CHAPTER 20
“Hello again!” Stephanie walked into the library and flashed a cute grin in the librarian’s direction. “In the mood for some last-minute visitors?” She pointed to a small boy who was hiding behind her. “This is Eli.”
“Of course, you are welcome anytime!” Brian came next to his sister, his voice and face radiating from happiness. He extended a hand to the little child, who came from behind his mother. “Hello, Eli, nice to meet you, I’m your Uncle Brian.”
“Hello,” the boy whispered, taking the librarian’s hand and squeezing it with a surprising vigor for his age. “Mom Steph told me about you,” he continued in the same tone from earlier, but started to giggle loudly, clapping his hands in excitement, when Magick came from under the counter, headed straight to him, and started to rub against his legs. “What a beautiful kitty!” Eli exclaimed, crouching down and petting her.
“Not a kitty anymore,” Brian tenderly smiled, caressing his little nephew on the top of his head. “She is a momma cat, who gave birth to eight balls of fluff this morning. The vets at the clinic here called them snowballs.”
“Kitties!” Eli said in an enthusiastic voice. “Can I see them, please?” He looked between his mother and the librarian. “I won’t touch them, I will only look at them,” the little boy added.
“Of course,” Brian answered in a soft, warm voice. “If Magick lets us, that is; they are her babies, just like you are your mother’s son, and no one can see or talk to you without permission.” Hearing her name, the white cat headed to the counter, stopping from time to time and looking behind. “She’s guiding us, wants to show us the kitties,” the librarian explained the small feline’s behavior.
Eli nodded and followed Magick in silence. “Oh, look, they are so small and cute!” He whispered, eyes wide and shining at the sight of the snowballs. He frowned in concentration, trying to guess the number of kitties, but gave up after a few failed attempts. “How many does she have?” The little boy turned to the librarian, who gave him an affectionate smile.
“Eight.” Brian nodded at the total disbelief in his nephew’s eyes. “I know, right? Momma Magick was quite round, but none of us imagined there would be so many.” The librarian paused and looked at his sister. “You can have one, if your mom here agrees. Two are already taken by your Uncle Reardon and Ian, one of the nice vets at the clinic.”
Stephanie smiled softly and nodded her approval. “Of course you can have one, but we must wait at least two months, until the kitties are weaned and they can eat wet food by themselves.”
“Thank you, mom Steph,” Eli hugged the young woman, sighing in contentment. “And yay for more uncles,” he turned to the librarian, a happy grin on his cute little face. “Are they all as cool as you? What are their names?”
“Me? I’m the least coolest of them all,” Brian said, his heart melting at the sight of his nephew, all eyes and ears. “Well, let’s see,” he started, “there is my husband Bart, my younger brothers, Edwin and Edward, their husbands, Reardon and Julien, my best friends Albert and Lawrence, who are married to each other, and my very special friend Luca and his husband Martino.”
“Whoa, there are so many!” Eli exclaimed, clapping his hands. “What makes your friends Albert, Lawrence, Luca, and Martino so special and why did you call him my uncle?” A small frown creased his forehead, but it vanished almost right away. “I know, they are like Uncle Duke.”
“Exactly.” Brian picked his nephew up and hugged him. “Lawrence was my first friend when I came to work here, Albert and I have been friends since childhood, and Luca was always there for me, just like I did when he needed me.”
“Speaking of Lawrence,” Stephanie intervened, “I saw him and two of the guards walking out of the library when I came here. My attention was on parking the car, but I think I saw them dragging a guy out. What was that about?” Her brow was pinched in confusion.
“Oh, nothing,” Brian shrugged, “Tanner helped me do some cleaning and they took the trash out. Here we go, little man,” he put Eli down and ruffled his hair. His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of the jeans’ back pocket. “It’s Bart, I wonder what happened,” the librarian muttered, then answered the call. “Hey, babe…” The librarian abruptly stopped and listened for a couple of minutes, then nodded. “Alright, see you at the clinic, I’m on my way.”
“What’s wrong?” Stephanie worryingly examined her brother’s face. “Is everything okay with Bart and the kids? I heard you mentioning the clinic, what…”
“Oisin went into labor, Ian is a mess, and, instead of calling me, he called my dear husband.” Brian shook his head. “Can’t say I don’t understand him,” he added, already heading to the library’s exit.
“Wait!” Stephanie halted the librarian in his tracks. “We’re going, too.” She smiled. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” The young woman turned to Eli. “We’re going to see some cute babies, how about that?”
The little boy approved enthusiastically, and the three of them walked outside and got into Brian’s car. All the way to the clinic, the librarian couldn’t stop thinking at the note of urgency in Bart’s voice, praying everything was alright with Oisin and the babies. Maybe it was just me, maybe he sounded like that because Ian was so agitated, he tried to keep his worries at bay.
From the corner of her eye, Stephanie noticed her older brother’s distress, and she gave him an encouraging smile. Oisin and Ian were special to her; they were among the first friends she made when she started working at The Base, and she was the one who drove them to the hospital when they found out Oisin was expecting his first child, Brian-Desmond, now almost two years old. I can’t believe how fast time flies, the young woman smiled internally.
Stephanie’s reflection on the passing of time was brought to an abrupt end when Brian stopped the car in the clinic’s parking lot. After helping his sister with Eli, he rushed inside, closely followed by the young woman and her child. Bart, who was waiting in the reception area, greeted the three of them, filling his husband in on the situation.
Oisin was still in the delivery room, with Ian, who managed to pull himself together, at his side. Apparently, the contractions started when the pregnant young man was alone at home; his husband found him curled on the couch, and that was what scared him, Bart explained, adding that the specialist assured them the birth would go smoothly.
Brian and Stephanie let out a collective sigh of relief, then the librarian introduced his husband to Eli, who gave his new uncle one of his cute smiles, then started to ask him a million questions about cats, his children, favorite dishes, sweets, colors, and so on. In his unique, half-serious, half-joking style, that made him so popular among the children in his extended family, Bart offered detailed answers to all of them, rapidly earning himself the reputation of cool uncle.
A sharp cry, shortly followed by another, interrupted the pleasant conversation, making the three adults and the child turn in the direction they came from. Less than a minute later, Ian came to the reception area, looking completely drained. He saw the librarian and headed to him, but, after only a few hesitant steps, fell down on his knees and buried his head in both hands, breaking down in tears.
Brian hurried to hug the kneeling young man, rubbing soft circles on his back, trying to calm him down, asking him if everything was alright. After a while, the sobs subsided, and Ian was finally able to articulate intelligible words and sentences. Yes, he answered, Oisin and the babies were perfectly fine, and the tears he just shed were of happiness and gratitude.
As he was hugging Ian, congratulating him, Brian sensed the presence of Desmond, Oisin’s father. The spirit didn’t send him any message, but the librarian knew he would love to touch his son’s face and forehead, even if for just a few seconds, and also to hold his grandchildren, if it would be possible.
It was an already exhausting day for Brian, and all he wanted was to go home, grab a bite, spend some quality time with his children, then fall asleep in the arms of his wonderful husband. On the other hand, the ghost didn’t live long enough to see his son growing into the fine young man he was today, and won’t have the privilege of hugging his grandchildren and kissing their sweet faces.
Brian’s chest constricted in pain at the thought, and sent an affirmative answer to the spirit of Desmond O’Brien. Accompanied by the swishing of air around him, he went into the room where Oisin lay in bed, a serene smile on his face. Next to him, the babies, a boy and a girl, were peacefully sleeping.
Come on, Desmond, take your grandchildren in your arms, feel the beat of their tiny hearts next to yours, listen to them breathing and making those cute suckling noises, Brian mentally messaged the ghost. The swishing became more intense, and the librarian perceived the gratitude of the spirit, who did all these things, and even sang to them an Irish lullaby.
Thank you for taking care of them all, was the last message Desmond telepathically sent to Brian before dissipating and leaving the hospital room. Anytime, my friend , the librarian replied in his mind , but for now, my job here is done; your son and grandchildren are in the best of hands , he added, his heart melting at the sight of Ian gazing lovingly at his husband and babies.
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Moving tortuously slow, undulating his hips and flexing the perfectly sculptured muscles of his torso, Brian’s wonderful husband removed the t-shirt and boxers. Then, completely naked, Bart climbed onto the bed, seductively crawling, until he was only inches away from the librarian.
“How do you want it this time, husband?” Brian whispered into his man’s ear in a husky voice.
“Like last time,” Bart answered, making considerable effort to form the words. “I want you to take me while I lay on my back so that I can lose myself in your beautiful eyes.” Then, he fell silent and, extending a hand, delicately caressed the librarian’s eyes and the thick, long, silky lashes shadowing them.
“You know I will take care of you, don’t you?” Brian whispered gently, tracing the contour of his husband’s face with the pad of his index finger.
Bart nodded. “You always take care of me, I trust you with my life.”
“Good.” A smirk played on Brian’s lips, spreading all over his face. Lowering his head, the man started to kiss Bart’s chest, neck, and face, until he reached his husband’s lips. With the skillful tip of his tongue, the librarian parted them, demanding entrance, then he captured them in a heated, passionate kiss, while his tongue won the battle for dominance, tasting, exploring and conquering his husband’s mouth.
Breaking the kiss for one moment, Brian reached for the nightstand, taking the bottle of lube he’d placed there earlier. Then, he resumed the kissing session even more passionately until both he and his husband ran out of air again. The feel of the librarian’s lips on his skin and mouth made Bart whimper in need, already wanting to be taken by his beautiful, passionate soulmate.
Boring his unique eyes into the younger man’s cobalt-blue ones, the librarian gave him an assuring smile. Gently spreading Bart’s legs, Brian properly and carefully prepared him, then coated his cock with lube, pushing inside his husband’s hot, pulsating, welcoming hole. Knowing precisely what and how the other man liked it, he started to tease him, moving slowly inside him.
As soon as his partner started to moan, Brian sped up the pace, putting more force in his thrusts, heatedly caressing every inch of his soulmate’s body. Meanwhile, the said soulmate returned the favor, delicately touching the librarian’s flawless skin until he reached his firm, hardened nipples, the most sensitive points on his wonderfully shaped body. Smirking, Bart squeezed the two buds, making his lover jolt and tilt his head backward, eyes half closed.
In response, Brian intensified the force of his thrusts, almost driving his husband over the edge. On the brink of orgasm himself, he took Bart’s cock in his hand, stroking it slowly at first, then, as the man bucked, pushing his dick into the librarian’s fist, he increased the frequency of the strokes, understanding the message.
“Please, my love, bear with me a few more seconds,” Brian told his husband in a rough, pleading voice. “Let’s come together.”
Breathing erratically, Bart didn’t offer an answer, he just nodded. A few hard thrusts later, Brian came with a loud, passion-filled moan. His husband followed him, releasing with a savage, victorious cry. The two of them stared into each other’s eyes without a word, enjoying the post-orgasmic bliss.
First Stephanie’s confession, then Baldassare, with the news about that mysterious Vincent guy, that crazy motherfucker wanting to hurt my sister and her son, me meeting my nephew, and, last, but not least, Oisin giving life to two beautiful, healthy babies , Brian made a recap of that day while tightly hugging his now-asleep husband.
Oh, and let’s not forget Magick having eight kitties, which is the cherry on the cake , the librarian continued his internal monologue with a smile. Quite an eventful day, but, at the end of it, he was still here, to protect the family, both by blood and by choice, and each new addition that made it bigger, stronger, better prepared to face the challenges of the future. He was the Wisdom Keeper, and that was his duty.