Partner

I woke up this morning and was wondering if AFF is even working. Not a single review for two chapters, I was like, AFF MUST be broken.

XD

Sex, next scene. Well. Hopefully. Sometimes these things go south on me. And not in a pleasant way.

Next scene... might be up tomorrow morning. Or, unfortuantely due to work and such, won't be up until Wednesday night.

Read, review and enjoy.





Mik woke the next morning, his head pounding. The blurry, half formed shapes of the night before brought him out of bed and into the living room before he had thought this over. They had given him something. Sidhe. Mari. Someone. Someone had given him something.

And then Souse had filled his mind and tugged at all his secrets. All of Paw’s secrets.

Souse was sitting in the living room and he leapt up at the look on Mik’s face. He raised one hand to motion for Mik to slow down, to think about what he was about to say or do.

Cameras.

“You owe me an explanation.”

Souse rubbed his hands on his pants and looked around the living room as if looking for a place to hide. Finding none, the male turned back to Mik and sighed.

“Paw would not have recovered without your co-operation,” Souse murmured quietly, “the fact that you have a nickname for him made it easier for him.”

Essuan stepped out of Paw’s nest room and smiled at Souse. Souse smiled back until the woman had left the living room. Both males were silent until she had left the apartment completely.

“Nickname?”

Souse made the hand motion that meant a Sidhe was telling a lie on purpose, “Yes. Auhi means little one. I had to explain to Mari why you would call him Auhi when he is no longer little.”

Paw stepped out of his nest room, hair pushed up on one side, clothing rumpled and dirty and little lines on his face still where he had laid on his own arm and the fabric had bunched up under his cheek. The smaller Sidhe looked between the two males and rubbed his face before looking again. Paw let out a long sigh and shuffled to Mik.

The smaller Sidhe wrapped his arms around Mik and gave him a tight, quick squeeze. Mik cringed at Paw’s smell. The imp flashed a quick, small smile. Paw knew exactly how he smelt and knew that Mik would want to shower immediately after being touched by him. One arm stayed wrapped around Mik’s middle, giving the man a small distance between Paw’s actual body and his body.

Souse looked at Paw and then at Mik and tried to look away.

“That is a bedroom name, Souse, none of Souse’s nor Mari’s business. Only between Paw and Mik,” Paw said to the taller, stronger, more dominant male as if he was a child that needed chiding. A private time word. One that Mik and Paw cannot use because Mik and Paw no longer have private time. Souse would be good to remember that fact.”

Souse shifted under Paw’s look.

“Now. Souse can leave and take peeping toms with him. Paw and Mik want private time.”

“You… just got up, Paw,” Mik whispered, “are you sure you can-”

Paw scoffed, “Paw could have had sex while with fever. But then Mik would have gotten fever. As contagious for males.”

“…” entirely unbelievable.

The phone rang. Paw glared at it, “what ‘bout private time hard to understand?”

Mik slid out of Paw’s arm, thankful for the excuse to get away from the smell, and snatched up the phone, “Hullo?”

Mari sighed, “Tell him we’ll shut off the cameras only when you ask for private time. But there may be a call to ask how long you need. Ten minutes?”

“Ten… if it took ten minutes Paw would go mad,” Mik snapped.

“Five?”

“Try a few hours.”

Silence on the other end. Then Mari made several sounds before managing, “but all the couplings recently have been five to ten minutes. Was that…”

“Because of cameras or because of Paw being all people?”

“Both? Does it matter?”

“It might.”

“Ask Koln.”

“Will do.” Mari hung up and Mik clicked the phone off.

A moment of silence filled the apartment.

“You lied!” Souse bellowed at Paw.

“Like you actually care,” Paw snapped back, “and how dare you use my mate for your own ends.”

“You aren’t mated and you would still be lost out there if it hadn’t been for me using your property.”

“HA, Mik’s the woman of the relationship, I’m his property. I’ll just bring it up with Essuan.”

“Essuan doesn’t know. And nor does anyone else. The lies I have spun to keep you out of trouble, you have no idea Auhi. And if you,” Souse jabbed a finger at Mik, “are going to yell at anyone, yell at him. He’s the moron who got lost.”

“I was not lost,” Paw snapped back, I knew how to get back, I knew how. You just interrupted me before I was finished.”

“Stop it. Both of you,” Mik looked from one male to the other, “no arguing. People will shout for hours and just hate each other for it rather than come to any kind of conclusion. Paw lied to you about his name because his brother’s name was Paw and you killed him. Paw couldn’t very well let you believe that you had killed the leader of his tribe.”

Souse’s mouth dropped open, “What, when?”

“Paw went to Souse when Souse moved in. Souse challenged Paw, Paw lost. But then Souse killed Paw.”

“That male was sick,” Souse looked at Paw, then Mik and back to Paw, “your tribe kept the sick alive?”

“Not found until he was grown and was leader. Was fine until he fell from old time tree. Then was sick. Was still leader. Cannot breed if leader, cannot give in to desires if leader.”

Souse folded his arms, “Paw’s blood is very good.”

Paw blushed bright red, “Paw does not claim to know how good blood is given out between good and bad parents. Is random happening, as Souse well knows. Auhi have good blood. Paw had bad blood.”

“Paw’s blood is so good, is wasted on male,” Souse made a motion to Paw.

Paw turned redder, “not that good.”

“Females come to Souse and ask to breed Paw. Females know good blood when they see it.” Flattery, that’s all it was. Perhaps it was the truth, but Souse had chosen that moment to speak about it on purpose, “well. Souse should leave Mik and Paw together, alone.”

Souse left.

Mik frowned as he processed the last sentence, “did… he just…”

“Souse would separate pair if one lies about being or ability,” Paw murmured, “meaning he could breed Paw with female, bind Paw to female for lifetime, but he choose to leave Mik and Paw together.”

“Because you’re a candidate?”

“Because Souse feel guilty or Souse understand why Paw lied and chooses to ignore it,” Paw shrugged, “Both of us need shower.”

“Together?” Mik asked hopefully.

Paw grinned, “Yes.”

“What happened out there? Millions of minds? Were they Sidhe or People or… what?”

“Both,” Paw murmured, “Paw went forth after seeing Whisper, to count all Sidhe. Eh… consensus?”

“Census.”

Paw nodded.

“How many are there?”

“More than people believe, less than Whisper expected. But Paw not finish count. Souse yank Paw back from brink. Between people and Sidhe, there is a space of absence. Then more Sidhe. Moving through people population is easy, to reach Sidhe amongst people, just as easy. But to bridge gap, takes concentration and effort. Still. Population on other side of gap would have to have exploded to make up for deaths amongst general population.”

“What… is beyond the gap?”

“Sidhe,” Paw murmured, “Whisper say that across gap, there be Sidhe and there be people who feel like Sidhe. These we count as Sidhe, for when time is needed, when people reach this place, reach past the gap, then these people will stand between people and Sidhe and speak and people will understand them. Gap not as big as once was. People will regret breeching gap.”

Mik shrugged, “Could be centuries before that happens.”

“People foresting. Cut, cut, cut. Down fall trees older’n’oldest old time tree on this side of gap. Boom, goes rocks and waterfalls and retreats and markings that warn off people and Sidhe alike. Never cross gap. Not ‘lowed to. Sidhe cross gap sometime, but only when called by other side of gap.”

“Sounds like death to me,” Mik muttered.

“Those that go without being called meet death, many death,” Paw sighed, wrinkled his nose and added, “really need wash. Affore all apartment smell of sick.”

“Go grab some clothes, I’ll meet you in the shower,” Mik murmured, catching himself a moment before he kissed Paw’s forehead, “and we’ll wash before we do anything.”



.