'We'

Chapter Twenty-One

"I quit my job," Felix stated absently one morning over breakfast with his new adopted family. Erik and his mother snapped their heads up from their comfortable silence, staring across at him. Jacob remained indifferent, too focused on food to care.

"Why?" Erik questions, his eyebrows knitted into an expression of concern. The cat curled up on the older man's lap - apparently, he had been Felix's ESA; Erik had insisted on moving him in with them as soon as he found out - gave a stretch and leapt to the floor, allowing Erik to angle his body towards his lover.

"He seems to love you more than he loves me," Felix commented.

"Yours not changing the subject."

Felix looked up from where his cat had wandered off too, eventually making eye-contact with Erik. He knew that the man would not let it go, but felt too guilty trying to hide it. He had promised after all. He would not give in yet, however. Not before he had played with Erik a bit.

"What do you mean, meus amatus?" Erik shivered, choking slightly on air. Felix smiled, both amused and pleased by his reaction. His mother, who had been pretending not to listen, coughed slightly into her breakfast. Jacob still remained oblivious.

"Job," Erik managed to choke out, voice breaking in his embarrassment. "Why did you quit your job."

Felix watched him for a moment, evaluating the situation. This power is what he lived for. He could admit, however, this type of power was a lot more rewarding than what he had originally set out to do; breaking Erik in the same was he had been broken, just like he had done before. This was certainly something he could get used to.

"Something wrong? You're turning red," he asked, and Erik blushed deeper. His eyebrows knitted into an expression of frustration. He had reached his limit.

"Well?"

Felix sighed, looking around his. Erik's mother, bless her soul, was still simultaneously trying to give the men some privacy while listening in to every word. She stirred her cereal silently. Jacob had all but finished his bowl now, glaring at the phone placed on the table next to him. Any other day Erik would have scolded him, but today he had other things on his mind.

"I can't work at the moment anyway," he replied simply, glancing over his should at the cat which had long since left the room. He turned back to his lover, whose expression was cold.

"You loved that job," he insisted, and Felix shrugged.

"It was alright."

"But-"

"Let's face it - a job in a coffee shop was never going to be long-term for me." Felix wasn't sure why he was getting himself so worked up about this. Maybe he really did need someone else's approval. Who would have guessed?

As the man mused to himself, he missed what Erik said next, and raised his eyes a fraction too late to hide this fact. Erik lowered his own eyes, sighing. He opened his mouth to repeat but was interrupted.

"I'm gonna be late for school."

"If you learned how to drive, you wouldn't need me to ferry you around!"

The usual bustle of the house overtook the conversation, and Felix watched Jacob and his mother argue. Suprised out of her state of observation, the woman stood from her chair, dragging her son to his feet by the bag on his back. Erik and Felix watched in silence as the pair hurried to the door, just catching a 'bye' from Erik's mother and a mumbled 'see ya' from Jacob. Felix sighed.

"So what is this about?" Erik asked pointedly, crossing his hands on the table in front of him.

"I don't know," the smaller man admitted, closing his eyes in thought. "But you've shown me that I shouldn't just settle."

"What do you mean?"

"Look at you," Felix exclaimed, raising his hands to motion towards his lover. He placed them down gently on top of Erik's own. "You don't let anything hold you back. Look at your job, for crying out loud. I'm amazed at how you do it so efficiently."

The taller man was quiet for a moment, contemplating this feeling of pride that had formed within his chest. Finally, he looked up again.

"I wanted to be a teacher," he stated blankly.

"Why didn't you?" Erik asked, eyebrows contorting into an expression of confusion.

"A-levels," he mumbled quietly. "Degree." Felix understood. Silently, he pushed an idea to the back of his mind.

There was silence for a while as the two men contemplated the conversation they had just had, hands still resting on each other. Erik let out a little breath, closing his eyes.

"Speaking of work, Jacob isn't the only one who's going to be late." He stood from his chair, throwing both his and Felix's bowls into the sink. The smart man copied him, tailing his lover as the man made his way to the hallway, fastening the tie that hung loosely around his neck. He looked back at Felix. "Yes?"

"Can I get a lift?" he asked, opening his eyes wide in a pleading gesture.

"You sound like Jacob."

"I need to get something from my house," Felix explained, which caused Erik to pause. He looked at his lover for a moment, worry clouding his expression. "I'm not going to try that again," the brown-haired man reassured him. "You can wait for me outside if you're worried."

Erik gave a curt nod, turning to unlock the door. Felix bounded after him like a puppy - a puppy that did not know it's own limits, apparently, as Felix's metal leg caught on the door frame and sent him stumbling forward into Erik's back. The older man laughed, helping him regain his balance.

"What would you do without me?"

Felix honestly wasn't sure.

Once at his own house, Felix paused a moment to look up at the building he had lived in for so long. He was aware of Erik watching him from the car and hurried his pace so as not to keep him waiting. He emerged minutes later with a think reinforced envelope clutched in his hands. He made his way back to the car, poking his head through the open window.

"I can walk from here."

"All the way back home."

"I'm going to town, love," he explained, looking over his shoulder nonchalantly at the direction he would walk in, turning back to see a blushing Erik. He smiled to himself.

"Call me if you need a lift home," Erik insisted after a short pause, and Felix nodded.

"Tell Seb I said 'hi'."

Leaning into the car, the smaller man placed a brief kiss to Erik's cheek before taking a step back to allow him to drive away. The black-haired man hesitated with his hands hovering above the keys, watching Felix out of the corner of his eye, before starting the engine. He cast a final smile at Felix as he drove away, and the smaller man watched well after he had disappeared around a corner.

Felix closed his eyes, thinking to himself. He clutched the envelope even tighter in his arms before being to walk, head held high, the long-sleeved top covering the scars on his arms. He looked too presentable for a normal trip into town, and he knew Erik had caught on. It was not every day that Felix wore a shirt with a collar.

But today was not any day. Today he had to impress. He wondered absently how he could remember this route after all the years it had been since he had last come here. What was it? Eight years now? He shook his head. That didn't matter anyway.

What mattered was he only had one chance. He couldn't mess up this interview. Not for Erik.