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 Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 10:27 am
Quote: Prompt 11 (Burning Bright): This time of year there are candles popping up in just about every shop selling anything. Maybe you stopped by one of these shops yourself, or maybe a friend wanted to get you a thoughtful gift, but somehow you’ve come into possession of a pair of candles. They don’t seem to be anything spectacular upon first glance; they are pretty and well made and have a pleasant fragrance. They would be pretty decor on their own, but once you light them, they really shine. Nonstop. For twenty four hours. No matter what you do, you cannot put the flame out. No wind, no water, no fire extinguisher– nothing–will extinguish the flame. You just have to wait until it burns itself out. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem very flammable so you don’t have to worry about other things catching on fire in the meantime. Wherever you keep the candle will have a pleasant smell for several days after the flame extinguishes.
Ariel had not expected to wake up to the smell of coffee. The power was still out so he would have been happy to stay in bed, but curiosity got the best of him. He didn’t want to wake Casey up, so he’d snuck out and made sure to tuck him in.
Oh, he regretted it immediately. It was so cold, he wanted to go back to bed.
Morgan had a whole pot of coffee. He was leaning back on the couch with a book in hand and Harrison curled up in his lap. He had a blanket draped over her and was petting her poor, cold ears while he flipped the pages. He spotted Ariel over the top of the book and lowered it so they could talk, and they spent a few minutes just checking in on each other and petting Harrison before Morgan had insisted he make himself and Casey a cup of coffee. He was going to heat up some of the pizza, too. He’d had to explain the little cans labeled ‘Camp Heat’, but Ariel found himself enamored by how prepared Morgan was. There were so many things he didn’t know existed, and Morgan explained them all with patience.
He had his own coffee maker, and he’d just boiled water and poured it in. No electricity needed! He made it all look so easy. Morgan was drinking his coffee black, but he’d clearly made enough for all of them, and he had some pizza wrapped in aluminum foil, ready to cook over the little metal stove he’d set up.
They’d talked for a bit more, and he was glad Morgan was still here. Apparently, after the water had stopped, it drained well enough. Now, they were just trying to get the power back up. They were estimating before noon, but Morgan had talked about how he wanted to set up a few things to warm up the place after they were awake.
Ariel had never been so interested to hear about how vegetable shortening could make a candle, or how you could make a room heater from a flower pot. That, Morgan didn’t have, but Ariel did. So, after he made a cup of coffee for himself and Casey, and went into the bedroom to gently wake him up. They sat for a moment, and he played with Casey’s hair until he was ready to wake up.
Then, they’d gone into the living room for coffee. Ariel has braved the cold of the outside and his own apartment for all of two minutes; he’d returned with two empty flowerpots–that he explained was because he was ambitious about decorating but didn’t really get that far. He’d already brought over his armful of candles, all mismatched and picked up from a garage sale bundle. A stout, frosty candle made the selection for the sample process, and Morgan showed them how to make the room heater. The intention had been to show them how to do it, in case they were ever alone and needed to–or wanted to save a few dollars with winter rolling in–but he had a few other suggestions to improve the process.
Ariel was supposed to blow out the candle so they could replace it with one of Morgan’s little heaters, but when he tried to blow it out, it wouldn’t go out. He tried a few extra times but seemed to be embarrassed, and then worried that he was going to make it look so exciting that Harrison tried to help.
“Sorry, maybe I just need to adjust,” Ariel had said, and shifted position–but not away from Casey, or the blanket they were sharing, and he blew harder.
The candle danced but didn’t go out, and Ariel was now far more perplexed than he was embarrassed.
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2024 6:00 pm
Casey couldn’t have honestly said that he was ready to wake up. He was so sore and tired. He relented and grabbed some medicine for the aches and pains from the bathroom before curling up on the couch, but even then he felt very lethargic.
Of course, the cold didn’t help. He was very grateful for the cup of coffee Morgan made for them with pure magic (clearly). He was doing his best to pay attention to how Morgan was setting up this flower pot and candle but…
“Is it a trick candle?” he poked his nose out from behind the blanket he’d been sharing with Ariel so he could not sound muffled when he spoke. Oh wow, he hadn’t even thought about his hair, which was probably sticking up in all kinds of directions.
Maybe spending the night with the two people he thought were really attractive was not the best thing if he wanted to keep up at least somewhat good impressions.
Casey knew he wasn’t an expert on anything dealing with fire. That was best left for the fire fighter in the room. But he still looked curiously at Morgan to see if he had any idea what was going on with the candle, but as soon as Ariel shifted back, he curled up closer to him. For warmth of course. Oh, but yeah, also because he really liked him.
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2024 6:20 pm
Neither Ariel nor Morgan seemed pressed to push Casey, and Ariel had even apologized for waking him up already. When Ariel turned back to him, he was shaking the candle like he thought the constant air might burn it out. Morgan watched carefully, just in case Ariel were to drop it. He didn’t, and he gave up after a few seconds.
“I don’t know, I don’t think so? I bought them all together though, they didn’t have labels or anything.”
“Let me see?” Morgan prompted. Ariel was glad to hand it over, and as soon as the candle left his fingertips, he flopped back against Casey. Oh–no, he pulled away for a second to smooth down his hair, and then returned to where he’d been.
Morgan tilted the candle curiously, watching as the flame moved. He didn’t try to blow on it; he didn’t doubt Ariel’s capacity. He licked his index and thumb and pressed the wick between them. He held it for a second before retracting his hand.
He’d cut off all oxygen, and yet the flame looked as though it had never been touched. He’d felt the heat of it, though.
“It’s stubborn,” he admitted. He didn’t want to get up to go run it under the sink water, but it was always an option. The candle had no logo burned onto it, no identifying feature.
“I’ve never had a trick candle. I don’t know how to identify them,” Ariel said apologetically. “They didn’t mention anything about it when I got them. Just that his wife had too many and wanted to get rid of some.”
“It’s not that hot. It feels warm, but.” Morgan pinched the flame again and held it, and looked perplexed when he felt–at worst–mild discomfort. When he pulled his fingers away again, they weren’t even red–and the flame hadn’t wavered in the slightest.
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Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2024 6:58 pm
The candle was weird, but he had Morgan there, who was an expert when it came to putting out fires, and Ariel, who was so attentive and considerate, so Casey really had nothing that he was worried about.
“It’s okay. It’s not a bad thing, I don’t think,” Casey said as he stifled a yawn and buried his face against Ariel’s neck to hide from the cold. Harrison seemed interested in whatever Morgan was doing, even if she was cold, too.
“Maybe it’s… an illusion or… I don’t know. Magic?” It was just a casual suggestion, but there wasn’t really any other explanation for it. That was okay, though. Casey didn’t know if magic was real… well, being with Ariel and Morgan was pretty magical, but he would probably be laughed out of his own apartment if he said it out loud.
“Maybe… I don’t know. It’s kind of pretty. Maybe it’s okay just being there?”
He didn’t want to negate their attempt at putting it out, but they had other candles to try, and it was cold, and the candle that couldn’t be put out was kind of cool.
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Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2024 7:37 pm
Ariel inhaled sharply but didn’t move. “Casey, your nose is so cold,” he muttered, and tried to pull him closer to warm him up. He was freezing!
Morgan reached for the blanket he was using and draped it over Casey’s shoulder and head. He set the candle down, because it wasn’t worth fighting with an extra flame right now while poor Casey was cold. He sounded so tired, too.
The candle was pretty, but Morgan didn’t like a fire he couldn’t put out.
He pulled the table closer, so the little pot was nearer to Casey, and he lit both little cans underneath them. They’d work better than a candle, at least.
Then, he gathered Harrison into his arms because she seemed cold, too. And, he wanted to make sure she didn’t decide to investigate their little room heater. “Do you believe in magic?” he asked. It might have been a silly question, but he asked with such genuine interest that it was impossible to think there was any judgment or criticism hiding in the question–or any answer he might have gotten from it.
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Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2024 6:23 pm
“Sorry,” Casey mumbled, but if he was going to be cuddled and draped with blankets, well… how could he really be sorry about being cold? He was sorry if it made Ariel uncomfortable, but he didn’t move away, just closer.
As for believing in magic…
Casey chewed on the inside of his cheek as he tried to decide how to answer. Did he really believe in it…?
“I want to,” he admitted, but hoped it didn’t sound too silly to say. “I’d like to think that magic was real, but.”
It seemed as though the three of them had had enough hardship in their lives that it seemed a little cruel to believe magic existed, but had no effect on their lives.
“I mean… I know it’s not really possible. But it seems like it would be nice. As long as it’s good magic. None of that dark magic that’s in fantasy books and movies. Although, I guess it wouldn’t make sense to have one but not the other.”
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Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2024 6:56 pm
“That’s like asking if someone believes in ghosts,” Ariel mused, rubbing Casey’s back as he stayed still so he could warm up his nose.
“Do you?” Morgan asked. He’d reached for his coffee mug, and though he’d finished most of it, he held it in his hands to keep them a bit warm. Partly for him, partly so he could hold Harrison’s ears and heat them up.
Ariel hummed for a moment, like he was thinking about how he wanted to answer.
“Sort of. Yes, but–well, I just think there’s things we can’t explain. So I think it’s easy to call that ‘ghosts’, but I don’t know if I believe in spirits. Or.” He was quiet and then sighed. “Look, I’m scientific, I like math and numbers and things you can prove. But there are things I can’t explain, so…maybe?”
“Maybe is a good answer,” Morgan agreed.
“And you?”
Morgan just smiled a bit, shrugged, and said, “Yeah, I think so. Good magic, and bad.”
Ariel tilted his head just slightly, only enough to see Morgan but not so much that he would have stolen his neck away from Casey. “Really? You seem…I don’t know, practical? To me? No offense,” he insisted.
“I’m not offended.” It seemed difficult to upset Morgan anyway, and now was no exception. “I am practical, I think. But I’ve seen too many strange things to cut out the possibility of ‘something else’. I’ve seen things I can’t explain. But, I know they were real. Like you two in the park? I watched the videos, I don’t know, maybe a dozen times after you left. I kept an eye on that area, and I went back a few times. I couldn’t find anything. I did some tests. Basic, scientific things, to see if any of my devices picked up anomalies. I checked the local reports, the news. I got nothing. That’s not the only strange report we’ve got. It’s not the only strange thing I’ve seen.” He shrugged. “I think a lot of strange things happen in Destiny City. I keep an open mind to those things.”
Ariel considered it for a moment, but the answer made him smile. Morgan had acted very seriously when they brought their concerns to him. He didn’t minimize it. He didn’t call them crazy or chase them off. “Well, when you put it like that, I suppose that’s very practical, too.”
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Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2024 7:09 pm
It was probably a silly thing, but Casey really enjoyed listening to both Morgan and Ariel talk. They seemed so comfortable with each other, and it made Casey both happy and a little worried that he was going to end up alone while both Morgan and Ariel got closer.
He supposed that was okay. He wasn’t happy about the thought of being alone -- well, except for Harrison. But he was happy that Morgan and Ariel might get a chance to be happy together.
Casey didn’t think it was jealousy, just… realization and acceptance. Kind of like believing in ghosts or magic. It was real even if they couldn’t see it.
The chemistry that Morgan and Ariel had was real. They were both very intelligent and enjoyed each other’s company. And Ariel kept talking about Morgan’s muscles, so Casey knew he thought Morgan was attractive.
They could be friends, right? Casey with Ariel and Morgan? They could hang out, even if Ariel decided Morgan was the better option for him to be with. He certainly wouldn’t have to worry about his safety when Morgan could protect him.
“I think I would be okay with maybe ghosts and magical things as long as you were both around to figure out all the practical stuff about things,” Casey mumbled against Ariel’s neck. “I think it would be better if it was experienced together.”
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Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2024 7:16 pm
“Oh, no. I’ll have a heart attack if you put ghosts in the room with me alone. I don’t even think I’ll ever be able to do haunted houses again. I wouldn’t mind a nice, boring life. Without any magic except the kind you make yourself.”
He had goosebumps from Casey talking into his neck, and found his thoughts drifting to how soft his lips felt, and how warm his breath was, and–
No. No, he was not allowed to get distracted like this.
At least, in his embarrassment, his face had warmed.
Morgan laughed. “No haunted houses? What about hayrides?”
“Are they haunted?”
“Hardly.”
“Let me guess, you and your fire fighting friends do one?”
“Of course.”
“Do you jump out and scare children?”
“Sometimes.”
“Well, I scare like a child, so I might skip it. Unless Casey came with me. And Harrison, for moral support.”
Morgan rubbed her ears affectionately. “Are you sure she wouldn’t get scared?”
“No, she’d make friends with everyone. They’d love her too much to scare her, so we’d be safe.”
Morgan laughed again and shook his head. “I wouldn’t scare you two, I like you too much. The Haunted Hayride only happens after dark, there’s one we do before the sun sets where you can just enjoy the lighting. I’d invite you both to that one, but it’s already a year out. Come to the Winter Lights one instead.”
Ariel was quiet for a moment, torn again between politely declining any social activities for his own self preservation and pursuing a well-lived life.
“Harrison can come, it’s dog friendly,” Morgan continued. “We decorate one of the welcome centers, very festive. There’s a path you can walk through, the trees are decorated. But we’ve got a ‘Sleigh Ride Hay Ride’. Hot chocolate, cookies. You can sit on Santa’s Lap if you want, too.”
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Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2024 11:47 am
“Oh, that sounds fun,” Casey grinned, and then had to lift a hand to stifle a yawn so he wasn’t just breathing on Ariel and being gross. But he was so warm, so it was hard for him to not just press back against him.
Which he did a little. He made sure the blankets were tucked comfortably around Ariel’s shoulders before he wrapped an arm across him, but he moved his head enough to be able to peek out at Morgan and Harrison.
“Are you going to be Santa?” he teased, and then when he realized that he might have been implying something inappropriate that might not have been appreciated he winced. “I mean… I’m just saying your lap is probably comfortable. Is that something you’d like to do, Ariel? I mean seeing the lights, not sitting on Morgan’s lap. I mean, if you wanted to you could. I wouldn’t blame you. Just… I mean, Harrison enjoys it, so it’s probably good!”
Another grimace of embarrassment, and Casey tucked his face back into hiding in the crook of Ariel’s neck. He gave him a gentle squeeze in apology as well.
“Sorry, you’re probably cold too. We can switch in a bit if you’d like,” he offered as he mumbled against Ariel’s neck. Better than thinking about sitting in Morgan’s lap! Well… no, that was a good thought too, but he was probably going to embarrass himself more if he kept talking about it.
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Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2024 12:39 pm
They could switch later, right now Ariel was content to just have his arms around Casey and have a safe place for him to hide his face.
Morgan was amused, but never at the expense of Casey. “Well, I can’t sit on my own lap so I suppose I’ll need an outside opinion. But, no. I’m not Santa. The Captain is, but you’ll know why when you see him.” There was an unasked second invitation in the air as he looked at Ariel, who had yet to express interest or deny availability.
But really, how could he say no? Ariel wanted to go, he wanted to spend time with Casey. And Moran, but he might have been working anyway. “I think I’d like to go. For the lights. I mean, for everything. It sounds nice. And it’s not like we’ve had a chance to be very festive.” It wasn’t likely that they’d have much time or money to decorate, even if he’d wanted to figure something out. For Casey’s sake, at least. He wanted to see him smile.
“ I don’t need to sit on your Captain’s lap. It would be different if it was you, but,” he looked like he’d embarrassed himself now, too.
Morgan only smiled, but it was kind. Ariel almost didn’t even feel like he should be embarrassed.
“Good, I’m excited to show you two around.” The fact that Morgan didn’t seem very performative made the words feel more real. He was kind to them, gentle around them. Ariel thought Morgan might be the type of person to put a lot of effort into making the people around him feel comfortable–if he wanted. He seemed like the sort who wouldn’t even bother if he didn’t feel like it was worth it.
So, it made him feel a bit special.
“I’m looking forward to it.” He rubbed his hand down Casey’s back to warm him up a bit more. “I feel like I’m looking forward to a lot of things these days. It’s really nice.”
It felt like things were finally starting to look up.
Even if he had loose ends to take care of, it didn’t feel so much like it was the end of the line anymore.
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Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2024 6:00 pm
“Yeah that would be kind of creepy to sit on your Captain’s lap,” Casey agreed as he sighed contentedly against Ariel’s neck. It was as though all of his aches and pains were being taken away just by being so close to him. It was nice, and he wanted to fall asleep like this, but that probably wouldn’t be very comfortable for Ariel.
“Yes, please go with me. It’ll be a lot of fun,” Casey promised Ariel as he absently rubbed his hand up and down Ariel’s side in response to him rubbing his back.
He knew he wasn’t being a very good host right now, but it was so cold and he was so sore and now that he’d had a chance to just stop moving for a little, all the bruises from over the last few days had become so much more prominent.
“I bet you’d look good in a Santa outfit. Well, maybe a sexy Santa outfit. White beard and all that isn’t necessary,” he snickered in amusement. “Ariel, want to find some sexy elf costumes? I’m just kidding. But you’d look good in anything.”
Oh, was that too forward of him? He was lucky that he stopped himself before he said that Ariel would probably look good out of anything, too.
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Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2024 6:23 pm
“Casey!” Ariel said, partly in surprise, but mostly in amusement. “You’ll never catch me in tights, it’s too cold. Well, wait. I don’t think those are sexy, I don’t–”
He paused for a moment. “I have no idea what a sexy elf costume looks like.”
Once more, Morgan laughed. “I don’t know if I have any idea, either. You’ll have to show us, Casey.”
Oh–that was flirting, wasn’t it? Ariel was sure of it. And if it wasn’t–
Well, his radar was definitely broken. But this type of conversation did exceed friends just teasing, right?
…It wasn’t like they’d set any boundaries or clearly established much about each other. He felt like he might have had no idea if he was looking too much into anything. Should he be nervous? Should he get his hopes up?
…Wait, hopes up for what?
His mind was so scrambled, and it wasn’t just from the current blood flooding his face. He felt like he genuinely had no idea what was going on in his life, or in his heart. Not that he was complaining. This was far preferable to how things had been before.
Confusing, sure, but not unpleasant.
And, he noticed, Morgan had not said no to that Santa costume. He wasn’t even trying to discourage Casey.
…Well, Ariel sort of wanted to see it, too. Both of them.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 5:54 pm
“Oh no, I was joking!” Casey laughed and wiggled a bit in Ariel’s arms as if he was trying to hide against him, but not doing a very good job. He probably looked a bit like Harrison trying to cuddle closer, but Harrison was perfectly content being loved on by Morgan.
“I don’t know what a sexy elf costume would look like! Maybe, um… I mean, I guess we could go without the tights. Maybe just a hat and pants. And those silly shoes with the bells. But that’s not really sexy, is it?”
Oh no, he couldn’t stop giggling about it. And he was now thinking about Ariel and Morgan in sexy costumes.
“Oh, but I’ll have to wear a shirt. I get so many bruises that it’s pretty ugly. Sorry, you and Morgan will have to do the shirtless thing.”
Teasing again, but he couldn’t help it! He really liked both of them and they were playing along for the most part, so why not?
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 6:21 pm
Casey’s laugh was contagious, and it spread to Ariel and Morgan at almost the same time. Ariel’s laugh was more honest and less refined, but Morgan seemed to slip a little, too.
“You should get a warm shower when the power comes back on. We can heat up some rice for you. What a bad time for the power to go out.” Even as Casey wiggled, Ariel didn’t let him go. He wasn’t holding him against his will! He just liked holding him.
“Your bruises will heal,” Morgan assured. He was still convinced that Casey wasn’t going to be stuck at his miserable job for too much longer. Hopefully. “You can convince us that a hat and pants and silly shoes can be sexy.”
“Oh, yes,” Ariel agreed. “If anyone could make it look good, I know it’s you, Casey. It’s that winning smile of yours.” He rubbed his back again but laughed once more. “I don’t think I could wear an elf costume, sexy or not, without you. I don’t think I have the confidence to make it look good. Morgan, you’ll have to share your secrets.”
“Of course,” Morgan answered, but he seemed like he was trying not to laugh again. “Anything you like.”
Really, he couldn’t imagine denying them anything, no matter how playful or how serious.
For a long time, his life had been stagnant. He hadn’t been looking for change, he’d been happy. Usually, he hated change.
But this? This was nice.
He wanted this.
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