Damon laid his hand on the hand scanner to unlock his apartment door, heaving a huge sigh of relief when it made the familiar ping and the door opened.

 It felt good to be home. The last month had been crazy trying to help the patients in Corna, administering the cure while helping those whose symptoms were taking longer to fade. The worst were the ones who were too far gone by the time they came to the hospital and Damon had to watch them wither away in the hospice room. While helping people was the reason Damon became a doctor and specifically chose the military, sometimes he really wondered what his life would be like if he had a small practice and treated every day cases instead.

As soon as he stepped into his apartment, Damon knew there was someone inside. When he saw how bright it was and the jazz music playing he knew it was Flynn. Tilting his lips up slightly, Damon walked into the living room.

“Hey, I’m home.”

Flynn’s head poked out of the wall opening dividing the kitchen and the living room and Damon felt some of his tension and hopelessness from the last few weeks begin to fade when Flynn smiled that special bright Flynn smile that always made Damon feel he was floating on a cloud, at total peace. 

“Welcome back! Hope you don’t mind. I know you’re probably tired but I thought I’d have some food ready for you. And I cleaned your apartment. I figured you’d be back a bit later based on your text.”

“Yeah I caught an earlier flight,” Damon replied as he put his luggage down in his bedroom. “Smells good.”

“Spaghetti and meatballs.”

Damon felt saliva pool in his mouth and he licked his lips, “With extra meatballs?”

Flynn laughed, “Take a shower if you want. This will take at least another twenty minutes.”

Half an hour later, Flynn and Damon were sitting on his living room couch and Damon was almost done with his first serving.

Flynn chuckled as he saw how fast Damon inhaled his food, “It never ceases to amaze me how much you can put away.”

“I use a lot of brain power every day. I need the energy.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, focusing on their food and Damon once again felt his tension fading away. He missed this. Sitting with Flynn, chatting, joking, even sitting quietly. Ever since they were born they’d rarely spent time apart. Damon had grown up at Flynn’s house, they’d gone to school together, and while they were in different universities, they still lived with Flynn’s family and saw each other every day. The first time they’d been apart for about a month was when Damon had to go abroad for his training. They’d both been miserable and spent three full days together to make up for it when he got back.

“So, how’ve you been?” Damon asked casually, eyeing Flynn’s reactions.

He saw Flynn stiffen and knew he wasn’t being subtle enough. He never could get anything past Flynn though.

“If you’re asking about my heat it was fine. I dealt with it.”

“You took a shot?” Damon asked in an accusing tone.

“I tried not to. But the pills really weren’t helping,” Flynn pouted, playing with the noodles on his plate.

Damon sighed, “I know. I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

“It’s fine. Not like you could help it.”

“Just promise me you won’t keep taking them, OK? I told you while they are effective at suppressing your heats, they are highly addictive and can have severe side effects. That’s why it’s only recommended in extreme cases.”

“I know,” Flynn mumbled, “You’ve told me a million times. And it’s not like I’m always going to use it. You’re here now so it’s all good.”

Damon felt his heart clench and he swallowed, “Yeah I’m here.”

And just like that, the comfortable atmosphere was gone and Damon wanted to kick himself. This wasn’t what he wanted. He’d just wanted to check that Flynn was alright, but he always seemed to put his foot in his mouth. Flynn said he didn’t have any tact, but he always smiled when he said it, like it was a good thing. But it was situations like these that reminded Damon of how awkward he found social interactions sometimes. His friends accepted it and laughed, saying he was the typical absent minded professor and it was good he had Flynn to help him get through life.

“Oh yeah, when do you want to go watch that new action movie?” Flynn said, breaking the silence and Damon was grateful that once again his best friend knew how to fix any situation.

“We can go this weekend.”

Flynn's face suddenly shuttered, his eyes hollow and Damon’s stomach dropped. Flynn only got like that when it came to his family which meant…

 “Your family asked you to go home this weekend,” Damon said tonelessly.

Flynn nodded gravely, his shoulders slumped, “Yeah. It’s my grandpa’s birthday and he wants me there.”

Damon’s fists clenched and he wanted to rail at Flynn that he didn’t have to go, that he didn’t owe his grandfather anything, that his family didn’t even deserve to stand in his shadow. But he swallowed all his protestations and nodded. It wasn’t his place to say anything. Not when they were growing up and not now.

“I’ll go with you. They’ll expect it and it’s a good chance for me to see Mom and Dad.”

Flynn smiled gratefully, the tips of his lips wobbling slightly and Damon wanted to swoop him into his arms, kiss away that defeated expression and protect his precious friend. He couldn’t though. He wasn’t meant to comfort and protect Flynn. He knew that. So instead he prodded Flynn to finish his food and promised to go get ice cream with him afterwards.