”

“I know the feeling,” Simon answered, “I’ve been going nuts wondering where you were.”

“Well, I’m back now,” Richard told him before forcing himself to pull completely away from Simon. “I’ll meet you in your bedroom,” Richard told him before retreating.

Simon hurriedly shut off the lights and locked the doors as he made his way toward the bedroom. He walked in to find Richard already on the bed, his eyes closed and his breathing deep. He could tell Richard was exhausted and began to reprimand himself for making Richard explain when it was obvious that he needed to sleep. He sighed as he watched Richard sleeping and then stripped down to his briefs and crawled in on the other side of the bed. Being careful not to wake Richard, he scooted across the bed until his back was pressed to Richard’s front. He smiled in the darkness as he felt the other man’s arms slip around him and pull him snugly to his body. Even in sleep Richard wanted him close, the feelings of safety swamped him and in mere moments, Simon’s eyes drifted closed as he fell asleep.