“How much longer is Constable Corinth going to be watching them?” Branson asked.
“I only had Corinth on you today as a precaution,” Lars-Higgs replied. “I’ll keep a patrolman posted outside your apartment building for a couple of days, just to see if there’s any unusual activity. But after speaking at length with Mr. Paxton, it sounds like he took great care in bringing Jeuel and Trei here.”
Lars-Higgs spoke directly to the omegas. “You both came here to start a new life, not to keep looking over your shoulders. Please, don’t feel as if you need to be overly cautious, or that you can’t leave Branson’s apartment. Just be aware.”
“I’m pretty familiar with that life,” Trei said, head angled to the side, not looking the elder alpha in the eyes. “When I mated Paul, he had a lot of rules about where I could go, the people I could talk to. He said it was for my safety, and the safety of our future children.” He wrapped his arms around his middle. “I never imagined my only friends in the world would end up being Jeuel and Dario.”
“I think judging by my house today,” Papa said, “you’re going to have more friends than you know how to entertain. And Jeuel, Brandt there has a beta son about your age. I’m sure you and Gaige will meet at some point.”
Jeuel smiled but didn’t seem sure what to say.
“Well, I don’t want to hold up the proceedings any longer,” Lars-Higgs said. “I genuinely hope you boys enjoy living in Sansbury and all of the amenities we offer. Counselors.” The burly constable nodded in a polite circle, and then he strode out of the office. Branson wasn’t sure he’d ever seen the man walk; he strode.
The paperwork didn’t take long to sign, and copies were made for all parties. Branson stepped outside the meeting room with Papa, so Paxton could say goodbye to his clients in private. Owen Paxton had certainly seemed to take this case and these clients personally, and Branson was glad. It made him less of a lawyer and more of a human being.
Papa’s firm never lacked for work or clients, so the place was a flurry of activity when Trei and Jeuel emerged. Still, Papa gave them a brief tour of their floor, including a brief hello in Tarius’s office, which overflowed with case files, legal indices and court handbooks, and Tarius was conferring with two other junior paralegals when their paths crossed.
After a quick trip to a nearby grocery store for additional snacks and toiletries that his new roommates had forgotten to pack, Branson finally headed home. Branson remained aware of their surroundings on the walk through the parking garage to the elevators. They were the only three in the car going up. Branson couldn’t help feeling a little self-conscious of his small apartment when he finally unlocked the door.
If Uty had been a wealthy criminal, they were probably used to a big house, fancy food, expensive clothes…not a dim, nine-hundred-square-foot apartment with one bathroom, basement laundry, and a tricky bathtub faucet. “I’d take you on a tour,” Branson said, shutting and locking the door behind them. “But it’s all pretty visible from here. That door’s the bathroom, and to the left is the bedroom. You can put your suitcases in there for now.”
He deposited two grocery bags in the kitchen, then joined them in the bedroom, which was slightly more cramped with the additional dresser. “That one is for you guys. You can split the drawers up however you want. That dresser has my and Tarius’s stuff. The closet, too, but you can store big stuff in the bottom,like your suitcases. Um, it’s only for two more weeks, until we move into our bigger place.”
“You didn’t have to get us a dresser,” Jeuel said.
“It feels like the least I could do. Give you a little spot for your stuff, since I can’t really give you much of a private space yet. I mean, you guys can close the door at night, if you want, of course.”
Trei shook his head, confused. “Close the door?”
“Yes, you and Jeuel are going to sleep in here until we move. You guys can share the bed.”
“We can’t do that.” Trei looked genuinely horrified, as if Branson had suggested they all shed their clothes and run around the block naked. “You and Tarius are newlyweds. You need your privacy.”
Branson tried to put all the reassurance he could into his smile. “It’s really fine. The sofa is a pull-out. We can survive on that for two weeks.”
“But Branson, you’renewlyweds.”
The silent part of Trei’s statement finally tapped Branson on the side of the head. Trei probably assumed that, as newlyweds, Branson and Tarius were fucking every night, doing all the sexy things that most couples did on their honeymoon. And that Trei cared so much was incredibly sweet.
“It is truly not an issue,” Branson said. “Tarius and I don’t…our intimacy isn’t dependent on, uh, sex. You guys will not be cock-blocking us by taking the bedroom.”
Trei and Jeuel shared that familiar, between-siblings look that communicated something without words. “Forgive me,” Trei stammered, “but I’ve never, um, heard of a marriage without, you know, sex. Isn’t that what couples are supposed to do? Consummate the mating? Uh, marriage?”
Something dark and protective reared up in Branson. He didn’t know Trei’s history or what his life had been like beforeor after mating Paul Alder, only that the Alder family had been Traditionalists. Knowing that was enough to fill in so many blanks about what Paul had expected from his mate. “I don’t believe there’s anything a couple issupposed to doexcept love each other, and to respect each other. Sure, sex is a big thing for a lot of couples, maybe most couples, but not for all. Tarius and I are…well, we’re built a little different. And it’s perfectly normal. Just less common.”
“It’s normal to not like sex?” Trei’s tone wasn’t accusatory or disgusted. He sounded curious, bordering on surprised.
“Sure. And it’s okay if this is confusing. I never understood how normal it was until Tarius first explained it to me. It has nothing to do with trauma or inexperience, it’s how we feel inside. The word for it is asexual. It’s a lack of sexual attraction to others. But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel other attraction. I am emotionally and aesthetically attracted to Tarius, and I love him dearly.”
“And Tarius feels the same way about you?”
“He does. We don’t need sex to express our love to each other. We show it in other ways that are meaningful to us.”
“Huh.” Trei seemed to fold in on himself, much as he’d done first thing this morning, so Branson didn’t want to push any further on the topic.
“I’ll let you guys unpack, okay?” Branson headed for the door. “Help yourselves to any of the food and beverages in the kitchen. I’ll show you how the cable works later.” He scooted out without waiting for a response, needing a small measure of space after that conversation.
This was the first time he’d told anyone other than Tarius about being asexual. He was pretty sure he’d explained it right, and he seemed to have given Trei food for thought. Without more information about Trei’s relationship with Paul, it wasdifficult to guess. But he’d been honest with his new brothers. He truly hoped it helped them both be honest with him.
