by Tia Fielding
Somehow they ended up having a lot of fun. Emil was funny when he relaxed after noticing that there weren’t that many people around.
“Okay, you gotta get a laptop with a DVD player and then a HDMI cable so you can hook it up to your TV,” he said, going through the laptops on sale. “This one is good. Are you a gamer?”
Emil turned to look at Makai, who just stared back. Emil was beautiful when he got enthusiastic about something. His beanie was barely hanging on to his curls, and his eyes were shining.
“No, not really. We had a Super Nintendo when we were kids, but that’s it.”
“Okay, so if you want to get into gaming, you can get a console. That means we can get you a basic multimedia laptop for the other stuff.” Emil looked away, obviously having noticed the way Makai had looked at him, but didn’t comment on it. Instead, with a light blush on his pale cheeks, he went on to explain this and that, and Makai concentrated as best as he could.
In the end they went to a Walgreens for some essentials and a great grocery store for the food items. They finished with a trip to Kohl’s, because Makai really needed new clothes. He enjoyed the way Emil blushed when Makai teased him about making him want to buy couple of hoodies for himself after seeing Emil wear them all the time. He really liked the look in Emil’s eyes when he modeled them for him too.
Makai didn’t want to think how much money he left behind when they finally got into the truck after all of the shopping.
“So, lunch. I need something disgusting right now,” he stated, then glanced at Emil. “Are you hungry?”
“I could eat maybe like fries and a shake?” Emil didn’t sound sure, but he was trying.
“Drive-through it is!” Makai started the truck and they found the first fast-food place available.
He’d guessed that Emil was getting tired by now. Makai was too. His body was sore all over, and Tylenol would be his friend for the next few days at least.
Suddenly a song started to play just as they got to the drive-through window to collect the meals. Emil took his phone out of his pocket and held out his wallet for Makai, who brushed it off and paid for the food himself.
“Oh, hey, Lotte,” Emil said, and Makai tensed. “Yeah, I’m still in Minocqua with Makai. Sure, I’ll put you on speaker.”
“Hi, Makai,” Lotte said, and Makai swallowed hard as he steered into the parking lot.
“Hi, give me a sec, I’m parking the truck.”
“We just got some junk food from a drive-through,” Emil explained.
Lotte hummed.
“Okay,” Makai said and turned off the engine. “How’s Joie?”
“She’s fine. Headachy, but we got to go home late last night. She’s been sleeping and watching Sesame Street all morning.”
“She’s really fine?” Makai felt like his heart was trying to climb into his throat.
“Yes, Makai. I wanted to thank you. She has bruises and scrapes and a big egg on her head where she hit it, but she’s alive and well. No lasting damage and all that.”
Makai felt himself deflating with relief. He’d blocked Joie out of his thoughts on purpose. He knew he’d worry himself to death otherwise, and being prone to stress, he needed to concentrate on his own situation.
“How’re you, Makai? I heard you got stitches.”
“Yeah, and they kept me overnight, just in case. I have ten stitches in my back, but that’s about it. Headache has mostly faded.”
“Good. Look, you did nothing wrong. I just wanted you to hear that. In fact, without you, I….” Lotte let out a small but audible sob. “Thank you, Makai.”
Makai swallowed hard. “Yeah. Anytime. She’s a great kid.”
“Talk to you later,” Lotte managed to say, but it was obvious she was crying now.
“Bye.”
“Bye,” Emil added quickly, and Makai realized he wasn’t in a tiny little bubble talking to Lotte. It had felt like that, with his concentration fully on her, but Emil was right there with him. Emil’s long-fingered, little-bit-scarred hand appeared on Makai’s arm. “She’s right. You saved Joie.”
Makai didn’t have a reply. Instead he cleared his throat, wiped his eyes, and took in a deep breath. “I’m starving,” he said, and Emil pulled his hand away. When Makai glanced at him, he was smiling slightly, knowingly, while reaching for his shake.
THEY’D UNLOADED everything at Makai’s place and he’d driven Emil home. By then, Emil had been dead on his feet, and Makai had been sore enough to know he wouldn’t be unpacking anything that day. Instead, he’d spent the rest of the day setting up his new electronics as much as he could and hanging out with Mouse and the babies.
Today, Emil would come by as soon as his mom could give him a ride, and they’d finish putting the groceries away, and Emil would no doubt make sure his computer and phone were set up right.
Now he was making sure everything was clean and nice as much as he could with his back getting sore. At least his tetanus shot had been in order and they hadn’t jabbed him at the hospital.
He organized the perishable foodstuffs as much as he could before he needed to rest. He had a good variety of things now, and it settled something inside him. Frankly, Makai had let Emil pick a lot of things, just to see what he liked. He hadn’t come out and said it like that, and he wasn’t sure Emil had noticed what he was doing. He hoped not. He still didn’t want to make a huge deal out of Emil’s eating habits. He hoped that if he gave Emil time, he’d talk about his issues more, and Makai would learn how to make Emil’s life easier. Food was a big part of most people’s lives, and Makai respected whatever coping mechanisms Emil had in place.
It felt like a date. At least he thought this was what dates were supposed to feel like: the fluttery feeling and the nervousness about everything being as right as it could be. He’d bought a few beers and a bottle of Fireball, just to have some in the house if he felt like having a drink or a few. He’d never been a big drinker, and he doubted Emil drank much at all, but he also thought having a beer with Emil might be fun. It might loosen them both up. He hoped. It might also massively backfire, but at least the option was there. Besides, once he could work again without his back feeling like shit, he could finally have a beer or two just because he liked the taste.
He cleaned the litterbox and fed Mouse, then went to her little nest to check on the babies. They were all perfect, as far as he could tell. From what he’d gathered online, they’d be opening their eyes in about a week. So far, they were still little bean-shaped things with fur. They could be loud, though, and when he accidentally tried to pick up one that was still latched on to a nipple, he could feel the resistance that the suction caused. They were strong, it seemed, and so very cute.
Makai heard the car and found himself smiling. He petted Mouse once more and went to open the door for Emil.
He stopped at the corner of the house, struck dumb once more by how damn beautiful Emil was. He must’ve stared, because Emil ducked his head and fidgeted.
“What?” he asked, peering at Makai through his lashes.
“Just… I like looking at you,” Makai confessed, and they both promptly blushed.
“Here.” Emil held out a Tupperware container to Makai. “I boiled some chicken for a salad for Mom and snatched some for Mouse.”
Feeling touched, Makai accepted the present, then gave it back to Emil. “You can take it to her. She already ate, but I don’t think she’ll say no to that.”
Emil looked pleased, and Makai led him inside the house. Emil went directly to the bedroom to see the cats.
“Want coffee?” Makai called to him. “I need a cup, so I could make enough for you.”
“Sure, thanks!”
Makai put the coffee machine on and peered into the pseudopantry in the corner. He’d wiped the shelves and added a few hooks into the ceiling to hang things from. It looked okay, but they still needed to get the stuff inside.
“She ate about a third,” Emil told him as he came to deposit t
he rest in the fridge.
“Thanks, you’re now her favorite person,” Makai teased gently.
“Hah, I wish. So, should we go figure out what we want to carry in first? The pantry stuff maybe? That way we can organize it all while we have coffee?” Emil asked, looking so very energetic.
Again, Makai smiled at him a bit dumbly. Emil shook his head, looking fond for a moment.
“Sure, let’s go take a look.”
They went outside and figured that Makai could carry lighter stuff, if Emil loaded his arms so he wouldn’t have to bend to pick anything up. Emil carried heavier items, like the sack of rice and the boxes of canned goods they’d packed neatly at the store.
All in all, it was a lot of stuff, especially for one person, but this way Makai wouldn’t have to stock up on nonperishables in a while. He appreciated that because he didn’t like shopping much.
Once they had their coffees doctored to their liking, and all of the nonperishables inside, Emil went to stand by the pantry and pointed at the chair next to the wall.
“Take that and sit. Then show me where to put this stuff,” he commanded, and Makai did as told. To be fair, he was getting achy again.
He made sure the chair was by the counter so that he could both hand over stuff and keep his coffee nearby. It also gave him a view of most of the pantry so he could direct more easily.
It turned out Emil had thoughts about how to organize it already.
“So, I’m thinking, because you’re such a tall guy, we can do this in sort of a reverse order,” he said, one hand on a slim hip while the other held on to a coffee mug.
“What do you mean?” Makai sipped his own drink slowly.
“Well, normally people tend to put things they don’t need so often on the top shelves, right? Because it’s a hassle to get anything down from there,” Emil spoke thoughtfully. “My mom tends to ask me or Dad when she needs something from the top shelf. It’s not often at all.”
Makai hummed to signal he was listening.
“So I figure, because obviously reaching is not an issue for you, we can do it this way.” He turned so that Makai could see what he was pointing at. “Put the stuff you’ll mostly need on an eye-level shelf and somewhat below that. Then put the second most needed things on the top shelves, and all the stuff you’ll rarely ever touch on the lowest shelves.”
“Right, that way I don’t have to bend down so much,” Makai said, getting the idea. “That’s clever. I would’ve just stuffed the things wherever.”
“Thanks,” Emil said and smiled slightly. “If you think about what you want, where, I’ll move them for you. Oh, and I might need you to hang the basket thingies, because I can’t reach up there.”
Makai nodded and got up. “Let me hang them now so you can fill them if needed.”
Emil sneaked by him to get out of his way and went to get the two three-tier hanging baskets. They were the type Makai’s mother had in her kitchen too. Three baskets in each unit, different sizes so you could collapse them into a neat single pile. These were all made of wire, though, and when collapsed, they made just a plate-sized flat item that would fit practically anywhere. Makai liked that. He wondered if there was a name for them or if they were just called hanging baskets.
“Here’s the first one.” Emil handed him the black one, and Makai went to see if he needed string to hang it at the right height. He didn’t; he wanted it a bit higher anyway, but as he reached up to slide the top ring of the chain over the hook, his stitches pulled, and he hissed.
“Shit,” he ground out, and lowered his arm as soon as he could. “Give me the other one?” He held back a hand and got the red basket. This one he hung more carefully, rising on his toes rather than reaching with his arms. It helped some, but he could still feel the pull.
“Did you bust any stitches?” Emil asked quietly, waiting for him to go back to his seat before moving to the pantry.
“No, I don’t think so. Just forgot that I had them for a while.” Makai winced a bit, feeling the throb on his skin, and drank some more coffee. “It’ll be fine. I don’t feel them bleeding.”
Emil gave him a look of “if you say so,” and they got to work.
Half an hour later, most things were organized exactly how Makai wanted them and/or where Emil saw fit to place them.
Makai noticed the bag of oranges he’d bought and decided that since he didn’t have a fruit bowl, he could just hang them in the pantry baskets. He grabbed the bag, deciding that the black basket could hold fruit.
He stepped to the pantry and startled Emil, who jerked back, hit his shoulder on the doorframe, and yelped. And then went completely blank. It was as if someone had turned something off in Emil’s brain. His eyes were open, but it seemed like he didn’t see anything.
Slowly, Makai moved away to the opposite side of the kitchen.
“Emil,” he said in a louder than usual voice. “Emil? Can you come back to me? I’m sorry I startled you.” His heart was beating fast, and he felt like throwing up. The itchy feeling of an impending anxiety attack started to climb up and down his body. “Emil,” he said, the name snapping out of his mouth sharply without meaning to. He was panicking.
Emil jerked, then looked around and his eyes widened. “Shit,” he hissed, avoiding Makai’s gaze immediately.
“Come, sit on the couch for a while, okay?” Makai walked across the open layout to the armchair that’d come with the house. It wasn’t comfortable, but he could sit there to give Emil space.
Emil trembled now, but so did Makai’s hands.
“I’m so, so sorry,” Makai said. It was the only thing he could safely get out of his mouth right then. He felt like being sick again and found himself clutching his arms across his stomach as if to settle the horrible feeling inside.
Emil sat on the couch, looking small and vulnerable in a way Makai didn’t like at all. Emil had kicked off his shoes at some point, and now pulled his feet up on the couch and wrapped his arms around his folded legs.
“I….” Makai didn’t know how the sentence continued.
Maybe it was the change of the energy of the cottage, maybe something else, but a tentative little meow came from the end of the couch. Then Mouse jumped on the arm and peered at Emil on the opposite end.
Mouse meowed again, the sound oddly worried to Makai’s ears. Then she carefully walked across the couch to sit next to Emil.
When Emil didn’t seem to react to her, she glanced at Makai, then got up, placed her front paws on Emil’s arm, and carefully sniffed Emil’s face.
“It’s okay, Mouse. I’m okay,” Emil said so quietly, Makai had trouble discerning the words. “Go back to your babies.”
She didn’t. Instead, she lifted one paw and precariously balanced to tap Emil on the cheek, then made the small almost-meow again.
“I think she really wants to be sure you’re okay,” Makai said quietly, unable to not smile at her antics.
Emil relaxed then. Not fully, but his posture opened enough to let Mouse crawl onto his lap.
“This is about the chicken, isn’t it?” he spoke to the cat who purred loudly. “You just want to know the bringer of treats is okay.”
Makai forced himself to relax as much as he could.
“When I was seventeen, Dad was trying to figure out a way to find and bust this drug ring that was operating in the area. It was obvious there was someone cooking and dealing, because a couple of kids ODed, like kids I went to high school with in Mercer. Anyway, there was very little information. There’s a lot of fucking nothing around here.”
“Lots of forest and old cabins to hide in?” Makai made an educated guess. It had been surprising how many choices he’d had when trying to find a place to live around here, but most of them were in poor condition.
Emil nodded, petting Mouse. “I guess Dad got close. It wasn’t his job, really. The police department in Mercer was handling it, or so they said. Anyway, one day I was in Mercer after school, and someone….” Emil stopp
ed and licked his lips. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the purring feline on his lap. “There was a van, suddenly, and someone pushed me inside and….”
Makai groaned. He’d done fucked up, hadn’t he? Looming right next to Emil, giving the illusion that he’d pushed him.
Emil swallowed hard, and his knobby fingers started to twiddle with Mouse’s ears. She let him do whatever he pleased, it seemed. Makai wondered if it was possible she knew how hard this was for Emil.
“It was one of the henchmen, I guess. They knocked me out in the van, so I wouldn’t scream. They… they had me for ten days. Before the FBI found me.”
“Kidnapped minor?”
“Oh yeah. It was a whole mess of FBI and DEA by then, with all the local forces and townspeople from here and Mercer trying to find me.” Emil smiled in a self-deprecating way that made Makai’s heart hurt.
“Do you want anything to drink?” Makai needed to have something in his hands to fiddle with. The label of a beer bottle seemed like a good option right then.
“Uh….”
“I’m having a beer. If I’m gonna talk about this stuff, I need a drink.” Makai hoped his tone sounded better to Emil than it did to himself. Fucking PTSD.
“Can I get one too?”
“Sure.”
He brought the bottle to Emil who still couldn’t meet his eyes, and went back to his chair. Maybe it was the hiss of the bottle or the smell, but Mouse decided she’d had enough and abandoned Emil on the couch. She walked pointedly back toward the bedroom.
Because Emil didn’t seem to be wanting to talk just then, Makai started to tell his own story. He basically went through what he’d told Mr. Miller, but with greater detail where it mattered.
He’d gotten to the point where he’d gone into the first prison and had to stop there. He also went to grab them both new drinks, because it seemed like they needed them.
“So, I was seventeen,” Emil said after accepting the full bottle. “I’d kissed this boy a couple of times at house parties and stuff, but there weren’t that many queer kids around, and being the sheriff’s son basically means no social life.”