Disclaimer: I don't own Eragon or anything associated with the Inheritance Cycle.
Claimer: I, SussieKitten, own this plot and the story. Borrow or steal my plot, my original characters (Aksel) or story and I will report you. I also own my version of Saphira/Thorn's human appearances.
Warnings: Slash/Shōnen-ai – meaning mild guy x guy action. Femslash/Shōjo-ai – meaning mild girl x girl action. Swearing or strong language.
A/N A huge thanks to everyone who reviewed and to those that still reads this story.
I'm sorry it has been a while since I updated, but no one can plan to get busy like me and my beta have been. But here it finally is; chapter two of Now I've Seen It All.
A huge thanks to my beta Illyric. Without you, writing this story wouldn't have been nearly as fun. And that, my friend, is why this chapter is dedicated to you. Because without you, this story would have ended with Eragon thinking "oh, I'm so screwed". Because dear Illyric informed me, my dear readers, that such an ending would have been most unsatisfactory. And that is how chapter two (and later three, four and five) was born.
But enough about that. Dig in, guys!
NOW I'VE SEEN IT ALL
Part Two; Something Smells Fishy
The rest of the week passed quickly. There was no further talk of the party before the weekend was suddenly upon them and Saphira was getting ready for her date with Thorn.
"So, is his ass as pretty as his face?" Aksel asked as he sat on Saphira's bed. He was bouncing up and down slightly, a smirk obvious on his lips.
Eragon rolled his eyes. He sat in Saphira's computer chair as they waited for Saphira to finish changing in her bathroom.
"Why were you ogling his ass?" Saphira asked.
"I just saw that he was with you and where your hands were," Aksel sniggered. "I couldn't help but to stop to admire the view for a short while."
Eragon snorted. The door to the bathroom was unlocked and Saphira stepped outside. "A short while," she drawled as she fixed her forelock to match the rest of her messily styled hair. "Sure."
Aksel shrugged.
Saphira rolled her eyes. She found a pair of shoes and put them onto the doormat for later. Then she walked over to sit beside Aksel. "For your information, though...his face is much prettier."
The blond male laughed loudly.
"So, you really like this guy?" Eragon asked. He sat backwards on the chair, his arms resting on the backrest. He leaned forward and rested his chin on his arms.
Saphira put a piece of hair behind her ear. "Mhm. I mean, we didn't just kiss. We talked too," she smiled. "We have a lot in common."
"That's great," Eragon smiled back.
"I can ask if he has any single friends for you, if you're interested," Saphira winked.
Eragon spluttered. "Why are you just asking me?"
"Because I know Aksel is keeping in touch with his mystery man from the party. You aren't," Saphira said simply.
"Yeah. Whoever was that?" Aksel asked eagerly.
"Who was your guy?" Eragon countered.
"Vanir. He was about my height. He was a little bit of a bastard, but amusing in his own way. And he made me scream," Aksel grinned.
Eragon pinched the bridge of his nose. "Too much information, Aksel."
Saphira giggled.
"So, who was he?" Aksel asked again.
Eragon tilted his head. "Just some guy." Lie, and lie well, damnit! "He was about this high," he raised his hand to show some random height, "dark-ish hair, alright kisser. Very grabby, though," he shrugged. That was an alright description. Vague, but not too vague. Fit the fact that he hadn't 'gotten his name'. At least, he hoped it did.
"Grabby?" Saphira perked up. "Details, Eragon."
Details? Oh fuck. "He just wouldn't leave my ass alone. I left him pretty quickly when he wouldn't take no for an answer."
Aksel pouted. "You could at least have gotten his name. You know, so you could tell the rest of us."
Eragon just stared at him blankly.
Saphira sighed. She checked her wrist-watch absentmindedly and shot up. "Oh shit, I'm late," she grabbed her purse, a jacket and toed on her shoes. "Bye guys! Lock up after me, or else," she threw a stern look at them before hurrying out.
A silence lingered after her. Aksel stood and stretched. "I think I'm gonna head too."
"Don't tell me you have a date as well," Eragon smirked.
Aksel slid his hands into his pockets and grinned. "I do. Laters, kiddo. I'm gonna go get laid," he waved at him before walking out of the room practically skipping.
Eragon shook his head. He stood up, grabbed Saphira's spare key walked out. He locked the door behind him and walked into his own apartment. He kicked off his shoes and turned his laptop on. He caressed the keys slightly. "I guess it's just you and me, buddy," he said and sat down. "Friends really do leave you behind when there's a possibility for sex."
Eragon pointedly ignored the warmth in his cheeks as he logged on and tried to find something to keep him occupied.
::Seen It All::
Eragon woke the next morning with a very distinct wetness in his pants. He groaned and cursed himself for having yet another wet dream. Ever since the party, he couldn't sleep without reliving certain parts in his dreams.
He cursed loudly as he got ready for a new day. He reminded himself to check in on Saphira later. If the date had gone well, she might check in on him first, though.
He had only just zipped up his jeans when someone unlocked his door and walked inside. "Good morning!"
Eragon stared at her. Saphira was far too happy. "Are you on drugs?" he asked as he put on a random t-shirt.
Saphira laughed. "No, but I had the best time last night," she smiled. "Thorn is adorable!"
He wanted to laugh, but managed not to. It was a severe blow to a guy's ego to be called adorable. But hey, if Saphira was happy, he wasn't going to judge.
"So he's a nice guy?"
"Oh yes," Saphira sat down on his bed, still smiling widely. "Despite what happened at the party, he's a real gentleman. I thought they were an extinct species," she sighed dreamily.
"Be careful, or you might fall in love with him already," Eragon said teasingly.
Saphira rolled her eyes. "I'm not that blonde, but I really like him. We're seeing each other again next week. Hey, why don't you come along?"
The brunet blinked. "What? You want me to crash your date?"
"No," she tsk'ed. "We're just getting together to do something fun. He both agreed that our friends should meet."
"Are you that serious already?" he smirked.
Saphira blushed and swatted at him. "No, you goof. But we talked, and apparently you all have a few similar interests. We thought it would be fun if we all got together to get to know each other."
That was a very, very bad idea. Especially if Thorn was bringing two very certain friends.
"Who are you inviting?" Eragon tilted his head, trying his best to act nonchalant.
"You, Aksel and the girls. We aren't going to do it next week already, but maybe the one after that," Saphira crossed her right leg over her left. "He said he'd bring a few once we settled on a day. He didn't know who could make it, but he was thinking about bringing one or two of his single gay friends," she wiggled her eyebrows.
Eragon let out a mental sigh of relief. That wasn't Murtagh or Tornac, at least. "I told you, you don't have to play matchmaker for me," he scowled.
"I know, I know," Saphira smiled softly. "Which reminds me...are you every going to tell me what happened at the party?"
Eragon paused. He walked over to the bed and sat down. He fiddled with his hands. He supposed he could tell her. He was dying to tell someone. After all, he didn't have to name any names...
"You have to promise me that what I say next will not leave this room," he bit his lip and looked at her.
Saphira nodded. "I promise."
He sighed. He looked away from her and over at the wall. There was a dragon poster just in front of him. His eyes followed the dragon's body as he thought about how to word what he was about to say.
"I lied." Saphira snorted. He ducked his head. Alright, so she had known that. "I may or may not have gone further than what I told you and Aksel."
"You slept with the guy?" she asked softly.
Eragon ducked his head even further. "Um, yeah, sort of."
"I could tell, Eragon. You were limping," she let out a soft giggle. "But you obviously weren't ready to say anything, so I didn't bring it up."
He turned to look at her. He lifted his legs from the floor and crossed them under himself. "Thanks for giving me time," he sent her a strained smile. His hands slid down his legs and to his knees, where they stopped, curling into tight fists. "I..." he bit his lip. "I didn't just do it once."
Saphira's eyes widened.
"I sort of did it three times..." his eyes shifted to look at the other wall, "with two guys...together."
Saphira was quiet for a long time. Eragon could feel himself start to sweat. He ducked his head and looked at her through his forelock.
Her mouth was hanging open. As he looked at her, she blinked and shook her head, visibly getting herself together. "You mean you...had a threesome?"
Eragon blushed. He nodded in answer.
"Wow," Saphira breathed. "No wonder you didn't want to say anything to everyone. Especially Aksel! But seriously, a threesome?"
Eragon crossed his arms awkwardly. He nodded again. "They were really good looking, and really, really persuasive."
A startled giggle left her. Eragon blinked at her. "I can't believe this. My best friend has actually had a threesome. You are so lucky!"
Lucky? Wait, what? "How does that make me lucky?"
"You got to be in-between two hot guys? Damn, I wish I was so lucky," she shook her head.
"I wasn't in-between them," Eragon found himself saying before he could stop himself.
Saphira clasped a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. Eragon tried to glare at her, but couldn't. He ducked his head and muttered soft curses under his breath.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of. So you got a little wild. I'm not going to think any less of you. Hell, I'm jealous!" Eragon looked up. Saphira winked at him. "You should treasure the experience."
He just shrugged. Maybe he could someday...once the dreams stopped haunting him.
"But, you really don't..." he trailed off.
"I really don't," she took one of his hands in hers and squeezed. "You're my best friend. I don't care what you do, as long as you don't do drugs or kill someone. Otherwise, I don't care."
Eragon smiled at her. "Thank you."
She winked at him. "No problem."
He squeezed her hand back. She let go and Eragon let his hands rest on his knees again, feeling much more relaxed now. He let out a soft sigh and looked up at the ceiling.
It felt really good to get it off his chest. Which was strange, because it wasn't like he was ashamed of having done it. But oh well.
"But say..." Eragon frowned and looked at her. "How does that work? A threesome between three guys?" Saphira asked with a very visible mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
"SAPHIRA!"
Saphira just laughed.
::Seen It All::
He cursed her to hell and back. He hadn't wanted to come, but damnit, when she wanted to be, Saphira was too damn persuasive.
Eragon grumbled under his breath. In the end, Aksel, Arya and Nasuada had all agreed to come. Aksel almost hadn't showed up, when Saphira had told him he could bring his currently boyfriend -whom Eragon suspected was there to stay- along, he had eagerly jumped into it. So there they all were.
They had agreed to meet at a local mall. Thorn and his friends were running late, so Nasuada and Arya had gone inside to get something to drink. Vanir had wandered inside with just a quick word to Aksel. Aksel had just nodded.
Aksel had been right when he had described Vanir to them. He was a bit bastardly and had a very sarcastic, but alright sense of humour. He always seemed to have his dark hair back in a low ponytail, and his eyes were such startling shade of blue that they reminded Eragon of a vampire's. But as long as Aksel was happy, Eragon didn't care.
"Oh, where are they?" Saphira crossed her arms.
"They're just a little late," Aksel said and continued to chew on the straw that once had used to have a lollypop attached to it. Aksel liked to continue to chew on the straw even long after the lollypop was gone. Why he did that was beyond Eragon's understanding.
"They're a half hour late," Saphira pouted.
Aksel grinned and threw an arm around her shoulders. "You really like this guy, huh?"
Saphira just rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him.
Eragon shifted slightly. Thorn hadn't said who he was bringing, so he was nervous. What if he did bring Murtagh and Tornac? What if they remembered him? Would they say something? Fuck, what if they already had? He gulped.
"Oh, there they are!" Saphira perked up.
Eragon looked in the direction she was facing. In the crowd, he could only see the guy he assumed was Thorn, if his shocking red hair and tall, broad frame was anything to go by. He saw the guy's face light up. He slid through the crowd and up to Saphira, whom he picked up and twirled around. By then, Eragon was sure he was Thorn. And Saphira hadn't been kidding when she had said that he was tall.
"Thorn, these are my friends," Saphira said as Thorn placed her back down on her feet. "There are three more of us, but they're inside getting stuff."
"Cool," Thorn smiled. "Hello," he nodded to them.
"That is Aksel," Saphira said and pointed. Aksel grinned. "And that is Eragon," she pointed to him.
Eragon waited for Thorn's face to light up in recognition, but nothing happened. Thorn just nodded to him. Eragon nodded back.
"And who did you bring?" Saphira crocked an eyebrow.
"I brought people," Thorn gave a half-smirk. "Two of us couldn't make it because of work, but you get to meet the lovebirds."
Lovebirds? Why did that word make him shiver? Eragon shook his head. Thorn probably knew more people that were together. It didn't have to be Tornac and Murtagh.
"Guys, this is Murtagh and Tornac."
But it was. Eragon stiffened. He saw Thorn speak, but couldn't hear a word he was saying. His eyes were planted on the two guys that now stood beside Thorn. He vaguely heard his name being mentioned and snapped back to earth. Oh fuck. He was screwed.
"Hello Aksel, Eragon," Tornac purred. "It's lovely to meet you both."
"Truly," Murtagh smirked.
Eragon gulped when he noticed that they were both looking at him, both with the same predatory glimmer in their eyes.
Oh yes, Eragon was so screwed.
::Seen It All::
They agreed to see a movie later. Which one it was, Eragon didn't know, and he hadn't really voiced his opinion when everyone had discussed it. Oh no, he had been very busy ignoring Murtagh and Tornac at that time. He didn't care if they ended up seeing a damn chick-flick; he was going to pretend he had never met Tornac and Murtagh and didn't really care about them.
Currently, they were sitting by the fountain in the park. The mall was right across the road, and the cinema they planned to go to was right beside it. They had agreed to wait there until the movie started.
Until then, it was apparently 'getting to know each other' time. And yes, that included telling a little about yourself. Eragon hated it. When his turn had come, he had tried not to pointedly ignore looking at the two people on Thorn's right as he told them about his hobbies and what he was studying. When he sat back down, he continued to ignore them.
Once the question time was over, thankfully without any embarrassing questions being thrown his way, Eragon figured it was time he talked to Saphira. Fast.
"Saph, can I talk to you for a second?"
Saphira looked at him. Her face clouded over with worry. Eragon gave a mental curse. He must have looked as distressed as he felt. He really needed to work better on masking his emotions.
"Sure," she stood. Thorn looked at them before turning back to his conversation with Vanir. Eragon heard him laugh as he pulled Saphira away from the group.
"Eragon, what's wrong?" she asked when they finally stopped.
He looked back at the group suspiciously. No one was looking at them. He opened his mouth and paused. What was he supposed to say? 'You know Murtagh and Tornac? Yeah, those were the guys I slept with. So, what's new with you?'
Eragon winced. He needed to find a gentler approach than that.
"Eragon?"
"Uh, right," he shook his head. "Um..."
Saphira leaned up and felt his forehead. "You don't feel sick."
"I'm not sick," he gently pushed her hand away. "It's just...um...you see those two guys beside Thorn?"
Saphira looked back. "Tornac and Murtagh? What about them?"
"I, uh..." he felt himself blush. There was no gentle way to put this. "The two guys; it was them."
At first she didn't get it. Then her frown melted away and shock took its place. She looked back at their large group. "The threesome you had was with them?" she whispered.
Eragon let out an awkward cough. He nodded in answer.
Saphira let out a quiet giggle. "What a coincidence."
"Saphira!" he hissed. "All I wanted was to..." his voice trailed off.
Saphira frowned. "Forget about it? I thought you said you weren't -"
"I'm not ashamed," he interrupted and tried to fight down his blush. "But it's one thing to have done it and another to see them again. I never thought I was going to...until I remembered that they were Thorn's friends."
Her eyes widened. "You knew?"
"It came up," he mumbled.
She took one of his hands in hers. "Eragon, you should have told me. I wouldn't have made you come if I knew that -"
"And have you explain to your boyfriend why your best friend couldn't make it?" he interrupted. "Nah. It's fine. It's not like," Eragon sighed, "anything's going to happen."
Saphira crocked an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"
Eragon blinked. "Yeah. Why?"
She leaned in and whispered in his ear, "I see the way they look at you."
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
She gave a quiet giggle. "They look at you like they want to -"
"If you say 'eat me', I'll commit suicide right here and now."
She let out a loud laugh. "Can I say pounce, then?" she said and winked at him.
Eragon stared at her blankly. "Do I look amused to you? I'll give you a hint; it starts with an N and ends with an O."
Saphira shook her head amusedly. "Come on; let's get back to the others before they ask what's wrong."
"You know our friends. They will anyway. Especially Aksel," Eragon grimaced. "He never stops asking until he gets an answer."
"Oh, shush you. He just cares about you."
"Sometimes I wish he didn't."
Eragon winced when Saphira slapped him in the back of his head. He sent her a sulky look. She rolled her eyes. "Now, we need to come up with an excuse. What could possibly have been so wrong that you had to drag me away from the group?"
"I don't want to be here and tried to convince you to let me go home? That should be convincing enough," Eragon shrugged.
"Yes, it should. Especially since you don't actually want to be here," her eyes twinkled amusedly.
Eragon glared at her. Saphira just tugged him along back to the group.
::Seen It All::
Eragon was relieved and surprised when his friends accepted the excuse he and Saphira had cooked up. He was more relieved than anything else, of course. Sometimes it helped to have the anti-social reputation in their group.
"Don't worry about the movie," Saphira whispered to him a few minutes after they had sat back down. "You can sit next to Thorn and me."
"If I was worried about that, I would point out that my other side would be uncovered," Eragon whispered back.
Saphira rolled her eyes. "I'll talk to the girls. I'm sure they will want to sit beside you."
"Well, they will ask fewer questions than Aksel..." he trailed off. "Still, I don't want to make a big deal out of this."
"I'm sure they'll offer to sit beside you without me having to ask. They know how uncomfortable you are around new people."
Eragon wasn't so sure about that, but he didn't say it out loud.
Their group entered the cinema early to make sure they would all get tickets. Nasuada had already collected money from everyone and would be buying the tickets for them. They wanted to try to get seats close to each other, or even all on the same row. Eragon thought that was a long shot. He was secretly hoping that they would get seats all around the room, and that there would conveniently be one single seat that he could occupy. And if that seat was away from everyone else, then that would be optimal.
Of course, that image had been too good to be true. Nasuada came back with nine tickets, all next to each other. Eragon gave a mental curse.
But strangely enough, Eragon found himself getting one of the outer seats with Saphira beside him. He blinked and looked up at Nasuada. She sent him a wink and continued to hand out the rest of the tickets. He looked at Saphira, who smiled back at him. When Saphira had managed to talk to her was beyond him.
Their group trekked into the kiosk. Apparently Eragon wasn't the only one that believed that a movie couldn't be properly enjoyed without something to snack on. He sneaked past the people there, grabbed his favourite snacks and walked to the register. He paid for them and sat down outside to wait for the rest.
He stuffed it into his shoulder bag as he watched the others. Eragon couldn't understand why some people took forever to choose what they wanted. Then again, he was a pretty routine guy. Some people weren't.
Eragon blinked and found himself watching Tornac and Murtagh. He looked away hurriedly. He hoped no one had seen that. He didn't want them to get the wrong idea, even if it perhaps was the right one.
It had been a one-night stand, and it would remain a one-night stand. The only reason they had looked at him like they had was because they were amused. They had probably recognised the shock on his face. They knew Eragon hadn't wanted to see them again and was amused by the fact that fate had screwed him over. That was that. They were not looking for a repeat performance.
Eragon looked up and felt his eyes widened when he saw Tornac and Murtagh at the register. He was still the only one in their group that had found what they wanted. He was all alone. They were bound to walk up to him.
He needed a plan, fast. But he couldn't act too fast. He didn't want it to seem like he was avoiding them, even if that was what he was doing.
Eragon gulped. He fidgeted slightly. They were almost finished. He had to act!
It hit him like a lightning bolt. He could go to the bathroom! He stood up and immediately felt the downside of his plan hit him. If he did and they saw him, they could follow him. He cursed.
Without knowing what else to do, he walked back into the kiosk and approached his friends.
"Hey," Saphira said as he approached them. She chewed on a piece of popcorn as she struggled to pick a drink.
"Got bored, huh?" Aksel asked cheekily. "You could have just waited with Hunk One and Two."
"Do I need to look for a new boyfriend?" Vanir drawled.
Aksel let out an awkward laugh. Vanir rolled his eyes and walked on. "Seriously, Hunk One and Two," Aksel whispered.
"You know I'm not very comfortable with strangers," Eragon rubbed the back of his neck.
Saphira choked. Eragon looked at her and tried not to let the panic show. Aksel looked between them suspiciously. "Is there somethin' goin' on that I should know about?"
"Oh no, not at all," Saphira chose a bottle of water and walked to the register.
Aksel turned his gaze to Eragon. "There isn't," Eragon said, feeling beyond relieved when he sounded calm.
"...Ok," Aksel didn't sound convinced, but he let it go.
Fifteen minutes later, they were all inside the movie theatre and were waiting for the movie to begin. Eragon leaned back into his seat so he could see the screen better. It sucked to have the outer seat, but it beat sitting next to Murtagh and Tornac.
He heard the others talk quietly amongst themselves as they waited for the movie to begin. Suddenly he felt very alone. He was the only one there without a date. Just a month ago it hadn't been like that. But now, suddenly both of his best friends had a dates. He had no one.
With a heavy heart, he almost missed the opening of the movie. He looked up just in time to see the first actor being introduced. He let out a soft sigh and prepared himself for two plus hours of aimless staring.
::Seen It All::
Eragon was bored. About twenty minutes into the movie he realised he had seen it before. He should have voiced his opinion. Now he was stuck watching a movie he had seen not that long ago. While it was entertaining, it was so fresh in his mind it appeared dull.
He managed to keep himself partially entertained by going over the lines in his head. Sometimes he correctly guessed the upcoming line, sometimes he didn't.
He managed to stay entertained throughout three quarters of the movie. Eragon usually only remembered the beginning and the end of movies, and this time was no different. He remembered the ending quite clearly, so once it was clear that it was only a half-hour left of it, he felt the boredom sink in.
It was also then that his bladder started to protest. Eragon had the tendency to snack or drink a lot when he was bored, and it always had its consequences. He bit his lip. He could hold for another half hour, or he could sneak out.
He really didn't want to sneak out, though. He hated it when people did that during movies, so he never did it himself.
Until now, that was. He really, really had to pee. Eragon let out a mute curse. There was no way he could hold it. He stuffed the remainder of his candy into his bag and stood. Then he made his way over to the exit.
It didn't take him long to locate the bathroom. He had been there a good few times before, and with his full bladder, he practically ran there.
Despite how full his bladder had felt, he finished in what felt like record time. Eragon flushed and got out of the cubicle. He didn't look up as he trekked over to the sinks and started to wash his hands.
It was then he noticed it. He was not alone. Eragon tried to not let that information distract him and finished washing his hands. So what if there was someone in there with him? There was no reason for him to panic or hurry out of there. Whoever it was had as much right as him to use the bathroom.
That being said, he still panicked when he looked up and recognised the two faces reflected in the mirror besides his own.
"...Hey," Eragon looked away and started to dry his hands.
"Hello Eragon."
Wait a minute...that voice sounded a little too close for comfort. Eragon turned around and promptly found a chest right in front of his nose. He looked right. Yet another chest. And to his left, there was of course a wall. Fuck. He was trapped.
"What's going on?" Eragon forced his voice to sound calm. He had a sneaky suspicion he hadn't quite succeeded, though.
"Nothing," Tornac said and shifted to lean more comfortably against the mirror. "We just wanted to say hello. You know, catch up a bit."
Catch up. Hah. That didn't sound innocent at all.
"But strangely enough, we never quite managed to catch you alone," Murtagh crocked an eyebrow. "It almost seemed like you were avoiding us."
"No!" Oh God, that sounded a little too defensive. "I wasn't."
"Lying is a sin, you know," Tornac tsk'ed.
Eragon felt his cheeks flush. "I'm not lying."
"Sure, just like you didn't leave without a word last time we met," Murtagh drawled.
Eragon felt his blush deepen. They had him there. "Ok, I give. I was avoiding you," he looked away.
Tornac smacked his lips. "Ashamed of our little gathering the other night?"
Eragon backed further into the sink behind him. It dug into his lower back, but he ignored it. "No. I just assumed you'd be ok with me leaving like that."
One of Murtagh's hands came up and connected with the mirror. Eragon had already felt trapped enough, but to now have an arm blocking his only escape route -no matter how bad that route had been- made him feel even more trapped. "And why would we be ok that?" Murtagh asked, leaning in slightly.
Eragon was thrown back to the last time he had seen the two. Even if they had been even closer then, the proximity was enough to send him a trip down memory lane. His body was starting to remember what had happened last time they had all been this close. Eragon forced himself back to the present. Now was not the time to be remembering!
"It just seemed like you had done that before..." Eragon trailed off. That had sounded so much better in his head.
Both males let out a soft laugh. "While that is true," Tornac supplied, "that guy didn't sneak out on us."
Eragon ducked his head even more.
"It's alright. We know we were your first three-way experience. A lot of people get twitchy afterwards," Tornac continued. "A note, a phone number or a goodbye blowjob would have been nice, but we understand."
Tornac yelped suddenly. Eragon looked up and found the blond rubbing his arm. Murtagh was giving him a glare-like stare. "Try to be serious for once in your life, Tornac."
"I object to that. I can be serious."
Eragon felt a sudden need to sweatdrop. He did not want to be caught in the middle of a domestic fight.
"Whatever. We can talk about that later," Murtagh waved Tornac off. "The movie is about to end. We should get back to business."
"Right," Tornac gave Murtagh one last look before turning back to Eragon. Eragon jumped slightly at the sudden amount attention. "We were wondering if you were planning to ignore us forever."
"...No," Eragon slouched slightly.
"Are you being sincere this time?" Tornac crocked an eyebrow.
Eragon frowned. "Yes."
Tornac grinned. "Good. It would have been rather sad if you had continued to ignore us." Murtagh rolled his eyes, but didn't verbally disagree. "So, how about a quick screw to properly kiss and make-up?"
Eragon felt his eyes widen as he choked on air.
Tornac let out another yelp as Murtagh hit him again. "Don't listen to this pervert," he drawled.
"If I'm a pervert, then what are you?" Tornac countered.
Murtagh ignored him. "Let's go back before people notice how long we've been missing," he grabbed Tornac's arm and pulled him along.
Eragon watched them go, still not quite recovered from the earlier shock. It took him a couple of minutes before he regained his posture and finally managed to leave the bathroom.
::Seen It All::
Eragon wasn't sure if he was more uncomfortable now than he had been before Tornac and Murtagh had cornered him in the bathroom. The group was taking forever to say goodbye after what had been a very uninteresting afternoon. Well...no, it had been uninteresting. That was what everyone was going to believe; that nothing had happened that day or at the party. He didn't care what Saphira said, he was keeping his mouth shut.
Before he quite knew what had happened, Eragon found himself walking home with Saphira and Aksel. He looked behind himself and found that they had been walking for at least a couple of minutes.
"Eragon?" He blinked and looked at Saphira. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"Um, yeah," Eragon frowned. He couldn't have been that deep in thoughts, could he? He was sure everyone had been there just ten seconds ago. "Where's everyone else?"
"They're on their way home," Saphira stopped. Eragon felt Aksel stop beside him. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yes. I just spaced out, I guess."
"Spaced out indeed," Aksel snorted. "You've been spaced out for hours. What's on your mind, dude?"
Eragon felt the blood drain from his face. If Aksel had noticed, then everyone must have noticed it. Oh fuck.
"Eragon met the guy from the party the other day. He's been skittish ever since," Saphira said before Eragon could even start to think up something to say.
Aksel whistled. "Did ya get his name this time around?"
"Uh, yeah," Eragon scratched the back of neck. "Morag." Oh great, that didn't sound suspiciously like Murtagh at all. Which made him wonder why Murtagh was the first one to enter his head. Why not Tornac? It wasn't like they hadn't both been on him like -
Ok, he was not going there right now!
"Morag huh? Sounds like a real sexy dude," Aksel wagged his eyebrows. "Tell me you got more than just his name."
Eragon was relieved when they started to walk again. He wanted to go home, preferably right now. "Don't you have a boyfriend?" he drawled, trying to cover up for...well, whatever emotion that could show on his face that wasn't welcome.
"I didn't mean for me. Duh. I meant for you."
"Uh, no," Eragon looked straight ahead.
"WHAT?" Aksel spluttered. "Eragon, I'm ashamed of you."
"He's not my type," the brunet scowled at him.
"You don't have to marry him. I just want you to get laid this century," the blond tsk'ed.
Eragon blushed. He had gotten laid, thank you very much, and enough to last a good couple of months at that.
"Say what?"
...He hadn't said that out loud, had he? "What?" Eragon asked and tried his best not to sound panicked.
"You got laid?" Oh God, he had spoken out loud. Eragon wanted to die. "When? Dude, gimme details!"
Eragon looked ahead. He nearly fainted in relief at seeing the apartment complex. "Who got laid?" he asked.
"You did! You just said so. You totally said so. Right, Saphira?" Aksel asked eagerly. Eragon hated how giddy he looked.
"Um..."
Was it really too much to ask for a lightning to come down and strike him? Really? All he wanted was to die. Now. It didn't even have to be painless!
"Wait. Wait a sec..." Aksel narrowed his eyes. "You knew?"
Eragon wasn't going to hang around for this. He stalked ahead. Maybe if he went to bed, he could wake up and realise that this had all just been one bizarre dream.
Unfortunately, by the time he reached his apartment, his keys refused to go into the lock and Aksel and Saphira managed to catch up with him.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me," Aksel pouted.
Eragon didn't answer. He was much too busy trying to convince his key to fit into the lock. He knew it was the right one, damnit, so why wouldn't it go in?
"The key is upside down, Eragon."
Oh. Eragon winced. That explained it. "Thanks Saph," he muttered. He cursed the key when it slipped in this time. Fucking thing. It had probably done that on purpose.
He tried not to groan out loud when Saphira and Aksel followed him inside. Did it look like he wanted to talk? No. Not at all. Especially not about the party. If he said one wrong thing, Aksel would find out that Morag was not just one person, but two, and that his real identity was in fact Murtagh and Tornac. There was no way he could live down such humiliation.
"Listen, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Aksel, but I'm not really comfortable with the whole one-night stand thing. Saphira guilt tripped me into telling her." Eragon ignored the cry of "I did not!" from Saphira and continued. "I was actually not going to tell anyone, because I didn't see the point of it."
Aksel was still pouting. Eragon, yet again, told himself that it was bad to hit people, especially friends.
"Nothing happened, really."
"Somethin' must have. Where else would the 'enough sex for a good couple of months' comment come from, hm?" Aksel crocked an eyebrow.
Eragon sat on his bed and tried not to show any obvious signs of sulking. "I don't want to talk about it, ok?"
To his surprise, Aksel nodded. "I just feel like you should be able to tell me these kinds of things, that's all, dude. You're my friend. I won't rat ya out to everyone every time you bump uglies with someone."
Eragon did not approve of Aksel's choice of words, but smiled at him nonetheless. "I know. I'm sorry."
"It's cool," Aksel gave him a wink. "Don't mention it."
Eragon nodded.
Saphira gave them her annoyingly knowing look. But right then, Eragon let it pass. Aksel was actually behaving maturely. He was going to savour this moment.
"But just so you know, I'm still dying to know what happened."
Then again, it was Aksel he was talking about. Eragon glared at him. Aksel just grinned.
::Seen It All::
Eragon had almost forgotten about Murtagh and Tornac when he practically bumped into them.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," he muttered in disbelief. There he had been, just minding his own business. Or rather, he had been on his way to work when he had seen them. Instant response; dive behind the nearest corner.
So there he was, peeking around the corner and probably getting quite a few interesting looks, trying to see if they had caught him. It appeared like they hadn't. They were, like him, just minding their own business as they walked around town. Eragon found himself studying the dynamics of their relationship. It wasn't very obvious they were together unless you looked closer. They were just walking side by side, but people could tell they were a couple by the way Tornac leaned close when he looked at something in the windows and the almost affectionate way Murtagh touched Tornac when he shoved him away.
Eragon shook his head. He was staring again. Why did he always have to stare? Wait, what had he been doing again? His eyes widened. Fuck! He was late for work! He looked out from around the corner. They were still there. Double fuck.
The brunet frowned. He needed a way to get around them. Oh, he could just cross the street. Duh. Eragon felt like hitting himself. He could be so dense sometimes.
Eragon crossed the street and tried to appear as nonchalant as possible as he hurried down the sidewalk. He had to hurry or he was going to be super late. The last thing he needed was for his boss to physically chew him out if he was really late.
Eragon flinched when he heard someone call his name. He looked over his shoulder. His legs must have worked on autopilot, for there he was on the opposite side of the street, taking him down the usual route to work. And there they were.
Damn. "Can't talk right now. Catch you later!" Eragon called back with a wave. He then upped his speed.
He rounded the corner and cursed at himself loudly. A woman walking ahead of him turned around and gave him a very evil eye. He ignored her. Just what had he told them? He'd catch them later? That implied that he was going to see them later. Triple fuck.
He had no time to worry about that right now. There was the library – his current workplace. He walked up the steps, slipped inside and prayed that his boss was in a good mood.
::Seen It All::
Saphira was looking at him with narrowed eyes. Eragon knew that look. It never meant anything good.
"What?" he asked. He had no idea what he had done this time.
"Still avoiding Murtagh and Tornac, hm?"
What? Eragon blinked.
Saphira just gave him a look. She crossed her arms and seemed to be waiting for an answer.
"Um...no?" Eragon was confused. He hadn't really avoided them. It was hard to avoid someone you didn't know.
Oh sure, he had slept with them -cue blush- but he didn't know them.
"According to Thorn, you have been. He said something about you running away from them when they greeted you a week ago," Saphira's lips tightened. "I understand that you -"
"Wait, Thorn was with them then?" Eragon interrupted her. "I only saw them."
"Oh, he was there alright," she was still looking at him with a displeased look.
"I was late for work. I told them I'd catch them later, which yes, I do regret, but I wasn't intentionally avoiding them." Eragon forced himself not to feel guilty for telling a white lie. He had tried to avoid them, but that was his business, not everyone else's.
She sighed. "Eragon -"
"I only regret it because I don't know how to act around them!" he interrupted her again. "It's –I don't –I mean –grah."
Saphira's glare softened.
"It's not an everyday occurrence, you know, meeting up with that kind of previous lovers," he muttered, trying desperately to ignore the slight burning in his cheeks. "It's one thing to see them again and something else to actually interact with them. I can't be around them without remembering it."
Her voice took a more familiar teasing note when she spoke next. "It was that memorable, huh?"
Eragon was sure the look on his face spoke for itself.
"I don't know what to say, Eragon," she said and placed her hand on his shoulder. "But I think that even if you aren't comfortable around them, maybe you shouldn't try to offend them either."
"Offend them or your boyfriend?" Eragon's eyes widened at the cynical tone he had sported.
Saphira blinked at him.
"Fuck, Saphira, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. Well, I meant it, but not like that."
"It's ok, I know what you meant," she gave him a half-smile. "And I meant them. I -"
"I have spoken to them after...you know," he bit his lip.
She blinked again. "You have?"
Eragon nodded. "At the cinema a couple of weeks ago. They cornered me in the bathroom."
Saphira let out a giggle. "And?"
"...And I promised not to avoid them," he sighed dejectedly. "I don't see what the big deal is all about. It's not like there's anything extraordinary about me."
"Maybe you don't think so, but others might not share your sentiment," she winked at him.
He stared at her for a long couple of seconds. "...You aren't seriously suggesting what I think you're suggesting."
The blue eyed girl laughed. "Think whatever you want, Eragon. All I'm saying is that if someone like Murtagh and Tornac found you interesting, then you can't be that bad looking."
Eragon felt himself blushing again.
"I'm just saying that if you don't want people to find out, then you should try to act more casual around them. That's all," she smiled at him.
Eragon knew that was true, but it didn't change the fact that he found it completely impossible to do so. Granted, he had only seen them once -twice, if the "hi, bye" incident counted- so he didn't really know if it was such an impossible feat. He had a feeling that it would be, though.
::Seen It All::
The summer was at its peak. The weather was brilliant. The sun was shining and there was a soft chilled breeze flowing through the trees. The temperature was perfect; not too hot or too cold.
And Eragon was bored.
Sometimes it felt like the days were flying by, other times it felt like the clock had stopped completely. Now it felt like the world was at a standstill.
Eragon put his head down on the desk and sighed loudly. He instantly flinched and looked around to see if anyone had heard it. No, it appeared like he had been in luck. Sometimes he really hated his job. Or rather, he hated his boss. She could be such a harpy and would give him a death-glare if he as much as breathed too loudly. Really, what was her problem? Other people made much more noise than he did, but they didn't get the evil stare. What the hell was her problem?
Eragon scowled. He just had to work at a library, didn't he? He could have sworn it hadn't been this bad when he had first started working there.
Someone cleared their throat. Eragon, fearing it was his boss, bit back a yelp and looked up fearfully. But it wasn't his boss, though when he recognised who it was, he wished it had been.
"So this is where you work?" Tornac crocked an eyebrow.
"Uh, yeah," Eragon leaned back in his seat. He discreetly looked around for anyone looking to check out a book, but his desk remained empty save for him and the two men in front of him.
"I know the head bitch here. No wonder you were in such a hurry to get in," Tornac smirked.
"Tornac, behave," Murtagh rolled his eyes.
He grinned. "Or what, you'll spank me?"
Murtagh shoved him.
Eragon was once again struck by the uniqueness of their relationship. If he hadn't known better, he might have thought they were just friends. But since he did know, he also saw the small signs that were traded between them.
"So, can I help you with anything or did you come here just to grace me with your presence?" Eragon drawled.
"Actually -" whatever Tornac had been about to say was silenced when Murtagh clamped a hand over his mouth.
"We were wonder – well, Tornac was wondering if, considering the size of this place, there is a gay and lesbian shelf around?" Murtagh asked dully.
The other removed the hand from his mouth and chuckled. "Oh, like you don't want to know too."
Eragon was caught between laughing and blushing. "Um, yeah. It's in the basement, though it's very easy to miss. I think they did that on purpose. Anyway," he cleared his throat. "Just go to the romance section. It's hidden in a corner between that and the horror section."
Tornac laughed. "What a pleasant image they're trying to send out."
"I know, right?" Eragon rolled his eyes. "If you can't find it, just ask one of the employees for directions."
"Or we can just come back and fetch you," the blond wiggled his eyebrows.
Murtagh shoved him in the direction of the stairs. "Thanks for the help," he gave Eragon a half-smirk and pulled Tornac along before the other could say anything else.
Eragon watched them go. It seemed like Saphira had talked to Thorn who had then talked to Tornac and Murtagh. Sheesh. It was like he had seriously offended them or something.
He was just getting back to his routine of being bored when two other people came through the door and made their way over.
Eragon blinked. "What are you guys doing here?"
Saphira's grin was almost blinding. "Aksel has exciting news."
Eragon looked over at the other male. Aksel's grin actually was blinding, and he was practically jumping up and down. It had to be some really exciting news to make Aksel look like that. Eragon prayed that it didn't have anything to do with the books or series Aksel was so addicted to. The last thing Eragon needed was to become addicted to them too.
"So, what's going on?" Eragon asked when no one started to explain.
"I won!" Aksel blurted then, his grin never wavering.
Eragon just looked at him. "Won what?"
"That contest I entered! C'mon, you gotta remember it!"
The brunet gave him a look that told Aksel he couldn't remember.
"It's the annual summer contest at the youth centre," Saphira explained. "Aksel entered during the spring break."
Now Eragon remembered. Aksel always entered the contest, though he never won. Apparently the luck had turned around.
"And I won!" Aksel's smile actually widened. "I got four reservations at il Munamin, the hottest hotel on the coast of Surda. And you two are coming with!"
Eragon felt his mouth fall open.
"All we have to do is to get there on our own, and then we only have to pay for things we do outside of the hotel. The rooms and meals are already paid for. Isn't this awesome!" Aksel grabbed Eragon and hugged him. "I'm so excited!"
Eragon managed to break out of the trance. He laughed softly. He pushed Aksel back and looked at him. "Yeah, it bloody well is. I can't believe you're bringing Saphira and me, though."
"Are ya kidding? You two are my best friends. Of course I want ya there with me," Aksel winked.
"What are you going to do with the fourth reservation?" Eragon asked.
Aksel shrugged. "Dunno. Arya and Nas wouldn't go without each other, and there's no way I'm not bringing one of you, so they're out. Saph didn't want to rush her boyfriend into anythin', so Thorn's not coming. And it's the same with Vane. I don't want to scare him away, y'know?"
"You really like this one, eh?" Eragon asked teasingly.
The blond male blushed slightly. "Oh, shut up."
"Well, I guess I could move around some of my vacation time..." Eragon shrugged.
"Aces!" Aksel grinned. "We leave on the 24th, so ya better be ready then."
"...The 24th is tomorrow, and it's a Wednesday."
Aksel ruffled Eragon's hair. The brunet protested as loudly as he allowed himself to on the job. "24th of July, ya smartass. See ya in a month!"
Eragon glared after him. Saphira giggled softly, but didn't leave with the other blond. Eragon turned to her.
"Just wanted to see how you were," she smiled.
"I'm fine," he shrugged.
Saphira crocked an eyebrow.
Eragon saw someone move out of the corner of his eye then. He straightened in case it was his boss, but it was just another false alarm. In fact, Eragon would have preferred it to be his boss. He looked away when the two he had seen reached that floor and started to walk towards him.
The blue eyed girl tilted her head, clearly confused as to why he was acting the way he was. She looked behind her and Eragon saw her blink. "Ah," she turned back around. "I should have guessed."
He killed the blush that had threatened to break out.
"I'll leave you three alone," she winked at him.
Eragon spluttered. Saphira laughed and motioned for him to call her before leaving.
He was left to stare after her. He didn't stop until someone cleared their throat to get his attention. His eyes snapped away and nearly flinched at the sight that met him.
"So, uh, did you find something?" he asked.
"We did, actually. I have to say that I'm rather disappointed in the miniscule selection you carry here," Tornac tsk'ed.
"Stop complaining. You got what you came for," Murtagh rolled his eyes.
Tornac rolled his eyes, probably to mock Murtagh, but put a book on the counter.
Eragon took it, opened the cover and grabbed the stamp-card. He vaguely noted that it hadn't been checked out often, and the times it had been were recent. He stamped it and then scanned it. The name that popped up made him blink. Eragon checked the cover to make sure he was seeing right. And he was.
The Gay Kama Sutra.
Eragon couldn't stop the blush from burning hot in his cheeks. He cleared his throat and shoved the stamp-card back in its slot. "Are you sure you need this?"
Wait, what had he just said? The blush burned twice as hot now. And it didn't help that Murtagh and Tornac started to laugh.
"W-what I meant was, um, do either of you have a library card?"
He wasn't that surprised when Murtagh handed him his. Eragon took it without looking up at them, made sure it was legit and gave it back. His hand wasn't quite steady when he did so.
"You know the deal, right? Have it back here by a month or you'll have to pay a fee. You can check it out again, but you have to bring it back here first and so on," Eragon pushed it back towards the couple.
"We know the deal," Tornac winked at him.
The blush, which had been fading slightly, came back with full force.
"We just wanted something to laugh about, but it's nice to know that you don't think that we need it," the blond wagged his eyebrows.
Murtagh hit him with the book. Tornac shot the other an amused look. "Not everything is about sex, you idiot."
"But this was! C'mon, he was practically praising us for our little rendezvous. I don't know about you, but I rather like to hear -"
Murtagh put a hand over Tornac's mouth. "And that's enough out of you. Honestly."
Eragon cursed to himself when the floor, after a full minute of begging, still refused to swallow him. Stupid thing! What was it good for, anyway?
"Thank you for the directions. See you," Murtagh nodded at him.
"Uh, yeah. See you," Eragon said, saying it more out of habit than anything else.
Murtagh gave him a smirk before pulling Tornac along. Tornac winked at him before they disappeared out of the door.
Eragon's head connected with the counter. He had never felt so embarrassed in his entire life!
"Taking a nap are we, Mr. Rider?"
Until now, that was. Eragon scrambled upright and tried to look presentable. With his dishevelled hair and fierce blush, he knew he was failing. "Uh no, Mrs. Magii, not at all."
The head librarian gave him a dry look before walking away. Eragon spent the rest of the day cursing at every God he knew for not striking him down and sparing him from future embarrassment.
A/N I'm sorry for the lack of smut in this chapter, but that is the way it had to be. But before you start to yell at me, let me tell you that there will be more smut, just not until chapter four. As much as I'd love to write a story filled with nothing but smut, that was not the way this story progressed. I hope you can all patiently wait for chapter four.
That said, I am in progress of writing chapter three. It's half-finished, and I don't have as much writer's block on it as other projects of mine, so hopefully I can have the next chapter out this autumn.
Thank you so much for your patience. I really do hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Until next time; have a beautiful summer!