Chapter Twenty-Six
Marty always knew he was a go-with-the-flow type of guy, but he wasn't silly. He had also seen how much stress Ares was under and felt his mate’s frustration through their bond.
Unfortunately, Marty didn’t have the answers Ares was looking for. Instead, he worked on staying positive, smiling when he could, and agreeing with pretty much anything Ares said, purely and simply because he didn't want to add to his mate's stress.
In all the years that he had spent wandering around, never having a home, he had learned that if life kept taking the things away that he had worked to gain for himself, it was easier sometimes not to attach any permanence to anything he did have.
Having a baby did change that line of thinking to a point. Marty was determined that his child, the one he shared with Ares, was going to have the comfort and stability that he had never enjoyed growing up.
But that in itself was really awkward for him, because he didn't want to set any absolutes on where that might be, because what if he chose wrong? Marty had done that so many times in his past, and he didn't want to make the same sort of mistakes when it affected his mate as well.
In truth, he had hoped that Ares would just decide for them both. He just didn't think the main house on the Boston estate was the decision that he'd wanted Ares to make.
And maybe my brain is just getting fluffy because all I can think of is the fact that this baby's not going to be inside of me much longer.
Marty was actively not worrying about giving birth. He was mated to a god, and he had an amazing animal side as well. Everything was going to be fine in that department. Marty didn't need to know the details, he just needed to know their baby would be all right.
Ares, apparently, seemed to be more detail oriented, wanting to know the how, what, where, and when. Marty didn't need that. The baby would come when they were ready. But if he could help his mate by making a house decision, then Marty could see the bonus in that, too. He really wanted them to have a wonderful nursery to be able to bring their baby into, too.
And that has to be soon , he thought, as he rubbed his back the moment they arrived at the main house.
“Can we sit down for this experiment of yours?” he asked.
“You can sit on my knee if you like. I need to touch you for this to work.”
That was fine, Marty could do that. Ares got them arranged in a big chair, and then he rubbed his hands gently on either side of Marty's temples.
“I want you to close your eyes, babe,” Ares said quietly. “You know this house, you know the layout of this house and everything in it. I know you do. So, close your eyes and instead of seeing and feeling all the things you don't like about this house, I want you to focus on what you would change and how this space could look like the house you wanted it to be. I'm trying to get a picture of what your house, your ideal house, looks and feels like. I'm using this house, if you like, as a canvas to make that happen.”
Marty frowned, although his eyes were closed, because that's what Ares had told him to do. “I'm not sure how that works, but all right, we're sitting in the living room, aren't we?”
“That's good, babe,” Ares said gently. “I want you to imagine what this room would look like in your ideal house. Think about it, with as many details as you want to add, in your mind.”
Oh, Marty had so many ideas. For a start, the floors wouldn't be tiled, there would be thick, plush carpet that was warm on his feet and on a crawling baby's knees. He imagined a fireplace with a never-ending fire, yes, but this one had a security screen around it, so that no little babies could fall into it or touch it because they were fascinated by the flames.
Instead of the stark shelves with the historical pieces on them, Marty imagined big bookcases that were filled with books at the top, but at the bottom, there were cupboards where the toys and games could go. He even imagined a large toy box over in the corner under the window, where all the other baby toys could be. In his mind, there were countless toys, all new, and loved, and not a spot of mud on any of them.
“You are doing really great, babe,” Ares said, breaking into his thoughts. “I’m loving the details. Now, I want you to move your focus around to the dining room. What would that look like? And the kitchen, too. See that picture in your mind's eye of what it would see and feel like.”
“This is fun.” Marty was warming to the idea. He had often thought about the things that he would have changed in the main house, although he had never thought he had the right to, and after he got kicked out of it, he didn't really care.
But resting on Ares’ lap, with his mate’s arms around him and his baby moving in his belly beneath his heart, Marty imagined all the different rooms in the house and what they would look like.
There wouldn’t be a formal dining area that currently housed a long rectangular table. He would have a big round table there instead. The kitchen would be widened. Marty always thought it was too skinny as a room and tucked away as though the house owners were trying to hide it. Marty wanted an open space, with plenty of room for a highchair, and lots of counter tops for him and Ares to use when they cook their amazing cakes.
As he went near the staircase, guided by Ares' voice, he said, “We have to keep the staircase and the banister because every child has to learn how to slide down one. It’s one of life’s basic skills.” But Marty imagined extra thick rugs at the bottom of the steps and a big gate that was a childproof for along the bottom of the steps – and then he added one at the top, too, in case their little one was crawling around upstairs.
Mentally moving upstairs, his eyes still closed, Marty did away with half of the bedrooms and the bathrooms and added the same thick carpet running across the floors. He made some of the rooms bigger and some of them he got rid of altogether.
He created a big open studio that would have been perfect for any aspiring artist. And in that moment, because he could, and it was just in his mind, Marty imagined a big easel and canvases, and shelves with rows of paints and brushes - all those things he used to wish he could explore his art with but never had the supplies.
In another room, he created a big office where Ares could do whatever it was that Ares needed to do. Marty wasn't sure because he hadn't actually seen Ares in an office, but he did feel that every man should have one, and having it across the hallway from his new studio would be perfect.
And then there was the nursery. Marty’s mind lingered there the longest. A beautiful room with colorful murals on the walls, depicting scenes of nature and the wonders of the world that he'd seen mostly in Ares’ coffee table. He imagined a big crib with a gorgeous drape over it to keep any sneaky insects out.
He imagined the toys and an entire closet full of drawers that had every little knick-knack a baby would require. There were probably some things he was missing, but it didn't matter. He put a big rocker in the room so that there was something there to sit on when their little one got disturbed at night. He could see him and Ares, either together or alone with the baby, cuddling their little one close, soothing the baby when they got fretful.
The last place was the master bedroom, and Marty let his imagination go wild in there. The original room Marty remembered as being bland, functional and not at all welcoming or even that comfortable.
For a start, Marty believed they needed a lot bigger bed, so he imagined one twice the size of the one that had been in there. In his head, he smiled at the idea of a four poster with lovely velvet curtains for each side that were in a brilliant shade of blue.
There was still more carpet, and then there was a big dressing table where all Marty's new clothes were and a huge closet where Ares could hang his jackets and coats. He put a stereo in the corner because it was always nice to listen to music, and then he imagined the big television that Ares liked to watch sometimes when they were curled up in bed together – that went nicely on the wall above the fireplace.
A couple of bedside cabinets and some extra pillows and cushions, and Marty thought he was set. Then he had another thought and added a pair of fluffy slippers on the floor by his side of the bed, just waiting for him to step out into them in the morning.
The ensuite also got a makeover. The bath was big, but it didn’t have jets, and Marty thought that was the height of luxury. Double sinks and child locks on the bathroom cabinet were added along with thick, huge towels – the sort of towel Marty could get lost in.
“I think that’s it,” he said with a happy sigh. “Did you see all that? My perfect house.”
“How does it feel?” Ares asked. “How does this perfect house of yours make you feel inside? What does that feel like?”
Draping his arm around Ares’ neck, Marty said, “It feels like home. Warm, comfortable, safe. It genuinely feels like home in my mind.”
“I can see that, babe, I truly can,” Ares said, his voice low. “Now I want you to open your eyes and tell me if it still feels the same way.”
“What do you mean?” Marty's eyes flew open. Looking around, he gasped. Everything he'd seen in his mind's eye was there in front of them.
They were sitting on the chair he'd imagined in the living room. The fireplace had a security screen around it. Marty quickly turned around and looked over his shoulder. The big, long table in the dining room was gone, replaced by the round table with the comfy chairs that he'd imagined.
“Is it all like this?” Marty struggled to get up, but he needed Ares help to get to his feet. They wandered around the house that now looked exactly as he’d imagined.
His eyes filling with tears, Marty said, “You’ve done it. I don’t know how, but you’ve done it. You have created the home I have seen in my mind's eye for most of my life. It's just beautiful.”
“But how does it make you feel now that you can see it?” Ares sounded a bit choked up as well.
“It feels like home,” Marty said. “I never thought it was possible, especially in this house, but you’ve made this feel like home for me. I can’t believe you did this. Do you have any idea how much I love you right now? You’ve created our home, and you didn’t even have to buy another house.” He reached up, touching Ares’ cheek and then tracing a path with his finger to his mate’s lips. “I think I need you to take me to bed.”
“Are you still tired?” Ares asked.
Marty shook his head. “No, no, I'm not tired. I just want you to take me to bed.”
Ares hesitated, even though his eyes heated. “Bed here, or at the pool house?”
“Here, of course.” Leaning close, Marty brushed his hand across the front of Ares’ pants. “We’ve got to check out the brand-new bed that I imagined for us.”
Marty could still hear Ares laughing as their cells broke down and he was translocated to the bed. Somehow, his clothes had gotten lost along the way, but Ares was touching his temple again. “What did you imagine happening when we got here?”
A picture flashed up in Marty’s mind and seconds later, Ares was bent over, his lips circling Marty’s hardened cock. “Oh, my gods, you are truly clever. You really can read my mind.”
Ares’ head popped up. “I might not know everything,” he said with one of the first true grins Marty had seen in weeks. “But I do like to think I know how to please the man I love more than anything.”
“And you’re really, really good at it,” Marty reached for Ares head, gently nudging him back in the direction of his cock again. He couldn’t see it, but he could definitely feel what Ares was doing.
A home and a love declaration all in one day. How lucky can a raccoon shifter get?
“Yes, yes, just like that. Do it again.”