Herald the Night

Chapter Twenty-Two

By the time Theo pulled the car into the garage with two hungry kids in the backseat, his intrusive thoughts had won the war that had waged all day long. He was tired, achy, and hadn”t eaten since the toast and black coffee earlier in the morning. On top of that, the anxiety of being out of the house was a lot more intense than usual, for understandable reasons. As much as he knew, logically, that he had every right to be paranoid, it did no favors to the underlying panic disorder he already suffered with.

Naturally, his heightened stress had triggered his asthma to flare up. And what were the unfortunate side effects of his asthma medication? Nervousness, headache, and trembling hands. Needless to say, he was a wreck by the time the car shut off and the kids barreled out. He really wanted to pop one of his as-needed Xanax, but that one came with the side effect of making his asthma worse. Ergo, he opted for staying in the car to try and combat his spiraling thoughts in solitude.

As much as Connor had been trying extra hard to keep them on the right track over the last week or so, Theo’s worries had still crept in during his marathon of a day. The similarities between the day everything had blown up and the lengthy list of appointments and visitation he’d just gotten through were too hard to ignore when his brain liked to self-sabotage every good thing that happened. Part of his reluctance over going inside was a vain attempt to avoid the disappointment his mind had insisted he would find there. He recognized that it was his propensity to catastrophize, but he still couldn”t help being worried over more unmet expectations.

He let his head fall back against the headrest and closed his eyes. As much as he knew he was being ridiculous, he couldn”t get over the obstacle his wayward thoughts had erected. He was so lost to his rumination, he nearly hit the roof of the car when the door into the house whipped open with a crack.

“Theo! Dinner!” Anna stood in the doorway erratically waving. “Hurry! I”m hungry!”

He blinked in surprise before moving in slow motion to unfasten his seatbelt. Buoyed by the fact that dinner was prepared as promised, Theo grasped tight to that thread of hope and let it pull him from the car and toward the door. Anna was long gone, so the aromas of food and a clean house were what met him in the entrance hall. The relief compounded his already overwrought equilibrium and had him stalling there, unable to process what he was seeing and how much he was feeling.

The floors shone bright. What he could see of the living room was spotless. The lines in the carpet from the vacuum cleaner were charmingly chaotic and patternless. The air was lemon fresh and accented by what he could only identify as barbecued something. The thrum of the washing machine could be heard over the chatter coming from the kitchen. He was stunned speechless and rendered frozen on the spot.

“Teddy?” Connor’s head poked around the doorjamb of the kitchen. “Y’all right, baby?”

Connor wearing Theo’s apron was what broke the dam. Theo closed the distance between them in three strides and grabbed his cheeks in both hands before smashing their mouths together. He pulled back with an audible smooching sound and let himself get lost in the whiskey gold of Connor’s eyes.

“You are so getting laid tonight,” Theo whispered the words to Connor”s lips before sealing them with another kiss. By the time he let go, Connor was flushed and flabbergasted, his face covered in a smile so brilliant, his dimples became even deeper than usual.

“Well, shit…” Connor laughed and ran a hand over his face. “Come eat. The kids are going to eat each other if’n you don”t get in here.”

Theo’s brow furrowed as he followed Connor into the kitchen. That”s when it all made a lot more sense. The table was set. Like, fully set. Plates, silverware, glasses, serving dishes. Connor had even folded paper towels to act as napkins. There was a God damn candle in the middle. The last time they”d all sat down together at the table was too long ago for Theo to remember. He swiped a thumb over his lashes and unleashed a watery laugh.

“Con, this is incredible.” Theo stepped toward one of the empty chairs and had almost slid into it when Connor stopped him.

“Ah, hands. Wash’em.”

Theo laughed his way to the sink and did what he was told, accompanied by Toby and Anna’s whining. Honestly, he couldn”t fault them. Dinner smelled mouthwatering. When they were finally all seated around the small circular table, the kids pounced like wild animals. Heaping scoops of mashed potatoes, creamed corn that looked suspiciously like it was scratch made, barbecued chicken legs, and squares of honey-glazed cornbread were soon piled high on each plate. The fact that Connor had plated Theo’s food had him thankful he was already seated, because he was definitely weak in the knees over it.

A magical thing happened as they ate together. Anna started off the conversation, and Toby joined in shortly thereafter. Without any bickering. Connor added his two cents to the mix, and Theo inserted his own points in between. Something about a simple dinner around the table unlocked doors and opened them wide. For a glimmering moment in time, he was witnessing a miracle—the miracle of becoming a family.

Theo leaned closer to Connor and lowered his voice as Toby and Anna became embroiled in an animated conversation about something only they could relate to. “Thank you, Connie. This really is incredible. You have no idea—”

“No, thank you.” Connor touched their foreheads together with a smile. “I love you. Now eat up. I got plans for us.”

Theo arched a brow with a slow smile. “I like the sound of that.”

“You”re in for a surprise.” Connor winked and returned to his meal. He also demolished what Theo couldn”t finish. Warmth spread through Theo’s chest as he watched his boyfriend feed the bottomless pit of his stomach. The familiarity of it eased away the last of his troubled thoughts from earlier and replaced them with visions of future dinners just like this.

“What”s for dessert?” Anna pushed her plate away with a muffled groan.

“Popsicles. You ate damn near as much as I did, Bug.” Connor pointed his fork to her plate. “Only if”n you handle that, though.”

“Ugh,” she groused with a dramatic eye roll. “So rude.”

Despite her complaints, she did in fact take care of her dishes and silverware. Yeah, they weren”t exactly loaded into the dishwasher how Theo would have, but the fact that they were in there was a big win. He usually just gave up nagging and collected the dirty dishes from around the house every night. Without prompting, likely because he didn”t want to be shown up by his little sister, Toby brought all his dishes to the sink and rinsed them before he packed them into the dishwasher beside Anna’s. Theo had to scrape his jaw off the floor as he bore witness to his younger brother helping Anna get a popsicle from the freezer. Without a single argument, they ran onto the patio and closed the sliding door behind them.

“Did you add sedatives to their juice or something?” Theo shifted out of his chair and grabbed the serving dishes. “It”s been forever since they were so chill.”

“Nah, I just told’em I wanted their help to have a nice family dinner ‘cause I missed’em.” Connor joined Theo at the counter with their dirty plates. “It were real nice, eh?”

“Oh God… don”t make me cry. You made sexy innuendos and I don”t want to ruin it.”

Connor bumped Theo”s hip with his own and chuckled. “I ain”t fucking you tonight. We went too wild last night. I got other plans for you.”

Theo pouted and then pouted harder as Connor swatted his ass before moving toward the hall. “Finish up here, get the kids settled, then meet me in the bedroom.”

Twenty minutes later, with the kids cleaned up and squirreled away in their rooms, Theo moved through the house to ensure all the windows and doors were locked. Satisfied that he was actually done for the day and eager to see what this mysterious surprise was, he slipped through the narrow opening of their bedroom door and was once again struck speechless by what he discovered on the other side.

An old throw blanket was spread over their bed. The same throw blanket Connor had gotten Theo as a gift over a year ago. Tiny tea light candles were scattered around on every flat surface, illuminating the room in a soft, flickering glow that softened the edges of everything. Most spellbinding of all was Connor himself wearing only a pair of black boxer briefs. The candle light danced over the sinuous lines of his muscular build and turned his already warm complexion and blond hair into a vision of Adonis in the flesh.

“Jesus Christ,” Theo whispered, his eyes widening in awe as he swept his gaze over Connor’s body. “Not fair.”

“Mn, what’s unfair is how many clothes you still got on.” Connor advanced and brought his hands to Theo’s chest, gently pushing him backward against the door until it snicked shut. “Let’s fix that up, eh?”

Theo’s lips parted to reply, but Connor swept in to silence him with a languid, lingering kiss. All open mouths and no tongue, it was sensual and slow and breathtaking for its subtle intensity. With deft fingers, Connor locked the door and then proceeded to slowly strip Theo of his garments, all the while refusing to break from his mouth.

A brief moment of levity tempered the simmering sexual tension as Connor chuckled against Theo’s lips. Slowly undressing a partner was all good and well until skinny jeans got involved. He sank to his knees and gripped the waistband of the pants in both hands to work them down over Theo’s narrow hips and wiry, toned thighs. A rare niggle of self-consciousness bloomed in Theo’s chest as he watched his partner reveal more and more skin. Despite his best efforts to keep his insecurities well-hidden, his slow-growing semi flagged.

Connor paused, dancing his lips over Theo’s stomach with a plethora of small kisses. “So beautiful. God damn gorgeous, Teddy.”

“I… it’s… I”m…” Theo stammered and sputtered, the flush of his fleeting arousal turning into a blush of embarrassment. “It”s not what—”

“Hush, baby.” Connor pressed more kisses to Theo’s hips and pelvis. “I said I weren”t plannin’ on fucking tonight.”

“I know… I just…” Theo”s hands flew up to cover his face. “It”s my medications and stress and I”m tired and I have a headache and I”m not even a little bit gorgeous, okay? I”m too skinny and pale and you”re like a fucking Greek god and my head’s all over the place—”

“Teddy, breathe.” Connor finished wrestling Theo’s jeans to the floor before standing up to pull Theo’s hands from his face. “Just breathe and listen to me.”

Theo relented, stepping out of the jeans and into Connor”s embrace. He counted through a few deep breaths before nuzzling the soft skin of Connor’s neck as he nodded. “M’listening.”

“You”re beautiful. Most beautiful man I ever seen. Maybe it don”t make no sense, but that”s why I ain’t fucking you tonight. I don”t just wanna fuck. I wanna worship you.” Connor took a step back, pulling Theo with him. “Lay down on your stomach. I promised a surprise.”

Only somewhat mollified, Theo obliged and pulled a pillow closer to bury his face in it. The mattress dipped as Connor’s frame shifted over it, and the warmth of his body eased some of the trembling that had swept over Theo. A bottle cap flicked open and then closed, confusing him even more. Nevertheless, he shifted his hips and arched his back.

“Quit.” Connor moved again, straddling Theo’s thighs to pin him down with his weight. “Ain’t gonna repeat myself.”

Theo mumbled a protest into the pillow, but the words died as soon as Connor’s warm, broad palms caressed up the sweep of his back. What he’d falsely assumed was lube turned out to be massage oil. Warming massage oil. The vibrant scent of ginger and citrus and cedar filled the air as Connor worked his thumbs into the muscles of Theo’s shoulders and the groan that slipped from his lips in response was damn near pornographic in quality.

“Fuck, that feels good,” Theo mumbled into the pillow as he melted under Connor’s ministrations.

“Good. Now hush, relax, and lemme tell you a story.” Connor”s palms shifted lower, slowly coaxing the knots and tension from Theo”s lower back.

“Mn?”

“Once upon a time, a Knight from West Texas met a Prince. Most beautiful man he ever did see. Now, the Texan knew the man were gorgeous, but once they met proper like, he realized it weren”t just his looks that made him beautiful. He was damn smart, funny as hell, and had the biggest heart too.

“Like most stories go, they fell in love. Falling in love was real easy for the Texan Knight when it came to his Prince, ”cept he messed up along the way. He forgot to show the Prince that love. Reckon he weren”t the smartest fella. Big mistakes were made.”

“Con,” Theo choked out into the pillow as the massage and Connor’s honeyed drawl tore down his defenses and left him vulnerable and increasingly emotional.

“Hush,” Connor chided, easing his palms upward again to concentrate his efforts on Theo’s tensed shoulders. “I ain”t finished. Anyway, the Knight were too stubborn to let his story become a tragedy. He only reads romance, y’see? It ain”t a romance without a happily ever after. So he worked real hard to prove his love to the Prince. Every day, every night. Good times and bad. Sickness and health. All that. Reckon you wanna hear the ending of the story?”

“Please?” Theo turned his head, no longer desperate to hide his burgeoning tears.

“Good. It”s my favorite part.” Connor blanketed Theo’s body with his as his forearms fell to the pillow to support his weight. His breath ghosted over Theo’s cheek as he continued in a whisper. “The Knight and his Prince promised each other they’d never stop fighting for their love. They promised to fight all the battles and celebrate all the wins. Mayhaps even find a castle together, get a dog. Hell, they could raise pretty little babies together if’n they wanted. So long as they did it together, they”ll live happily ever after.”

Theo gave up the fight and hiccupped on a sob, writhing until he managed to roll over beneath Connor”s frame. As soon as he did, he wound his arms around Connor’s neck and pulled him back down, kissing every inch of Connor’s face that his lips could reach as he tried not to cry even harder.

“I want that. All of that. I want our happily ever after.” Theo nuzzled his nose against Connor’s with a shaky exhale. “Please?”

“It”s ours. We just gotta keep fighting for it, baby. You and me. We got this, ‘cause I love you.”

“I love you so fucking much.” Theo aligned their lips and sealed the declaration with a kiss that Connor returned with equal fervor. The kiss felt a lot like a sacred promise that Theo felt deep in his heart. The emotions, connection, and smoldering intimacy of their kiss slowly built to a peak, but Connor made good on his declaration that they wouldn”t be fucking tonight.

Instead, they made love till the early morning hours.