Asa opened his eyes to warm afternoon sunlight and Dale's shaggy hair brushing his forehead. He grinned. "Hi." Dale kissed him sweetly.
"Hey. Sun nap time?" Asa nodded; with the stretch came an enormous yawn. He rolled over in the grass outside the school. It was a half day, the last day of school, forever. It was an extremely rare, sunny spring day. The warm sun felt so good on his skin. He was always so cold.
What else felt good was being nestled perfectly in the crook of Dale's arm. Asa nuzzled Dale's soft face. Sighed. "Just that annoying paper-giving ceremony left. Like they didn't give us enough damn papers when we were in class." Dale chuckled.
"At least these let us leave and never come back."
"True." Dale often seemed to Asa to be the embodiment of summer. His sandy hair was always wind-swept and carefree. His tan skin (well, tan compared to Asa's milky complexion) was spotted with a few freckles over the nose. Dale was most comfortable in light colored shirts and shorts, enjoyed sun naps more than Asa did, if that was possible, and always had a warm glow to him, either in his eyes or his smile or his words. His eyes were the only part of him that seemed cool, grey and calm like mist. The wolf-boy grinned. And Dale was his.
Dale ruffled his hair and kissed the top of his head. "Penny for your thoughts, O Quiet One." Asa giggled.
"Just thinking about you, being summertime stuffed into a human body named Dale." He looked up. Dale tilted his head.
"Really?" Asa nodded, and told him about everything he'd been thinking. Dale grinned, and stared off at the dark outline of the school building. "That's funny, actually. You've always been autumn to me. Starting off crisp and cool and beautiful but by the time you're done with a project or painting you're exhausted from pouring yourself into it. And all full of warm, dark tones."
Asa closed his eyes and inhaled. Smiled. "You know, I've never been this happy with anyone else," he said after a while.
Dale looked down at him, but Asa's smiling eyes were unfocused and staring out into the horizon. He wasn't quite sure what to say to that, but he felt happy. A finger poked the tip of his nose gently.
"You're glowing."
It didn't take long for those happy, carefree days to find an abrupt end. A few months after graduation, once they'd settled into new jobs and their new routines, and things seemed stable again, everything fell apart.
Asa helped Dale fix the tie and his pressed collar, noting how strange it looked on his normally casual, carefree boyfriend. Dale mumbled his thanks, and Asa kissed his cheek gently.
"I hate wearing these things," he mumbled. "Only ever seems to be for funerals." He let his head drop to Asa's shoulder, and Asa held him tightly, rubbing his back.
"C'mon, babe. It's about time. I've got you." Dale nodded into his shoulder, and let Asa take his hand and lead him to the courtyard of the tiny church.
Asa rejoined his mum and little brother on the sidewalk, waiting for the procession to start. He let his mother take his hand and give it a quick squeeze. He watched Dale take his place with the other pall bearers, stoically trying not to cry. He was a little surprised he'd volunteered. Asa was sure if he ever had to bury his mother he'd never be able to do the same.
"Selfish bastards, driving drunk and not caring a whit about anyone else they'll encounter," Celia muttered next to him, voice wobbling. He wound a hand around her shoulder as she choked back a sob, pressing a handkerchief to her mouth.
"Let's go in, Mum."
xx
Dale tugged on his hand, pulling him down to sit on a bench by the walkway. Taking walks in the park every few days seemed to keep the worst of the depression at bay for him, anyway. Asa sat next to him and snuggled into his side, cradling Dale's hand in both of his.
"So." Dale sighed, rubbing his thumb over the back of Asa's hand, grey eyes dull and far away. "My dad got a job transfer. Hours down south. I don't want him to go alone, not so soon after… after Mum."
Asa nodded faintly. "Right." He felt like his ears were ringing faintly. This was it, then.
"God," Dale laughed, the bitter tone sounding foreign and sharp on his tongue. "It just never fucking stops, does it?" He put his other hand over his eyes. Asa turned to press his lips against Dale's cheek. Dale embraced him suddenly, squeezing his shoulders as if holding him tightly enough could make everything okay again. Asa clutched the back of his coat and buried his face in Dale's shoulder, breathing in his familiar scent.
"I don't wanna lose you too," Dale whispered.
"You don't have to," Asa mumbled, wondering if they could make a long-distance relationship work.
Dale pulled back slightly, studying Asa's face. He reached up to brush a stray lock of red hair off of Asa's forehead. "I don't think I'll be able to handle the distance. Nor you. You know how we are with nearness."
Asa closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Dale's. Hot tears pricked his eyes. Dale pressed his lips to Asa's forehead. "You'll write, won't you?"
"I promise." Asa smiled up into Dale's face. Dale attempted a small smile. He wrapped his arms tightly around the wolf boy and kissed him tenderly. "I love you, sweetheart."
"I love you too, Asa," he whispered.
xx
Alone for the first time in a while, Asa tried to adjust to the feeling of absence. He painted in his spare time, and thought, and wrote letters back and forth with Dale. He'd found someone recently, and while Asa was happy for him, it also underscored his own loneliness. There hadn't been any magnetism between him and anyone else for a long time.
Against his better judgement, he found himself wondering what Sam was up to.
xx
He'd been spending so much time in the little coffee shop that sold his paintings like a gallery they'd simply hired him on. It was better than the grocer's, really, and Asa didn't mind the few fussy regulars since most of their customers were actually pretty cool. Many of them were artists like Asa, and stayed to talk shop here and there. It was nice, and eased a little bit of the loneliness.
Sam Boldova stopped by a few times here and there, catching up with Asa when he was there.
"If you're not busy Thursday, want to grab a drink after work?" Asa had been taken aback by the sudden offer, but a rekindled fondness for the other man had made him accept. He met Sam down at an artsy little pub nearby for a few drinks, and was almost surprised to find several hours disappeared as they talked.
It was nice. Really nice. He'd forgotten to feel lonely for a solid four hours so far.
Sam smiled at him fondly, tilting his head. Asa started, realising he'd gotten lost in his thoughts. "Sorry. I must have missed that. What did you say?"
"Did you want to get out of here? It's getting a bit late." Sam bit his lip faintly, then added, "My place is a couple blocks from here." Oh. That's where this was headed. Asa fought a flush creeping up his chest to his cheeks.
Asa finished off his drink, thinking. What the hell. Why not? He wasn't Sam's student anymore, and the guy was blindingly attractive.
"Yeah, let's go," Asa said, licking any stray ale off his lips and smiling. His face was surely red from the alcohol, but he thought he felt the blush burn brighter as Sam put his hand on his waist on their way out.
xx
"Sorry it's kind of small, but it's comfortable." Asa shook his head.
"It's cozy. I like it." Sam's flat was a small one-bedroom cluttered with antique, artsy and mismatched furniture, and plants popping out from between them and crowding the windowsills. There was an easel and an array of art supplies surrounding the back window. "Working on new stuff?" he asked, gesturing to the easel as Sam hung up their coats by the door.
Sam grinned. "Mostly landscape studies. I like the way the light hits the garden in the mornings, so I've been waking up early to try and capture it." As Asa studied the half-finished landscape on the canvas, Sam stepped up behind him and wound his arms around Asa's waist.
"I hope this wasn't too forward of me," he mumbled, settling his chin on Asa's shoulder. Asa shook his head, putting his hands over Sam's on his stomach.
"Nah, it's nice." They stayed like that for a bit, swivelling faintly back and forth. "Looks really nice, Sam." He paused, and turned in Sam's arms, glancing up at his flushed face. "You do too, you know. Those strands of gray are very distinguished."
Sam's face collapsed in a chagrined smile, and he laid his forehead on Asa's shoulder. "Oh, god, don't talk about my grey hairs, I don't want to remember I'm getting old," he laughed. Asa laughed faintly.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Sam, you're not old. It's stress that causes those, you know."
Sam lifted his head and met his eyes, smiling. "You're too sweet, you know?" Asa smirked, eyeing his lips.
"I know," he mumbled, closing the distance between them.
xx
Asa got the chance to see the light in the garden the following morning, as he lingered at the window in one of Sam's shirts with a mug of coffee in his hands, waiting for Sam to finish frying up some eggs and sausage for breakfast.
It truly was mesmerizing, and he found himself being startled from his thoughts as Sam brushed up against him and pressed a kiss to his jaw, setting the plates on the table. "Now you see why I've gotta paint it," he said, laughing. Asa smiled.
"I do. It's beautiful. Lots of rabbits in the morning, too." He gestured to the little creatures nibbling at the dandelions in the grass, and Sam smiled fondly.
"As long as they don't get into my carrots they're nice."
Breakfast was pleasant, and Asa found himself glad he'd come home with Sam.
Sam frowned suddenly as his phone went off. "Who the blazes is calling at eight in the morning?" he muttered, getting up to pick up the call. Asa polished off his breakfast as Sam stood in the hallway with his slim cell phone pressed to his ear.
"Couldn't this have waited, hon? I'm barely awake right now, and I've got company."
'Hon'? Asa paused, fork slipping from its place in his hand.
"No, yeah. I'm still going. No, I haven't asked him yet. I know. I know. Yeah. Wednesday or Thursday, yeah." He laughed, and Asa's heart kept sinking. "I know you want to meet him, hon. I'll ask. I haven't had the chance yet because it's ass o'clock in the morning. Yeah, ok. Love you too. Bye."
Love you too. Asa's breakfast felt like rocks sitting in his stomach. He set his fork quietly down next to his plate and folded his hands on the table. Sam was smiling and shaking his head, putting his phone back in the pockets of his sweats. His smile fell, however, noticing the change in Asa's demeanor.
"Asa…"
Asa cleared his throat. "I realise we never really went over our intentions last night, but I just want to be up front and tell you I have no intention of being a side dish."
Sam bit his lip, looking angry with himself. "I'm sorry, Asa. That must have sounded terrible. I should have told you up front. My girlfriend and I aren't exclusive, we both date multiple other people."
"Oh." Different, but at least there wasn't any actual cheating. Hopefully.
"So I'm not actually a homewrecker," Asa said dryly. Sam laughed, shaking his head.
"No, nothing of the sort. In fact, she's actually pretty excited to meet you." Asa gave him a half smile, feeling nervous thinking about it.
"I don't know, Sam… I don't know if that's the sort of thing that's for me, you know?" Sam held his hands up.
"That's fine. It's definitely not for everyone. I really should have said something last night." He smiled fondly, taking in Asa's face again. "I guess I just got mesmerized again."
That pulled a smile out of Asa, finally. "Well, that's understandable," he said, laughing faintly. "And honestly it was nice. But… I don't think I can do something that's not exclusive."
Sam nodded, and stood up from the table. "Want seconds? There's still eggs."
"Sure."
xx
End Ch. 9
xx
YES APPARENTLY WE KILLED DALES MUM IM FUCKING SORRY WE HATE OURSELVES TOO IF ITS ANY CONSOLATION
polyamorous sam ftw