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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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.

At the leaves, Chainsaw beat her wings, sending a spray of them right back at Adam. Ronan just grinned and winked, "You'll see."

Then he went to sleep.

It was easier when he had a purpose. That way he could focus his desire into something, which made having a random nightmare harder. Something small and easy to use for Adam to clean with. A medium sized vacuum with infinite space.

When he woke up, that was what he had.

"Here." He offered it to Adam, sweating a little and looking pale.

Adam's brow furrowed a little bit at Ronan's promise. He knew Ronan was magic, and he had learned to trust Ronan. So... okay.

He sat down on the couch near Ronan, watching him sleep. He looked handsome in sleep, and younger without his usual scowl. It was nice, seeing him like this. Adam rested his head on the back of the couch, watching.

He blinked at the vacuum, which didn't seem to have a power cord. Part of him wanted to argue that you shouldn't vacuum up leaves, it wasn't good for the vacuum, but that probably didn't apply to magic dream vacuums.

Setting the vacuum down nearby, Adam hugged his arms around Ronan's waist. "You okay?"

Blinking at the hug, Ronan reached out to rest his hand on top of Adam's head. Soft hair.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It just takes energy, and I already dreamed up the fucking leaves before. That was worse."

It was strange to have someone ask if he was okay. Everything happening was so new and unexpected.

"That should clean up any mess you've gotta deal with. I make a lot of them."

Carefully, he brushed his fingers through Adam's hair, still marveling at it all.

"Okay," Adam said, nestling against him. He had absolutely no desire to move, not when Ronan was playing with his hair like that.

So there, Blue. So there, Gansey. Adam Parrish is likeable. Dateable. Wanted.

"Is it okay if I tell my friends that I've got a boyfriend?" he asked, staying where he was and letting his hand stray a little up Ronan's shirt. "They'll want to meet you, eventually."

Adam's straying hand was very distracting. Not just because it felt good; Adam's hands were beautiful to look at, admire.

Which was why his answer was a bit belated. Friends? He didn't want any friends to come over. One, he didn't like people in his space in general, and two, he didn't want to share Adam. Especially not with people who knew him first.

Ronan grunted unhappily, scowling at the thought.

"They can stand on the lawn and we'll look at them from the window," he suggested, curling a lock of hair around one of his fingers.

Adam laughed at that. "Don't worry. They're on a road trip cross-country. You won't have to meet them for weeks at least. I just want to tell them."

He lifted up his phone, taking a picture of the two of them together and showing it to Ronan. Adam loved the photo at once, but he knew that Ronan disliked technology and might be creeped out by it. "See? Is this okay? I'll send them the photo."

It was true that Ronan didn't like technology, and he didn't care much more for the phone than he did for the laptop. But if it was to make Adam happy he could deal.

Squinting, he studied the picture before giving a suffering sigh, "All right, I guess I can handle it." It was probably fine. It was unlikely that Adam's friends were any of the people on the lookout for him.

Leaning in, he threaded both hands through Adam's hair.

"What're they like?"

"Gansey's going to be president someday. He was born with money, and he doesn't really get that other people weren't. He tries, and he's earnestly good, more than anyone I've ever met, but he still doesn't understand that you can't just solve problems by throwing money at them. Blue's a feminist and she's kind of aggressively quirky and creative, but she's brave and optimistic. And there's Henry, who's kind of new and he's more their friend than mine and I think the three of them are kind of dating now?" Adam shrugged, enjoying the hands in his hair.

He texted the picture to Gansey. So I've got a boyfriend now.

Ronan made a face.

"Didn't you say that was your ex-girlfriend's...?"

Name. But she was dating his friend? And also probably someone else? They didn't sound so bad, but Ronan didn't get along well with others. They'd probably hate him.

Whatever. Humans were fucking weird and he only cared about one.

He squinted at the phone when Adam got a series of texts all at once.

Wait, what?? No way! Who? What's his name? How did you meet? And a thousand other questions all came pouring in.

"Yeah, Gansey set us up. I think he may have been projecting. He went over and asked her out for me, and now he's dating her. We never really had much chemistry. Not like the way you walk into a room and my heart starts pounding."

Adam kissed his cheek, responding to Gansey and smiling, especially because he knew Ronan was watching everything he typed.

His name's Ronan. Isn't he adorable? He came with the house--long story--and I'm stupidly infatuated with him. He's growing me a garden.

Ronan made a noise under his breath when he read that.

"You're making me sound like a sap. And I liked it better when you said I was hot, not adorable." With a growl he leaned down and bit Adam's shoulder possessively, tugging and sucking on the patch of skin fortunate enough to be bitten.

Chainsaw fluttered on over and landed on the couch, cocking her head and watching them.

Adam laughed with pleasure at the bite, thrilled that Ronan had just marked him. He dropped the phone aside. Gansey could wait. Straddling Ronan's lap, Adam grinned at him. "You're all of the above." Adam slid his arms around Ronan's neck, resting their foreheads together. "More. Mark me as yours. Claim me. My monster."

Ronan flushed at Adam's words.

"You're embarrassing," he shot back, glancing away and biting his lip. Claim me. Who said shit like that..? That wasn't anything Ronan knew about. This was all so new to him. But he did know that he wanted to keep Adam all to himself; the people on the other end of that phone could fuck right off.

"You're just into getting bitten, aren't you?"

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