(for Davin - backdated to Tuesday - Trigger Warnings)

[jamesthorn]

Trigger Warnings: discussion of violence, injuries, homophobia, and slurs 

James hears about the attack like everyone else at the station. He comes in that morning, steaming cup of coffee in one hand, and it's the first thing someone says to him. A young male was attacked and bad enough to need to go to the hospital, and there are rumors swirling that it was more than just an attack. At first James misunderstands. He thinks it's a something, not a someone. Because this is Siren Cove. Witches and sirens live in this town, and people get hurt. 

But this isn't what that is, James realizes as the conversation swirls through the station that morning. It isn't until around nine-thirty when one of the officers on duty last night comes in and says, "Well, I think I woulda rather had some of our regular hocus pocus. You know? Hate crime." The officer shakes his head. "Kid was gay, and they beat him up. Cracked ribs, bruises, bad sight." James is at his desk inputing ticket violations from last week, and he immediately freezes in the middle of typing. He looks up and calls over to him, "You said it was a kid?" The officer shrugs. "White male, early twenties. Kid didn't even want to press charged. Can you believe it?" 

He sighs because he hadn't needed to ask to know the guy was talking about Davin, and there is a heavy pit in his stomach. That day he had taken his car to be fixed, he had noticed those two guys working with him weren't very...happy to have him for a boss. Before James gives it a second thought, he gathers his coat and drives straight across town. He remembers Davin mentioning he lived about a bakery. The station picked up donuts there sometimes, so he knows the one. 

After he parks along the curb, he heads into the bakery and is directed to Davin's door upstairs by the elderly lady running the register. He isn't sure what he is about to find, but he prepares for the worst. James knocks three times on the door hard. "Hello? Davin, it is James," he announces. 

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[davin]

Davin is upright and coming from the kitchen with a cup of his go-to comfort cocoa when there's a sudden loud knock on the door. It startles him enough that he flinches, and hisses as it makes his his ribs ache. His eyebrow raises when James reveals himself, and he slowly makes his way over to the door to open it.

"Hey," he says quietly, giving him a small smile. It's nice to see James at his door, but then he remembers why that is and his expression falls a bit. "I'm assumin' this isn't a social visit."

He sighs and winces as he moves back to open the door wider. "Come on in."

[jamesthorn]

It is actually worse than James realized it was going to be, and his stomach drops when he sees Davin's face. A wave of anger and concern hits him at once as he sees him. "Oh my god," he says, reaching out to touch his face but draws his hand away just before he does. The bruise looks awful, and he shouldn't touch it. "Damn right this isn't a social visit. YOu could hvae been killed. YOu realize that right?" he asks marching through the door.

He is mad, and he is a cop. He can take care of this. Take care of those losers Davin works with because he knows that's who did it.

[davin]

Davin blinks at the greeting and actually leans in a little to accept the touch, which is kind of embarrassing when James pulls his hand back. He swallows hard and then flinches slightly at the anger in his voice, stepping aside to let James in. He shuts the door and turns, swallowing again and fiddling with the splint on his finger.

"Yeah, I'm aware. I was there," he says quietly, blinking a few times and looking up to meet James' gaze, his own eyes a little shiny. "I was gonna call ya."

[jamesthorn]

There's an angry outburst threatening to escape his mouth. Davin is a nice guy. Why would someone do this him? He knows why. He knows, but he is still pissed about it because there is a barrage of purple and black decorating the guy's chest and James hates it. Looking up he meets Davin's eyes and sees the emotion on his face, and he sighs realizing that his own anger probably isn't helping things. "You really should have," James says, scrubbing a hand over his face, blowing at out a larger sigh.

"Are you okay? You left the hospital too soon," he says, not even needing to be told because he isn't blind. No one would have let him leave looking like that.

[davin]

"I was gonna!" Davin says again. James' gaze shifts downward and Davin looks down at his chest, swearing under his breath. He'd answered the door without even realizing that he was in his fucking underwear. This is going wonderfully.

He sets his cocoa down on his coffee table, wincing at the pressure bending down puts on his ribs, and then grabs the hoodie from the back of the couch. He slides one arm okay, but the other is kind of torture.

"No I didn't," Davin assures him, very carefully trying to turn enough to get his hand in the other sleeve. "My ribs are broken but there's no shiftin' so it didn't do any internal damage. It looks bad but what were they gonna do for me there? I'm not gonna pay them thousands o' dollars to observe me. I can observe myself just fine." He looks down at the sweatshirt. "God damnit. "

He grits his teeth and just reaches back enough to grab the sleeve, whimpering a little as he slides his arm in. It literally didn't even occur to him to ask James for help, even while he was standing right there. Davin is just used to doing things on his own. It's how he was raised.

Once the hoodie is on he zips it up to the center of his chest, hiding most of the bruising, and huffs a triumphant sight before looking up at James again. "Really, I'm okay. Or well, I'm gonna be."

[jamesthorn]

James crosses his arms over his chest, angrily gritting his teeth, watching as Davin attempts to put on his sweatshirt. He is irritated that Davin can't see that he is in such bad shape. He needs to be in the hospital. Because he is practically wheezing and whimpering getting his arms through the sleeves, and James is thisclose to just helping him put it back on himself. Except James is used to stubborn younger siblings. They tell you they don't need help even though they fucking need help, and maybe he likes to prove his points by making people learn.

He takes in Davin's triumphant little look with an eye roll. God what has he gotten into.

"Just sit down. Please," he says, gesturing at the couch. "Or I will drag you back to the hospital and cuff you to the bed myself. If you had called me I could've covered the damn bill. What kind of excuse is that?"

[davin]

"I could make a very off-color joke about handcuffs right now, but I'll refrain." He grabs the arm of the couch and gently lowers himself down, sighing in relief once he's off his feet. James says he would have footed the bill so easily that Davin does a double take. He has decent enough insurance, but not that great, so he's still vaguely terrified of the bill he's going to receive. That's a lot of money, and that's when Davin remembers that James is rich and he rolls his eyes a little. "Yeah, that's a phone call I was gonna make. Hey new friend, I got my ass kicked an' I really need someone t'foot the hospital bill. Help me out?"

James is just kind of hovering over him, tall and angry and really hot, and Davin pats the couch next to him. "I'm gonna be fine, an' you're not payin' my damn hospital bill. There wasn't anythin' else they could do for me anyway. Now please sit down."

[jamesthorn]

James sits down on the couch when Davin asks him too but only because he is still pissed off so he can't concentrate enough on being defiant as he tries to remember the name of someone at the hospital he can call to ask about that bill. He comes up with five names before he even sits all the way back. James is not overly extravagant with his family's money, but he has it. He has more than enough to last about two lifetimes between his actual job and his ultra cushy trust fund that kicked in when he turned twenty-one. Paying off Davin's bill wouldn't even make James blink twice, and he doesn't think Davin should have to worry about it.

"Now tell me what you told the cops," he demands with a frown.

[davin]

James sits down and Davin smiles, but the reprieve doesn't last for long. Davin grimaces and fiddles with the splint again. "Uh, nothin'?"

An officer came to talk to him at the hospital, and Davin remembers sort of waving him away. He had just wanted to get sleep at that point, and the thought of talking to the police scared him. It still kind of does. He sighs and rubs at his good eye. "D'ya want me t'give a statement or somethin'?"

[jamesthorn]

Nothing. Figures, James thinks shaking his head at the admission. The officer had said Davin didn't want to press charges, but after seeing his face and how deep his injures were and hearing him say that, James wants to wring his neck because those jerks deserve to be in jail. It isn't the first time a victim in an assault hasn't wanted to press charges, but it's different with Davin. James knows him. Maybe not well but he knows he didn't deserve this. "No. I mean. Yes. Whatever reason you have for not talking, you need to get over it. You need to say more than nothing.

He sighs again. "I just came to see if you were okay," he admits.

[davin]

Davin watches him with wide eyes (okay, well, one wide eye) while he's basically scolded. He holds up his hand and looks James in the eye. "Whoa, hey. I dunno where you're gettin' your info, but I never said I didn't want t'talk or press charges or whatever. I had just gotten the shit beat out of me an' was poked and prodded by doctors an' I was hurt an' tired an' some cop I didn't know was in my face askin' me shit. I was freaked out, okay? I didn't wanna instantly rehash the worst experience of my life t'a complete stranger."

He takes a breath and sighs, slumping back and looking eye when his eyes start to sting. "I was gonna call ya. I wanted t'talk to you, but I was just - I'm scared, okay? I have the whole thing on video an' I'm too fuckin' scared t'give it t'ya."

[jamesthorn]

"I'm sorry---" James looks down. He has this really bad habit of putting his foot in his mouth around Davin, and he isn't sure why. He should know his own training. How to deal with trauma victims, which is what Davin is. No matter how much James wants to just fix it and make it better. It's how he is, and when he can't he gets frustrated. "I'm sorry. I really did just come to see if you were okay," he says, leaving out that part where he had come over as soon as he heard and figured out the victim was Davin.

"But you can tell me what happened if you want."

[davin]

"You can be here both as a detective an' my friend. I do want them them t'go down for it, but I just didn't wanna talk about it right then, t'whoever that cop was." He can tell James really is concerned about him, and this will be good. He can tell a friend exactly what happened and also give a statement. He can do this.

James' hand is sitting on the sofa between them and Davin looks at it for a long moment, his own hand trembling as he rests it over James'. He doesn't hold it like he wants to, and he makes so that James can easily pull away if he wants. It's just nice, the contact.

"The plan was t'fire 'em. Uh, them bein' Mel Goulding and Hank Thompson. I had legitimate reasons other than jus' them hatin' me, an' when I gave 'em their last checks an' told 'em they were fired, Mel told me he wasn't gonna let a faggot ruin his life, an' I - I got pissed, y'know? No one's ever called me that before. An' it hurt, an' I said somethin' stupid, made some crack, and he punched me. It took me by surprise, an' I couldn't even get my wits about me before he did it again."

A tear slips from Davin's eye and he wipes it away with his free hand, breath hitching before he continues. "He called me an abomination an' said I didn't deserve the air I breathed. They knocked me down an' started kickin' me, an' they both had on steel-toed boots. They just kept yellin' an' landin' blows. I don't even know how long it went on, but I just - I thought I was gonna die, y'know? An' I had t'make it stop."

This is why he's scared. James knows that he's a witch, and Davin knows that the laws say it's okay to use your powers in self defense, but he's still nervous. He doesn't want everyone knowing what he can do. He wipes his eye again and looks down, not wanting to look at James when he's all bruised and splotchy red.

[jamesthorn]

As Davin recounts his story of what happened, James finally breathes and allows himself to let go of the anger he's feeling and after all he can be is sad about what happened. He is sad that Davin had to go through that experience of someone hating him and calling him those awful things. He thinks about someone doing that to his brother---to Demetri---his best friend for being gay, and it almost makes him feel a little sick. He's had to sit through countless stories like this, listening as victims recount their stories, and normally it is very procedural. It becomes routine after awhile. No one means for it to happen, but it does. You become a little numb to it.

But James isn't numb to this. How can he be? Somewhere he has become Davin's friend, and he really cares about what happens to him. He squeezes his hand back a little in reassurance as he begins to cry. When Davin looks away though, James swallows down. The cop part of him does creep up, but he tries to push it down to a simmer. He can't help it. Davin is a witch, and James is suddenly trying to remember all the laws about this, about magic use.

Either way, he needs to ask. "What did you do?" he asks tilting his head a little, leaning so he can catch Davin's eye. "To make it stop. What did you do, Davin?"

[davin]

James squeezes his hand and Davin is so grateful for the comfort, he really is. He licks his lips and licks over at James when he asks him what he did, and this is why he's scared. He wipes his eye again and lets out a shuddering breath, clutching at James' hand.

"I - I didn't hurt 'em. I mean, nothin' lastin." He clings to James' hand gives him a pleading look. "I just - my powers, I can create an' manipulate electricity. An' Mel, I was just so scared, an' I shocked him. I didn't even mean to. I just wanted it t'stop, James. I thought I was gonna die."

He swallows hard and takes a breath before continuing. "An' Hank came after me even harder after he found out I was a witch, like it was even worse than me bein' gay, and I - I'm telekinetic when it comes t'metal, an' I threatened him with a letter opener. I just held it in front of his face an' told them t'leave an' never come back. I didn't - I didn't even hurt him."

A soft sob escapes him and he feels weak, a little pathetic, and he pulls his hand away so he can cover his face until he can get himself together. "They ran off after that, an' I passed out. Jason found me not long after an' called 911."

[jamesthorn]

James sits silently for a long time trying to understand, trying to put all the pieces together about what Davin is telling him. He witnessed for himself Mel and Hank hassling Davin. So he doesn't discount what he's saying. He believes every word of it. Still, James has to bring himself around to the idea that he is so sympathetic. Ordinarily, he isn't one to take the side of the witches in this town. He has a good reason for that given his family's history, given all the shit he went through with Moira and Violet this past summer. But Davin isn't like Violet. She was vindictive and evil, and she hates the good people in this town. She killed James' mother. And sometimes James puts them---witches---puts them all in the same category, but he can't do that right now.

For whatever reason, he can't with Davin. Because it just isn't the same, and James was so rude to him and he still invited him to that party and tried to make him have fun. Davin is a good person, and James knows that.

By the end, Davin is clearly struggling to keep himself together and he's crying. James has seen it all before during the trauma. The breaking point. A victim realizing what he's gone through was hell and horrible, and James reaches out to put a hand on his back trying to soothe him. "Hey, it's okay. You've been through a lot," he tells him, more to the point of Davin trying not to show himself crying. "We would need to go to the station. You'd have to recount that story again under oath. As soon as you feel like you can but I wouldn't wait."

[davin]

"Am I gonna be in trouble? For usin' magic, I mean." James is rubbing his back and Davin takes a deep breath, squaring his shoulders and getting himself together. He looks over at James and nods. "Yeah, I can do that. An' I have the whole thing on video. My webcam was on. I haven't watched it, obviously. But that should help, right?"

He sighs and leans over a little, resting his head on James' shoulder. It just makes him feel better, being close. His heart is beating fast and he sighs, wincing as he presses himself closer. "I never wanted t'use my magic t'hurt anyone. That isn't what it's for."

[jamesthorn]

James is relieved when Davin tells him there is a video of the incident. Not that he doesn't think his influence at the station would go a long way but with a video there will be less wiggle room for those guys to come back and say Davin used his magic more than just to scare them off.

"Yes, the video will help," he says, surprised when Davin leans over and rests his hand against James' shoulder. For a second, he stiffens awkwardly trying to decide what to do. Eventually he relaxes and holds his arm around Davin's shoulders, almost like a hug. "It's okay. You alive that's what matters. And you're not going to be in trouble as long as you tell the truth about what happened."

[davin]

He feels James stiffen when Davin leans against him and for a moment he feels so stupid for doing it, cheeks heating up, and he's moving to pull way when James curls his arm around Davin's shoulders. He goes slack with relief and turns in towards him just a little. He knows that he's messed up and needy, and that he's starved for physical affection, but James is humoring him and for that he's grateful, even if it is embarrassing.

"I am, I promise." He sighs and curls up as best he can with his sore ribs and closes his eyes. "The video is on my computer at the shop. We can go get it. I gotta figure out how to clean up - the floor. It's not gonna look pretty in there."

He can't imagine what it will be like, scrubbing his own blood from the concrete, but it has to be done. "An' we can go t'the station. Whatever ya need from me."

[jamesthorn]

James reaches out patting Davin against his knee already shaking his head. He shifts a little to look at him. "You aren't going anywhere. Clean up and the tape can wait until the morning. Just sit here and rest," he says, standing back up. "I am going to make a quick phone call to the station."

Because he was at work and apparently he is going to have to watch Davin like a hawk if he expects the guy not to leave his couch. "I'll be right back," he says stepping out into the hallway for a few minutes as he phones the front desk.

[davin]

"Okay, sure." Davin's face flushes as he has pull away for James to stand up. That was dumb, clinging to him like that. He didn't mean to make James uncomfortable, but friendly touches seem to help erase the memories of the bad ones, at least for a little while. God, he should be stronger than this.

He watches James go and sits up, scooting over more towards one side of the couch to make plenty of room for him when he returns. His cocoa is on the coffee table and he eyes it, but bending forward to grab it just sounds exhausting right now, so he settles back into the corner of the couch and closes his eyes, taking deep breaths and doing his best to collect himself so by the time James returns, he won't be a sniffling mess anymore.

[jamesthorn]

It's rare for James to ever call into work which is why the phone call takes longer than it should. The front desk assistant even asks him if everything is okay, and he assures her that everything's fine and just to hold his messages until in the morning. He calls into his work voicemail after that, checks his messages, and then returns to where he left Davin sitting on the couch. He doesn't know why, but he has a very strong urge to stay here. Just to make sure Davin doesn't need anything.

He comes back inside and pulls off his coat, folding it across the arm rest of the couch. Maybe he should've asked if he could stay for awhile. "Will anyone else be around today?" he asks, taking a seat back beside Davin.

[davin]

Davin isn't surprised when James comes back inside, but he is surprised when he takes off his coat and looks like he's settling in. Surely he must have important things to be doing. He should be at work, and Davin wants to tell him so, but he doesn't. He likes that he's here.

"Lara was here earlier. She brought me home from the hospital," Davin tells him, looking down at his hands in his lap and fiddling with the split on his finger. "An' I should probably call Mira at some point, so she doesn't hear 'bout it from someone else. Ya know how shit spreads in this town."

He looks over at James with an expression that's slightly puzzled but mostly grateful, and gives him a shy smile. "Is there anythin' else ya need t'ask me, or do I get James the friend back now?"

[jamesthorn]

"No, I think we can deal with the rest of it later," James assures him giving him a small smile. Considering how little they know one another, it does seem slightly awkward, but he is concerned enough to ignore it and the fact that he is essentially camping out in Davin's apartment. He is positive that Davin would rather have someone he knows, like that Mira woman keeping watching, but he isn't going to let that stop him from staying until someone else shows up.

He looks around the place, finally taking notice. It's a cozy---or small---apartment, but it's isn't too bad. Looking back at Davin, he shrugs a little. "Do you want anything?" he asks.

[davin]

He watches as James looks around, feeling a little self-conscious of his tiny apartment, but not enough for it to bother him. He worked hard for this place, and he worked even harder to fix it up and renovate and make it nice. It was basically an outdated storage room when he found it, but now it's his.

James seems a little uncomfortable, but Davin knows him enough to know that he wouldn't stay unless he wanted to, at least on some level. He asks if Davin wants anything and he blushes a little, biting his lip, because he'd like to press himself against James' side again. He felt warm and safe there, for some reason, but he doesn't feel like he can ask that of James. The last thing he wants to do is make him uncomfortable.

"Um, could ya hand me my cocoa? There's more on the stove if ya wanna grab yourself a mug. It's pretty damn good, if I must say myself. It always makes me feel better."

[jamesthorn]

"Uh, sure." James scoots up to the edge of the cushion to reach for the warmed mug. Carefully he hands it to Davin with the handle facing out. "Thanks. I'll just grab a cup," he says heading for the kitchen. It isn't hard to find given the size of the apartment. A black pot is sitting out on the stove, and James proceeds to fix himself a steaming mug filled with cocoa.

He takes a sip as he sits back down and ends up doing a slight double-take. The drink is perfect. Warm but not scalding, rich but not too sweet. "It's good," he says. "You made this?"

[davin]

He takes the mug with a grateful smile and takes a sip, sighing happily. When James comes back with a mug Davin watches him curiously and then grins at his reaction. His cocoa never fails. "Yep. I melt the chocolate down an' everythin', whole nine yards. I make it whenever I'm feelin' down."

It makes him happy that James likes it and he relaxes back against the sofa, curling his fingers around the mug and looking over at him. "So how is work? It must never be borin', bein' a detective, 'specially in a town like this."

[jamesthorn]

James takes another sip of the warm drink, smiling at Davin's own reaction. Clearly, he'd had others tell compliment the drink before, but it's good. Sitting here is relaxing, much more than work would be, where he had been sorting through a stack of traffic violations. While he loves his job, he there is nothing he likes about doing the paperwork that goes along with it.

"There is no shortage of mysterious circumstances. That's for sure," he agrees with a nod then shrugs. "I dunno. You get used to it, and it's just like being a cop anywhere I guess. We just have a different sort of criminal to deal with."

[davin]

"Well, if ya ever need a witchy consultant, ya know where t'find me." He laughs softly and takes another long drink of his cocoa, looking at James over the rim of his mug, "You should kick your shoes off an' relax. We can watch Christmas movies on Netflix or somethin'."

He reaches over to pat James on the back, hand lingering before he pulls away and returns to his side of the couch. "It's okay t'be lazy every once in awhile."

[jamesthorn]

"If that's going to keep you on this couch..." James reaches down to take off his shoes, pauses and then looks up at Davin. "You really want me to take off my shoes?" This isn't his house, and he really isn't sure if that's appropriate.

[davin]

"I don't see why it wouldn't," Davin replies, and then looks over at him with a raised eyebrow. What an odd question. "D'your feet stink or somethin'? Ya can't curl up on a couch and relax with shoes on, man."

He looks down at himself and then up at James again with a blush staining his cheeks. "'sides, if ya can deal with me in my underwear than I can deal with ya in your socks."

[jamesthorn]

James laughs at Davin's confusion, realizing he is being an idiot. Again. He should just relax like Davin suggests. "Okay. I can do that," he says kicking off his shoes and settling back against the couch. "Yeah. I guess you're forgiven for coming to the door with no pants. Your neighbors might not appreciate it."

[davin]

"Hey, ya don't know that. Maybe they do. I've been told I have a cute butt." He blushes, because why the hell did he say that, but oh well. It's out there.

And he does have a cute butt.

"Here, I've gotta - jus' lemme - " He moves to get the remote, slow and easy until he's pressed up against James' side and can grab it. James is warm and solid and Davin lets out a breath as he leans into him. He'll move away, he will, but he'll relish in it for a moment. "How d'ya feel about A Christmas Story? I've also got Elf an' Jim Carrey's Grinch on my DVR. Your pick."

[jamesthorn]

"Maybe. Well, I guess I know where to do my drive-thrus now," he jokes, leaning for table to pick back up his hot chocolate.

James shrugs as Davin runs down the choices. Between work and everything else, idle time to watch movies isn't something James has very often so he hasn't seen any of the movies Davin names, but he's sure they will be fine for entertaining them well enough that Davin just rests for the remainder of the evening.

He doesn't notice too much when Davin press against him. He's quickly learning that Davin is...tactile. He doesn't think he even realizes it, and that's hard for James because he is very...closed in normally. He only trusts certain people, and it takes time for him to feel comfortable. "I think any of those is okay," he says. "I'm not really a movie buff."

[davin]

"Be sure an' give me your schedule. An' I'll check the mail in my undies, just for you." He laughs and presses their shoulders together as he scrolls through the DVR. "We'll go with A Christmas Story then. It's a classic."

He presses play and then takes a long sip of his cocoa before looking over at James. He's sitting up stiffly, elbows on his knees, and Davin rolls his eyes as he plants a hand in the center of James' chest. "Relax, man. That's the theme for today."

When James doesn't immediately push him away, Davin presses lightly until James falls back into the soft corner of the overstuffed sofa. "There, isn't that better? Now kick your feet up on the table an' just take it easy."

[jamesthorn]

James looks at the coffee table skeptically then shakes his head. "I'm not putting my feet on your furniture, he says, shaking his head. He settles back against the couch cushion, which is easy as Davin's hand presses against his chest. "Look I'm relaxed. Just start the movie."

[davin]

"It's okay. You're new t'the laziness thing. We'll get there." He starts the movie and sets the remote on the table, finishing off his cocoa and looking back at James thoughtfully. He has his arm up on the back of the couch and Davin bites his lip, hesitating for a moment before carefully stretching out along James' side. His uninjured side is pressed against the sofa, and against James, and he rests his cheek on James' shoulder. "This is part of it. Relaxin', cuddlin' up with someone. It's good, right?"

[jamesthorn]

"You know I do own a couch? I'm not a complete idiot," James says, but he is clearly joking because he smiles a little. Ordinarily James isn't someone that is overly touchy-feely, but when Davin curls up against him, resting his cheek against his shoulder, he tries not to mind. He knows that Davin's been through probably a tough, emotionally devestating event. Sometimes you just need to feel like someone is here with you, and James understands. He doesn't comment on the cuddling, and instead puts one hand around Davin's shoulder. "I do know how to relax."

[davin]

"Yes, but do ya use it for its true purpose?" Davin teases back. He relaxes when James doesn't seem to mind Davin sprawling across him and he lets out a soft sigh, wrapping an arm around James's middle and keeping his eyes on the TV. "Good. Then show me how it's done."

The movie starts and Davin watches intently, mouthing along with some of the lines, and feels comforted by James' solid warmth underneath him, pulse beating steadily against his cheek.