Page 174 of Rookie Rules

"Say it again."

"I love you."

"And you choose me?"

"I choose you."

Luca crossed the room.

He stopped close enough for Rowan to feel warmth, still leaving the final distance unclaimed. "Can I kiss you?"

Consent, offered where assumption had once lived.

"Yes."

Luca touched Rowan's face with both hands and kissed him.

There was no desperation in it. No attempt to recover every lost night at once. The kiss was slow, careful of Rowan's balance, and intimate enough that Rowan felt the truth of it everywhere. He held Luca's waist with one hand and kept the other braced against the table.

When they separated, Luca rested his forehead against Rowan's.

"Still angry," he whispered.

"I know."

"Still love you."

Rowan closed his eyes. "I know that now."

"Do not sound so satisfied."

"I am in significant pain."

"Convenient."

A knock sounded. Owen opened the door two inches, saw their positions, and closed it again.

"Your therapist knows," Luca said.

"Owen knows everything and enjoys none of it."

They left the room ten minutes later. Rowan used the crutches. Luca carried the game puck and Rowan's small medical bag. At the corridor junction, Finn stood with two coffees.

His gaze moved from Rowan to Luca to the bag in Luca's hand.

"Ride situation resolved?" Finn asked.

Rowan checked with Luca.

This was the first shared decision. Small enough to practice with.

Luca nodded.

"Luca is taking me home," Rowan said.

Finn handed one coffee to Luca. "Excellent. I was informed my driving creates unnecessary inflammation."

"Your driving creates theology," Rowan said.