The Nightmare Beneath the Sand

The Nightmare Beneath the Sand 15

Total Word Count at End of Story: 21,694 words

Staring out across the desert city, the building that they were in just tall enough to see quite a bit of it and the desert that expanded past it, Leon pursed his lips, wondering just what Aleric wanted to speak about. He knew he would have to tell him just how deep his own connection went and just who his family was in the grand scheme of things.

Leon groaned when the water shut off and moved to make some of the offered tea, finding some chamomile tea bags amongst the flavored teas, placing the bags into two cups. He poured water from the water bottle into the kettle and started to heat it, staring at it while he thought. He didn't know what their secrets coming out would do to their relationship.

Being truthful with himself, pouring the hot water into the two cups, he was afraid that it would damage what they had instead of bringing them closer. He had known for a long time that they would eventually have to talk about their secrets, but he hadn't expected it to be because they had just faced down a creature that was older than the myths that they knew about.

Pressing the lids onto the cups, Leon carried them over to the table and sat down, Alaric opening the door and stepping out, dressed in the clothes he had packed for the day. He looked a little better after sleep and the food that had been delivered. Kran had swung by early that morning with Amir to drop it off before telling them that they were headed back to the camp and would have a student bring them a jeep to get back.

Leon was glad that Mark and Alex were both working on something or another in their room, letting them have some privacy.

"This will not tear us apart if we do not let it," Alaric said, catching sight of Leon. Leon smiled softly, cheek a riot of color from where he had smacked it against the ground the day before.

"I know," he promised, pushing the cup of tea over with a raised eyebrow. "I made chamomile. I figured that we could use some of it while we're doing this."

Alaric hummed and took his own seat. "Do you want me to go first or do you want to?" he asked.

"I suppose that I should go first," Leon said, lips twitching downwards. "You know who I am, at least mostly. A human with the ability to read the Earth, from a family who has been doing it for generations. My maternal family being Native American, my father's side being a mix, but mostly Egyptian," he started, leaning one elbow on the table. He rubbed at his chin and sighed. "What we don't tell is that my family has mixed with the same people that my father came from. From those who knew of the creature. Mostly because they had their own power, sleeping as it was, that helped to boost our abilities."

"So your family knew about us," Alaric said, Leon smiling and nodding. "How?"

"We don't know just who they are. We don't have a list of names if that's what you're worried about," Leon teased. "We can feel you guys when we start to get to know you. I knew who you were even if you may not have known who I was because when I started to fall in love with you, I could feel your power. Which wasn't sleeping, but awake and blessed."

Alaric snorted. "I didn't know who you were until about a year before we started to date," he admitted. "I wasn't there to find you. I was there to get my degree then try to find you."

Leon snickered and smiled at his lover, shaking his head. "Yeah, well we found each other because someone, or something, wanted us to find each other before we did anything," he said. He sipped his cooled tea and sighed. "I wasn't expecting to fall for you so hard. I know that you guys usually go for females before having to leave. My father had to leave to protect us. He found out he was being hunted for whatever reason."

"From what my father and mother told me, your father had knowledge of where the last two tablets had been hidden," Alaric provided. "If I remember right, he still sends money to your mom and you. Didn't he start your college fund to?" he asked.

"And paid into it until the day that I graduated. The leftover money that I had in it meant that I was able to use it during my internships," Leon admitted, finally relaxing. He could see that Alaric was willing to listen. "You don't care that I figured out just who you were?"

Alaric snorted and rolled his eyes. "If you hadn't figured it out, I would have questioned your abilities," he teased, reaching over to tuck a loose strand of long hair back. "We've known that there are those out there that can feel power. Your father warned that your family could feel it when they became close to a person, so I had a feeling that you would feel it eventually and work out who I was." He picked up his own cup. "I was worried for a long time that you would think that I was using you just because of your abilities," he admitted.

Leon snorted. "You look at me like I remember dad looking at mom," he said, smiling gently. "And I knew for a fact that you were there just for the degree. The relationship was just a perk."

Alaric chuckled, eyes warmed as he gazed at his lover. "A very lovely perk. And something that I will always fight for. Do you think that now that the creature has been dealt with, things will calm down with that group?"

Leon sighed, and rested his chin on one hand. "I have a feeling that if Mark can't get them to not think about trying to bring it back, that Alex will force the issue. I did some research this morning over breakfast..."

"I was wondering why you were tapping on your computer this morning," Alaric said, Leon smiling.

"Yeah, well I found out that Mark and Alex make quite the business duo. Rumors state that they fuck but they don't have any major relationship beyond being close friends. But they do work closely together in business matters. And they have more oomph than the others in the group. There was a reason why when the professor had to talk to them, it was those two who talked," Leon said. He drained his tea. "What about you? What are you going to do now that the creature has been taken cared of?" he asked.

Alaric smiled, draining his own and taking the cup, tossing both in the trash. "For today, I'm going to get some lunch with my lover, head back to the camp, talk with Professor Kran about what we're going to do with the maze now that the creature has been dealt with, including the bodies that are still down there."

"We'll have to create a large version of the maps that we used," Leon said, standing up and rubbing at the top of his head. "And after today?"

"Live life with my lover. Maybe find other beings of mythological origins and see if they need to be sent back to where they came from. It was fun, despite how sore you're probably feeling right now," Alaric chuckled.

Leon groaned, grabbing his bathing supplies and his clothes. "We'll talk about it. For now, let me shower then you can feed me. I'm sure we'll hear from those two soon enough," he said, heading into the shower.

As Leon showered, Alaric took the keys from the student, making sure they had a ride back to camp, packed up their stuff and took it down, and talked with Mark about what he and Alex were doing. They promised to keep the three of them informed about what was going on and Leon warned them that since the creature had been sent back with the sword, it wasn't going to come back. It was sealed in place.

Mark nodded and went back into his room to send that bit of information to the group, getting protest. He sent back a promise to do some research on it when they got back to the America's but stated that they were still going to dig out the maze. If they could create a small-scale replica of it for their museums, then it would bring in a lot of revenue as one of the oldest sites found.

Leon and Alaric left the hotel, leaving the key that they had been using on the table in the main room before heading for breakfast, feeling good about their talk. And where their relationship stood. Now that he knew he could safely tell Leon about his life, Alaric had plans on telling him how he had met his Gods and what he had learned from them.

Leon was just feeling closer to his lover and happy to share that part of his life with the other man.