~Sunday 16th September 2018~
"Wren, stop running with that stick, you'll fall and hurt yourself!" Dove yelled, scowling at his little brother who merely thought he was hilarious, "I'll tell mom!" Dove warned, watching the boy stop dead in his tracks, look from the stick to Dove with a pout and finally drop it, "thank you," Dove grinned, returning his attention to Eryll, who was still busy on the phone a few feet away. Dove hadn't bothered to mention to the rest of his family what was going on with Eryll, and was well aware of the degree of judgement about his actions, especially from Presley and Matthew.
"Dove?" the boy's gaze snapped to his left upon hearing his name, a smile splitting his face at the three boys strolling over, all wearing mildly shocked expressions, "you didn't tell us you would be home," Dove didn't get the opportunity to respond before Nimue stepped closer, partially standing in front of him.
"Mr Novoa, do you these boys?" the expressions on the three's faces morphed into something closer to puzzlement. Not very surprising.
"It's fine, Nimue, they're friends of mine," Nimue nodded slowly, returning to her position not too far away, her eyes drifting back to her husband.
"Who's that?" the eldest boy, Mason, asked, still looking at Nimue with an overly scrutinizing expression. Justin, Mason's twin brother, seemed to be wearing an entirely different expression, which no doubt Ravana wouldn't appreciate.
"Um, my personal security, Nimue. One of them anyway," Dove pointed to the playground, where Ravana had been roped into playing with Wren and Swan, "that's Nimue's husband, Ravana. Stop making eyes at her, Justin, she's not interested," where Justin merely rolled his eyes, Mason cocked an eyebrow, and Luka spoke first.
"Why do you have personal security? Atti isn't pestering you that much, is he?" Dove smiled, knowing that Luka meant no harm by the comment. He often dealt with his own issues through jokes, and Dove had gotten used to that a long time ago.
"No, not quite," Dove's cheeks heated a little, "um, my boyfriend is a little psycho about it. He's overprotective, but he means well," Dove intended to point toward Eryll, however, found no need to when the man wrapped an arm around his waist, clearly having just finished his phone conversation. Suspiciously convenient.
"He's your boyfriend?" Mason gawped, only causing a low chuckle to rumble from Eryll's chest, a sound Dove had been sorely deprived of over the past day and a half.
"Yeah, this is Eryll," Dove leant against his boyfriend's side, feeling that near-permanent smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, "Eryll, this is Mason, Justin and Luka. As you can probably tell, Mason and Justin are twins. Luka is Atti's elder brother," Eryll, very politely, shook each boy's hand, even though Dove could sense the tension in the man from the mention of Atticus.
"You better be treating our boy well," Justin was clearly trying to sound tough, although it wasn't working out too well in his favour, "he has bad choice in men, let's hope you break that streak," Dove's blush deepened, knowing exactly where his friends were going to take the conversation, "who's it been so far, Dovey?" God, he hated that nickname, "tourists, mostly, wasn't it? I remember hearing a lot about-"
"Alright, shut up, Justin, my sisters already beat you to that," Dove interrupted before his friend could start babbling, "why do you all want to embarrass me so much?"
"Because it's easy," Mason muttered with a chuckle, only laughing more when Dove childishly stuck his tongue out at him, "hang on, don't you work for him?" Mason was much quicker than Luka and Justin, likely having gotten the information about Eryll being Dove's boss from Falcon. Dove hadn't mentioned much to anyone else in their hometown about his work, after all, he hadn't even expected to get the job when he left in the first place.
"Yeah, Eryll is my boss," Dove noticed the very subtle change in Eryll's demeanour, couldn't quite figure out the cause but definitely noted it, "and no, he's not taking advantage of me in any way, before any of you even mention it," Dove added swiftly when he saw the frown forming on both Luka and Justin's faces, "Eryll is very good to me," Dove beamed up at Eryll, who leant down to capture the boy's mouth in a short but sweet kiss, one that was cut short by the ringing phone, "it's fine, take it," Dove whispered, his lips only a few centimetres from Eryll, peppering a few chaste kisses there first. Eryll smiled weakly, mouthing his apologies as he stepped away once again to take the call.
"Is something wrong?" Luka asked quietly, obviously believing Eryll was out of earshot. Had he been human, Luka would have been correct in his assumptions. Dove waited until Justin and Mason had been dragged away by his two younger siblings, having always been content to confide the little things in Luka. He would be vague, of course, since the information wasn't his to tell, maybe it would help.
"His friend died yesterday," Dove whispered, glancing toward Eryll, who gave him a curt nod and flashed a feeble smile, "he's got some stuff he has to sort out with work because of it," Luka frowned, squeezing Dove's hand.
"Must be hard on him, on the both of you. Give him my condolences," Luka had always been such a caring person, it seemed to run in his bloodline, "is that all? I can see in your eyes there's something bothering you," Dove couldn't even begin to explain to Luka the weight on his shoulders that was only ever-increasing the longer he remained at home. His uncle, Matthew, about a thousand other things. He most definitely wouldn't even begin to divulge the most prominent notion in his mind, one he had yet to even voice to Eryll. The selfish little idea of never returning, of remaining stowed away in San Francisco with his lover where his happiness flourished. No, that was something he wasn't ready to talk about. Dove forced a smile, hoping it looked more believable than it felt.
"Just being home, y'know? Everything's fine, Luka, don't worry about me."
"Have you thought any more about my offer?" Dove looked up from his suitcase, seeing Eryll watching him from across the room, already dressed.
"What offer?" Dove had an inkling at what Eryll was hinting at, and really wasn't in the mood for that conversation so early in the morning.
"Stopping working," and there went the bright mood Dove had drifted into after a nice long shower with his lover, a part of him suddenly suspicious that Eryll had been buttering him up with the last half an hour.
"I don't know," Dove sighed, having intended to wear a pair of pastel pink panties to tease Eryll with but no longer feeling in the mood for anything like that, "I like my job, and I don't wanna be totally dependent on you. It'll feel like a burden."
"You're no burden to me, Dove, I want to provide for you. I don't want you to work when it's unnecessary," Dove rolled his eyes, pulling on a pair of sweatpants and one of Eryll's hoodies, having grown accustomed to being swamped in the fabric, knowing his lover found it rather adorable too, which was only a bonus.
"You're asking me to be your housewife, Eryll," Dove set about tidying the room a little, thinking if he occupied himself enough then Eryll would drop the stupid topic.
"Not quite," Eryll said with a chuckle, brushing his fingers over Dove's hips and back whenever the boy got within reach, obviously trying to prevent the atmosphere from dropping any lower, "but the idea, I suppose, in essence, is the same. I just don't see the point of you working for me anymore."
"What would I do? I don't wanna just mope around the penthouse all day," Dove could feel himself growing agitated and could sense that Eryll wasn't enjoying not getting his way. Not that he ever did.
"You don't have to, you can have hobbies, you can come to work with me-"
"Eryll, you're acting like I'm your property, like a pet, not your boyfriend," Dove wanted to stop the conversation, and really he should have just walked out. He seemed to be having difficulties with that area of judgement recently.
"You're blowing this out of proportion, Dove, can't you just do this for me?" Eryll said with a sigh, God, he was such a child, getting in a bad mood the minute something didn't go his way.
"I don't know, Eryll, just stop asking me about it, OK?" Dove happened to look away for a moment, only catching the tail end of whatever Eryll had muttered, his eyes immediately moving back to the man, "what did you say?" Eryll was scowling by that point, truly looking like a toddler having a temper tantrum.
"I said you certainly have some differences to Ollie," the mention of Olha wasn't what set Dove off, it was the venom in Eryll's tone that really grated on his nerves.
"Why's that? Because I don't listen to your every whim and follow your every command? I'm your boyfriend, Eryll, not your bitch," Dove hadn't even realised the two had raised their voices beyond what would be acceptable for a heated discussion. They were truly having their first real argument, and it had all begun over something so insignificant.
"I'm not saying that, I'm just saying you could benefit more from listening to me. Ollie did."
"And look where that got him," Dove snapped, realising all too late that he had overstepped the line, so had Eryll, he wasn't the only one who needed to calm down, "God, you really are still in love with him, aren't you?" Dove scoffed bitterly, shaking his head.
"Of course I am, Dove, I never denied that-" Eryll didn't finish his sentence, instead falling silent, pinching the bridge of his nose as he often did when he was losing control. Dove should have taken that as a sign to walk away, to go elsewhere to calm down. But, of course, he didn't.
"Go on, say it," Dove coaxed through gritted teeth, frowning so deeply he too was feeling the effects of an impending headache, "we're supposed to communicate in a fucking relationship, Eryll, so say-"
"Sometimes I just think it's not fucking worth it," Eryll snapped abruptly, his voice so loud nearly echoed in the room, "I should have just let Ollie die because you're a pretty piss poor excuse for the man he used to be!" the second the words had been said, Dove knew Eryll regretted them, seeing the guilt on the man's face, "Dove, wait, I-" he said in a much softer tone, reaching out to touch Dove, who only batted away his hand.
"Fuck you," he rasped, tears already streaking down his cheeks as he stalked from the bedroom, ignoring any and everyone he passed. Dove left the house completely, wandering down to that bench on the dock, thankfully knowing the path well enough to do so in a near-blind state, the tears blurring his vision.
Dove often ventured off to the bench on the dock when he really needed to think, it made him feel close to his father, who always seemed to have the best advice in times like that. He may have hated that awful lake but he couldn't deny the sense of tranquillity it set within him. He had spent a lot of time there with his father, it was always the best place for him to go to think. And, boy, did he need to think.
Eryll's love for Olha wasn't any new information, and usually, it didn't even bother Dove all that much. He had mostly come to terms with the fact that Eryll's love for him had blossomed from Olha and his soul yet knew that wasn't the only reason his lover was with him. However, Dove also knew he couldn't compete with Olha, and that was what scared him.
He couldn't be Olha, couldn't even come close to him in Eryll's eyes, and he knew it. Olha was on some pedestal in Eryll's mind, one that Dove would never be able to shake him from. If Eryll was ever to choose between him and Olha, Dove knew who he would pick. It terrified him. He would never be enough, he would never be the true thing. He would always come second best to a man he had never even met.
They may share an appearance and a soul but Dove knew he was nothing alike Olha. He actually felt as though he related more to one of the reincarnations he had dreamt about, Caius. He wasn't suicidal, of course, yet he felt he had the same views as him. He didn't want to be Olha, he didn't want that burden on his shoulders. He wanted to be enough for Eryll, was it really so much to ask? Was it really so selfish to want to be loved for who he was not who he used to be?
"What are you doing out here, beau?" Dove flinched at the sound of his uncle's voice, shrinking back when the man settled down awfully close to him.
"N-Nothing," Dove murmured, fidgeting with the sleeves of his hoodie in his lap, keeping his eyes trained on the deck at his feet.
"Beau, I know when something isn't right with you," Dove almost whimpered when Roy rested a hand on his thigh, applying just enough pressure to make the action known.
"Just stuff with Eryll," Dove hoped that maybe if he answered his uncle's questions, he would leave. It was fruitless, truly Dove knew that, but what else did he have other than hope?
"What happened?" Dove grimaced when Roy's hand began to move, stroking his leg slowly, gradually moving further and further up.
"We had an argument," Dove muttered through gritted teeth, every fibre in his body tensing to the point of an almost ache spreading throughout his form.
"Y'know, I don't think he treats you well, beau," had the atmosphere not been so suffocating, Dove may have rolled his eyes at such an ironic comment made from his uncle, "your mom was just telling me how she's scared he values his work more than you, he doesn't sound like a very good match for you," a shiver ran down Dove's spine when Roy lent closer, his warm breath fanning out over the boy's skin, causing tears to well in his eyes, "you deserve someone who pays very close attention to you, beau," Dove whimpered when he felt Roy's lips touch his neck, a tear managing to slip down over his cheek.
"Roy... Stop, please," Dove whispered, his voice wavering awfully as more tears spilt down his cheeks.
"Hush, beau, let me make you feel good, let me take care of you," Dove couldn't breathe, couldn't manage to draw in any air as thoughts and emotions overwhelmed him, trapping him there, frozen in his seat. Tears flowed freely down the boy's cheeks whilst he battled for control of his own body, the fear winning as it always did.
"No," it wasn't until Roy's fingers brushed over the waistband of Dove's sweatpants that the boy finally snapped out of the trance he terror put him in, leaping from his seat, "stop, y-you're not doing this anymore," Dove didn't sound nearly as confident as he would have liked, in fact, he sounded pathetic.
"Come on, beau, I know you like it," Dove took tentative steps back as Roy closed in on him, "I won't tell your little boyfriend, don't you worry," Dove recoiled when Roy reached out to touch his shoulder, losing his footing, barely having any time to scream before he plunged into the icy lake.