Sean
SEAN
Despite staying up later than usual, wasn’t surprised to find himself awake shortly after sunrise again. Soft snoring from behind told that Blake had, in fact, come to bed once he’d grown tired enough. He had wondered if Blake might avoid coming to their shared bed after their little escapade. But after rolling out of bed gently, he found the man on his stomach, sprawled out in the most absurdly comfortable looking position. envied him for it.
The man was endearing in his own right, with his quick smile and bright eyes. But fast asleep, blond hair flowing over his forehead, expression relaxed, he was downright adorable. Not that was going to mention that. He wasn’t sure if it would weird Blake out or if it would go to his head.
Well, the slight twinge he felt in his chest at the sight of him meant it wasn’t a good idea either. Sexual attraction and affection toward the man was one thing, Blake was a good-looking man, and more importantly, he was a good man. But anything beyond that was a road didn’t dare tread.
Pushing aside his thoughts, he walked out of the room and down to the kitchen. Once more, he wasn’t surprised to find Blaine sitting at the table, reading his tablet and sipping coffee. His hair was still tousled from sleep, but a contentment about him made smile.
“Good morning,” said.
“Morning,” Blaine said, taking a drink. “Have a late night?”
didn’t hesitate as he reached for a bottle of water in the fridge. “What makes you say that?”
“You look more tired than I’ve ever seen you,” Blaine said.
chuckled. “I was up past my bedtime, but I wake up at the same time every day. Can’t be helped.”
“I know the feeling. Eric thinks it’s weird, especially when we’ve stayed up late the night before. Blake’s the same way. Was he why you were up so late?”
didn’t bat an eye as he sat down. “I love how you automatically blame your brother.”
Blaine chuckled. “If there’s trouble or shenanigans going on, Blake is usually at the center, creating it.”
shook his head, chuckling softly as he took another drink. Oh, Blake had certainly been at the center, and while he might have started something, it had been who had really kicked things off. He was surprised to find he didn’t feel guilt about what had happened, unlike with his flirtations. Then again, Blake had instigated the kiss. The look of utter pleasure on his face when ’s hand had been on him and the contentment that followed was more than enough to head off any possible guilt.
“Why y’all talking about me?”
Blake’s thick voice brought and Blaine’s gaze toward the stairs. Blake stood near the bottom, staring at them through sleep-heavy, suspicious eyes.
“What the hell are you doing up so early?” Blaine asked in clear surprise.
Blake gave a heavy yawn. “We’re supposed to be heading out this morning. I didn’t want to burn the day driving, so I set an alarm.”
“Miracles do happen,” Blaine muttered, shaking his head.
“And you didn’t answer my question,” Blake said as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
“I noticed wasn’t as awake as he could have been, so I asked him about his night,” Blaine explained, eyeing his brother.
“He accused you of creating trouble,” told him.
Blake snorted as he took his first sip. “Of course he did.”
“I won’t apologize for knowing you’re a troublemaker,” Blaine said, looking back at his tablet.
smiled softly. “Don’t worry, Blaine, I kept Blake well in hand.”
Blake sputtered, choking on his coffee. Unfortunately, he was standing beside Blaine and sprayed his brother. Blaine cried with disgust, wiping his splattered arm frantically.
“Jesus, Blake,” Blaine grumbled. “If you’re going to fail at a basic biological function, at least keep me out of the splash zone.”
“Sorry,” Blake wheezed, glaring at . “Just went down the wrong pipe.”
“Hm, I don’t remember any pipes,” said softly, looking down at his screen casually.
“Jesus Christ,” Blake muttered.
smirked as he shifted his finger across the screen to the next page of the news report he was pretending to read. He could still feel Blake’s glare and delighted in ignoring the man even as he teased him.
Blaine finally cleaned himself up, pushing Blake away. “I don’t know what is wrong with you two, but leave me the hell out of it.”
“Casualty of war,” said simply.
“Oh, he thinks he’s clever,” Blaine said wryly.
Blake snorted. “Tell me about it.”
A series of thumps upstairs and then down the stairs spared from having to say anything. A sleep-ruffled and grumpy-looking Eric reached the kitchen, huffing at them with an accusing glare.
Blaine immediately pointed at Blake and . “Blame them. Your brother is tormenting mine, and I got sprayed with hot coffee. I was justified in being loud.”
Eric turned his annoyed glare to , who stared back at his brother benignly. “Good morning, Eric. I believe there’s still coffee if you’d like some.”
“You’re not fooling anyone,” Eric told him. “What are you doing?”
“Reading the news and having some water,” said, gesturing with each object to make his point.
“Liar,” Blake hissed.
smiled at his brother. “Blake is very dramatic in the morning. I never realized that.”
Eric glanced between Blake and . “Is it a good idea to leave the two of you alone in a car on the ride back?”
chuckled. “Do you want Blake and I to stay here for the remainder of the rental time? I’m sure that would be an excellent way to start your honeymoon.”
“I would like to have the lodge to ourselves for the few days we have left. Thank you very much,” Blaine told them firmly. “I’m sure Blake and will manage just fine on the way back, so long as there aren’t any innocent bystanders.”
“Speaking of,” Blake said, taking another drink. “You want the first leg back to Port Dale, or do you want me to do it?”
“It’s a few hours’ drive. I think I can manage a full trip if you can’t,” told him.
Blake brightened. “Well, you guys heard him. He said he’d drive the whole trip! I’m going to shower and ensure I have everything.”
watched him jog up the stairs carefully, still holding his coffee. “Did he just walk off feeling as if he won something?”
“He hates driving,” Blaine explained. “If he can get out of it, he will.”
“Joke’s on him. doesn’t mind driving,” Eric said as he poured a steaming cup for himself.
chuckled. “I’ll let him hold onto the delusion a little longer then. Though I suppose I should make sure I have everything packed, too. The sooner we’re out of your hair, the sooner the next two weeks can truly start for you two.”
Eric smiled at him. “I would appreciate it.”
pushed up from the table. “Then I’ll get started on it. Though, hopefully, Blake doesn’t take too long in the shower, so I can grab one before we leave.”
He left out that he thought it was a real shame he couldn’t join Blake in the shower. Not only because he was sure it would probably weird the two men out, but he didn’t actually know where he and Blake stood on things.
Still, it was a nice image.
* * *
After a couple of hours driving, learned more about Blake. The first was that Blake did not like being separated from his internet connection. After the first thirty minutes of the drive had all but left them without a signal, was pretty sure the man would implode from frustration. He managed to go only about twenty seconds before he checked his phone again, grumbling under his breath.
The next thing he learned was that it wasn’t necessarily driving for long periods that Blake didn’t like, it was being cooped up for extended periods. was sure Blake had changed his position at least a dozen times in ten minutes. It didn’t matter if kept him occupied with conversation or turned on music Blake liked, none of it quelled his restlessness.
“You’re like a little kid,” told him when the man fidgeted for what felt like the hundredth time.
“I just don’t like car rides,” Blake huffed.
“Is there some sort of traumatic incident in your childhood involving cars that I should know about?” asked, changing lanes to let the person behind him pass with ease.
“No, but our parents didn’t travel much when we were young. We didn’t have an extended family, and all their friends were in town. So we stayed around Carson most of the time. Anything longer than twenty minutes was a long ride for us,” Blake said, frowning at his phone.
“So you never built a tolerance then,” said.
“Yeah. How are you so good with driving? I can’t imagine you had a lot of money raising Eric like you did,” Blake asked.
shrugged. “Before our parents’ accident, I was used to driving between Carson and Greenford to visit. I was one of the only kids close enough and willing.”
“You know,” Blake said, setting his phone aside. “I can understand completely why Blaine has nothing to do with our parents.”
“Because they’re close-minded and unwilling to change their ways?”
“That’s a nice way of saying they’re homophobic assholes.”
“Does Blaine hold it against you that you still have a relationship with them?”
“No, he doesn’t.”
Something about Blake’s tone caught ’s attention. “Do you hold it against yourself for having a relationship with them?”
Blake fidgeted. “A little, yeah. They pretend like Blaine doesn’t even exist anymore. Hell, the last time our mom said anything about him was when I stupidly mentioned the wedding. I’d hoped that, after all this time, learning their son was getting married might spark something , but no. They just told me it was wrong and I shouldn’t ‘associate with that sort of lifestyle’ or I could find myself ‘infected by a grave sin.’ Which is the stupidest and most old-ass way of trying to say gay is contagious.”
As someone who had raised Eric from a young age, couldn’t conceive of pretending as though the man didn’t exist. Even if hadn’t been attracted to men, there was no way he could visualize an alternate timeline where he, as a straight man, would have turned Eric away for being gay. Conditional love was no love in his mind, and he was hard-pressed not to judge parents who didn’t follow suit harshly.
But there was something more important to address first.
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have a relationship with your parents,” told him softly. “They’re your parents.”
“I know that. But they just...it’s weird. I love them, but I hate them for this shit too,” Blake muttered, wiping a hand down his face.
“Love isn’t simple. True love doesn’t stop just because someone does something you hate or goes against a strongly held belief. I would never ask him, but I suspect Blaine has never stopped loving your parents.”
“I just hate it. They shouldn’t love him when he’s their straight, former Marine, and then stop because he’s attracted to guys. It’s stupid.”
“And the fact that their love is dependent upon him being what they believed he was is their failing, not yours. By continuing to love them and wanting to have a relationship with them, despite how much you despise what they’re doing, you have proven yourself a far stronger and more loving person than they are.”
Blake grew silent, and contented himself by keeping his attention on the road. He had meant every word and knew that while hearing the truth was vital, it still required the recipient to accept it.
Finally, Blake chuckled. “Are you trying to make me feel better?”
“Is it working?” asked with a smile.
“I don’t know. It sure sounds nice when you put it like you did.”
“It’s also true.”
“You believe that to be true.”
eyed him, raising a brow. “Are you going to argue with a professional? That would be like me coming to your job and telling you how much something should be sold for.”
“I don’t think that’s the same thing,” Blake said, pointing ahead of them. “And pay attention to the road.”
“Then I’ll be sure to stop by your office one day and tell you how you should do things. Since it’s not the same thing,” said, turning his attention forward.
“I work from home,” Blake pointed out.
“You go for meetings in other places in the city. I’ll find you.”
“Wow, so you can be dirty or creepy. God, the things I’ve learned about you.”
“Oh, are we joking about what happened then?” asked brightly.
“Says the man who made a horrible joke this morning,” Blake grumbled.
laughed. “Oh, come now, you have to admit it was funny.”
“If I did that, you’d turn around and think you were funny, and I can’t have that.”
“God forbid.”
Blake chuckled, reaching over and squeezing ’s knee before pulling his hand away. “If it helps, you have made me feel a little better. If only because you were trying to, which feels more important.”
“Not exactly what I was aiming for, but if the result is the same, I won’t argue,” said.
Blake grinned widely. “Plus, it is kind of fun to think about what my parents would say if they knew about last night.”
raised a brow. “You want your parents to know you were jerked off fireside by another man?”
“You really have a way with words, you know that?”
“It’s a gift.”
Blake snorted, punching ’s shoulder lightly. “Or maybe it just proves them right. Maybe it is catching.”
hummed thoughtfully. “I suppose that depends.”
“On?”
“On whether or not you want a repeat.”
“Please don’t try to jerk me off right now. Both hands on the wheel.”
laughed. The more time he spent with Blake, the more he appreciated the man’s mind and wit. It was obvious Blake used his humor for a lot of things, up to and including coping with life’s problems. But it was also natural. had to admit it was part of how Blake saw the world. No matter what, the man always found something to laugh at, something to bring a smile.
“So, you’ll wait until we’re back in the city and find someone else to do it for you then?” said, keeping his tone light.
Blake snorted. “I don’t think so. It sounds weird, but it wasn’t about it being a dude. It was just fun for you to be doing it.”
“Huh,” grunted. “That was blunter than I expected for someone testing the boundaries of their sexuality.”
“It’s still weird to think about, like, really think about. But weird isn’t bad, right?”
“No. And it’s not weird to like that a specific person was doing it. Sexuality is a bit like the love discussion from earlier, not always simple.”
Blake glanced at . “So I mean, if more were to happen...I don’t think I’d complain.”
took a moment to respond. Not because he was surprised, though he was still impressed that Blake, despite having been seemingly knocked off-balance by everything, was dealing with the events of the night before well. More because the idea of ‘more’ was enticing, making it difficult to focus on the road ahead.
“More,” finally repeated. “Like some of the ideas I had?”
“I guess that depends on the ideas.”
“I suppose you might have to find out.”
“Maybe I will.”
For a moment, considered seeking out a more secluded part of the road and seeing what other things he could introduce Blake to. But in reality, he genuinely enjoyed spending time with Blake, even if the man couldn’t sit still to save his life. Or maybe that was just part of his charm, along with the quick jokes, easy laughs, and genuine smile.
“So,” Blake said, eyeing . “Are you really an adrenaline junky like your brother accuses you of?”
laughed. “Maybe you’ll have to find that out too.”
Blake chuckled, shifting position again. “I feel like I’m going to regret that more than I ever will, whatever dirty thoughts you were having a second ago.”
“A thrill either way,” teased.
“Oh, God, what have I done?” Blake moaned desperately.
wouldn’t call his laugh a cackle, but he was sure it could be likened to one. There was still another hour’s drive into the city, enough time to torment Blake a little more before they had to return to their lives.
After that? Well, he was willing to adapt Blake’s approach, and come what may.