Chapter Thirteen
Valli
Leni and I are at Ares’s Bar catching up.
I have been so busy entertaining Noa and Cipher’s families I feel like I have been neglecting her.
She says it’s fine, that she likes seeing me happy, and Khodi has been occupying a lot of her time anyway.
Her face goes pink every time she talks about him, which I find cute.
I only hope she doesn’t get her heart broken when she goes back to school.
The door to the bar opens, and Nixie pops her head in and scans the room, stopping when she spots me. She walks in, but there is no smile. Something is wrong.
“I need you,” she says. “Bring Noa and Cipher to the shed as well, alone.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask, panic washing through me.
“Just hurry. Twenty minutes.”
She walks away before I can ask anything else, and I stand there frozen.
“Hey,” Leni says, snapping me out of my trance. “Whatever it is, you can handle it. I will find something for Noa’s and Cipher’s families to do to keep them busy.”
I nod silently, not trusting myself to speak right now. Tears well in my eyes as I leave the bar to get Noa, who is at the cornfield decorating the outer trees with his brother. When I approach them, Noa takes one look at my face and runs over.
“Shit, what’s wrong?”
“We need to find Cipher.”
“He’s at the shed—let’s go. But first, I need you to tell me what’s wrong.”
I sniffle. “I don’t know.”
Noa nods and turns back to his brother. “Finish the trees, and I’ll be back when I can.”
Lach doesn’t argue as Noa takes my hand, and we walk in silence the entire way to the shed. It is so unlike Noa, but I appreciate it.
Cipher is at his workbench, but he jumps up the second he sees I’m crying.
“Nixie is coming—something about Cave,” I blurt out.
“What has she heard?” Noa asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know yet.”
“News on Christmas Eve from Nixie isn’t going to be good. Shit. This is supposed to be a joyful day,” Noa says, filling the room with restless energy. “I’m filled with the opposite of joy right now.”
“Noa,” Cipher growls.
“I’m fine, I promise. Okay, that’s a lie. I’m not fine.”
“We don’t know it’s bad,” Cipher tries to reassure us.
“What if it is, though?” Noa asks him.
Cipher puts a hand on each of Noa’s shoulders. “Then we deal with it the same way we have been—together.”
Noa looks at the door. “Cave better come home soon, I’m running out of holes to dig.”
Time passes slowly, and Noa paces the room while we wait.
Nixie finally knocks on the door, then pulls it open. “I come with news, but I hope it’s okay that I brought someone with me to explain it better than I can.”
She steps further inside and turns to the door.
Cave walks through, and the world stops spinning around me.
It’s him, still wearing the sweats from the facility, but he’s standing in the doorway with his hands at his sides, his amber eyes moving across us slowly. I can’t move or speak. I stand there frozen, not believing this is real, that I must be dreaming.
Noa shrieks and runs right toward him; it doesn’t look like he’s going to stop, so Cave’s hands come up, ready to catch him or brace for impact. Their bodies collide so hard Cave takes a step back, then wraps his arms around Noa, who buries his head in Cave’s shoulder.
Cipher is still beside me as Noa pulls back and takes Cave’s face in his hands. He checks Cave over while mumbling, “You’re here, you’re really here.”
Cave looks at Cipher and me over Noa’s head. “Home.”
Noa steps back from Cave and stands beside him.
Cipher moves forward, and Cave meets him in the middle, then grabs Cipher’s face and smashes his lips against the other man’s.
Tears well in my eyes, and Nixie lays her hand on my shoulder. “Enjoy some time together. We’ll handle everything else for now.”
I nod, and she leaves. I know she will have more information for us later, but for now he is home.
When Cipher and Cave pull apart, he turns to look at me.
I told myself I would be calm when he finally returned, that I would hold myself together, but I lied. Tears roll down my cheeks as Cave crosses the shed and wraps his arms around me. He pulls me against his chest as I press my face into him and let myself feel this moment.
His arms tighten around me, and he lifts my feet off the ground. “Mine,” he whispers.
“I love you so much,” I whisper back, and Cave freezes.
“Love,” he repeats. “You.”
Cave sets me back down and looks around the shed; nothing has changed. But then he spots the mini scarecrow above Cipher’s workbench and walks over to it. He takes it down from its spot and smiles before putting it back.
Cipher moves in closer, then picks up the music box and hands it to Cave. “It’s done,” Cipher tells him.
“Come sit,” Noa says. “I think all the adrenaline is wearing off and my legs feel weird.”
We move to the L-shaped sofa, which barely fits us all. Cave sits beside Noa, I sit on Cave’s other side, and Cipher takes the arm.
I don’t know how much time passes before I turn and face Cave to find him already looking at me. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, and his hand cups my face.
“Welcome home,” Noa says.
Cave turns his head to look at Noa, and a moment passes between them. Then he does the same with Cipher before he turns back to me. He reaches out and takes my hand, pulling me onto his lap. His forehead comes down to rest against mine, and I close my eyes.
The couch dips beside us, and Cave’s hand grips my waist.
“I like where this is going,” Noa says, and I open my eyes to see Cave smile.
His hands move to the hem of my jumper, and he looks me in the eye, asking for permission.
I lift my arms, and he takes his time pulling the material over my head before gripping my waist, encouraging me to stand.
Next, he hooks his fingers into my sweats and drags them down, along with my underwear, until everything reaches my ankles, and I step out of the puddle of fabric.
He stares at me for a moment, eyes roaming over my body.
“Cave, you good?” Noa asks.
Cave nods in response.
Cipher moves in closer to Cave as he pulls me back onto his lap. Cave reaches out, slipping his hand into Cipher’s jeans, so I lean sideways and undo the button, giving him more access. Cave pulls out Cipher’s cock, then he does the same to Noa.
“Oh shit!” Noa exclaims.
“Mine,” Cave says.
“Oh god, y-yours,” Noa stammers. “Always fucking yours, you nightmare of a man.”
Cave silently laughs, moving his hands slowly, while I reach down and slip my hand beneath his sweats, releasing his hard cock and maneuvering myself above it.
“Is this okay?” I ask, and he nods.
Then he bucks up, the tip of his cock pushing inside me as I sink down, taking every inch of him.
He makes a noise deep in his chest when I set the pace, keeping his eyes locked on mine as his hands move in time with our rhythm.
All of us are connected to him at this moment.
Noa rambles on about this being the best Christmas ever, and though I laugh, I have to agree. Our families are here and Cave is home.
Cipher presses his palm against the side of my face, and I turn to him. He mouths, “I love you,” and I do the same. Cave’s pace changes when mine does; he’s still following my lead.
“Cave,” Cipher whispers, drawing our Scarecrow’s gaze his way. Cipher makes a small sound, and he comes into Cave’s palm.
I slow, knowing my orgasm is close, and wrap my hand around Cave’s wrist, bringing his hand to my mouth so I can lick the cum from his fingers.
“Fuck, that’s hot,” Noa groans out. “Squeeze me harder . . . Yes, just like that. Fuck!”
Noa comes hard, his body jerking as cum squirts into Cave’s hand.
Noa’s eyes find mine, and I do the same as with Cipher.
I take Cave’s wrist and bring his hand to my mouth, licking the cum from his skin while keeping my eyes fixed on Noa’s, who then pushes up enough to wrap his hand in my hair and bring me closer to him, smashing his lips to mine.
Cave grabs my waist and keeps moving, while Noa deepens the kiss. His fingers touch my clit and circle insistently until my orgasm erupts. My whole body trembles fiercely, though my scream is muffled by Noa’s lips.
Noa pulls back, and I slump against Cave, who wraps me in his arms.
“I want everyone to know that this is the best Christmas Eve of my entire life. It even trumps the one where Mom accidentally invited both her parents on the same night after they’d divorced, and Grandpa threw mashed potatoes at Grandma, and us kids thought it was a food fight and joined in.”
Ignoring Noa’s revelation, I close my eyes and listen to Cave’s heartbeat, knowing that this is real, that he is back.
“Cave, I feel like now is a good time to share something with you, since you’re all subdued and feeling lighter and more relaxed than when you walked in.
” I open my eyes to see Noa standing in front of us.
“I did something, and not on purpose,” he confesses.
“You’re going to hate it, but you need to be forewarned, but it was an honest mistake. ”
I snort, knowing exactly where this is going.
“In my defense,” he continues, “I only ordered a hundred. There was a decimal situation, which has since been fully resolved.”
“It hasn’t been resolved,” Cipher interjects. “There are still nine hundred and one trees in the cornfield.”
“It’s seasonal—it will be fully resolved after Christmas.”
“Home,” is all Cave says.
I press my hand over his heart, not wanting to be away from him, from knowing he is real.
“You’re not mad? Good—because Lach and I decorated the outer trees, and it looks so festive, and the lights are rigged so that if you run along the edges, they light up. It would make for a good chase, and I’m still waiting to see heaven again.”
Cave laughs out loud and shakes his head. Something in him has changed, but not for the worse, like we were expecting. He seems lighter, almost as if the demons inside him are not clawing their way to the surface. I hope we get to experience more of this Cave, because I love seeing him happy.