Eli woke up too late the next day.

He had fallen asleep with half a hope that Ambrose would sleep in for once, letting them spend a slow morning together. But when he rolled over and stretched his arm over the other half of the bed, he came up with nothing but empty air and cold, wrinkled sheets.

“Good morning,” Ambrose murmured. Eli pried one eye open to find him near the closet, tidying up the last few buttons of his flannel.

Damn. He had even missed the man getting dressed.

“Morning.” Eli yawned and pushed himself to sit. Ambrose looked up from the buttons.

“No need to get up on my account, you’re welcome to stay in bed—“

“No, no.” Eli tossed him a grin as he shrugged on his own shirt. “It’s significantly less fun without you in it.”

The joke had its intended effect—Ambrose bit back a smile as he turned back to the mirror. But in his reflection, the smile fell quickly, clouded by worry.

“You all right?” Eli asked. When Ambrose didn’t say anything, he finished dressing and joined him by the mirror, placing his hand on the small of his back. “You worried about the experiment, or…something else?”

“Something else,” Ambrose half-whispered, his voice rough. A knot of fear settled into Eli’s gut, and he gently turned Ambrose to face him.

“You have any regrets about last night?”

“No,” Ambrose said quickly, not meeting his gaze. “Not at all, no. Definitely not.”

“Alright, when you say it that many times, I’m definitely going to believe you.”

Ambrose sat on the edge of the bed, hunched over, fingers twisting. Eli took a deep breath to suppress his own nerves as he sat next to Ambrose and waited for him to collate his thoughts.

“You…” Ambrose finally looked at him, eyes shining. “You deserve better than a criminal, Eli.”

Eli gave a long, relieved exhale. “Is that all? God, I thought you were about to say you don’t like me anymore.”

“Don’t like—?” Ambrose grabbed his hand. “No, you’re—you’re handsome, and fun, and bright in every sense of the word, and”—he gestured to the air, his words picking up speed—“you deserve to be off gallivanting along a beach with someone who, I don’t know, rescues puppies by day and baby goats by night!”

“Ames, that’s weirdly specific.”

“What I mean is…” Ambrose dropped his shoulders. “Do you have any regrets?”

Eli smiled and kissed his cheek, hoping it would dissipate the worry on his face. “No,” he said. “Not a one.”

The same delighted feeling from yesterday warmed his chest again as Ambrose pulled him into a tight hug. “Oh, thank goodness,” Ambrose mumbled into his hair. Eli grinned and leaned backwards onto the bed, dragging Ambrose with him. Before the man could pull away, he grabbed the quilt and threw it over his head.

“Ha!” He burrowed his face into Ambrose’s shoulder. “You fell right into my trap! No lab for you today, you’re stuck in bed, Beake—“

“No!” Ambrose laughed and tried wriggling away, but Eli had him in a vise grip. “No, how could I have been so blind?”

A knock sounded on the door. They both froze.

“Ambrose, I’m opening up the lab,” Sherry’s voice echoed in the hall. “You want any coffee?”

Eli released Ambrose enough to let him scrabble his way out of the quilt and sit up. “No, thank you! I’ll go get some myself!”

Eli sat up alongside him. “What do we do?” he whispered.

“We’ll, um…” Ambrose ran a hand through his hair, “we’ll tell them at dinner or something?”

Another knock. “Does Eli want any coffee?”

They both stared at the door.

“No, thank you, ma’am,” Eli said, voice cracking.

“Alright.” Footsteps shuffled away from the door. “Muffins are on the table, if you want any.”

As Sherry descended the stairs, Ambrose covered his face with his hands, a blush rapidly spreading to his ears. “You’re right, I can’t go into the lab today, I can’t do it.” He groaned as Eli burst out laughing and fell back on the bed. “It’s not funny, Eli, I’m never going to hear the end of it!”

Eli tugged at Ambrose’s shirt. “Hey, you think Grim’s gonna threaten me? Go all intimidating parent? Will Sherry ask me what my intentions are?”

“Oh my God, they knew…” Ambrose briefly lifted his face out of his hands, then placed it back. “I’ll never be able to face them again.”

As heat waves rose from Ambrose’s ears, Eli wrapped the quilt around him and picked him up like a blue, spindly burrito. “Come on. Let’s go get some breakfast and get it over with.”