Silver and Gold - 13. Chapter 13

By the time they finished their trek across the city in memory of Brody, Feldspar, Silver and Yago were exhausted. Silver collapsed on Yago’s couch and ripped his shoes off with a miserable whine. Yago flopped onto a stool at the bar, moaning at the relief of getting off his hooves. Feldspar sank gracefully down onto the couch next to Silver without so much as a wince.

“I hate you. Nobody should be this fit. You’re not even tired,” Silver said. Feldspar laughed and lifted Silver’s feet into his lap to examine his blisters.

“Don’t be jealous, sweetheart. At least this way I can take care of you.” He began massaging one of Silver’s feet, earning a deep groan of appreciation from him.

Yago pretended to gag. “Stop being cute, please, unless you’re planning to give me a massage too.”

Feldspar couldn’t help looking skeptically at Yago’s goat-like legs and hooves. He didn’t even know where to properly start massaging a faun.

“Fat chance. Feldspar’s hands are mine for at least an hour.” Silver said. He turned on the TV and flicked through the shows he had saved.

Yago groaned when he saw the reality show Silver had chosen. “Not this again. Do you know how heavenly it has been to have a break from your taste in entertainment?”

Silver laughed and waved Yago off. “You live for the drama and you know it. I’ve been waiting months to catch up.”

Yago tossed his hair out of his eyes and stroked one of his curling horns. “Real-life drama, not this poor imitation! I’ve also been waiting months to catch up. You owe me an update.”

“No way man.” Silver sniped. Feldspar glanced up curiously at the note of embarrassment in Silver’s voice. Yago grinned wickedly at Silver’s dismayed expression. “Be cool, man. Maybe another time.”

Yago shook his head vehemently. “You owe me an update.”

“Dude… can we not?”

“What have I missed? What’s the deal with the Lord and his human pet? Did the scary one decide to off her, or is she terrorizing someone else now?”

Feldspar snorted. Yago could only be referring to Daniella as the Lord’s pet, which wasn’t the most flattering description but wasn’t entirely inaccurate. “The scary one” had to be Gneiss, who definitely considered eliminating Dani once or twice, and was absolutely scary as fuck.

Silver’s eyes were wide and his cheeks were beet red. Yago saw Silver’s mortification and continued with a mischievous grin. “Have there been any developments with that one faery… what did you call him again?”

“Yago, don’t you dare.” Silver’s voice had risen considerably in pitch.

“Was it… Goldicocks?”

Silver went white and then flushed bright red. “Um…” his eyes slid guiltily to Feldspar. “It was one time!”

“Honey, please. You and Brody came up with the name when you were trashed, but it definitely stuck. One time… you never shut up about him last time you were here.” he rolled his eyes at Feldspar, who couldn’t help grinning as he began to understand what Yago was talking about. “Now spill. You know I need to keep up with my stories. You haven’t been updating me and I need my fix of Woods gossip.”

“Yago, shut up… you’re gonna make me look like such a loser,” Silver said, crossing his arms over his face so tightly Feldspar wondered if he could even breathe.

Feldspar chuckled. He’d been caught red-handed, and Feldspar was going to have fun with it. “Sweetheart, it sounds like Yago has been very patient. Do tell him the latest on all of us.”

Silver groaned from behind his hands. “This isn’t happening.”

“Wait a minute,” Yago said, looking between them. “Is he Goldicocks?”

Silver’s groans of distress rose an octave in pitch. “No…?”

“Oh that’s delicious. He is! The one and only, most pined after, hottest faery in the Wood?” He studied Feldspar for a moment and nodded. “I should have seen it yesterday. Blonde, tan, built, and sweet, just like Silver said all the times he was moaning over how you didn’t know he existed, and he was going to be alone forever.” He brushed his hair out of his eyes and rested a hand on his horn again as he cocked his head at Silver. “How was it not a code red alert to the group text when you bagged him?”

“Gah! Shut up, Yago,” Silver lifted his beet red face to shout before burying it again. “You’re the worst,” he mumbled. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you guys. I knew you wouldn’t be able to play it cool.”

“Goldicocks?” Feldspar chuckled.

“Can I just die now?”

“And deny me what promises to be one of the most entertaining conversations of my life? I think not,” Feldspar said.

“I second that! You can die after you give me the hot goss,” Yago said, tugging on one of his curling, black horns in glee.

“So you were talking about me to your friends?”

“Stop fishing, you already know I cried over you last time I was in Paris. Mystery solved, nothing more to see here.” Silver peeked through his fingers at Feldspar, narrowing his eyes briefly in ineffectual threat.

“Really? Maybe I want to hear that story from Yago directly. You’re quite red for someone who has nothing to hide.”

“Yago, I swear, if you tell him anything I will kill you and put you through the meat grinder at Liam’s butcher shop. And you,” he pointed at Feldspar, “stop asking questions.”

Yago winked at Feldspar and they both broke into laughter. Silver lifted his head, trying and failing to look stern. “Great, you’re already both conspiring against me. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours.”

“Fine, fine,” Yago said, wiping the tear tracks from his face. “I’ll only say that I’m very glad to see you two together, because I don’t think I can take another summer of moping from this one here.” Silver groaned and threw his head back. “And also, you’re even more built than his description — a very detailed description I might add.” More groans from Silver. “He got your eyes down pat, though. Quite striking and sweet.”

“Is that so? I wonder how accurate the rest of what he said about me was,” Feldspar said, giving Silver a teasing look. Silver missed it completely as he hid behind his hands.

“We would need to be much, much better acquainted for me to judge that.” Yago said, his naturally raspy voice growing fractionally rougher, clearly enjoying teasing his friend. “Which I would not say no to. But I will say that the Goldicocks name had something to do with being not too big, not too small, but jusssssst right.”

“Yago, you’re killing me. I’m literally dead right now. Congratulations, you have another funeral to plan.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll stop. For now. You do owe me the update on the rest of the Wood. And then you must tell me how the two of you became an item.” He crossed one hoof over his knee and propped his head in one hand, absently stroking a horn as he waited.

Silver sighed dramatically. He peeked at Feldspar and tried ineffectually to scowl at him. Feldspar smiled, and the light of his adoration melted Silver’s mortification immediately. Despite himself, Silver felt a tiny smile threatening to overtake his expression. He covered his eyes again, drew in a deep breath, and launched into an exhaustive accounting of all the goings on in the Wood.

Feldspar listened, bemused. Silver apparently kept tabs on everyone’s relationships better than he had ever let on, and that talent had led to all their lives serving as entertainment for his Parisian roommates. Yago clearly had particular favorites, asking after specific faeries and whether they’d gotten together or broken up, and who was feuding with who, and whether Silver had stabbed the chef yet. As Silver warmed to sharing the stories he’d collected, he darted quick, sheepish looks Feldspar’s way. Feldspar just laughed and raised an eyebrow. The fact that Silver was a closet gossip of colossal proportions was the best fodder for teasing he’d gotten in a long time. He was enjoying it immensely.

Just when it seemed like Yago’s appetite for gossip had finally been quenched, he turned to Feldspar. “Well Goldie, now that I’m caught up on all my stories I need to ask you one question. How and when did this goof get the moves to pull you?”

Silver threw a throw pillow at Yago and let out a few good-natured curses. Feldspar chuckled and turned adoring eyes on Silver. Silver started to protest and sputter, but Feldspar cut him off with a gesture.

Then he told the story.

Silver had never heard Feldspar tell their story before. The memories Feldspar shared were all familiar, though inverted. The way Feldspar told it, he was the one who had felt awkward and inept around the much more worldly Silver. It was he who fretted over his missteps and gaffes, always convinced Silver would realize how much cooler he was. Silver’s eyes burned when Feldspar grew serious, crediting him with pulling him out his depression and giving him the confidence to expect better from his friends. Throughout the story Yago kept his silence, listening with rapt sincerity.

Silver marveled at the way Feldspar talked about one of the worst times of his life, as if it meant nothing now. He was unburdened, turning frequently to see Silver’s reaction to his telling of their story. Silver’s cheeks ached from smiling at Feldspar’s self-deprecating stories. Underneath it all he understood what Feldspar was telling him. He never needed to be embarrassed in front of Feldspar. In Feldspar’s eyes, he was everything.

“Babe…” Silver whispered, his eyes softening. He sat up and kissed him tenderly, smiling as they parted. Feldspar held his gaze, warm and content as a cat in a puddle of sunshine.

“Yes, yes, very sweet.” Yago said, yawning. “So what’s the probability of a threesome with the Lord, or maybe another with the mean one — Gneiss was it? Would be hot. Inquiring minds want to know what’s going to be on the next season of Sex in the Wood.”

“YAGO! This is why I never tell you anything!”

******

After another spirited round of bickering Silver had prevailed on the choice of TV programs. Feldspar tried valiantly to block out the insipid reality show, pouring his focus into massaging Silver’s feet. He had to agree with Yago about how appalling Silver’s taste in TV was. By the time the reality show had ended, Silver had fallen asleep. Yago said goodnight, mercifully turning the infernal device off on his way out of the room.

That left Silver contemplating how exactly to transport Silver from the couch to his bed. He doubted he could carry Silver without straining his back unless he threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He smiled at the image. It wasn’t exactly the romantic transition to bed he’d like after a long, hard day.

Feldspar placed Silver’s feet on the floor gently and shifted to lean over him. Silver frowned in his sleep at the change in position and then settled deeper into slumber. Feldspar kissed his temple, then his cheek. He grunted and his eyelids fluttered. Feldspar cajoled him gently until Silver stood with a groan. Feldspar supported him as he hassled him gently toward the bedroom. With enough coaxing he got Silver to agree to a shower. He stood under the water in a nearly catatonic state, hands limp at his sides as he stared blankly ahead. When Feldspar realized Silver was too tired to do anything more than stand under the steaming hot spray he stepped in and did the job for him. Any other day a warm, wet, naked and pliable Silver would have been very tempting. Instead Feldspar bathed him and got him into bed efficiently and chastely.

Feldspar was awakened at 3:00 a.m. He was lying on his stomach, one knee bent so he could keep a foot outside the covers. Silver was a superheated heavy blanket, lying half on top of him. His breath brushed the hair at the nape of Feldspar’s neck, tickling him. His fingers wandered up and down Feldspar’s back, his touch clumsy and slow with sleep. Each time Silver’s hand ventured a little lower and soon Feldspar was arching into the touch.

“Mmmm,” Silver groaned. He rolled his hips, his hardening member pressing into Feldspar’s hip.

Feldspar shifted his legs to give Silver better access and was instantly rewarded as his hand brushed over his balls. Maddening light touches scattered over his balls and inner thighs. Feldspar rubbed himself against the bed, helpless against Silver’s teasing touches.

He flipped over and Silver immediately rolled on top of him, kissing him hard. Their cocks lined up perfectly, trapped between their bodies in delicious heat and friction.

“Need you,” Silver whispered against his lips.

“Me too.”

Feldspar reached toward the nightstand, realizing only when his hand met empty air that they weren’t in either of their bedrooms. They were in the flat in Paris, where there wasn’t a bedside table, let alone the necessities stored inside. He groaned in irritation, and Silver shook with silent laughter.

He spit on his hand and gripped their cocks together. Silver arched into his hand with a quiet groan of pleasure. Feldspar panted with the effort of keeping his strokes measured. Every few beats he found himself fighting the urge to pump Silver wildly, to hurtle recklessly toward the end. Driving Silver wild with the slow pace was worth it. Soon Silver was keening continuously, his eyelids squeezed shut and his nostrils flaring with the intensity of riding the edge of orgasm.

Feldspar loosened his fist. He wanted to feel Silver’s skin pressing against his, to go breathless from kissing, to hear him cry out in ecstasy. He wanted it all, and he wanted it immediately. As he loosened his grip Silver pumped into his hand, chasing him. Feldspar kissed him passionately and rolled his hips in response, urging Silver to set the pace.

“Got you, babe,” Silver mumbled. He replaced Feldspar’s hand with his own and began stroking them together. Soon they were lost in each other, neither able nor willing to slow the pace of their frantic pleasure.

Feldspar felt himself being pulled inexorably higher and higher. “Silver!” he cried, arching into Silver’s hand helplessly. Every muscle strained as the maelstrom of pleasure took him and Feldspar submitted to it, too tired to hold out any longer.

Silver let out an unintelligible groan against Feldspar’s neck and joined him, their seeds mixing together in a mess on Feldspar’s stomach and chest. The only sound in the room was their harsh panting as their bodies calmed. Silver pressed a kiss to Feldspar’s lips and reached over the side of the bed. He groped around until he found a pair of boxers to wipe up their mess, then collapsed back on top of Feldspar.

Silver burrowed against Feldspar, nudging his arms and legs until he had turned Feldspar into a comfortable pillow. It reminded Feldspar of the way dogs would turn circles in their beds, pawing and circling until their sleeping spot was perfect. Once he was satisfied, Silver melted bonelessly into Feldspar with a contented sigh.

Feldspar glanced at the clock. Only twenty minutes had passed. If he fell back asleep immediately, he still had a chance of feeling well-rested in the morning. He closed his eyes. He waited. He opened them again. Feldspar sighed. The orgasm and snuggly faery should have put him right out. Instead he felt even more awake.

As he lay still, trying to will himself back to sleep, a thought began to niggle at him.

Feldspar weighed whether he should ask the question that was keeping him from sleep. It was the middle of the night and it wasn’t really that important. He told himself sternly he was confident enough to not ask. He knew Silver cared for him. Then again… what if he’d completely misread how Silver saw their relationship. Was that possible? Oh, stars. He’d done it with Mal. He’d believed that eventually Mal would fall in love with him when it had been no more than friendship with a side of sex to Mal. He’d been lying to himself for years. Could he really have gotten much smarter in the span of months since Mal had broken up with him?

Shit. There was no way he was falling asleep now. Feldspar heaved out a long sigh. Silver nuzzled his chest and settled heavily against him. He needed sleep and more importantly, he needed to stop letting a stupid, insecure thought drive him mad.

“Silver?”

“MMmmmfff.”

"Love?"

"Yahhhhh?"

“Why don’t you call me by my name?” He hoped he sounded more curious than insecure. Names were intimate. Only his closest friends used his full name. The shortened “Fel” he’d been allowing Silver’s friends to use still felt daring to him. He had waited a respectful amount of time to start using Silver’s name, wanting to make sure Silver knew he cared for him. He couldn’t understand what it meant that Silver didn’t feel comfortable using his name.

“Doesn’t suit you,” Silver mumbled, his voice muffled against Feldspar’s neck.

Feldspar laughed at the absurdity of the statement. It was his name, of course it suited him. “Why does it not suit me?”

Silver rolled off of him and propped himself up on one elbow to look at Feldspar. He seemed to debate what to say and the silence stretched for several long breaths. Feldspar rolled onto his side, trying to make out Silver’s expression in the dim room. The longer the silence continued, the harder Feldspar’s heart pounded.

“Did you know that Feldspar minerals are the most common mineral group in the world?”

“Sure?” Feldspar said in a tone that conveyed he absolutely had never thought about it.

“They’re so common that humans mine them extensively with the understanding that the natural supply will always far outstrip demand. They’re ground up to make crockery and used in industrial manufacturing. They’re some of the most common rocks there are.”

Feldspar frowned. It wasn’t the worst comparison really. He was certainly strong and durable, and in his blackest moods he would have said he was about as worthless as a pile of rocks.

“That’s not you.”

Feldspar felt heat crawling up his face. How did that not describe him? He wasn’t clever and vicious like Gneiss. He wasn’t powerful like Mal. He wasn’t smart like Daniella. He wasn’t a survivor like Nephrite. He wasn’t well traveled and talented like Silver. He had always been muscle for fighting and fucking.

“It’s not not me.”

“Trust me, it’s not. I wish you could see yourself the way I do. Everything with you is more. Forget the fact that you come from this world of like… high magic and intrigue and battles for the fate of your people —“

“You come from that world too.”

Silver laughed. “Nah dude, not like you do. You, Mal and Gneiss have main character energy. The three of you literally had responsibility for saving your people, and you did. You’re the reason why any of us are alive. Me on the other hand, I’m a super regular dude who likes to cook and hang with friends. It’s your guys’ world, I just live in it.”

Feldspar didn’t look convinced.

“Never mind, that wasn’t even my main point. You always say you’re only good for your body and it’s so backwards. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love that you’re protective and strong. You look like you’re cut from marble —“

“With the way you feed me I won’t look this way for long.”

“Well good. You could use some more meat on you. And stop interrupting. As I was saying, you don’t give yourself enough credit.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Did you know you’re like, ridiculously fun to hang out with? If you’re at a party, I can literally tell where you are based on who sounds like they’re having the most fun. You’ve got this ability to take whatever someone has and make it more. Cooking, or taking a walk, hanging out at the beach, swimming…. It doesn’t matter what we do. It’s always, always fun. I know a lot of faeries don’t take you seriously because they think you’re just a party boy, but you have this whole other side of you that’s tenacious and focused. You worked so hard at learning to cook and never took shortcuts. You love to be challenged and you give one hundred percent to everything. Plus, yeah, your body is ridiculously bangable and you’re probably going to give me a heart attack in bed someday. You would have to be blind to not know that I love you. You’re not feldspar to me. You’re Gold.”

Feldspar wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand and swallowed a few times, trying to clear his throat. “I love you too,” he said, his voice choked.

“I know, babe. You’ve been so good to me this whole trip. Don’t think I don’t know how brave you are for not only coming with me, but trying to take care of me and protect me this whole time. I’ve been barely functional, and the only reason I’ve been coping at all is that I have you with me.”

Silver settled back onto Feldspar’s chest and the two faeries lay together quietly as Silver’s words sank in. “So to sum up, you won’t use my name because you don’t like it, not because you don’t love me.”

Silver chuckled quietly. “Yeah, I guess that sounds stupid to a faery, doesn’t it. Just know, Feldspar, that when I say your name, I don’t mean feldspar. I mean gold. Now go to sleep. It’s late as hell.”

“You’re the one who woke me up.” Feldspar yawned extravagantly and burrowed under the covers. Hearing his name on Silver’s lips filled him with so much bliss he knew he skin couldn't contain it. He felt like he needed to run ten miles to expend all the joy within him. At the same time he never wanted to leave the bed and Silver’s arms. Silver nudged him onto his side so he could spoon up against Feldspar’s back and pull him tight against him. Feldspar smiled and intertwined his fingers with Silver’s, settling their clasped hands over his heart, and in the span of a breath he was asleep.