“Uhm, Qui?”
The hint of worry in Milo’s voice dragged Quirion from admiring his back, his hair tousled because Milo tended to comb his hands through it when he was concentrating, and his gorgeous silhouette. Milo was looking out of the window, which meant whatever had put the worry in his tone was out there.
“What is it,min Liechtbrunn?” The endearment was flowing from his lips more and more frequently.
“Am I squinting or is there a second toad in the moat?”
“What?” In an instant, Quirion was next to Milo. And yes, there was a second toad in the moat. It was approaching Mildred with slow, careful movements as if to not spook her. Or preventher from eating the newcomer, who was considerably smaller and would have fit into her mouth. Was mouth the correct term? Perhaps gills, because she was water-dwelling? Or jaws, though that didn’t sound right either.A problem for another day! Focus on the present!
The new toad was now close enough for Mildred to end this unexpected visit once and for all, but all she did was close her eyes for a moment. The new toad made a croaking sound they could hear through the glass, then it maneuvered very carefully and very slowly around Mildred until it reached her back, where it proceeded to climb on her.
“I think it’s safe to say that, yes, Mildred is a girl, and that she’s having a lover over.” Milo’s tone was laced with amusement, which Quirion didn’t understand. He felt oddly angry about this…thismalegetting close tohisMildred.
“I think he’s not good enough for her. Look how drab his brown looks.”
Milo chuckled. “Yeah, his brown is pretty boring. Mildred doesn’t seem to mind, though.”
Fascinated, they watched the male clambering on Mildred’s back, where he then closed his front legs around her as far as he could reach. Mildred remained motionless for a moment, seemingly thinking this whole endeavor through. Quirion was starting to get his hopes up that she would get rid of the impertinent male on her back any second now—which would serve him right, who did he think he was, just coming out of nowhere, making advances on sweet, innocent Mildred—but then she hopped, a little awkwardly, forward, to the part of the moat she had been digging in. From the window, they could barely see what was going on and despite being weirdly angry on Mildred’s behalf, Quirion also didn’t want to invade her privacy. It was a difficult conundrum, one Milo solved by craning his neck and giving a running commentary.
“I think she’s started to lay her eggs. She just moved to the side, and I saw something like a string of beads between her hind legs. Guess she’s a lot like the toads on Earth. Sammy’s going to love hearing that. She’s moving around, no doubt trying to get the egg strings to cling to whatever debris or plants you have in the moat. Oh my, are there any plants in there? What are the tadpoles going to eat? We’ll have to look into that. Anyway, she’s moving around, and that stupid male is just sitting there, clinging to her like a limpet. Really, he’s just so useless.”
“I guess it’s too late trying to get rid of him?”
“Definitely. This is happening. Mildred is becoming a mom.”
“She’s too young!” Quirion just couldn’t see her as a parent.
“I hate to point this out, but we don’t really know how old she is. She was already here when you moved in, remember? Could be very well she’s in her prime to have little tadpoles. That male certainly seems to think so.”
“What does he know? He’s come out of nowhere, not knowing the situation, not even trying to get more closely acquainted with Mildred before…before…before tainting her!”
Milo chuckled and turned around, looking up at Quirion. “It’s okay, Qui. She’s a big girl.” He lifted his hand and gently stroked Quirion’s cheek.
Time seemed to stop.
Technically, Quirion knew this was impossible. Time could be slowed and sped up, under the right circumstances in the right environment by the right demon, but never ever could it be stopped. Magic might be able to create small bubbles in which a piece of time got trapped, but that was like scooping water from a river with a normal drinking glass—irrelevant in the greater picture and ultimately useless.
But something happened, something profound, because Milo’s touch ignited all kinds of things inside him, things that had been simmering for a long time now, things he had first triedto deny, then accepted without acting on them, and now they wanted out. Without thinking further about it, without his usual analyzing and probing and pondering, Quirion bent forward to press his lips to Milo’s sweet, sweet mouth.
Milo froze for the shortest of moments, then a sigh ghosted over his lips which then became pliant, inviting Quirion in. It wasn’t a moment of mad lust, no frantic kissing and fumbling to get rid of clothes, no mindless groping to satisfy a carnal urge. No, this was, like everything else about and with Milo, perfection. They calmly explored what this new sensation between them was, how it felt in their bodies, how it changed things between them. Slowly, carefully, Quirion put his arms around Milo, changing the parameters again, creating a new situation which Milo added to by snuggling against Quirion’s front, practically melting into him. It felt nice. More than nice. It felt right. Something Quirion knew in his bones. They kept on kissing, for how long, Quirion didn’t know. Time might not have stopped, but it certainly had lost its meaning. Finally, Milo leaned back a bit in his embrace.
“Uh, I guess it’s safe to say me wanting you isn’t one-sided.” There was a hint of red in his cheeks, complementing the deep color of his kiss-swollen lips.
“It never was. I just didn’t think I should act on it. I’m old and set in my ways. You’re young and more flexible.”
“Pfft, the way I see it, you’re so experienced in everything, how can you want someone like me?”
Quirion didn’t like the vulnerable tone in Milo’s voice. No, not at all.
“Milo, in case you haven’t noticed, you’re the only one I want. I can tolerate no one else in my inner sanctum, at least not for prolonged amounts of time. You, on the other hand, you I don’t want to let go.”
“Good to know, because I don’t want to go.”
They looked at each other, a deep understanding passing between them. Quirion nodded toward the couch on the far side of his study. Before he led Milo there, they glanced outside once more, only to see that the male toad had left. Mildred was sitting in her usual spot, though she was facing away from them, no doubt keeping an eye on her eggs.
“I still think he wasn’t right for her.” Quirion couldn’t suppress the words.
“Me neither, but he’s gone. We won’t have to deal with him anymore.”
