Morning light cut across the hardwood floor.
Jesse was still asleep—shirt halfway off, hand resting against my waist like he'd been afraid I'd vanish overnight.
I didn't move.
Didn't breathe too loud.
Just stared at the rise and fall of his chest and thought—
How many nights has he slept alone, afraid of the noise in his head?
---
He woke slowly.
Eyes bloodshot. Tired.
But softer.
"Hey," I whispered.
His voice rasped. "You stayed."
"I always will."
He exhaled like it hurt.
Then sat up. Arms draped over his knees. Silent.
Until finally—
"I was with someone once. Years ago."
I didn't speak.
Just waited.
"He liked it rough. Said he could handle it. Pushed me. Dared me."
Jesse's fingers flexed against his thigh.
"One night, we got careless. No safe word. No clear head. He wanted me to choke him, and I did. But something… snapped."
He swallowed.
"My hand was still on his throat when he passed out. I didn't even notice until he hit the floor."
I felt my breath catch.
He didn't look at me.
"I called 911. Sat with him until the medics came. He lived. But he left town. Told people I was dangerous."
I reached for his hand.
He flinched—just slightly.
"I started believing him," Jesse said. "Started thinking maybe I wasn't meant to… love people. That I could only hurt them."
I pressed his hand between mine.
Firm. Grounded.
"You didn't hurt me," I said.
"You let me mark you. Tie you up. Fuck you like I owned you."
"And not once did I feel unsafe."
His eyes finally met mine.
Wrecked. Wide open.
"I don't deserve you, Kade."
"Maybe not," I said. "But you've got me anyway."
---
We sat there for a long time.
Quiet.
Close.
Real.
Then I stood, walked around him, and settled into his lap.
He let his head fall against my chest like gravity had won.
I kissed his hair and whispered:
"You're not broken. You're just… learning."
His arms wrapped around me. Tight.
Like if he let go, he'd lose his only anchor.
---
That night, for the first time, he let me top.
Let me guide him.
Let me touch him the way he'd touched me all these weeks—
Like he was both dangerous and worth every goddamn risk.
And when he came, moaning my name into my mouth, I knew—
I wasn't saving him.
We were saving each other.