'Black and White' - The White Bridge Crime Series 2 - LGBT, manXman

17

Rex firmly shoved Eli up the stairs to bed that night, insisting he have the bedroom, ignoring all of the smaller man's protests.

"I put clean sheets on this morning. The bathroom's down the hall to your right, there are clean towels in the linen cupboard opposite the bathroom, and I'll be downstairs if you need anything. Aeacus will probably end up sleeping with you, but just chuck him out if he annoys you. He's used to sleeping on my pillow."

"Thank you," Eli murmured.

Rex had carried his box of clothes upstairs and put it at the foot of the bed.

Eli pulled out his night bag and a pair of pyjamas, before going down the hall to the bathroom and taking a quick shower.

Rex went back downstairs and pulled out the sofa-bed. He put on clean sheets and pillowcases, before stripping down to his boxers, folding his clothes and putting them on the armchair, and sliding into bed.

He settled back against the pillows, listening to the running water in the bathroom above his head. He heard the soft clunk of the pipes as the water switched off, and a few moments later, the soft padding of footsteps walking down the hall.

Rex sighed and turned off the lamps, settling down to sleep.

*

Two hours later, he was still tossing and turning.

With a soft groan, he turned the lights on again and got out of bed.

He went into the kitchen, pouring himself a mug of milk, and put it in the microwave to heat. He sipped the warmed milk gratefully and went back into the living room.

He left out a soft yelp as a shadow moved in the corner of his eye.

He spun around, spilling half of the milk as he did so.

"So... Let me get this straight," Eli said with a smirk. "The killer breaks in here to finish me off, and you protect me with... milk?"

"Shuddup," Rex grunted. "Couldn't sleep?"

Eli shook his head.

Rex stretched his shoulders, before becoming aware he was stood in only his boxers and feeling his cheeks heat with embarrassment.

Luckily, being so dark-skinned, his blush wasn't visible.

"Do you want some milk?" He asked Eli finally, motioning the mug.

Eli shook his head.

"No, thanks. Can't stand warmed milk." Eli shivered in mock horror.

Rex laughed. He sat back down on his bed and drew the blankets around himself, more for modesty than because of the cold, and sipped the milk.

Eli carefully moved Rex's clothes from the armchair to the sideboard, and curled up.

The pair sat in silence for a long while.

Eli half-dozed in the armchair, feeling much safer with Rex in the same room while he slept.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked finally, his voice quiet.

Rex nodded, noticing Eli looked shy, nervous.

"Erm... What you were saying about Dom and Adrian earlier... That they... What was your first time like?" Eli blurted suddenly, and immediately blushed beetroot-red.

Rex looked at him for a moment, before shrugged.

"It was... awkward, I guess."

"Why?"

"I'd been with the girl about... four months. And we'd talked about sex before, but neither of us were really ready to take the next step. I, erm... when we were talking about sex, we... well, size came up."

"You mean... you?" Eli asked, blushing again.

Rex nodded.

"She was nervous about losing it with me. Because of... anyway, when the time finally came it was... hard. It hurt her, and I had trouble making myself go through with it because it was hurting her. But afterwards she said she liked it, and it became a regular thing. She said it got easier every time. We broke up about three months after that when she moved away."

"How old were you?"

"Nineteen. She was seventeen. Why? Why do you want to know?"

"I..." Eli scrubbed a hand over his eyes, looking ashamed. "I've never... well, I guess I have now."

He visibly shuddered, and tears came to his eyes.

"I've never... willingly..." He stopped speaking when a small sob escaped his throat.

Rex hesitated for a moment, uncertain, before he patted the bed.

Eli settled on the bed, cross legged, his fringe hiding his eyes.

Rex reached out and took Eli's hands in his own. He knew the attack was only just starting to register in Eli's mind; he'd kept the shock at bay much longer than most victims.

He reached out and drew Eli to him, hugging the smaller man while he cried. He'd never hugged a rape victim before, Rex realised.

Usually, rape victims were women, so the lead detectives working the case were women too. The male detective's made the victims nervous, so mostly did the paperwork and the less 'visible' police work involved.

"Oh, God," Eli whimpered softly again Rex's chest, seemingly unaware that the detective was cradling him. "Oh, God... my dad was right... No-one's going to want me now... God..."

Rex listened to Eli babble, remembering everything he said in case it was somehow relevant to the case.

He doubted it.

It seemed mostly to be an outpouring of everything that had upset Eli over the past twenty years.

Rex stroked his soft hair and rubbed his back until his tears finally stopped, almost an hour after they'd started.

"Sorry," Eli whispered.

Before Rex could reply, he was sound asleep.

Rex debated carrying Eli upstairs and tucking him in, but he didn't want to disturb the sleeping man. He settled Eli underneath the blankets on the sofa-bed and laid down on the other side of the mattress.

He watched Eli sleeping for a few moments; for once, the man wasn't wearing the scarf he'd taken to having around his neck.

Rex saw his throat pulsate slightly as his heart beat strongly. A long, white, puckered scar disturbed the tanned skin.

Reaching out, Rex gently traced a finger along the scar, feeling Eli's heartbeat against his fingertips, before reaching across and turning out the lights.