August

May 20

"Cadmus wants to have his ears pierced."
Phidias looked up in bewilderment from the journal he was poring over.
"What? Why?"
Henrik shrugged casually, waving his fork around over the papers in front of him.
"It is common, I believe, for young carriers."
Phidias blinked at his husband. Henrik seemed unperturbed.
"Should - should we let him?"
Henrik shrugged.
"I don't disagree with it, if it is what he wants." he picked around at the spinach on his plate and took a bite of fish. "I think it's good that he embraces what he is."
Henrik looked over at Phidias and seemed to be expecting some kind of a response to this. Phidias looked down at his journal.
"Yes."
Henrik slid a neutral look over him.
"You disagree."
"I don't - " Phidias shook his head, "I don't, it's just...difficult sometimes, to reframe him in my head. It was only last year that I was raising a - a - " Phidias frowned, struggling to find the right word. Henrik chewed a bite of fish, then suggested:
"A not-a-carrier?"
Phidias nodded.
"Yeah. Not a carrier. Sometimes I forget."
Henrik put down his fork and reached out for Phidias' hand suddenly, and Phid gave it to him. They sat like that for a moment, hands clasped together, both staring up at the sky over the patio, each thinking of the other.
At length, Henrik interrupted their silence.
"It is alright with me. However, Cadmus is still in a probationary period because of his recent behavior. He may have his ears done after he passes his entry exams for school in the fall." A beat passed. Henrik looked over at Phidias.
"Does that sound fair to you?"
Phidias looked up, vaguely surprised. Did Henrik want his input? Why? Wasn't it Henrik's job to make the rules? The question didn't seem to fit; it sounded wrong. Phidias suddenly felt uncomfortable.
"Yeah. I mean, I think. I guess that sounds fair. If he wants to do it."
Henrik inclined his head.
"If he wants to do it, then."

~

Phidias woke up from an unintentional evening nap wanting sweets and, for some odd reason, a swim. He sat up in bed; the room was empty, but he could hear voices in the hall. He listened closely. It sounded like Henrik. There was no responder. He must be on the phone, then.

Phidias threw the covers off and got out of bed. Maybe dinner was ready, or maybe there were desserts left down in the kitchen. He had been in such a rush the past few days that he hadn't really been in there; it had become Mr. Paul's domain completely. But Henrik would know what they had. The bedroom door was sitting ajar, and Phidias squeezed through the space and padded down the hall. Henrik's voice got louder as Phidias went, and he followed it towards the upstairs study.

The door to that, too, was slightly open. Suddenly compelled by something - intuition, curiosity, meddlesomeness - Phidias paused by the frame. He heard his name. His heart beat faster. Was Henrik talking about him? His voice was low, hushed but not anxious.
"I think so. He is tiring frequently. He has been eating more, and requesting strange things."
There was a pause as the person on the line responded.
"Yesterday, he demanded to go for a walk. I asked him to wait an hour, and he got very emotional about it."
Phidias frowned; he didn't like being discussed in such crass terms. Demanded? Emotional? Besides, neither thing was true. He had asked nicely. In retrospect, it had seemed unusually painful to him that Henrik had said no.
In the room, Henrik laughed quietly.
"Yes. No. No, he's sleeping now. Tell Mahir to call him later."
There was another pause.
"Yes, I'm very excited, too. Of course I know what it means."
A short pause. Laughter.
"I promise I'll take good care of him. Swear."
Some rustling as Henrik moved papers.
"I have to give him everything that he asks for?"
A joking tone.
"Alright. Just four-fifths, then."
Phidias smiled. Then there was a longer pause, and as abruptly as if someone had thrown open a window, a cold tone blew into Henrik's voice. Phidias heard the leather of the chair squeak as Henrik shifted position.
"Anthony. I've said before. I understand the stakes. It is my experiment, too."
Phidias froze. What? Henrik was making a sound of assent now. The conversation might be closing. Phidias should get out of there; he wasn't sure if sneaking around and eavesdropping violated Henrik's rules, but they had gone three weeks now with no incidents. No need to break the streak. He turned to go, and only barely caught the last words of the conversation.
"Alright. Very good. Love to you as well, brother. I will see you in Wafra."

~:~