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 nodded, giving Ronan's hand one last squeeze before he let go.

"Now, you be careful," he warned Chainsaw. "It's a magic vacuum. It could probably eat you. Stay clear."

There didn't seem to be any power cord, so he just turned it on, starting to vacuum up the leaves. It worked perfectly, just as promised, eating up leaves without ever needing to be emptied. "What if you did vacuum up something you didn't mean to?" Adam asked, curious about how the magic worked. "A ring, say. Or Chainsaw. Or does it just eat everything forever?"

"I didn't think about that. So, probably." Ronan was on the couch with Chainsaw now, holding her in his lap and stroking her feathers. She seemed to be enjoying it immensely.

"That's why I said that I'm shit at this. I didn't think about getting anything back, so I don't think you can. Try not to suck up Chainsaw." Chainsaw clicked her beak in agreement.

"Use it when you're doing heavy duty cleaning, I guess?"

"Or you," Adam said, making sure to be careful as he vacuumed up leaves. "Not that you'd fit. What would happen if you were consumed by something you dreamed? Would that create a dream-paradox?"

This were the questions Adam's brain asked. He didn't expect a serious answer, but Adam liked investigating how things worked. Cars, magic, houses. Boyfriends.

He worked diligently, getting all the leaves that he could safely vacuum up and leaving some of the detail work for later.

Ronan grinned. "Nah, it'd just really fucking suck. And you wouldn't have a boyfriend anymore—unless you were serious about picking up three more."

There were certainly things he dreamed that could consume him. Monsters. Terrors. Things that sometimes got out. Which was half the reason why he was afraid to actually sleep with Adam. If Adam got hurt...

Ronan really didn't even want to think about it.

Once the leaves were mostly gone he stood, looking out the front window at the setting sun. It'd been a long day.

"What're you gonna do when she comes back? You know that she's gonna come back."

Adam twitched, spooked. "My mom?"

He shook himself, ruffling his own hair. "Oh, you mean the real estate woman. I meant what I told her. If she persists, she'll be trespassing, and I will prosecute accordingly. Once she understands I'm serious, she'll stop. Or I'll take her to court over it, and I'll win."

Adam shrugged. This was his home. He wasn't selling. It didn't worry him too much.

Ronan didn't miss that twitch. It made him want to ask what Adam would do if his parents came back, but he didn't. Didn't want to bring Adam there again. Besides—he would protect Adam. If that meant getting into a scuff with his dad, then shit, he would. Bloody noses and bruises were nothing.

"Want to go for a walk?" He asked before even really thinking about it, just instinctively wanting to see Adam beneath a night sky, moonlight kissing his skin.

"Yes," Adam said, smile reappearing. His thoughts of his parents and the real estate agent melted away, replaced by pleasure at the thought of going for a walk with Ronan. He hadn't been sure that Ronan ever willingly left the premises, but a walk implied going further than the garden. "I'd like that."

He put the vacuum in the hall closet, getting a sweatshirt for himself and then returning to Ronan's side. He wound their fingers together, grinning with excitement for the simple pleasure of going for a walk with his boyfriend.

When Adam wound their fingers together Ronan tugged them up so he could press a few light kisses against Adam's knuckles. There was no end for the love he had of Adam's hands, his fingers. Though, he liked every part of Adam.

"Let's go." He gave Chainsaw a nod before heading out the back door into the yard, leading Adam past the old rusting fence and into the woods. It was dark, yet Ronan's eyes were like lights catching the faintest hint of moonlight even in shadow.

There was a trail. Walking slowly, Ronan swung their hands between them.

"This is all part of the property, technically."

Adam was magnetized by everything about Ronan. Those sweet kisses made his heart pound.

As they walked, he grinned to himself, stealing glances often over at Ronan. Everything about him was magical. He shone in the moonlight, eyes silver from reflected moonlight.

The trail made him curious, and he was very happy to explore his property, to find out how far it went. "This is nice."

"Yeah," Ronan agreed, watching Adam, not wanting to take his eyes from him.

The path was lovely. Overgrown weeds and wildflowers, the crunch of stones and dirt beneath their shoes.

"I love it out here. It's quiet. It's untouched." Ronan finally looked down at his feet, at the way the stones brightened with the moonlight. "It's not like the rest of the world."

"Have you ever seen the rest of the world?" Adam asked, squinting suspiciously at Ronan. He'd gotten the impression that Ronan had never left the house.

Adam desperately wanted to see the rest of the world. And yet, he'd never been happier than in this moment, walking through the woods on his own property with his boyfriend.

His heart thudded, and he felt like he was soaring. It had never been like this with Blue. Every inch of Adam's skin felt electric.

Ronan snorted, giving Adam a look. "I've been a few places. Not the whole rest of the world, but places." Like the convenience store. Traveling with Niall, on the occasion when he allowed Ronan and his wife to tag along on business.

"I've been to a few cities. Not in a long time, though. I don't like them. Too crowded."

Being in close quarters to people wasn't Ronan's favorite thing. Adam... was a different story.

"You didn't want to travel with your friends?" He asked his question in a soft voice.

"No." Adam shrugged. "Not with them. Not like that. I love them, but they're kind of... very lively, and all together, and I'd just feel--again, and even more--like I didn't belong."

He gave Ronan's hand a squeeze. "I'd like to see Paris, I think. Ireland. Iceland. Tibet. Would you consider coming with me, one day?"

Traveling around the world wasn't really something Ronan cared about. His dreams were mainly to settle down and live happily, maybe with some farm animals and a thick garden. Dreams that had always seemed too impossible to achieve. With Adam, they seemed possible.

And with Adam, he'd travel, if that was what Adam wanted. Ronan would follow Adam no matter where he went.

It was too embarrassing to admit that. So he shrugged, "Sure. I'd like to see Ireland. I'm Irish, or supposed to be. Why Paris?" He cocked his head. "You gonna stand there and gape at the Eiffel Tower?"

"My..." Adam ducked his head, brow creasing with pain. "My mom had a framed print of the Eiffel Tower in the kitchen. At dawn, dark gray against a pink and orange sky. I promised myself that one day I'd go there. That's all I wanted for so long. To go there. To get far, far away from this town."

He stopped, tugging Ronan close and sliding his arms around Ronan's waist, resting his head against Ronan's shoulder. "Now that I can have anything, I'm starting to realize what it is that I actually want in life."

It was interesting, how they were so different in how they dealt with their pain. Ronan couldn't leave the house that his father had dreamed. Adam couldn't get away from his father's house fast enough. But their demons were very, very different.

Adam tugged Ronan close and Ronan's heart began to sputter again. Pressing one hand against the back of Adam's hand, he laid the other to rest on his back. Warm. Adam was warm.

"To travel?"

"No. Well, yes. But I told you already. A home of my own. People who care about me. Enough food and money to be comfortable. A hot boyfriend."

Adam smiled and kissed the side of Ronan's throat. "What I want is to stay here. And be yours. And have our house, and our garden, and be happy together. Traveling once or twice a year would be nice, but most of all I want to have a home. With you."

Jesus Christ, Adam was unfair. Those were the sort of words that made Ronan's knees go weak, not that he'd ever admit it. It was everything he ever wanted. A family.

"You're not fair," he muttered, closing his eyes and holding onto Adam tight. It was still hard to believe that Adam wanted to be with him. The thought almost made his chest hurt.

Unable to keep that match from burning up everything, Ronan tugged Adam's chin up so he could plant a hot, wanting kiss on his mouth.

Adam moaned into the kiss, hugging possessively tight to his boyfriend. He refused to ever let go. His desire for Ronan burned inside him, making him yearn like he never had before. He wanted Ronan more than he'd ever known he could want. It was an urgent, maddening feeling, but it was also so soothing and warm, making him feel safe.

His tongue flicked against Ronan's mouth, greedy and also wanting to give all of himself, to be possessed utterly by his lover.

The feeling of tongue flicking against his lips made Ronan's cock throb. Opening his mouth, he welcomed Adam in, returning the gesture by tentatively reaching out with his own tongue. Teasing it over Adam's front teeth and meeting his tongue.

It was too hard to keep complete control. His nails sharpened as he lost his grip but he didn't even notice; they were like the beginnings of claws or talons, curling gently against Adam's back as he held fast.

Adam gasped softly at the feeling of claws against his back, reminded again that Ronan was something else, something more. Magic, monster, demon.

Adam wanted him. He opened his mouth wider, kissing Ronan like he was starved for him, moaning shamelessly into Ronan's mouth as they kissed. His Ronan. His boyfriend. Finally, finally he had someone who was his.

Everything charged him more and more. It was like electricity. The sound of Adam moaning into his mouth, the feeling of it. His body responded, starved for affection. Starved for Adam. His cock continued to ache and his blood boiled.

Ronan only broke the kiss when he felt hi, forearms beginning to ripple with a small trail of glossy feathers, starting from the wrist and working up to his elbows. Shit. Panting, lips red and swollen and eyes unfocused, he swallowed thickly. Adam was addictive. It was bad. It was good.

Slowly, Ronan licked his lips. The taste of his boyfriend was still strong on them. His boyfriend. The thought alone threatened to unravel him.

"Let's... let's head back," he finally managed to say, eyes still lingering on Adam's lips.

Adam felt a tickling something against his back, against where those arms were wrapped around him. He turned as the kiss broke, wanting to know, and saw a shadow of feathers before they vanished again. Fascinated, he skimmed his fingertips down Ronan's arm, curious and admiring.

"Okay," he said, kissing Ronan's cheek with a smile. "Any thoughts on the lock yet? I'm incredibly curious."

Ronan was relieved that he'd caught it before Adam had a real chance to see. Fingers slid down his forearms but they were clear again—it was a little baffling, however, that Adam wasn't disgusted. The touches were more... inquisitive.

"No," he said, giving Adam a look. "I've been distracted. By you." His mock-stern expression broke into a stupid grin. "I don't mind this kind of distraction."

Threading their fingers back together, Ronan lead the way back to the house. It was dark and quiet when they got back.

"So, pizza?"

"I very much enjoy distracting you," Adam said. He swung their hands lightly as they walked, enjoying the simple pleasure of a moonlit walk with his boyfriend.

As he glanced over to admire Ronan again, he got a glimpse of Ronan's tattoo. All at once, he knew. The tattoo of a monster on Ronan's back with feathers and claws. And Ronan was a monster with feathers and claws. It was impossible that the tattoo could be unrelated or representative of anything but Ronan. The coincidence was too implausible.

His grip tightened for a moment on Ronan's hand, looking up at the leaves as he tried to reconstruct the memory of what he'd seen in the full tattoo.

"Yeah," he agreed, flipping on a light and stealing a kiss. "Pizza." Letting go, he went to the kitchen to put a frozen pizza in the oven.

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