Page 10 of Something Like Daybreak
“That’s true. You and Victor should go back in time to when life expectancy was muchmuchshorter.”
“Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose?”
“Eh, it’ll still count as a long life. For that era. And I’ll get to see you sooner.”
Jace laughed. “That’s why we’re thinking of the seventies again. We were interrupted, like not getting to finish a good book. When so much time has passed, it makes sense to reread from the beginning and refresh yourself on all the details you forgot.”
“What if you were born a decade or so later? That’ll make it easier to come out.”
“Who says that I’ll be gay?”
“Jace!” Ben slapped him on the arm. “You better be gay when you get back! It’s part of who we are. We have fairy souls.”
“Fairy souls?”
“It’s a thing. Probably.”
“I won’t have much choice. From what I understand, when we reincarnate, who you become is a mixture of your inner desires and the subconscious lessons you need to learn.”
“Then you better start practicing your desire for cute boys,” Ben said, getting to his feet and beginning to dance around nude on the mattress. “Take a good look. I want you to have dreams about this when you’re a kid.”
“You mean as a teenager, right?”
“Nope! Other kids will be dreaming about Mickey Mouse or whatever. When you close your eyes, this is all you’re going to see.”
Jace laughed and continued to watch him. He could certainly think of worse fates. Especially when Ben started to shake that rump of his.
“Okay,” Jace said, grabbing Ben’s legs to make him fall into his arms. “Let’s keep practicing that desire. Just to make sure it gets in there nice and deep.”
“Is that a promise? Or a threat?”
Jace rolled over on top of him. “You’re about to find out!”
— — —
Ben was walking through what appeared to be the woods behind Jace’s childhood home, his heart breaking more with each step. He stayed ahead of the others so they wouldn’t see him crying. He could hear Tim and Jace chatting behind him, which brought back memories of sitting on the couch together, sharing meals, going on dates, cuddling up in bed… Ben brimmed with love for them both. He didn’t want to lose that. Even for an extended break.
When he heard the approach of footsteps, he hoped it was Jace rushing to catch up with him.“Wait! We’ve changed ourminds. Let’s go home.”That was what he would say, and Ben’s tears would become the gleeful variety instead.
“Hey,” Victor said as he reached Ben’s side. “I’m really sorry. About all of this.”
“Don’t be,” Ben replied. “I understand the reasons.” He gnawed his bottom lip while considering Victor. “But there might be another solution. Come live with us, in our house. That will already be different. We can put a calendar on the wall, and we’ll all agree to age ourselves up every year or whatever. You can get old with Jace while staying here.”
“It’s a nice idea,” Victor said diplomatically. “It reminds me of how, when I was a kid, I begged my mom to take us to Hawaii. I’d been watching reruns of that old show with Jack Lord and got obsessed. She couldn’t afford to fly us there, so she brought me down to the Ozarks. I still remember her expression. How bad she wanted it to work for me. So I pretended it was exactly what I’d been dreaming of.”
“That’s an annoyingly effective anecdote,” Ben grumbled.
“Thanks,” Victor said with a chuckle. “I talk a good game. Which is ironic, considering that I spent most of my life alone. I won’t make that mistake again. People are going to be my priority. You’ve been an inspiration in that regard.”
“You make me wish I hadn’t,” Ben said, but he flashed a friendly smile to show that there was no ill intent. And there truly wasn’t. This would’ve been much harder if he knew that Jace was going alone. “Take care of him for me,” he said. “I mean it. Jace always seems like he has everything under control, but he needs a lot of love.”
Victor was quiet before replying. “I won’t hold back this time. I’ll love him with the entirety of my soul. Especially if I have your blessing.”
“Absolutely,” Ben said, struggling against more tears. “Don’t let him out of your sight!”
“I’ll do my best,” Victor promised.
“Where’s your mom? I thought she also wanted to reincarnate.”
