Chapter 19
Nineteen
Miles
It'd been two days since Duckie and I had sex, and we'd shared a bed every night since, though we hadn't taken things any further. I was perfectly content to follow Duckie's lead, and there was something to be said about going to bed all snuggled up after a good makeout session.
Earlier today, Alex had invited Duckie over to hang out, and after assuring us that he remembered the way to Uncle Raph's place—and that he'd call us if he needed anything—Duckie had left with Snowball.
"Wanna play some Fortnite?" Mateo asked as we finished up the breakfast dishes, and I smiled. Fortnite had been our game for years, ever since Micah first introduced us to it. We'd played it many times over by now, and some of our deepest conversations had happened with controllers in our hands.
"Sure."
Mateo set up the controllers as I grabbed some drinks for us before joining him on the couch, and it didn't take us long to fall into the rhythm of things.
"You might want to ask Rhiannon for one of those silencing wards for your bedroom," Mateo said a few minutes in, and I glanced over at him. He shot me a wink before turning his attention back toward the game, and it took me longer than it should've to realize what he was referring to.
"Fuck," I mumbled under my breath, making him chuckle.
"It's okay. My headphones are really good. But I don't want to have to put them on every time, so..."
"I'll text Rhi."
"Cool."
We focused on the game for a little while, and I relaxed into the familiar moment. While I adored Duckie, I'd missed hanging out with Mateo. Balance. That was what I needed.
"Mat… I wanted to ask you something."
Mateo glanced over at me, tilting his head as he read whatever look I was sporting.
"What is it?"
I bit my lip, unsure how to put into words what I was feeling. How did I ask him if he felt like I was breaking the promise I'd made him all those years ago? How did I ask him if I was failing as a brother?
"Spill it, My. Whatever it is, it's probably a lot simpler than you're building it up to be."
With a roll of my eyes, I turned to face him better, looking into his familiar eyes, eyes that I knew better than my own. "I've been spending a lot of time with Duckie recently, and I was worried that…"
"That I feel like an abandoned puppy?" Mateo asked, though his voice was teasing.
"I don't want you to feel neglected. Or like I'm choosing Duckie over you."
I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I wouldn't be alive right now if I hadn't had Mat.
He'd gotten me through every tough day of our shared life, and without his ever-present optimism and unending strength, I would've given up a long time ago.
Maybe after the third failed foster placement, or after the fifth time the witches cut into my wrists to drain my blood.
Mateo was my lifeline, and I owed everything to him. He was the other half of me in a way Duckie would never be, and I never wanted him to feel like his importance in my life had lessened with Duckie's arrival.
"That's not a choice you can ever make, My," Mateo said with a soft smile.
Dropping the controller, he grabbed my shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze.
"Duckie and I play very different roles in your life.
Thinking you have to choose between us is like asking me to choose between pizza and Coke.
There's no comparison, and therefore, no choice. "
"I'm guessing you're the pizza," I joked, making him grin.
"Always, twinsie. You need to stop with the worrying, okay? If I do feel like something's off with us, I'll tell you. You know I never keep my mouth shut about crap like this."
"Yeah, okay. I just… I know I've never explicitly said it, but you're my rock, Mat. You were my reason to keep going when I didn't want to, and I just… I hope you know that no one can ever replace you or change what you mean to me."
"I know." Simple and full of conviction, like he'd always known it.
Smiling, and feeling far better about our relationship than I had in days, I pushed his controller back toward him, turning my attention to the game as he gently knocked his head against mine.
"Love you too," I said out loud, and we continued the game, enjoying the companionable silence as we completed quest after quest, passing the time until our stomachs started rumbling and demanding to be fed.
"Text Duckie. See if he's eating with the Presleys," Mateo said as he hit pause on the game, and I did as he'd asked.
Duckie: We're having Indian food! I've never had it before, but the aromas coming from the kitchen make it seem delicious. Alex thinks I'll like it.
Smiling, I promised him he would—Jai's cooking was phenomenal—then relayed the message to Mateo.
"Sandwiches, then?"
"Yeah," I agreed, not up to putting too much effort into it.
We put the sandwiches together, then brought them back to the couch so we could eat as we continued playing.
It reminded me of the days we'd spent like this back when we'd lived with our dads.
The only thing missing was my Dad's attentive familiar, who'd watched over us for years.
She still dropped by every once in a while, as if even now that we were grown adults, she needed to make sure we were okay. It was sweet.
"We should visit the dads soon. Take Duckie too, so they can meet properly," I suggested, and Mateo nodded with a full mouth, giving me a thumbs up as he chewed loudly.
Wrinkling my nose at him, I shook my head, taking a much smaller bite of my own sandwich.
Sometimes, Mateo and I acted like carbon copies of each other, and other times, I wondered how we were even related, much less split from the same damn egg.
Duckie
Being around Alex was different now that I was in my human form.
I could sense their incubus nature easily now, and while it didn't make me feel differently toward them, my senses did feel heightened.
I could understand why they were so reluctant to go out or interact with people who weren't already bonded to someone.
"You've been doing good? No regrets about taking your human form?
" Alex asked, their dark brown eyes boring into mine.
They were sitting on their bed, cross-legged with their elbows braced on their knees and their chin resting on their fisted hands.
Their straight black hair hung forward, framing their face, the bright red tips glowing from the sunlight shining in through the window.
Padfoot, the family dog—a huskie, Alex had said—was curled up beside them, snoozing away with his legs up in the air.
He and Snowball had spent a few minutes getting to know each other when I first arrived, and decided they were going to be the best of friends.
Now, Snowball lay sprawled right by Padfoot's side, happily dozing away.
I'd taken quite a few pictures of the two of them to show to the twins later.
"No regrets," I agreed with a smile. "Knowing the men who killed my dad are dead helped. But being in this town, it makes me feel safe."
Alex nodded, their dark eyes serious. "I know what you mean. It took me a few weeks, but I feel more relaxed here than I have in my life. I don't have the best track record with people, but Raphael and Jai... I feel like I can trust them."
"They seem like good people, and I know Miles and Mateo adore them," I said, thinking about the fondness in their voices every time they talked about the Presleys.
"They've been very good to me," Alex agreed with a nod, dropping one hand to pet Padfoot's silky fur. "But enough about that. Tell me more about Miles and Mateo. How does that work? Sharing a bond with two brothers. Isn't it weird?"
I suspected they wouldn't be the only one to ask me that, but it wasn't a difficult question to answer.
"Not really. With Miles, my feelings are romantic. Sexual too," I added with a soft laugh. "With Mateo, it's more... spiritual. Platonic. I care about both of them deeply, but in very different ways."
"I guess I can understand that," Alex murmured, a thoughtful look on their face. "So you aren't attracted to Mateo at all? Even though they look exactly the same?"
On an intellectual level, I knew Miles and Mateo were identical twins. The only physical difference they had was the fact that Mateo kept his hair messier than Miles. Their fashion sense was quite different too. Mateo preferred comfort over style, while Miles was always put-together.
To me, they were day and night apart. I didn't know if it was because I could sense my bonds with them, or some other reason, but my body reacted very differently to each of their presences.
With Miles, my heart sped up, my skin went hot, and yes, my dick reacted. With Mateo, I was calmer, more centered, more playful.
"They don't look the same, not to me," I finally answered, and Alex hummed thoughtfully.
"I think I'll have multiple mates too, whenever I find them," they said after a moment. "Not like yours, though. I'm gonna want all of them."
"Yeah? You think you might be poly?"
Alex pursed their lips, then waved at themself. "More like I don't think one man could handle all of this."
I didn't know how to reply to that, but Jai's voice broke the silence before it could get awkward, announcing that lunch was ready.
Padfoot sat up with a bark, which woke Snowball up as well, and the two hightailed it out of the room as if the announcement had been for their benefit and not ours.
Alex chuckled, and I shook my head as I stood up, following them downstairs and to the kitchen where the table was already set.
"Sit, sit," Raphael insisted as he placed two big bowls in the middle of the table before returning with a dish stacked high with what looked like very flat slices of bread.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what these dishes are called," I said with an apologetic wince, and Jai smiled as he joined us at the table, his brown eyes full of kindness.
"That's okay. These," he waved toward the flat breads, "are called rotis.
The singular is roti. This is gobi curry, cauliflower in a rich, spicy gravy," he said, pointing toward one of the large bowls that was giving off the delicious aroma I'd scented earlier.
"And this is dal, a lentil soup you can eat as it is or with the rice. "
"Everything looks delicious," I murmured, and Jai smiled widely.
"It tastes great too. Jai is a wonderful cook," Raphael enthused, making Jai turn his smile onto him. The love they shared was obvious to see, and they reminded me of my parents. If my dad was still alive, would I be sharing a meal like this with my own parents?
The thought made my chest ache, so I pushed it away, focusing on the food as Raphael insisted on serving us, adding extra helpings despite Alex's protests.
While Alex scowled and grumbled, I could tell they liked Raphael's brand of forceful caretaking.
I didn't know much about Alex's past, but I did know how it felt to have someone take care of you after you'd been on your own for ages.
Nothing compared to the quiet joy of knowing there were people who cared about you, about your health and your happiness.
Until a few weeks ago, I had been alone in the world. But now, I had two wonderful mates. I had my mom back, and I had a town full of people I was eager to get to know better.
I wasn't alone anymore, and I would never be on my own again.