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“Oh my god, I hate you!”
Tyler Stevens smirked and continued to rotate his boyfriend’s arm. “No, you don’t,” he said, confident in that statement. “Now shut up and let me practice for my exam.”
Jordan fell silent, only wincing or grunting when Tyler hit an especially rough spot with his shoulder. Tyler bit his lip and tried not to think about how much worse Jordan could be right now, considering the prognosis that the doctors had given him five years ago. But against all odds, he not only could walk again, but had almost full mobility of his right arm back. It was probably thanks to the very tenacious physical therapist in Jordan’s first year after the assault. He’d been relentless, always pushing Jordan that little bit further because he knew he could take it.
Jordan had cried and raged and begged to get a reprieve. Tyler knew, he was there right alongside Jordan the whole time. But the thing was, Tyler had known that it was necessary. He’d seen what Jordan had been too blind to see: the physical therapist knew how hard this whole thing was for him, and he ached with him. But he remained firm, and it showed in the impressive results Jordan showed after six months of therapy.
It was during that time that Tyler decided he wanted to go into that profession after high school. His shoulder had healed enough, and while it twinged when the weather changed, he was considered whole and healthy all over. His parents didn’t object; if anything, they were proud of him. So here he was, in his third year of college, practicing for an exam with the boyfriend who had inspired him to get into the profession in the first place, and happier than he'd ever been in his entire life.
Most people were surprised when they learned that him and Jordan had been a couple since they were sixteen. But most people didn’t know shit, so Tyler didn’t give a crap about their opinions. And who said that high school sweethearts couldn’t be together until the day they died? Society? Well, society could go and suck his dick for all he cared. He had no intentions whatsoever to leave Jordan. He may not love him the same way he did when he was a teenager, but that was actually a good thing. Their love had deepened, had grown and matured over the years, just like an old wine.
And thanks to Senator Anderson, they could get legally married whenever and wherever the hell they wanted.
A small smile played around his lips while he pulled lightly on Jordan’s shoulder and murmured, “Turn around, your leg’s next.”
Jordan didn’t really need PT anymore. But sometimes his joints grew stiff and he’d confessed to Tyler once that the old routines helped him through the pain. Ever since then, Tyler was taking care of Jordan’s sessions, helping him through it and throwing a massage into the mix once in a while. Just to keep him motivated, really. There was nothing better than surprise massages to keep someone motivated.
Jordan had barely turned around so Tyler could take care of his leg and knee, when he stiffened and said, “Tyler.”
His voice sounded weird. Tyler sighed. “Come on, I haven't even started yet. I've barely touched you, it can’t hurt already.”
“Tyler,” Jordan said again, his hand flapping around in the air uselessly while his gaze was going over Tyler’s shoulder. He was probably looking at the TV. Last time Tyler had checked, there was nothing interesting on, just some weird daytime game show.
“No, you will not cut this short so you can watch 'The Price Is Right' or whatever is distracting you,” he said resolutely and grabbed Jordan’s thigh a little tighter to start the routine.
“Tyler!” Jordan said, firm and urgent and hitting his shoulder with his hand. He was still looking at the TV.
“Oh my god, what the fuck could be so importa-” He cut himself off when he turned around and got a good look at the TV. There was a picture of Senator Anderson on the screen and some perky anchorwoman was talking. The TV was on mute so Tyler had no idea what was going on.
“Please tell me he’s not dead,” he whispered, looking around for the remote to turn on the volume. A flicker on the screen distracted him into turning back. And there, right next to Senator Anderson’s smiling face, was a picture of Kurt. Tyler frowned, letting go of Jordan’s leg and walking around their living room in a vain attempt to locate the remote.
“Where the fuck is it?” he said, upending cushions and magazines. When he finally found it, he let out a triumphant sound and held it up, then pushed the volume button.
“... will keep you apprised on a date and location, which the happy couple has yet to announce. This is Shelby Stephens, for NBC4 News.”
Chirpy music started playing and Tyler pressed the mute button again. He was still frowning, now more confused than ever. What the fuck was so important that they had to talk about it on the local news?
“What the fuck is going on?” he asked into the quiet of the room, not really expecting an answer. But Jordan replied equally confused, “I might be wrong, but I think they’re getting married.”
Jordan wasn’t wrong. They caught the next news cycle where they repeated the whole thing. This time Tyler was prepared and listened from start to finish. Apparently, the happy couple as they liked to call them - and Tyler still got a kick out of that, it just sounded so ridiculous - had announced their engagement early this morning, shocking half of Washington with it. And with Senator Anderson being the poster child of Ohio, the announcement had of course garnered attention in his home state as well.
But really, Tyler wasn’t that surprised. Fuck, he’d met these two when they hadn’t been dating yet and they’d almost set the house on fire with their chemistry. So no, Tyler wasn’t surprised that they'd announced their engagement.
The thing that had surprised him, though? Was the revelation that Kurt was no longer working for Senator Anderson.
He’d apparently switched jobs over a year ago to work for a charity organization. There had always been rumors that Senator Anderson was finally dating someone, according to the anchorwoman that kept talking with enthusiastic fake cheer about the relationship of the senator and his former PA. But apparently nobody outside of their closest friends and colleagues had ever put two and two together, even though Senator Anderson and Kurt had been living together for almost as long as Kurt had left the employment behind. The news people were now speculating if the budding relationship had been the reason for Kurt quitting. If Tyler had to bet on it, he would put all his money on ‘yes’. Those two had been so in love back when they’d met them that they could never work together if they were actually an item.
Seeing Senator Anderson's face on TV out of the blue, hearing about his sudden happiness in his private life and with the very person he'd been carrying a torch for for years, made Tyler remember. He remembered how much the senator had helped them with his subsequent speech about violence and bullying in schools, and his relentless work to make marriage equality a federal law. They barely knew the man and yet he’d influenced both their lives for the better in so many ways that it always made Tyler’s head spin a little. And they’d never even thanked the guy. Which brought him here, sitting at the kitchen counter and spinning his phone around on it.
He still had the number, even after all these years and two new phones. He’d never needed it, but he’d thought about calling both men up a few times just to thank them for their kindness. He never had, obviously, but now more than ever he felt the urge to do just that. But was the number even still valid? If Kurt was gone, was their arrangement gone as well?
Before he could talk himself out of it, Tyler had grabbed his phone, clicked into his address book and pressed call. It started to ring, and that’s when his hands started to shake a little.
After two rings, a pleasant female voice answered with, “Senator Anderson’s office, Laura Hale speaking. How may I help you?”
Tyler was lost for words, his head spinning with all the different things popping into his mind. The number’s still working was one of them, and I wonder if she’ll cut me off when she realizes I’m nobody important. In the end he cleared his throat and said, “Uhm, hi. Hi. My... my name is Tyler? Tyler Stevens?”
He closed his eyes and cursed himself quietly for making it sound like he didn’t even know his own name. There was a short moment in which neither of them said anything, then Laura Hale replied, “Of course. Hello, Tyler. Are you in trouble?”
Tyler blinked. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it wasn’t that. How the hell did Laura Hale know about him? She shouldn’t know him from Adam!
Then what she’d asked caught up with him and he hurriedly said, “No, no! I’m not in trouble. Sorry, I... I just... you’re Kurt’s replacement?”
“I am,” she answered after a short pause. She sounded friendly enough, so he probably wasn’t bothering her. “He left me strict instructions to always put your call through to Senator Anderson should you need him.”
Oh. Well, that explained that. Tyler was oddly touched by that. He hadn’t expected... well, to be honest, he hadn’t expected the Senator to keep his word at all, much less five years after a fifteen minute meeting. But apparently the offer still stood. Tyler felt his throat close up at the realization that Senator Anderson hadn’t forgotten about him, about them.
“Do you want to talk to the senator, Tyler?”
Laura Hale’s voice startled him out of his thoughts. He cleared his throat to get rid of the lump stuck in it and shook his head. “No, that’s... that’s not necessary. Just... tell him congratulations on the engagement? And that it was about fucking time.”
Laura Hale laughed, obviously startled by his bluntness. “I’ll pass the message along,” she promised, sounding amused.
“Thank you. And... good luck to you, too,” he added.
“Thank you, Tyler. I appreciate it.”
“Okay then,” Tyler said, hesitating, “Bye.”
“Have a nice day.” There was a click, then silence.
Tyler lowered his hand slowly, clutching the phone to his chest. He had no idea what to do with the information that Senator Anderson was still keeping up his promise; a promise he’d made to a scared sixteen year old kid that had just experienced the worst thing in his entire life. It was humbling, and terrifying, but also thrilling. He was important enough to a senator that their arrangement was still valid. Tyler couldn’t wait to see Jordan’s face when he told him.
His phone suddenly started ringing and he yelped in surprise. He cursed and looked down at the display, frowning when he saw the caller listed as UNKNOWN. He debated if he should answer or not, but then decided to fuck it.
“Hello?”
“Tyler? It’s Blaine.”
He almost let the phone drop when he heard Senator Anderson’s voice. “Hi! Erm... hi.” He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck before he huffed a small laugh and added, “I didn’t expect you to call. I didn’t even know you had my number.”
“I didn’t,” Senator Anderson replied, sounding amused. “But there is this handy little thing called ‘caller ID’. Laura gave me your number when she passed on your message.”
Now Tyler was seriously facepalming. “Oh god, I’m sorry about the swearing!”
There was a huff on the other end, then Senator Anderson muttered, “Why does everyone think I’ve never heard a swear word in my life?”
“Maybe because you look so wholesome?”
Oh God, Tyler, stop talking! He was this close to banging his head against the kitchen counter in sheer embarrassment.
But the senator still sounded amused when he replied with a dry, “Thanks. I think.” There was a pause, then a hesitant, “So how have you been?”
“Good,” Tyler said immediately, almost a reflex at this stage. They’d heard the question so often in the last few years, but especially after the incident, that it’d sort of become a remote response just so people would leave them the fuck alone. But this was Senator Anderson, who really seemed to care how they were doing, so Tyler added a quiet, “We’ve... we’ve been good, sir.”
There was another pause before the senator cleared his throat. “‘We’, as in ‘you and Jordan’?” he asked, sounding unsure.
Tyler couldn’t help but smile at that. “Yes sir. We’re still... still a thing? A couple, I mean. Still going strong.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Now he was definitely amused again.
“Congratulations on the engagement, by the way,” Tyler blurted out, closing his eyes when he realized how flippant that must’ve sounded.
But the senator just laughed. “Thank you. I’ll pass your well wishes on to Kurt, if you don’t mind.”
“No, not at all. Do that.”
Tyler had no idea when he’d started grinning like a loon, but grinning he was, and he had no clue how to stop it. He also had no clue on what to do now, after they’d exchanged pleasantries. But then again, he hadn't asked for a phone call from Senator Anderson either, much as he enjoyed it.
“I was wondering,” the man started, then cleared his throat. “You can say no of course, don’t feel obligated to cater to an old man’s fancies.”
“You’re not old,” Tyler said immediately, making the senator laugh again.
“That’s very kind of you, but I’m afraid I am much more middle age than I was when we first met. Anyway...” He trailed off briefly, then added, “Me and Kurt will be in Ohio for a few days two months from now. If you’re free we could stop by and meet for lunch? Both of you.”
And there was the lump again, back in his throat and trying to choke Tyler with emotions. He swallowed hard, then again when the thing didn’t budge, before he croaked, “That would be great. We’d love to.”
He didn’t even have to ask Jordan, he knew what his answer would be.
He practically felt Senator Anderson’s relief through the phone. “Great! That’s great! I’ll have Laura call you with the details as soon as I know more?”
“That’s fine,” Tyler said, still sounding like he’d smoked three packs of cigarettes a day for the last five years.
“Great,” Senator Anderson repeated. “We’ll see you later?”
“Yes. Definitely.” There! Fucking voice, it wouldn’t get the better of him!
They said their goodbyes, then Tyler sat staring at his phone for a second time tonight. He still couldn’t believe it. Any of it, really. But when it finally sank in what he’d just agreed to, he shot out of his seat and yelled through the apartment, “Jordan? You will never believe what just happened...”