Rowan smiled as he watched Soran drag Cas away so the two could share a private conversation. From the look on his lover’s young face, it probably had something to do with their budding relationship and his own final acceptance of it. At the moment, he was too tired to contemplate the enormity of something like true commitment; he’d rather just sit back, eat his dinner, and contemplate how cute Soran looked when he grinned like that.
“It’s very obvious that Soran likes you a lot.”
Rowan switched his gaze toward Eremis when the boy started talking, but the smile soon faded from his face. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d done to encourage criticism from Eremis of all people. Why, he’d barely spoken two words to him since the beginning of this trip, and before that they’d been merely acquaintances.
His frown deepened when the healer referred to his attraction to Soran as “sinking his claws” into his student. The more Eremis criticized him, the more confused he became. Before he could say anything about it, though, Darlanta arrived, taking a seat beside him on the ground.
He gave her his most charming smile, for despite being distracted by Eremis’s little lecture, it was simply impossible for him to be uncivil to anyone—particularly a woman. As soon as he felt her hand touching his leg, though, he realized he just wasn’t feeling up to fending her off again.
So he ignored her. Well, not quite ignored her per se, but paid her as little attention as was generally proper. “I thank you, no,” he said, nodding politely before returning his attention to Eremis. He felt her stiffen slightly beside him, but she made no move to get up, so he figured it wasn’t over yet. Perhaps once she noticed the topic of conversation…
He grimaced. “I can hardly deny that I deserve such censure,” he said to Eremis. “Though I am a touch mystified as to why I should hear it from you. You’ll pardon me for saying this, but you’ve no more right to warn my lover against me than I’ve the right to do the same to yours.”
He heard a bit of a sniff come from Darlanta and did his very best not to smile. The truth hurt, poor little bird, but at least she knew it wasn’t her own fault. He was already attached! It felt strange to think it, but it was definitely true—at least for now.
“Now then,” he said, setting down his now empty plate of stew and fixing Eremis with a rather benevolent though stern look. “Maybe you can tell me why it is you disapprove of me so much. I've never been anything but kind to you, and I’ve not even held that little episode at the Silk Palace against you, either. So why should you doubt the sincerity of my attraction to your friend?”
~*~*~*~*~
Cas was a little surprised by Eremis’s disgusted reply once he told him about Soran and Rowan. He thought it was a little weird that his lover would dislike the elf until he remembered what had happened between them. He couldn’t remember the details of it at all, except that Eremis had admitted Rowan had met him at work, and he’d given the elf a blowjob.
He glanced at Rowan hastily, trying to imagine Eremis kneeling before him, his long hair falling over the elf’s thighs. Rather than feel jealous, the thought actually turned him on a little. Still, he knew he’d be pretty pissed if he ever found them in such a position, however unlikely that might be. He had a better chance of catching Eremis with Tristan again than for something like that to ever go down.
He rolled his eyes at his own pun then grinned when Soran asked to have a quick word with him. Ignoring the sad look Eremis tossed him, he stood up and followed his friend over to the nearby stream.
His grin came back when Soran immediately told him that he and Rowan were a couple now. Duh, he thought, but apparently the two hadn’t made it official till now. He was a little taken aback when his friend admitted that he’d told Rowan how he REALLY felt about him, though. Rowan just didn’t seem like the type of guy to take a thing like that too easily.
Relief filled him when Soran hurriedly added that his new lover hadn’t freaked out on him about the love thing, so that was cool. Cas was about to open his mouth and congratulate him, but then he started asking him about Eremis for some reason.
“I guess he’s all right,” he replied with a shrug. “Not much around here in the way of drugs or alcohol to tempt him, though. I think as long as I’m around he’ll be okay. Right now, he’s just real kinda…like…” He tried to think of a good way to put it. “…fragile, I guess. I get the feeling that if I make one wrong move it’ll drive him back over the edge.”
A sudden frown now crossed his face. It was times like these that he wished he didn’t care so much for that godsdamned goofy country healer of his. He pursed his lips and shook his head, feeling a touch overwhelmed.
“I’m a little mixed up right now, man,” he admitted. It felt pretty awkward to be confiding his feelings with someone, but he guessed it was okay since they were best friends and blood brothers and all. “I dunno what it is I really want. I don’t wanna leave Eremis, but I don’t wanna live the rest of my life, cooped up in that raking city and playing nursemaid to his crazy moods.”
He paused, somewhat shocked by his own words. It was the first time he’d voiced leaving Eremis aloud, and it made him feel really awful inside. It wasn’t just that he didn’t want to leave the healer on his own anymore; he honestly believed his whole life would be weird and different and somehow BAD without him. He sighed and wished he’d just kept it all to himself. Lately, he just didn’t know WHAT to think.
