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It had been a little more than four months since the twins had been born and Diesel had become much more lax when it came to Shawn’s presence around the compound, even allowing the eccentric blond to assist with the twins when he found himself overwhelmed – though he would never admit it himself. For someone who was generally so stoic, Shawn was rather impressed and even more interested in the softness that had been brought out of the criminal by the twins.

Shawn had spent the last forty or so minutes wandering around the outside of Diesel’s home embedded into the cliff face, doing his best to keep out of the way of the guards. He’d even spotted Cross once or twice but had yet to see the man he’d actually come to see. There even seemed to be more guards than usual hanging around outside and that made Shawn slightly curious.

Before he could figure out what was going on, he was approached by one of the guards who had been standing next to a large pile of boxes in front of the garage.

The guards around the compound didn’t usually approach Shawn, and Diesel had – in private – once admitted to giving them specific orders to leave Shawn alone despite his numerous attempts at sneaking around. Only Cross approached him once in a while, since he seemed to be an exception to all of Diesel’s rules and orders. So when the large man dressed in black with a large weapon strapped across one shoulder came towards him, to say he was a little surprised would be only a slight understatement.

“Have you seen the boss?” the man asked, knowing that if anyone had seen Diesel it would be Shawn. “The house is still locked up and we have deliveries to put inside.”

Shawn shook his head, and for a moment was slightly concerned. It was almost eleven in the morning and Diesel was always the first person up and moving around the area, before the guards and Cross even showed up. Also the fact that Shawn had been there for close to an hour now and hadn’t seen the German himself was something that never happened.

Before Shawn could say anything else the guard had walked off back towards the packages that now needed guarding until it could be placed into the home with the rest of their equipment. Not that Shawn had anything to say anyway that wasn’t already conveyed by the shaking of his head. Instead his hand fished into the front pocket of his jeans and his fingers caught hold of the small copper key in his pocket – copper keys so a certain someone couldn’t get his hands on one.

Diesel had given Shawn the key only two months prior, asking the eccentric blond to check on the twins when he’d gotten caught up in a business deal that was going to take longer than expected. When he was finished, surprisingly Diesel did not ask for them back, and Shawn, excitedly, didn’t give them back. He knew Diesel well enough to realize it was a silent gift and the German was much better at actions than words.

Looking around to make sure no one was paying attention, Shawn headed towards the front door of the house. The worry over Diesel’s uncharacteristic absence was winning out over the lecture he might receive for coming into the house without permission – though if Diesel were to point that out Shawn would be quick to add that he had been given a key that allowed such access.

The house was unnaturally quiet, though that was pretty normal for Diesel as he preferred his home to be calm in comparison to the outside noise of the business run around it. He roamed quietly around the large space of the first floor area and spotted nothing unusual but also seeing no sign of Diesel or either of the twins, so he continued his search upstairs.

It didn’t take long before he spotted a slight difference to Diesel’s normal routine; the door to his bedroom was cracked slightly rather than being shut.

Being perhaps a tad bit too daring while not knowing what the man was up to, Shawn headed towards the cracked door to take a peek inside. The lights were off but there was enough sunlight breaking through the curtains for him to see the scene that lay behind the door.

Diesel was laying on the bed, face down and shirtless as Shawn delightfully took in the view of strong back muscles built up from flying. Only one wing was out, spread out on the left side of the bed where he spotted the unmistakable red hair that was Lulu underneath the warm appendage – he could only assume Kroy was buried somewhere under the tattered wing as well.

“What do you want?” The gruff voice, slightly muffled by the pillow, made Shawn immediately aware that Diesel was not actually sleeping.

“Your useless guards are wondering where you are,” Shawn explained before trailing off. “What are you doing?”

One red eye peeked through stark blond bangs as Diesel tilted his head slightly to stare blankly at Shawn. “Sleeping. What does it look like?” His face disappeared back into the pillow and he seemed to shift further into the bed trying to get even more comfortable. Shawn thought it was adorable. “Kinderkrankheiten.”

Shawn made a soft ‘oh’ noise, stepping fully into the room now while closing the door behind him. “How’d you get them to sleep?”

The one black wing lifted up slightly to expose Kroy who had one of Diesel’s fingers in his mouth before the four month old shifted slightly and the wing came down again before the loss of heat woke him up. “It’s uncomfortable but it worked.”

Throughout the conversation Shawn had steadily made his way closer until he was at the unoccupied side of the large king-sized bed. Before he could set himself down on the comfortable surface a hand shot out from the comforter to stop him, red eyes glaring.

“Did you lock my door after you marched your way inside?”

Shawn grinned happily, knowing that wasn’t a dismissal. “Of course, I’m not an idiot as much as everyone else seems to think so.”

It took another moment of staring before Diesel used his hand – the one that wasn’t in an infant’s increasingly sharp mouth – to pull back the covers to allow Shawn inside. Shawn didn’t need to be told twice; kicking his shoes off at lightning speed before snuggling down into the bed close to the body heat coming off the blond alpha.

Surprising even Shawn, as soon as he was inside the bed Diesel’s other wing appeared to wrap itself around him, pulling him closer. A single red eye was staring at him, the other eye already closed in preparation for going back to sleep, warning him not to say anything and just keep quiet. Diesel had an odd way of showing his growing affection but Shawn had already managed to pull this much out of him and he was excited to see what more the German had to offer.