Page 44 of Uncharted

Fine, complicated them a lot.

Fuck.

“I guess Aidan was giving less and less information over time, and he swears that even in the beginning, he was leaving stuff out. And he never mentioned Colin and Xander’s relationship,” Reno said, frowning thoughtfully. “He actually seemed kind of horrified at the idea that he would pass something like that along.”

“Doesn’t mean he wasn’t fucked up for doin’ it,” I said, slightly comforted that despite everything, the decent guy I’d thought Aidan was still existed in some form. In what form and how much of it was actually there, I didn’t know. “I could beat his ass, I swear to⁠—”

Reno was watching me with a knowing smile, and despite how pissed I was, I could feel the frayed edges of my nerves soften. “I know. It’s funny how pretty much everyone was surprised at how pissed you were about it…the first time.”

“Can’t believe I forgot,” I muttered.

“You hadn’t been awake long, and you were on a pretty high pain med dose. The doctors warned us against talking about things you might need to remember, just in case. Dumb us for not listening.”

There were a lot of things in life that I could live with and forgive, but betrayal? Loyalty to your own was one of the few things I demanded from people. You needed loyalty and trust when you were dealing with people who were supposed to have your back in bad situations. I had to imagine that betrayal could still be forgiven; I just wasn’t sure how.

“Xander is going over the messages, so I guess we’ll see what he says. He put it to a vote because he’s an asshole sometimes, but he’s not unfair. If it’s bad enough, he might override us,” Reno said with a frown.

“And you?”

“What about me?”

“How do you feel about it?”

“Confused as hell,” he said immediately with a laugh. “Mika is standing by him and he’s madder than hell and more stubborn than is probably healthy but…he’s standing by him. And shit, he doesn’t realize it yet, but he’s already forgiving Aidan.”

“And that’s enough?” I asked, not because I thought that was stupid, but because it was a real question.

“I’m the oldest, technically. Something I like to remind him about. He always quotes that ‘twenty-two minutes’ shit, and it’s funny,” Reno said with a smirk. “But he’s been more like an older brother to me than I ever was to him. When I think back to us as kids, anytime I was scared, anytime I felt lost, anytime I needed to look to someone for guidance, it was him. I know…he beats himself up because of the college years, but…even then, even when I didn’t have him, I looked to him. Maybe it was stupid, but I just…I felt like I understood he needed that space, that time, and maybe I should do the same. But I was always thinking about what he would do, or say to me when something was going on in my life.”

It hurt and warmed me at the same time to hear things about his past. The brothers had only had one another when I had been blessed with two parents who loved each other and their children, and siblings who, despite our fighting and feuding, always stood by one another. I’d had so much and he’d had so little, and it wasn’t fair.

“So…yeah, it’s enough,” Reno said. “Plus, if everything I was told was right…I dunno, in a way, I almost feel bad for him.”

“Aidan?” I asked in surprise.

“Desperate times lead to desperate measures. And desperate measures don’t always lead to good things. And I don’t know, maybe it’s because he was part of us, and that was enough to wake him up to what was going on.”

“And he saved your life.”

“There’s that. I guess that’s part of it.”

“That’s the only part of it for me when it comes to him right now,” I admitted with a scowl. “It’s the only reason I’m still gonna say he should stay. If it weren’t for that?”

“Because you feel you…or I owe him?” Reno asked.

I frowned before shaking my head. “Maybe, but…I remember you tellin’ me about what happened out there. He didn’t just put himself at risk to help you. That son of a bitch threw himself into the goddamn river to keep ya in one place so someone else could help both of ya when it was lookin’ like ya weren’t gonna hold on long enough. Ya…can’t be a shit person if you’re willing to do all that for someone. And no, I don’t care if you’re his boyfriend’s brother; even then it’s gotta count for somethin’, I just dunno how much yet.”

Reno looked at me before getting up and sitting on the edge of the bed. “There weren’t any broken ribs on your right side, yeah?”

“Against all sense, yeah,” I said, brightening as I felt his body pushing up against me.

I didn’t really care if he was still unsure about our…shenanigans, or if someone wandered into the room and got their own idea about what was going on. I wrapped my arm around him and held him close so he didn’t fall off the bed as he leaned back to look at me.

“I figured,” he said with a snort. “Needy.”

I closed my eyes. “I guess. I think I…was in the dark again.”

“Again?”