Shaded Soldiers || Gay MxM || Omegaverse

24. The Pictures

In the early morning, I woke up again feeling uncomfortable. Reid was still asleep, and it was dark outside, but I didn't want to stay in bed any longer. My aching joints forced me to get up, and as soon as I'd walked out the room, the pain started fading.

But to my surprise, I wasn't the first one awake. Not even the second.

There were lights in the kitchen, where Keita was brewing coffee, while Chandler sat behind one of the tables, talking quietly to him. Two doors in the hallway were open, the rooms behind them empty. I passed them by and entered the living room.

"Good morning," Captain told me in a soft, hushed voice.

He was sitting in the middle of the couch, with Ash and Ryan lying next to him, using his lap as their pillow. Ash was playing with a fidget toy, while Ryan seemed to be fast asleep with Captain's hand resting on his shoulder.

"Good morning," I spoke just as quietly. "I thought I'd be the first one up."

"We just woke up," Captain said, frowning at me. "You didn't sleep well."

It wasn't a question.

"Better than expected," I told him reassuringly, but he squinted his eyes. "I mean it. My joints are a bit sore, that's all."

"The painkillers didn't work?" Captain asked in concern.

"They worked fine," I said sternly. "All I need to do is stretch my legs a bit and it'll stop. Anyway. It doesn't look like I'm the only one who couldn't sleep well?"

Captain frowned deeper, so I pointed at Ryan.

"Oh! No, I'm just the designated babysitter while their partners are in the shower," he told me.

Ash chuckled, and Ryan growled a little at his words. The latter still refused to open his eyes. Captain laughed shortly and caressed his shoulder gently.

"Waking up is hard, okay? I need a nap," Ryan grumbled.

"I know, I know..." Captain said gently, smiling at him. "You just rest now."

Ryan wrinkled his nose at him, then settled back down.

Captain turned to me, still smiling. "I don't usually start with work stuff before breakfast, but my friend got back to me. He has the pictures we asked of the alpha kid."

"He has?" I asked, getting excited at first, but then remembered it didn't really matter anymore. He was safe and recovering now.

"Yeah. I haven't checked them yet. I figured you want to be there when I print them out," he said.

"You know it," I said.

"I would show them right now while we wait for others, but as you can see..." he muttered, glanced at the younger alphas, then grinned at me. "I'm a bit occupied at the moment."

"I can wait after breakfast," I said.

He playfully raised his eyebrows at me. "You can wait?"

"Yes. Sometimes," I said.

Only seconds later, I heard one of the doors being opened, and when I looked back, I saw Reid exiting our bedroom, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Morning," I told him when he got close enough.

"Morning. Why are we up so early?" he asked in a raspy voice.

"I needed to stretch my legs," I said, choosing not to point out that he didn't have to wake up because of me. I had the feeling it was just how things were going to be from now on.