The first night after, he had woken suddenly from an exhausted sleep with a jump and a gasp. Greg patted his hair, soothing him back to sleep.
The second night after, Greg was the one who awoke. He lay still in the darkness for a long time with his eyes open, seeing nothing and concentrating in the tingle in his nerves that came just from feeling the warmth of his presence.
The third night after, they had sex mostly for the comfort of the afterglow. They fell asleep wrapped around each other, when the morning came they had separated but it didn't matter, the memory was there.
The fourth night after was the first night of the nightmares. As Greg stroked his damp hair and held him tightly against him, he wondered what had taken them so long to arrive.
The fifth night after, David was asleep before Greg got back from work. He had been with him today, briefly, when he had given a statement about what had happened to him in a voice so calm it frightened Greg. He had explained about the evidence, about the man who had made him useful to keep him alive. He picked out Daniel from the photographs and Greg had the feeling no one quite knew what to think about that. When he crawled in to bed, the heat of David felt more like coming home than stepping through a door ever could.
The sixth night after, there was rain drumming on the windows. It reminded them both, in their own ways, how it had started. They curled into each other and David breathed warm air on Greg's neck, reminding him that he was still alive.
The seventh night after, the crying came like a strong spring flood. Greg wondered if he could have anything left in him when the tears washed so much away. He held him softly, cradling him in his arms like a child, until David quieted and slept. The warmth and weight of him was a feeling of certainty against Greg's chest and he slept content, for the first time daring to hope that it might be over.