5. Chapter 5
Chapter five
A sh woke up warm and contented, arms wrapped around a gently snoring form. He nuzzled into the sweet-smelling person and smiled.
It took a few moments for his brain to process and the realisation he’d gone to sleep alone hit him. Who was in bed with him? His eyes flew open to see a mop of pink hair and his mind supplied the word Hallow .
He didn’t let go. He couldn’t bring himself to wake him.
Hallow’s back was pressed against Ash’s side, head resting on Ash’s bicep, and both his arms wrapped around Ash’s. He was clinging like a tiny fey koala.
Ash’s heart melted at the cuteness. He breathed out, a soft sigh he didn’t intend to be audible.
Hallow stirred, turning over, slightly squishing Ash’s bicep. Their faces were so close together they could have kissed. He opened his eyes. “I got lonely.”
“You … got lonely?” Ash repeated, dazzled by the warmth of Hallow’s smile. Seen this close, it was blinding. Hallow’s body pressed tight against Ash’s added to the heat.
“I hope you don’t mind? I couldn’t sleep alone.”
Ash cleared his throat. “Well. I don’t exactly mind. I mean, it was very nice and warm to wake up with you, but… my sister might get the wrong idea.”
Hallow’s eyebrows knit together. Even that was pretty. He didn’t have his glamour up, so his pointed ears stuck out from his sideburns. “Wrong idea?”
“She might think we’re sleeping together.”
“We did sleep together.”
“No, I mean. She might think you and I are…” Ash struggled with his pre-coffee brain to find words that didn’t also sound like he was coming onto Hallow. He wanted to. He wanted to pull Hallow on top of him and kiss him until neither of them could breathe but Hallow hadn’t meant anything by climbing into bed with him. He’d wanted another body to sleep next to. He wasn’t thinking about anything more. “Fucking.”
Well, that was… probably blunt enough.
Hallow’s eyes widened and he nodded slowly. “Right, and you don’t want her to think you’re fucking me.”
“Because I’m not fucking you.” Why was it so hard to breathe? Ash’s voice sounded strange.
Hallow’s forehead crinkled and then his expression went completely blank. He pulled away from Ash and sat up, tossing the blankets off. “Of course you’re not.”
Ash wanted to pull him back, tell him he wanted him, kiss him. Those plump lips would be so soft…
No. He had to be strong. Hallow needed to get home, not get into a complicated physical relationship with someone he’d just met. A relationship would be the last thing on Hallow’s mind. He was probably confused, trying to understand a new world, a new everything and here Ash was, thinking with his dick. He was the worst.
“I’m sorry,” Ash offered.
Hallow turned back, smile bright, glamoured up so his ears and eyes looked human again. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m sorry for invading your space. It won’t happen again.”
He was utterly sincere, Ash thought. So that cemented it. There was nothing between them, just Hallow wanting company so he could sleep.
Ash had to do better.
Willow was making coffee and Hallow was eating cornflakes when Ash came down. They were both weirdly silent which probably meant Hallow had told Willow his side of things and she was determined not to ask.
He didn’t want to start anything himself. He put on some toast and took a cup of coffee when Willow offered it.
“Hallow’s going to come along and help with the clean up,” Willow announced.
“Oh yeah?” Ash glanced at Hallow, who gave him a slightly uncertain smile. “That’s awesome. If you have time, we can definitely use more help.”
“I want to help. I have time.” Hallow ate another spoonful of cereal.
“Great.”
Hallow had dressed in some of the clothes Ash had given him. He made even oversized T-shirts and hopelessly dated jeans look sexy. Ash shook his head, annoyed with himself for thinking that way, objectifying him. He hurried his breakfast and got ready to leave.
Willow drove them to the work site and they were assigned different tasks.
Ash tried his best to lose himself in the manual labour, and not overthink things. But it was an impossible task.
He went to the skip to toss in some broken bits of bookshelf. Hallow walked past with a huge roll of sodden carpet on his shoulder. The carpet was far bigger than him, he had one arm up balancing the bulk of it, but he appeared to be completely comfortable balancing it, not straining at all.
Ash gaped. “How… how are you carrying that?”
Hallow turned towards Ash, his expression curious. “You can see how I’m carrying it, can’t you?”
“No, I mean. It’s so heavy and you’re … small?”
Hallow rolled his eyes and tossed the carpet into the skip as if it weighed no more than a piece of paper. “I’m stronger than I look, clearly.”
Ash’s cheeks warmed.
“Hal! Can you lift this one too?” One of the Barrys called out.
Hal dusted off his hands on the jeans Ash had loaned him and practically skipped off. “Sure thing!”
Ash watched, mouth dry, as Hall picked up another rolled carpet, bigger than the first, and hoisted it onto his shoulder. Even though the fabric was sodden and muddy, none of it seemed to rub off on him. His borrowed shirt from Ash’s teen years was immaculate.
“Close your mouth and get back to work.” Willow elbowed him in the side.
Ash instantly turned away, cheeks aflame. “I wasn’t—
“Sure, you weren’t.” Willow walked back into the backyard with Ash. “Listen, I know you’re not looking for anything right now, but Hal literally followed you home. And you clearly have a thing for him, so… What’s going on?”
“What did Hal say this morning?”
“You slept in the same bed but nothing was ever going to happen. He seemed kind of down about it, too.”
Ash fixed Willow with a stare. “He’s not staying. He doesn’t —” He couldn’t tell her Hallow was from another universe. “He doesn’t have a visa, or anything. He’s going to have to go home.”
He bit his tongue before he said anything about how hot Hallow was, how endearing, or how right it had felt when they’d woken up together that morning. How much Ash wished Hallow could stay. He felt perfectly content in a way he hadn’t felt since he’d been in a zen garden in Japan with a can of coffee and a pastry.
“You like him. He likes you, doesn’t seem too complicated.”
“It is complicated. I’m home, I’m going to settle down. He can’t stay, he needs to… He has things he has to do.”
“So what? You can’t have some fun while he’s here?”
Ash blushed again, and shook his head, letting his shaggy hair fall into his face. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Because you li-ike him!” she teased, drawing out the word. “He is hot and very impressive. I had no idea he was so strong. Clean-up will go so much quicker.”
Ash avoided her eyes. “Can we please focus on clearing up these branches?”
“Fine, but my point stands. He’s into you, and you should do something with the short time you have together. Seize the moment. Isn’t that the kind of thing you’re writing about all the time on your Instagram?”
Ash shook his head. “Places are different to people. Places don’t get hurt when you leave.”“Deep.” Willow hauled the green waste bin closer. “Put it on a T-shirt, you’ll sell out.”
“I hate you.”
“I love you, too.”
They stuck their tongues out at each other, both their childhood selves again for a split second.
Ash threw himself into the work, and tried his best not to think about Hallow.
He lasted three seconds and then Ash had to admit Hallow was using magic, which meant the small part of his brain still resisting the truth about Hallow was wrong. Magic was real, this was all real, and he had to do whatever he could to help Hallow get home.
Hallow was beautiful. And sassy, Ash hadn’t noticed before. He also was interesting, and magical and his body was warm and he’d smiled so brightly that morning the image was seared onto Ash’s memory.
He grit his teeth, determined to shake it off and focus on the task at hand.
Willow was right, they made a huge amount of progress with Hallow’s help. At three in the afternoon, when Ash was sweating like a waterfall, one of the Barry’s called it a day. Everyone gathered at the top of the driveway to congratulate each other for a job well done.
“I think we can take tomorrow off. Joyce will text about the day after.”
“Thanks to Hal, we moved really quickly today!”
Hallow grinned, humbly looking down as he received slaps on the back and hearty thanks from the rest of the volunteers.
Willow handed Ash the keys. “I’m beat. Drop me home and go to the supermarket, will you?”
“Sure. Hal wanted to check out the mall too.”
Hallow climbed into the passenger seat next to Ash.
Ash took a breath and tried to remember how to drive as Willow climbed into the back seat.
“It’s just like riding a bike.” Willow shut her eyes.
“God. Okay.” Ash set his phone to give him the route home and started the car. His first step on the accelerator lurched the car forward suddenly. He slammed on the brakes.
“The car’s never done that before.” Hallow clung to the hand rest, eyes wide.
“You’re fine.” Taking a deep breath, Ash tried again. Much smoother, he pulled into traffic, relaxing as the patterns of driving came back to him. Check the rear-view mirror, check side mirrors, watch speed, adjust to the flow of traffic… “Okay, yeah. I remember.”
“Mmhm. I’m gonna nap.” Willow turned half on her side and promptly began snoring.
Ash flicked the radio to the news and followed the route home.
“This is a department store.”
Hallow grabbed his elbow. His eyes were wide and he was breathing rapidly. “Is this the biggest one in the world?”
Ash laughed. “No, it’s not even the biggest one in the city. But for what we need, it’s big enough.” He steered Hallow towards menswear. “Let’s get you some clothes.”
“Ooh this is pretty.” Hallow reached out to a rack of frilly women’s blouses.
Ash stopped short. Of course, Hallow would be interested in all sorts of fashions. His instinct was to tell him it was for women, but really? What was the harm? Clothes were just clothes. He grinned. “Yeah?”
“There’s so many of them. How do I know which is right?” Hallow flicked through the rack with speed, and then pulled out something pink with tiny blue flowers on them. Forget-me-nots?
“Uh, we have sizing, see?” He found the label in the back of the collar. “They have little rooms where you can try things on. How about you pick out a few things, try them on, and then you’ll know the size you need.”
Hallow instantly became a frenzy of activity, moving through departments indiscriminately and tossing items into Ash’s arms for trying on. Athleisure wear, dresses, pants, work shirts, slippers, heels and boots. Ash regretted not grabbing a trolley, but he didn’t want to leave Hallow alone for a second, he was so single-mindedly focused on looking at everything.
He prayed that Hallow didn’t grab a whole lot of lingerie. Ash’s heart wouldn’t hold up if he had to imagine, or worse, see Hallow in lacy underthings.
Finally, Hallow hit the end of the clothing department and found soft toys. He picked up a soft blue teddy bear with a symbol on its belly. “What is this?”
“It’s a Care Bear.” Ash took it from him and looked at the label. “It’s called Wish Bear. They’re kind of to help kids understand their emotions I think.”
“I love it.”
“We can get it if you want it”
Hallow’s smile was so wide his eyes crinkled almost all the way shut. “Thank you!”
Ash’s heart thudded. He couldn’t find any words in his suddenly dry throat so he nodded.
“I guess I should go into the little room and try stuff on then?” Hallow looked around, the Care Bear held tight to his chest.
“I think they’re this way.”
While Hallow tried on clothes, Ash leaned against the wall holding the Care Bear and checking his bank balance on his phone. He had enough to cover Hallow’s spending today but they couldn’t make a habit of it.
Hallow pulled the changing room curtain aside, dressed in a pink sports bra with a black lightning design and a pair of pinstripe dress pants. “What do you think?”
Ash blushed, lost for words. He nodded.
Hallow pouted and looked at himself in the mirror, twisting so he could see the way his ass looked in the pants. “I think the size is right?”
“As long as you’re not feeling they’re too tight in any one place, or like they might fall off, then you’re probably good. They look like they fit you.”
“But do they look good?”
“They look really good.” Ash nodded emphatically. Good wasn’t nearly enough. Neither was wonderful, beautiful, handsome or perfect… Nothing in the English language came close to how the dress pants hugged Hallow’s ass and accentuated his tiny waist. “Gorgeous, really.”
Without warning, Ash imagined how Hallow’s ass would feel in his hands. Was it squishy? Hard with muscle? He wanted to take a bite out of it.
Inappropriate.
Hallow beamed. He stroked a hand over his chest, caressing the spandex of the bra, and bounded back into the changing room. “Thank you!”
They loaded the bags of clothes into the back of Willow’s car and Ash took the driver’s seat.
“That was so much fun,” Hallow said. “Much more gratifying than waiting for a tailor to finish your commission.”
“I guess so.” Ash pulled the car out and started driving. He didn’t quite feel ready to go home. He decided to take a scenic detour, maybe go up one of the volcanoes and show Hallow the view of the city from up high.
“You’re used to it, so it isn’t exciting for you.” Hallow had snagged the Care Bear out of its bag and now it sat on his lap.
It was adorable.
Hallow was adorable.
“Yeah, exactly. That’s one of the reasons I like to travel so much. Find something new, something I’ve never seen before.”
“It’s thrilling.”
Something about Hallow’s tone had dropped. Ash glanced at him to see him frowning out the window. He made an educated guess.
“You miss home, though.”
Hallow nodded. “Of course. I didn’t mean to be gone for anything like this long.”
“Do you want to talk about it? You could tell me what it’s like there.” He took the turn up Mt Eden.
Hallow must have sensed what he was doing because he stayed silent until the car was parked and the lights over Manukau Harbour were laid out before them.
Ash wound the windows down and shut off the engine, undid his seat belt so he could partially turn towards Hallow. “I’d love to hear about it. There’s so much I don’t understand about this whole…multiple worlds thing.”
Hallow undid his seat belt and turned towards Ash. “I told you I’m from the Lonely Forest?”
“Yeah I think so. Right before that thing appeared and we had to run.”
Hallow sucked in a breath. “Well, the Lonely Forest is part of the Grefanlands. There are meadows, forests, villages and then…more meadows and forests and villages. There’s rumours of a great city with a castle, but I’ve never seen it and neither has anyone I know.”
“Can everyone there do magic?”
Hallow shook his head, pink hair falling over his shoulder. Ash’s hand twitched to push it back into place. “My people can, and the Rabbit Village folk have a sort of hearth magic but it’s different to what we do. There’s some magical creatures and some ordinary ones.”
“Oh man, there’s so much I want to get into.” Ash ran a hand through his hair, largely so he could resist putting his hand in Hal’s hair. “But I guess I should ask the big stuff first.”
Hallow leaned back, stretching his legs out in the footwell. “Go ahead.”
“Why were you between worlds in the first place?”
Hallow turned his intense gaze on Ash. “My village has been suffering. There’s this yellow fungus, it grows on our crops and makes people sick. It’s magical in origin, we think. It resists all our pest control herbs and spells, and nothing we’ve tried has worked on it. I was sent to find a solution. I tried three doors before The Quetch came for me. It’s an ancient beast.” Hallow looked away, shaking his head slightly. “It hates change. Maybe it could sense what I was trying to do or maybe it simply doesn’t want anyone travelling between worlds. I don’t know.”
Silence fell. Ash looked out the windscreen at the view, and let it all sink in.
“You said it stopped you returning home.” Ash paused as the conundrum unwound in his head like a huge mind map. Or maybe more like one of those TV stalker walls with strings connecting seemingly unconnected items. “What do you know about the Quetch, what can it do? It must have some magic if it stopped you getting home.”
Listen to him—talking so rationally about magic, monsters and how to travel between worlds. How quickly things changed.
“I know precious little.” Hallow rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. “I think I’d like to walk some, if it’s safe to.”
“Of course, it should be fine. You mean alone, or…?”
“Please walk with me. I don’t want to be alone at night in a strange world.”
Ash’s heart ached, feeling again that overwhelming desire to protect Hallow. To look after him. To kiss him.
Slow down, he’s asked for company on a walk, not a relationship.
The night air was cool but not cold. They took the winding path to the very summit of the mountain. The gentle breeze brought the scent of freshly cut grass. Ash heard a sole, late-season cicada singing from somewhere nearby. He paused to take a picture and posted it on Instagram without a comment, just the location tag.
“The Quetch is a children’s story. Something Ma told me to keep me from wandering out of the house at night. I thought that was all it was until I saw it.”
“Mm.” Ash sensed Hallow would continue.
“But I knew what it was the moment I saw it. Huge like in the stories, sharp teeth the colour of peeled onions, eyes that burned with fire within. Worse than all that, I could feel its intent. As surely as I can feel you standing beside me now. I could feel it wanted to grab me, trap me. Keep me, perhaps?”
Ash shivered. “Not kill you? The way it ran, I thought it seemed murderous.”
Hallow shook his head, his soft pink hair shimmering in the starlight in a way no one from Earth’s could. “No. Not at first. I could feel the desire. I think it’s a collector. It wants to add me to some terrible collection. Perhaps it ran at you because it thought you were a rival?” Hallow shivered, wrapping his arms around himself.
Ash yearned to reach out, to wrap his arms around him. He recalled Hallow’s words, how his people used physical touch casually, but his own sensibilities held him in check. He cleared his throat, resisting the urge to throw his arms around him.
Fuck it, he could always ask, right?
“Do you want a hug?” His voice came out thin, strained with his own strangled desire. Hallow turned away from the distant city lights. His eyes looked gigantic, sparkling and liquid. Two pools with starlight caught in them. “Yeah, if you’re offering?”
Ash wrapped his arms around Hallow and pulled him close, enveloping him in body warmth and concern. He wanted so much to take away the things that frightened Hallow. To wrap him up in his jacket and keep him safe forever.
Hold him.
Keep him.
But that was… He wasn’t like The Quetch.
He didn’t want to collect Hallow and keep him that way, right?
He didn’t want to stop Hallow doing anything, going anywhere. He wanted his freedom. Ash wanted a place in his heart, to be beside him wherever he went. That was different.