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Troy reached out, laying his hands on Oscar’s shoulders. “Yeah, but now I can do this.”

Oscar’s heart leaped into his throat as Troy wasted no time closing the distance between them. Their lips met, and Oscar’s breath caught in his chest. The kiss was slow and with more gentleness than Oscar had ever known in his life, and as Troy pulled away, Oscar thought it didn’t last long enough.

Troy smiled, his eyes catching the moonlight and illuminating his happiness. “Worth it.”

“I always meant to ask,”Oscar began.

Troy cocked his head. “What?”

“How, how did you know?”

“How did I know what?”

Oscar scoffed. “C’mon Troy. That was only the second time we’d hung around one another, and the first time was at some drunken party. I’d never said anything about me...well, you know.”

“Being gay, you can say it,” Troy coaxed.

Oscar scowled. “Not the point, Troy.”

Troy chuckled. “Seven years since the first time I kissed you, and you’re only now asking me that? You had a whole year of us being together to ask.”

“I’m asking now.”

Troy shrugged, taking a step back and averting his gaze. “I guess I just knew. There was something special about you from the first moment you looked at me, and I just had a feeling, I guess.”

“You risked a lot for a feeling.”

“I never said it was a smart move, but my heart told me to go for it.”

Just one more thing Oscar was never going to understand about Troy. The man seemed perfectly happy, living by the seat of his pants. If Troy felt something, he just went for it, without so much as a thought about how good an idea it might be. Oscar couldn’t fathom rushing into a situation simply because it felt right, and even his time running around on the streets had been filled with more forethought and caution than Troy showed. Oscar had always been the voice of reason, the one who tried to make sure there was a plan to get in and out, and he never rushed into anything.

Yet, he’d just kissed Troy without a second thought.

Worse yet, he didn’t want it to stop there. Oscar’s fingers itched to reach out and stroke the exposed skin of Troy’s neck tenderly, skin that was already bruising from his altercation with Erik. Another burning wave of hate and rage filled him as he stared at the darkening skin, his fingers clenching at his sides as he fought to keep himself under control. For all his pride in being able to control himself, his anger had always been the hardest emotion to conquer.

Well, that and his feelings for Troy.

As if sensing his thoughts, Troy took Oscar’s hand. For a brief, horrible moment, Oscar watched as Troy reached for hisright, only to shift to his left hand. Worse was the sensation of his right hand’s fingers opening to accept the hold. While it wasn’t the first time Oscar had felt a sensation that shouldn’t be possible from his missing limb, it was the first time it wasn’t an itch or a sensation of pain.

“We never said goodbye,” Troy said softly.

They’d never said the words, but Oscar had walked away, slamming the door behind him, without so much as a letter or call afterward. It should have been enough for them both so they could walk away and never look back. Yet as Troy’s fingers wrapped around his, squeezing, Oscar realized there had been so much left undone, too much left unspoken.

God, his chest ached.

Troy smiled hesitantly, looking down at their joined hands. “Maybe there was a reason for that.”

A bang jerked their heads up and sent Oscar’s heart racing furiously. Troy grunted when Oscar’s fingers gripped his too hard. A call rang out down the hallway, sounding full of concern and alcohol in equal measure. Troy pulled his hand free, turning around as he peered through the curtain.

“Aw shit,” Troy muttered as the voice, which became multiple voices, made their way past them.

“What’s going on?” Oscar asked.

“From the looks of it, a fight and a bad one,” Troy answered as he leaned out of the room to watch the group.

“Why do soldiers off the field get into more trouble than those on it?” Oscar asked.

“You should know the answer to that,” Troy said.