Page 27 of Patron of Mercy

Cleaning two dishes, even with the pan he’d cooked in, went fast.

“You want anything to drink?” he called down the short hallway.

“A water’d be great. Thank you.”

Lach grabbed a bottle and a beer for himself, then knocked on the open bedroom door. Thanatos’s head popped up.

“Any luck?” Lach asked. He passed Thanatos the bottle of water.

“I don’t know. You have a lot of movies... And a lot of seasons ofFrasier.”

“Best sitcom on television.”

“Uh huh.”

Lach glanced over the shelves. “What about this one?”

He picked outThe Holiday, which was undoubtedly a top-five romantic comedy of all time. Thanatos stared at the cardboard sleeve of the DVD box. The corners of his lips tightened, and he shrugged.

“I was actually thinking about this one,” he said, pulling outDead Poets Society. Lach’s stomach dropped. That was decidedly unromantic. In fact, the only thing less romantic he could think of wasTransformers. Okay, or maybeAlien, but that was still a solid film.

But he’d said Thanatos could choose. “Sounds great. I love Robin Williams.”

While Lach got the movie cued up, Thanatos crawled onto the bed. A condition of being on a sailboat—or maybe a condition this particular boat had manufactured—was that there wasn’t much sitting space. Either Thanatos would let him sit beside him on the bed, or Lach would be standing through the whole thing.

“Do you mind?” Lach asked, nodding toward the empty side of the bed. The last time they’d shared a bed, Lach had crept out of it and disappeared for months.

Thanatos frowned. “Sure.”

He seemed less than pleased but allowed Lach to scoot up next to him and lean back against the cushioned headboard.

The movie was as good as ever—moving and devastating and hopeful and sad. Lach drank his beer and thought about putting his arm around Thanatos, but their legs weren’t close to touching. More than once, Lach shifted, angling his knee into Thanatos’s space. Invariably, the god pulled away, so Lach thought better of pressing.

But when Thanatos caught his breath watching Neil Perry find his father’s gun, Lach reached out and set his hand on top of Thanatos’s. Loosely, he curled his fingers around the edge of Thanatos’s palm. When Mr. Perry found his son, Thanatos squeezed hard.

The movie ended, and Lach sat still through the end of the credits and for minutes afterward, afraid that if he moved, Thanatos would retract his hand. In the end, he did anyway.

Thanatos twisted away, reaching for his water bottle on the side table. He needed both hands to unscrew the cap—Lach understood that, but he didn’t understand why Thanatos didn’t reach for him again afterward.

It was an awkward moment. Heaviness in Lach’s chest kept him from cracking any jokes.

“So, you know, the guy who played Neil is in another movie,Much Ado About Nothing. It’s all about mistakes and forgiveness and—”

“Lach.”

“Yeah?”

“I know the plot ofMuch Ado About Nothing.”

“Right.” Lach laughed, rubbing the back of his warm neck. “Well, we could watch it tomorrow night if you want.”

Thanatos stared at him long enough that Lach was sure he’d say no. Then he shrugged. “Sure.”

“Great! It’s a date.”

Thanatos’s eyes widened.

“A plan,” Lach clarified. “It’s a plan.”

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