Pyro’s chest was heavy. He’d wanted a dog as a kid, but his parents wouldn’t allow it, too afraid of fur and dirt in the house. “That’s awful. But it wasn’t your fault. We can get a rescue. Or a stray. Whatever kind of dog you like,” he said and pressed a kiss to Boar’s hand.
“What would you be now if your life was different? Rock star?”
Pyro laughed. “Without you, I’d have OD’d before I could have become a star.”
“Love you.”
Pyro smiled and kissed Boar’s knuckles. They went quiet, and Pyro just sat there with his head against Boar’s knee, like a guard dog by his master.
He’d fucked up so many times, and Boar had always stood by him. He’d make it all up to him some day, and their lives would no longer be affected by fear or pain.
As time passed, Boar’s breathing slowed down, and when Pyro gently pulled away to look at his face in the glow of the light inside the cabin, its relaxed features told him Boar had forgotten his ailments and fallen asleep.
He took a deep breath and stretched his muscles, in dire need of movement. The cake was calling out to him yet again, so he grabbed the slice. They reminded him of having pot brownies, so it was a great way to cheat his brain. Carefully, so as not to wake up Boar, he walked off the porch, intending to go for a brief run to burn off some steam.
With the brownie in hand, he dashed forward and ran between the trees growing along the narrow road connecting the cabin with the outside world. It was light enough that he could see his path, and soon moved at top speed, trying to purge his brain of voices that kept reminding him of his many failures. Of being a burden to Boar, of not being able to help, of hurting Clover many times, of Tank’s anger, and Drake’s resentment. It all faded when his muscles started to ache from the effort.
He breathed in the fresh air, listened to the birds, and didn’t even have to make decisions about directions, following a route they often took around the small lake close to the cabin.
The only bad thing about this area was that it reminded him of Tank’s house. The one he’d burned down. He didn’t want to wallow in self-pity and guilt, but once again promised himself he’d pay Tank back every cent. The guy was a saint for putting up with him. In Tank’s place, he might have put a bullet in the arsonist’s head then and there.
But as he descended down the slope toward the lake, where he’d intended to sit down for a bit and have his snack, movement nearby made him stiffen and crouch in a bush, just in case. The stars and a full moon reflecting in the black surface of the water would not protect him from harm. “Who’s there?”
Clover’s familiar silhouette emerged from behind a tree. “Oh. It’s you.”
Pyro’s expression turned into a scowl when he realized that he was intruding. “Is this… a bad time, or something?”
Clover shook his head and walked over to a bench by the water. “No, I just wasn’t expecting anyone. I keep reading these stupid coded texts from Tank. I don’t even know why I’m doing this to myself.”
Pyro’s shoulders hunched. He didn’t want to step between Clover and his longing for another guy, but on the other hand, he’d lately done pretty much everything in his power to push the boy away. Stuck in a conundrum of indecision, he cleared his throat. He’d always been so bad at the sentimental shit.
“You wanna talk about it?
Clover shifted on the bench, making more room for Pyro. When he looked back in the moonlight, his hair bright again and the glasses sitting on his nose, he seemed so awfully vulnerable and young. “We barely managed to get Boar back, and now it once again feels like there’s a hole in my heart.”
Pyro joined him, not without hesitation, but despite the stiffness an emotional conversation tended to bring out in him, he cared for Clover too much to leave him alone with his thoughts. He glanced at the brownie he was still holding and offered it to Clover. “Seems you might need this more than I do. I’ll just take the bit where I was holding it,” he proposed, looking at the moonlit features.
“Just take half.” Clover snorted and tore off his part of the brownie. “I drink your cum and kiss you. I’m not disgusted by a bit of cake you touched.”
Pyro groaned, slumping forward, gaze focused on the trembling surface of the water. “Just let me be a gentleman for once.”
Clover kissed Pyro’s cheek as if he were a blushing maiden eager to show her affection to her crush. “Fine, I’ll take all of it. Boar made it, right?”