"Aunty!" Ethan grabbed Edwin's hand and dragged his twin to greet Mari and Hank.
She gushed as she tugged on her husband's arm "Hank, look! There's really two of them!"
"Aunty, Uncle. Thank you for coming."
Hank smiled at him, thanks to Mari, he too had grown quite fond of Ethan "Of course. You look very good Ethan."
He beamed proudly at the pair "This is my twin, Edwin. He is a singer."
Introductions were made, pleasantries were exchanged. Mari's dissatisfaction with her husband increased a little.
Ethan looked towards the entrance "Is Lein not coming?"
"Oh..." Mari followed his gaze "...he should be here now. He went to park the car and get your gift." She straightened his collar "Go and greet your other guests now. We can talk later."
He nodded eagerly and dragged Edwin away.
"If only you didn't get that vasectomy behind my back..." She sighed wistfully.
Hank looked away like he hadn't heard a thing, those were dark days in their marriage, but he didn't regret going that far. "We should find our seats."
Ethan's next stop was Xavier and Yul and then, back to their seats. It was a pity that Edith hadn't been found yet, or perhaps she didn't want to be. He really did wish his older sister were here.
Gavin offered a quick greeting to the couple, explaining that Curtis couldn't be present because of his pregnancy, but he sent his regards and a gift.
Ethan was introduced to Elaine and her parents. Honestly, he was surprised Alexei had other family besides Xavier and Jason. He never spoke about anyone.
Lein finally showed up, offered his congratulations and was seated with Gavin and his parents.
Everything was going pretty smoothly, that was until Jason showed up with a random person hanging off his arm.
Seeing Ethan's displeased expression, Alexei quickly explained it was the child of a professor they were currently working with and doing a favour by finding a suitable partner for him.
"Why did he have to bring him here?"
"It's not anything malicious…" he whispered back "…they can't even be friends. He's a little bit too much for Jay."
Ethan glanced at Lein, who didn't have much of a reaction to the matter. If his friend didn't mind it, then there was no point in getting upset. He let it go.
The rest of the reception continued with a hitch.
"I'm so jealous..." Gavin grumbled as he watched the happy couple gush over each other "...I want to go back in time and give the old me a proper beating."
"I hear ya..." Lein stole another covert glance at Jason and the person clinging to him "…I could really use a drink right now."
"Should we?"
Lein sprang out of his chair without saying another word, grateful for the offer, and went to inform his parents. Mari was in a deep conversion with the members of Crushed Diamond and Hank was with Yul. He signaled to Gavin and together, they made a quiet exit.
"Careful not to crush the glass." Xavier said softly to Jason "Brooding at such a happy event is unbecoming of you."
He set the glass on the table with a hum and tried to lighten his mood.
Lein was curled up in the copilot of Gavin's car, weeping. He broke down as soon as he left the hall. Whatever miniscule hope he had been nursing was completely stomped out.
Gavin didn't try to comfort him as he too, was on the verge of tears. He couldn't lie to himself anymore, Curtis was leaving. He knew well that there was nothing he could do to stop him. Neither their daughter nor his mark would keep Curtis next to him.
For the pair, watching Alexei and Ethan was like ripping open their wounds and pouring salt over it. It was like a blaring reminder of what they had destroyed.
It was too much.
"Do you think if we went on ours knees and begged pathetically, they would take us back?" Gavin asked with a tone full of self-mockery.
Somehow, Lein managed a bitter laugh "If that were an option, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be here right now."
Gavin agreed. If it was begging, he had done that. He begged, pleaded, cried and made promises but Curtis did not budge. He tried to give him everything and anything, but the man wanted nothing from him. "Are we really getting them?" he tapped the back of his head against the driver's seat lightly "Drinks?"
Sobriety is a difficult road, one made even more difficult when consequences came with a heart crushing emotional burden.
"Just drinks, right?" Lein sniffled, wiping away the snot with a sleeve.
"Just drinks."
And that's what they did… They checked into a room, ordered a bunch of drinks, drank, lamented their situations, cried and drank some more.
It was almost noon when Lein made it home the next day. His parents weren't home, so he had a few moments to himself. He showered, changed into clean clothes and buried himself in his bed. He scrolled through the messages on his phone. A few from his parents telling him to be careful while out; some from other students asking why he didn't show up, he didn't even know there was something to show up for; a message full of concern from Ethan asking if he was okay, that one got a reply. He quickly typed in an apology for leaving without saying anything and he would make it up to him the next time he stopped at the cafe.
The rest weren't of much interest to him. There was definitely nothing from Jason but there was one from Henry. He wanted to ignore it, actually, he did until he caught sight of the diffuser from the corner of his eye. He felt a little upset, so he replied to him, saying it was fine for them to have dinner later.
He stared at the ceiling. He was all cried out and exhausted, he curled up and fell into a deep sleep.
"Hey..." Caleb slid into a chair at Henry's table "...you come here every day. Do you like the coffee that much?"
"I see you here every day too."
At this point, Caleb was basically a permanent fixture at Marielle's, not that he had anything to do there. He just thought it was fun, getting to ruffle Kim, chat with Mari and send Jason unsolicited updates about his ex-boyfriend. He had the time. "Well, that's because I'm really good buddies with Kim over there." He waved at Kim at the counter.
The other subtly flipped him off and turned away.
"It doesn't look that way."
"Trust me, we're very close. He's just shy."
He glanced at Kim, still full of disbelief "If you say so."
"So?"
Henry became a little timid "Lein is…" he smiled sheepishly "…normally, don't people stop at their boyfriend's place when they can?"
Caleb laughed hard and loudly "That's funny. Seriously?" he wiped away an invisible tear.
"Yes. We've been seeing each other for two weeks now."
Caleb's mirth vanished. His attitude, frigid "What?"
Henry leaned away from Caleb, and for a minute, he thought he was going to be attacked.
Caleb glared at Kim "What a shitty dragon..." He mumbled as he left Henry's table. His fingers furiously typing a message to Jason on his phone.
"What's with your phone's endless ringing?" Elaine asked.
"Caleb." Jason flipped it over with a frown "He's trying to stir shit up like usual."
"Did he find the dealer?"
"No. It's nothing."
"That kid you handed off to me…" She nodded, crossing her legs as she leaned back into her seat "…don't ever do that again. I don't have the time to play babysitter."
"We thought you two would hit it off."
"Screw you." She turned her focus back to the discussion at hand. This time, both Gavin and Alexei were in attendance, together with Seth, the five were deciding the fate of certain actors under Blue Star ENT. "This is a really big name."
"The public is going to hate me if I go after this." Seth lamented but he had no intention of backing down. he shuddered "So many hate messages…"
"His contract has expired, we have nothing to do with him anymore..." Gavin explained "...a lot went into cleaning up his mess in the past."
"Well, you would know a lot about that..." Elaine commented under her breath but everyone heard her.
"Can you not do this right now?" Jason intervened immediately "There's too much to do and too little time."
"Just cut all of them off. All three of them are nuisances."
Everyone agreed but it was easier said than done.
"It can't be at the same time. It would be better to take hold of the weakest one and have him drag the other two into the mud."
Seth tsked, disappointed "Honestly, after working so hard to get to the top, only to end up caught up in dirty business..."
Alexei tapped a finger on the table impatiently "I can't believe I have to-"
"Look…" Elaine interjected before he could vocalize yet another complaint "…you do me a favour, and I return in kind. You're a businessman, you should understand these things."
He glanced at Jason "This isn't a favour, this is something your office is meant to do."
"Enough." Jason cut in before the two could start another argument. Really, why were the two always butting heads?
Mari eyed her son, she buried her disapproval and disappointment, but still she was of the opinion that what he was doing was wrong "Are you going out with him again?"
"Yea, to the movies."
"Rose..."
"Ma..." He forced a smile "... we're just going to watch a movie and have dinner. It's not that serious."
"For you..." She mumbled "…I know you're sad but doing this is just you punishing yourself and stringing someone innocent along. You're not hurting-" She fell silent when her husband shot her a stern look.
"Your mother is right, your attitude is wrong."
Lein was tired, he gave a half-hearted reply before leaving with Henry.
The rest of the night was hazy.
He didn't know what they watched, where they ate or where they were going. He snapped out of his reverie when Henry tried to kiss him "Don't." He turned his face away.
"Do you…" Henry wore an embittered expression "…do you even want to be here?"
Lein swept a hand through his hair "Sorry, I can't... I don't think I can give you what you want."
"Then you should have just said so. You could have given my feelings a little consideration, you know."
"Look, I'm sorry. I was a bit in the dumps when I agreed to go out with you. That's all on me." He dismissed Henry's complaint with a hand wave.
"You know, this is really unfair. It kind of sucks. You…" he rubbed his forehead "..you can be such a terrible person sometimes. Did you even stop to think maybe this attitude of yours is why everyone keeps trying to screw you over?"
Lein froze, he had shared his story at group sessions but to hear it brought up at such a setting was a little...
Henry sighed heavily "You really don't care about anyone else, do you? "
"You're right, I don't. Why should I?" He turned around, ready to leave but he changed his mind "I remember you're the one who kept badgering me..."
Henry, feeling suddenly overwhelmed, stepping back as Lein approached him.
"Were you hoping I'd live at your mercy because of my shitty past?" Lein stopped his approach.
"I never said that. I just meant you could be more considerate when dealing with others."
"And I think you're fucking pathetic." Satisfied with having had his say, he walked away, choosing to take the public bus back rather than order a ride. Perhaps, it was time to quit group therapy.
He was exhausted.
A few hours ago, news broke that a certain alpha actor was under investigation for the use of Rush II. He was currently under fire for an incident that put an omega in the hospital. The prosecution and drug enforcement had their claws and fangs deep in the case and it was all every news station wanted to talk about.
Ethan was invested, not because he had any fondness for the persons involved but because he knew Alexei had stake in Blue Star ENT.
"Is this going to be a problem for you?"
Alexei lowered the volume on TV "Are you scared that I'll lose too much money and won't be able to take care of you?"
Ethan eyed him "I guess it's not a problem for you if you can joke about it." He felt his husband's chest vibrate from laughter. "Look at this..." He proudly displayed his phone screen "…Crushed Diamond got a brand deal."
It wasn't anything he didn't already know. The apparel brand was not anything big, they were suitable for the up and coming band. The band had the makings of instant success, especially if Edwin decided to sell his story but they didn't seem interested in taking that route. He had to admit it wasn't necessarily a bad choice, it just made the path longer. He looked down at Ethan's proud expression. "Baby..." He massaged his waist tenderly "...do you know how many businesses I hold stake in except Hanzel?"
Ethan nodded and began to count off each company on his fingers. Since their wedding reception, he had taken it upon himself to learn more about Alexei's work life. He didn't understand much but Irene helped him.
Alexei was impressed "You know a lot about your husband."
"Yes."
Alexei looked at him expectantly, waiting for Ethan to understand why he brought it up, but he was bound to be disappointed because Ethan clearly had no clue what he was thinking. Crushed Diamond was bound to not have any help from him, it seemed "Baby, what exactly am I to you?"
The question puzzled him, he furrowed his brows "My husband? What... What are you talking about?"
Alexei smiled and patted his butt "I just wanted to be sure that you knew."
He pursed his lips "You're being weird."
"I was just thinking I've never seen you dressed like that." He gestured to the phone screen.
Ethan narrowed his gaze. Alexei was definitely thinking something perverted.
He was right.
A few days later, he found a new outfit had been picked out for him. At this point, he had accrued quite the collection. This time, it was a brightly coloured wig, knee-high high platform leather boots, an unbelievably tight micro mini leather skirt and a cropped plaid shirt.
"Don't you think you're taking it too far?"
Alexei was amused "This is a complete set of clothes, not like the other ones."
"A skirt?" he picked the piece apart "A wig?"
"Shorts are a hassle to put on and take off, we can just roll up the skirt. Look how thoughtful your husband is."
He rolled his eyes and tossed the wig on to the bed "Good, then you can wear it yourself."
"Oh?" He sauntered to Ethan's side "Were you worried that I'll feel left out? Don't worry, next time I'll get a set for myself too."
"Why are you undressing me?" Ethan squirmed with all the might he could muster but Alexei was determined to strip him down "Seriously, let me go!"
Alexei dragged him on to the bed "Just put it on."
"No!" He squealed but the squealing, kicking and fruitless efforts to escape went on for a good while before he gave up "Fine!" He said after catching his breath "I'll put it on, just stop. My sides hurt."
"Really? Sorry." He quickly rolled off him "Baby, are you okay?"
Ethan gasped "I'm fine."
"You sure?"
"Jeez, I said I'm fine." He gathered the clothes and made way to the bathroom.
"You should change here."
Ethan threw him a dirty look.
"Baby, those cold eyes of yours really do make me tremble." He said just before the door was slammed shut.
Once again, Ethan could not believe he was doing this. Was it that, at the end of the day they were actually both perverts? He glanced at his reflection. He placed a hand over his exposed midriff as he inspected his reflection, at least it wasn't a piece of fabric wrapped around his body or oddly designed briefs.
He adjusted the skirt as he returned to the bedroom.
"Amazing! Baby, you look gorgeous." He quickly opened his phone's camera and began to take pictures.
"What are you doing?" He asked with a frown.
"For the future, what if you never dress like this again?" He took a few more pictures, tossed the phone aside and beckoned to him enthusiastically "Come here."
Ethan cautiously walked over to stand between his legs. He let out a light gasp when he felt Alexei's hands slither up his thighs and cup his butt.
"I think I really like skirts..."
Lein had been feeling off lately.
His body was heavy and he was constantly restless. He had trouble sleeping and when he did, he was plagued with… colourful dreams that left him a shameful mess in the mornings. Even worse, the subject of those dreams was a man he could no longer see. It left him in a daze.
His mind was foggy and just full of... Jason.
It was weird.
This morning was the worst of all. After he staggered out of bed and quickly cleaned up yet another mess. He spent a long time in the shower, fondling himself for a considerably long time before his head cleared up. Mari had to remind him several times to put on a pheromone patch. The first time, he had forgotten about it but the latter times, he actually had it on, maybe pheromones were leaking out. He wasn't sure.
He dropped his cup several times during breakfast and broke a plate. He almost got into a minor crash on his way to the meeting with his groupmates. No matter how hard he tried, he just could not bring his mind to focus. He took leave halfway through the meeting, his original intention was to go home but he suddenly veered off course and headed straight to Jason's place.
Honestly, he didn't even know what he was doing. He wasn't certain if the man would be home on a weekend, or was it a weekday today? He couldn't say.
Like every other time, he was let in without any resistance. He could feel his body heat up and grow weaker by the second as he impatiently watched the numbers on the indicator change. With a ding the elevator doors opened up.
He dragged himself to the door, leaning heavily against it for support before his knees fully gave way. A weak trembling hand pressed the doorbell "Jay..." He whimpered, his throat felt dry and itchy "...it hurts all over." He wasn't sure if he actually made a sound.
His ears were ringing.
He licked his lips to moisten them before he swallowed, hoping to ease the ache before he could try again "Jay..."
The door swung open and he tumbled into a chest.
His restlessness calmed when he was swallowed by the sea.
Lein had his heat for the first time in months, and it hit him like a vengeful storm.