All Tied Up Ch. 07 by jroseemi,jroseemi Emmanuel went with River the next day to meet with Jae and his team to check the house out. Nothing seemed to be missing from what River could tell, and they didn’t find anything dangerous or left behind in the rooms that had been ransacked. River was glad to see that the basement had been left alone, but he hadn’t let Jae come down with him. Jae raised an eyebrow at that but River just explained it was kink stuff and didn’t want to talk further on that with a colleague.
Once they were sure the house was safe, River and Emmanuel worked on cleaning the place up and putting it back in order.
Around that same time at work, Jae and River were throwing ideas at each other. Jae hadn’t realized that the saliva and hair had come back different from each other, and it raised a lot of questions about why two people might be working together like this. Jae commented on it being odd that two men would team up like this, as usually when two people get together to commit a crime like this, it’s a man and woman who are romantically involved.
“Maybe they were?” River pointed out, slightly uncertain. “Romantic. We can’t say for certain right now, though their…sexual tastes might rule each other out as a sexual partner.”
“Pedophiles still do have sex with other adults,” Jae pointed out. “They usually have trouble with erections and such though. So, if they have a relationship with an adult, it’s usually fraught with sexual dysfunction. I’m almost positive they weren’t romantically involved if at least one of their tastes is for little girls. Though…if one of them likes little girls, we can’t rule out the idea that the second person might have had his eyes set on one of the other children. It might have just worked out that they could only grab her.”
River’s mind shifted to Vinny, not sure how he felt about all of this. He knew he’d have to find a way to get a DNA swab from Vinny, but he also knew asking for it would insult him.
Then his mind was occupied with other work and the wedding for the next two months. They had a whole night out playing games, drinking, and being rowdy for the bachelor party. River was glued to Emmanuel’s side most of the time, though Chuck was able to coax him into playing games against him. It turned out River was pretty good at video games, and even better at Dance Dance Revolution, which was fantastic to watch him kick Chuck’s ass at.
Krysta was extra bossy during the rehearsal, but she was in a better mood once they got to the dinner. They had a relaxed night of talking and eating, and then went off to get sleep for the wedding. River and Emmanuel didn’t have sex that night so that River’s back wouldn’t be achy the next day. It was always a good ache, a reminder that he had been used the night before, but they knew better than to go hard right before an event like this. So they each used their mouths and hands to get the other off and then fell asleep together.
Chuck was a ball of nerves the next day when they got to the venue to get ready, not wanting anything to go badly because he wanted the day to be perfect for Krysta. River immediately went into best friend and best man mode, doing what he could to take the stress off of Chuck.
“You have us, so use us as you need to,” River told Chuck. “If I need to go and tell the event coordinator things, or go and set something up, or take something to the bridesmaids, we can do that. All you need to do today is relax and enjoy, okay?”
Chuck smiled at River. “You’re the best.”
“You’re right, I am,” River agreed, which earned the chuckle he had hoped it would. Emmanuel managed to stay out of the way for the most part, only really getting involved in anything to help River. His sister hadn’t really had much to say to him after the mending of the friendship between River and Chuck.
Once Chuck had gone down to stand at the front of the church, Krysta came out every bit the vision of beauty in white lace. Her blonde hair was half pulled up in an intricate bun that held her veil in place. She made sure that everyone was ready in the order they would walk out in while people continued to go into the venue, but she stopped to give each of her brothers hugs since she had missed them earlier in the day.
“I made sure to seat you and River next to each other at the head table,” Krysta whispered to Emmanuel when she got to him.
Emmanuel smiled warmly and whispered back, “Well, we’ll try not to do that there! You look angelic today!”
Krysta laughed when she got his joke about the head table. She straightened his tie on the tuxedo, making sure it looked perfect before fiddling with his boutonniere. “You clean up nicely yourself.”
They talked in low voices for a little longer before Mr. Long came over to take Krysta’s arm so he could walk her down the aisle. He gave his foster son a pat on the shoulder in greeting before River told everyone to get ready as the music changed. River made sure everyone was in line correctly before he gave Krysta a nod of the head and walked up to his own spot by the maid of honor. He gave Emmanuel a wink as he went, then took the arm of the maid of honor like he was supposed to.
The ceremony was beautiful, and Chuck teared up as soon as he saw Krysta walk down the aisle. Luckily, River had thought ahead and had a handkerchief for him to use to wipe his eyes with. By the time the vows were done, there was barely a dry eye in the church.
River wasn’t able to look at Emmanuel because of where they were standing in relation to each other, but the vows made him a little wistful as he thought of their relationship. He had come to the conclusion a while ago that he probably wouldn’t get married, mostly because his choices in crushes and partners kind of sucked. With Emmanuel though, everything seemed to be changing. He felt more secure in what they had going on, and he was starting to see things that could be rather than just what was.
Emmanuel was passively enjoying the ceremony and actively appreciating watching River be butch today. He was beginning to recognize the feelings growing inside himself and they terrified him a bit. The last time he had loved anyone, things had ended painfully and he had vowed not to get that entwined with anyone again, but he just couldn’t help it with River.
After the ceremony, everyone who wasn’t in photos went off to the cocktail hour while the others stayed for the posed photos. River was accustomed to posed photos thanks to his family, but he found photos were a lot more fun when he was next to Emmanuel. He stood next to the maid of honor for the big group photos, but when it was just the groomsmen, River inevitably ended up next to Emmanuel.
Once the photos were done, they made their way to the hotel where the reception was being held in the ballroom. After the bridal party was announced and at their seats, the bride and groom were announced to a standing ovation. River slipped away from the table to whisper to the DJ for a moment, who gave a nod like he had been ready for this. River took the microphone once the bride and groom had sat down, and both of them looked a little surprised to see River standing there with it, like they weren’t sure what he was doing.
“Good evening, everyone, and thank you so much for being here to celebrate the bride and groom tonight,” River said with a sly smile. “Speeches aren’t quite yet, which is why the bride is looking at me like I’m about to steal her spotlight. Chuck asked me a while ago about something, but I told him I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off. Well, Chuck, I did.”
Chuck’s face immediately lit up at that and he grabbed Krysta’s hand to look at her with an excited expression, though Krysta still looked confused. River only let that confusion last for a tiny bit longer before he said, “In honor of love and friendship, I am very happy to introduce one of my best friends, Trevor Lars, together with his co-star from Extracurricular, Keri Hart, to sing a medley of love songs for the blessed couple.”
At that, Krysta turned to look at River in surprised awe. He gave her a quick grin before he handed the microphone back to the DJ and went back to his seat to watch the show. Chuck had asked him a while ago if he could talk Trevor into doing this. Trevor and his husband Alex had been invited to the wedding, of course, but getting him to perform was a much different thing than just attending. Trevor was usually pretty clear that he wasn’t party entertainment, since he was well known now and quite the star.
Still, for his small group of close friends, he’d go out of his comfort zone if they asked him to, and River had asked. So Trevor came out in a dark blue suit with a sapphire vest while Keri came out in a blue velvet gown. They performed a romantic mix of music from The Greatest Showman, which was one of Krysta’s favorite movies. The performance was masterful, and the two of them had so much chemistry together as they sang the songs, interspersing dancing where they had practiced. It was pretty simple choreography but it worked perfectly and it was something Trevor could do even after his injury.
When they finished, with Keri in a dramatic dip that Trevor held up, everyone in the ballroom jumped to their feet to applaud. Theo caught River’s eye from across the room and gave a nod. Both of them had recorded the performance so Trevor could do his social media thing. It was part of the deal when Trevor said he would ask Keri to help him with this.
Chuck came up and gave Trevor a hug, thanking him for the performance. Trevor happily gave Krysta a hug as well, telling her congratulations. River grinned when Chuck made his way over to him, a bright smile on his face as he said, “You sneaky little ass.”
River gave a shrug, though it was mostly for show. He laughed as Chuck hugged him and thanked him for talking Trevor into it. Krysta gave him a hug too, a genuine one, and a kiss on the cheek, which was a first for River in his relationship with her. They’d always had a vaguely distant friendly vibe between them, but not close. Definitely not close enough to hug, but he rolled with it, telling her he was so glad she liked the surprise. Even Krysta’s parents came over to thank River for making their daughter’s night, which was a great feeling and awkward because it was also, technically, his boyfriend’s parents too, and he wasn’t sure if they knew that yet.
While they were talking, Emmanuel slipped up behind River and twined his fingers through River’s. His parents looked briefly at their connected hands and went smoothly back to the conversation as if nothing untoward had happened. At some point, they made their excuses to go find a close vantage point for the cake cutting that was scheduled to happen soon.
They got through the scheduled things, like the first dance, dinner, cake cutting, and bouquet throwing. Krysta threw the bouquet just a little too far back and River caught it to try and keep it from hitting the floor before one of the single ladies could catch it. Much to his dismay, though, the bridesmaids and other single women made him keep it. He stood there with his face flushed in embarrassment while the women congratulated him and Trevor took photos from his vantage point on the side.
River did, though, play it up when one of the single groomsmen caught the garter because he thought it was funny to see the guy blush. Emmanuel loudly called for the lucky catchers to share a dance, smiling wickedly at River when he looked at him with a shocked expression. Once he saw that, River set his jaw in a determined expression, much to the whooping and hollering of the groomsmen and River’s friends, as well as Chuck, before he led the other guy onto the dance floor.
River was a pretty good dancer, so he led it, though the other guy was much shyer than he had seemed at the bachelor party now with everyone watching. He seemed to keep up okay with River, but didn’t have the flair River did. He finished by dipping the other guy, and Trevor let out a wolf whistle while Krysta laughed. It was as he looked around for Emmanuel that he saw him recording his Pet with his phone.
River helped the groomsman back to his feet, and then strode over to Emmanuel where he slipped his arms around him and whispered how evil he was. Emmanuel laughed as he uploaded the video to his personal cloud before putting his phone away and hugging River back.
With all of the planned things done, now it was time to just drink, dance, and enjoy the dessert bar and cake. Trevor, of course, was the type of guy that was always the life of the party and managed to pull his friends into it. Alex and Keri naturally fell into step with him, but he did a good job of getting the rest of the groomsmen and bridesmaids, and of course River and Emmanuel, out to dance.
River had never danced with a partner at a wedding like this, but it was a blast. He loved moving to the music against Emmanuel’s body.
At some point in the night, Theo leaned into Hop’s ear and said, “River seems different when he’s around Emmanuel. Like he’s coming out of his shell. I don’t know how else to describe it.”
Hop smiled, looking over at the two of them dirty dancing together. “What kind of shell, though? Like are we talking Lobster? Crab? Turtle? Colorful Candy?”
Theo snickered at that. “Colorful candy shells are Trev’s specialty. I guess River was more of a hermit crab, maybe in a toxic shell before.”
It wasn’t until almost one AM when the party died down. River and the other groomsmen helped with a little of the cleanup, grabbing the things that didn’t belong to the venue but to the bride and groom. Once they had the car packed up, Chuck and Krysta gave everyone hugs and sent people on their way. The people who drank were helped with ubers or having someone who was sober drive them home.
River had drank earlier in the night but hadn’t had anything for a while so he drove them to his house, getting back around two in the morning. They carefully took off their tuxes and got them hung up before River laid down on the bed and looked up at Emmanuel.
“Weddings are always so romantic and sweet,” River commented. “I always love going to them. I used to dream of having a big wedding myself when I was a kid. Cassia told me when she was alive she wanted to be my best girl at my wedding.”
Emmanuel looked at River with sympathy, only really able to viscerally understand River’s feelings so well, but definitely understanding loss. In his case it was more of a loss from connections that never were, which made River’s loss even more poignant for him because he lost someone he knew and loved. “Is there some way for her to be with you if you get married?” he asked softly.
River nodded his head slowly. “Yeah, there are ways. I have jewelry that was hers, and some of her stuffed animals. My mom also has some of her old dresses that she has kept so she could help put them into our wedding outfits. Ocean had a belt made from a pink and white dress she wore for our aunt’s wedding. And her favorite flowers were pink roses.”
Emmanuel nodded, his eyes still showing sympathy but also reflecting hope for River. “Good. I’d hate for any of you to have to go through life without feeling like there was some way for her to be present at your important events. Honestly I think that may be why I never bothered with the graduation ceremony at high school or even messing around with college. There was no one to impress, so why even be there? Y’know?” he asked.
“What about your foster family?” River asked him.
Emmanuel shrugged. “They’re okay, as far as people go, and they genuinely care about all of their kids, but it’s different when there’s a lifetime connection. I only met them when I was fourteen and had already been deemed a ‘Problem Child.’ By then I was pretty jaded about some things and only really started thinking about where my life may be going in the past year or so,” he explained.
River frowned at that, thinking of Trevor and wondering if he would have been deemed a problem child himself had he ended up in foster care instead of with his aunt. “Sometimes I think their ‘problem children’ are just children that have gone through more than they want to handle.”
Emmanuel nodded at that, saying, “Yeah, that tracks. I should still get into therapy, but I found the BDSM community rather therapeutic. Besides, childhood trauma makes for much more interesting people, don’t you think?”
River considered his own friends and nodded his head. “It does make us funnier, that’s for sure. It’s true that the things I get from BDSM help with some of that though, and I definitely couldn’t get from other avenues, even therapy. Plus, maybe you wouldn’t have been as interested in me without that side of it.”
Emmanuel allowed for the truth in that statement. “Maybe, but I’m not exactly the model for healthy decision-making. I’ve passed on a lot of things that probably were in my best interest not to pass on. Likewise, I’ve accepted behaviors from people that I definitely should not have done.”
“You aren’t the only one,” River admitted, his expression one of understanding. “I’m trying to do better now though. Stop letting people walk all over me, unless I’ve given them consent to.”
Emmanuel smiled at that, then gestured for River to slide over so he could lie down behind him. Emmanuel felt like being the big spoon tonight. River shifted on the bed so Emmanuel could move in behind him and let out a sigh of satisfaction when Emmanuel slipped his arms around him. River felt warm and safe here, in Emmanuel’s arms, in a way he never had with anyone else. Emmanuel had never felt more comfortable with anyone in his arms before either and there was a small kernel of doubt in the back of his mind that told him that he didn’t dare trust that this could be it.
They fell asleep like that, both afraid to view this as any sort of permanent coupling while still wanting just that. Chuck and Krysta went off on their honeymoon the next day and then it was life as usual for both of them.
River still couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him, no matter where he seemed to be, but he couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. It disturbed his sleep enough that he had started taking sleep aids most nights to be able to sleep. He had a system for when he got home from work now, which was his normal routine with just one more thing added.
He would come home, take a shower to get all of the grime and sweat off, and then eat some dinner, chug down a sports drink, and go to bed. If Emmanuel came over, then he would stay up until he got there, then he would take his sleep aid. If he didn’t come over, then he sent a goodnight and took the sleep aid before laying down.
It was a month after the wedding that River came home and took his shower, eating really fast before he grabbed the next sports drink in his mini fridge to take into the room. He sent a text to Emmanuel as he sat down, asking, “Am I keeping this bed warm for you tonight?”
“Hopefully,” was Emmanuel’s quick response. “I have to finish this run with Rufus to pick up fresh meat on the East Side, then I should be able to head over. Depends on how late we get back.”
River grinned and opened up his sports drink, chugging it down. He drank a ton of coffee at work, which was dehydrating and contained no major nutrients he actually needed for his body. Sports drinks were his quick fix after work to rehydrate himself and get the nutrients he likely would forget to get later in the week. It tasted just slightly more bitter than it usually did, but sometimes he found one in a batch that wasn’t perfect so he didn’t think anything of it.
He laid down on the bed, wearing only purple and brown striped boxer briefs. He was taking a few photos of him on the bed, trying to entice Emmanuel into hurrying that along however he could. He hadn’t taken the sleep aid at all yet, expecting that they would get up to some sort of play when he got there, but his eyes started getting droopy as if he had taken them. He just managed to send the photo before he put his phone down on the bed, looking around to try and figure out why he was so tired.
Thanks for reading pls vote or comment He was trying to fight through it, but before he knew it, everything went black. He didn’t notice the person that came out of the shadows once he was out, making sure River was completely asleep before they checked the phone. River would remember almost nothing of that night, other than one time when his eyes had fluttered and he could remember someone touching him, but after that it was dark again.
Emmanuel sent off a text to River when he was making his way to River’s house finally, giving him an ETA. River never answered back, which was a little unusual for him. When he turned onto River’s street, he could smell smoke from nearby, but couldn’t tell if it was someone doing a bonfire or something else. River’s big bay window in the front of his house was open, which was unusual for this time of night, and the light that Emmanuel could see in the living room was flickering. When he got close enough, he could see that the entire wall that River had put his family photos on was up in flames.
Emmanuel dismounted his bike mid-pedal and dropped it instantly as he ran for River’s front door, shouting as loudly as he could for someone to call for emergency services. He found that the front door was left unlocked, something River never did. That detail embedded itself into the back of his brain for use later, however, as he had not seen River outside and assumed he must be in there somewhere. His last communication from River had been a selfie on the bed, so he immediately turned left and went down the hall to the bedroom.
When he opened the door to the bedroom, he found River passed out in the bed, still wearing only what he’d been wearing in the photo. His phone was sitting on his chest and his head was turned toward where the door was, though he wasn’t awake despite the fire alarm going off in the house. Emmanuel grabbed his phone and pocketed it and then tossed River over his shoulder like a 250 lb. sack of fertilizer, grunting a bit at the effort.
He stumbled through the doorway and back out onto the lawn as the rest of the living room caught fire with an inrush of air that made Emmanuel stagger. He barely recovered enough to avoid dropping River and ended up awkwardly muscling him gently to the grass. There were people out on their own lawns now and Emmanuel could hear sirens in the distance. It concerned him that through all of this, River hadn’t roused at all. Even with the sleep aid, River was a fairly light sleeper.
Emmanuel checked his pulse concernedly, but relaxed a little when he felt a strong heartbeat. He looked around for signs of someone lurking nearby, maybe to admire their handiwork, but whoever had done this was long gone. When the fire truck and cops showed up, one of the firemen asked Emmanuel if anyone else was in the house while the others started to pull the hose down to fit it onto the fire hydrant.
Emmanuel shook his head to indicate that there wasn’t but then spoke up, “No, but the fire started in the living room on that wall there.” He pointed to indicate which wall he meant. “I don’t think he inhaled any smoke, but I haven’t been able to wake him up. Can someone draw some blood for a tox-screen?”
An ambulance had pulled up behind the fire truck and a few of the EMTs came over to check on River. His oxygen levels were good but they couldn’t seem to rouse him much. He had a moment where his eyes fluttered but then he was out again. One of the EMTs started an IV so they could get saline in him as well as get him ready for blood testing. They did a quick alcohol check on his breath, but that came back negative.
A cop car pulled up in front of the fire truck and the cop that Emmanuel knew as Jae jumped out and ran over to them. “River! I thought it was his address when it came over the radio.”
“He’s not waking up, Detective Park,” one of the EMTs said. “We need to get him to the hospital.”
Jae nodded his head and turned to Emmanuel. “I assume you’ll be going with him. Can you let me know what the doctor says? They should be testing for date rape drugs too.”
Emmanuel nodded, the adrenaline in his system starting to make him shake in reaction. Jae helped him get over to the ambulance, making sure he was in it and sitting down after they had gotten River loaded up. One of the EMTs offered Emmanuel a water bottle. Emmanuel took it as Jae shut the doors to the ambulance and it lurched away from the curb. It wasn’t until they were a few minutes along the way to the hospital that it occurred to Emmanuel that he had no means to contact Jae, though he realized that it was possible that River had his contact information in his phone.
When they got to the hospital, they brought River into one of the rooms in the ER where they got him attached to monitors to check his heart rate, his blood pressure, and his oxygen saturation. Luckily, his oxygen looked good and they didn’t think he got much of the smoke if any at all. The first thing they did was take blood samples and send them off for testing. Within the hour, Gardenia and August showed up at the hospital, where River’s mother drew Emmanuel into a hug as soon as she saw him.
Emmanuel was feeling the full weight of the emotional reaction he had put off during the event by then and that human contact made him lose control of his emotions completely. He buried his face in the safety of Gardenia’s shoulder and sobbed. Gardenia petted his hair while she told him that it was going to be okay and that River was safe.
“You got him out of there and got him to safety,” she murmured to him. “You saved him.”
Right around the time that Emmanuel managed to pull himself back together, the doctor came in, looking at them all sympathetically before sitting down in the rolling chair and saying, “So, it looks like River was given a pretty hefty dose of rohypnol and ketamine. Unfortunately, we mostly have to wait for it to work through his system. It’s a good thing you brought him in though because mixing these can be very dangerous. I’m going to admit him so he can be watched and taken care of while he comes off of it, but I don’t expect to see him awake and alert for some time still.”
“Will he be okay in the long run though?” August asked.
“So long as he gets through this, I think he’ll be fine,” the doctor told them. “I can’t promise what his mental health will look like after being drugged like this, especially if something happened during his black out that he might vaguely remember, but physically I think he’ll be fine.”
A few of the nurses came in to get a tube down River’s nose so they could give him activated charcoal to slow down and stop any new reaction from the drug as well as putting some medicine in his IV line to protect his kidneys and liver from the drugs. Gardenia and August stayed with them the entire time, with Gardenia almost never letting go of Emmanuel’s hand while they worked on River. He didn’t wake for hours yet, though, and when he did, he was out of it and disoriented.
When the doctor was just speaking to him in a low voice, he was fine, but as soon as he put a hand on his shoulder to ground him in reality, River started to panic and scream while trying to get away from him. The doctor looked momentarily surprised before he took his hand away and looked to River’s family to help calm him down before they had to sedate him, which the doctor didn’t want to do with the other sedatives still in his system.
Emmanuel stepped forward, ignoring the doctor and the rest of the folks in the room for now. He bent down close to River’s ear and rumbled in his deep baritone, “Pet, I’m here and you’re safe. Will you let me touch you?”
River stopped moving once he heard Emmanuel’s voice and turned his head to look at him. His eyes were still bleary and unfocusing, but he’d recognize Emmanuel’s form almost anywhere. He gave a quick nod of his head, and then immediately relaxed his body as soon as he felt Emmanuel’s hand on his shoulder.
Emmanuel kept saying soothing things to River, talking him through the things the hospital staff needed to do before they did it. The whole time, he kept his hand on River’s shoulder. River’s parents could see in that gesture and from the expression on his face anything they ever needed to know about Emmanuel’s love for their son.
Gardenia couldn’t help but smile at them, because she could tell from the way River relaxed and listened intently to Emmanuel’s voice how he felt about him as well. The longer they were there, the more River came out of the effects of the drugging. He was eventually better able to focus on the things around him, and realized his parents were there.
By the time dawn hit, Jae was escorted in by one of the nurses. He had a serious expression on his face. “I found a sports drink that I’m having Dr. Carrington test. The living room is ruined. The fire took out almost everything in it, and the water did the rest, but the fire is out. I have people sweeping for fingerprints on the bottle too, besides yours. How are you feeling?”
“I at least realize this is reality now,” River admitted. “For a while there, it felt a little like dreaming. Like everything was hazy and I couldn’t tell what was real.”
“Do you remember anything before the hospital?” Jae asked.
River started shaking his head and then stopped, his brows furrowing. “Someone… Someone’s hands. It felt like a dream, but I thought I felt someone touching me.”
“Touching you?” Jae asked, clearly checking for more details.
River closed his eyes against the memory. “Groping, caressing, feeling me up. But I can’t be sure if it’s real or not.”
Emmanuel’s hand never wavered on his shoulder but the icy look in his eyes spoke volumes. Jae’s eyes hardened at what River said, but he just gave a nod of his head. He seemed to be weighing options in his head before he said, “We could ask for a rape kit while you’re in here.”
River looked up at Jae like that was the last thing he wanted to do, but it was clear to everyone that he was battling with whether he had to suck it up and do it. Emmanuel caught River’s eye. “It’s your choice. Either way, I support you and I will be here for you through all of it,” he said softly.
River’s face was pale but he eventually nodded his head that he would do it. They had to get almost everyone out of the room, but made an exception for Emmanuel since it was clear River would lose it if he left. After it was over with, they gave River a pair of hospital underwear, pants, and a shirt. Most of it was from their psych ward, because that was where they had extra clothes for their patients, but they made sure he had something.
Emmanuel was steadfast with River through all of it, like he had promised. He helped River get dressed once he was allowed to, and looked up at him slyly from the floor as he pulled the second sock over River’s ankle. “Looks like you got the grippy socks without the vacation this time!” he quipped with a wink.
River gave him a weak smile at that. “Too bad I’m in no shape to make this lewd or something. I’ve never felt this weak and out of it before.”
Emmanuel smiled up at him and stood up smoothly, cupping his chin and leaning down for a quick kiss. “You’ve never been this drugged up before, I would assume. I mean, I don’t know your life, but judging from the way you didn’t help at all when I put you over my shoulder and lugged you out of the house…” he said as he broke the kiss.
River looked up at him with more than a little awe. He remembered vaguely hearing about how he got out from the doctor as they asked him questions, but he had still had trouble believing it. Not because he didn’t think Emmanuel could do that, but because it was him that Emmanuel had saved like that. “You could have hurt yourself doing that,” River commented finally.
“I could have, Pet, but you dying if I didn’t was a surety and there was no way I was going to allow that. You’re too important to me,” Emmanuel admitted.
River’s expression gave away his own thoughts to Emmanuel, but he didn’t know what to say other than that he felt the same way about his Sir. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Emmanuel’s waist and hugged him tightly. Emmanuel petted River’s hair gently but possessively. When River finally let go of his waist, Emmanuel pulled away only enough to drag a nearby chair over and sat next to River, twining his fingers through his love’s.
They kept River well into the next day, wanting to make sure that his blood tests looked good and that he was alert and okay. When he was finally let out, Emmanuel went with him to meet Jae so he could see the damage to the house. River’s breath left him almost immediately when he saw the damage to the front. The window had been broken to put out the fire, and everything in the living room was burnt and waterlogged.
All of the photos were gone, and River looked sadly at where they had been. Emmanuel silently held his hand as they surveyed the wreckage of what was once River’s carefully curated living room. Jae told them both that he had questioned everyone they had on the list as suspects for his sister’s killing, and they all had alibis.
River was silent for a long time before he said, “What about Vincent?”
Jae didn’t look entirely surprised but shook his head. “His friend Jon Townsend said he was at his house. We didn’t find much in the way of fingerprints or anything, even on the bottle. Just yours. And fire destroys a lot of evidence.”
Emmanuel’s lips tightened at the mention of Jon Townsend, but he kept his peace. He remembered River telling him that Jon had been in love with Vinny for decades but Vinny would never give him the time of day. River was considering that same thing, but for now he accepted the reply at face value.
They let River go into his room to pack up a bag of clothes and anything else he needed. The house wouldn’t be livable until the damage had been fixed. It was a mess of dealing with the insurance company and contractors, but his dad had already jumped on working on it to help him out.
Emmanuel reminded River a couple of different times while they were packing things into River’s dusty suitcases that his apartment was small. He said it with a laugh each time, but his expression escalated from one of good-natured ribbing to one of genuine concern when the third bag was zipped closed. River gave a little chuckle and then came over and kissed him on the cheek.
“My go bag for work and extra testing supplies can stay in the car,” River told him. “I just want to make sure I have clothes and toiletries. I promise I won’t take up your whole place. Or I could always stay with Atlas or my parents for a little bit.”
The set of Emmanuel’s jaw made it clear that he was not letting River out of his sight any more than he had to for a bit. River couldn’t hide the smirk that caused, though it made him feel good that Emmanuel didn’t want to let him leave his sight. They took the bags out to the car, where Jae made sure that River was okay to drive.
“Just be careful,” Jae warned them both. “I think you have the culprit freaked out, and I think they will make more mistakes, but it might also put you in danger. My guess is he never meant for you to die in the fire, but we can’t be sure going forward that won’t be his plan.”
River looked over at Emmanuel with a severe expression, realizing that he could be putting Emmanuel in danger being around him. Emmanuel looked back at him, daring him to say it. River looked like he was still going to say it for a moment, his lips parting as if to make words before he seemed to think better of it and just turned back to Jae to give him a nod of his head. He stayed silent on the drive over to Emmanuel’s, though he was chewing his lip with anxiety.
It wasn’t until they were up in Emmanuel’s apartment that River sat down on the bed and looked at him with a worried expression. “I don’t want you to get hurt because of me,” River practically whispered.
“Good. I’m more of a pitcher than a catcher where pain is concerned,” Emmanuel said jokingly before getting serious. “River, I accept whatever risk is associated with being your boyfriend and being close to you.”
River looked like he wanted to argue with that, but he knew Emmanuel was an adult who could make his own decisions. So he took Emmanuel’s hands and drew him down onto the bed with him where he lost any of the distance between them, putting everything he hadn’t said out loud yet into the kiss he gave Emmanuel. All of the fear, all of the affection and love, every bit of what he felt for this amazing man who was kissing him back.
Emmanuel laughed silently to himself at the fact that River hadn’t seemed to notice what he had called himself, but he felt sure it would occur to him eventually. They had agreed to be boyfriends a while ago, but Emmanuel hadn’t said it out loud like this before, and it made River feel butterflies.
“My boyfriend,” River murmured in Emmanuel’s ear when they broke apart.
Emmanuel mock-rolled his eyes but the smile on his face gave the lie to his false exasperation. River grinned at him and kissed Emmanuel again. If he hadn’t been drugged so recently, he would have definitely started something right then, but he was still feeling off so instead he molded himself into Emmanuel’s side as he laid on the bed and rested his head on his shoulder. It didn’t take long before Emmanuel heard the soft rasp of River snoring lightly. He extracted himself gently and set about organizing River’s things so that they could actually move around his tiny apartment.
River didn’t stir at all as he did that. It was clear to Emmanuel that despite having the drugs mostly out of his system, he was still exhausted from the whole ordeal. Seeing his home destroyed helped make him all the more tired. He didn’t even stir when Emmanuel finished and came to lay back down with him, pulling River close to him so he knew he was really there and not in danger.
They both knew the danger would only increase, but they could never guess just how much before the culprit was caught.
Thanks for reading pls vote or comment