A Fluffy Tale

by Ann Somerville

  “Uncle Leo!”

  Julian just cuddled Pyon and grinned to himself. He doubted Leo would carry out the threat but was it bad of him to want to see him try?

  ~~~~~~~~

  “You want me to take over?”

  Zachary’s lip tightened, but then he nodded. “Sorry. This is a lot harder than it looks.”

  “I know it is,” Julian said, putting his hands on the push handles of the wheelchair. He waited for Zachary to get his arms safely tucked in, and then he started to push. Personally, he thought Zachary should have stopped a while ago, but the man was so determined to build up fitness. He’d graduated to crutches just two days before but he wasn’t allowed to bear weight yet. His healed arm was so weak that he had to be careful with that as well. Wheelchairs would be a part of his life for some time yet, much to Zachary’s chagrin.

  But it could be worse. At least the hated attendants had been banished for all but an hour a day to help with bathing, and it had been agreed just that morning that even that assistance could be dispensed with in two or three days. Zachary could now go to the toilet more or less unaided, get in and out of the wheelchair without needing to be lifted, and sit in a normal chair as long as he liked. Julian chafed along with him at the tiny, slow steps of progress, but at least there was progress. Zachary wasn’t independent yet, but it wouldn’t be long.

  Today, Leo had chased them out of the apartment to get some fresh air without him. A friend, coming through on a flying visit, wanted to take him out to lunch, and Leo insisted he didn’t need a bodyguard for a few hours. He looked well, and the doctors thought he was no more at risk now of a stroke than he had been—it wasn’t nil, but all precautions had been taken. Zachary had insisted, however, that the man wear a medical alert around his neck when he wasn’t with someone else, and Leo, realising the necessity and the reassurance value, had agreed without the slightest argument. The two of them had come to an understanding that wasting time in futile bickering, was something neither of them could afford any more. That realisation might have come late but it wasn’t too late, much to Julian’s profound relief.

  So they’d taken themselves, belatedly, out to the country park for a picnic—the longest expedition Zachary had had since he’d left hospital. Up to now, they’d made do with Twyford Park, which was better than nothing, but the routine of physiotherapy appointments and other commitments, had stopped them organising something that involved a longer excursion. But finally, finally, they’d cleared a whole day, Leo was safe and had plenty to amuse him, the weather was warm and beautifully autumnal, and Zachary was now mobile and free enough from pain to really benefit from a longer trip.

  Zachary being Zachary, he insisted on it being useful too. He’d taken a turn on the crutches, and pushed himself along in the wheelchair for nearly an hour. But now he was sweating and tired, and Julian could now easily read the signs that he’d done too much and needed a break. Sure enough, Linis, who’d been off exploring with Pyon among the undergrowth, suddenly bounded up and leapt gracefully onto Zachary’s lap. Linis being an infallible barometer of Zachary’s wellbeing, Julian had learned very early on to pay close attention to him.

  Zachary remained silent as they walked along the leafy, dapple-shaded path through the little wood, back to where Julian had parked the car. His hands stroked Linis for a bit but then fell still, and when Julian checked, he saw Zachary had his eyes closed.

  “Tired?” he whispered, not wanting to wake him up if he had fallen asleep.

  But Zachary nodded—so he wasn’t asleep. “Yes. Quite a bit, I'm afraid.”

  “Want to head back?”

  “No. We haven’t had lunch, and Leo isn’t expecting us. Just give me time to catch my breath.”

  That suited Julian just fine—he was in no hurry to go back to the apartment and all his responsibilities. The coming week would be a busy one—the first consignment of Leo’s possessions was arriving and would have to be cleared through customs, then inspected before delivery. Zachary had some intensive therapy sessions to attend, and now they were getting rid of all attendants, it would mean more little tasks for Julian to do. Not that he minded, but he was glad he lived so close by. Some nights, he barely made it through his front door before he collapsed, dead on his feet.

  One of the few perks of Zachary being in a wheelchair was disabled parking spaces, more of a necessity than a luxury. It had let Julian park not far from a pleasant picnic area, and since they had come out of season and on a weekday, they had it mostly to themselves. He installed Zachary at a table in the sun, since Zachary preferred that, and then fetched the picnic basket, Pyon nosing around inquisitively.

  “Go away, nuisance, you can’t eat this stuff, you know that.” Pyon chirped and flicked an ear. “I know what you’re thinking. Don’t be rude,” Julian said, wagging his finger at his naughty kem, who decided the best way to deal with it was to lick it and bat it with a paw. Julian laughed and scratched Pyon’s head. “Come on.”

  Zachary perked up a little at the sight of the food—he’d worked up an appetite through all the exercise. Leo had continued to insist on having everything catered, so the only meal they prepared at all, was breakfast. Julian almost missed cooking for himself, but he had to admit, it took a lot of strain off him. If Zachary’d had to allow a stranger to trawl through his kitchen and cook for him in his own home, it would have sent him around the twist. He had already started to make noises about making a meal for them all soon—but it would have to wait until he could stand unaided.

  Julian set everything out on the table, but carefully didn’t serve Zachary so much as a bread roll. As soon as the cast was off his broken arm, the man had insisted—and pretty damn rudely too—that he would serve himself from now on, or starve. It was one of the battles not worth fighting, so no one had bothered to argue with him. Even if he struggled with a bottle or a can top, Julian just carried on talking to Leo and pretended to ignore Zachary completely. Zachary, naturally, was far too stubborn to ask for help but it had done him no real harm beyond not having a favoured food item now and then.

  But Zachary managed just fine nowadays. He’d been working intensively to regain strength and mobility in his upper body, and the second the doctors allowed him to bear weight, Julian was sure he’d be back at the gym, rebuilding his wasted leg muscles. The lack of exercise made him fret almost more than any other thing he’d suffered over this mess.

  They ate in peaceful silence, the sounds of the park more than enough entertainment for them. The kems lazed in the sun, being petted as their hosts ate. It was a day for a beer and a long sleep, Julian thought regretfully. But he didn’t drink at all these days, not with the car, and he didn’t dare go to sleep while he had Zachary to look after.

  He cleared up and wondered if he should suggest another walk. But Zachary still looked tired, and was apparently comfortable. Activity for activity’s sake seemed really pointless, so Julian just cleared up the picnic, dumped it in the car, then came back and plopped down beside Zachary on the bench seat. Pyon climbed into his lap and squeaked.

  “Yes, yes, cuddles coming up.” He picked his kem up and hugged him, rubbing his chin on Pyon’s head. “Greedy little thing. You should go to Zachary, he gives good cuddles.” He dropped Pyon onto Zachary’s lap, which made the man lift an eyebrow. “‘m tired. You look after him.”

  “How irresponsible of you, Mr Godwin.” Julian just raised a finger at him. “Oh, charming.”

  “I'm tired. You like petting him. Off you go.”

  Pyon was more than happy to, and after shaking his head in disgust at Julian’s laziness, Zachary was perfectly content to have two kems on his lap.

  Julian stretched back on the seat and tried not to show how nice it felt when Zachary stroked Pyon’s fur. It was a bit like…a feather, being dusted lightly down his skin, with a faint sense of contentment that was pure kem underneath it. Normally he didn’t notice it that much, especially when he was doing other things, but when he relaxed a
nd concentrated, he could let himself drift along with it quite nicely. It had become his secret delight, a little treat he allowed himself, usually after dinner, just before he and Pyon had to haul themselves home. Zachary always seemed to end up with two or even all three of the kems on his lap or his shoulder, and of course, he was never too tired to pat and play with them. After a long day, for Julian, it was nearly as good as a hot bath.

  Suddenly Linis yawned, stood up and stretched, then picked his way carefully over to Julian, pausing only to exchange a quick lick and chirp with Pyon who stayed exactly where he was. “What’s this all about…Linis?” The big kem plonked himself down on Julian’s lap and stared up at him with his saucer-like eyes. “Zachary, what’s he doing?”

  “I guess he thought you weren’t doing enough work,” Zachary said, his expression going a little stiff. “Linis, leave him be. He’s done a lot today.”

  But Linis merely yawned again and then made himself quite comfortable on Julian’s stomach. “I tried,” Zachary said.

  “Huh.” Julian scratched Linis under his fluffy chin. “No one in your family will leave me alone for a second,” he grumbled, stroking the soft, black-tipped fur carefully, occasionally brushing it back to reveal the pale cream underfur. Linis was the handsomest kem he’d ever seen, and definitely the biggest. He was simply gorgeous to pet.

  Zachary said nothing for a bit, apparently absorbed in combing his fingers through Pyon’s admittedly less luxuriant fur. But just as Julian had lost himself in the delightful feel of Linis’s pelt, the man said something in a quiet voice.

  “Huh? I didn’t catch—“

  “I asked, do you want us to?”

  “Want you to what?”

  “Leave you alone.”

  “Don’t be an arse. It was just a joke.”

  “I know. I just…Leo and I have completely monopolised you for over two months. When was the last time you saw one of your friends? Even spoke to them?”

  “Right now. You’re a friend.” Julian glared at his companion. “What are you getting at?”

  “Nothing. Don’t get angry, but I’ve just been…you look tired. Not just now but…even Leo mentioned it to me last night.”

  “I'm fine. No one’s forcing me to do this, you know that.”

  “No, I know. It’s all been a bit of an accident, in more ways than one.”

  Julian shrugged. “That’s how life works. I'm happy, Zachary. I’d tell you if I wasn’t.”

  “Of course. I…would you mind giving Linis back?”

  Julian frowned, but obeyed, much to the kem’s displeasure. Zachary handed Pyon over with almost indecent haste.

  “No need to be jealous—he still loves you best.”

  “It’s not…”

  Zachary didn’t seem angry, as such, but his face had gone rather red.

  “Something wrong? Are you okay?”

  “I'm f-fine.”

  The stutter meant that was a flat out lie. “Are you sure? I wasn’t hurting him, you know th—”

  “C-can we not talk about this?”

  Pyon whined miserably. Linis got off Zachary’s lap again and came over to lick him. “Linis!” Zachary snapped. “Come back.” His kem turned around and gave him a dirty look. “Linis!”

  That was two firsts—Linis disobeying Zachary, and Zachary actually being sharp with his beloved companion.

  “Damn it, Zachary,” Julian said, beginning to be a little worried by all this, “calm down. It’s not like he’s going to run off. Linis, go back, he’s upset.” Linis yawned and ignored him. Julian, flummoxed by this uncharacteristic reaction, gave Zachary an appeasing smile. “He’s just in a funny mood. Maybe you should ask him to go inside for a bit.”

  “I—“ Zachary’s mouth snapped shut. “He can do what he likes.”

  His hands were grasped tightly in his lap, his cheeks still bright red. Julian suddenly realised what was going on. Zachary was aroused. Because Linis—

  Oops. It didn’t have that effect on Julian but then Pyon was smaller and… He picked his kem up and dropped him on Zachary’s stomach, then nudged Linis over to him as well.

  “I'm just going to the loo. Mind them, will you? Pyon, stay with Zachary. Linis, you stay too. I really don’t need you to watch me pee.”

  Zachary blushed even harder. Julian walked away quickly before he made it all so much worse by laughing.

  “Oh boy,” he said to himself as he hid behind the rather ugly toilet block and gave Zachary—and everything else—time to settle down. The man didn’t like being touched, and Julian had been sitting there virtually giving him a hand job. He hadn’t meant to, but Linis was irresistibly touchable. The irony was that Julian had to stop himself touching Linis’s host about a dozen times a day because it came naturally to him, and because in his own prickly way, Zachary was pretty damn touchable too.

  All he could do now was pretend nothing had happened—and keep his hands off Zachary’s kem, or at least keep them off when Zachary wasn’t concentrating on anything else. Zachary had the worst personal space issues of anyone Julian had ever met. He’d probably never let anyone else close enough to pet Linis before but Julian sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one to explain how this kem touching thing worked. That was what Leo was for.

  He stayed long enough to make it credible that he’d been caught short, and then walked slowly back. Both kems were sitting on Zachary now, and to Julian’s relief, Linis showed no further sign of making advances on him. What had got into the big guy’s head? Kems were so damn weird sometimes.

  Zachary wouldn’t quite meet his eye. “Sorry,” Julian said, faking cheerfulness. “I think Leo needs to stop buying so much good food.”

  “If you’re feeling unwell, perhaps we should go back.”

  “I'm fine—how are you? What would you like to do?”

  “I…”

  “Another walk?”

  Zachary nodded, so Julian set up the wheelchair again, Zachary transferred from the bench to the chair and off they went, in a different direction from the morning. The kems soon rushed off to play, leaving the humans to walk along in uncomfortable silence. Not for the first time, Julian reflected on the fact that Zachary was a really poor conversationalist. He would never talk about anything remotely personal, and while he’d readily offer his opinion on other matters, particularly kems, or any subject which didn’t touch him directly, he wouldn’t express his thoughts about what he liked or disliked unless he was pressed. Even then, it was like pulling teeth.

  Julian figured it was as good a day as any to learn a little more about his companion. “So,” he asked eventually, after they’d walked for half an hour or so. “Let’s play a little game. You can ask me any three questions you like and I have to answer them truthfully, and then I get to ask you three.”

  “Why?”

  “Is that one of the three questions?”

  “I don’t like this game. Why do you want to?”

  “Because I’ve spent all this time with you and I don’t even know stuff like when you first kissed a girl, or what was your favourite subject at school, or even your favourite colour.”

  “None of that’s important.”

  “Yes, it is. It’s about you, who you are, what made you. Come on, Zachary, you owe me. Don’t be such a tight arse.”

  He looked down and saw a muscle working hard in Zachary’s long jaw. “And don’t get mad with me. It’s just conversation.”

  “Exactly. Trivial nonsense to while away the time. What’s wrong with silence? What’s wrong with solitude? I think I miss that more than anything else, the chance to just get the hell away from other people and have some privacy. And you want this…this…experience to be even more invasive of my privacy?”

  Julian stopped and walked around in front of the chair. “Hey! None of this has been set up to invade anything. I thought we were friends now.”

  Zachary pursed his lips. “I suppose we are.”

  “‘Suppose’? You’re cold.”<
br />
  “People don’t interest me. You already know this about me. What else could anyone need to know?”

  “I think you’re a damn liar.”

  Zachary’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Perhaps we should just go back.”

  “I want to go to the lake. We’ve walked this far, why should I miss out because you’re a misanthropic prick?”

  “This isn’t new information. I don’t need you to keep repeating it. I already know what people think of me.”

  “Do you now.” He walked back behind the chair and began to push it again. Zachary stared straight ahead and ignored him. “You didn’t know Leo cared so much about you, so you’re wrong about knowing what people think.”

  “‘People’ as in ‘strangers’—like you.”

  “You’re wrong about me, too. Go on, tell me what you think I think of you.”

  “Please choose something else to discuss.” The words practically had icicles hanging off each syllable, but Julian never let that scare him before.

  “Why? Who died and made you the boss? I work for Leo, not for you. And technically, not for him either. I’ll talk about what I like.”

  “Then you’ll do it without my assistance. Discussing people’s opinions is of no interest to me at all.”

  Julian resisted the opportunity to slap his annoying companion upside his perfectly groomed head. “Go on—ask me three questions. I might surprise you.”

  “I very much doubt that.”

  “Stop being a prick, Mr Ledbetter.”

  “Stop calling me that, it’s vulgar.”

  Julian quickly ran through all the other words he could have used, and decided ‘prick’ was polite as he was going to get today. “Three questions. I’ll take the risk of boring you.”

  “God, you’re persistent. Very well. The same things you mentioned before—first kiss, favourite subject, and favourite colour. And don’t take that as an indication I have the slightest interest in any of it.”

  “First kiss with a boy or a girl? Or any?”