The Year of the Salamander - 20. Chapter 20

It was a month later, and Desmond gloomily stared out of the window in his office. It was the end of October, and the weather this year was beyond merciless. It started getting quite cold a week ago, and it was almost freezing right now. Desmond didn’t even want to think of what would happen in November. To top everything off, it was raining right now, and Desmond hated rain.

He sighed and pulled a pile of papers that was sitting on his desk closer to him. At first, he thought of simply taking all these tests he needed to grade home and do it there, but then it started to rain, and he decided to do it in his office instead, hoping that it would stop raining by the time he was done. He started scanning the papers with his eyes, marking the mistakes automatically, without even thinking about the subject, which he knew so well, he could do something like this in his sleep. He was thinking about Sam, about the whole sacrifice thing, and also about the kid’s strange behavior lately. He would be gone for the entire day every day again; he would do anything he could think of to avoid talking about whomever the hell it was that he was seeing; and on the second week of October, he was staying home again for almost ten days in a row. He wouldn’t even go grocery shopping.

Desmond frowned slightly, thinking about the last time the same thing happened. It was back in September when all of a sudden, the kid just stayed home for longer than a week. Desmond thought harder. Yes, he remembered, writing a score of 75 on one of the papers and putting it aside. Sam stayed home on the second week of September, just like he did this month. He grabbed another test, his pencil flying above the paper, making necessary corrections. And just like in September, he left the house early in the morning for no apparent reason ten days or so after his self-inflicted house arrest. Desmond wasn’t sure what to make of it. He was certain, however, that it was not just a simple coincidence.

He glanced outside and winced. It was raining even harder by now. He sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket, deciding to call Rayhe and tell him that he was not coming home until he was done grading papers. He knew that it would take him at least two hours, and he feverishly hoped that the rain situation would improve somewhat by then.

****

Gabriel was sitting in the back of a small coffee house, drinking his espresso when his phone rang.

“Yeah,” he sighed into it after he fished it out of his pocket.

“It’s me,” the phone said gloomily. “I am going to grade papers for a while. I am not going outside in this rain!”

“It might rain until tomorrow morning,” Gabriel said, absent-mindedly scanning everyone in the coffee shop with his eyes. “You just gonna sleep in your office?”

“No,” the phone snorted. “If it still rains by the time I am done, I’ll just suck it up and go home.”

“Fine,” Gabriel sighed and drank more of his espresso. “What do you want for dinner?”

“You,” was the answer he got. “Dressing is optional.”

“Easily arranged,” Rayhe said very seriously even though he was smiling. “See you in a few hours then.”

“Uh huh,” the phone said, and then the line clicked dead.

Gabriel put the phone next to his coffee cup and resumed his espresso sipping. He stopped by the coffee shop on his way home from work because he knew that they were almost out of coffee. When he got coffee, he decided to get a cup of espresso as well. He kept looking at the people inside the shop, thinking about this blasted rain, when to his surprise, he saw Sam. He was sitting in the opposite corner of the shop, chatting animatedly with some red-haired guy. Gabriel was about to call his name, when all of a sudden, the redhead leaned closer to Sam and kissed him on the mouth. Gabriel just blinked when he saw Sam’s arms immediately fly up and wrap around the redhead’s neck.

Rayhe shut his mouth and drank more espresso. So that’s whom Sam is seeing, he thought. Why was he hiding it though? Gabriel frowned slightly, studying the redhead. He seemed to be in his late twenties, and he was taller than Sam – that was obvious even when they were sitting down. The redhead laughed at something Sam said and planted another kiss on the younger man’s mouth. Gabriel slowly drank his coffee, trying to figure out Sam’s reasons for hiding something like this from them. The redhead was obviously older, he thought. Was that the reason? Was Sam afraid that Desmond or Gabriel would throw some sort of a fit if they found out about their age difference?

He shook his head to himself. No, that could not be the reason. Sam should know both of them rather well by now; he should know that something as ridiculous as age difference would never matter to either one of them. What was it then? Gabriel was so curious that he almost got up and went towards those two. Then he decided against it, thinking that he would just ask Sam later. He thought for a second whether he should tell Desmond about it, and decided to keep the information to himself until he finds out why Sam was so protective of his flame’s identity.

He waited for those two to leave the coffee shop, since they were sitting right next to the door, and Gabriel didn’t want Sam to see him right now. He was relieved half an hour later when the redhead finally got up. To his greatest frustration, instead of leaving, that guy just grabbed both – his and Sam’s – cups and went to the counter for the refills.

“Oh, for the love of God...” Gabriel muttered. “How much coffee are you going to drink? Just get out already!”

Then he had an idea and took his phone. He punched in Sam’s number, and a few seconds later, he saw Sam reaching for his phone.

“Hey, Sam,” Gabriel said lightly. “I am not sure if I can make it home for the next couple of hours, and that dog of yours turns into a nightmare if he is not fed by eight-thirty... Could you stop by the house and feed him?”

“Umm,” Sam said uncertainly. “Sure... What time is it now?”

“Seven-forty-five,” Gabriel glanced at his watch.

“Umm,” Sam said again. “Yeah, I’ll do that.”

“All right,” Rayhe smiled with relief. He didn’t want to stay here any longer. “Bye.”

“Bye, Gabriel.”

Rayhe put his phone down and watched Sam to get up and walk towards the redhead. He said something to him, and the redhead nodded and told something to the barista. She gave him a quick smile and poured their refills into paper cups. Sam grabbed his cup, and a minute later, they finally walked out of the coffee shop. Gabriel glanced outside. The rain wasn’t coming down as hard anymore. He thought that there was a very good chance for Desmond to get home without looking like a wet and a very pissed off cat tonight, grinned to himself, got up, and left that coffee shop, glancing around a couple of times when he went outside. Neither Sam nor the redhead were in sight and he nodded with relief. Five minutes later, he was on his way home.

...When he got home, Sam’s car wasn’t there. Specter immediately attacked him with furious tail wagging, and Gabriel just sighed when the dog shoved his nose into Rayhe’s crotch.

“Get out of there,” he pushed him away with his knee, noting the fact that right now, the dog didn’t even have to look up to conduct such an operation, which was the case merely a week or so ago. Now he was a perfect height. “He is not even six-months-old yet,” Gabriel thought melancholically. Then he sighed and told himself to stop imagining what this dog was going to look like in the next couple of months. Desmond was right – Akbash dogs were bloody huge.

He kicked off his shoes and went into the kitchen. He was digging through the fridge when Specter let out a high-pitched yelp and raced towards the front door. Gabriel immediately knew that Sam was about to walk into the house. He was right.

“Hey, Sam,” Gabriel said when the younger man walked inside, shaking rainwater out of his hair. Sam looked at him with a small frown.

“I thought you said...”

“Yeah,” Gabriel shrugged. “I just got home, didn’t get a chance to call you.”

“Oh...” Now Sam looked thoughtful. “Well, I’m gonna feed him anyway, since I am here and all...”

“Okay,” Gabriel nodded.

He watched Sam fill up the dog’s bowl with food, his movements somewhat rushed, as if he couldn’t wait to get out of the house again, which was probably the case.

“So, who is the redhead?” Gabriel asked casually, and Sam’s hand jerked and spilled some of the dry dog food onto the floor.

“What...” He coughed and bent down, picking up dry pellets. “Umm, what redhead...?”

“Sam,” Gabriel sighed. “I saw you in the coffee shop... That’s why I called you. I wanted to leave but you two kept chugging down coffee... Just leave it alone,” he sighed again when Sam dropped all the pellets he just picked up. “I’ll sweep it later, okay?”

Sam straightened up and slowly turned around. His expression was mortified. Rayhe frowned at that.

“What is, Sam?” he asked. “Why were you hiding this? Is it because he is older? If it’s a yes, then it’s ridiculous! How old is he, anyway? Twenty-seven?”

“He is thirty-one,” Sam muttered, and Gabriel blinked.

“Huh,” he said. “He doesn’t look thirty-one... Anyway, is that the reason? Because Sam, the age...”

“No,” Sam said in the same quiet voice. “Age has nothing to do with this...”

“Then what is it?” Gabriel frowned even deeper. “Sam, talk to me!”

Sam closed his eyes.

“Oh, God...” he muttered and opened his eyes. Now he looked determined. “Gabriel, I didn’t say anything because Blair is...”

“His name is Blair?” Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “Sounds familiar... I’ve heard that name before...”

“Yeah...” Sam took a deep breath. “Blair is the Fire Guardian,” he said quickly as if afraid that if he talked any slower, he would end up choking on his own tongue.

At first, Gabriel didn’t even register what he said.

“So?” he snorted. “That was the reason you were hiding...” Here he stopped talking for a few seconds. “Hold on...” he finally said slowly. “Hold on... The Fire Guardian...? As in... The Fire Guardian?”

“Yeah,” Sam muttered, avoiding looking into Gabriel’s eyes.

Rayhe blinked very rapidly, opened his mouth, closed it, and shook his head.

“Holy hell,” he said finally. “You managed to fall for the Fire Guardian? How in the world did you even meet him?”

“It’s a...” Sam coughed. “It’s a long story... See, I wanted to tell you, but I knew that if I did, Desmond would find out... And Desmond hates the Guardians...!”

“Tell me about it,” Gabriel muttered. “Holy hell...” he shook his head again. “Hold on... So this is why you were staying home all those days, huh? Those were his rounds-weeks, right?”

“How do you know about the rounds?” Sam blinked and finally looked into Gabriel’s eyes.

Rayhe snorted.

“It’s not a secret, Sam. I used to be curious about them a while ago,” he shrugged. “I mean, I wanted to know what they did, what the whole Guardians thing was about, you know? So I did some research... That’s why the name sounded familiar,” he hemmed. “Of course, Felix, Daniel, Nicholas, and Blair... Well, Nicholas is gone now, but that’s beside the point.”

“Gabriel...”

“Sam,” Rayhe interrupted the younger man who looked beyond miserable right now. “Does he make you happy?”

Sam blinked at that, and Rayhe nodded.

“I am going to say yes,” he said and leaned on the kitchen counter. Now that the first initial shock was gone, he felt good again. “If he makes you happy, that’s the only thing that matters, okay? Don’t worry about Desmond. He’ll probably throw a fit, he’ll bitch about it for a while, but that’s about it. He won’t do anything else. First of all, there is nothing he can do, to be honest. It’s not like he can forbid you to see Blair... And second of all...” He shrugged. “I don’t think he would do anything even if he could... Believe it or not, but Desmond does want to see you happy.”

“I know that...” Sam muttered. “It’s just... I don’t even know how to tell him, I mean...”

“Don’t worry about Desmond,” Gabriel said again. “I’ll do the telling part. Go now,” he waved his hand. “I’ll feed your dog, get out now. You are itching to get back to him; I can see it written on your face!”

Sam laughed weakly at that, looking enormously relieved. He scratched behind Specter’s ear and walked towards the front door.

“Gabriel,” he said right before he walked out, and Rayhe looked at him silently. “Thanks...”

“Go,” Gabriel waved his hand. “You have nothing to thank me for... I just happened to be born with common sense; if anything, you should thank my parents... Would be difficult,” he added with a small nod. “Since they are both dead...”

“Right...” Sam muttered, and walked out of the house.

...Desmond walked through the front door of the house at nine in the evening and he looked relatively dry and peaceful. That was good. Gabriel considered telling him about Sam’s flame (literally) right away, but then he decided against it. He knew that Desmond’s reaction would be explosive to say the least. He also knew that whenever his mate was relaxed enough, it was a hell of a lot easier to tell him something that usually would make him tear the house apart. He remembered Desmond’s answer to ‘What do you want for dinner?’ earlier, and grinned to himself.

“I finished grading all the papers,” Desmond was saying meanwhile, throwing his car keys onto the small table by the door. “One of them got a perfect hundred, can you believe it? Huh, didn’t expect Zabrowski to get a perfect score...” he muttered thoughtfully. He glanced at Gabriel. “What?” he slightly narrowed his eyes. “You look... Mmm...” he finished after Rayhe pushed him against the wall and shut him up with his mouth. “Dinner time...” he muttered several minutes later, and Gabriel dove into his mouth once again.

...An hour or so later, Desmond looked very relaxed, and Gabriel decided that there would be no better time than now. He took a deep breath.

“Des, we need to talk,” he said firmly, and Desmond opened one eye and looked at him.

“Mmm?” was all he said.

“It’s about Sam,” Gabriel said slowly, trying to figure out the best way to say it.

“Mmm?” Desmond said again.

“I know whom he’s been seeing,” Gabriel said as slowly as before.

“Mmm?”

“It’s...” Damn, Rayhe thought. There was no good way to say it. “Des, he is with Blair... The Fire Guardian,” Gabriel said quickly, and Desmond’s other eye popped open.

He stared at Rayhe without blinking.

“Des,” Gabriel said carefully after almost a minute of silence. “Say something...”

“The fire guy,” Desmond said quietly. “Son of a bitch... I knew it had something to do with that damn fire guy!”

“Huh?” Gabriel frowned at that. “What are you...”

Desmond kicked off the blanket and got out of bed.

“The fire guy...” he muttered, furiously pulling on his pants. “I figured that he didn’t want me to know about those two assholes...” He grabbed his sweater. “The fire guy...”

“Des... What are you talking about...? And where are you going?” Gabriel added when Desmond yanked open one of the drawers and pulled out a pair of socks.

“The fire guy...” was the response he got.

Rayhe sighed and started to get dressed as well. It took Desmond several tries to get those socks on his feet finally, his hands shaking with fury.

“Des...”

“The fire guy...” Desmond muttered again and stormed out of the bedroom.

“Desmond, where the hell are you going?”

“For a drive!”

“It’s raining again...”

“No shit!”

“I am coming with you...”

“Like hell you are!”

“I am coming with you. I don’t want you to kill someone... Don’t worry, I am not going to bitch about your speed right now.”

“I want to be alone.”

“Tough. Shut up and go. I am coming with you...! Umm, yeah, we just did that. We can do it again if you...”

“Shut up, Rayhe! If you want to go, then go... The minute you say something about my driving, I am throwing you out of the car! Forget the damn umbrella, just move it!”

“Just wanted to... Oh, never mind, let’s go.”