Safe Enough

A bit of bittersweet fluff, if that’s a thing?*

(*We’re talking about Hutch, so yeah, it’s a thing.)

Originally published in the 2018 SHareCon zine, edited and produced by the incomparable Cyanne.♥

I’m safe here.

The unbidden thought was ludicrous, to put it bluntly. Hutch almost laughed, but cut it short when Starsky stirred. Hutch gently loosened the arms he had wrapped around his partner.

Being with Starsky, his best friend, working side by side—it was everything Hutch had ever wanted. And now, amazingly, they were lovers, too. He knew his heart was safe in Starsky’s keeping, as Starsky’s was in his. Beyond that, though, safety was merely an illusion. As if the job itself wasn’t already hazardous, gay cops faced additional threats from both inside and outside the department.

Starsky mumbled something and turned to him, his eyes sleepy and his smile sweet. He snuggled in—honest-to-God snuggled—and tucked his head in firmly between Hutch’s jaw and shoulder. Hutch felt the press of lips against his neck that may or may not have been an actual kiss, and heard another mumble, more contented, before the breaths against his collarbone began to deepen into slumber again.

Hutch smiled and closed his eyes. Matched Starsky, breath for breath.

No, perhaps they were not truly safe. But together they were more than safe enough. And love like theirs was worth the risk.