Strings Of Fate

Chapter 22

It was not an hour or two. Terrence woke up, resting on Marquez's chest as the tiger watched TV and bundled in a blanket to keep him warm. Everything was fuzzy for a moment as the world sunk back in. Marquez purred, a hand playing with his hair as he came back to reality. For a second, Terrence almost didn't say anything, too comfortable to ruin the moment. The temptation to give in whispered. It was time for Terrence to admit it was a 'when' rather than an 'if'. Guilt tugged at his heart, unwilling to let himself sink back into the circus.

"You didn't wake me," Terry said, burying his face into Marquez's chest. The timber smell mixed in with Marquez natural musk curled around him. "What time is it?" He was going to kill the tiger. He had a job to do! He couldn't abandon his shop for hours on end, even with people watching over it.

"Three-thirty. The wolves closed up shop for you and cleaned down the kitchen."

"Should have woken me up." Angry words or not, Terry didn't try to get up, far too comfortable to do something so energy-consuming. His muscles were like jelly, soft and loose for the first time in forever. It drew flashbacks to waking up the day before. Sleeping next to Marquez let him sink into rest and recover from everything. He couldn't get used to it. The tiger was going to leave in a few days, and Terrence couldn't go with him.

"You needed the sleep."

"I'll tell that to you next time you sleep through a performance night."

"Not possible," Marquez snorted, brushing some of Terrence's hair back. "Our family is too loud to sleep through on a performance night. Too loud to sleep through on a normal night. You should have seen Brad and Avalon yelling at each other last night." He shook his head disapprovingly before rubbing his chin over Terry's head again.

Terrence frowned, pressing up to rub back under Marquez's chin. The pleased rumble that came from the tiger filled the room. That wasn't so much a kiss as it was a feline way of showing affection. Terrence hadn't lost that one completely. His partners commented about how much he nuzzled them all the time.

"I thought it was Ivalio that Avalon was going out with?" Not that Terrence had met Ivalio yet.

"He was. If what Avalon was yelling about last night is any indication, he won't be for much longer."

"That's going to be awkward. I suppose you only have a few weeks left on the circuit," Terrence settled back down again, leaning into Marquez's chest and listening to his heartbeat. To break up with a partner in such a cramped lifestyle was not pleasant. Madame didn't let people go back to Grisham halfway through a circuit unless they were seriously injured. Avalon would have a few weeks of unpleasantness before slipping away into the town and hiding whenever the circus was back. It had happened many times before.

Marquez's arms curled around him again, and for a moment, they relaxed in the calm air.

"Will you come to the circus tonight?"

"No. I have an early delivery tomorrow,"

The purred stopped, but Marquez didn't tense up. His hands continued to hold him saying nothing. "You're not going to come with us, are you?"

"Are you going to back off Daniel?" Terrence pulled himself up and out of the arm, twisting off the bed and stretching as he stood up. The apartment above the bakery was smaller than home. It was a one-room plan with a small kitchenette. The old man had put up a curtain to divide the room up a little and hide the sleeping area from the rest of the room. There was less of a mark of grief over it, but the layer of dust revealed more than he liked to admit. A sticky note rested on the side. The last message he had from his Dad.