“I don’t know what you want from me, but I don’t trust you.” He went on despite the small sound of distress that Aurel made. “And I’m not interested in just a quick fuck either.” It was almost a dare.
“You are a perceptive man. You shouldn’t trust me. I have more secrets than one person should have to bear.” Sebastian wasn’t prepared for the vehemence of Aurel’s voice, or the way his shoulders were suddenly gripped. Aurel’s face was close to his. Sebastian turned his head away, but instead of following and continuing their lip lock, Aurel’s voice sounded in his ear, soft and seductive. Deadly.
“But I’m not interested in anything quick with you either.” Sebastian was about to protest, but the feel of a tongue caressing the shell of his ear quieted him. “Certainly not a quickfuck.”
Sebastian almost came when Aurel said fuck. Guttural, promising, slurred like they really had just exploded together; imbued with a wealth of imagery involving the two of them and all they could do.
“I like slow,” Aurel said. “I would like slow with you.”
Sebastian could do slow. He could do slow now. Like right now.
“So we will go slow.”
Seb was disoriented when Aurel released his shoulders, taking his hand instead.
“But make no mistake, I’m not going anywhere. You don’t trust me, I understand that, but I need the chance to change your mind. I want to get to know you. If I have to go slow, I’ll go slowly. If you need time, I’ll wait.”
Aurel tugged on Seb’s hand, pulling him towards the door.
“Where are we going?”
“The tour.” He laughed at Seb’s blank look. “You know, the snakes? Consider it our first date.”
Aurel looked back over his shoulder at a speechless Seb, a small smile playing across his lips.
“And just so you know, when you finally want fast and hard, I’m available.”
***
“Oh my god! It’sso big. I’ve never seen one this big.”
Aurel groaned and leaned his forehead against the glass. Sebastian was going to be the death of him. He had imagined Seb saying something similar so many times, but this is not what he had in mind. Oh no.
“Really. This is the biggest Reticulated Python I’ve ever laid eyes on, in a zoo or in the wild. Awesome!”
Though there was something to be said about Seb’s enthusiasm. And he liked snakes. That was a big plus. Aurel was fond of snakes too.
He had payed particular attention to Seb’s reaction when he first saw the mural. The mural was on a large, curved wall before the habitat, dominating the space with it’s lushly rendered depictions of vipers. Aurel watched Seb with satisfaction as he traced one figure after another. Ourobouros. Tiamat. Ophiuchus and Serpens. The Tree of Knowledge.
Seb turned to him with a slightly silly grin. “Sorry. It’s a habit. I’m a very tactile person; I like to touch things.”
“I’m relieved to hear it.”
Sebastian turned away quickly in embarrassment, but Aurel could still see the smile.
“It’s probably one of the reasons I like snakes so much. They feel like living, breathing jewels.”
Sebastian was the only jewel here.
Aurel surprised himself. If he had heard someone say something that sentimentally saccharine he would have been amused. But somehow, when it came to Seb, it felt right.
He had become rather jaded with the reptiles in his care, just as he had become jaded by everything else, but somehow, seeing it all through Sebastian’s eyes, he found renewed interest and awe. Sebastian was already giving him so much, and he didn’t even realize it.
“Will I be able to handle them at some point? I have experience. Even with the hot ones.”
“I don’t see why not. Probably not the more poisonous ones. And definitely not the retic. He’s…tempermental.”
Sebastian looked at the Python with a strange quirk of the eyebrow. “Oh, I don’t know. Somehow I don’t think it will be a problem.” Aurel gave him a questioning look, which he ignored.
“It will be a problem. Gonzo is mean. And some anti-venoms aren’t readily available here. The Inland Taipan is off limits. I’ll have to check on a few others.”
“Gonzo?”
Aurel suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Everyone asked. “My sister insisted. It’s her precious little baby.”
“That monster?”
“Yes.”
“No offense, but your sister has some issues with reality perception.”
“I suppose she does.”
“Just the one sister?”
“No other siblings. Both of our parents are gone.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It happened a long time ago.”
Seb took a moment to find an eyelash viper among a cluster of branches. “I really do have experience with poisonous snakes. I’m a very good handler.”
“Absolutely not.”
“But-”
“Have you ever been bitten?”
“Just once. It wasn’t my fault either.”
“Really.”
“Yes, really! I was just fine, but I was with someone who had a lot less brain. He thought that because a Gabboon looked kind of fat it would also be slow. He provoked it, I tried to grab it before it could bite him and I was bitten instead.” Sebastian brushed it off like it was nothing, but the truth was that he came very close to dying before receiving aid.
Aurel knew exactly what a Gaboon could do, and it bothered him that Seb could be so blasé about it. Still, he didn’t want to scare Seb away by ordering him to be safe. That would sound insane.
“We have a Gaboon viper.” Aurel motioned him towards another part of the gallery. “This way.”
“What’s its name?”
Aurel groaned feelingly. “Filbert.”
“And the Eyelash?”
“Bobo.”
Sebastian thought about that for a minute. “I think I’m going to like your sister.”
“She’ll like you too.”
***
By the time he left, Sebastian was, if not quite walking on air, doing a damned good impression of a hovercraft. Aurel too, looked happy. For the first time in; well, maybe ever.
They spent several hours with the snakes, comparing notes, exclaiming over a particularly beautiful specimen, laughing over a horribly ill-named beast. It was the first respite from stress that either of them had experienced in quite a while.
Aurel was insidious, the way he got under Seb’s skin. When Aurel was near he didn’t feel the press of psychic assault, he didn’t experience the overwhelming plethora of crap; he just experienced Aurel.
Before he left he got to experience a bit more of Aurel. They had stopped in a nook by the front door, looking at each other in the dim recessed light, the guard driven away with a word. They stared at each other for a moment before Aurel’s hand came up to caress the fine line of Seb’s jaw.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For not running away.”
“I’m not a coward.”
“I didn’t say you were.” They were silent for a long moment, savoring the gentle touch. “Two days is a long time.”
“I know, but I have a ton of work to do tomorrow. I’ve been slacking.”
Aurel smiled at that. “I can’t imagine you slacking. You have too much energy.”
“Aurel?” This time, Seb sounded tentative.
“Yes?”
“Why am I being followed?” Aurel’s hand ceased its motion as he went rigid for a moment. It was only a second, but Sebastian could feel the difference.
“Followed?”
“I’ve seen them.” No way was Sebastian telling him about the psychic thing. Not now. Probably not ever. Even if Aurel was a grey alien.
Aurel gave a resigned shrug. “They aren’t following you. At least, not in the way you mean. They aren’t keeping tabs on you, they’re protecting you.”