Chapter 20 The Grand Finale #3
It was exactly the vibe he'd imagined when Darren had first suggested that he learn to command.
A couple like them, partners who loved and supported each other but wanted to expand and grow together.
Miles firmly reminded himself that he couldn't know, of course.
But the vibes were impossible to deny. He wanted them, and Darren did, too. He wanted....
"My Master wishes to bestow a token in thanks for your performance, as well as an open offer of hospitality during your time in our city. Tours, dinner, drinks, coffee. Anything you wish."
The man who knelt respectfully beside the platform they'd been performing on made Miles feel like he could barely breathe.
He was small-statured and unassuming, though from his voice and what Miles could see around his mask, he didn't seem overly young.
There was so much else about him that reminded Miles of everything he'd liked about the sweet young man he'd met at the street fair who'd tried so hard to convince Miles into a quickie in an alley.
He hadn't given in - it didn't feel right to engage in something so casual, especially with someone so young - but it had definitely fueled a thousand possibilities and fantasies that he and Darren had entertained together since.
The quiet hope in the man's blue eyes was unmistakable.
This was a risk for him, too. They could easily say no, and he'd have to return to his mentor with nothing.
He was taking that chance for a man that he loved and being so brave.
When Darren reached out to lift his chin, testing him, he yielded with a soft gasp, trembling with an eager nervousness that almost made Miles groan aloud.
The urge to wrap this man up in his arms forever was achingly strong. Miles wanted to promise to support him and protect him and reward him for that bravery so badly he could taste it.
Darren glanced at him with a smile, reading him effortlessly, then gave the man a decisive nod. "I'd be happy to accept your offer of coffee. We can discuss the rest then. Please meet us in the entry lounge."
As Darren helped him into his robe and they gathered their things to change, it was impossible not to glance back at them. The blond had returned to his date, cuddling onto his lap with visible, giddy happiness.
Holding him close, his date met Miles's gaze with a beautiful, glittering intensity that sent a very different bolt of nervousness through him.
It was a quickly sobering reminder that everything Miles was thinking was his own interpretation.
He didn't truly know what either man wanted; what he'd thought were vibes were something he could have just imagined.
Perhaps the little blond wanted to taste Darren's ropes.
Perhaps his dark-haired date wanted Miles at his feet.
But before Miles could look away - or truly panic - the dark-haired man inclined his head towards him in a slow, deliberate nod. His gaze lowered in undeniable respect, not challenge. Not control.
Yielding.
"Them," he whispered to Darren as they left the room, leaving them behind. "I can feel it. We have to - I want - "
Slipping into the small laundry room they'd been given to store their gear in, Darren dropped his bag and pulled him into a searing kiss. "No hooking up tonight," he rasped, as if to remind them both of their deal.
Miles bit his lip on a whine even as he arched against his husband. "No hooking up," he agreed, cursing himself for even having suggested it. "Fuck!"
Darren chuckled against his mouth, sucking hungrily at his bottom lip. "Don't worry, husband," he purred. "There are many, many ways we can take control of those beautiful men tonight. And then we'll take full enjoyment of their guest house. And tomorrow will be another day."
"Tomorrow," Miles repeated with a breathless laugh, reveling in the surge of nervous excitement. They could still have a taste of everything they'd been fantasizing about since that day at the street fair.
They just needed to meet them first. Get to know them.
It was time to understand who this magnetic couple truly was. Could they truly be the expansion of their lifestyle that he and Darren had dreamed of, instead of a threat?
~~~
Chapter 1 - The Answer: Tristan and Leander
Once upon a time, there was a brilliant academic who needed to be grounded, and his selfless protector, searching for a command strong enough to hold them both, and Masters with hearts big enough to share.
Tristan Chase
"Well? How did it go?"
Sitting down across the restaurant table in Boston from his eager and expectant boyfriend, Tristan still felt dazed from the meeting he'd just come from.
Everything was happening so fast. Everything he'd dreamed of since he was young was coming together, like it had always been destiny.
The future that Boston offered them stretched out before him, teasing at everything he could accomplish and all the incredible possibilities that he and Leander could discover.
Everything he'd dreamed of... standing at the side of a partner he'd never imagined could be real.
He took a deep breath. "Harvard offered me a tenure track."
Leander's face lit up. "Darling, that's amazing! We need to celebrate, let me order some champagne. When do you start?"
Gazing back across the table at his lover, Tristan couldn't help but feel a twist of nervousness. Even after dating for over a year, sometimes it was hard not to feel slightly overwhelmed when he looked at Leander, even when the issue of their future wasn't up for discussion.
Leander was, in his opinion, devastatingly beautiful. Striking green eyes, high cheekbones, thick, dark curly hair. His looks were what had made Tristan reply to the text messages Leander had mistakenly sent to him after a random hookup had given him Tristan's number as a blow-off.
Leander's personality and how easily they'd connected were what had made him keep talking to the man, though.
Tristan had to trust in that connection and the relationship they'd built.
"I - I mean, I could start in a couple of weeks, but - I didn't - I wanted to talk to you before I gave them an answer. "
Leander's smile softened. He offered a hand to Tristan across the table. "I'm happy to move to Boston with you. Harvard's an incredible opportunity, for both you and your research."
"Can you?" Tristan asked anxiously. He slipped his hand into Leander's despite the fact that his own felt clammy. "You just took over the New York branch and moved here full time - we just moved in together...."
Leander's eyebrows rose expectantly. "Yes...?"
How could he be so sanguine about things? "Do you really want to upend your life again?"
"Darling." Leander squeezed his hand gently.
"It's only been six months. I haven't exactly settled in.
And even if I had, I want to be with you.
I can run things remotely from Boston, and I can drive or fly back whenever I really need to.
Or I'll just find a new opportunity here.
I didn't move to New York for the job. You do know that, don't you? "
Stomach twisting, Tristan managed to nod. "I do," he said softly. "I just - want you to be sure. I've asked so much of you already, Leander."
"You haven't asked anything of me that I haven't wanted, my love. I've been sure for a very long time. I wouldn't have made the move to New York if I wasn't sure."
"But... Boston?"
"Why not?" Leander gave a soft sigh, drawing his hand back to reach into his laptop bag where he'd set it against the wall.
"Look, darling, I didn't want to say anything while you were still in talks in case things didn't pan out, but I've been looking into real estate.
.." He handed a sheath of papers across the table.
Printouts of Zillow listings, stapled together. The first one, in Cambridge, was listed at - "This is a two-million-dollar house, Leander!"
"Well, that one's just a townhouse for comparison. The other ones are better," Leander replied. "But think about how much that would cost in a good neighbourhood here!"
"You want to buy a two-million-dollar house?"
Leander gave a little shake of his head, smile bemused. "You know that money isn't exactly an issue for me, love. And truthfully... I'm partial to the third one. You should look at the listing."
The second listing was six point five million dollars, though it didn't make the four million on Leander's favored listing any less ridiculous. "The... pictures are very nice," Tristan forced himself to admit, scanning the listing before turning to the second page.
"The location is fantastic from what I can tell," Leander told him. "Only a quick commute to Harvard. Plus, there's a pool house. Perfect for when we have people stay. Like your friend Rhett and his boyfriend. Or my sister."
Tristan bit his tongue on asking if they really needed a pool house - or, for that matter, a pool. Though the pool house, pictured on the third page, was also very nice. And possibly larger than the apartment they were currently renting. "Isn't it a little bit... big for just us?"
"It's really not," Leander replied. "Not for Cambridge. Plus, we'll both want an office, and a proper library, and there's all sorts of fun things we could do with the basement space. Check the write-up about the neighbourhood on the last page."
"But...if it doesn't work out...." Tristan turned the page again, scanning past the photos to the community evaluation.
"Then we'll sell and move wherever we need to. Real estate in a good neighbourhood is rarely a bad investment, my love."
Tristan opened his mouth to reply, and then his words stuck in his throat. At the bottom of the paragraph, in a slightly different font, was written:
The neighbourhood is also notable for recently having become home to the newly married Dr. Tristan Chase-Morgan and his husband, Leander Chase-Morgan.