Brothers - 63. Chapter 63

JASON

A mattress lay sideways on the large bed frame, a purchase made on their way home from the tailor. The neko stared at it in frustration, trying to figure out how to make it fit. Pushing against the heavy mattress, he let out a hiss as it moved a centimetre before jamming again.

Jason had convinced Richard to let him keep working on the house until dark, with the hope that he and Devyn could spend the night at the house after the dance.

He glanced out the window, taking in the late afternoon lighting. Jason figured he had half an hour at best before Devyn showed up after work, and he wanted to make sure anything left was easy to do as a wolf.

Which meant this mattress had to be in place.

Crawling onto the bed, Jason heaved at the mattress, tumbling backward as it leapt across the bed frame. He caught himself with a grunt, and attacked the giant bed again.

Finally it fell into place, and the neko collapsed on top of the mattress, panting heavily. Having Richard and Patrick head home to enjoy some time alone had seemed like such a good idea. But now that he was stuck handling the house on his own, Jason wasn’t so sure.

A sudden rustle made his ears twitch. Jason slid off the bed, creeping toward the open window. Someone was creeping around the house, a low voice hissing quietly.

“Dude, someone’s living here!”

“Nonsense, the house has been empty for ages. Come on, the back door is unlocked. No one will see us from the bedroom.”

“Come on, even I can smell the pigeon roast-”

The neko’s ears flattened. That was definitely Connor’s voice. What the human was doing here was beyond him. Were they trying to rob the house? No, he refused to believe Connor would do that.

“Well we can’t do it at my place. My dad would kill me if he found out. So if you want your side of the deal, it’s here or nothing.”

Sticking his head out the window, Jason saw Connor hugging the wall, next to a dark skinned man. The neko whistled sharply, and the two startled, staring wide eyed at Jason.

“Shit, when did the cat move in?” the other man hissed.

“Don’t call him a cat. He doesn’t like that,” Connor frowned. “What are you doing here, Dogmeat?”

Jason motioned toward the door with a sigh. He moved back into the house, hurrying toward the front door. Stepping out of the small porch, the neko looked around, frowning at the sight of the stranger leaping over the neighbour’s fence. Connor was nowhere to be seen.

He went back inside with a grunt, leaving the door unlocked for Devyn. Returning to the bedroom, Jason began sorting through the clothes from the boxes, setting dresses and robes on hangers. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do with the clothes; the cold talons of terror gripped him at the thought that he should get rid of them. Logic said he should. There was no point in taking up space with things he was never going to use.

Jason wasn’t prepared to make that choice. These were his parent’s clothes. His mother’s sundresses, his father’s formal robes. Through them, he could feel a little closer to the family who had been taken from him.

Instead, he set the clothes neatly in the closet, frowning as they hung limp and rumpled. Most of the dust had been brushed off of them ,and they looked clean, but he was afraid to iron them; not only did he not know how to iron, he wasn’t sure the clothes would withstand the heat.

With the clothes taken care of for the moment, he turned instead to the problem of lighting. The electricity wasn’t going to be turned on until the morning, and Jason didn’t want to be using his phone when the sun went down; as it was, his battery was almost dead.

He had set candles around the house, careful to make sure they wouldn’t burn anything. As the sun sank lower, Jason went around and lit them all, keeping a tally in his mind so he could make sure he blew them all out before leaving.

Taking a candle with him, the neko gathered a few cans of paint, carrying them to the front door. It was his last project for the day; everything else was cleaned and put away.

He started with the earthy orange, a wide brush leaving swathes of bright colour on the brown door. It didn’t take him long to get the first coat on the main part of the door, and Jason opened the next can. Sky blue swirls decorated the centre panel of the door a few minutes later, a diamond in the very middle of the door setting the space for red swirls to follow, each with a black line running along the centre of the swirls.

The neko got lost in his work, occasionally glancing at a picture on his phone for accuracy. He was almost certain the door would need another coat in the light of day, but as night fell, Jason focused on what he could see by candlelight, his eyes reflecting the glow as they adjusted to the darkness.

Nearly two hours later, he’d finished the door, and Jason let out a silent sigh. The sigh turned to a hiss as he looked back at his phone. It was nearly eight at night; he should have been home an hour ago. His worry only increased when he realised Devyn had never shown up. It wasn’t like the wolf to stay away from Jason, unless someone had told him to stay away. But who would have done that?

DEVYN

Music greeted the wolf as he stepped into the house. He was exhausted from a day in human form, with so much happening around him. Devyn would have been happy to collapse in bed with Jason, but the neko was at the other house, and the bus driver had refused to drop him off there despite Devyn’s assurances that it was okay.

Richard and Patrick were circling in the living room, and Devyn shook in alarm, hurrying toward them. He realised their arms were around each other a moment later, like they were hugging.

“Oh, hey Devyn,” Patrick smiled over Richard’s shoulder.

Devyn stared at them, trying to figure out what they were doing. Suddenly it clicked in his mind; Jason had done the same thing with him. They were dancing.

“We thought you were going to be with Jason,” Richard added with a frown.

“I’ve never seen you dance before,” Devyn said.

“Uh… yeah, your mother never seemed that interested in it. Patrick was a dance instructor in his thirties, and he wanted to teach me.”

His father seemed a little uncomfortable to be caught. Devyn wasn’t sure why.

“I’m happy you’re happy,” the wolf said, looking between Richard and Patrick. “I don’t like dancing. But Jason wants me to learn anyway.”

“It can be fun, if you know how to stay on your feet.”

Maybe if he learned to dance properly, Jason would be happy. Devyn glanced at the door. He knew where Jason’s house was; he could still go there, but then he couldn’t surprise Jason by knowing how to dance..

His hips wiggled slightly at the thought of surprising the neko.

“Can you show me how?” he asked.

Patrick motioned toward the couch, pushed back to give him and Richard space.

“Of course. Why don’t Richard and I demonstrate first? You can watch us for a moment.”

Devyn nodded, collapsing onto the couch. He lifted his shirt to escape the confining clothes, then thought better of it. He wasn’t supposed to be naked outside his room, and the way he’d messed up today, Devyn didn’t want to give Richard more of a reason to be angry at him.

“Okay, a basic dance that’s easy for beginners to learn is the waltz. It’s very mathematical in the way it’s done,” Patrick said. “Hopefully Jason’s teaching that one to you.”

Devyn nodded.

“I assume Jason leads, so what you do is step your right foot back,” Patrick said, stepping forward with his left foot.

Richard stepped back with his right foot, pushed back by Patrick.

“Take your left foot and step left. For a crowded dance floor, you want a small step so you don’t get in people’s way,” the elf continued, stepping to his right.

Richard followed him to his left, staring down at their feet.

“Then bring your left foot to your right, and then step forward with your left foot. Take a right step, bring your feet together, and repeat the whole process.”

The two walked slowly through each step again, letting Devyn watch, before Patrick let Richard go.

“Do you think you can do that?” the elf asked, looking back at Devyn.

“Not with my cane,” Devyn frowned.

“Then maybe we should try on your new heels so you can practice in them,” Richard said.

“It might be a little harder in heels, especially if you’re used to a flat step.”

“He’s not,” Richard said. “We never got him to walk comfortably with a flat step; it’s why he has a cane.”

Patrick nodded slowly.

“Well, as long as they aren’t spindly heels, they shouldn’t be too bad,” the elf said.

“Why don’t you go upstairs and get them on,” Richard said, helping Devyn to his feet.

The wolf hobbled toward the stairs, heading up them as fast as he could. He didn’t know when Jason was going to be home, and he wanted to surprise his mate. The surprise would be ruined if the neko walked in on him practising.

The silver wedges Richard had bought for the dance were easy enough to get into. Thick velcro bands tightened around Devyn’s ankles, holding the shoes securely in place, and he stood up, feeling the heels against his feet even when he was standing on his toes. The wolf wagged his hips again, taking a few practice steps.

Returning down the stairs without his cane, he walked into the living room confidently. This was how a wolf was supposed to walk.

Patrick studied his heels, finally nodding.

“Okay, those look like they’ll work. But don’t step on anyone; you could break their foot with that heel.”

He held out his hand to Devyn, pulling the wolf close to him.

“Now, Jason will have his hand on your left shoulder with his arm under yours, like so,” the elf said, placing his hand on Devyn’s shoulder. “You put your hand on his upper arm. Then you hold his other hand out to the side. And, you start counting. Step one-”

“Step back?” Devyn asked, stepping back with his left foot.

“With your right foot,” Patrick corrected gently.

Devyn frowned at his feet.

“Which one is my right foot?”

Patrick tapped the wolf’s foot with his own, and Devyn straightened himself out.

“Okay, on my count. 1 step back.”

Devyn stepped with his right foot.

“2 step left..”

His left foot stepped wider than Patrick’s and the elf frowned.

“Watch your surroundings. We’re not in a large area, so try to keep your steps smaller.”

Grunting quietly, Devyn brought his leg back, taking a smaller step this time.

“3 bring your right to your left. Then mirror the steps. Step 1, left foot forward.”

The wolf concentrated on the steps, balancing on his toes all the while. He let out a small breath of excitement when he finished the last step, a surge of accomplishment rushing through him.

“Great! And now we add in the spin,” Patrick grinned, patting the wolf on the back.

Devyn’s joy faded quickly. He’d forgotten about the spin Jason had tried.

“I can’t spin.”

“Not with that attitude. Come on, I’ll walk you through it.”

The wolf grunted, resigning himself to the torture ahead.

JASON

The neko paused in front of the house, trying to decide how to handle this. He was late. He was beyond late. And he didn’t want to get into a confrontation about it, but he didn’t want Richard to worry either.

Before he could make up his mind, the door flew open. Jason had a split second to throw out his arms before Devyn fell into him. The neko walked his brother back into the house, helpless to defend against the onslaught of kisses and licks the wolf was giving him.

“Hey Jason. We saved you a plate of dinner in the fridge,” Richard said from the couch, cuddling against Patrick. “In the future, please text me to know if you’re going to be late.”

Jason nodded, reaching up to pet Devyn’s head. The wolf was wearing outrageously tall heels, and it made him tower over the neko. But he looked happy in them, and that made Jason’s heart soar. He’d been part of the solution to the wolf’s troubles with walking. Though it was surprising that Devyn wasn’t in his wolf form.

Reaching up, Jason pulled the wolf’s head down, kissing him lightly. He headed into the kitchen a moment later, Devyn’s heels thumping loudly behind him.

He made a plate of garlicky chicken pasta for both himself and Devyn, setting it on the table for the wolf. Devyn dragged a chair around the kitchen table. Jason noticed the wolf was careful to keep his food well away from Jason, though his body was pressed against the neko’s as they ate.

Jason refrained from petting the wolf until their plates were clean. Carrying the plates to the sink, he cleaned them off before setting them to dry. The neko checked his phone, letting out a sigh when it wouldn’t turn on.

“You don’t like your phone, do you?” Devyn frowned at the device.

‘The battery is dead,’ Jason signed. ‘I have to sign to Dad, but he won’t understand.’

“Can Patrick tell him for you?” Devyn asked.

Jason nodded. Devyn wouldn’t understand; it was a hassle to have to go through a translator, like playing a game of telephone. He remembered the translator trying to fix his words to King Finley. It was something the neko’s phone avoided, though having to type everything provided its own challenges. He was lucky people were usually patient enough for him to get the words out.

Heading into the living room, the neko caught Patrick’s attention.

‘I’m heading to bed. It’s been a hard day. Can you tell Dad goodnight for me?’

“Jason says good night,” Patrick said, signing back to the neko.

‘Let me know if you need any help with Devyn. It’s too close to the full moon for any sex.’

Jason’s face heated up. He barely noticed Richard’s reply, shaking his head rapidly.

“I don’t need any help,” Devyn said beside him. “I’m a good boy.”

The neko patted his back awkwardly, turning toward the stairs. He fled from the room, tail tucked between his legs. Behind him, Devyn’s heels thundered, drowning out any conversation from the living room.

Pushing into his room, Jason flopped onto his bed. He heard the door close behind him, and a hand fell on his back.

“Why are you upset?” Devyn asked.

The neko shrugged, rolling over so he could face the wolf. A moment’s thought saw his shirt and pants tossed toward the hamper; he didn’t want to get the bed dirty.

Devyn followed his lead, pulling off his heels before shifting. A second later, the large wolf jumped up onto Jason’s bed, curling up around his mate. Jason leaned back against him, a sigh slipping from him as he finally relaxed. Reaching back, the neko scratched the wolf’s ears, smiling as Devyn’s leg began thumping.

His tail fell across Devyn, sliding over the wolf as Jason considered Patrick’s words. The more he thought about it, the more he realised he couldn’t have sex with Devyn, not in his wolf form. No matter how much he tried to look past it, Devyn was a wolf. At least in human form, he could tell Jason if there was something he didn’t like.

He kept going back and forth on this. It wasn’t fair to Devyn, but it wasn’t fair to Jason either. The neko really wasn’t sure how to overcome this issue.

Devyn set his head in Jason’s lap, looking up at his mate with a soft whimper. Jason stroked the wolf’s head, trying to ease his own emotions so Devyn wasn’t as worried.

‘I can’t have sex with you like this,’ he signed.

The wolf whimpered again, his tongue licking at the neko’s crotch. Jason pushed his head away, shaking his head again, firmly. Scooting off the bed, the neko chased down his pants, pulling his phone out to put on the charger. Behind him, he heard the snaps of Devyn shifting again.

“But I want to have sex,” the wolf pouted.

Jason shrugged. Returning to the bed, the neko dropped back onto it, wrapping an arm around Devyn.

‘It’s okay if you’re like this,’ he signed, praying the wolf would understand.

“I love you. If you don’t want to have sex, we don’t need to have sex. But I can still lick you, right?”

The neko fought the urge to slap his forehead. He had so much he wanted, needed, to say to that, but there was no way Devyn would understand it.

So instead, Jason nodded, hugging Devyn from behind. He stroked the wolf’s hair gently, lulling him to sleep. Questions about sex could wait. It had been a long day, and they needed to rest.