Dilemma

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Cassidy opened his eyes. The morning sunlight streamed in his bedroom window and lit up the sky blue room, but he didn't care about any of that. He tapped the hands around his waist with a smile, and soon felt a nip at his ear. 

"Jacob!" He scolded, reaching up to touch his ear before turning around in the bed. The man in front of him had bright blue hair that contrasted nicely with his green eyes and dark skin. Jacob smiled playfully. 

"Good morning, my handsome man" He said, reaching out to mess up Cassidy's blond curls. "You have paint in your hair" 

"I do not!" Cassidy reached up to check anyways, making Jacob laugh. Jacob pulled at one of the curls and came back with red flakes on his fingers, which he then held up. "Fine, fine, maybe I do." Cassidy admitted with a sheepish smile. "But that's the price of art." 

Cassidy got out of bed, grabbing a random set of clothes from their shared closet before putting them on in front of a full-length mirror. He had a rounder face and wasn't quite what you called fit, but he wasn't overweight, either. He had a slight tan and dark brown eyes which seemed naturally shifty. A red sweater went on over a plain white shirt. Baggy, paint-stained jeans were his preference, and that was what he put on now. Cassidy studied his hairline until he found the paint, licking his finger and cleaning it the best he could. 

After putting his hair up in a small ponytail that looked more like a scraggly puff and scratching his chin, he turned back to the bed, where Jacob was watching with a small smile. Jacob was shirtless, the way they both slept, and Cassidy took a minute to admire his husband's muscles. Jacob was a fitness coach. He stayed in shape, unlike Cassidy. Cassidy tried not to dwell on that. "Better?" He asked, raising his eyebrows. 

"Better." Jacob agreed, stretching. He scratched at his chest as he checked his side of the closet, picking a long-sleeved purple shirt and black sweatpants. Cassidy lost interest after he could no longer be a pervert. He wandered downstairs, watching as he left footprints on the modern steel steps. It only occurred to him at the bottom that he wasn't wearing shoes. By that point, he didn't care and shrugged it off. The open space he was in had bright yellow on the top half of the walls, and white on the bottom. A dining table was to the left, where there was tile floor. The right had a wooden floor, and was strewn with paintings where there wasn't a couch. 

Cassidy picked his way to the kitchen, but before he could put a pan on the stove, it was taken from him. "Cass, stop pretending you know how to cook" Jacob scolded before leaning in for a kiss. "I have to go, honey, see you at five." 

"Fine, let me go hungry" Cassidy joked, grabbing an apple out of the fruit bowl and taking a bite. "Have a good day, munchkin." 

Jacob flashed a smile before heading out the door, leaving Cassidy to his own devices. That could either be very good, or very bad, and Cassidy was definitely ready to find out which one it would be today. With a grin, he went upstairs and picked out a canvas. 

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Standing back to admire his work, Cassidy was pleased. The dark, dreary colors bled together into a chaotic, messy work that could vaguely be seen as a forest trail, with a lone figure two-thirds of the way down. With a flourish, Cassidy signed it in ink. He checked the clock on the wall in his studio, which proclaimed it 12:32. 

Since he didn't have anything to do until five, he decided to go out for awhile. It'd been a week or two since his last outing, and he was eager for some fresh air. He was nearly outside when he remembered he was barefoot. He shook his head, laughing at how forgetful he was before putting on comfortable sneakers. A jog would do good once he was in town. 

He got in a sleek black car and was off.