These Cages We Build for Ourselves

Chapter 16

Nash leaves the house at noon sharp, his heart thumping as he clutches the container of sandwiches and muffins he definitely overdid it on. The necklace sits heavy in his pocket, and with each passing hour he feels more and more like an idiot about it. He'd probably chicken out if he hadn't already told Aster he was bringing him something.

The laundromat's actually running for once as he passes by, but he barely notices the people or the humming machines. His mind's too full of Aster as he takes the stairs two at a time, the container growing sweaty in his grip.

Nothing but closed doors line the hallway when he reaches the top, though life bleeds through from behind them—snippets of conversation, music floating on the air. His feet suddenly root to the ground as a familiar scent hits him square in the chest. Wolf. His nose flares as he spins toward a door, tension climbing up his shoulders before he forces it back down.

This isn't his territory, he reminds himself. If there's another wolf staying here, they've got every right. Still, as he continues down the hall, he's mulling over how much of his scent he can get all over Aster's room—all over Aster—without doing anything weird. Probably not much. He's not even sure Aster's going to let him in.

When Nash knocks, Aster opens the door wearing his sweater and—Nash keeps his eyes locked firmly on Aster's face because he's trying really hard to be good here—what he assumes are boxers underneath. He's definitely not wearing pants, but Nash is absolutely not thinking about that.

"Lunch," Nash says, holding up the container.

Aster gives a single nod and turns back into his room. He leaves the door open as he goes, so Nash takes that as an invitation. With Aster's back to him, his discipline cracks just a little, and he confirms that yep, those are definitely just boxers—and Aster definitely has a nice ass.

"I made muffins," Nash says, trying to sound casual even as his stomach flips. "Blueberry. I tried one last night, and they're actually pretty good."

"Thank you," Aster says, though it sounds perfunctory at best. "Do you have something else for me?"

"Sandwiches?" Nash offers with a hopeful smile. "And, uh. Yeah. I made you something, but I'm kinda starting to feel like maybe it was a little dumb."

"Promising," Aster says, but there's no edge to his voice as Nash sets the container on the bed and digs into his pocket.

The necklace feels warm from being pressed against his leg, but Nash keeps it trapped in his fist. "Niko helped me put it together properly. He said it should work for the sentiment magic stuff, but..." He swallows. "I'm not sure if it's really your kind of thing."

"Okay."

Nash forces himself to uncurl his fingers and hold out the necklace. "The tooth is one of my baby teeth, and the beads are antler. I won't be offended if you think the tooth is gross or anything. I wasn't really sure..."

Aster takes the necklace, and Nash holds his breath as he watches Aster's thumb trace the inner curve of the tooth. At least he doesn't look disgusted. "Niko approved this?"

"Yeah, I guess?" Nash shifts his weight. "He helped me make it."

Aster's eyebrows climb as he meets Nash's gaze. "He knew about the tooth?"

"Oh," Nash says as realisation hits him. "Yeah, we talked about it. He didn't think it was the best idea, but it was what I wanted to do."

"Hm," Aster says, turning the necklace over in his hands one last time before holding it back out to Nash. He turns around, and Nash's heart plummets until Aster lifts his hair away from his neck, pale strands sliding through his fingers.