Work Text
Kelly stood in the doorway, arms folded across his chest. He wore an oversized tee shirt and boxers that hung loose around his thighs. Robbie was so smitten. He reached a hand out and made a grabbing motion. Kelly rolled his eyes playfully and approached the bed. “This used to be just my bed, you know. There’s no way we all fit on here.” Gavin’s head emerged from the pile of pillows. “We left space.”Kelly frowned down at the sliver of bed beside Robbie. “It’s not enough.”“Okay.” Robbie disentangled himself from Carter and Gavin. “You get in first. I’ll take the edge.”“My hero.” Kelly got in the bed, poking Gavin in the back. He grunted and burrowed harder into Carter’s chest. “Move,” Kelly said without any real bite to his voice. “It’s my bed.”“Kelly, my ass is hanging off the edge over here,” Carter said. “There is nowhere to go.”“Should’ve thought of that before you stole my bed.” Kelly pressed in close and laid his head down on the pillow in front of Carter. They were almost nose-to-nose, sharing breath and a tired smile between them. Once Kelly was settled, Robbie squeezed in behind him. It was even less room than it looked like, and he perched precariously on the edge of the mattress. “Okay, nobody move,” he said, only partly joking. “If anyone so much as twitches in their sleep, I’m falling off the bed.”An arm reached across the bed to him. “Hold onto me, man,” Carter said. “We’ll keep each other secure.” Robbie clasped his forearm, and they rested their arms on top of Kelly and Gavin. It was too crowded and uncomfortable, but Robbie wouldn’t give it up for anything. He finally felt complete, with all four of them there. He had his mate, and his mate had his tether, and his tether had his mate. Finally, it felt right.But still, something vast and blue nagged at him. There had been a time when it was only three of them, comforting Carter while Gavin was gone. And before that, Robbie knew, Carter and Gavin – only just a timber wolf at that time – had comforted Kelly in his absence. His chest ached like he had suffered a blow. “Gavin?” He asked.“Hmm?” Gavin’s voice was muffled against Carter’s chest.“Do you remember when I was gone, and the three of you laid here?”“Robbie.” Kelly’s voice held the sharpness of reproach, but they could all feel the blue that welled up in him, like an ocean rising and battering against their bonds. “I remember,” Gavin said. “Kelly was sad. He would pet my head, and Carter would tell stories. Carter is not good at stories.”Carter scoffed. His hand tightened on Robbie’s arm. “I was doing my best. Making up stories in the dark is harder than it looks.”Gavin huffed. “Stupid Carter.”“I liked the stories,” Kelly said. “They helped me sleep.”Robbie’s heart twisted. They had lost so much time together. He hated thinking about it, but the only thing that gave him solace was the knowledge that the others had taken care of Kelly, that their actions had helped him get through it. He wanted Gavin to know it had been the same for Carter. “When you were gone,” Robbie said, “Carter stayed in here with us. Kelly read to him.”“Good.” Gavin hooked a leg over Carter’s thigh. “Never again.”“Never again,” Carter agreed. He gave Robbie’s arm a reassuring squeeze, and Robbie squeezed back. He melted into the mattress, as much as he could without letting himself fall off. It was cozy, in a cramped sort of way. He hoped he could spend every night crammed into this too-small bed with his mate and the people that were most important to him.“Tomorrow we’re buying a bigger bed,” Kelly said. “Do they make bigger beds?” Robbie asked. He was pretty sure they had a king size mattress, but it could have been a queen. Either way, it barely fit in the room comfortably.“We’ll order it custom if we have to.”That would be expensive, but no one presented a counterargument, so Robbie let it go. More than likely, Kelly would abandon the quest after measuring the dimensions of the room or even sooner after he woke up feeling refreshed in the morning.Despite his protestations, Kelly was the first one to fall asleep. He always said he slept best surrounded by the people he loved, and tonight was no exception. Gavin fidgeted a little, trying to get comfortable as Carter sank into sleep, leaning heavier on the rest of them. His hold on Robbie’s arm relaxed as drifted off.Then it was only Gavin and Robbie awake. “Thank you,” Gavin said, and Robbie knew it was meant for him. “For watching over him.”Guilt slammed into Robbie. He wished he had done more for Carter, more for Gavin. He wished he had moved mountains to reunite them. But he forced himself to accept Gavin’s gratitude. “You too,” he said. And he repeated Gavin’s promise to Carter, “Never again.”