Remember me? I'm the bum that started this story almost 4 years ago. If you're still reading it, God, kudos to you, you're amazing. And for anyone who is, you're gunna be rewarded, I'll finish it now. Rereading this story makes me cringe (how much worse could my writing have been?). But if you liked it then, hopefully you'll like it now, years later. Enjoy!

Rufus stayed upstairs, ignoring the sounds of Ron below calling him for dinner. Blood pounded against his skull, giving him a massive headache. He held it his head. The pounding didn't stop. Ron was with Jonny, why couldn't he deal with it? Everything inside him burned, starting from his heart, drifting through his body, settling in his brain to add to the blood pounding sensation he was already dealing with.

He curled up on the bed, feeling his toes cringe in his shoes. Ron called him again. He closed his eyes. What kind of mate was Ron; didn't he understand the concept of monogamy? But he still couldn't hate him. He loved him.

He loved him.

Ron looked around the kitchen, hating being left there alone, with his thoughts. He'd brushed his teeth, then again, then again. And every time, bile filled his throat again, and it hurt. It wasn't the taste, it was the thought. Having to kiss that asshole Jonny, having to act like a slut. And it was for Rufus, wasn't it? And yet Rufus was hurt by it. Lose lose.

He tapped his slender fingers on the counter, anxious. Rufus needed to come down and eat. He needed to eat, he needed to smile, everything needed to be normal. Ron picked up his plate, clutched at it. He needed Rufus back. He didn't realize he was crying till a hot tear hit his plate. He put it down. He hadn't been hungry anyways.

And then he was crying, silently, and he slid to the floor, wrapping his arms around himself, trembling. He felt so god dammed lonely; he wanted Rufus back, as his pet, as his friend, human, non-human, whatever. He bit his lip till he could taste blood, pressed his forehead into the cold counter.

And why was it so hard to be with Rufus? He had liked it, he had liked being kissed by him and he had liked what they'd done. He'd be denying it if he said he didn't. But it was the force that hurt, the way Rufus forced himself against Ron, like he could own him. He wasn't a pet.

He wasn't a fucking mate.

When he'd cried till he felt like he was going to pass out, fingers blue from clutching at the counter, as if it was the only stabilizing force in the room, he felt arms holding him, strong arms. He leaned back and felt Rufus pry him away from the counter, taking his hands, holding them tight, rubbing at his fingers, getting his blood circulating again.

Heart pounding hard against his back.

Fingers intertwined with his.

Soft hair brushing his cheek as an even softer voice whispered words to him he couldn't hear over his own tears.

But he knew they were comforting.

He liked the voice. He liked the hair.

He liked it.

He leaned back and Rufus fell back into the table, still holding him between his legs. Ron turned and looked at Rufus, feeling his cheeks wiped with caring fingers.

"I'm sorry…" Rufus whispered, but he hadn't needed to say anything, his eyes spoke volumes. Ron kissed him, turning completely so he was in Rufus' lap, and the other teen accepted him gladly, holding Ron close to his chest. He leaned back and allowed Ron to kiss him, kissing back till they were both completely breathless.

He helped Ron stand, stood behind him. He slid a hand under Ron's shirt, listening to the sounds of submission that meant Ron liked what he was doing. He pressed his hands into Ron's jeans, as Ron opened them at the front, and he ran those hands over the curves hidden beneath badly chosen clothes. Ron shivered, leaning forward as Rufus touched him. This hadn't been a part of the plan, it hadn't been a part of any of his plans. But right now he didn't feel like planning, as Rufus tugged down his jeans and felt him from behind, discovering what felt good, and what felt really good. A lot felt really good.

He expected something to happen, a knock at the door, his phone to ring, something. But nothing broke the moment, as Rufus felt all along his body, got him harder than he ever had been. His heart pounded in his chest. He'd never been touched so gently, and never felt so…attractive. Rufus' cock pressed against his ass, and it was hard, and still he didn't mind. Rufus nipped and kisses his ear, licking the shell. "Tell me when to stop." The words were barely a whisper, and he felt Rufus shake behind him as he tried to control himself. Somehow that made him drawn to Rufus all the more. Sometimes he forgot how hard this had to be on his pet, the change and the emotions he was battling with. He felt like an asshole for being so insensitive about all of it.

Speaking of assholes.

Rufus' wet, slick finger was pressed inside his. He gasped, squirmed and leaned forward, liking it. He shut his eyes as Rufus played. It was so hot. So damned…hot?

His head jerked up as he sources the sense of the heat. The stove was smoking. "Shit, the cake!" He grabbed at the extinguisher, pulling up his pants in the process. Rufus blinked and watched as he opened the oven and clumsily aimed the nozzle at its interior. Ron searched the oven for any sign of flames, satisfied when he saw none and then pulled back, his eyes tearing from the heavy smoke.

"Come on." He said, taking Rufus' hand. "We shouldn't stay by the smoke, and the sprinklers are disabled since I've caused so many smoke related kitchen incidents."

Rufus laughed cutely, remembering those incidents. "Like when you tried to defrost your tacos while they were still in the plastic?" He smiled, gently tapping Ron's nose. Ron smirked, stuffing his hands into his pocket as they walked out of the house. "Yeah." He laughed.

"Or when you tried to make fried ice cream without a clue about how to do it?" Rufus' laugh grew, and he put an arm around Ron's waist, pulling him close. They looked like…

A couple..

Ron scowled. "Alright, alright, shut up, I know I screw up in the kitchen. Not all of us can be culinary geniuses like you." But his smile still was there. Rufus grinned. "Genii." He corrected, resulting in a weak push by Ron. He smiled, pushing Ron back, against a nearby oak tree, kissing him silly, holding him tightly with both arms around his waist. Ron held Rufus around his neck, feeling their chests pressed against each other. It felt so good. It felt so good to have someone, to talk to someone, and then kiss that someone, and to know that person knew him, loved him for his flaws and bad cooking. It warmed his heart. Rufus kissed his neck, laughing as some children passed, blushing and whispering as they spotted the boys.

He took Ron's hand in his as they kissed, and Ron couldn't really remember why he'd been against this. He didn't want to. His phone rang. There was that damned distraction again. He answered it. "Ron? How's it going?" Kim's clipped, no non-sense voice came clear across the airwaves. "Is the plan working out well? Are you distancing yourself from Rufus?"

Ron looked up, Rufus tangled up in him, their bodies pressed close together, Rufus licking and kissing at his neck. "Uh…yeah…everything's going great." He said breathily. "It's working out just…fine.."

More to come soon.