ERIC
Eric caught himself humming.
That wasn't a normal habit, but he heard music while organizing the mountain of papers on his desk. Then, he realized the music was coming from himself. It was a slow song, only what he could remember: the melody and a few lyrics. He couldn't even name the song if he tried.
"You seem happy," Leo said, poking his head through the door.
"Hey!" Eric stood up straight. He raised the folders up. "Did you come here to help me file? You're too kind."
Leo smirked and let himself inside. Eric's office was small. He believed most of his work was accomplished by visiting other packs, by personally shaking their hand. Nothing important ever got done through email. He only had the essentials: a desk, filing cabinets and a couple of shelves. There were chairs, but Izzy used them the most just to hang out and run recipes by him. The door and the first wall was made up mostly by warped, foggy glass. People could only see shapes and colors on the other side.
"We didn't talk much when I was in the city," Eric admitted, plopping down on his chair. He didn't feel quiet at home yet. He couldn't relax. He felt like there were a million things he still needed to do.
Slouching, Leo shuffled inside. He didn't sit down immediately. He glanced to the side. "Well, you're not very good at texting. Like you're on Abuelo's level of bad."
"Thank you..." Eric chuckled, watching his little brother chew on a thought. Still, without looking at him, Leo crept closer, slowly settling into one of the chairs.
Eric started to ask, when Leo said, "James is cool. The girls are like dragging him around, making him levitate stuff. They keep calling him magic man and shit- oh, sorry. Um, Mom keeps watching from the distance like a crazy person. She's already picked out your wedding colors. I hope you like yellow-"
"Leo..." Eric sat up. "Is something wrong?"
Leo finally looked at him. His eyes said it all, the worry and the fear. Leo slumped deeper into his seat, snapping his eyes down at his hands. He fiddled with his fingers and mumbled, "I guess... I guess, I was just wondering um, did you... did you always know your mate was going to be a guy?"
Eric rubbed a hand through his hair. Wow. Leo grew up when Eric wasn't looking. Eric shrugged with a fond sort of smile. He remembered staring at guys a little too long in middle school. He remembered nearly running into walls while staring at guys in high school. He remembered wondering what it'd be like to kiss another guy. He remembered kissing girls and thinking there was something missing.
He remembered how awkward it was to be Leo's age.
Eric said, "Sort of... I had my suspicions but then, in college, I had my first boyfriend and everything felt right. It was like my whole world started to make sense. I was like that's when my life started." Eric leaned back, admiring his little brother. It must have taken a lot of courage for him to come here and ask. Eric explained, "I trusted my wolf and my instincts. That's the good thing about being a wolf and having a mate out there somewhere. Your instincts will take over. When you meet your mate, you'll know."
"Did you know when you met James?"
Eric's mouth tightened to a line. "That was... well, it's complicated." He didn't think his brother needed to hear that when he first met James, James was the last person he ever wanted to mate with and yet, despite his own stubbornness, they've ended up here. "I guess that's another lesson for you. Everyone's story is different. Your story will be different from mine, Izzy's and our parents. It'll happen for you, I promise Leo."
Leo nodded and climbed back up. He took a deep breath and walked towards the door. Halfway out, Leo glanced back and mentioned, "Oh, and the family albums are in your bottom drawer."
Eric blinked and opened the last drawer, finding the albums full of his most embarrassing pictures. Eric smiled. "You're a great brother, you know that?"
Leo looked at him an extra second, before saying "You really do seem different. For the better though, like you've mellowed out. You're not so tense..." He left with that and Eric rested in his chair. A weight lifted off his shoulders. It was a surprise. The relief that came from Leo's observation. Eric didn't even realize he was concerned about such a thing.
He tilted his head and just stared at the door. His smile appeared on its own as he thought about James. Thinking about James was becoming Eric's favorite past time. Eric should quit this job. Give Izzy the job of Alpha and he'd just spend all day catering to James. He'd follow him around, being at the oracle's beck and call. He'd be paid in kisses and James could be creative with any bonuses.
He looked around and for the first time inside that office, he didn't feel like working. He got up and actually left his office with work still needed to be done. He followed the sound of music and laughter, the sounds of sizzling food and its smell. Warmth pooled into Eric's stomach and his mouth watered. He quickened his step and found himself in the living room where the kids were messing around. Eric stepped over his younger cousins and kids from the pack as they wrestled. Eric poked his head into the kitchen. He rested against the threshold with folded arms. Izzy had given James the difficult task of shredding cheese. They were laughing so hard, they couldn't breathe.
They were still laughing when Izzy caught Eric's eye. She blinked. "You're done already?"
Eric shrugged. "I'll finish it later."
"Later? Eric Silva doesn't do later." She tried to shake away her shock.
He walked right past her and leaned on the counter next to James. James peaked up at him, tearing his attention from the cheese. He smiled up at him, his ears turning pinker by the second and said, "Hi."
"Hi," he smirked, nudging James' shoulder.
"Who are you?" Izzy accused him. "What have you done with my brother?"
Shaking her head, she went back to the stove, where she had all four kitchen eyes going and even the fryer on the side was sizzling. If he could take the smell in this room and make a candle out of it, he'd always carry a piece of home with him. With his sister's attention elsewhere, Eric leaned over the counter and sought out James' eyes. Eric wiggled his eye brows and James laughed into his shoulder, awakening the childish part of Eric. He reached over and took a handful of cheese and to James' horror, he dropped the shreds into his mouth.
"Hey! You're eating my hard work!"
Eric grinned. "It's only cheese."
"It was fifteen minutes of my life," James said and shoved Eric a little so he'd stumble and back away. Eric chuckled, tempted to go for more. He raised his hand and James struggled, using his foot to keep Eric at bay. James couldn't move the cheese grater or specks of cheese would fleck everywhere. "Go back to work!" James barked and tickled Eric more.
Then suddenly, James' phone buzzed to life and the fight was over. He panicked, struggling to find a place to set the grater down so he could answer his phone. "Uh-"
Without asking, Eric automatically took the grater and the block of cheese. "Go," he motioned James, who smiled a little. In that moment, it seemed he forgot all about the phone call completely, until Izzy sighed.
She stepped in. "No way. You can't be trusted."
As she snatched the grater away, James checked his phone and blinked. "Oh. It's work. Um, a client. She's on a special date tonight and maybe she's going to get proposed to, she's not sure-" It was then he realized this was a weirdly long explanation and the phone was still ringing. He finally just said, "I'll be right back."
Eric watched James leave the room, speaking quietly into his phone. Eric wasn't able to enjoy his daze for long. Izzy instructed him to prep several vegetables and begin the boiling process for noodles. He was also tasked with setting the table and yet, when she said it, that sounded like the last thing he wanted to do. Besides, he had been hearing the kids screaming and squealing for almost half an hour now and he had been itching to give them something to do. He escaped the kitchen and broke up a heated game of Uno.
That phone call seemed to be going on for a long time. Glancing around a few rooms, Eric tried to find James. He didn't want to be a part of the call. He didn't even want to keep James from his work or his client. He left his office to be with James. He just wanted to stand next to James. Eric stepped outside on the front porch. The lanterns have flickered awake, painting the house in a warm orange glow. There was the softest breeze and Eric filled his lungs with the sweet smell of the woods. His soul was calm out here.
"Everything is going to be fine..."
Eric perked up, hearing James' voice. He walked along the porch, glancing over the rails. James had his phone pressed to his ear as he looked down at the stone steps. The porch lights just barely reached him. He paced, hoping from step to step, in a world of his own. When James hopped on the very last stone, he'd turn around and hop the steps again. Eric couldn't help but smile. He leaned against the railing and rested his head in his hand.
James said, "He's already crazy about you..." James' smiled and Eric hung the world on that smile. "You just have to keep being you. He likes your little mannerisms," James said, nearly missing his footing. He righted himself and threw a thumbs up for only his own benefit. Eric had to swallow a chuckle. James said, "The way you use your hands when you talk, your smile and your voice. Just continue to be you and you'll be perfect."
"I agree," Eric spoke up and James jumped, fumbling off the stones into the grass. A cartoonish-like yell flew out of James' mouth and he tittered like a rocking horse until he fell right on his butt. Eric sputtered into a laugh that he hid behind his hand. He grabbed the railing, crumbling to his knees in a fit of laughter.
"Um," his sister said from the sliding glass door. Behind her, a crowd of his family had formed. The Silva family traveled in groups.
He peered up through blurry eyes that filled with tears as he couldn't stop laughing. From the grass, James raised his fist and barked, "ERIC SILVA YOU JUST WAIT TILL I GET UP THERE!" This only tickled Eric more and he laughed so hard he thought his sides were going to split open.
Izzy said, "he's broken."
"It's very odd," Eric's Aunt Rose agreed.
And as his family looked on, James appeared to beat Eric to a pulp and Eric ran away. He was a kid again. He had forgotten what it was like to play and for the first time in forever, his mother had to call him back inside for dinner.
#
Eric loved his family, but leaving the house was just like playing a sport. He had to run, he was tackled and he had a goal to make. In this situation, the finish line was the front door. He had to pry James out of his mother's hands. She kissed James on both cheeks and during their third hug, she whispered to him, "Thank you."
Panic struck Eric and he shouted over them all before James even had a chance to entertain what Eric's mother could have possibly meant. Eric basically shoved James out of the house and slammed the door behind them.
"GOODNIGHT!" He shouted over his shoulder and that was that. When Eric finally arrived at his car, he melted into seat. He longed for bed. Everything was sore after that long drive and all the running around. It was amazing Izzy's food didn't put him in a coma, it was so filling.
As Eric turned his keys, James smiled.
"What?" Eric asked as the engine roared to life.
"It's nice..." he shrugged a little. His hands were folded. He was still, staring out the window. His face was turned away, but he felt so much further out of Eric's reach. He said, "Everyone is so lively. It's never quiet. A friendly face around every corner..." His voice drifted.
This was it. It was Eric's chance to open a few doors James has closed along the way. Eric sat up. "How old were you when Delphine found you?"
"Ten," he said. He laughed a little, but his voice was on the edge of breaking. Eric was compelled forward. He wanted to fix it. He wanted to keep James happy, but this wasn't something he could fix. The only thing he could do was listen and respect whatever James gave him. It scared Eric. His instincts were so attuned to James' emotions and to his wellbeing. If it came down to it, Eric knew he'd throw himself on top of a grenade for James.
"Oracles usually have human parents," James said. He looked up, keeping his voice incredibly steady. "I think that's why we're so rare. It's all based on chance."
"You've never mentioned your parents," Eric whispered, slipping his hand across James' knuckles, until they were firmly wrapped around his fingers.
"Can you really call them parents if they dump you at some orphanage? Delphine was everything for me. She was my mother, my sister, my best friend, my partner and even the crazy aunt when I needed her to be and I'll always be grateful for that but..."
"But it was just the two of you."
"Some days were quieter than others."
"Sounds lonely."
He shrugged again and sniffed. He could keep it together better than Eric thought he could. Eric brought James' hand up to his lips and kiss his knuckles. James sighed, still trying to smile. It wasn't convincing. His eyes couldn't lie. "I'm not-" he started, making a defense for himself. "I really want you to know I'm happy that I came. This isn't-"
"I know," Eric said simply and kissed James' hand again. "I know."
He drove back onto the makeshift road that threatened to shake the car into pieces. Eric loathed driving actually. Mostly because of this road. It used to rattle his brain as a kid and Eric told James that just to make him smile. James did smile, dropping his head onto Eric's shoulder. Eric had a thought. If he wanted to hear every story from James, he should start with a few of his own.
Author's Note
This chapter took so long and it was becoming too long! I had to chop it in half so expect the next chapter really soon! It's not my favorite, but I've gotten it done. Sometimes that's what matters most.
Thank you for reading this far!
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