Toxic Hearts

[Alva Ren]

"None of your business," Josh said archly, treating Alva to one of his famous disdainful looks.

Alva was finding the burger extremely interesting. He nibbled it and kept his eyes on Rae's stomach--since that was eye-level for him. Now seemed like a bad time to tell Rae that he came to the cabin to save him from a weekend alone with Josh. Yeah... not the appropriate time at all.

"I'm going out for a walk." Josh barely looked at them as he swept out the door, leaving a decidedly awkward silence in his wake.

"That went better than I thought," Alva piped up suddenly, after he had left. But he deposited the burger and beer onto the table and then leaned forward to hug Rae around the middle, letting out a sigh. "He's going to murder me in my sleep, Rae, I can feel it."

[Reagan Ryang]

"Okay..."

Rae watched Josh sweep out. The two of them could definitely be hostile friends but he thought they were doing just fine earlier. Now this. Alva showed up and Josh turned into Mr. Lone Wolf. Rae rolled his eyes slightly and his hand reached for the tequila bottle.

"I wouldn't let him," Rae reassured Alva. Besides, Alva would be beside him--he assumed--so he'd have to get through Rae anyway. Still, he couldn't really argue with the idea itself. He wouldn't put it past Josh to do something to Alva, especially during a full moon. Good thing there wasn't one tonight. Somehow, that didn't make Rae feel any better about the situation.

He toyed with the bottle and looked over at Alva.

"Just ignore him. He's just an elitist asshole." Which... so was Rae but he made a special exception for Alva.

[Alva Ren]

The thing was, even though they were both half-joking, there was still a pervading air of tension left hanging after Josh's departure. Neither of them could be certain that Josh wouldn't... leap on Alva and tear his throat out in the middle of the night. At least, Alva couldn't be sure. But with Josh gone, he could breathe easy for a little while now.

"My hero~ I'll definitely let you be my meat shield," Alva said semi-teasingly, with a small laugh as he reached for his burger and recommenced eating. Rae contemplated the bottle of tequila like it held the secret to everlasting life and Alva... discreetly poked it further away along the tabletop.

"But about this... beer is for bitches thing..." He poked the bottle a little further away and then took a conspicuous swig of the beer.

[Reagan Ryang]

At first, he laughed, because he was feeling pretty good with the alcohol in his system and Alva was teasing him and he looked pretty cute. But then he had to oh-so-subtly push the bottle of tequila away... while bringing up the beer was for bitches thing.

"It was just a thing I said." Rae shrugged. "I mean... I don't think any less of you for drinking it."

Which was kind of a lie... but nobody said he was especially honest all the time, even when he was half drunk. He didn't think less of Alva, anyway, so it wasn't a full lie. He just... thought beer was for bitches, that was all. It was a sissy drink. Even the fruitiest mixed drink was harder than a beer.

At least it wasn't light, though.

"Just, if you're trying to get drunk, beer is the worst way."

[Alva Ren]

Honestly, Alva didn't care if Rae thought beer was for bitches. He wasn't a bitch so it couldn't be true. He just liked watching Rae sweat; it satisfied that little streak of fox-like impishness inside, that he used to be known for before the Incident. Alva used to be mischief personified, or so his mother told him.

"Oh are you the expert on getting drunk? Are you drunk right now?" He wanted to laugh at Rae's discomfort but he kept a straight face, looking serious and maybe even a little indignant. "What else do you say about me behind my back?"

[Reagan Ryang]

"No!" He rubbed the tip of his nose and his cheeks felt slightly flushed. Now he felt awful, since Alva was watching him. Then, "Maybe. Yeah, a little. I don't know how much I drank out of that bottle. Josh had some, too."

Why did he feel guilty about it? They were just having a couple of drinks, like friends did. He had known Josh since he was practically a whelp so it didn't mean anything. The three of them--himself, Aldon, and Josh--they had an understanding. They didn't do that kind of stuff together.

But then they also had an understanding about shifters that ended up thrown out when Aldon started seeing Ryland and Rae started seeing Alva.

"I don't say stuff behind your back," he said, shifting uncomfortably. Now he really wanted that tequila. "I defend you when Josh talks..." He trailed off. "Never mind, just know..."

He reached out and took Alva's hand in his and leaned in to kiss his fingers, his knuckles. "I love you."

[Alva Ren]

Well gee, if Rae was going to be that serious about it...

Alva felt bad but let him go on, a slightly perplexed look stealing over his expression. Rae was acting a little guilty right now--there were the usual tells. The way he was too quick to claim that he wasn't drunk--which meant he was, even if just a little, the fidgeting, the bits and pieces of sentences leading nowhere.

Either he took Alva very seriously or he had done something bad. Alva didn't know what could have happened, though. It wasn't like he and Josh got along particularly well, so the usual fears that one might have had didn't really occur to Alva. Besides, he wasn't the jealous type--and he and Rae had been together for 5 years so obviously they were committed to one another.

"I love you too, you big softie," Alva laughed, his heart softening at the sweet gesture. He ran his free hand up along Rae's arm, onto the back of his neck to pull him closer. "I was only teasing, I know you wouldn't say anything about me behind my back." His smiling lips met Rae's briefly, fondly.

Then, somewhat more mischievously, he put his lips to Rae's ear to whisper in what he imagined was a chilling voice, "Cause you know I'd totally destroy you if you did. I'd take you out at the knees and-and run you over with my wheelchair!"

[Reagan Ryang]

See, he could be a not asshole when he wanted to be. Like right now. Something about Alva generally brought out his softer side, though. It had always been like that, even after he knew Alva was a fox shifter. Not only that, but he was crippled.

Never in a million years did he think he'd be in a long term relationship with somebody he would have mercilessly teased before. But it was Alva. He got all the exceptions.

His smile was fond as Alva drew him closer and kissed him. Then, for a second, he thought Alva was serious. It was the part about being run over by a wheelchair that clued him in. He laughed and turned his head so their noses brushed.

"Liar," he declared.

[Alva Ren]

Alva scrunched his nose at Rae and then tried to look dangerous, slitting his eyes and pinching his lips together into a grim line. "No, I'm a cold-blooded killer, really I am! I've been practicing while you weren't looking!"

Cold-blooded killers probably didn't have to assert that they were, indeed, cold-blooded killers. And they probably didn't need practice. Alva laughed at the mental image of himself leaving a trail of bodies in his wake, all run over by his wheelchair. Okay, maybe not. He wasn't the killing type, as a human or as a fox.

Rae, though, and definitely Josh... They were predators, Rae in his wolf form and Josh--Josh was a predator all around. Alva was glad that he had left. The air felt lighter immediately and he and Rae could talk and joke and be affectionate without a pair of baleful judging eyes on them.

"But don't tell anybody, okay? It's just between us~"

Alva's 'mass murderer' look melted into a warm smile as he lifted his lips to Rae's again, in a less-than-innocent kiss. Hmm... how long would Josh be gone, he wondered... even as one hand slipped indecently low. Alva was not as innocent as he looked--not anymore. He used to be a little shy with Rae but after five years together, there wasn't much that he was afraid to try. That was one of the nice things about being with Rae--he made Alva bolder, and freed him from what would have been a very lonely existence.

[Reagan Ryang]

"Mmhm..." His eyes closed as Alva's hand moved and then he was smirking, like it was a given that his assassin boyfriend would kiss him and then assert himself with his hand over sensitive body parts. Leaning into Alva, he swept a hand up through his hair.

"And who am I going to tell?"

Josh was stupid. An idiot. And wrong. He always came to this foolish conclusion that just because a man could not use his legs meant he was incapable of feeling love or romance or lust. Like he couldn't use his body at all. It drove Rae insane, constantly having to defend his boyfriend from all those annoying verbal assaults.

At the start, it was true that Alva was shy. Rae had to push quite a bit to get them where they were. But five years. Five years was a long time to be with somebody, to learn their quirks and their interests. It was nice to have that, instead of person after person.

But he'd never say that part out loud to the others. They would just laugh their asses off at him.

"So.... the room is upstairs," he said. And this place was not wheelchair accessible, unfortunately. "Want me to give you a lift?"

[Alva Ren]

"People on the street maybe," Alva smiled as he tilted his head into Rae's touch. His scalp tingled where Rae's fingers gently slid through his hair, a highly pleasant sensation which sent a shiver through him.

As Rae mentioned a room, Alva's glance slid up the stairs. "A lift would be great," he said softly, ruefully. This damn wheelchair... and his damned condition. What Alva wouldn't have given to have a working body. A whole body, a normal one.

But these thoughts were commonplace and fleeting; they came as quickly at they went, leaving only a slight melancholy in their wake. Alva slipped his arms around Rae's shoulders to facilitate being picked up.

"We'd better hurry though. Josh might be back soon." He nuzzled against Rae but held off on doing anything too affectionate in case he distracted Rae too much and caused them both to take a tumble back down the stairs.

[Reagan Ryang]

Right, like he was going to run around telling everybody on the nonexistent street out there about Alva's little secret dark side. Hah! He'd have to jog a long way down to even find another person... and the closest person other than Alva would be Josh. Not somebody who found Alva particularly intimidating.

"Hope the door locks," Rae said with a grin. He lifted Alva up with ease and started toward the steps.

He did glance at the front door, half expecting to be caught immediately by Josh. But he was probably out there hunting on his own. His whole weekend seemed ruined by the inclusion of Rae's boyfriend, which hardly seemed fair. Rae didn't think he would be so hostile toward any lovers of Josh's.

It wasn't quite so easy getting Alva up the stairs and he rued the day this cabin didn't come with an elevator up to the upper floor, which was really more of a loft with a couple of rooms.

Inside the room he'd dropped his luggage in, Rae set Alva down on the bed.

"So," he said to make conversation, "what made you decide to come up here to surprise me?"

[Alva Ren]

"I came to rescue you from a weekend with Josh," Alva said easily now that aforementioned Josh was out of hearing range. He added, with a little smile, "And to make sure both of you come back from the trip alive."

There was a strong possibility of one of them killing the other, if past interactions were anything to go by. Then again, all that Alva saw of Josh was the ultra spiteful and aggressive side. He had a feeling that it might have been his presence which set Josh off--Aldon's descriptions of Josh was nothing like what Alva usually saw.

He leaned back slightly on the bed, watching Rae with an admittedly coy gaze. Maybe Rae rubbed some people the wrong way but to Alva, he was always sweet. It was strange, how he could be barking and getting in someone's face one moment, then turn around and hold him so gently. Truth be told, Alva liked the fact that he was special--then again, who didn't?

He was different around Rae, too, though. There weren't many people that Alva opened up to after the trauma of his childhood. He was afraid to let others in but with Rae that seemed to happen naturally.

Reaching out, he pulled at Rae's belt loop to get him to come closer. "Plus... you had to leave in a hurry this morning and I didn't get to finish saying good-bye."

[Reagan Ryang]

He couldn't help smirking. So, this was a rescue mission, was it? Alva wanted to rescue him from his awful friend, did he? Rae understood the underlying concern, though. Josh and Rae together, alone? It was cause for worry. Without Aldon there to temper them, it was quite possible one of them would come away from this trip the worse for wear. (And of course, Rae thought it would be Josh--he considered himself the strongest of their trio... even if they weren't all in agreement about that.)

"Smart," he murmured, moving closer to Alva. The way he looked at him, lying back in the bed like that... it stirred the beast within.

Some people said eh, five years was a long time. Rae wasn't bored though. Sometimes, he missed the rush of somebody new but at the same time, he could replace that feeling with other ones. Rae could just as easily get butterflies from jumping high distances or starting a fight he wasn't sure he'd win or anything dangerous but exciting.

"You didn't," he said, voice growing rougher as he was pulled forward. His hands slid over Alva's face and he leaned in even as he brought Alva's pretty little face closer. When their lips met, he still felt that shiver in his chest. That was the difference between jumping off cliffs and kissing somebody he was one hundred percent comfortable with. Different pleasures.

Still, he deepened the kiss, pushing Alva back against the bed as he straddled him.

"And now we have to make up for that and say hello."

[Alva Ren]

Alva did have a thing about saving people. Supernatural people, that was. The humans he wasn't so fond of, and while he wouldn't let one bleed out in front of him, he wasn't going above and beyond to help, either.

Falling back as he was pushed, Alva tried to hold on to the kiss for as long as he could. He loved Rae, and he loved everything about him from his daredevil streak to his softer and gentler side that few people knew even existed. Hand-in-hand with loving Rae was the fact that he wanted to please him, and while Alva was lacking in some areas, he made up for it in willingness and eagerness. There were creative ways to be intimate that didn't just involve two men in a heap together.

Besides, it wasn't as though Alva lost all interest in sex or stopped feeling desire towards Rae just because he was paralyzed. He couldn't move but he could still want him--sometimes very badly. Erogenous zones that he never knew he had were found through patient and careful exploration. Alva's disability brought them closer together, really, rather than further apart.

"My debt is piling up," he whispered with a soft laugh as they parted for breath, his lips moving against Rae's. Alva's hands slid low without hesitation, and groped with even less shame once they cleared the barrier of Rae's jeans and delved underneath fabric and cloth. He flashed another coy smile up at Rae. "Lose the pants."