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Things were a blur after everything that happened in Sunny's house in other ashdown, Jeremiah opening the door to their house and letting them both in.

The door was barely even closed before he was promptly turning and pushing Algie up against it. His arms went around him, purposely tucking Alg's head under his chin, and he held onto him. Hard.

They had not said much on the way home, neither one of them really having found the words for the ******** that they had just experienced. Now that they were back in their house, back someplace that was safe, some of the tension finally started to bleed out.

Even if he was in ridiculous amounts of pain.

It did not matter. Jeremiah needed this moment of just holding the other man.

"Tsst, tsst ..." Jeremiah flicked his fingers at the cats but they did not really stop until the vines and moss started creeping up their pant legs. Then they stopped.

Some part of him was absolutely willing to wallow but it was pushed past and shelved away. Algie was alive and whole and they were back home. There would be nightmares, there would be conversations, but all that mattered was that they had each other.

"Tea and a bath, precious?" he whispered against his hair when he turned his face back to greying hair. "Maybe your hands on my back a moment too?" The pain was a bit much and the adrenaline was fading.

He gave Algie one last squeeze before he was letting the other go and reaching to take his bag off of him and start the process of them getting out of their outside the house layers of clothing.

The scuffles between the cats were usually quick and Hellbine frequently just gave in to his sister. Mostly because it was easier and she was so much bigger (and the only time she was dead set on things was pushing him around).

His mind still replayed Algie's death when he was not careful, his own not that long after it. The feelings were there, the memories of it, and there would be no getting rid of it.

Fingers found their way to his spouse's face, touching the edge of his glasses and then sliding along his cheek and the stubble. The kiss was returned with a sigh, Jeremiah's face pressed against the other's a moment even after the kiss ended.

"I'm probably not coming out of bed tomorrow," he admitted. "I ..." Jeremiah's face twisted a moment. "I've warmed up some since," you died and I went cold as ice, "but I'm still cold and with the adrenaline fading it's starting to ..." The detective's hand flicked through the air.

There had not been a flare up like this before. Most of the time the pain on the low end of the scale but with what happened and falling from a ceiling onto his back ...

Yes, he would appreciate the help.

"I'm not sure how that is suffering, precious." The nudges made Jeremiah shift away but not too far. Removing his layers would reveal that the taller man was indeed cold. His skin was chilled and that preternatural coldness to his back seemed to have spread.

"Yes, yes, as my master commands," he was smiling as he said it. The excess clothing was stolen from Algie to be carried up stairs with him. Jeremiah headed up and paused briefly at Zac's old room for a moment. His gut twisted - the monster that bore Zac's resemblance touching Alg - but he pushed past it and went into their bedroom.

There was a master bathroom with a large bath on one side and a shower on the other, the sink and counter stretched between them. Jeremiah stared into the mirror a moment before he shook his head and went to the bath and turned on the hot water. His back ached and the sooner they soaked, the sooner they cleaned up, the sooner these thoughts could ease up.

The extra layers were deposited onto the sweater chair, Jeremiah sitting down a moment on the bed. His eyes slid shut and he took a breath, trying to sort his thoughts and ease things into the places they needed to be.

Jeremiah leaned towards Algie when he came close, head resting against his side. He definitely turned and pressed a kiss to the curve of his paunch. "At least this time I didn't come out of the entire thing with another injury."

Nothing more than being tired and cold and hurting.

"The book collection seems a better deal," he murmured into the fabric of Algie's shirt. Jeremiah pulled his face back and glanced up at him. A hand was raised, smoothing along the brunette's side and then holding as he stood up. His hand slid up along Algie's waist, along his side and up his arm until he was touching chilled fingers to his lover's cheek.

"I love you, Alg," the words were whispered before he was leaning forward and pressing a kiss to the corner of Algie's mouth and then another that was a solid kiss. There was a slight desperate edge to it, the things that were burned into his mind not easily leaving him. Still he couldn't let them stop him from tugging Algie towards the bath.

"I've no idea," Jeremiah replied. He truly had no clue about what the books would look like to Aleksy. Probably something not right. The taller man leaned against his spouse a moment. The warmth of Algie's hands eased a lot of the tension away, his hand being pressed to steady beat of his heart helping even more.

"I know," he murmured, fingers tapping out the heartbeat. "Not as good at compartmentalizing as you are." It was true. Jeremiah followed as he was tugged, using his free hand to untuck his shirt and start to unbutton it. His other hand was working at Algie's shirt. "I nearly burned the entire place to the ground."

Algie got a light pinch at the lack of speaking and because of the smirk. He let his spouse work the buttons on his own shirt, shrugging the shirt off in a moment, before he was going to tug off his undershirt.

Even if he was hissing during the entire process. Jeremiah did look pale because of his chill and his back ... The scarring was a far more vivid blue color than it normally looked. "I would have, I think, if I hadn't ..." He was reaching out for Algie once more, fingers hooking in his belt loops. It was hard to explain how the fire had turned to ice. Instead he just shook his head and pressed a kiss to Algie's forehead and pulled his glasses off.

The noise Jeremiah made was sinful, a low groan escaping and goosebumps dotting his skin. The man leaned back towards Algie a moment, the heat and warmth soothing in a way that definitely was boosted by his ability.

It took a moment before he was able to start working his belt and then popping the button of his trousers. Jeremiah leaned back, letting his weight rest briefly against his spouse. His head tilted, nose brushing against Algie's check and then ear. "Keep those hands on me and you can have whatever you want for the rest of our lives."