Page 33 of Trevor Takes Care

The scramble at the other end of the call made him think Sky had nearly dropped his phone. Which part of Trevor’s discussion with G.G. had startled him more, Trevor couldn’t say. But he should at least explain why Sky had come up.

“There was D&D talk for a moment—not that he plays, I don’t think—but I made one of my dumb jokes about dungeons, and then it occurred to me, he’s more experienced and he builds things. He might actually have a…. It doesn’t matter. I don’t think he was very impressed with my credentials.”

He didn’t know what he’d expected from Sky at this admission, but it wasn’t a thoughtful hum and then, “First, you learn frighteningly fast when you want to. Secondly… if he is more versed in these things than you, with tastes he already knows about, then I don’t know how to tell you this, my dear Trevor, but he probably clocked you ages ago. And if he’s talking to you about dungeons, of whatever kind, then it’s because he wants to.”

A rustling followed the words. Trevor only heard it because he was surprised into silence. He opened his eyes and sat up. “Clocked me?”

“Oh, he probably thought about it formonthsbefore saying anything, for reasons of his own. Probably from the first time he witnessed you lovingly arrange a situation to exactly what you think is best for whomever you are taking care of. He might not have done anything about it until you brought your brand of domin—of concern—to his door, but he knows what you are, doesn’t he?”

Trevor spent several seconds trying not to sputter or snap. “Did you do that?” he demanded at last. “I thought that was….”I think maybe,Sky had said, despite how he must have been thinking of it before then.I think maybe you should do that again.“God, you really never admit to anything unless forced, do you?”

Sky’s voice was small, his face probably turned away from the phone. “I don’t give in easily. I can’t help it. But… you make me want to. Whatever you call yourself, you make people like us hungry. I saw it. He probably saw it too. That’s the only reason I might understand him better than you. I don’t know what he wants, but I know he wants to trust you with it. If he’s like me at all, he does.”

G.G. had scurried away from Trevor’s every attempt to even say hello. “But he didn’t….”

“He is now,” Sky interrupted. “Maybe you’ve been proving yourself. Or he’s realized he’s being lured in and he likes it.” Trevor didn’t get a chance to object to that. Sky was softly chiding. “You’re a lot more than just a dork, Brian Trevor. If he’s smart, he’ll get that. Even if you are entry level.”

“Hey,”Trevor protested absently, then hesitated. “I don’t think I’m luring him. He seems…” Shy. Skittish. “…Careful about what he reveals. Probably because not even his family appreciates what he has to offer. Like they don’t understand it, so it’s not worth their time.” Trevor nodded to himself, familiar with wary, protective, difficult, remarkable people. “I think you’d like him. You’re both different… special.”

“Are you trying to seduce me?” Sky asked tartly. “You don’t need to flatter me. I’ll be submissive for you, but I’m no pet.”

Trevor didn’t scoff the way he should have, mostly because hearing Sky call himself submissive, even snippily, was a leap forward and he wasn’t going to risk having Sky getting self-conscious about it. He sat with the wordpet, thinking it an interesting choice for Sky to use and turning it around in his mind while also letting silence fall between them because silence worked even on sparkly-boy wizards.

“Oh, fuck you,” Sky whispered as if outraged, but notably didn’t take back anything he’d said. “I can tell you’re thinking about what to do with that. How about: get me off now so I can fall asleep faster?”

There was another pause Trevor chose not to interrupt.

He shifted on the mattress, debating whether Sky had admitted it on purpose or if it had been a genuine slip. It didn’t really matter, but he thought Sky ought to say it again for his own good.

And Trevor would like to hear it again too.

“Trevor,” Sky started.

Trevor wasn’t interested in any wriggling attempts and cut Sky off without apology. “You should say it again.”

Something, probably a protest, caught in Sky’s throat. “Brian.”

Whatever you call yourself, Sky had said. Trevor had assumed Sky had started calling him by his real first name in these moments for Trevor’s sake. Now it seemed more like Sky being tricky and dodging what madehimuncomfortable.

“It made me happy to hear it,” Trevor confessed smoothly. “And you want to make me happy, don’t you?”

“Brian,” Sky said again.

“A good pet who wants to make me happy,” Trevor continued, liking it as he said it, wondering if G.G. had ever been a beloved pet. “Aren’t you?”

Sky had started to breathe faster. “That’s not fair.”

“‘I’ll be submissive for you’ implies you’re doing me a favor,” Trevor mused, “but that’s not the case, is it, Sky baby?” The sound Sky made, low and frustrated, was rewarding. Trevor carried on. “We never did get you anything like that. I should have. It might have made it easier for you, helped you, to have the accessories.”

Unlike Trevor, Sky would look gorgeous in leather. In anything, really. A delicate chain or a tight band or a ribbon around his neck. Whatever he wanted.

“What…” Sky’s voice has a rasp. “What would you have gotten me? Would Ellie and I match?”

Which was an awkward moment to realize that Ellie’s collar was close to the color of Sky’s hair.

Trevor paused, shooting a glance to his desk and the notebook marked for Sky. “I meant to talk to you.”

“I know.” Sky’s voice was still rough. “Do this first. Please.”

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