Chapter 187: A FILIAL SON
UNKNOWN'S POV
Morning comes quietly and softly in the bakery.
It's almost too gentle for everything that has happened between them yesterday.
Shawn wakes slowly feeling that his body is heavy and with his limbs feeling alien to him as he looks around in confusion.
For a moment, he doesn’t move or thinks as he savours the last remnant of sleep in his eyes.
Then memory hits him in short fragments and he stills.
The scorching heat, the exchange of breaths and how it was so dizzying and good and–
Noah!
Shawn’s eyes open immediately and the first thing he sees is him.
Noah.
He's sleeping peacefully beside him and it feels so unreal.
Like a perverted dream he had and last night never happened.
Because this is a man who controls rooms without effort and carries storms behind his eyes–
And yet here he is quiet and still beside me.
Shawn shifts slightly, propping himself up on one elbow as he studies Noah’s face closely.
There’s something vulnerable and unguarded about him like this that Shawn likes very much.
His hair is slightly messy and falling over his forehead with his lips parted slightly without a care.
Shawn’s chest tightens at the sight of him.
Because this–
This version of Noah so unguarded feels like something he shouldn’t even be allowed to see.
Something private and precious.
His gaze lingers longer than it should in him, especially his facial area as he spends time memorizing and tracing such gloriousness in his mind.
I'm wondering with a smile how everything changed so quickly in my life.
Eight weeks ago, everything was pure chaos and full of pain but now?
He's here in this quiet space, safe with me.
Looking at the man who–
“Are you done ogling me wife?”
Shawn jerks up in surprise at the sound.
His eyes widen with shock and embarrassment as Noah’s voice cuts through the silence.
“You–” Shawn sputters, immediately pulling back from how close he had gotten. “You were awake all along?!”
Noah doesn’t open his eyes immediately, instead his lips lift up slightly with mischief.
“I woke up when you started staring like you were about to commit a crime.”
Shawn’s face heats instantly.
“I was not–”
He reaches out without thinking and hits Noah lightly on the arm from embarrassment.
Noah lets out a sharp inhale, his eyes snapping open as he recoils slightly.
“Violence?” he accuses, placing a hand dramatically over his chest. “So this is how you treat your husband the morning after you wrecked him?”
Shawn glares at him with a small smile.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“I’m injured,” Noah insists, his voice full of mock offense. “After everything I went through last night, this is how I’m repaid wife?”
Shawn rolls his eyes completely unimpressed but then he stops and feels alarm when he sees a real expression in Noah's face.
It's quick and subtle but he sees Noah wince.
“Hey–wait–” Shawn reaches for him, supporting him as Noah tries to sit up. “Careful.”
Noah exhales slowly, his jaw tightening just slightly.
“I’m fine wife.”
“You’re not,” Shawn insists, adjusting his grip. “Sit properly.”
There’s a pause as they both laugh at the irony in that statement.
But Noah lets him assist him and that alone feels significant to Shawn.
How far they've come.
Shawn swallows deeply as his voice goes quieter.
“Sorry,” he says, almost under his breath as Noah glances at him with his brows pulling together slightly.
“For what?”
Shawn hesitates then gestures vaguely when he couldn't bring himself to say it.
“Last night.”
Noah stares at him for a second then huffs softly.
“That was my idea, you know.”
“I know, but–”
“And I loved every part and I don’t regret it.”
That shuts him up completely.
Noah shifts again, this time more carefully, until he’s fully sitting up.
Then with a smile on his face and before Shawn can even process it–
Noah leans in.
And kisses him slowly.
It’s not rushed or demanding at all, it's like a calm statement to silence all of the doubts and second guessing in him
Shawn freezes for half a second before melting into it with his fingers tightening slightly against Noah’s shirt.
When Noah pulls back, his forehead rests briefly against Shawn’s.
“I love you Shawn.”
The words are simple and uncomplicated but they hit harder than anything else.
Shawn’s breath catches in his throat as his vision blurs slightly with tears.
And then–
He moves quickly and wraps his arms around Noah tightly as if he wants to weld the both of them together.
“Oomph–!”
Noah lets out a startled sound, clearly not expecting the force of it.
“Shawn–”
“I love you too,” Shawn murmurs against him as everything stills.
Noah exhales slowly and softly as if his hanging heart has finally settled.
His hand comes up, resting lightly against Shawn’s back as he holds him there close to his heart.
For a moment, neither of them moves or speaks because this?
It was so silent and fragile that they both felt even talking would break it.
Beneath the warmth and the quiet of it all, something else was growing.
Something darker that Shawn himself doesn't see.
Noah’s eyes shift slightly into a much more calculating one of satisfaction as he finally got what he wanted.
And it's been faster than expected with no waiting or uncertainty from Shawn.
He can't afford to lose Shawn to doubt or hesitation.
Love, in Noah’s mind, isn’t something that just happens or is something that people immediately realize.
If not, why were there so many people with regrets after their relationship ended?
It’s something you secure tightly and something you lock in place before it slips away from you.
And now?
Now Shawn is here with him and for him exactly how and where he wants him to be.
Noah’s grip tightens just slightly on Shawn.
Possessive and subtle so Shawn doesn't notice.
He's only ever experienced crazy and abusive people so he wants Noah to have a smooth sailing romance and love between them.
Hell Noah doesn't even mind lying and clearing out obstacles quietly so Shawn can remain in bliss for life.
And then, the moment breaks as Noah’s phone vibrates on the counter.
The name on the phone is one that causes both of them to grimace.
Adam West.