Keaton walked until his screaming mind had begun to calm down. Until he could breathe without wanting to sob.
He looked around him, figuring out where he was, and then turned to hike back home. He’d come a long distance since he’d stormed out. Farther than he’d expected.
When Keaton finally walked back into his house, sweaty and tired, he found something very surprising.
His boyfriend, his Sawyer, was curled up on the couch with Gary. And they were eating sushi from the local Thai place. Jealousy roared through Keaton, but he fiercely shut it down. Sawyer was just being a good host.
Pressed against Gary’s side. With Gary’s feet in his lap. Yeah, no.
“This looks cozy,” Keaton said with more sarcasm than he’d intended.
“Hey, babe,” Sawyer grinned up at him. “Guess what we’re watching?”
Keaton managed to not roll his eyes. He didn’t have to look; he could hear the movie just fine. “Kraken. Great. Did you order any for me, or did you decide that a nice little dinner and a movie for two was in order?”
Sawyer’s brow furrowed as he looked at Keaton. “How was your walk?”
“Lonely,” Keaton muttered before stomping back to his bedroom to quickly shower off and dress in clothes that weren’t sweat soaked.
He’d gotten the shower running and was just stepping out of his clothes when Sawyer slipped into the bathroom. Keaton saw him in the mirror, but kept his eyes down, avoiding looking at his… boyfriend.
The little victory from earlier in the day felt very hollow now.
“Talk to me,” Sawyer whispered as he wrapped his arms around Keaton’s waist. “Why are you upset?”
“Why am I upset?” Keaton spun, throwing his arms up and pulling away from Sawyer. “Why would I be upset to come home and find my boyfriend cuddled up to someone else? I’ve been waiting for a month for you to decide on a label for us. You finally do, and then immediately curl up with Gary?”
“Keaton…” Sawyer reached for him again, but Keaton stepped back into the now hot water and pulled the curtain closed.
Keaton knew he was being an ass. But there were too many emotions swirling around in him. Too many thoughts.
Too much pain. For himself. For Gary. For Sawyer.
“You…” Sawyer’s voice was soft, softer than Keaton was used to hearing. “You said you had a surprise for me?”
Keaton laughed and pulled the shower curtain open so that he could glare at Sawyer. “Yep! I’d found a spell to summon the kraken. I didn’t think it’d be a real kraken. I thought it might be an octopus or squid shifter. That we could have a little tentacle fun for real. And it worked! Better than I expected.”
Keaton fell silent for a moment as he pondered that nugget about being careful what you wish for. Finally, he looked up at Sawyer, allowing all the pain he felt to shine in his eyes.
“But I didn’t really expect that seeing you with someone else would hurt so much.”
Sawyer’s eyes softened and he reached into the shower, pulling Keaton in his arms. Not caring about the water dripping everywhere. “Oh, babe.”