"Xavier will drive you home.”

“I will?” Xavier murmured.

“No, it really isn’t necessary—”

“He will,” Sage said.

“I guess I will,” Xavier said.

“I was just giving Shawn a ride.” Shawn inhaled sharply at the dirty undertone in his voice.
Rutledge clearly didn’t miss it, either. His shoulders tensed up and his gaze raked over Shawn, as if looking for evidence, before shifting to Xavier’s car. A sneer twisted his lips. “I hope the ride was comfortable.”

Xavier’s eyes flickered to Rutledge’s Mercedes. He shrugged lazily. “I don’t need a flashy car for that.”

“Nicely done, guys, that wasn’t passive-aggressive at all,” Shawn said, suppressing the urge to facepalm.

“You’re going soft, Professor,” he murmured with a smile, breathing his scent in. It was familiar and oddly comforting.

“Shut up, Wyatt,” Rutledge said, sounding even more annoyed, if that was possible.

Shawn brushed his lips against his neck. “Fine. You’re very evil and nasty.”

“You can’t sleep on me.”

“Why?”

“Because—because… Fine,” Rutledge bit out at last, to Shawn’s surprise.

Squealing in delight, Emily climbed onto the bed and onto Rutledge’s chest.

“You’re very warm,” she said, yawning.

He really was. The room was very cold, but Derek was very warm. So warm.

“Sleep. And don’t pee on me,” Rutledge grumbled.

“I’m not a baby. I’m big. I don’t pee in bed!”

“Good. Now sleep.”

“You have funny hair on your chest. Shawn doesn’t have funny hair on his chest. Why?”

That gave Rutledge pause. “Sleep.”

“You don’t like me,” Emily mumbled. “You like Bee better.”

A heavy sigh. “Why do you think I like her better?”

“You gave her chocolate yesterday!”

Shawn frowned. Huh?

“Because she asked. You have to ask if you want something.”

“So if I ask, you’ll give me anything? Anything, anything?”

“If I say yes, will you stop talking and sleep?”

“Yeah!”

“Fine. What do you want?”

“I want a puppy! Black and fluffy! With a white star on its forehead!”

A pause. “Choose something else.”

“But you said anything!”

“Morning,” Shawn murmured, their faces just inches away on the pillow. It felt unbearably intimate. “Sleep well?”

“No, I didn’t,” Derek said, his arm heavy on Shawn’s back. “Your bed is terrible. I almost fell off twice.”

Shawn smiled lazily. “No one’s forcing you to sleep here.”

Derek drew his lips into a thin line and averted his gaze for a moment before looking back. “It will be much more convenient if we use the bed in my house.”

Shawn blinked. “You know I can’t leave the kids on their own.”

“I have a spare bedroom for them.”

Shawn stared at him. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

Derek’s face was blank. “It would be convenient.”

“Convenient?”

“Yes, convenient.”

Pressing his lips together to keep himself from laughing, Shawn nodded solemnly. “Very convenient.”

“Shut up, Wyatt,” Derek said.

Shawn grinned slowly and looped his arms around Derek’s neck. They looked each other in the eye for a long moment, and Shawn felt something tighten in his chest. He said softly, “I love you, too, Derek.”

Derek stared at him for what felt like an eternity before he said, a little breathlessly, “Yes.”

Shawn laughed. “Okay, we’ll have to work on that—”

Derek shut him up with a kiss.