There was something about Pete that always seemed to invite touch. Vegas needed that. And that Pete accepted it so readily, long before they were intimate... That was something that stuck with Vegas. Even in the safehouse, Pete never shrank from his touch (and that wince after being belted didn't count!). It's the collection of small and big things that made Vegas fall for him. Though, if he told the story, Pete ripped his still-beating heart from his chest and ran off with it. Sometimes it felt like that was true.

But he wouldn't want anyone else handling that most vital organ. No one else could handle it with the right balance of care and toughness. There would never be anyone else for Vegas. It was Pete or nothing.

Just listening to Pete's voice, the simple cadence of those few words made him shiver from the sheer intensity of what he felt. He tightened his fingers twined with Pete's and pressed a soft kiss to his hair.

"I love you, Pete."