Strings Of Fate

Chapter 7

When the rain stopped falling on Terrence, his awareness returned. Marquez hadn't put him down. Warmth surrounded washed over him. They were inside. Inside his apartment building to be exact, the faded yellow wallpaper and laminate flooring of the entrance pulled helped assert his being. He shifted, letting go of Marquez and attempting to stand on his own. 

A warning rumble stopped him for a moment. The tiger carried him further into the building, and up the stairs. Something jolted through Terrence. 

Marquez was taking him home. To his flat that stank of weeks old depression, alcohol and unwashed clothes. He hadn't cleaned since the funeral. Daniel had done some dishes, but it needed far more attention before he would let any normal person into the place. And certainly not Marquez. Not that he wanted Marquez in his space to begin with, but there was a difference between the tiger seeing him somewhere that was warm and loved and a pit of sadness.

"No," Terrence shook his head, attempting to get out of Marquez's hold again as they reached a landing. "We aren't going there." 

Terrence could guess Marquez's intension here. The tiger was not going to drop him off at the door and leave him to it. No, he was going to get Terrence washed, groomed and into bed with Marquez at his side. Where the tiger could watch him and be certain he would not vanish into the night or something. With the advantages of reminding Terrence of them doing this when he was young, promoting warm memories new and old and letting Marquez see what they had to go against to have Terrence's heart return to them. 

If he saw how little there was at the moment to pull Terrence home, Terrence might not even have time to pack up before they forced him out. 

"Terrence," Marquez warned, pausing on the landing. 

"My home, no. You're not going there," Terrence gritted his teeth. A half-truth might be a good idea before Marquez thought Terrence was challenging the idea he didn't belong to the circus again. Now was not the time to aggregate the tiger. "It's not suitable for anyone to see at the moment. It's a mess."   

"We could always go back to the truck?" Sanvish offered, appearing out of nowhere, holding a bag. 

Oh, Marquez was definitely planning on spending the night. 

The idea of going back to the caravan, to the cramped space where there was no room to move, hit Terrence hard in the chest. It was hard to breathe for a moment. He shook his head violently. The arms around him tightened and Marquez's rumbling picked up with intensity. 

"You're hiding something."

"Of course I'm hiding something. Who wouldn't in this situation? You're not going to my flat. I'm not going to the truck. We can go to my bakery, the flat above it is in better condition. A bit dusty maybe but," Terrence rambled, words getting faster and more pleading as Marquez ignored him and processed up the next flight of stairs. He gripped Marquez's shoulders again, hiding his face in fur as Marquez continued closer to his shame. 

The rumbling shifted from annoyance to comforting. Though it cut out altogether as they arrived on his floor. Sanvish hissed, and there was some tugging at him as the leopard fished out his keys and wallet. 

"That had better not be your place," Marquez warned, no doubt wincing at the stale booze and old food coming from down the corridor. Humans couldn't smell it but Marquez and Sanvish could.  

"I said it was a mess," Terrence said, insides numb now. His eyes were sore and his heart squeezed. Even the warmth from Marquez's body wasn't enough to thaw the icy knowledge they were about to see how low he had sunk in the last few weeks. Even a month ago, it would have been so easy to show off how well he had done for himself without them. Now, it wasn't so obvious.