Bed of Wild Roses

There are wolves all around us.“ Sayphon whispered, inching closer to Tyrus. “And I think they’re coming closer.”

“I know.” Tyrus whispered back, shivering in the cold wind. They had walked through the woods all day, stumbling up and down hills and valleys and in the evening, when the ligh of the fun had begun to fade, had taken shelter in a small cave.
They had no idea how far they had walked, but the stinging smell of the burnt village still hung in the air, still followed their each and every step. Another howl made them huddle even closer together.
“I’m scared.” Tyrus said quietly to himself, wishing they had made a small fire after all. A fire would have helped to keep the wolves away.

An eternity seemed to pass while they sat together in the dark, trying to hide in their cloaks as they listened to the wolves creeping closer and closer, their soft, almost inaudible footsteps drawing neared and nearer, till they were directly in front of the cave.

“They are here.” Sayphon whispered, clutching the bow and the arrows he had taken along to his chest. “And I have only fie arrows.” Five arrows would not be enough. He had listened intently to the howling and counted the soft steps of paws and he knew that there were at least seven wolves. Seven wolves, five arrows and only one way out of the cave. The bow shook dangerously on his hands as the first pair of glowing, yellow eyes peered inside.

“Look,” Tyrus cried suddenly, pointing to something outside. Yowling and whining the wolves retreated, heads bowed towards the earth as they sluni back. A magnificent, white stag, its fur as cold and beautiful as the moonlight. With wide eyes Sayphon and Tyrus watched it, watched as it herded the wolves back into the cover of the trees. They sat in their cave, holding each other, afraid to go to sleep, afraid that the stag might vanish if they closed their eyes. After a while, however, both boys finally fell asleep.


~***~


Sayphon was the first to wake and, for just a moment, sat motionlessly on the cold floor of the cave, blinking against the bright light of the morning sun that shone into the cave. Tyrus was snoring softly beside him and the wolves and the fright of the night seemed like a nightmare, a bad dream, that was already beginning to fade.
After a short breakfast of old bread and dried berries they cautiously left the cave, staring in wonder at the story the snow outside told them. The wolves had indeed been more than a bad dream. Layer upon layer of paw prints filled the clearing in front of the cave. But there was one set of tracks that lay upon all of the wolves’ paw prints. Sayphon and Tyrus looked at each other and, without speaking a word, knew what they had to do. They had to follow the tracks of the white stag.


~***~


Sayphon and Tyrus had been walking for a very long time, had, in fact, almost been walking the whole morning, when they suddenly lost the track of the stag. They were standing on top of a hill, that seemed to them almost as high as a mountain. The woods lay beneath them, spread out at their feet and rested again, eating and sleeping while they could.

Finally, as the sun set, painting the skies in reds and golds, a strange song filled the air. A tune, more clear and pure than everything Sayphon and Tyrus had ever heard. They stood mesmerised, unable to move as the unknown, strange words of the song spoke to them.

A hushed whisper fell over the clearing as the song ended.
“Look!” Sayphon pointed at the end of the clearing. “Over there!”

“The well…”

For a moment they stared at the well, at the glittering pool of blue water. A silver shimmer appeared in the watery pool, growing into the shape of a doorway that seemed to reach out to them. With a last look at the snowy world around them the two boys stepped through the doorway.

“Okay.” Sean slammed his pencil down, jumping up. “This isn’t working.” He announced as he strode into the living room. “I was lying. I was lying my fucking ass off and I changed my mind. I want to know. Now.”

Karl nodded at him from the sofa, setting the book he had been reading aside. “I was expecting you to change your mind.”

Sean blinked, deflating as his anger was suddenly drained from him. “Really?” He frowned. “You were?”

Karl simply smiled. Jeans rustled as he crossed the room, stopping right in front of Karl. “You said you didn’t want to know. That you wouldn’t like the answer anyway.”

Sean crossed his arms in front of his chest. “And back then I meant it.”

“And now you’ve changed your mind.”

“Yes, damn it!” Sean stepped closer to Karl. They were now as close as they could be without actually touching. Once again he found himself drowning in Karl’s sad, hazel eyes. “Why?” He croaked, clearing his throat. “Why did you say that you could never kiss me?”

“Because.” Karl sighed, tears shimmering in his eyes as he took a step backwards. Sean hated each and every centimeter of that step. Every millimeter. “We’re not meant to be stay in your world.” Karl continued. “Well,” he gestured at himself, “Not in this shape anyway.”

“So.” Sean started to reach out but was stopped by the pained look in Karl’s eyes. His hand hung awkwardly in the air between them. “In which shape could you stay?”

“In my real one.” Karl whispered. “But only in the shadows. Only on the fringes of your life. We were never meant to truly be a part of your world. Or at least not of the world that you humans see and acknowledge.”

“Why? Why keep yourself separate? What happens if you don’t?”

“Shakespeare.”

“Okay….” Sean said slowly, blinking owlishly. “Did I really just hear… Shakespeare?”

“Yes, you did.”

Sean frowned. Where was the mischievous twinkle in Karl’s eyes coming from all of a sudden? “Shakespeare happened because some fairies stayed in the human world too long?”

“Sean.” Karl shook his head. “Have you never wondered who the supposedly beautiful, unnamed young man to whom Shakespeare dedicated some of his sonnets was?”

“Uh…no.” Sean raised his eyebrows. “I can’t say that I have.”

“But you have read a Midsummer Night’s Dream?”

“Yes, but… oh. Okay.” Sean nodded. “I see. Oberon and Titania.”

“Well.” Karl was grinning openly now. “That’s the part dear old William didn’t really get right.”

“Ah.” Sean cleared his throat, inwardly yelling at himself to think quicker. How had the conversation managed to slip away from him that quickly? And why did it have to slip into the twilight zone? “No Oberon and Titania then?”

“No.” Karl shook his head, still grinning. “But something like them.”

“Which still doesn’t explain why you are forced to keep your distance.” He paused, hesitating for a heartbeat. “Why you aren’t allowed to kiss me.”

“But the witch hunts do.”

“The… oh god.” Sean stared helplessly at Karl; at the desolation on the other man’s face. “That really explains… Karl, I’m sorry… I…”

“Yeah.” Karl smiled bitterly. “Most people who know are.”

“And,” Sean gulped audibly, “I mean… how would the other fairies know if you broke the rules?” He looked around, checking the windows and doorways. “Are they watching us?”

“No.” Karl said darkly. “But trust me they would know. They always do.”

A shiver ran down Sean’s spine. “They always do?” He repeated incredulously. “Somehow that doesn’t sound as though everything in the fairy realm is all flowers and butterflies.”

“It is to some extent.” Karl said. Sean watched silently as Karl turned and walked to one of the living room windows. He seemed lost in his thoughts as he looked outside, watching something Sean could not see. Sean shivered. Or someone.

“Everything has a light and a dark side.” Karl continued suddenly, “Your world does.” He turned, fixing Karl with an inscrutable look. “Why shouldn’t mine?”

“I don’t know. Um,” Sean started towards the kitchen, “Tea? I mean… I really need some. Do you…”

“Yes.” Karl smiled softly at him, a hint of the desolation and loneliness that had marred his face only minutes earlier still on his face. “I’d like a cup of tea.”


~***~


Sean sighed quietly, cradling the hot mug of Ceylon in his hands. Warmth was slowly seeping into his fingers, leaving a soft, prickling tingle. It was almost exactly like the tingle he experienced whenever he touched Karl’s bare skin. The only thing that was different, was missing, was the excitement, the longing.

Karl had claimed the first mug of tea and vanished back into the living room without another word and was now standing at the window again, looking intently out at the garden.
His posture was somewhat slumped and he seemed lost to Sean. Karl looked like someone who knew that he was exactly where he was supposed to be, but not exactly sure of what he was supposed to do there. Or why he had to do it.

Sean slowly crossed the room, taking care not to spill his tea. His carpet had suffered enough over the years, there was no reason to add yet another stain. Karl did not turn around, not even when Sean came to stand right behind him, leaning forward till their shoulders touched.
It was strange. He studied their reflection in the window, the way they were leaning into each other’s personal space, enjoying the silence together.

It was strange how right this felt; how easily he had grown used to Karl and how well the other man fit into his life. Especially sine his experience with men was almost completely limited to his teenage years and early twenties. He had found love with Abigail and even though he had still looked from time to time, had still allowed himself to appreciate the physical pull of other men if the opportunity presented itself, he had never allowed himself to act on his desires. Until now. Until Karl.
Except that he was still keeping his desires in check. Was still reining himself in, was holding himself back, out of respect and consideration for Karl. Fuck. His eyes widened, but he was not really seeing anything, was instead staring blindly at the window and the darkened world behind it. He was in love. Completely, utterly and totally in love. Oh god. And if tomorrow did not work out the way he hoped it would, then he would also be very lonely in love. Oh hell.

What? He looked up, jostled out of his thoughts by a touch on his arm. Karl was looking at him, a gentle smile on his lips and an unspoken question in his eyes as their eyes met in the window. Sean shook his head almost imperceptibly, wrapping his arms around Karl’s waist and resting his head against Karl’s shoulder. He did not really feel like talking. All he wanted right now was for things to remain exactly like they were. Which was impossible. He looked up, nodding his approval as Karl gestured towards the sofa.


~***~


Sean sighed contentedly, cracking an eye open. He was comfortable, way more comfortable than he had been for a very long time. They had settled down on the sofa, pulling the table closer to be able to put their tea mugs down. This time they had immediately settled down together instead of starting out on different ends of the sofa.

Sean smiled, downing the last drops of his tea. This was really the perfect ending for a perfect day. Well, almost perfect at least. He really could have done without losing Evie and without the hassle at the zoo entrance. And Karl’s excursion into the woods and his admission of the kissing problem.

“Sean?” Karl asked suddenly, taking Sean’s empty mug and setting it down on the table.

“Mh-hm?”

“That story you’re working on…”

“What about it?”

“Are you getting somewhere with it? I mean… do you think you’ll finish it?”

“I think I will.” Sean said, absentmindedly running his fingers over Karl’s thigh.” You know,” he grinned, trying to get his right leg into a more comfortable position, “I had this idea for the epilogue…”

“Which idea?”

Hm. Sean shifted back against Karl, propping his feet up on the arm rest. He had to think of something and he had to do it quickly. Ten syllables. Or eleven. It really should not be too difficult.

“I though I might attempt to write a poem,” he said slowly, still thinking furiously, “A song of rhyme and reason that should show the happy end they do indeed deserve.”

“Sean?”

“What is it that you wish to know, my friend?” Sean asked innocently. He could feel Karl frown down at him.

“You’re speaking in iambic pentameters.”

“Yep.” Sean grinned. “Isn’t it great?” He relaxed back against Karl, relishing in the way the other man’s laughter vibrated against his back. “You know,” Sean said after a while. Forcing himself to speak normally again, “I really have a good feeling about the story.” He chuckled heartily. “And it’s probably very good that I fired Viggo. He wouldn’t have liked the source of inspiration for my dragon. At all.”

They lapsed into silence again, watching quietly as the moon slowly journeyed from one corner of the window to the other.
“So….” Sean said finally. Damn. His mouth was dry. Uncomfortably so. “Bed?”

“Good idea.” Karl yawned. “I’m tired. And you probably didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Yes, but…” Sean trailed off again, shifting uncomfortably. Fuck. Now or never. If he chickened out now he might never get another chance. By tomorrow it could all be over. “No, I meant,” he started again, glad that he was sitting between Karl’s legs and leaning back against the other man; glad that he did not have to look at the other man while asking, “Would you,” he hesitated again, clearing his throat, “Would you share my bed tonight?”

“Sean…” Karl gasped audibly. “I…”

“Please?” Sean said softly, drawing Karl’s hands onto his stomach and covering them with his own. “You’re leaving tomorrow. This is the last night we have and,” he gulped, trying in vain to swallow the painful lump in his throat, “And I’d really like to hold you tonight.”

He waited with baited breath, hoping for a positive answer. God. He shivered. It had been ages since he had willingly opened himself up that much; had actually wanted to state his feelings that clearly.

“Okay.” Karl whispered after what seemed like an eternity, squeezing Sean’s hands. “I’ll come with you.”

Sean smiled, letting go of the breath he had been holding. Karl had said yes. He had said yes! Oh god. This was even better than that one Christmas when Evie had taken the time to make all the main characters from his latest novel out of coloured cardboard. Dazed he stood up, his heartbeat echoing in his ears as Karl took his hand and led him towards the stairs.