Like Breathing

by Tia Fielding

  Dev zoned out a little, lulled by the rhythm of cooking, and missed Angel finishing the call. He was just throwing the noodles into water when Angel walked in.

  “Here’s your phone.”

  “Thanks.” Dev took it and put it into his pocket. “How was your day?”

  “It was fine. Had an interesting lecture about—you know what, never mind that. You’re seeing someone?” Angel leaned his hip against the island and raised a brow at Dev.

  Oh. Shit. So Angel had heard what he told their dad, or Dad had told Angel.

  “Uh, yeah. Sort of.” Dev ducked his head a bit.

  “Who is this person? You’re not usually this cagey about anyone, and you haven’t dated in a while.” Now Angel sounded concerned, and Dev didn’t want that.

  “It’s still so new, Angel. It’s….” He gnawed on his lower lip, realizing it was a tell of his that Angel knew very well. His brother would know he wasn’t being completely honest, no matter what he’d say next.

  “Is it someone closeted?”

  “No, that’s not it. I just… can you give me some time to sort this out? And then I’ll tell you all about it?” Dev peered at Angel hopefully.

  Angel sighed. “Okay, fine. But you’ll have to tell me soon. I don’t like us having secrets from each other.”

  Dev opened his arms and Angel walked to him, slotting against him like the piece he’d been to Dev’s puzzle ever since they were little. “I promise, Angel.”

  “Okay. I’ll give you the benefit of a doubt for now.” Angel kissed his temple and squeezed him hard. “How long until dinner?”

  “As soon as your butt hits the chair, really.”

  “Awesome. Let me get the bowls out.” Angel went to find their favorite bowls to eat stir-fry and noodles from, and set the table.

  They chatted about Dev’s work situation despite the fact that Angel wasn’t into gaming much, and Angel’s studies, even though Dev didn’t get some of the stuff he was saying either. It pretty much summarized their relationship. They loved each other unconditionally, were there for each other about everything, and even though they were two very different people, they had enough similarities and a common ground in having grown up together that they just worked.

  It always boggled Dev’s mind when he met someone who couldn’t stand their siblings. He’d even met a girl who didn’t like her twin sister at all. It seemed weird to Dev. To him, Angel was one of the things that made Dev… well, Dev.

  “I’ll load the dishwasher. You go fix Dad’s problem,” Angel said when they were done eating.

  “Thanks. If you’re making coffee later, can you…?” Dev gave him puppy-dog eyes, the expression making Angel laugh.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’ll bring up a mug for you.”

  “Thank you!” Dev singsonged as he practically pranced out of the room and up the stairs.

  HE’D JUST gotten into the swing of going through the data sheets the guys from the Crawlers team had sent him, when his phone rang.

  Distractedly, he answered the call. “Huh?”

  “Well, that’s an interesting way to greet a person.” Seth chuckled.

  “Oh, damn. Sorry, I didn’t look. I’m working,” Dev said quickly, shaking himself out of the zone.

  “I should’ve probably texted you instead of calling, but we were thinking about going to see a movie tonight and wanted to ask if you’d want to come with us?”

  “Date night!” Leaf piped up in the background.

  Dev groaned. “Aw hell, I really want to. I just got an SOS call from my dad. There’s a bit of a situation in one of his games, and I promised to help out.”

  “That’s a shame, but while we would’ve liked to have you with us, we totally understand. We know your work hours aren’t the same as ours in any case,” Seth assured him.

  “I just… I would’ve liked to hang out with you guys,” Dev whined a little.

  “I know, and we would’ve liked that too. Oh, Leaf has something to say. Let me—” Seth cut off and was replaced by the phone being shuffled around.

  “Hey,” Leaf said, and something about the tone made a shiver run up and down Dev’s spine.

  “Hi,” he replied breathily.

  “How about this. I know you can’t join us tonight. But what if you’re a really good boy and do a good job with whatever you’re working on, and some other time, when you least expect it, we’ll reward you for missing out on tonight?”

  Dev could hear Seth saying something in the background but couldn’t understand the words mostly because of the blood rushing through his whole body. “Uh…. T-that sounds great. So, so great,” he stuttered, flushing red as his cock twitched.

  “It’s a deal, then. Work hard, Dev.”

  “Dev?” Seth asked, and somehow Dev had missed the phone changing hands again.

  “Huh?”

  “Did that sound like a good idea to you?” Seth sounded a little bit breathless, and Dev didn’t have to ask how he felt about it.

  “Uh-huh.” He adjusted himself a little. “I think we need to end this call or I won’t be able to work before I go jerk off first.”

  Seth made a choked-off sound, and Dev was oddly delighted at that.

  “Okay. We’ll think of you tonight. Work hard and remember to stay hydrated and eat something occasionally,” Seth murmured, and Dev could hear the feeling behind the words. All of them.

  “Yeah, I will. You two have fun, okay?”

  “Yeah, we’ll try. Talk to you later.”

  “Bye.”

  TWO MINUTES past seven in the evening, Rick, one of the senior problem solvers of Nemo Gaming, called him on Skype. They went through their findings, and because they both could narrow it down to the same thing, they worked pretty efficiently for the next four hours, having the Skype call open on one of their many monitors. Since Dev had worked with Rick before exactly like this, he knew they would be able to figure out the problem that evening.

  At some point a couple of hours later, Angel came by to bring him coffee, a sandwich, and a banana and waved at Rick, who gave him a distracted little wave back.

  “Nerds,” Angel grunted at them in a playful tone, and both Dev and Rick grinned, but neither of them paid Angel any attention.

  When the coffee had cooled down a bit, Dev called for a break and told Rick to go get a drink as well. He soon came back with a large glass of juice and a panini, and they settled in for a chat.

  “So, how’s the fam?” Dev asked before biting into his sandwich.

  “They’re okay. Although….” Rick seemed to think about whether to talk about something before finally continuing. “We think Chris might be transgender.”

  Dev’s eyes widened, and he nodded slowly as he swallowed the bite of sandwich in his mouth, then took a sip of the coffee. “Oh?”

  “Yeah, I mean Chris’s never been the most masculine of boys, you know. Nothing like his brothers. But lately he’s been talking a lot about never wanting to cut his hair and wanting to wear dresses and such. He doesn’t have the words for it, I don’t think, but… yeah.” Rick shrugged and took a bite of his panini.

  “He’s what, seven?” Dev tried to remember. At Rick’s nod, he pondered on it a while. “I mean, some people know even earlier than that. Have you thought about finding some help? Sure, it’s early days, but you know, if he is a she, or something in between, he might benefit from someone on the outside of your family for guidance and support.”

  “Yeah, Dena is looking into it. She’s not worried, and I think they’re going to the mall tomorrow after school to get some nail polish for her, but she’s trying to see if Chris wants some too, you know?”

  “That’s a good idea. Even if he’s just trying to figure out what kind of a boy he is, it’s not like nail polish is something that can harm him. Your kids are in the same progressive school we went to, right? By the Nemo headquarters?”

  “Yeah, they’re all enrolled there. Your mom really made sure nobody would be bullied at that schoo
l after the Angel incident back in the day, or so I’ve heard….” Rick smirked at him a bit wryly.

  “Oh yeah.” Dev remembered that still, more than a decade later. “I think the important thing would be giving him space to figure things out. Maybe have some girls over? Or better yet, have him go visit some girls. I mean, your house is pretty testosterone filled, so having him see a girl’s room might be good for him.”

  “That’s not a bad idea, thanks. I think some of Dena’s friends have girls his age, and I think the new guy your dad hired for the Secret Project’s team has twin girls who are around his age too…,” Rick pondered out loud.

  They were in that sort of situation that came from working alongside each other via an online connection. They were friends, sort of, but their actual real lives didn’t quite connect. They’d never met in the two years they’d worked together on and off, which seemed weird, because Dev knew a lot about Rick’s family. Like that he had five kids, all boys between three and thirteen years old.

  Once they were done with snack time, they got back to work. Somewhere around midnight, Angel came in to shoo Dev off the computer to go to the bathroom—yeah, so he forgot sometimes when he was in the working zone—and when Dev came back to his room, Angel sat in his chair and looked at him with an expression Dev couldn’t quite read.

  “What?”

  “You got a text from someone called Tree Man. Says you were missed and that the movie was good. Something about a reward too?”

  Dev’s first instinct was to tell Angel off for reading his messages, but then his reasonable side realized he’d left the phone so the text would have appeared on the lock screen anyway. That, and the phone was right there next to his keyboard. Dammit.

  “Yeah, work trumped date,” Dev said, attempting casual but failing a little.

  “Well, I’m off to bed. See you tomorrow,” Angel said, after giving him a long, pointed look of “we’ll talk about this eventually.” He got out of Dev’s seat and left the room.

  He didn’t tell Dev not to work too late, because he knew the nature of his job. He and Rick would work until they dropped or the problem was solved.

  They were so close to solving it, Dev could taste it. He opened the water bottle and took a sip, then another, until he’d drained the bottle completely. Seth’s reminder of hydrating himself came to mind, and he blushed a little.

  “So, someone new?” Rick asked without looking into the camera. He had a smug expression on his face, though.

  “Uh-huh. It might really be two someones, but don’t tell my family yet.”

  Rick’s eyebrows rose. He seemed to give it some thought, then nodded, his eyes still firmly in the data. “Like a poly thing?”

  “Yeah, they’re older. Been together for a decade. Great guys.”

  “As long as everyone treats everyone well, why not? Now back to work, kid.”

  Chuckling, Dev settled back into the rhythm of comparing data and findings.

  SOMETIME JUST past five in the morning, Dev said bye to Rick and closed the Skype connection. He was tired enough to sway on his feet and had to drag himself to the bathroom. He peed and drank a glass of water, then wobbled back to his bedroom, just to face-plant on his bed.

  He woke up to his phone ringing. Somehow it was under his pillow, so he must’ve put it there with the last strength he’d had. He didn’t look at the time, just hummed into the phone.

  “This is becoming a habit, I see,” a wry tone said.

  “’Mnot awake,” Dev grunted.

  “I can tell. It’s twelve thirty, and I happen to have the rest of the day off. I also know your brother is stuck at the college until five. Do you want me to pick up Leaf and come feed you?”

  Dev let out a groan, stretched, and tried to formulate words. “Mm-hmm.”

  “I take that as a yes. We’ll be there within an hour. Get out of bed and go shower.”

  “Okay.”

  “See you soon. Bye.”

  Dev put the phone away and pulled himself out of bed. Seth and Leaf were coming over. The thought was enough to get him into the bathroom to shower and make himself presentable. He tossed the clothes he’d been working and sleeping in into the hamper, then went back to his room to pull on some clean sweats and a T-shirt.

  He took his cell and walked downstairs into the kitchen to plug his phone into the charger there. He was about to start coffee when the doorbell rang. Smiling, he went to open the door.

  Seth stood there with a large white paper bag in his hands, and beamed at him. “Morning or afternoon, whichever works for you.”

  “Morning,” Dev murmured and let him through.

  Leaf, on the other hand, just look at him from head to toe, smirked, and walked after Seth without saying a thing. He was carrying—

  “Is that coffee?” Dev closed the door and followed the men into the kitchen.

  “Yes, there’s coffee, croissants, and muffins. Oh, and a bagel for you. I picked veggie stuff because I wasn’t sure what you liked,” Seth said while setting delicious things on the island.

  “This one’s for you,” Leaf said, extracting a cup from the tray.

  When Dev went to take it from him, Leaf lifted it up over his head.

  Dev froze, his morning brain stalling for a few seconds before he understood. “Oh,” he said, smiled, and went to kiss Leaf soundly on the lips.

  Leaf took control of the kiss immediately, coaxing Dev’s lips open, and all but devoured him.

  A long, lone moan from nearby made them stop and turn to look at Seth, who seemed flushed and quite turned on.

  Dev took his coffee from Leaf and went to Seth. “Do I get a good morning kiss from you too?” he asked, and Seth ducked his head, then moved in for the kiss.

  They kissed for a while. It was maybe a bit less lusty than with Leaf, but Dev thought it might be the fact that Seth was more restrained and careful anyway, and they hadn’t done anything but kiss before.

  “As good as this is, I need my caffeine,” he said finally, pulling away and taking a sip from the mug. “Oh God, which of you knew?” he moaned when he tasted the hazelnut with a dash of chocolate in the drink.

  “You might’ve told me when we talked about coffee habits one day. You didn’t even realize why I was fishing for the information,” Leaf confessed.

  Dev could just about remember a few texts about caffeine-related things. “Sneaky. I like that,” he said decisively, taking the plate with the bagel on it from Seth.

  They settled around the breakfast nook, and Dev had his breakfast while Seth and Leaf had a late lunch.

  “How’re the dogs?” Dev asked, and Seth launched into a lengthy yet oddly mild rant about how he’d nearly tripped on Missy that morning on his way to bathroom.

  “I mean, she’s almost never there! I was too sleepy to notice her, and now I feel bad about kicking her even though it was an accident!” Seth pouted, which looked endearing on his professor face. Dev realized he was wearing his work clothes, so the slightly stuffy teacher image still clung to Seth.

  “She’s honestly not smart enough to feel bad about it. She’s just confused about why you’re acting weird,” Leaf said in a tone that suggested he’d told Seth this already. Maybe a couple of times.

  Dev nodded. “Yeah, I’m with Leaf on this one.” He grabbed a muffin and looked at Seth. “I love Missy, I do, but she’s not the sharpest anything. Husky or Grace might’ve gotten offended, but they’re too smart to lie down somewhere on your path anyway.”

  “And I told him that too, but he’s a bit of a martyr, our Seth,” Leaf murmured over his coffee.

  Seth rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. I’ll try to get over myself.” He reached to touch Dev’s hand. “Did you manage to solve the emergency problem?”

  “Oh yes, around… I don’t even know. Fiveish this morning?” Dev squeezed Seth’s fingers and smiled. “Which means I appreciate breakfast even more.”

  “Looks like our boy did earn his reward, doesn’t it?” Leaf purre
d, making Seth blush.

  Seth’s fingers jerked a little in his hand, almost like he suddenly couldn’t touch him because of what Leaf had just said. It didn’t sit right with Dev.

  “I blow you once and you think you can say whatever you want in front of your husband, when you should know better than that, Leaf.” Dev looked at Leaf, carefully keeping his expression and tone of voice in check so that he didn’t sound too severe. “There’s a time and place for everything, including my reward, but this isn’t it. I’m not here to make Seth uncomfortable.”

  Leaf looked at him with something like mild embarrassment mixed with amusement and pride, even. “Well, aren’t I positively scolded,” he murmured.

  Seth squeezed Dev’s fingers. “He forgets sometimes,” he said quietly. “I just… I’m not a prude. Hell, you know that based on what we talked about when you were at our place.” He was obviously referring to the whole slightly kinky stuff he liked, which Dev found kind of cute.

  “No, you aren’t, and I’m sorry,” Leaf said, reaching out to cover their hands with his.

  Dev could understand. They were all new at this, everything was exciting, and Leaf seemed more sensual than most guys Dev had ever been with. Dev didn’t think with his cock—at least Dev didn’t see it that way—but he liked sex, and he was very much into both Seth and Leaf.

  “So, what are you guys going to do with the rest of your day?” Dev changed the subject, withdrew his hand, and bit into the chocolate chip muffin with a happy moan.

  “Grading and dogs,” Seth said, sighing. “What we do most days, really.”

  “Aww, at least I have more work to do.”

  “How’s the project going?” Leaf asked, and Dev could tell he was genuinely interested.

  “It’s getting there. So far we’re on schedule and everything.” He grimaced. “Although you should never say that sort of thing—might jinx it.”

  A surprisingly delicate shudder traveled through Leaf’s body, and Seth snorted.

  “What?” Dev looked from one to the other.

  “He’s a bit superstitious like that too.” Seth pointed at Leaf.