“Watch out, Gaz!” Those were the last words Kyle heard before passing out after the sudden explosion. All his faint consciousness allowed him to glimpse were hurried hands, screams, and movement. After that, everything went dark.
Kyle woke up with a fright. His body was covered in sweat, his breathing still agitated from the shock. For three years now, his mind had been dragging him back to the pain of that day. The exact moment when his career had come to an end for him. All that remains are his badges hanging cold around his neck. He lost his whole life, but above all, his sight. Every day began and ended like the one before, without light, in total darkness, blind as the doctors had said.
He could barely remember what he looked like, let alone imagine the face that always accompanied him to the ends of the earth, his captain. Who would have thought that a man like Price would leave everything behind to take care of Kyle, his beloved?
Since the incident in Piccadilly, their relationship had grown closer. The words and glances that assured each other’s safety became more frequent. The hours they spent together in John’s office, sharing anecdotes from when they were mere recruits, or the mistakes they made as young men. The reasons for their recruitment, or their dreams for the future. Everything mingled in the warm atmosphere of the office, simple promises and desires that would never see the light of day.
Not until Gaz was retired due to disability. It was a shock that almost destroyed him. It was a stupid thought, he understood that now. He had fallen too low. But those strong, steady hands that had always surrounded him at times of uncertainty continued to keep him afloat. Price gave up everything for him, for his partner, for his friend, his other half, his beloved.
The words I love you or I need you never came out of their mouths, and yet they were sure of each other’s feelings. Neither of them wavered, even though there were recriminations about John leaving the SAS. Gaz couldn’t bear to be the cause of it all.
There were fights and shouting. Words that cut like knives. Cold, silent nights spent missing each other. Wounds that took a long time to heal, especially the psychological ones. But at the end of the day, they had each other, and that was enough.
Gaz would never again see John’s expressions, those blue eyes that drew you into the immensity of the ocean. The grey hairs that increasingly adorned the man. The only thing that assured him that the man was there was the smell of cigars and the soft but deep voice that helped Kyle keep his feet on the ground.
Price, delighted, would throw everything away if it meant spending the rest of his life with Kyle. He never faltered before firing his weapon, and he won’t now. They are both in the right place.
