AUGUST • C.CULLEN

four

AUGUST
1911, COLOMBUS
-~THREE MONTHS LATER~-

August strokes back Esme's hair as Carlisle takes a look at her leg, talking about their plans.

"So, where are you guys gonna go?"

August meets Carlisle's eyes briefly, smiling, and turns back to Esme. "Carlisle's got a job lined up in Chicago. We'll go there, first, but there's no telling just where we'll end up in the long run."

After a few uneventful and mildly threatening rounds of 'I Spy' with Esme, ("'I spy' my pillow on your face if you don't stop cheating, Auggie!") Carlisle gently rests his hand on August's shoulder, kissing his cheek before he excuses himself to talk to Esme's mother and father. The second he's out of the room, Esme bounces excitedly and turns to August with a grin.

"You guys are adorable, August! I can't believe he finally found you again after so long," She swoons, "It's so romantic!" She giggles and sighs dreamily, "I hope my husband and I have a relationship like yours."

August chuckles and gently shakes his head. "It's crazy," He sighs. "We were never... together... but there was always this..." He moves his hands around in an awkward gesture and smiles at Esme hopefully, who laughs softly. "You know?"

"Kind of," Esme giggles, "I think. You weren't in a relationship, but you just... knew, that you loved each other?"

"Precisely." August grins, "Unfortunately, same-sex relationships were even more prejudiced against at the time than they are now, so it was a while before I admitted my feelings-"

"Through a letter," Carlisle interrupts, his paradoxically warm presence at August's back.

The Nymph grins and spins around to face Carlisle. "In my defense-" He says, meeting Carlisle's golden eyes with an unspoken challenge in his green ones, "You were completely and utterly absorbed in your studies. Who was I to interrupt?"

Carlisle huffs and wraps his arms around August with a smile, but Esme beats him to the punch.

"You'd be a smart person, Auggie," She sasses."God. Imagine if one of you had told the other sooner? You wouldn't have had to be apart for so long."

"It wasn't too long."

"Five years?" Esme cries, disbelieving, "That's forever!"

August chuckles softly at her outrage. He can't imagine how she would react if she knew it had, in reality, been closer to forty years of separation.

"It was long enough, Auggie." Carlisle agrees, "I don't want to have to live without you ever again."

August raises his brow, looking down at Carlisle, "You called me Auggie."

"It's cute." Carlisle grins cheekily. "Like you."

Esme fake gags and throws a plush pillow at the two men, "Ew! Cheese! Get out of here, lovebirds!" They chuckle as they pull each other out, shutting her bedroom door quietly behind them.

"So?" Auggie asks, lacing his hand with Carlisle's, calling a brief goodbye to Mrs Platt (Mr Platt, as usual, is locked away in his office) as they walk out into the rain. "What's the prognosis?"