“The AA meeting ran over.”

Ty looked at him in true surprise, his hazel eyes wide, struck speechless for a long moment. Finally, he nodded slowly, his expression entirely serious. “That"s good, Zane,” he whispered. He nodded again, smiling slowly. “That"s really good.”

Relief flushed through Zane, and he wondered when Ty"s approval had come to mean so much. He relaxed and let out a slow breath. He wanted Ty to know that he could trust his partner and that Zane cared enough about him to make an effort he hadn"t made before to earn that trust. If Ty was going to love him, Zane wanted to at least be worthy of it. “Good,” he repeated quietly, drumming his fingers again to loosen some of the remaining tension, inexplicably happy to have made Ty smile.

Ty looked down at Zane"s right hand briefly before taking it back up with both hands and pulling it toward him. He leaned forward and kissed Zane"s fingers, as if thanking him for the effort. Then he looked back up at Zane and smiled widely. For perhaps the first time Zane could remember, Ty wasn"t blushing after such a display of affection in public, and his eyes weren"t seeking out anyone who might be watching them. All his attention was focused on Zane.

The smile was catching. They probably looked like idiots, sitting there grinning at each other, but Zane couldn"t have cared less.

Ty didn"t say anything, just took his napkin and put it in his lap as he continued to watch Zane affectionately. Zane reflected upon the fact that if Ty looked at him like that more often, he"d be putty in the man"s hands. That was more than a little scary, especially because it hinted at emotions within himself Zane hadn"t yet found the courage to consider.

He cleared his throat and thought that with Ty at his side, he might find that strength sooner rather than later.

“Happy New Year,” Zane offered, lifting his glass for a toast.

Ty touched his glass to Zane"s. “Happy New Year.”

Looking at his partner sitting across from him, Zane thought it might just be his best year yet. He was looking forward to it.