Mayne

23. Hold Me

                          Ethan sat in the corner booth of the diner nervously tapping the fork on the table. He hadn't met with Theus face to face about his interview with Miss Reynolds yet and was a bit concerned about what some of the printouts said. They had been thinking that she was a willing participant but after reading Theus's notes he now thought she was a victim. The concerns over what this meant was bouncing around in his head keeping him from being able to think clearly. The bell hanging on the door rang snapping him out of his thoughts. He glanced up to see the happy site of Theus "I have missed that smile" he greeted him "It's not quite the same over a view screen."

                           "Hey," Theus squeezed in beside him and gave him a deep kiss "I've missed you too." He sat his bag on the table, draped his coat on top of it and turned and gave Ethan another kiss.

                          "Same here," he laid his hand on Theus's thigh and smiled, all thoughts of what they were trying to accomplish vanished as he looked into Theus's eyes "how long do we have before you have to get back?"

                        "I'm not needed until tomorrow night or," he raised his eyebrows and leaned in Ethan's direction "Or, I can accept the honorable release they are offering for my valiant service with all of this and move in with you?"

                      "I'm living in the groups Eido now." Ethan loved the idea of Theus moving in, being able to see him every morning, to curl up beside him. His heartbeat faster at the thought of knowing that he will not have to make plans weeks and months in advance to just see him. "You able to live in an Eido; the only access is in someone's bedroom so you can't just exit whenever you want to."

                       "That doesn't bother me, will they mind us?" Theus liked where this was going.

                      "I don't care if they do." Ethan smiled "I want you with me, I'm tired of only being able to see you when I make plans in advance."

                     "Yeah," Theus nodded "I agree with that point" he reached into his bag and pulled out his com and made an audio call to inform the Vice President of his retirement. "I'm calling to accept the retirement option." He smiled "I'm going to be moving in with Ethan."

                     Ian sighed "I'm glad you called; we ran it by the President, and she is concerned that you would be a target because of the investigation. It's a good thing you will be with him."

                       "So, from that I guess my moving away to somewhere less easy to get to is a well-timed idea. Any advice on how to live in an Eido."

                       Ian laughed "Advice, yes... stay in it for at least twenty-four hours in the beginning. Then it will be easy beyond that. As to the timing, it's perfect," he stated "but just as a precaution; I don't think they are hellbent on ending you, but I do think you are in danger if you are easy to get to." There was a sound in the background "Gatta go, wife just got home." The line clicked.

                       The decision was made and soon it was just Theus and Ethan again. "Welcome home," Ethan smiled "now explain to me what you learned again, there are a few things that I find confusing. Theus explained everything he found and learned then quickly put the conversation aside and just enjoyed Ethan's company. They finished their meal then headed back to the Eido where Ethan's belongings had been delivered to by the VP. Ethan grabbed some boxes and led the way Theus brought along his personal things that he didn't want anyone else messing with and made himself comfortable in Ethan's room first while the rest was moved in. He sat down and took some deep breaths memorizing the feel of the Eido around him before asking for the tour. Afterwards Theus excused himself to go back to their room to clean up and relax while Ethan headed out to inform the group what had been learned.