All that made sense to Tarius, and it calmed some of his anger. “Wanting answers for your brothers isn’t stupid, it’s kind. But you weren’t coerced or forced by this boyfriend?”
“No, I wasn’t. It was just…bland. I mean, it felt good, I guess, but it also felt like a lot of work for, like, five seconds of an orgasm, you know?”
“I do, actually. When you live in a world obsessed with sex, especially when the narrative is focused so heavily on alpha and omega stuff, it’s impossible to just exist as a person. As an asexual beta who wants an emotional connection, a partner who understands them, but who knows life is bigger than where you stick your dick.”
“That’s exactly it. There’s no one else in my life who really gets it. I mean, I know Gaven or Rei would listen, and they’d try to understand, but they’re alphas. They love their mates, and they’ve gone through heats. I bet if I asked them if they could happily live with their mates the rest of their lives without sex, they’d say no.”
Tarius understood that dilemma all too well, even with two beta brothers. Maybe if their omegin had lived longer, Tarius might have confided in him about his confusion. But that hadn’t been their path. Omegin died when Tarius was sixteen, after a brief illness, and then all he, Aven and Demir could do for two years was survive their sire’s grief and anger.
Everything had turned out amazing in the end, but Tarius would have loved knowing what asexual meant when he was Branson’s age.
“Gaven and Rei would say no because that’s their experience,” Tarius said. “What about you?”
Branson blinked. “What about me what?”
“Beyond the attraction part, are you physically interested in the act of sex?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I wake up with wood sometimes, and I jerk off, because it feels good, but…” He chewed on his lower lip. “It’s not something I need to share with another person. Like, if we were kissing and I blasted off, okay, that’s biology, but it’s not like I…” He blushed and looked at his lap.
“This is a safe space, Bran. Finish your thought.”
“It’s not like I’d ever drag you into my bedroom with the full intention of, you know, fucking. I mean…there are way more fun things to do.”
Tarius laughed. “Agreed. Which is why I’m glad we can talk about this. All aspects of it. Even the embarrassing parts. That’s what best friends do, right?”
“Yeah.” Branson tilted his head, so adorably shy. “What about boyfriends?”
His heart kicked with joy. “Really?”
“Well, yeah. Best friends don’t usually kiss each other, right? I’ve never kissed a best friend like that. I’ve never kissed anyone like that.”
“To be fair, your best friends are related to you.”
“True. Doesn’t answer my question.”
“About being boyfriends?” Tarius’s heart thudded against his ribs. “On a scale of one to ten, how sad is it that I’ve never had an actual boyfriend in my life?”
“Well…I think we can give you grace for the first, oh, seventeen years of your life.”
“Beta brat.” Tarius knuckled Branson in the shoulder. “I’m scared I’ll shock my sire into a heart attack if I bring home a boyfriend half my age.”
“Less than half. Our age difference is smaller than Isa and Liam, actually.”
“True.” A lifetime ago, when Tarius’s sire had met his second bondmate Liam, Tarius and Liam had been the same age by a few months. It had been incredibly weird for a while, but Liam had never once tried to parent any of Isa Higgs’s three grown children. He’d been a friend. And Tarius had seen how much Dad loved Liam. Then they’d all loved Liam’s newborn son Layne.
And then Linus. Sweet, determined, wounded Linus.
“Hey, if it’s too soon to talk about being boyfriends, it’s okay,” Branson said. “Kissing a lot doesn’t have to mean?—”
Tarius pressed his finger to Branson’s lips. “Hush. I’m not saying no, it’s just not something I’ve ever done before. Had a boyfriend. But best friends definitely don’t kiss each other like we did. There are a lot of labels for people who do, and I think boyfriend is a good one. Right?”
“Yes. And I am so freaking glad my parents know you and adore your family, or I have a weird feeling my omegin would be uptight about me dating someone not that much younger than him.”
“I guess ‘not that much’ is in the eye of the beholder, but I do get your point. I respect your parents so much, Branson. Especially Kell and everything he’s done for omega rights. I doubt Sansbury would have allowed marriages between bonded pairs and betas, if not for Kell’s work. Demir’s happiness with Brandt and Oliver means so much to me.”
“I know. And I suspect the new triad law means a lot to many more people we care about.”
Tarius nodded. He wasn’t very familiar with the suspected beta triad of Morgyn Danvers, Jaxson Jenks and Symon Lee, who’d lived together for several years, and who many suspected were a kind of throuple. But whatever the trio was? Not his business, as long as they were happy.
