Gears and Steam

Welcome Home

Floyd

The other boys in Raven Key were too loud. There were five others in the sitting room with me, and they wouldn't shut up. I had my own room, of course, but that felt lonely. I wanted to be around people, just not these people. These people were annoying and I didn't even know what they were talking about.

The only thing keeping me sane was the fact that my plan was set in motion. I would have a non-annoying person to spend time with soon. I knew that my information had broken Edmund enough that he would come back to me. He needed someone to love him, and I was the best option. I was the one that didn't spy on him. I was the one that had cared enough to tell him the truth.

"So, what about you, Floyd? Any girls that you fancy?" One of the boys asked. Ah, so that's what they were talking about.

I winced at the question. "No," I answered truthfully. I didn't see any reason to lie in order to hide the fact that I would never fance any girls.

"Come on, Floyd. You're a handsome guy, there's got to be some girl that's head-over-heels in love with you."

"Shut up, Charlie," I snapped. Maybe there was some girl that had a crush on me. Heck, girls flirted with me all the time, but I never fell for them. I couldn't, and, even after all this time, it was still hard to admit the reason. I just liked boys better; I didn't think that should be that horrible, but others did. I knew that it affected Edmund more than me. He panicked about it a lot, and yet he was the one who had ended up with another lover.

I felt an intense wave of jealousy washed over me when I thought about Julian, but his existence was just more proof that Edmund only belonged to me. Jules lied, I didn't. I had only ever tried to get Edmund back.

"Floyd!" Luther called. "Someone's at the door for you!"

I quickly scrambled to my feet and ran to the door. Luther walked away as soon as I got to the door. Edmund was standing a bit away from the threshold. His entire body was shaking and tears were pouring down his face. He looked miserable. Perfect. The two of us just stared at us for a second.

"Come here, Eddie," I said, barely loud enough for him to hear me. He rushed forward into my open arms. "Good. Welcome home."

Edmund buried his tear streaked face in my shoulder and let out a few shakey sobbs. I gently kissed the top of his head. The sun was setting outside; it took longer than I thought it would for him to get here. I was surprised that Theo had even managed to get him back to the house. Though, had carried him the entire way.

"Come on, let's go lay down." I picked him up because I didn't think he was up for walking. It felt good to have him back in my arms. It didn't matter that I had to make him cry in order to get back to this. I had to thank Julian Vincent for giving me this chance.

"We'll be working tomorrow," I said to Luther as I passed.

Luther narrowed his eyes at Edmund. "I didn't think it was possible to get that one to cry."

It's easier than you might think, I thought. I didn't say anything out loud though, I only shrugged and pushed past him. I needed time to calm Edmund down and get him to trust me again. With the state he was in, molding him back into my Edmund shouldn't be that hard. That was what I had planned all along, of course.

I locked my door behind me so none of my teammates would come check on me. I tried to set Edmund down on my bed, but he wouldn't remove his arms from around my neck, so I just laid down with him. He was warm against me; it was comforting.

"You don't need to cry anymore, Eddie," I whispered, affectionately stroking his chestnut hair. "You're home."

Edmund wiped a few tears from his face. "Home," he repeated, his voice shaking.