The Year of the Salamander - 27. Chapter 27

February 9th

They cried out at the same time, their spasms so identical, it didn’t seem real. Sam dropped his head into Blair’s shoulder, his entire body trembling, his breath nowhere near steady. Blair buried his fingers in Sam’s hair, his heart fluttering somewhere in his throat by now. He didn’t mind being on the receiving end; he would usually prefer the upper hand, but with Sam, that was out of the question. Therefore, one of those days a couple of months ago, while Sam kept stuttering his name out over and over again with his eyes closed, Blair let him out of his mouth, and then he simply impaled himself on the younger man without any warning. Sam’s eyes flew wide open, and they exhaled “Ooh...!” at the same time. The ‘Ooh...!’s were the same, but the intonations were different. In Sam’s case, it was something like, “Oh, holy hell, this is beyond amazing!” For Blair, however, it was more like, “Oh, son of a bitch, I forgot how much this hurts!”

He bit his lip and held still until the pain shrank away. Then he moved slowly, and suddenly, Sam’s eyes became even wider, he mumbled something incoherent, and then his entire body convulsed violently. Blair couldn’t help but laugh when Sam’s face, ears, and neck immediately flamed deep-burgundy.

“Oh...” was all Sam said, his eyes squeezed shut.

Blair kissed his mouth and told him to stop trying to match colors with the sheets, which were dark-red silk. That made Sam flush even deeper shade of red. It took Blair maybe ten minutes at the most to get Sam’s body back into fully operating mode, his recuperative speed impressing Blair immensely, and that time everything went for much longer and a lot less painful.

...“God, Blair...” Sam muttered into Blair’s neck, the rhythm of his heartbeat matching the older man’s to a t. “Oh, God...”

“You are my mate, Sam,” Blair said very quietly, and Sam froze for a second. “You are mine, and I will never let you go...”

Sam slowly raised his head and looked into the Fire Guardian’s light-hazel eyes.

“Yes,” he whispered finally, and Blair pulled him closer.

“I love you,” he muttered into Sam’s hair. “God, I love you...”

“I love you too, Blair...” Sam whispered into Blair’s neck.

“Promise me something,” Blair said a little louder.

“Anything.”

“Do not go anywhere without me on your birthday, okay?”

That request made Sam raise his head again.

“That’s your rounds’ week,” he said with a small frown.

“Daniel is going to cover the early morning of the thirteenth until the midnight of the fourteenth,” Blair murmured without untangling his fingers from the younger man’s hair.

“Really?” Sam’s eyes widened and a slow smile stretched his mouth.

“Really,” Blair nodded. “I need you to promise me that...”

“Blair,” Sam sighed patiently. “If you are going to be here on my birthday, why the hell would I go somewhere without you?”

Blair bit his lower lip for a minute or two.

“There is something I gotta tell you...” he said finally. “You need to know; it will be safer this way.”

“What...?” Sam frowned once again. “Safer for what...?”

Blair took a deep breath and told him about the Winter Equinox.

“...This is the damn year of the Salamander,” he said bitterly in the end. “It’s the goddamn once-every-hundred-years event...”

“The year of the Salamander,” Sam snorted in spite of the cold shiver that ran down his spine.

“Flaming Lizard, whatever,” Blair shrugged impatiently. “The point is...”

“I am laughing because this is exactly what Desmond calls it,” Sam interrupted him.

“Desmond, right...” Blair muttered. “I’ll need to tell him...” He winced slightly. “Or you tell him,” he nodded quickly. “Yeah, that would be better.”

Sam lowered his chin onto Blair’s chest.

“You two are so much alike, it’s insane,” he sighed. “And yet, you don’t seem to be able to spend an hour under the same roof without any bickering...”

“Alike?” Blair snorted rather loudly. “I am nothing like him! The man is an annoying, stubborn bastard! Are you telling me that I am the same way?”

“Yes,” Sam said very seriously. “But you are mine annoying, stubborn bastard.”

“I am nothing like him,” Blair repeated stubbornly, and Sam just smiled and kissed the corner of his mouth.

“I will tell him,” he said and laid his head on Blair’s chest.

Blair wrapped his arms around him and closed his eyes.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said softly.

“I know,” Sam muttered into his chest. He glanced at the clock and sighed. “I have to go soon... You need to get some sleep anyway, since you are leaving at six in the morning...”

Blair grumbled something and rolled over, trapping Sam underneath his weight.

“Just stay with me,” he said quietly. “After I come back from my rounds, don’t go anywhere, just stay here... We’ll get your stuff and your dog, and stay here...!”

Sam looked at him silently for several minutes, and then he nodded slowly, without saying a single word. Blair let out a small, relieved smile and kissed the younger man’s eyebrow. He glanced at the clock.

“It’s not even ten in the evening,” he said and buried his face in Sam’s neck, his mouth greedy for the fast pulsation on the side of Sam’s throat.

“Blair...” Sam muttered, his arms around the older man’s neck, pulling him closer. “You need to... Ohh... Get your sleep... You are leaving at... Mmm... Six in the... Oh, God...”

“Sleep is overrated,” was all Blair said before latching onto Sam’s neck again.

Usually, Sam would disagree with him on that, but right now, he agreed wholeheartedly.

...He got back home a little after midnight, without even remembering to run a brush over his messed up hair. Desmond and Gabriel were arguing about something in heated voices, Desmond’s eyes shooting daggers at Rayhe, who tried to keep his usual cool. Judging by his expression, it was a battle he was losing. Specter let out a small, relieved bark when Sam walked inside, and dashed towards him immediately.

“What’s going on, guys?” Sam took off his shoes and hugged the dog whose tongue immediately bathed his face.

“Desmond is a paranoid, obsessed son of a bitch!” Gabriel said angrily, and Sam blinked at that. “Des, you are making no sense!”

“I am making perfect sense!” Desmond said sharply. “I can’t understand why you are even arguing with me on this one! Just do another check-up, how bloody hard is it? You don’t even have to get off your ass! A couple of mouse-clicks and you are done!”

“It’s not just a couple of mouse-clicks!” Gabriel lit a cigarette and threw the lighter on the table. “You want me to go through her entire file, Desmond! Do you have any idea how long that will take me?”

“An hour at the most,” Desmond hissed. “Just bloody...”

“What are you arguing about?” Sam asked loudly.

“Ugh!” Desmond lit a cigarette as well. “Kid, there is something I need to tell you... Sit down!” he gestured at the chair, and Sam slowly walked towards it and sat down, Specter never leaving his side. “Okay,” Desmond took a deep breath. “Here is the thing... It’s the year of the Salamander as you know, and it is also a year of...”

“...Winter Equinox,” Sam finished with a small nod.

Desmond stared at him without blinking. Sam shrugged.

“If this is about the sacrifice thing, then I know,” he said. “Blair told me today.”

“Blair...” Desmond repeated and Sam nodded.

“Felix... The Water Guardian told them to be on the look-out for someone who would be turning twenty-three on Winter Equinox,” Sam said calmly. “So Blair told him that I would be turning twenty-three on that day...”

“He what?!” Desmond asked incredulously. “He told him? What the hell is wrong with him? Oh, son of a bitch...!” he started pacing around the kitchen.

“Desmond, it’s fine,” Sam said quickly. “Daniel said...”

“Daniel?” Desmond stopped and turned around, his eye two very pissed off green slits by now. “Daniel?” he repeated.

“Umm, the Earth Gu...”

“I know who he is,” Desmond hissed, interrupting him. “Goddammit!”

“What...” Sam said weakly, completely bewildered by Desmond’s reaction.

“Remember how I said that he grew up with two of them?” Gabriel said quickly, and Sam nodded. “Daniel was one of them,” Rayhe said as quickly. “Let’s just say, they didn’t get along...”

“Who was the second one?” Sam asked in a small voice.

“Nicholas,” Gabriel sighed, and Sam’s eyes went wide.

“Seriously?” he said in disbelief and looked at Desmond. “You knew that guy? What was he like...?”

“Both of them were dicks,” Desmond said sharply. “Leave it at that. Now, since that idiot blurted everything out, I assume that the cavalry is going to start galloping in quite soon, huh?”

“What cavalry?” Sam frowned.

“Claudia and her mutts,” Desmond stabbed his half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray, and immediately lit another. “Son of a bitch... Now I have to figure out...”

“No,” Sam interrupted him immediately. “No cavalry... They are not going to tell anything to Claudia...”

“Huh?” Desmond blinked at that quite rapidly. “Hold on... They have to! It’s in their freaking job description! Greater good and other garbage...! Lapdogs like them...”

“Stop calling them that,” Sam said in a quiet but firm voice. “Blair is anything but a lapdog... They decided to keep the information to themselves,” he continued, ignoring Desmond’s fuming look. “Daniel is going to cover two days – thirteenth and fourteenth – and Blair is going to be here until the very early morning of the fifteenth.”

“They are not telling her?” Desmond asked in less hostile but more puzzled voice. “Sam, are you sure that he didn’t just say it so you stay put and don’t disappear?”

“Yes, I am sure,” Sam said tightly. “Blair wouldn’t lie to me.”

Desmond snorted and was about to say something, but Gabriel interrupted him.

“Des,” he said. “Shut up!”

Desmond dragged on his cigarette furiously, but didn’t say anything else.

“So what were you arguing about?” Sam asked after a minute or so, his fingers buried in Specter’s fur.

“Ugh,” Gabriel let out an exasperated sigh. “For some reason, don’t ask me which one, this Captain Paranoia here decided that Eve has something to do with this whole thing!”

“Call me anything you want, Rayhe,” Desmond said gloomily. “But just look through her file, would you? Please...?”

“Eve?” Sam repeated incredulously. “Are you kidding me?”

“I wish,” Gabriel muttered, ignoring Desmond’s eye roll.

“Desmond,” Sam shook his head. “The last time I even talked to her was back in September when we ran into her at that deli, remember? Of course, you do...” he winced at yet another eye roll. “Anyway, I haven’t seen her or talked to her ever since then! Why would you even think that?”

“He has no idea,” Rayhe said poisonously. “Has something to do with your dog...”

“Specter...?” Sam frowned, and the dog immediately looked up, his tail thumping quick rhythm on the floor.

Desmond growled something unintelligible and lit a fresh cigarette, using the tip of his half-smoked one. Then he explained his dog theory as well as he could, and when he finished, Sam frowned even deeper than before.

“Well,” he said slowly. “It makes sense, I guess...”

“Thank you!” Desmond nodded energetically.

“Except, if she was indeed the one after me, why wouldn’t she even try contacting me ever since September?”

“Thank you!” Now it was Gabriel’s turn. “Plus, I remember you saying a couple of weeks ago, that you were absolutely-completely-entirely positive that Eve had nothing to do with this!”

“I know that,” Desmond grimaced impatiently. “It’s just...” He scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know... Something feels off,” he nodded firmly. “I know that it might sound slightly unreasonable...” He ignored Gabriel’s snort. “But I can’t help it! It doesn’t feel right, okay? Rayhe, just do it, okay? Please!”

“Gabriel,” Sam said in quiet awe. “He said ‘Please’ twice in the last fifteen minutes... I think it’s more than he said that word in his entire life without being sarcastic...”

Gabriel sighed in defeat.

“Fine,” he said. “Fine! I will do it. I will waste a couple of hours, and I will go through her file detail by detail, is that good enough for you?” he looked at Desmond.

“Yes,” Desmond said seriously. “Thank you.”

“Thank you my ass,” Gabriel said darkly. “You will...”

“I will,” Desmond nodded without letting him finish.

“Oh, by the way...” Sam coughed. “Umm, when Blair comes back after his rounds, I am...” he coughed again. “I am going to move in with him,” he finished in a softer voice.

Gabriel and Desmond stared at him silently for almost a minute.

“You better take that dog with you,” Desmond said finally, and Sam grinned with great relief.

...When Sam was about to fall asleep, he wasn’t a single bit surprised to hear muffled moans from behind the closed door. He sighed and reached for the pillow. Then he slightly frowned. The moans sounded different. He narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what the difference was, and then it hit him. It wasn’t Desmond producing those moans, he realized with surprise. It was Gabriel. He blinked in disbelief. In two years of them living together, he hadn’t heard a single moan that didn’t come from Desmond. “I guess he is grateful to him for agreeing to read the file,” Sam thought, grinned to himself, and slammed the pillow on top of his head.

...He dreamt of the partially covered with snow cliff, dark water underneath it, and the old watchtower. He was standing on the cliff, absent-mindedly scratching his left shoulder, since it was itching like crazy. Finally, he pulled away his shirt just a little, and turned his head to look at his skin, trying to figure out what it was that made him itch so badly. Then he saw a soft golden glow coming off his tattoo with slow, pulsating shimmer, and he tried reaching for it. It was too far, so he just sighed with disappointment and frustration.

“Just wait here,” he heard a familiar voice, and he turned around.

“Just wait here,” Desmond repeated without a smile. “You’ll know what to do.”

With that, he turned around and walked away. Sam noticed that his right shoulder blade was pulsating with the same golden glow as Sam’s left one was. He realized that their tattoos were binding them somehow. He watched the man disappear in the mist, and then he felt a strong urge to get into the watchtower. He started walking towards it, ignoring frantic barking behind his back, his itch driving him crazy. He walked slowly, as if he was trying to make his way through very thick syrup. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to get into that tower; he had to get into that tower -- that was all he knew. Desires were irrelevant right now.

He wrapped his fingers around the doorknob and turned it carefully. The door creaked a mild complaint at him and shuddered open. He raised his foot, ready to step over the threshold, when suddenly, there was a warm, frantic tongue licking all over his face. He squeezed his eyes shut, shook his head, and then everything slightly shimmered and disappeared into nothing.

“Mmm...” he mumbled, peeling his eyes open. “What...?”

Specter let out a small, whining sound and started licking his face again.

“Specter...” Sam muttered, weakly pushing the dog away. “Stop it... Specter... It’s the middle of the night... Seriously, knock it off...”

Finally, the dog let out a sigh, stopped licking his face, and lay down next to him, resting his head on Sam’s chest. Sam closed his eyes and wrapped his arm around the dog. Five minutes later, he was fast asleep. When he woke up in the morning, he remembered nothing; he didn’t even remember waking up in the middle of the night.