marlowemuses | who could ever learn to love a...

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who could ever learn to love a...

39 Excelsior Place was the oldest house on the road.

In fact, 39 Excelsior Place was the oldest house in the neighborhood. Through the years Henrietta, Virginia had mostly kept up with the times. Old, decrepit homes were replaced with bright white houses and wooden fences. The convenience store went from locally owned to a chain. The schools got better. Wifi was available in almost every pubic place.

39 Excelsior Place did not keep up with the times. Crouching darkly at the end of the road, squatting fiercely in its dead end, the house was every bit the past it came from. Tall with gothic architecture, unwelcoming pointed gates, and black bricks the hollow eyes on its gray and white face. Huge windows were long covered with sheets, as had been most of the furniture. Once upon a time the house had been beautiful. Once upon a time, however, was a long time ago. In 2016, most people stayed away from 39 Excelsior Place. Smartly so. Its resident monster hated everyone.

Everyone except for its sole resident, elderly Mr. Greerish. Greerish said he had a family. Nobody ever game to visit so the monster called him a liar. Greerish placidly made excuses, such as They’re very busy and It’s been a while since we’ve caught up. Apparently Greerish had a favorite nephew: a baby when they last met. It had smiled at him once. No one else in the family smiled at him.

The monster called him an idiot. Greerish laughed and returned to his books. That was how they found the old man dead. With a pleasant smile and a book in his lap.

Fine. The monster didn’t care about Greerish anyway. It had only just begun to tolerate him. With his death, 39 Excelsior Place would be free of pests and the monster could hide away from the rest of the world until it eventually died. That was what happened to monsters. He’d read the old books Greerish kept so neat in the bookcase. They all ended the same. The monster was killed, burned, staked. The handsome prince got the princess. Or, in the monster’s personal interests, prince. Not that it mattered.

What the monster did not know was that there was a Will. A thing that had been executed by the local priest out of pity for old man Greerish. There was only one stipulation.

Everything I own, including 39 Excelsior Place, will be so inherited by my nephew, Adam Parrish.

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Adam startled slightly, surprised by the cold, wet nose to his back, but then he laughed at the sight of Ronan covered with leaves. He laid one on Ronan's head, between his ears like a crown. "You're magic," Adam said, happy and awestruck. "You dreamed leaves."

He tossed another bunch of them into the air, laughing as they tumbled down. He flopped onto his back, watching them flutter and spiral. "I live in a house of magic."

"Which is why," said Ronan, "we need to talk."

He watched as Adam tossed leaves and fell back into them. Sure, his dreams could bring forth lovely things, but...

Ronan stepped onto Adam's chest and curled there, staring straight down at the boy.

"This is dangerous. I need you to understand that." For once, there was no scowling, no tantrums, no sly grins or sarcasm. His face was even (as much as a cat's could be) and his gaze was deadly, burning into eyes.

"If you stay here, you could get seriously hurt. Or worse."

"I understand," Adam said, soft and honest. He petted Ronan's head. It was so much easier, with him as a cat. Adam didn't have to confront his feelings and desires for the boy. "Because you dreamed the leaves. And sometimes you might have nightmares."

Adam didn't want to think about that too much. But it was worth the risk. Hurt or worse. This house and Ronan represented everything that he wanted. He belonged. Ronan was growing him a garden.

"I'm staying."

Ronan stared at him for a good while. Trying to judge, trying to read, but Adam was... difficult to know. Most people were easy. They wore their desires on their sleeves, or in the lines of their faces. Adam was different. Adam was... sunlight. Warm.

He heaved a heavy sigh.

"You're stubborn," he accused, resting his chin on his paws, "but... I'm glad. I like it."

Adam smiled, scooping leaves on top of Ronan to bury him. "I like your magic."

Chainsaw's caw came from under the sea of leaves somewhere, and Adam laughed, enjoying the weight of Ronan on his chest as he laughed. "I'm so happy here with the two of you. I have almost everything I could ever desire."

Hearing that Adam was happy there with them warmed him through. If he was never happy another day, he could remember the feeling and live on it.

"Almost?" Ronan asked as he tugged his little body forward, pushing his nose against Adam's chin. "What's the rest, then?"

Chainsaw cawed again, in agreement, as though she was also quite interested in knowing.

"I mean, um," said Adam, suddenly embarrassed. He pushed himself up onto his elbows, looking away from them both, which was harder with Ronan sitting on his chest. "Hot boyfriend. Uh... well. Really, that's it. I want someone. Romantically. That's... er." He bit down on his lower lip, feeling awkward.

"Oh."

Of course he would. Most people did, didn't they? Ronan's ears slicked back as he looked up at Adam. It would be so easy to say, What about me? The words were ready to burst out of his chest.

But Adam couldn't be romantic with a nightmare. Even if he had terrible taste that would be—wishful thinking, on Ronan's part. Everything Ronan loved got hurt. That was how things went; he didn't want that for Adam.

Stretching as casually as he could, Ronan slipped off of Adam and touched the floor with his paws.

"What kind of someone do you usually like?" he ventured, trying to at least be a helpful friend.

Edited 2016-11-08 03:02 (UTC)

"Not really sure," Adam said, sitting up and fidgeting awkwardly. You. "Quirky young women aren't my type, I figured that out. I thought for a little bit that charismatic and confident young men might be my type, but I don't... that's not what I want."

He chewed on his lower lip, running his hand nervously through his hair. "I just. Theoretically. One day. I wish I had a boyfriend."

Ronan glanced back up at Adam as he fidgeted. He hadn't meant to make him uncomfortable; if he could have given him whatever it was that he wanted, he would have. But all Ronan had to give was himself. It scared him, considering offering. It scared him, the thought Adam might accept. Yet he yearned for it.

"Yeah, well... you will. And when you do, don't bring him around here. I don't wanna share you."

"Yeah?" Adam said, pleased and amused by that statement. He reached for Ronan, pulling him onto his lap and sitting him there like a little kid. Kissing between Ronan's ears, he rubbed at his cat belly. "You don't wanna share me, huh? Jealous, pussycat?"

Ronan made a face, even if he rather liked having kisses between his ears and having his belly rubbed.

Again, Adam was getting the better of him. Wanting to give a little back, Ronan gave Adam a wicked look and began to change back into his human form as he was straddling his lap. It was quick and fluid, like he was shedding a coat, leaving him gloriously naked and leaning over Adam, touching the other boy's chin with his fingers.

"Very jealous," he growled, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Fuck," Adam breathed, starting to scramble backward for fear of being squished, but then he was caught by that touch, by that smirk and that growl, of Ronan confident and playful above him.

Tempted, he curled one hand around Ronan's hip, encouraging him to stay. "Better stake your claim, then," he said, soft and flirtatious.

He'd expected Adam to get startled and curse. That made him laugh. The hand on his hip, however, made his stomach throw itself upside down. Belatedly he realized he wasn't wearing anything, only covered with some convenient modesty leaves, and that he was very close to Adam's lips.

Self-hatred and doubt plagued his thoughts.

He told them to shut the fuck up, and leaned forward to brush his lips against Adam's.

It was his first kiss. Eyes closed, a small crease on his brow, he kissed gently and almost shyly. When he pulled back he opened eyes to search Adam's face, looking at him as he had been since he first met him, watching, trying to read his expression.

A smile dawned across Adam's face, happy and hopeful, because Ronan had kissed him.

Leaning up, he kissed Ronan again, sweet and tentative as they explored this new relationship, and then he slid his hands up around Ronan's neck, pulling him down as he fell back into the leaves.

"You're my type," he admitted against Ronan's lips, claiming another kiss and making a soft groan of satisfaction as their lips moved together.

Adam kissed him back.

Ronan felt like he could fly. Light as air, a leaf caught in a breeze, like he had never felt before. There was no resistance when Adam tugged him down. He fell with him, resting his arms on either side of Adam's head.

At the admittance, Ronan made a noise, feeling both relief and delight. Even though he'd told himself that hoping would only get him hurt, he still hoped.

Kissing was overwhelming and Ronan needed to pause, face reddened from blushing, to breathe and process everything that was happening. Pressing his face into the side of Adam's neck, he nuzzled there, gripping onto the other boy tightly as though he was afraid he might vanish.

"Is this really okay?"

"This is the best thing I've ever felt," Adam said, hugging his arms gently around Ronan's back and relishing how tightly Ronan held him. "I liked you from the start, even when you spooked me. I've had a crush on you ever since I saw you like this. Handsome and scowling."

Adam trailed his fingertips up over Ronan's scalp, smiling happily, and then he hugged him again, feeling warm and safe with his magical new boyfriend. "Ronan."

Adam's nails against his scalp felt divine. Goosebumps rippled across his skin from the sensation and he only held on tighter, desperate to love and be loved. Adam liked him since then? It was hard to accept Adam liking him at all. But then?

"I like you," he muttered into Adam's shoulder, "too much."

He never wanted to get up. Around them, Chainsaw cawed again, sounding particularly sassy about it.

"Fuck you, Chainsaw," Adam said, smirking as he hugged Ronan. He nuzzled gently at the side of Ronan's head, shivering at the feel of Ronan's short, buzzed hair against his cheek.

"Then it's a good thing I'm yours," Adam murmured, hugging tighter. Ronan liked him. Ronan wanted him. Ronan had given him a garden. "I like you, too."

And Ronan laughed when Adam told Chainsaw to fuck off. He laughed because he was happy. He laughed because he couldn't believe any of it; it would be another dream and he would wake up from.

"You really do have shit taste."

Leaning back just enough to look at Adam's face, Ronan watched him with fondness.

Adam laughed, reaching up to trace the lines of Ronan's face with a fingertip. "Fuck you, I have excellent taste. In naked magical men with really impressive bodies. And the ability to dream leaves."

Unable to resist, Adam pulled him down into another kiss, moaning as their lips met. It had never been like this with Blue. It had never been like this with anyone. He craved Ronan like he was drowning for him.

Adam's lips were warm. Ronan loved them, how they felt against his as they kissed. It was better than he could have imagined. Or, maybe, Adam's lips were just better than anything an author could imagine.

When he broke the kiss the second time, it was only because leaves were sticking to his skin. They rustled and crunched, and he grunted, glancing down.

"Maybe we should find a better spot for this? Or I could put on pants."

"Maybe both," Adam said, laughing. He kissed Ronan's cheek, then let him go, wiggling to his feet. "As much as I appreciate the view, it's a little intense. I'd really like to take things slow."

He couldn't resist stealing a look anyway, blushing deeply at what he saw. "I'm going to go grab a broom."

Biting his lip and stealing one last glance, he went to get a broom.

Ronan was in agreement. While he was used to wandering around without clothes, if the situation were reversed, he'd be ... more than a little flustered. So he went upstairs to actually grab some clothes. A pair of jeans and a black muscle tank were the first things within sight so he threw them on, heading back downstairs once he was decent.

"It's too much to clean with just a broom," he grunted as he sat on the couch, leaning forward and digesting how many leaves he had taken out of his dream. No wonder he had been exhausted. It looked like he had brought back the whole forest.

Laying back on the couch, he looked up at the ceiling.

"I'll get something better."

"What do you mean, you'll get something better?" Adam asked. He didn't get it, and continued sweeping leaves into big black trash bags. He would have preferred Ronan to help, but he was accustomed to Ronan helping or not helping in his own way.

Ronan, apparently, was going to lounge on the couch. Adam rolled his eyes and swept a spray of leaves at Chainsaw.

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