by Kit Fortier
“We had planned on camping a bit until we got into the house,” Fox said, “wherever that may be. But if we’re bringing Eric, we’re gonna need real amenities.”
“But he’s coming with us,” Dad said. “Don’t worry.”
Ben nodded.
“We didn’t use a condom,” Ben blurted out. He wanted to kick himself for the word vomit—but truth was spilling out of him, and there was no pulling the floodgates closed now.
Dad looked like someone smacked him on the nose with a newspaper. Fox, on the other hand, looked thoughtful.
“That’s a thing,” Fox said without jest.
“Are you—you guys are committed, right?”
“We’re not engaged, Dad. But if you’re asking if we’re exclusive, we haven’t talked about it, but we will. Besides, I don’t think he has anyone here, you know?”
Ben’s father looked concerned, but said nothing.
“You know I love you, Ben, right?”
“I do,” Ben replied. “I love you too.”
“The only thing I will say,” Dad said, “is this: be careful, okay?”
Ben nodded. An uncomfortable laugh bubbled up and out of him.
“Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to get that out.”
“No worries, big guy,” Fox said.
“We’re good, son.”
Ben nodded awkwardly and then walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He cleared the bedroom, doing the same. When he got back to his room, Eric was in the bed, facing him, eyes open.
“Hey, E.”
“Hey there, B. I reached over, and you weren’t there.”
Ben took off his robe and laid it over the chair he used for his laptop. He crawled into bed, and Eric snuggled into him. Their legs tangled together. Eric tucked his arms in with his hands against Ben's chest while the big guy held him close.
“Sorry, baby. Let’s take a nap, okay?”
Eric nodded against Ben’s chest. He snickered.
“What’s up?”
“Your hair tickles my nose.”
“Your nose tickles my chest, so we’re even.”
Eric smiled. Ben kissed Eric’s head and closed his eyes.
*** Fox
“You did good, baby.”
“Did I?”
“Yep. You found out Ben loves the little guy, and that they’ve had sex. That they went there without protection, too. And that we’re now apparently adding another member to the family.”
“I did, didn’t I. Holy shit, we are, aren’t we?”
“Come on, we’ve got some house hunting to do.”
Fox stood up, water and soap rushing off his body. He held out his hand, and Jake got to his feet, and Fox drunk in the sight of him.
“Like what you see, Foxy?”
“Oh yeah. But we might need a cold shower to do what we need to do.”
Jake smirked. “I have control.”
Fox laughed.
“Okay, I don’t. But you love it,” Jake said, pulling Fox into his arms.
“I love it,” Fox agreed. They kissed softly for a little bit before Fox pulled away.
“We’ll play later, papa bear.” He stepped out, and Jake followed. They both tugged on bathrobes and walked out into the living room.
Jake picked up his tablet from the coffee table and put his feet up on it, his robe falling open. Fox snuggled against him, stroking his chest.
“If we’re going to live in California, we need to be on the beach.”
“Okay, that works for me.” Jake brought up a web browser and pulled up a map of the area.
“Any places you remember that you liked?” Fox asked.
“Well, when I lived in San Diego, I was mostly busy learning alchemy, training. But I remember going out to Encinitas. I took Ben out there. I liked it. And it’s less than half an hour to UCSD, according to the map.”
“Any houses on the market?”
Jake browsed a few sites. Within a few pages, he came across one that featured a home near the beach. It had a complete upstairs unit—master bedroom, kitchen, dining area, den. There were two bedrooms downstairs, as well as a kitchen, dining area, and a spacious common room.
Not that Ben would have a room separate of Eric.
“Set up the appointment, baby,” Jake asked Fox. Fox called, and they were set to meet an agent in a few days.
“Now that’s set up, let’s head down to the pool.”
Jake pouted.
“Oh, papa bear,” Fox grinned, gently toying the offending lower lip with his finger.
“Fine, you don’t want me anymore. That was quick—usually it takes a few months before that happens in a marriage, right?”
Fox pulled Jake to his feet, palming his man’s heavy member in his hands.
“I’ll always want you. But I wanna get some sun, first.”
Jake rolled his eyes. “You and that perfect tan of yours,” he laughed.
“Yep. We better hope they got a roof deck in that new place or something.”
“Actually,” Jake said with a wink, “that house does.”
*** Eric
He could practically smell the positivity in the air—Ben’s dads left to go to the pool, Ben smiled in his sleep.
His own heart was beating hard—but not for joy. There was fear.
He didn’t know a thing of what Jake and Fox had in mind to help him be rid of the wolf. It lay dormant, and for whatever reason, kept quiet the whole time he was with Ben—
Maybe that’s what was happening. Eric loved Ben, so the wolf let him be, knowing there was a mate involved.
A mate who could protect Eric in ways the wolf could not. A sense of self-preservation filtered through the miasma of the creature’s feelings mingling with Eric’s. Were the wolf to surface now, in the presence of Ben and the men he called his family, Eric, as the host, would be in jeopardy. Somehow, the wolf knew not to interfere. The feeling was bolstered by the presence of love and protection pressed into Eric with every time he and Ben made love.
There was an animal technicality in that. When Ben entered Eric this morning, he left a part of himself within. It warmed the little guy—little, relative to the giants that surrounded him.
A part of him wondered if he had to be rid of the wolf. But then he remembered the mages who tried to kill him, the fear of skulking in the dark, away from human eyes. It wouldn’t do. The thought that he might hurt anyone, or worse, kill someone, steeled his spine, urging him toward the thing he must do.
Whatever Jake and Fox had in mind, Eric would let them do it.
He buried his face into Ben’s chest. The touch of him was a comfort, the scent was a balm. Eric’s heart stopped racing.
“I can hear you thinking, E.”
Eric smiled.
“What am I thinking, B?”
“You’re thinking,” Ben kissed his head and rolled him onto his back. “That we,” a kiss to his stomach. “Should probably,” a kiss on a nipple. “Go get,” a kiss to his shoulder. “Some dinner.” The last kiss ended on Eric’s lips, sweet and sincere.
Eric had hoped Ben could read his mind. It might have solved a lot of problems.
“What’s wrong?” Ben asked, his bright blue eyes full of concern. Maybe he couldn’t read Eric’s mind, but he could definitely read his face.
“I’m worried about the morning, Ben. I’m worried about what might happen to me.”
Ben sat up, scooting until his back was against the headboard. He pulled Eric into him, wrapping his arms around the smaller man’s shoulders, his chest. His legs were side by side with Eric’s.
Ben was a protective shell around Eric’s body, as well as his tattered heart.
“Tell me,” Ben whispered, kissing the top of his head.
“I don’t know the first thing about what they can do. Magic? Alchemy? I just know that this thing is inside me, is a part of me, and—and… It’s scaring me.”
Ben squeezed him tighter.
“I’ll be
there with you.”
Eric nodded.
“Are you hungry?”
Eric smiled. He nodded.
“Let’s go out, okay?”
“That sounds good.”
Ben still held onto Eric. He could feel him smiling against his shoulder.
“This works better when we’re moving, B.”
“Just love this. Holding you. You’re perfect.”
Eric’s face heated. He relaxed into Ben’s arms.
“Let’s just sit here then for a bit,” Eric said. “Lunch won’t go anywhere.”
Ben nodded.
Eric breathed the man in. Warm and safe was a luxury he couldn’t afford until now. He knew he’d have to pay the cost, whatever it was, to keep it as long as he could.
Ben turned Eric’s face up and dipped his head for a kiss. It was reverent, soft, yet exploratory. Ben licked Eric’s lips, his tongue. He tasted Ben in return and smiled.
*** Jake
Watching Fox move in the water kept Jake from getting off his stomach. He swam earlier, played a little grab-ass with his husband and enjoyed some floating time on the water.
Now, Fox was doing laps, and he was poetry in motion. Jake’s man swam up to the edge of the pool near where they were sitting.
“What are you doing?” Fox asked.
“Watching this hunky redheaded guy swim. It’s making me horny.”
“Better not let his husband know. I hear he’s a big scary bear.”
“Oh really?”
“Yep. A bear with big, thick arms, a beefy chest, a dick you could bounce quarters off of…”
“Isn’t that supposed to be an ass you can bounce quarters off?”
“Well, he’s got that too. He’s a hot, big scary bear dad.” Fox was dancing on the edge of trouble, and he knew it. Jake grinned at him.
“Yeah, well this scary bear dad’s husband is a red hot number in his little swimming briefs.”
“Little? What’s in ‘em ain’t little.”
“Nope. That’s why I’m hard at the moment.”
Fox laughed. He wiped his face and pulled himself out of the water, sitting on the edge.
“The boys are probably hungry,” Jake said.
“They’ve got room service. Ben was hilarious when he got back from taking Eric shopping.”
“How so?”
Fox paused—his lips pressed together in a straight line.
“What is it?”
“Ben carried Eric into their bedroom.”
“That’s cute.”
“The way you carry me into the shower.”
“Oh.”
“He ignored me on the way in. But I think that’s because he had his tongue in Eric’s mouth. Or Eric had his tongue in Ben’s mouth. Either way—”
“Fox.”
“Jake.”
Jake sighed.
“He’s happy. That’s what matters.”
“Good man, papa bear.”
Fox hopped into the lounger next to Jake.
“I could get used to this,” Fox grinned.
“It is pretty intoxicating.”
“Three more nights. I’m sure we’ll get bored.”
“A week in a spa resort hotel? Bored? I’m sure we’re passing the time well enough,” Jake laughed. “What do you want to do, go out hunting for wizards and witches?”
Fox raised an eyebrow.
“A couple did try to murder the boy your son is in love with.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll fix him up tomorrow morning, and that’ll be that.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“Well, we wouldn’t know the first place to start looking for mages, anyway. It's not like they advertise.”
“True.”
Jake listened to the uncomfortable silence between them.
“We’ll keep an eye out.”
“You sure?” Fox asked.
“It’s only right. Eric could use the peace of mind.”
“Sounds good. Let’s go see what the boys are doing for lunch.”
Jake make a face. Fox saw it and grinned.
“They may be young, husband of mine, but they’re not shagging twenty-four-seven.”
“You don’t know that,” Jake grumbled.
“Come on, ya big lump.”
Jake got up grudgingly, adjusting himself for a minute.
“Wow, papa bear, you weren’t kidding about that—”
“I’d never lie to you, baby,” Jake said with a smirk as he grabbed up a thick hotel towel and wrapped it around his waist. “Now let’s get back inside before I’m kicked out of the hotel for scaring the children and public indecency.”
*** Ben
Ben pulled Eric into the shower. They made out under the spray and cleaned each other off. The world outside the stall did not exist. It was just them and their connection to each other.
When they were done, Ben dried Eric off, looking at the both of them in the mirror.
“Do you want a shave?”
“Should I?”
“Why not? I’ll do it for you.”
Eric smiled. “Alright.”
“Wait right here,” Ben said, kissing Eric’s scruffy cheek.
His dads weren’t around, so he padded into the dining area and grabbed a chair. As he entered the hallway, the door opened, and Fox and his Dad tumbled through the door, laughing.
They saw him.
Wearing a chair.
Nothing else.
“Hey there, big guy,” Fox said. Ben saw his Dad’s husband smile and struggle with a laugh he desperately tried to push down.
“Son, whatcha doin’ with that chair?”
Heat baked Ben’s face. His ears were definitely on fire. It was bordering on painful just how much he could feel his heartbeat through his eardrums. “I’m going to give Eric a shave,” he said, defiantly.
“Okay, buddy. Shall we get out of your way?” Fox took his Dad’s arm and led him up one side of the hall. Ben sidestepped down the other side. He kept his back to the wall and the chair between himself and his fathers.
“Have fun, big guy!” Ben heard Fox say as he slammed the door behind him.
He brought the chair into the bathroom—his ears could have burned right off his head. Eric looked at him in the mirror and laughed.
“I heard what happened.”
“Great. That’s… that’s just great.” Ben sat down on the chair and put his face in his hands.
“Hey, hey there, B.”
Ben looked up. Eric stood before him, deliciously naked from their mutual shower.
“Hey E.” Ben pulled Eric close, inhaling the scent of clean male and mint. He licked at the center of Eric’s chest, the taste of him sending tingles down Ben’s spine.
“This is going to end up with us needing a shower again,” Eric grinned.
Ben chuckled quietly. “Here, have a seat.” He stood up, and Eric took his place.
Ben grabbed a small towel and spread it over Eric’s defined chest. After loading a fresh razor onto the handle, he took the shaving cream from his toiletry kit, lathering up his hands and spreading the refreshing foam over his man’s firm, defined jaw, as well as over his neck. Ben turned on the hot water, lifted Eric’s chin, and began to shave his stubble away.
Within minutes, Ben took the towel off of Eric’s shoulders and wiped away excess foam. He rinsed out his razor, replacing the cap and tucking it back into his kit. Eric came up next to him, looking at his cleanly shaven face in the mirror.
“It’s been a while.”
“You look great.”
Ben was surprised with a hug. Eric ran his face against Ben’s chest and laughed.
“What?”
“I love the feel of you on my face.”
Ben grinned.
“Boys, lunch is here,” Ben’s father called.
“We should get dressed,” Ben sighed.
Eric nodded.
Eric took a black tee from the shopping bag of clothes from the mo
rning’s trip to one of the hotel’s stores. He opted to wear the black slacks Fox bought him earlier, at Ben’s behest.
“I’m going to call for laundry service,” Ben said after pulling a shirt and shorts on. He picked up his other clothes and grabbed Eric’s bathrobe. As he reached for his own, Eric stopped him.
“Don’t. Don’t send that,” he said.
“Why not?”
“It has your smell. I like it.”
Ben smiled. It made Eric smile back.
“Okay, baby.”
The two padded barefoot into the living room. A new cart had replaced the breakfast cart. This one had trays of delectably aromatic fried chicken, a heaping bowl of mashed potatoes, a gravy boat, a huge bowl full of salad, and a crumb-crusted apple pie. Jake and Fox were at their usual spots at the dinner table with plates in front of them.
“Grab whatever you want, boys.”
Ben turned to Eric. “What do you want, E?”
“I’m alright with anything, big guy.” Ben sat Eric down and made the both of them a plate apiece, setting them down before stepping away once more. He pulled some bottled water from the fridge and sat down next to his man. Eric tucked in.
“You guys should check out the pool,” Fox offered, after everyone had eaten. “Weather’s great, water’s warm. It’s going to be a nice night out there”
Ben turned to Eric. “What do you say?”
He nodded, wiping his mouth. “I’d like that.”
“We’ll go after the Eiffel Tower.”
“That sounds like a good time,” Dad smiled. “I’ve only been to France once, but—wait, you’re talking the Eiffel Tower here in Vegas,” the elder Hughes man said, his face collapsing slightly in awkward realization.
“Well, yeah, Dad,” Ben replied with a hint of smarminess. “I’m a little short on plane fare at the moment.”
“Little shit,” Ben’s father replied, checking him on the side of the head playfully with an open hand. Ben laughed and easily ducked his Dad.
“You and Fox are welcome to come with,” Ben said. But Dad simply shook his head.
“Thank you, buddy. You and Eric go enjoy. We’re gonna stay in for the night.”
*** Fox
The light of the next morning filtered through the windows of the living room. The sun wasn’t out yet, but its presence was becoming clearer with each moment. Dark faded to light blue faded to warmer colors over the strip.