An Ocean of Light

by Kit Fortier

  Eric was confused. He had no one in life to see, except Ben—

  Therapy, E.

  Eric shook his head. “Not right now.”

  “Of course,” Fox piped in. “A lot is changing now. But if you ever need to…”

  “The door is open. Just ask us, okay?” Jake said.

  Eric nodded. A kiss bloomed at his temple.

  “We’re going to bed,” Ben said. Eric felt his absence, but realized Ben lifted him, cradled him. He laughed.

  “You’re such a caveman, B.”

  Ben smiled. “You E. Me like E. Me carry. E and B make fire.”

  Fox snorted. Jake looked on with an amused grin. Eric put his arms around his man’s neck. “Let’s get back to the cave and get warm, then, big guy.”

  *** Fox

  “Holy shit.”

  “That barely sums it up, but I know the feeling, Papa Fox.”

  “Eric—”

  “Yeah. I imagine Ben’s flipping out in his head.”

  “I would be too! Damn—like I want to find those parents and beat some ass with a goddamn baseball bat. Jesus!”

  “We can’t coddle him, Fox. We can’t play the pity card on him, either.”

  “Are you saying we should be mean to him?”

  “No—not… I’m saying that the last thing he wants is for people to pity him. We need to build his trust. In us, in Ben, in himself.”

  Fox nodded, putting his head in his hands. The living room was quiet.

  Jake’s warm hand slipped into his own. They traced each other’s scars on the inside of each other’s palms from the full-moon event on Devils Tower. A sense of helplessness seeped into Fox, squeezing his heart and clouding his mind.

  “Papa bear?”

  “What’s up, Foxy?”

  “Would you hate me if we ended our stay a couple days early?”

  “Leave tomorrow?”

  “Yeah. I just think—”

  “The sooner we get to California, the sooner we can really help Eric.”

  Fox smiled. “Finishing each other’s sentences, huh?”

  Jake’s lips pressed against the back of Fox’s hand. “Can’t help it. It’s like we fit completely.”

  “Come here, big guy.”

  Fox and Jake arranged themselves on the couch so that Jake’s back was against Fox’s front.

  “Do we have a plan?” Fox kissed the back of Jake’s head.

  “We’ll have to get a room in Encinitas, or Carlsbad, even Oceanside. North is a little less expensive than south. But hopefully we won’t be there long.”

  “Would it be easier to rent a home, you think?”

  “Well, it would get us into a home quicker.”

  The decisions were frustrating. Domesticity hadn’t been Fox’s thing. His life before this point had been the motel, weekends at the reservoir, and his apartment.

  “I can hear your brain, baby. You’re overthinking it.”

  “It seems like so much at once, Jake.”

  “When is the appointment with the agent?”

  “It was for three days from now, but I’m sure at the price they’re asking for, they’ll see us whenever.”

  “Then let’s do the hotel thing for a few days. There, not here.”

  “The two-thousand dollars would probably go longer there,” Fox grinned.

  “Of course.”

  Silence.

  “You’re okay with it, right?”

  “If it puts your mind at ease, I’m happy with it.”

  *** Ben

  Eric had fallen asleep against Ben’s chest in the warmth of the large tub. Ben held him up and held him close. He watched the man sleep in his arms through the reflection in the floor to ceiling mirror.

  It had been a big day for Eric in many ways. The early morning events, from the desert to the incident at the breakfast buffet. Eric taking the one thing Ben had to offer that would be his and his alone. The horrifying reveal of how things had been for Eric for most of his life.

  It would be enough to make Ben cry—but someone had to be strong for Eric. To that end, Ben vowed to do whatever it took to make things right. It would start by being there for him when no one else would.

  With a kiss to Eric’s head, Ben scooped him up, stepping out of the bath with his man in his arms. After setting Eric down, Ben grabbed a thick towel and dried Eric, then himself. The lithe, chest-height man sleepily held out his arms to Ben. He nuzzled his face in Ben's chest and hummed, content. Ben picked him up again and carried him to the bed. He shuffled on his knees until he could set his man down in the middle and curl up around him.

  Eric pulled Ben's arms in around him, holding his hands.

  “So warm,” Eric murmured.

  “Get some rest, baby. You’ve had a big day.”

  “Love you, B.”

  Ben kissed the top of Eric’s head. “Right back at you, E.”

  Eric burrowed into Ben’s front. On another night, that may have been a prelude to a session of intimate exploration and encompassing passion. But even Ben was weighed down by the weariness that came with a merry-go-round of extreme emotions.

  Hopefully things would feel better in the morning.

  ***

  The sun on his face made Ben crack open an eye. Sunrise hit the Strip. The light of day gave the city a deceptively peaceful appearance, despite the twenty-four hour everythings from casinos to bars to restaurants. Someone was sleeping on top of him. The shaggy mop of dark blond hair resting on his chest said everything Ben needed to know.

  “Eric…”

  The lithe, little guy pushed out a sleepy groan like air out of an accordion.

  “Baby, it’s time to wake up.”

  “Late checkout,” Eric sighed.

  Ben laughed. “I’m sure my dads can arrange that, but we need to get up to tell them.”

  Eric pushed up on Ben’s chest, a sleepy smile on his face. Ben gently nudged hanks of hair away from Eric’s forehead.

  “Sleep well?”

  Eric nodded, though his eyes were mostly closed. He dipped down for a kiss, and Ben met him halfway.

  “Come on, E. I could use some breakfast.”

  The scruffy man grinned and rolled off Ben, making his way to the edge of the bed. Ben scooted next to him.

  “B, at some point I’m going to have to walk by myself,” Eric snickered.

  “Okay,” Ben pouted.

  Eric stood, taking Ben’s face in his hands. “You’re so sweet, though. I love it when you go caveman on me.” That won Eric a laugh from the big guy.

  The two dressed comfortably and walked into the common area. Fox and Dad were already there, tidying up.

  “Morning, boys,” the elder Hughes said. “I hope you don’t mind, but we’re gonna head out today. Can you pack up easy?”

  Ben nodded. “Eric doesn’t have a lot—I’ll just put his clothes with mine.”

  Fox lit up. “That reminds me!” He disappeared into his bedroom and came out with four shopping bags.

  “Ben, I got you these,” Fox handed him a couple of tank tops and a few dress shirts. “And Eric,” Fox gave Eric the rest of the bags. Eric’s eyes went wide as he slowly took the gifts Fox was offering.

  “There’s a great duffle bag in there—got it from an outdoor rec store. Also a few dress shirts, tees, slacks and shorts. Oh, and a nice pair of jeans. I didn’t know your underwear size—”

  Eric’s shuddering caught Ben’s attention.

  “Something wrong?”

  “No—this is… Thank you, Fox. This is so cool—I don’t know what to say.” Ben looked down and saw a smile with a tear. He pulled Eric to him and kissed him on the head.

  “No problem. When we get to California, we can pick up socks and underwear, and some shoes!”

  Eric laughed, bright and clear. Ben’s heart swelled at the sound of it. Eric pulled away to give Fox a hug. Fox laughed.

  “Come on, buddy. We’ve got to hit the road,” Dad said, when his father was surprised by
a hug from the little guy as well. “Hey—we’ve got you, okay?”

  Eric nodded. Ben took his bags. “I’ll help you pack, baby."

  9. Happiness is Big Ticket Item Shopping

  *** Jake

  Figuring out the next step was a bit frustrating, but Jake and Fox talked it out on the road. They’d take up a couple of hotel rooms until they found a house—then make the move without having to rent in between. Better to get it out of the way than renting a home indefinitely. More importantly, they’d own the home instead of paying someone else to live there.

  Fox had a bit of a conversation with the private concierge assigned to their room. The concierge refunded him for two nights. In light of the attack on Fox and Jake's guest, Eric, they offered an incredible discount on all future visits. That made Fox smile, which made Jake smile. The concierge even waved off the fact the men packed up the robes. After the thousands spent on their stay, and the five-hundred dollar tip, the concierge shrugged and smiled. The four men piled into the truck, packing away their gear.

  It was about five hours’ worth of driving. With a call ahead to a local area high end hotel, the trip was seamless. Jake had Fox take a slight detour to the San Gabriel River where he taught Fox how to pull metals from the earth. Between the two of them, they reached deep, and pulled out nuggets and chunks of gold. They lumped them together, disguising them as large rocks. They were heavy rocks when all was said and done. It took four trips from the river to the truck, with each man carrying a rock. To passers-by, they looked like men getting river rocks for a backyard project. Jake and Fox grinned at each other, knowing better.

  Jake had Fox tucked under his arm as he drove the rest of the way. Ben and Eric were just as close, murmuring to each other and smiling. Seeing Ben happy was all the reward Jake needed in life.

  Fox picked up the tab on the room, as Jake had yet to make a gold-selling transaction. Some calls had to be made. Fox called the real estate agent. Jake called high end jewelry stores that would buy gold without much hassle.

  “Are you spoiling us, Foxy?” Jake asked, setting his pack down in the living room of yet another suite.

  “Are you complaining? At least this isn’t a grand a night,” Fox snickered.

  “What is it, then?”

  “Actually, about five hundred. I had to rent an adjoining room for the squirrels.”

  Jake looked over Fox’s shoulder and saw what he meant. Ben had carried a laughing Eric over his shoulder. The two tried to tickle each other in some strange kind of horseplay.

  “Ah, youth,” Fox sighed. It was Jake’s turn to snicker.

  “You’re like six years older than them, dork.”

  Fox gave him a dirty smirk. “How else do you think I can manage more than one round an hour? Or three times in the afternoon? Or four in—”

  Jake stopped Fox’s mouth with a sweet kiss. “What else does this suite have to offer?”

  There was a living room with a door to the room for the younger men. A balcony in the living room opened up to a view of the ocean. There were privacy screens shielding them from view from other rooms. Jake looked over the rail and saw they were the only balcony on this corner of the hotel. Fox put down his pack, and the boys did the same.

  There was a kitchenette alongside a dining area for six, and the bedroom that belonged to the suite itself.

  “Okay, guys—here’s your room key,” Fox handed a white card to Ben. “We’ve still got some daylight, so make yourselves at home for a bit while we figure out what to do for dinner.”

  Ben nodded, still carrying Eric like a heavy sack of beans over his shoulder. Eric squealed at Ben’s touch. Jake sighed. Against the big guy, the more compact guy wouldn’t stand a chance. Jake watched his son easily carry two bags and Eric into the next room, closing the door behind them.

  A voice carried on warm breath drifted into Jake’s ear.

  “You realize those guys are cramping our style, right?”

  Jake smiled. “What style do you mean?”

  “We can’t just walk around naked with only a living room between us,” Fox pouted.

  “Oh, baby. We’ll figure it out. It’s a two story house, so… Maybe we can live on the top floor, and them on the bottom?”

  “That sounds great,” Fox smiled, taking Jake’s hand. Jake followed Fox out to the balcony, where Fox closed the glass door behind them.

  “Papa bear,” Fox began.

  “Foxy?”

  “Look out at the ocean.”

  “I am. It’s gorgeous. We should probably do a campfire dinner or something,” Jake said. The ocean glistened to the horizon before them.

  “Look again,” Fox said. “Focus.”

  “Alright,” Jake replied. He focused, looking for the spark as he and Fox learned to do. What he saw was beyond breathtaking.

  The ocean itself was lit up with diaphanous, formless, seemingly endless veils of golden light. It flowed back and forth as the waves that collided upon the sand and withdrew into the greater body of brine.

  “You connected us with the energy of millions of people. Somehow, Ben was connected not with people, but the oceans themselves.”

  Jake didn’t understand how it was possible. The circle he worked the past seven years to create was only supposed to work by harnessing the energy on land—

  Unless that was the way it was supposed to work for Jake only… Meaning Fox might recharge…

  “Fox, this is going to sound crazy.”

  “Everything about this is pretty crazy already, baby.”

  “Hear me out. When you and I went through the first event on Devils Tower, we tapped into our latent abilities. Earth for me, lightning for you, and it looks like water for Ben.

  “But what if we’re not charged by the circle? What if we're connected to the energy created by our individual elements?”

  Fox looked thoughtfully out upon the water.

  “It makes sense, in a way,” Fox replied. “I had doubts about what it meant to be connected to millions of people the way you and I were supposed to be. That is, if your calculations had worked the way you thought."

  “I did alter it from what Sully and I came up with together,” Jake said. “There were elements and figures he had written down that seemed to take the circle in a direction I didn’t understand.”

  “I get the feeling Sully was going for something a lot more sinister, Jake.”

  A shiver went down Jake’s spine at the thought of it. There were several possibilities. None of them had to be explored, thank goodness, with Sully’s disintegration.

  “Something I don’t understand about Sully,” Fox began.

  “What is it?”

  “When we overloaded those rocks and trees in Las Vegas, so to speak. The excess energy sloughed off and spread into other things. How is it that Sully exploded after you poured your energy into him?”

  “It’s not a precise answer,” Jake said. “But it’s what I’ve got. I’d been thinking about that myself. The only answer I can think of is that Sully was doomed to begin with when his whole spark had left him years ago, when he went full-bore on the Aether. With no spark to buffer the energy poured into him, the energy I sent into him simply tore him apart. If he had his own spark, even a hint of it, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  Fox nodded thoughtfully.

  “Hey—let’s leave the guys here while we get stuff for dinner. I’m really in the mood for some time on the beach. We can also drive around a bit to unload some ingots.” Jake took Fox by the waist and planted a kiss on his mouth.

  “Sounds good to me. Don’t forget to seal up the doors before we go, though.”

  Jake nodded. They came back in, finding Ben in the living room.

  “Hey, big guy,” Fox said.

  “Fox, Dad—are we going out to eat?”

  “I was thinking of a beach campfire dinner, buddy. What do you say to that?”

  Ben smiled. “Sounds great. Do you want me to come with you?”
>
  Jake shook his head. “No worries. Fox and I got this. I’m just going to seal up the rooms before we go.”

  “Can you show me how to do that?”

  “Sure. Can you guys help unload those rocks first?”

  *** Eric

  The little guy watched in fascination. Ben went from room to room, window to window, outside the front door to the door to the balcony. The big guy sealed them in the way his father taught him. He loved seeing how his man’s face screwed in concentration with each line of salt and silver. When Ben was done, he moved the rocks they’d collected from the river. He carried them from the front door to an area of less traffic against the wall in the living room.

  Eric loved watching Ben move. He compared him to big cats he’d seen at a zoo. The panthers. The cougars. The graceful shift of marble muscles under velvet skin with each step, each twist and turn. When Ben was done, he turned around and smiled at Eric, who was on a loveseat, resting his chin on the armrest.

  “Like what you see?”

  “I didn’t want to interrupt you.”

  “Oh, I see. I do all the work, and you watch.”

  “It was a great show. Better than most things on the Strip.”

  “Yeah?” Ben pulled his short sleeves up, giving Eric a visual taste of his well-defined, solid, corded arms, flexing. “Like that?”

  Eric smiled and nodded.

  “How about this?” Ben pulled up his shirt, showing Eric his carved midsection. Eric went a little cross-eyed, but he laughed and smiled.

  “What do people say? Something about abs you could do laundry on?” Eric asked.

  That made Ben laugh. “Check these out,” he said, pulling his shorts up, revealing and flexing his muscular, exquisitely defined legs. He sauntered closer to Eric, giving him a dirty grin. “Go on. Feel.”

  Eric blushed fiercely. A goofy grin draped over his face. When Ben wouldn’t let up, Eric reached out his hand, feeling the incredibly dense flesh beneath his fingertips.

  “Like?” Ben snickered.

  Eric let out a light laugh. “You know I do, big guy.”

  Ben let his shorts loose from his grip and bent down. He kissed Eric’s forehead.