Page 30 of Changeling
"Not just her. Seemed to me Lindsey was more concerned with us being seals and turning on you someday than actually having any real hatred for you. Might take a bat upside the head, but…I think there might still be some of your friend in there. Doesn’t mean I’m ever gonna like him,” Nathan finished, wrinkling his nose. “Dude, what is with the white hair? Seriously? That can’t be natural.”
Quickly drying blue eyes looked at Nathan skeptically. “You’ve metmebefore, right?”
Nathan flicked his gaze up at the red hair he loved so much. “Yeah, but…that looks cool.” Hearing yet another laugh, Nathan decided he had officially brought things back to equilibrium—at least for a while. “So...can we maybe get off the floor now? I think you bruised me with that whole crumbling in my arms thing. And I’ve had enough of being manhandled by an incubus for one night.” Nathan smirked at Sasha as they helped each other to their feet.
“Nathan…”
“Yeah, I know,” Nathan jumped in, “I’m an idiot. Never should have gone after them alone. It just pissed me off so much to see how that guy treated you. Besides, I think I deserve a little credit for managing not to get killed.”
Sasha rolled his eyes. Then he caught sight of the guitar on the floor and grimaced. "Oh, god...I can't believe I almost smashed that."
"Me either," Nathan agreed. "Guess you'll have to make it up to me somehow."
Leaning up toward Sasha's lips was easy, and as their mouths met, slightly parted for the smoothness of their tongues to collide and tangle, Nathan focused on that wonderful Sasha smell, like leather and vanilla and something indefinable. He felt the last bit of tension from the night’s events slip away, feeling Sasha's hands slide around to his lower back, tickling the skin at the edge of his T-shirt as they embraced.
"Ah!" Nathan called out the moment his and Sasha's chests pressed together. His wounds were nicely cleaned and dressed again, but they hurt like hell.
“Nathan?" Sasha pulled away. "Are you okay? I made them worse tonight, didn't I? I'm so sorry I pushed you.”
"It's fine. Don't worry about it. Lindsey pushed me around first."
Sasha frowned.
"Dude, I'm fine. Really this time." Nathan gripped Sasha's neck to indicate how much he wanted another kiss rather thanan argument. He was starting to feel the loss of his addiction for Sasha again and had no problem admitting it.
Sasha licked his lips as his eyes glanced down Nathan's body, making Nathan shiver with anticipation. Their lips crashed back together, both of them being more conscientious of Nathan's wounds this time and keeping their chests apart. It was so frustrating for Nathan because he wanted to be embraced—he loved the way Sasha enveloped him—but the feeling of soft lips and a warm mouth had to be enough.
Well, at least as far as an embrace was concerned; there were others ways they could pass the night.
Thenextmorningtheypacked up the car again to continue their trek to the nearest doorway, and then head on to Maine, where’d they exchange their current vehicle for another—something they were trying to be more careful about even without Gabriel around. Jim was grabbing the last of their things from the room while Nathan and Sasha organized the trunk. For some reason, all of their things weren’t fitting like usual, and it would only get worse once Jim added his bag.
“Here, I’ll make things simpler,” Sasha said, grabbing the guitar case. “Been meaning to get some practice in anyway. More so than just…last night. Would you mind, or do you think Jim would mind at all if I plucked away in the backseat for a while?”
“Go nuts, man. I’m sure Jim won’t care.”
They climbed into the car, Nathan up front finally, having demanded that he get to drive again, and Sasha in the back to better fit the guitar.
As they waited for Jim, Nathan soon heard experimental strumming from the backseat. It was soothing. Nathan definitelywouldn’t mind driving to the sounds of Sasha playing the guitar, especially when he started to recognize the song Sasha was turning acoustic. It made Nathan grin. Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” was one of his favorite songs. The whole thing was even better when Sasha started to sing.
Nathan smirked to think how well Sasha fit into his life, how much he enjoyed Sasha’s presence, his conversation, his voice, his affections and caresses. Sasha was part of the family now. Part of Nathan. Part of everything Nathan…loved. And he never wanted to lose that.
As Sasha sang,“All these words I don’t just say,”Nathan thought of how true that line was for him. So, when Sasha sang the next line, Nathan found himself singing along, adding in familiar harmony to complement Sasha’s voice.
The incubus immediately faltered in his strumming and stopped.
Nathan shifted in his seat. “Sorry.”
“You’re a tenor,” Sasha said with some amazement.
Those unexpected words had Nathan squirming again. “I guess. No big deal. Why?”
“You’re reallygood,” Sasha amended. “I just figured your singing voice would be lower. Usually when I hear you, you’re screwing around. Here, will you sing that again? I’ll start a few lines before.”
“Uhh…listen, man—”
“Please,” Sasha said, staring at Nathan with those vibrant blue eyes through the rearview mirror. “Don’t over think. Just do the harmony with me. Okay? I know you know it.”
Well, Nathan couldn’t deny that. “Don’t expect anything great,” he said by way of acceptance. Sasha just beamed at him from the backseat and started strumming again, back on the previous phrase of the song.
