💎A Collision of Fates💎 (Straight to Gay) (MxM) (18+)

74 - Breck

Waking up next to Nick was strange, but not in a bad way.

It had been an annoyingly long time since Breck had had another man in his room, and it was comforting to hear the light, sleepy breaths coming from below him.

The sun woke him up, as it always did. It cut into his room, glaring in through the windows like an angry ex-lover. Breck lifted himself out of his bed, stretched his arms above his head, and then kicked the mattress on the ground.

"Wake up, you lazy jinniper."

Nick startled into consciousness, jerking his head to the side. There was a flicker of panic in his eyes as he observed his surroundings, but then they steadied. His hair was sticking out in every direction, a tangled mess.

Nick slid out of his blanket, stood up, and fixed his pyjama bottoms. "Can't be late for our first day as Yevans, right?" He sighed and stared out of the window, the sunlight painting his face. "God, I hope this is it. I hope we can finally start..."

Breck nodded. "If they let us join the Yevans, we'll be part of the solution, Nick." At least, he hoped that was true.

"They'd be crazy not to." He gestured between the two of them. "I mean... look at us."

"We did beat Kullver and Timot in that skirmish."

Nick chuckled and then slapped Breck on the shoulder as he passed him. "Hell yeah, we did." The other man walked into the closet and shut the door.

Breck took the opportunity to change into his defender uniform. And when Nick left the closet, he had done the same thing.

If they got accepted today, they would be wearing the black vest with the golden stitching, the La'Torrie crest. It was as if they both had that exact thought, because they smirked at each other when they finished getting dressed.

On the way out, they passed Chris and Vinton's room, hearing the gentle hum of light snoring, they grabbed some fruit from the kitchen, and then they began their journey to the Base.

As always, the streets of Hilltown were busy with the steady morning rush of people waking up and going to work. Breck reached to the side and gently grabbed Nick's hand, interlacing their fingers. The other man's hand was warm, soft. "Might as well start now, right?"

Nick didn't say anything for a moment, but he didn't pull away either. "Might as well." There was a slight tension in his shoulders, which seemed to ease the further they walked.

They moved through the streets of Sesstria. The broad, cobbled avenue wound down to The Square. Children were playing around the fountain, running along the edge, splashing their hands in the water. Their dads were keeping careful watch from the sides, chatting with each other while their children played. Breck couldn't help but smile at them. He pushed down the little pang of jealousy that started winding inside of his chest. He would have that, one day.

They left the Square, walked through The Matches, and finally came to the huge, light-coloured building near the Southern Gate.

Breck squeezed Nick's hand comfortingly. Even though it was fake, even though it was all one, big trick, it was nice to hold somebody's hand. Just like the fact that Breck had not had a man in his room for a while, he had not held a man's hand in a while, either. Neeri had been the last, and Breck didn't like to think about how that had ended. Angry shouts. Cruel words. Slamming doors.

"Alright." Nick took a long, slow breath. "This is it."

"This is it," Breck repeated.

Around them, men in defender blacks were walking into the base, ready to start their morning patrols. If this had been any other day, Breck would've been doing the same thing. He would've been walking around Hilltown, or journeying to the Academy with the students. But no. This morning was different, and it was different because of Nick Fulton.