Page 36 of Suffer No Fools
Hugo was already tucked against Stan's side and snoring softly. Tovey tried to fight it, but Stan's heat and the comfort of steady breathing soon lulled him to sleep, too.
Chapter 6
Hugo
Hugo didn't like fishing. He was grateful for the experience of getting his hands dirty, but he now understood why his mother had never wanted him to play with worms. They were gross. He couldn't fathom young Tovey eating a handful, dirt and all, when he'd gotten into his father's fishing tackle by accident.
It didn't make him want to kiss Tovey any less, though. It might have actually made him want to kiss him more, since the story about eating worms drew his attention to Tovey's lips and the dimples in his cheeks when he smiled. He smiled a lot when he talked about his childhood.
"How long have you known Stan?" Hugo asked.
"We both grew up on Aquarion," he said. "I didn't know him that well when we were children. He was older." Tovey's cheeks darkened with a hint of blush. "I've always been attracted to him, though. I noticed him long before he noticed me. When we moved, I thought that was it until we met as adults."
It was probably too soon to ask on their first date alone together, or maybe it would always be too soon, but Hugo had to know. "What went wrong?"
"It was perfect at first," Tovey admitted. "Too perfect. He was always a gentleman, opening the galley door for me, grabbing my food, flirting nonstop. I started fights with him, andhe smoothed them over with his perfect words and his easygoing demeanor. I began to resent the fact that he was so good, and I was so ... not."
Tovey glanced up, and Hugo's heart pounded against his chest. He didn't like the sadness etched into Tovey's features. He wanted to fix it.
"I'm rude. I'm angry, and it's not only because my air weaves make it so. I'm always angry at the world, the weather, how Tim makes his beef jerky, you name it. Stan's not like that. He's sweet, kind, and forgiving. I knew I would either make him hate me, or he would end up changing me to be more like him."
He snorted. "Don't get me wrong, I would love to be more like him, but ... I wouldn't be me." He shrugged. "Part of me thinks he lied about cheating, so we ended it before we both got hurt."
From the grief on Tovey's handsome face, and the same look of loss Stan displayed whenever Tovey rejected him, they'd both been hurt by their breakup. Hugo wanted to set them to rights. He only wished he knew how. Both Stan and Tovey were hurting, and Hugo felt like he fell into a dangerous pitfall whenever he tried to get them to talk about their feelings.
"Please do me a favor tomorrow," he said.
"Tomorrow?" Tovey looked hopeful for a moment, but then his face fell. "Oh. You mean on my date with Stan?"
Hugo nodded, glad Tovey hadn't pretended he'd forgotten. He took that as a good sign. "Tell him what you just told me. All of it, from starting fights to thinking it ended before anyone got hurt." He inhaled sharply and sighed on an exhale. "I don't think you succeeded. You're both hurting, and you need to talk about it."
Tovey looked like he wanted to argue, but Hugo cut him off. "With each other."
Hugo's line went taut again, and they worked together to pull in the next fish. By the time Tovey had scooped the fish into the little boat with his net, the heavy conversation was all but forgotten, and Tovey's smile had returned.
That night, Hugo made no preamble toward his own bed. He changed into the soft pajamas Gulde had made for him, and then he padded back downstairs to where Stan and Tovey were both poring over documents Efren had dropped off while Hugo and Tovey were out fishing.
"Why was there gold in your little hiding place?" Tovey asked Stan.
"It's Vadim's," Stan said.
"Says here it's payment for keeping those documents in a safe place for five years. Why won't you take it?"
"Seems stupid to take money for myself. The ship hid the documents for five years."
Tovey shook his head. "Take the money."
"It should be divided equally among us." Stan glanced up and met Hugo's gaze with a soft smile. "Time for bed?"
There was no wall clock, but the sun had set right before dinner, which felt like hours ago. Hugo yawned. His internal clock was his only actual sign of the time.
"It's been a long day," Tovey said. "We can leave these for tomorrow."
"Did you have a fun day?" Hugo had expected Stan to ask about their date sooner, but there had been the paperwork and orders to meet Efren at the docks first thing in the morning for inventory.
Tovey looked at him instead of answering, and Hugo felt self-conscious. Did he dare admit he didn't like to fish? Two of his mom's tenets warred for dominance in his mind. He could either say nothing, since he had nothing nice to say, or he could tell them the truth.
"The weather was lovely." He settled on a truth that wouldn't hurt Tovey's feelings. "It seems impossible, so close to Solstice."
