Aron’s cologne smelled so familiar. It was making Carter feel so relaxed. The guy was so consistent that he hadn’t changed that fragrance from probably the first time he had ever used cologne. All this time, he probably missed this. Probably. Not that Aron was hugging him, Carter, like this. He was hugging his husband, Alex. Carter was pissed at Aron and Aron was pissed at him. And they were never going to be friends again. He buried his forehead into Aron’s shoulder and sighed.

“You’ll get better,” Aron slowly massaged his back. “I’m sorry I’ve been so snappy. Just that I thought you didn’t believe me. And then you got into this freakish accident and I was so afraid that ...”

“Hey,” Carter called firmly. “Let’s not get too emotional.”

He pushed himself back from that warm embrace. He needed to take distance or else he was just going to hug back and that was not an option.

“I’m fine,” he made a small pirouette. “See? All in one piece.”

Except for a tiny thing. Like the person that was currently inhabiting the said body.

“I see,” Aron said with a small smile. “I must say, Alex, that I’m quite relieved to see you reacting so well. I thought you were going to throw a hissy fit upon waking up, especially seeing that you got hurt, and especially your face ...”

Carter felt his face with his fingers.

“Come on, these little scratches?” he snorted. “They don’t even hurt. And they’re fading anyway.”

Again, Aron was looking at him like he was growing a second head. Of course, he slapped himself mentally. He needed to behave more like Alex for this to work.

“I mean, fucking bastard, daring to mess up my pretty face like this,” he tried to sound miffed, but to his ears, he was nothing but a whiny little thing.

“Since when do you use such words?” Aron wondered, staring at him, wide-eyed.

Fuck, this wasn’t working, either. The damn pompous ass wasn’t even cussing now and then?

“Well, I’m pissed,” he tried to justify his earlier outburst. “This face is worth millions. I should sue the fire department,” he added, feeling invigorated by his righteous indignation.

Aron smiled.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The accident was not the driver’s fault. You just appeared in front of the fire truck from a blind angle; that was all. It was a good thing he wasn’t even driving towards an emergency.”

Carter shut up. Okay, so learning about the circumstances of the accident could help.

“Ah, well, I don’t remember how it happened,” he shook his head.

Aron just hurried to embrace him again.

“You will; don’t worry,” the man said and placed a short kiss on Carter’s head.

“Hey, Aron,” he spoke. “I don’t think you cheated. You’re not a cheater.”

He felt like he needed to say that

“Well, that’s good to know. Do you want to get some rest?” Aron said gently.

He was getting kind of bored with resting.

“What else is to do around here?”

Aron threw him a look loaded with innuendo.

“Not that,” he snapped. “Do you have a basketball hoop hidden around here, somewhere? You used to have one at home,” the words flew from his lips before he could stop them.

Aron threw him a quizzical look while pushing him slowly away, to stare at him.

“You remember that I told you that?” he seemed excited. “We do have one in the backyard. But you never join me for a game. You hate sweating.”

“Well, it looks like I’m in the mood to do exactly that. I spent way too much time just lying in bed. And after that, I want a slice of pizza.”

Now Aron was completely flabbergasted.

“Are you sure? The carbs ...”

Fuck Alex and his diet, Carter thought. He was not going to give up on a good slice of pizza over the idiot’s bad eating habits. Eating one slice could not hurt his slim frame. And maybe later, when their bodies were going to be changed back, the guy could wonder all he wanted about why on earth he suddenly craved carbs. Served him right for being such a douchebag obsessed with dieting.

“Yeah, I’m sure. You only live once,” he shrugged.

“The accident did change you,” Aron smirked. “Well, not that I wanted you to go through such a thing. But I kind of like the change.”

“You do?”

“We never shared a pizza. I can barely wait,” Aron said the words with one big exhale that made Carter wonder what else Alex had deprived Aron of, during these two years of happy married life.

“I need to change first,” Carter turned on his heels but stared confused at the three different doors that were connecting the living room to other areas of the house. Which one was supposed to lead to his bedroom?

“Let’s do it together,” Aron pushed him gently in the right direction. “I need to check if you really are in one piece.”

Carter stifled a groan as Alex squeezed his ass a bit too hard. The man was at his wit’s end, probably. And so was he, but for totally different reasons.

TBC