“Right.”
“Not a one.”
A corner of Theodore’s mouth was perking up.“You’re so bad at this.”
The clasp was done, but Peter kept fiddling with it.“Am I?You can teach me how to do it better.”
“How to shut up?You want me to teach you how to shut up?”
“Ah.No.That wouldn’t do.It would be such a bother not to hear your voice.”
Theodore’s cheeks darkened.“Oh, shut up.”
“I thought that was what I was doing.”
“It really wasn’t.”
Laurette moaned.“I’m sorry to interrupt this delightful foreplay of yours, but we should go.But if you two are amenable, I’d love to watch you some more.You know, doing that.Once we’re done with the rescue mission.”
“No, thank you,” Theodore said, and Peter could only nod, slide his hand under the heavy cloak, and rest it on his beloved’s hip.
Laurette sighed.“Whatever.Follow me.”
Chapter 19
Thebackgardenwasa lot less wild than the front, but from what Theo could see, Laurette really loved his winding garden paths.They crossed between beds where flowers grew among tomato plants and herbs, and smooth stones of varying sizes were piled up or arranged in spiraling patterns amid the greenery.It wasn’t your average kind of garden, not by a long shot.
They quickly arrived in the center of a patch of lawn.It wasn’t big—a rough square of maybe three steps on each side.In the center of it, mushrooms grew in a circle.
“Huh.”Theo wondered if they were edible or deadly.
“Your abode is made more convenient by this,” Cloudtree said as he shouldered into the circle, followed by Gertrude.“I did not know there was a path to the human plane that was so well located.”
Laurette stepped in as well.“That’s the point.”He looked at Theo.“Okay, last chance to stay behind and plan a dramatic reunion.”
Theo shook his head.“No, thank you.”
Peter had the audacity to growl, and the hand he’d been resting on Theo’s hip tightened possessively.Theo knew he was about to sayTheodoreand possibly—worse—pleasewith that warm timbre in his voice again, and Theo just couldn’t.
He wiggled out of Peter’s hold and stepped over the mushrooms, followed by a shifted Carl, whose fluffy hair made it difficult to resist the urge to pet him.
“Very well.”Peter followed last.He then looked at Theo.It was a soul-searching kind of look, and it was scary.
Not because Theo thought Peter was going to do anything to stop him.No, the issue with Peter was that he was too nice, and he made it by far too easy for Theo to just…give in.
Theo had given in once before already, and that had gone so badly.There were many things he didn’t remember from his time with Bernard, but that wasn’t true about the early days.Bernard had complimented his eyes once and then brushed a soft kiss over Theo’s lips.Theo remembered how that had felt, how long he’d kept the memory of that single moment like a treasure and proof of Bernard’s feelings for him.
It scared him now.He should’ve run then.He didn’t know why something like a simple compliment and the smallest bit of affection had worked like an emotional stun gun on him then, but he didn’t want it to happen again.
I know Peter isn’t like that.I know it not because he told me, but because he showed me.Celeste told me that’s what matters.Never what comes out of a person’s mouth, but how they treat you, and Peter has never treated me badly.
Theo’s eyes widened, and while he heard Laurette say something, it barely registered with him.Celeste had given him everything he needed to know.Don’t ever trust what comes out of a person’s mouth, pay attention to how they treat you.
Peter could’ve given him a confession of love every day.Bernard had said it often enough, and he had meant no part of it.It didn’t matter what Peter had said.Theo balled his right hand into a fist while pushing down a bundle of emotions he didn't want to have to examine too closely and promising himself that he’d forget what Peter had confessed, wouldn’t put any stock in it.He wouldn’t let himself be influenced by it.
All that matters is that what we have now is good.He’s nice.He likes my company.He’s weird with the lunches and the way he makes sure I can get all my studying done and with driving me to school, but I shouldn’t read into that.I like him, a lot, and that’s fine.That’s all it is.That’s all it is.That’s all it is…
Theo repeated that thought a few more times while also doing his best to convince himself that the way they had met had made him more attached to Peter than he normally would’ve been, and the same was likely true for Peter.
