When Ezra left the family, he lost the family wealth—if he hadn’t found early success in his career, things would have been dire. As it was, he still struggled—he went from vast generational wealth to working for a living, and things were tough for a while. He needed a lot of help adjusting, and was grateful that Dr. Royal was there to smack his head and point out his early mistakes. He learned really quickly that he needed help with finances, and he hired an accountant to take over for him when it came to his savings and taxes. He even had a retirement fund.
Raum shifted, sleepily running his nearest arm over the bed as if searching for something, and he found Ezra and wrapped that arm around his hip, snuggling in, pressing a kiss to his side and humming in satisfaction.
“Good morning,” Raum grumbled, curling into Ezra and hugging him close.
Ezra grinned, and he brushed a few strands of hair back from Raum’s face, loving the silky glide of the honey-golden brown hair. Up close, Raum’s hair had myriad blond and brown shades, leaning toward the lighter hues on the top of his head and darker browns near the nape of his neck. Ezra ran his fingers through Raum’s hair, loving the purring hum that came from the larger man.
“Good morning,” Ezra said, continuing to pet Raum, delighted by the warmth of him and the softness of his hair. He would love to stay in bed all morning and do nothing but snuggle but he needed to get back to Lilith.
“You need to go?” Raum asked, eyes closed, lips pressed to Ezra’s hip, as if reading his mind.
“Are you reading my mind?” Ezra asked, suspicious but not upset. Some fae species were telepathic. It was possible.
Raum blinked up at him, a faint wince on his handsome features. He looked barely awake. “Not really?”
“Huh. I was guessing. How do you not really read someone’s mind?”
“I’m an empath.” Raum paused. “I sensed the urgency you’re feeling, likely because you want to get back to Lilith.”
Ezra stared down at Raum, stunned speechless. “Really?” he squeaked out.
Raum nodded, a bit wary. “My ability is on all the time, and is harder to control when I’m…doing certain things, or I’m just waking up. I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?” Ezra asked, genuinely curious. He’d never met an empath, to his knowledge at least, and that Raum didn’t tell him earlier wasn’t an issue. Fae peoples were secretive by necessity, especially with humans, as humans had a long history of killing fae peoples for greedy, baseless reasons.
“I was reading your emotions and what you were feeling without your permission.” Raum sighed, looking guilty. “Humans don’t like it.”
“It doesn’t bother me at all,” Ezra said, telling the truth. Raum could sense his emotions and know what he was feeling at any given time—Ezra had so much trouble sometimes with other people because he had difficulty communicating, emotions included. “Please use that ability with me.”
Raum frowned and scooted up in bed, hair falling over his broad shoulders. “You want me to read you?”
Ezra nodded eagerly. “Yes, please. Do you know how amazing that is for me? I’m autistic, and even after years of interacting with people, I put my foot in my mouth more oftenthan not, piss people off, hurt feelings, and give people the wrong impression about me, all without meaning to—having someone who can sense what I meant to say or do, my intent, that’s so freeing.”
Ezra turned to face Raum, reaching out and taking his hands. “I’m not asking for a free pass for bad behavior—I’m saying that you don’t need to shield yourself from me. I have nothing to hide, and I want you to know what I’m feeling. If you want to, that is.”
Raum stared at him, taking in his expression, and Ezra felt a little shiver in the air, a faint tingle of magic—and Raum grinned at him, wide and happy. “You mean that.”
Ezra nodded. “Yes.”
He wanted to hug Raum, and when Raum let go of his hands and opened his arms, Ezra dived into them, hugging Raum hard. “Thank you for telling me.”
“Thank you for not freaking out at me.”
Ezra grinned. “Anytime.”
He knew exactly what it felt like to be ostracized for being different, and he would never treat Raum like that, ever.
Raum
He drove Ezra home,thankful he’d left his car at home and that he didn’t have to call Ezra a rideshare.
Ezra sat in the passenger seat, idly playing with Raum’s right hand, stroking his fingers, distracting him a bit, but he managed to keep his attention on the road and off his lover’s touch as they headed toward the university hospital.
It was late in the morning, and Raum was grateful he’d already had his few classes that week, and he wasn’t expected anywhere that day except for office hours that evening. His mind was too absorbed in Ezra and the night they’d had together for him to focus on anything else.
Ezra was highly responsive, vocal, demanding, and he emoted so readily that Raum had read him like a book the night before, delighting in the responses from the other man as Raum took him apart piece by piece. He wanted more.
This man was intelligent, fearless, brave, and interesting, as far from boring as a person could get, and they had shared interests in history and magic. They were compatible in so many ways.
