Ascension - Book Eight - Man x Man

Chapter 69

The following day I awake to the bed empty. While it shouldn't surprise me that he was still struggling to sleep, I find it disturbing that I don't know how to help him. Shifts? Arranging a watch? We're crammed into this house as tightly as we can manage and yet he still felt as though we couldn't be protected. 

In the distance, I hear Lotta, on the news, speaking about our case and Verando's murder trial. I wished they'd just turn it off, even if we are continually assured that we were safe in the US and that our friends here had no interest in turning us over, Senator Campbell hadn't been silent on his feelings about it. 

More and more people came forward, even on our own side, about the intimidation that my husband put upon them. No bodies had been recovered, but dark figures alluded to their locations and I could practically taste the hidden wraiths on the back of my tongue. Despite Caspian saying he was on our side, his dirty work continued to service his cause even without him being active. 

Leaving the boys in bed, I dress light and make my way down the hall. Jan, Tyler's mother, busys herself with keeping the house in some form or order, reminding me of my husband. I'm surprised he's not in here helping her, though I suspect his mind if otherwise occupied. Glancing down at the scatter of magazines and books, I offer a friendly smile and she reluctantly nods. 

Unspoken, I start gathering the books. "You know I don't know how two men can lay together. Not in the sense of a man and woman." Of course, she couldn't keep her opinion to herself. 

I sigh heavily, tapping the magazines in order to place them on the side table before sliding to my knees to begin gathering the toys. "I'm really trying to be polite. Is it truly so much to ask the same of you?"

Pulling her lips into a thin line, she seems to genuinely have to think about this before sighing. "Melly made a pass at your husband, the girl who helps us with the cows, thought he'd run off with her but he wasn't too kind about the idea. Don't be upset if she does the same with you, I put her up to it... gods work and all."

Scoffing, I sling one of the toys into the wooden chest. "I've met plenty of gods, surprisingly they give very little consideration to who I've bedded. Wonderful, I'm sure he's in a fantastic mood and feels comfortable leaving our children in your care while we try and save your world, all things considered."  

Folding her hands, she slowly sits in the recliner, watching me with the look a concerned mother gives. I could do without the lecture, I'm not a kid anymore. 

"Despite my height, my age is greater than I look. If this is about my sexuality, I'd rather not hear it. I need you and John to get past this or tell us now before we have to leave our kids with you because this isn't going to happen without your full compliance. It's such an old fashion notion, I'd be much more concerned about your son's involvement with a siren, a dictator, and a hidden Norse god, than the sexuality of two men who are trying to help you."

I expect her to cry, or perhaps cackle like a witch in one of the children's stories. But, she doesn't. Instead, she nods, somber in her expression. "Alright."

While I want to rant, to continue to give her a piece of my mind, it wouldn't help. She had folded, conceded that I'd won. "Have you seen Verando?"

"They took the young ones and went on a run after the spat with Melly." She sighs. 

They? I cock my head. "Verando and Helen?"

"Verando and Caspian." 

Standing up, I storm out of the living room, my stomach drops into my chest and my heart begins to race. No, they can't be alone together. Not after what Caspian did, not after what he continued to do, not after all we'd been through. A part of me, in the bottom of my chest, in the depth of my soul, was worried.