Page 69 of The Sixth Spring

“That is not true at all,” Itori said. He leaned in and kissed Will again. “You matter so much to me. How could I be free, knowing you are still caged?”

What he was offering was impossible. Itori couldn’t stay, and Will couldn’t go, especially not where Itori was going. To contemplate it was to flirt with further heartbreak.

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Will said. “It’s–it’s impossible.”

They didn’t have a lot of time left, days at the most. Will wanted to know everything there was to know about Itori, but so often their conversations ended up in places that left him bruised. It wasn’t Itori’s fault. Will just didn’t know how to handle someone caring about him. Someone willing to throw away their freedom to stay with him.

But he couldn’t let that happen.

Will’s hands found Itori’s face, tracing the ridge of scales above his eyes, the flatter shape of his nose. He grounded himself with the touch, the realness of Itori, right in front of him.

There was something easy now about connecting physically. How it pushed every thought out of his head until nothing hurt. The pleasure they shared, the exchange, was always good.

And Itori needed it to get stronger.

“Kiss me,” Will said.

Itori hesitated a moment, and then did. He kissed Will once, twice, a third time. Then he gathered him up into his lap, holding him close, opening his mouth to lick into Will’s.

Will sank into it. He felt the heat of Itori’s wandering hands, and pretended he couldn’t feel the ticking clock sitting just farther down the road.

###

Will moaned as they pushed against each other, rutting desperate and slick. His mouth had fallen open and they kissed in gusts of ragged breaths.

Can you do it safely?

The words came breathy in his ear. Will realized he’d been talking, and Itori was answering.

I’ll be careful. I’ll be careful.

He clutched at Itori’s shoulders, head thrown back as the water deepened. The cold licked up his kneecaps and thighs, and then closed over his hips where Itori was burning against him.

Hold your breath, Itori said. Will sucked in a deep full lungful of air and Itori took them under.

He wasn’t afraid as the dark waters swallowed them up. The pleasure sang through his body, and he trusted Itori to take care of him. To protect him.

He was pulled along until his lungs began to ache. He squeezed at Itori’s hand to tell him, and then was yanked upward to the surface.

After wiping his eyes, Will found they were in the lake on the other side of the grocery store.

Itori waded them to shore, and then let Will go.

Will stood, dripping, on the marshy bank. In the distance, he could see the back door light, and the bugs that swirled around it. In his hand was a familiar set of keys.

I’ll be quick, Will said.

I will wait, Itori said.

Will turned and started toward the light.

###

Will woke in the morning to an ache in his shoulders. As he rolled onto his side, his shoulders screamed in pain.

It dragged him into a wakefulness. He rolled onto his back with a groan.

A glance at his bedside table told him he’d woken before the alarm. Will felt under-slept, groggy. He’d gone to bed…