Touru to Shidou/Touru and Shidou

~*~*~*~Shidou

When I woke up, Touru was still in my arms, still sleeping. I looked at the clock and it was almost noon. I tightened my arms around him and he nuzzled into me a little before yawning and stretching. He pulled away from me and smiled softly and kissed me before sliding out of bed and pulling on a pair of boxers and began typing. I watched him a little while before sliding out of bed and kissing the top of his head, “Breakfast will be ready when you are.”

I got dressed. He didn’t move like he hurt and I was glad for that. I went through the cupboards and we didn’t have a lot in the way of food. We’d need to go grocery shopping. Maybe we could do that after we saw a movie. I wondered what was playing that he’d want to see.

I’d just finished making some biscuits when he came out of the room. “That was fast, Love.”

He hugged me, “Yeah.”

“Did you want to go to the movie today?” I asked. “We do need to go grocery shopping, so I was thinking we’d go to a movie then get food. What do you think?”

He nuzzled, kissing my neck, “Sound’s like a plan.”

“Why do I think you have other things in mind?” I asked, wrapping my arms tightly around him.

“Hmmm, I dunno,” he whispered against my neck. I couldn’t help but shiver.

There was a knock on the door and he froze, his body tense against mine. I pulled away from him, “It’s okay. You stay here, I’ll get it.” His eyes were so wide, so full of fear, it hurt.

I went to the door. I could feel my heart in my throat. What could it be now? I cracked the door and almost cried in relief. It was just Mom and Mama. “Touru, it’s okay. It’s just Mom and Mama.” He came out of the kitchen, looking so relieved as they came in.

“What was that about?” Mom asked.

“Uhhh,” Touru stammered, looking at his feet.

“Every time he’s been happy, his family’s shown up. He’s getting to be a touch superstitious. Why are you guys here?”

“We were going to take you guys shopping,” Mama said. Mom’d gone over to hug Touru and he hugged her back.

“So,” Mom said, “you had a good time at prom?” I know she was trying to take Touru’s mind off his fear.

He smiled at her, “Yeah. I danced with the whole basketball team. They all were so nice and everything.”

I was relieved that he could still be happy about last night. Mama gave me a one armed hug. “Did you have a good time?” she asked me.

“Touru was happy and that’s what made my night,” I answered.

“Pop’s already got pictures developed,” she grinned at me. “You to look so happy. I’m glad things went well for you.” She leaned her head on my shoulder, “Reminds me when we got together, y’know.” Her voice was directed at Mom.

“Yeah. It didn’t make a lot of sense, but we just seemed to fit together.” She walked over and hugged Mama on the other side from me. Touru came to me and leaned against me. “It’s always felt like we’ve always known each other and just met.”

“Can you believe it’s been thirty-one years, now?” Mama said softly.

“Today is your anniversary?” Touru asked.

“One of them. Today is ours, Mama and mine,” Mom answered. “In about a month is Pop’s and Dad’s, and then, just two weeks after that, all four of us, though not all in the same year.” They looked at each other and smiled.

“You don’t have to take us shopping,” Touru said softly.

Mama smiled at him, “This is how we want to spend our anniversary. It’s so nice to watch you two. It’s…refreshing and invigorating.”

I pulled a face, “We are not entertainment.”

Mom ruffled my hair, “No, not entertainment, Shidou. A reminder of what love is and what it looks like all shiny and new. Not entertainment. Hope.”

~*~*~*~Touru

“Hope?” I asked, feeling puzzled.

“Hope that others can be happy, that we can continue to be happy. It’s also reassuring, like your happiness is letting us know we made the right choice.” Mom’s face kinda glowed when she said that and her eyes went to Mama. It was nice to see them together.

I leaned against Shidou’s shoulder and he kissed the top of my head. I looked up at him and he nodded like he knew what I was going to ask. Maybe he did. “We were thinking of going to a movie before we went food shopping. Would you two like to come with us?”

They looked at us and I smiled. I’m sure Shidou did, too because they both smiled at us. Mama grinned, “It’s been a long time since we just went on a double date with someone else.”

“We’re gonna eat first,” Shidou groused. “We just got up. I didn’t make enough for everyone, though. I wasn’t expecting company.”

“It’s okay,” Mom said, fluttering her hands, “we had lunch already.”

Shidou and I ate while they wandered around the apartment. It was almost like a friendly inspection, though I was nervous when they went into the bathroom. It’s one thing to let them think we’re doing stuff, it’s another for them to know we’re doing stuff. Shidou put his hand on my leg, high, almost touching me. I looked at him and my cheeks felt warm.

He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “How ya feeling this morning?”

“My back’s not to happy with me, but just a little bit sore is all.”

I saw him look over to the door, making sure his mothers were still occupied, “You meant it when you said you liked being under me?”

I glanced over my shoulder and leaned closer to him, “Yeah. I really liked being under you. It felt better than when you were under me. I think, maybe sometimes, I’ll want to be on top, but…” I let my voice trail off, not sure how to say what I wanted to.

“I think that’s what I’d like, too.” He glanced at the door before continuing, “I like how you feel in me, but I love how you feel under me. And you were so utterly sexy. I’m a little surprised how wild you were.”

I felt my cheeks burning and he kissed my neck. He pulled away from me and I looked up to see Mom approaching the kitchen. “Are you almost done?”

“Yeah,” Shidou said, clearing away our plates. I stood and began cleaning while he went and got dressed.

Mom moved to help me, “You clean?”

“He cooks, I clean. It works for us,” I said. I felt a little defensive, though I don’t know why. We’d never discussed anything beyond me saying I’m not much of a cook. Since then, it’s just seemed right that he cook and I clean.

“That’s what matters,” she said, her voice bland. I looked up at her and she smiled, “Sometimes, it’s hard figuring out what people are good at when it comes to house work. Pop does a lot of the cleaning, but it took us a while to figure out who was best at it. I have always done the cooking because I like to cook. Dad likes taking care of plants, so he’s in charge of the patio. Mama does the laundry and stuff like that.” She smiled, “It’s good you two have things worked out.”

“It just happened that way,” I said.

“Even better,” she smiled. She leaned against my shoulder, “We’re very happy for you two, Touru. I don’t mean to make you uneasy.”

I shrugged, sighing, “I think I’ve gotten too used to things being hard for me.”

She wrapped an arm around me, “Talk to Joseph about it.”

“I will. I see him alone this Tuesday. I’ll talk to him.”

She nodded and kissed my cheek, “Good. Now, one more question and I’ll stop.” I looked over at her, “Do you boys want to come over once a week for dinner? It doesn’t have to be Friday, but we like having you over.”

“I think we could do that,” Shidou said from the doorway. He came in the kitchen and took the last of the dishes from me. “I’ll finish, you go get dressed, Love.”

I kissed his cheek and left the room.

~*~*~*~Shidou

The rest of the day was nice. Mom and Mama were happy, Touru was happy. We all were happy. We went to see a chick flick. I was out voted. But, through the movie, I held Touru and occasionally, he’d nuzzle me and kiss my neck. Grocery shopping wasn’t too bad. I kinda liked it a little, since I got to choose things that I’d wanted to try cooking. Touru tended to like simple foods, but I knew this about him already. When Mama and Mom dropped us off, it was time for dinner. I went into the kitchen and Touru followed me, wrapping his arms low around my waist. “Hungry?” I asked.

“No,” he whispered, his hands wandering lower.

“How do you feel?” I asked, my voice getting breathy.

“Probably should wait till tomorrow for you to fuck me again, but I want you, Shidou.” His hands began fondling me through my jeans and his voice just went through my body.

“So, you’re horny?” I managed to say.

He started kissing my neck, “Something like that.” He began nibbling on my ear, “I also wanna try something.”

“What’s that?” I asked. His hands were working their way under my jeans and I was starting to feel light headed.

“I wanna suck you off while you suck me off.”

“Touru,” I moaned, pulling his hands out of my pants and turning to face him. I kissed him hard and deep and we went to the floor. I needed him, now. I couldn’t wait. He surrendered to me, encouraged me. We managed to get my pants off and both our shirts before he was pulling me, working on getting my hips over his face. I moaned and moved so that my legs were on either side of his head. He rolled his hips and I licked him and he moaned. “What do you want?”

“I want you to suck me off. I’ll suck you off, too. I’ve wanted it all day. Give it to me.” He pulled my hips down and I let him have my shaft, taking his into my mouth at the same time. His pants were still on around his knees and I pushed them off. He bent his knees and I began massaging his ass. He moaned and started doing the same to me, encouraging me to thrust into his mouth while he sucked and swallowed around me. He rocked into my mouth and it felt so good. I started fondling his balls and he mimicked my actions again. I groaned loudly around him. I didn’t know it’d feel that good.

He began pressing just behind my balls and I could feel amazing shocks of pleasure moving up my spine. I did the same to him and he whined around me. It was only a couple of more strokes before we came. I managed to roll off him and stare up at the ceiling. He crawled on my chest and I held him. “Now, we can have dinner, if you’re up to it,” he teased.

“You’re amazing.”

“Nope, I’m not. I was just horny.” I rolled my head to look over at him and he smiled, “I want you, Shidou. When…when we make love to each other, I feel secure. I feel safe in your arms. Even if we’re not having sex, I feel safe with you.” He kissed me softly before moving to his knees. He looked down and laughed a little. I looked and his pants were still around his ankles. “See, just horny.”

I rubbed his thigh and watched as he shivered a little. “Let’s eat and then take our time with each other, what do you say?”

He smiled and blushed, “Yeah.”

~*~*~*~Touru

I can’t remember what we had for dinner. We spent the rest of the weekend pretty much naked. It was really nice, to just be able to touch each other anyway we wanted. We didn’t get out of bed at all on Sunday except to get snacks and drinks a couple of times. It was an amazing dream. We both fell asleep on Sunday exhausted.

Monday morning, I woke up at four. In a way, I was relieved, but in a way, I wanted more sleep. I kissed Shidou and he mumbled that he loved me before I crawled out of bed. My back really didn’t like me, but lower felt fine. I stretched and my back popped and that helped some.

I was still working on a story that just suddenly filled my head when Shidou woke up. I knew when he woke up and I knew he watched me for a while before getting up. He kissed the top of my head before he left the room and I felt myself smile at that. He came in a little later and got dressed, but I kept typing.

“Touru?” he asked softly.

“It’s in my head, I have to get it out,” I answered, not taking my eyes from the screen, my fingers typing as fast as they could and still not really keeping up with the words in my head.

“We gotta leave in half an hour, Love.” His voice was soft, as if he didn’t want to interrupt but felt he had no other choice.

“I know. I’m trying.” I heard him sit on the bed, but he didn’t say anything, so I ignored him. He got up and made the bed and then left the room. I heard him working in the kitchen, I think.

I reached the last word in my head and stared at the screen, panting, just as he came in and said “Five minutes. Are you finished?”

“Yeah,” I managed to say.

“What was it?”

“I dunno. I just had to get the words out. I’ll read over it later to see what it was.” I leaned back in the chair.

“Does that happen often?”

I shook my head, not really feeling up to talking just then. He went to the dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans and tossed them over my head. “C’mon,” he said, “we’re gonna have to drive to get there on time.”

“Can I call in sick?” I whined, pulling the jeans off my head.

He kissed my forehead, “No fever. C’mon, Love. I know you’re tired, but you’ll feel better if you get moving.”

I pulled the jeans over my feet before I stood up. He pulled a shirt on over my head as I was zipping them up. I looked up to protest and he kissed me. I managed to get my arms through the sleeves and pushed him away. “Brat.”

“Love you, too,” he replied, leading me out of the bedroom.

“Gotta save it, first,” I pulled away. I had forgotten to save it at all. Over two hours of work and I’d not saved. I groaned out loud.

“C’mon, Love.” He was at the doorway, holding my backpack.

“Sorry.”

He handed me a paper wrapped package and said, “Eat. Let’s go.”

I followed him out of the apartment, still not really feeling aware of the world around me. He opened the door for me and I sat down. He put my backpack at my feet and looked at me, concern on his face, “Are you okay, Touru?”

“Yeah,” I said, touching his arm, “it’s just when I have such intense stories or whatever, it’s a little hard to get reoriented to the real world. I’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”

He kissed me, “Okay. If you really need to stay home, you can, y’know.”

I shook my head, “Just need to wake up, basically, is all.”

~*~*~*~Shidou

He looked so out of it, I wasn’t sure if dragging him to school was a favor or not. He sat limply, the sandwich I’d give him in his lap, his eyes opened, but didn’t look like he could see anything. I closed the door and went to my side. He didn’t open it like he normally did. “Touru,” I said softly when I was in. He looked over at me and hummed. “Are you sure you’re up to school today?”

He frowned at me, “I said I was. Relax. I’m fine.” He sounded irritated and I didn’t know why I kept pressing him. I started to say something and he snapped at me, “I said I was fine. Quit worrying already.”

I recoiled from him and began apologizing, “I’m sorry.”

“Let’s go,” he still sounded snappish.

I drove to school silently. He didn’t eat. He just stared out the window until we parked. Before I could turn off the car, he touched my arm and I looked at him. “I’m sorry. It’s like I haven’t woken up yet. I wake up badly. It’s not your fault. I’m sorry.”

I turned off the car and turned so I could hold his cheek, “I’m not upset, Love, just worried because you look so tired.”

He leaned on my shoulder, “I did skip school last time I wrote like that. I went back to sleep for a couple of hours.”

“I’ll take you home, then.”

He shook his head, “You’ll be late.”

I pulled him away from my shoulder and kissed him. “We have a month left. One tardy isn’t going to hurt me. Do you want to go back home?”

He hugged me and nodded, “I’m sorry.”

I sighed, “Why?”

“For being snappy at you.”

“We both still have a lot to learn about each other, Love. Just because it has been easy so far doesn’t mean it will always be. We’re gonna make mistakes. Let’s call today a learning experience and move on.”

He looked at me, tired, his eyes full of love, “How did I get such an understanding lover?”

“Same way I got such and amazing lover. Right place at the right time.”

“We should take Schele out for dinner some time,” he laughed.

“Yeah,” I agreed, restarting the car. “Let’s get you home and then I’ll come back to endure teasing about wearing you out.”

“I’ll let you wear me out again next weekend,” he said softly. I looked over and he was blushing.

I put my hand on his leg, “I like that you’re so horny on the weekend. Tell me your secret?”

“Save it up all week,” he grinned at me when I looked at him.

“And where do you get some of those things you want to try?” He’d suggested a lot of things that I’d never even thought of trying.

His entire face was bright red, “The internet is a very…large resource.”

“Large resource?” I repeated dumbly.

“I told you I’d seen some porn, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Resource. I know a lot of it is unreasonable and doesn’t look very comfortable or like things I’d want to do anyways, but there are some things I’ve seen that I’ve wanted to try with the right person.” His cheeks were red, but his voice was calm. “There’s also stories and such. Research on various writing techniques.”

“That’s what you told your family?” I asked.

“When they asked what I did online. I also didn’t keep history, bookmarks or cookies on my computer in case they checked. My parents knew and looked at the sites I went to. They said I was mature enough to handle them. I didn’t see a reason to stop because my cousins were unreasonable. I don’t think they checked my computer, though. They were afraid of it. But, still, it was better safer than sorrier.” He yawned and we were home.

He let me help him out of the car and into the house. I also helped him get out of his clothes and into bed with only a few kisses because he really was barely awake.

~*~*~*~Touru

Just before Shidou left, he asked, “Should I call Pop and tell him you won’t be in?”

I shook my head, barely awake, “Nah, I’ll be there.” I heard him cross the room again and kiss my forehead. He caressed my hair and I was asleep before he left again.

When I woke up again, it was almost noon. I crawled out of bed and went to the kitchen. I didn’t need to write now, but I was hungry. There was a note on the fridge. Shidou’s hand writing was atrocious. I could barely read it. He said my breakfast was in the fridge and he loved me lots and hoped that I felt better when I woke up. I ate the sandwich and wrote a quick thank you, love you too on the paper since he got home before I did. I went back in the room and pulled up what I’d written that morning to read over it.

When I finished reading, I stared at my screen for a long time. It was my nightmare, written out in detail, full graphic detail. It was enough to scare me in the full daylight. No wonder I’d not been able to sleep through it. I curled on my chair, looking at my toes. Why did I let my family scare me so much? I thought about that a long time.

Maybe, in my head, I should stop calling them “my family.” Maybe I needed to give myself that emotional distance from them so that I could stop having nightmares. Was that really dealing with the problem, though? Or was it just sweeping it under the carpet?

Joseph had an open appointment today. I wondered if he had time to talk to me if I went into work early? I looked at the clock. I wouldn’t be that early. I printed out what I wrote and dressed while the printer spit out the pages. I think I was reaching the right answer, but I just wanted to be sure it was the right answer. I gathered up the pages, shuffling them into the right order before slipping on my shoes and leaving the room.

Pop was in the waiting room when I arrived. He smiled at me, “You’re early.”

“I woke up badly,” I answered. “Is Joseph available or do you have time?”

“Badly?” he asked. “Joseph is with a client, but I’ve got a few minutes.” He led me into his office and I sat on the chair across from his.

“There are times when I can’t keep up with the words in my head when I first wake up. When I get them all out, I have to take a nap again. I also don’t remember what I wrote until I go back and read it. I had one of those times today. This is what I wrote.” I handed him the pages and sat quietly, trying not to fidget while he read them.

He finished and put the papers down on his desk, “Tell me about it, Touru.”

“It was a dream I had last week.” I took a deep breath, “I was thinking that maybe I should stop calling them my family, to give myself some space between me and them.” I looked at my lap, “But, I don’t want to run away from problems, either.”

“How do you feel when you say ‘my family’ about them?” he asked.

I looked at the wall and the ceiling, thinking about it, “Trapped.”

He sat silent a long time, long enough for me to look at him. “I think maybe calling them by their names would be better for you then. Maybe, someday, you may be able to repair your relationship, but I think your sanity is more important than that relationship. How often have you been having nightmares, Touru?”

“At least once a week, usually two or three times a week. The ones that wake me up, anyways. Shidou had to wake me up from that one.” I looked down at my feet, “I knew I had to call his name and I couldn’t remember it.”

I heard him stand up and he touched the top of my head, “I think giving yourself distance is a good idea. Is it okay with you if I give this to Joseph and you two can talk in more detail tomorrow?”

I stood up and hugged him, “Thank you, Pop.”

He hugged me back, “You’re part of our family, now.” He took the papers and rolled them up and tapped the top of my head, “To work now or I’ll have to reprimand you for laziness at work. Being family gets you no slack!”

I smiled at him and went to work. Just before it was time for me to get off, Shidou showed up. I smiled at him, waving my fingers as I went to finish off my last tasks. He sat in the waiting room until it was time to leave.

~*~*~*~Shidou

Touru came out into the waiting room, smiling at me, “You didn’t have to come for me.”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay. I was worried about you, Love.”

He hugged me, “Thank you, but I’m okay. I just needed more sleep is all.”

“Mom said we could join them for dinner tonight if you’re up to it. Meat loaf tonight.”

He sighed, “Yeah, sounds good.”

I led him out to the car and he pulled me against him before I could open the door and hugged me tightly. I returned the hug, “What’s up, Love?” There was something almost desperate about the way he held me.

“I have a new family now,” he whispered.

“Oh?” I asked.

“Rachel and Andrew are cousins, but your family is my family now. They’re the family that matters. They are my family, now.” He leaned on my shoulder again, “I want you to help me remember that, okay?”

“Okay,” I said softly, holding him. I don’t know why but that made him more precious to me. “Touru?” I said softly. He hummed against my shoulder and I asked, “What did you write today?”

“The nightmare I had last week. It got me to thinking that I need to change how I think about them, that calling them ‘my family’ was causing damage.” He pulled away from me and looked into my eyes, “I talked to Pop about it and he agreed that it would help me cope better if I separated them from me.”

I hugged him tightly and whispered, “Told you we were going to adopt you or something.”

“I’m happy you did,” he replied, his lips against my neck. I shivered. I think he liked that my neck was so sensitive because he kept kissing me there lightly before saying, “I know we both have school in the morning, but after dinner, I’d like you to make love to me, please.”

“You’re not sore?” I asked, leaning into his ear. I could see Pop and the rest of them beginning to leave for the day.

“My back a little, but I think that’s more my fault than yours.”

“Why your fault?” I asked.

“Cause of the positions I like to try and that I ask you to go harder.”

This really wasn’t a conversation to have when we were going to eat at my…our parents’ house. My body was starting to respond to his lips against my throat and the memory of those positions and him begging for more. “If you keep this up, Touru, I’m not gonna make it through dinner.”

“I can feel that,” he said, pulling away from me slowly. “I need the family time, too, as well as our time later. I need to be with them, too, Shidou.”

I nodded and called Pop over. He was starting to walk home. Touru moved slowly away from me, giving me time to calm down as I said, “Hey, we’re going your way, wanna ride, handsome?” Touru laughed.

Pop pretended to fling his hair over his shoulder, “You sure you can afford me, hmmm?”

“I dunno. You don’t look that expensive,” I countered. Both Touru and Pop slapped my arms for that one. “Seriously, though, Mom invited us over. Would you like a ride?”

“I was going to walk. You two looked like you were having a serious conversation.”

Touru answered, “We were, but it’s okay now. We’re going to talk more later.”

~*~*~*~Touru

Dinner was nice, relaxing. It was like I was actually taking them as my family with that meal, that it was really true, they were mine. I felt at home with them. When we left, I hugged each of them and it was like hugging my parents again. Everything felt good. Not dream good, real good.

Shidou drove home and led me into our apartment and it was good, too. When we got in, though, he tried to let me take the lead. I kissed him softly, “I want you on top.”

Without further conversation, he led me to our bed, kissing me softly. His hands roamed my body, never demanding. His kisses were never demanding. His touch was loving, gentle. He removed my clothes and laid me on the bed. While I watched, he removed his own clothes. He was so handsome, his body so strong as I looked at him. He could have hurt me, but he touched me so gently, as if I were something fragile and that he valued beyond life itself. His lips trailed along my body and I was trembling and panting when he took me into his mouth. Very slowly, he sucked me down. I could feel him hesitate at one point, but he kept going. I groaned. I normally screamed when he did this to me, but it didn’t feel right just then. I groaned and he pulled back a little, sucking on me. I felt his finger pressing against my hole and I lifted my legs a little, making it easier for him to reach me.

Before I came, he slid his mouth off me and kissed up my body. His mouth was on mine and I could feel his erection pressing into me slowly. Just as slowly, his tongue entered my mouth and I groaned around him. His motions remained gentle, slow. I didn’t want him to go harder, this time. I wanted to savor every stroke, every touch. His hands caressed my body and mine held him to me as we rocked slowly together, his tongue matching his hips’ movements. My tongue caressed his like it was his dick in my mouth and it felt so good.

My orgasm was gentle, my body tensing, warmth spreading through me and spilling between us. I could feel him tensing on me, and I knew he came, too. It was nice, calming. It was so different from the wild orgasms we’d had over the weekend, but it felt so right. He let go of my mouth and whispered, “I love you, Touru.”

“That was amazing,” I panted, surprised at how out of breath I felt.

“Yeah,” he breathed, lifting a little to look into my eyes. “I wanted to do what you asked. I wanted to make love to you.”

“You did, it felt so wonderful. I do feel loved, Shidou. I love you, too, so much.”

He pulled out of me and stood from the bed, holding out his hand to me. I took it and we went to the bathroom. I got the towels while he started the water. We didn’t talk anymore as we showered and went back to bed. I don’t remember dreaming at all the rest of the night as he held me.

~*~*~*~Shidou

I watched him a little bit after he fell asleep. His hair curled over his forehead, almost in his eyes. His features still were delicate, but there was a slackness around them there hadn’t been before. Something in him had changed and it was good for him. He looked more relaxed in his sleep. He sighed softly and turned to me, nuzzling into my arms. I held him and he moaned a bit. It almost sounded like words.

I don’t know what made me think about it, but I wondered if he’d been allowed to go to his family’s graves since they’d died. I know he moved here afterwards, but I didn’t know where he’d moved from. That got me on to that if his parents hadn’t died, I wouldn’t have gotten to known him at all. That hurt. I wished he hadn’t lost them, but I was so happy to know him. Happy was the wrong word. He belonged with me. It felt so right to hold him, like it was something I was supposed to do.

I knew he wanted to write and that the university here was the best one for that. The one I wanted to go to was good for law and premed, but its writing school wasn’t that good, especially compared to this one. It was going to be a rough four years. Maybe then we could be together while I finished law school. But four years. It was only six hours to drive. I could come home on weekends and be by his side. But, there was homework that had to be done and papers to write.

I brushed his hair off his forehead and kissed him there. We still had four months together. We’d figure it out. I also planned on asking him if he wanted to visit his family when we had a chance, maybe even this weekend if he wanted to. He mumbled “lub you” and I hugged him, settling down to sleep, whispering “love you, too.”

A/N: My life is insane. I'll try to get two chapters per week, but it seems I cannot guarantee days. :/