in the hands of fate (a love by chance, tincan, story)

chapter 16: you're so cruel

Good had seemed keen to meet up and it had been a while since they'd spent any quality time together, what with Ren and Tin taking up all Can's time his best friend had been neglected. Not that Good seemed to mind, he was someone also happy in his own company and he had the team as well.

Can turned down offers from the Medthanan driver to take him somewhere. He felt guilty taking lifts in the Medthanan cars as it was but at least before Tin had been with him. He wasn't going to accept it while Tin was away even though he suspected that Tin was behind the offer in the first place. True, a comfortable luxury car would be kinder to his sore backside than the bus was being, but part of him liked that he could still feel Tin's imprint.

Who was he kidding? More than part of him liked it. He loved it, wanted to feel the burn where Tin had been until he came back on Thursday to make him sore again. Or—maybe Can could be on top? If Tin was up for that, Can didn't know yet.

Can nearly missed his stop due to being lost in that fantasy. He stayed half-an-hour at Good's house while his mother made a huge fuss of Ren, then he and Good walked over to his Ma's house to pick up Gucci. They had a pleasant day and when he took Gucci back home later Ma was there so he got to spend time with her as well. They agreed that Gucci should stay with her until he moved into the larger room at the Medthanan house and he felt bad about the whole thing because he knew Ma and Ley loved Gucci as much as he did.

Ma cooked dinner and drove him and Ren back home afterwards so it was nearly 8 o'clock by the time he arrived back. He sorted Ren's bedtime and then ran a bath in the hope that it would soothe his soreness. Lying back in the bubbles he stared up at the ceiling and felt Tin's absence strongly. He grinned to himself as his thoughts took him down an X-rated path, thinking about switching roles and being on top, saying out loud, "Should have said yes from the start, Can, you could've been having that amazing sex all this time." His filthy thoughts led to him reaching for his dick and jerking off to memories of the previous night. Not the same as having Tin her with his hands on his dick, but enough to make him come hard.

Eventually he exited the bath and padded out into the bedroom with a towel around his waist and another around his neck. He sat on the bed and watched Ren sleeping which he rubbed his hair dry. She was getting so big now and turning into such a character. It was early days, but he could already see her mother in her features and none of his own, well maybe his ears.

Can had not been lying when he'd told Tin that he read—he'd been reading a lot since Ren's arrival for certain—that was how he'd decided not to bother with getting a stroller. It was also how he was not too worried about Ren inheriting the less pleasant aspects of her mother's personality such as her obsessive stalker tendencies and hatred for those she perceived lesser than her. He was the one raising Ren, not Lhew, and okay, Ren might one day find herself speaking her mind too often like her father, but she would be okay. He had to believe that.

"When did you become such a worrier?" he grumbled to himself. He leant over Ren and kissed her soft cheek. "This is all your fault you know."

He startled in surprise when there was a knock at the door. Shit, he was still wearing the towel. "Just a minute!" he said, heading over to greet the visitor, expecting Jet or Ani. He opened the door with a friendly smile.

"Hello, Can."

Tul Medthanan.

Can's smile faded and his stomach dropped into his boots. Except, well, he was just wearing a towel and had no footwear on.

Tul slowly looked him up and down and said, "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Can's fists clenched automatically. Just the one look at the man's face made him itch to punch him. "Tin's not here," Can hedged. There was no way he was letting this asshole over the threshold. He knew very well that Tin would never allow his brother into his private quarters and Can planned to stick to that.