Chapter 9 #3
“Did you and Sariel have a fight?”
“Uh, well, not exactly.” Seymour cleared his throat as he headed back out to the living room. “The faerie twin dudes came to get the chest is all. Kinda spooked me. They say we can’t go see the king or whatever yet, so we gotta wait.”
Day arched her brow, clearly not convinced.
“Everything is fine,” Seymour promised as he dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Don’t worry. I’m not goin’ anywhere without you.”
“What about Sariel?”
“That… is a harder question.” Seymour set her down in the middle of the couch just as Sariel returned with a fluffy pillow and two big blankets. Together, they wordlessly made a little nest for Day and got her wrapped up like a burrito.
Day purred loudly and sank into the many layers with a happy sigh. “Mmm, thank you. This is perfect.”
Sariel scratched behind her ear. “Rest well, little one.”
“Good night, Sariel. Good night, Seymour.” Day closed her eyes, still purring. “You’ll both still be here when I wake up, won’t you?”
“Of course.” Seymour scratched her other ear. “Promise.”
“And you’re gonna make up, right?”
Seymour’s face immediately caught fire. “Uh, make up from what?”
“The fight you said you didn’t have,” she mumbled sleepily. “But you totally did.”
Sariel’s halo flickered. “We did?”
“We did. Right. You got it.” Seymour kissed Day’s brow. “Night night now.”
Day curled deeper into her nest. “Mm, night night.”
The lights dimmed on their own, no doubt some sort of magic from Sariel, and Seymour wordlessly followed him back into the bedroom. He shut the door behind them, grimacing. “So.”
“We had a fight?” Sariel frowned deeply. “I was not aware of this.”
“I think, eh, it was more maybe we were ’bout to?” Seymour glanced at the bed. “Is it okay if I sit?”
“Of course.”
Seymour dropped on the edge of the mattress. “Look, I like you. A lot. I can’t say I’ve had the best luck with romance. Not sure if man-slut is an Aries trait, heh, but let’s just say I wasn’t much of a stranger to a good time for a short while.”
“I’ve had… some good times. For very short whiles.” Sariel found his tie interesting. “But it was long ago.”
“That’s okay. Just like ridin’ a bike.”
“What?”
“It means you’ll remember. If we go that route.”
“You mean sexual relations?”
Seymour laughed. “Yeah, but it’s more than that. Look, I’m dyin’ for you to Daddy me down until I can’t remember my own name, but…”
The words were on the tip of his tongue, and they got clogged up in his throat. He didn’t even fully understand what he was feeling other than being able to acknowledge its unexpected strength and overwhelming physical affect.
His heart raced, his skin prickled with sweat, and he had never been so drawn to another person before, as if he was being sucked right into those gorgeous golden eyes.
“But?” Sariel pressed softly.
Seymour swallowed. “There is definitely somethin’ here, okay?”
Sariel looked around. “No, it is only the two of us in here.”
“I meant between us.”
“Ah.”
“I still got a lot to sort out here.” Seymour dragged his fingers through his hair. “All this shit with my dad, not to mention all the crazy monster stuff, and I do gotta head back home at some damn point—”
“I told you before that I understand.” Sariel looked away, his shoulders sagging.
“No, I don’t think you do.” Seymour held out his hand. “I’m not exactly the best with words or whatever, but what I’m tryin’ to tell you is that even if I go home? I’m thinkin’ I’m gonna be comin’ back.”
Sariel blinked, and he stared at Seymour’s hand. “Really?”
“Maybe it’s the Aries impulsiveness.”
“It must be.”
Seymour smiled. “Or, maybe, it’s this spark I feel whenever you look at me?
And okay, that might be some of your angel zappy stuff, or it could be the constant rush of adrenaline from things tryin’ to eat me all day…
” He took a deep breath. “But I’m thinkin’ it might be somethin’ more than that?
And while I can’t be sure, I’d sure as hell like to find out. ”
Sariel smiled back, and he finally took Seymour’s hand. “I… I would like that as well.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. Very much.” Sariel sat beside Seymour. “I also feel something when we are together.”
“That so?” Seymour became hyperaware of Sariel’s hip and thigh pressed against his own, and he let himself be drawn in even closer. “Is it kinda like losin’ your mind?”
“Being near you does create a sensation similar to madness,” Sariel replied, his halo flickering brightly.
“I find it is difficult to control myself when I am close to you, which is strange since we’ve only just met.
It is but a mere blink of time when I consider the whole of my life, as I have been alive for eons.
I have seen the end of galaxies and the birth of stars, the ebb and flow of light dancing deep within the Celestial, but…
it is today that I will treasure the most. Because it is the day I met you. ”
“Wow,” Seymour breathed, and his heart soared. “So, uh. Sexual relations?”
“Yes.”
“Now?”
“Right now.”