“You ready for this?”
“No.”
“There’s still time to change your mind.” Wes met Eric’s quick look up with only a hint of anxiety in his face.
“I didn’t say anything about changing my mind, did I?” Eric turned his attention back to his own reflection in the mirror and tugged impatiently at his tie. “Damn suit...” he muttered.
“No, but... Eric, listen.” Wes reached for his shoulders and turned him so they faced each other. “Do you want to do this? I mean - if you’re just doing it because I want it - that’s not what it’s supposed to be about, and we can leave right now.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I mean it. Sure, I’d like this, but I don’t need it. We could walk right out of here and go home. No harm, no foul.”
“You really wouldn’t make my life hell for backing out?”
“No, I wouldn’t.” Wes’s expression was sincere, but now there was disappointment lurking behind it.
Eric raised a hand for an affectionate touch to Wes’s cheek before turning back to the mirror. “For your information, I make my own decisions,” he said. “I’m here because I want to be.”
“Are you sure?”
“Sure I’m sure. Since when have you ever talked me into anything?”
Wes was grinning now. “I can think of one or two times over the years.”
“Oh, yeah? Like when?”
“Like back in school, when we first met. Remember that night we went out?”
“Yeah... But the only reason I let you drag me around was because I was so hot for you back then.”
“And you’re not hot for me now?”
“You know what I mean, wiseass.”
Wes laughed. “Too bad I didn’t know how you felt then, so I could take advantage.”
Eric raised a brow. “You wouldn’t have, though.”
“I guess not. Anyway, that’s not the only time. While we were fighting Ransik, I seem to remember you going through a certain change of attitude.”
“I just got tired of kicking your butts all the time.”
“Riiight... And at the end, when I got you to team up with me?”
“Caught me at a weak moment, that’s all.”
“Uh huh. Admit it, I’ve had an effect on you.”
“Worked the other way around too. You’ve gone through a few changes yourself.”
“Yeah, I’ve learned a lot from you.” Wes chuckled and moved closer. “How to be a hardass in ten easy lessons.”
“I don’t think you’ve quite gotten the hang of that yet.”
“That’s why we’re good together. You showed me how to work. I showed you how to have fun.”
Eric smiled. “We have made a pretty good team, haven’t we?”
“A great team. As Rangers... Working together with the Guardians... All we’ve gone through over the years, with Dad, and Jen, Nick and Sky...” Wes’s eyes were on Eric’s, his smile soft this time. “And each other. But here we are.”
They were touching now, hands clasped. “It’s been a long road for us,” Eric said.
“Sure has.” Wes leaned forward to kiss him. “A long road... with a lot of turns along the way...”