The Travelers - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Oz arrived at his shelter after the time of discipline with Corbin, and was pleased to see that Cay and Amrynn had returned.  They’d both been called away for their professional help almost as soon as their shelter had been set up, so none of them had gained any chance to rest yet.  His mouth turned up in a smile as he saw Cayson lightly caress Amrynn’s cheek. and follow up the touch with a gentle kiss.  The familiar sensation of warm contentment moved through him when he saw his two loves together.  It was the best feeling in the world to him, and it grew even stronger when his spouses noticed his approaching presence and offered him sincere smiles of greeting.  He sat with them on the mat placed just outside their canvas and offered a tender kiss, first to Amrynn and then to Cay.  Am leaned into his side and held up something in her hand.

“Look, Oz.”

His smile grew as he saw what she held.  It was a necklace he’d seen before and something he knew Am treasured.  The simple chain wasn’t expensive or flashy, but on it was every ring Cayson had presented Amrynn with since her tenth birthday; the rings were placed in order as they’d been given, each one having gotten a little nicer with each passing year. The telling of that story earlier in the day must have made his wife want to see the necklace again.  Oz affectionately kissed the top of her head and sent a smile in Cayson’s direction.

“I didn’t realize you brought that on the trek.  I’d have thought you would have left it in the ship,” he commented.

“I thought about it,” Am told him, “but it represents so much, Oz.  Our lives as children, our home, our start as a Trio.  Bringing it to Neveah and on this trek feels like I can make it a part of our future together…a blending of our old life and new life.”

It was a lovely thought, but the time to dwell on it was short-lived as the announcement was made that third meal was ready for Group 1.

Amrynn sighed slightly before pulling away from Oz’s side.  She carefully wrapped the necklace and put it away in her bundler.  “I’ll be glad when we can have a place of our own again.”

“Yeah,” Cay murmured in agreement.  “I’ve thought about that while we’ve been hiking,” he shared.  “I’ve been picking out places that would be potential spots to build on.”

“Me too,” Oz and Amrynn said in unison, making Am giggle and Oz grin.

“We have to be patient though,” Oz reminded them.  “You know the plan already set in place.  We’ll be staying as a group for a while until we learn more about Neveah and how we can live here. Eventually we’ll spread out onto plots of land and work to make Neveah suitable for all Arlytians to live on.”

“Hopefully without doing harm to the planet itself,” Am added.  “It’s so pure right now that I hate the thought of polluting it at all.  I’ve already been working on ideas and plans to help maintain the planet’s purity.”

Over Amrynn’s head, Cay and Oz shared a look that bespoke the pride they had in their wife’s statement. 

The three of them gathered their portions from Group 1’s culinary workers and returned to their canvas.  It didn’t provide a lot of privacy, but the shelters were spaced far enough apart that people didn’t have to feel crowded.  Oz, Amrynn and Cay were grateful for a little bit of distance since they each treasured the times when it could just be the three of them.

“Where were you earlier, Oz?” Cay asked once they were settled with their food and each other.

Oz swallowed the bite in his mouth before explaining.  “With Backer Corbin.  He tripped and cut his palm.”

“How badly?  Should I look at it tonight?” Cay questioned.

Oz shook his head.  “It needed a couple sews, but I cleaned and bandaged it.  It should hold for a couple days.”

Cay wasn’t worried then.  Oz may not have a med specialty, but he was definitely knowledgeable enough to take care of such a wound.  “Were you taking care of him at his shelter?”

“No.  He made a confession to me while I was taking care of the injury that required me following through on a promise.”

Cay and Amrynn met eyes.  While they’d never willingly spread gossip amongst the Travelers, they didn’t usually keep the happenings in their lives from each other, so they were aware of the promise Oz was referring to.

“Was the disrespect to you?” Cay asked, knowing that Oz had been the recipient in the past and not liking it then or now.

“No, it was directed to Charge Kel, and I offered Corbin the choice of letting Kel handle it, but he chose to face me.”

“What was the incident?” Amrynn wanted to know.  Despite Oz’s promise to Corbin, she knew that he wouldn’t have enforced a matter of discipline unless the disrespect was truly blatant.

Oz took a long drink before answering.  “He told Kel to ‘Choke on it’.”

Amrynn’s eyes grew big and Cay let out a hiss.  As Oz had mentioned to Corbin, Cayson had personal experience on Oz’s feelings about using that phrase.  He almost uncertainly met Oz’s gaze, and ended up landing a light punch on his husband’s shoulder when he saw the amusement playing in Oz’s eyes.

“Hey, no smirking!  I learned my lesson six years ago!”

“I should hope so,” Oz said, still looking more amused than Cay wanted to see.  He threw a glare at Amrynn when she muffled a chuckle behind her hand.

“I don’t need giggles from you, little girl.  You weren’t even there that day.”

“Doesn’t matter.  I still know what happened, and I still stand with Oz on it.”

Cayson grumbled, although he wasn’t truly put out by his partners.  He had deserved what he got that day, no matter how much he hadn’t liked it.  “That’s still one of the worst I’ve gotten from you,” he complained to Oz.  “And it was only the third time you’d ever spanked me.  I think I was in shock for weeks afterward.”

Oz chuckled and wrapped an arm around Cay’s shoulders, pulling the other man against him and planting a solid kiss on Cay’s temple.  “I’m sorry you were traumatized, but you still deserved it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Cay agreed.  “Did you do the same to poor Corbin?  Will he be able to walk tomorrow?”

Amrynn laughed out loud and lightly smacked Cay’s knee.  “You’re such a martyr, Cayson.”

Cay smiled, his face full of teasing.  “I must be a martyr.  I married you.”

“Hey!”

Oz rolled his eyes and proceeded to answer Cayson’s question before the teasing between his partners went downhill.  “Corbin will be fine tomorrow, although I fully expect him to be tender for a day or two.”  He nodded his head toward the copse of trees a short distance away.  “I switched him.  Six stripes, but he’ll survive.”

He didn’t comment on the way both Cay and Amrynn squirmed slightly after hearing Corbin’s penalty.  They’d both been on the receiving end of switchings and knew them to be short but unpleasant experiences.

The thought of themselves in that position seemed to be the signal to change topics.  Cayson and Amrynn began talking about Am’s ideas for continued purification and conservation of as much of the land, vegetation, and animals as possible.  Oz, always willing to listen instead of talk, participated simply by his attentive ear.

When night fell, the three of them settled into their enclosed canvas.  Amrynn immediately rolled into Cayson’s arms, one leg draping itself over him and an arm leaning on his chest as her mouth sought his.  He returned the kiss readily, his hands tangling into her hair and his body shifting to urge her on top of him.

“Feeling amorous, dearling?” he asked huskily when they broke apart.

She grinned at him and brushed a much more chaste kiss across his lips.  “Thinking about all those times you proposed to me…I am.  But,” she sighed, “I need to control myself.  Canvas isn’t known to be the most private material.”

Cayson groaned and rolled, pinning Amrynn beneath him while Oz looked on with a grin.  “If you’re not going to quench the fire, then don’t ignite it, you little tease.”

Oz laughed at Cay’s words and moved to press up against both husband and wife.  “Just a couple more nights and we can have some privacy in our room on the ship.  We’ve been patient before,” he reminded.

Cay groaned again.  “Yeah, I remember being patient.  It sucked.”

Amrynn had to muffle her laughter in a blanket, and Oz leaned close to plant a heated kiss on Cayson’s lips.  “Weren’t we worth waiting for?” he teased lowly.

Cay looked with deep love at both his partners.  “You are more than worth it.”

With a few more kisses shared among them, they eventually settled close together and fell asleep.

*****

Corbin didn’t know how he’d done it, but for the time that Seren had been with them, he’d forgotten all about the soreness from his switching.  Now, however, he was feeling the ache of his stripes full force.  He changed clumsily into night attire and carefully stretched out on his bed mat.

On his side of their shelter, Kel was readying himself for sleep as well, and couldn’t help but notice Corbin’s pained movements.  He finished putting away his clothes and a couple other small items before turning in time to see Corbin carefully lay on his stomach.

“Lad, are you all right?” he asked with clear concern.  He knelt by Corbin’s bed mat and patted his friend’s hand.

Corbin flushed and was tempted to blow off Kel’s question, but he remembered Charge Seren’s stance on lying, and he didn’t want to hurt Kel’s feelings again. 

“I’m all right, Kel…just tender.  I told you that Charge Ozias disciplined me.”  He managed to say the words without his blush getting brighter, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to look in Kel’s face.

“You did, but you seemed all right earlier.”

Corbin picked at a piece of fuzz on his mat.  “With Seren here and all, I was distracted enough to ignore it.  Now I’m just more aware of it.”

“Will you be able to sleep?” Oz worried.

Corbin shrugged.  “I hope.  I can’t really do anything about it.”

Kel patted his hand.  “I can.  I’ve got some cream you can use.  It’s not a cure-all, but it might help you get comfortable enough to sleep.”  He reached for his bundler and pulled out a small tube of ointment.  “Here, I’ll turn my back until you’re done.”

Before Corbin could say anything, the ointment was in his hand and Kel was considerately facing away from him.  For a moment, he didn’t move, just looked thoughtfully at Kel’s back. 

“Thanks, Kel,” he murmured quietly, and then quickly but carefully slid his nightwear out of the way and applied the cream.  He could feel mild ridges on his skin, delineating where the switch had impacted, and he flinched as he gently rubbed the ointment in.  When he was done, he capped the tube and carefully resettled his nightwear.  “I’m done, Kel.”

“Does that help?” Kel asked as soon as he turned back around.

“Yeah,” Corbin gave a small smile, but asked a question that had been on his mind off and on all day as he handed the ointment back to the other man.  “Kel, why are you so nice to me?”

Kel appeared surprised.  “Why wouldn’t I be nice to you, Corbin.  You’re my friend.”

“Yeah, but I haven’t always been friendly to you.  Even when we first met, you were so nice and you didn’t even know me.  And since then you invited me to be your buddy on the trek, you’ve praised my art, made me laugh, you’ve taken care of me.  You’ve even helped me spend time with Charge Seren that wasn’t because I was in trouble.”

“Corbin,” Kel said in a tone that was more serious than normal.  “That’s how I know how to be a friend to someone.  Friends like spending time with each other, encourage one another, laugh together.”  He paused.  “But…”

He clearly started to say something else, but almost instantly seemed to change his mind.

“But what?” Corbin pushed, not entirely understanding the look on Kel’s face.

Kel sighed.  “But I’m not entirely altruistic, Cory.”

Corbin grinned.  “Could have fooled me.”

There was a chuckle offered from Kel, but it wasn’t wholly joyful.  “No matter what, I would have been your friend, and I still want to be.”

Corbin watched Kel take a slow breath and something niggled at his stomach.  He couldn’t define whether it was a good or bad feeling though as he waited for Kel to continue.

“That night we met, you immediately felt special to me,” Kel said quietly.  “I’ve liked you from the start, Corbin, and it grows the more time I spend with you.  If friends is all that’s in it for you, that’s ok, and I know how you feel about Charge Seren; but, do you think you could be interested in anything more…with me?”

Corbin’s mouth dropped open involuntarily, and his expression of surprise seemed to dishearten the other man.  He hadn’t recognized it initially, but there had been an element of hope in Kel’s face when he asked his question.  Now his eyes looked truly disheartened and his gaze drifted to the ground.

“I guess I should have accepted that I wasn’t your type and not put you in this position.  I’m sorry.  Try to forget I mentioned it.”

“No…wait!” Corbin puffed out when Kel looked about to leave their canvas.  Kel halted, but Corbin suddenly realized he wasn’t sure what else to say.  “It’s not…I just…I didn’t realize you liked me like that,” he stuttered.  “It just took me by surprise.”

“I know,” Kel said softly, his face still averted from Corbin’s view.

Corbin was torn, feeling like his next words would define his entire relationship with Kel, and he wasn’t sure he wanted anything to change.

Being unsure ultimately seemed to be what brought words to his mouth.  He swallowed nervously.  “Kel, I haven’t exactly thought of you in any other way than a friend.  Do you think…could I have some time to consider it?  Please?  Do you have to have an answer now?”

Kel turned his head then and met Corbin’s pleading gaze.  Instead of looking dejected as he did a minute ago, he showed that understanding gaze that seemed so natural to him.

“Much as I’d love a fervent ‘Yes!’, you’re right.  I know I blindsided you with this.  I hadn’t really meant to say anything yet but…here we are.  Of course you can have some time to think, Cory.  I’ll still hope you might choose to take a chance with me, but if you don’t…”  A barely audible sigh escaped him, but Corbin still heard it.  “If you don’t, we’ll still be friends.  We can never have too many of them.”

Corbin nodded slowly, but didn’t really start to relax again until Kel settled on his bed mat and blew out the flame in the small lantern they had lit when the sun set.  He laid back down on his mat and pulled his blanket to his chin.  He was pretty sure he wasn’t going to sleep well that night.