Credo Quia Absurdum

by Sophie Martin

  “Yeah.” Tim smiled. “You are.”

  “Cool.” Joel grinned and lifted himself on one elbow. “Now, why don’t you show me that thing you promised me, hmm?”

  “What thing?” Tim blinked, feigning innocence.

  “You damn well know what thing, you imp.”

  “Hey! I resent that. I heard that imps are really nasty creatures. They’re nothing like pixies!”

  “Oh, yeah, and what are pixies like?”

  “Well…” Tim’s voice trailed off. “We’re obviously beautiful…”

  “That you definitely are.” Joel lowered himself closer to Tim.

  “Sexy…” Tim continued in a throaty voice.

  “Yeah…you’re very sexy…” Joel’s lips almost touched Tim’s.

  “…and sublime.”

  Joel pulled away and stared at Tim in disbelief.

  “Sublime? Really?”

  “What, you don’t think I’m sublime?” Tim blinked at him innocently.

  “Honey, I don’t know how to tell you this…” Joel paused and watched Tim narrow his eyes, barely hanging onto his straight face.

  “Come on, say what you’ve got to say,” Tim said in a dangerous voice.

  “I don’t think you’d know sublime if it bit you in the ass!”

  “Well, you!” Tim gasped in mock outrage and grabbed Joel by the ears, pulling him in for a kiss. “I’ll show you how sublime I can be!” The kiss grew heated and soon they were going for round two. Tim decided to enjoy it. He wasn’t going to dwell on Joel’s question. He’d learned early on that it was best to let things play out how they were supposed to. Forcing some things was the easiest way to ruin them.

  * * * *

  Joel lay next to his sleeping pixie and wondered what the hell had come over him. He didn’t know where that question came from. Sure, his time with Tim was wonderful, magical even, but he had never been interested in another man before. Was what he was feeling real, or was it just a by-product of pixie dust, the forbidden nature of his relationship with Tim, and the danger they were in? He didn’t know, and it bothered him. He was bothered that it bothered him. Ironic, really. He wanted the feelings for another man, feelings that were way stronger than anything he have ever felt for a woman, to be real. And that made him even more confused.

  He felt like he was falling for his pixie, and falling hard, and that’s why he had to be reminded of the reasons pixies didn’t mate with humans. Now, for good or bad, he had a solution to both arguments. One was obvious. For some reason, Jason’s magic or whatever, he was immune to fey true form, so that was out of the way, and as to protecting Tim? Hell, he would do whatever he could, sure, but there were many other people who could help and protect the pixie. Dominic, an alpha wolf shifter, Tim’s own older brother, Jason and his mates, and the entire pack. Joel’s understanding was that pack members looked out for each other. Jason had already helped to save Tim once, and it was when he was still a virtual stranger. Joel was sure that the scary demigod would do whatever it took to help keep Tim safe, that he’d do it for each of his pack members.

  Now, the question was, was it fair for Joel to keep Tim from finding someone even more powerful to protect him? Joel had no idea about the paranormal world besides what he’d learned from his cousin and the twins. What if there was someone even bigger and badder than all of them, someone who could grant Timiny total protection? The whole question would be meaningless if the prophecy would get fulfilled and grant pixies their real power, but it was so obscure that it could mean anything or nothing, so Joel couldn’t count on it to help resolve his problems.

  The man pulled Tim closer to him and hugged the pixie. With his wings folded close to his back, Joel could almost pretend that Tim was a human. Unfortunately, it wasn’t true. Joel was not only attracted to another man, but to one that wasn’t human. If that was not a mindfuck, Joel didn’t know what was.

  Closing his eyes, Joel thought he needed some normalcy, to spend some time with Tim the way dating humans did. He had no idea how he’d feel about people knowing he was with a man. If he couldn’t stand it, then the whole case was closed, right? If he couldn’t walk around the street holding Tim’s hand and be comfortable with it, then there was no point wondering about all the other, more serious problems. Falling asleep, Joel decided to ask Tim out on a date.

  * * * *

  “So, I was thinking,” Joel started suddenly.

  “Whoa there, don’t strain yourself.” Tim’s retort was fast in coming.

  “Ah-ha, such a funny guy you are.” Joel grimaced.

  “Yeah, I know.” Tim grinned. “So, what were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking about us, you know, about what we have.”

  “Uh-oh, should I be worried?”

  “No, no, it’s nothing like that. I just…” Joel paused and took a deep breath. “Will you go out with me?”

  “What, like a date?”

  “Yeah, like a date.” Was it normal to be nervous? Joel felt like a teenager asking someone out for the first time. He even held his breath without realising it.

  “I’d love to go out on a date with you.”

  Okay, he could breathe again.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, really, but are you sure about it? Everyone thinks you’re straight. How will you feel if we meet one of your friends?”

  “I don’t know, but I want to try it. I want to see if I can go out, have fun with you, and not worry about what other people think, you know?” He decided to be honest.

  “Yeah.” Tim gave him a small smile. “I think I do know.” Then, the man jumped to his feet. “So, when should we do it?”

  “Well, I’m off from my job as a driver today, and you finished your work for the day, so how about now? Let’s get ready and go watch some movies. Then maybe we can have dinner or something. How does that sound?”

  “It sounds perfect,” Tim said quietly.

  “Okay then, I’ll go get changed and will meet you here in”—he glanced at his watch—”half an hour? Is that okay?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be ready.” Tim grinned widely, and Joel answered with a matching, excited grin.

  “Great, let’s go, then!”

  * * * *

  The movie was good, some adventure-slash-comedy thing. They had tons of fun and laughed their hearts out. They left the cinema embraced and…ran straight into one of Joel’s acquaintances. Joel froze momentarily, but he didn’t release Tim. Rather, he hugged him closer to himself.

  “Oi! Joel! Is that you, old man?” The bald, muscled man with a smiling blonde holding onto his shoulder called from across a parking lot.

  “Hey, Terry,” Joel said and approached the pair, keeping Tim close. “Long time no see, huh?”

  “Yeah, I’ve moved to the city a while ago. Just came to visit and show off my girlfriend to my parents.” The man grinned and puffed up his chest. The woman only rolled her eyes and extended her arm.

  “Hi, I’m Karolina, but call me Karo. I’m the girlfriend.” She smiled.

  “So I see.” Joel smiled back and pulled her hand to his mouth to kiss it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Karo. How did such a lovely lady end up with this buffoon here?”

  “Hey!” Terry exclaimed but laughed. “Don’t tell her that. You’ll scare her away! You always got all the best girls. Last I heard, you were holed up with some leggy babe. Joel Simmonds in a steady relationship, a blessing to all men!” Terry laughed again.

  “Well, we’re not together anymore. Linda and I broke up a while ago.”

  “Shit, man, sorry. I had no idea.” Terry did look contrite and slightly embarrassed. Karo took the lead in conversation, then.

  “Joel, would you introduce us to your friend?”

  “Yeah.” Joel couldn’t help but grin proudly. “This is Tim, my boyfriend.” He pulled the pixie forward so that Tim could shake Karo’s then Terry’s hands.

  “Shit, man, you sure work fast, but I thought it was your cousin who was gay
, not you?” Terry looked slightly confused.

  “Yeah.” Joel laughed out loud, relieved at Terry’s reaction. “So did I. It took the right man to show me my mistake.” He gazed at Tim with feeling. The pixie blushed.

  “Aww, that’s so sweet,” Karo cooed. “You definitely look in love with each other.”

  Joel only smiled at that.

  “Well, it was great to meet you, man, but we need to get going. Mum’s cooking tonight. We cannot be late.” Terry patted Joel’s shoulder. “How about we meet while I’m in town? You, me, Karo, and your boyfriend? Sort of a double date?” Terry paused then frowned. “Did that sound as lame to you as it did to me?” he asked. Karo laughed.

  “It did, babe. We’re not in college anymore.”

  “Oh, what the hell? Tonight we’re feeling young, right?”

  “Yeah, something like that, babe.” Karo smiled at her man indulgently.

  “So, do we have a date, then?” Terry asked. Joel looked at Tim for confirmation then smiled and nodded. “Sure, why not? It’ll be good to catch up. I haven’t seen you in ages.”

  “Great, so I’ll call you. You still got the same number?”

  “No, but I’ve got my card with me.” Joel fished his wallet out of the pocket and took out his PI card.

  “You’re a private investigator? That’s so cool, man,” Terry exclaimed, gave Joel another pat on the shoulder, and said his good-byes.

  Joel and Tim watched the couple drive away then Tim asked, “An old friend of yours?”

  “Yeah,” Joel said, starting to walk and pulling Tim with him. “We went to college together. I haven’t seen him in years.”

  “Well, he didn’t look shocked that you were with a man.”

  “No, he didn’t, did he? But he was always very cool. He used to take things in stride. I guess that hasn’t changed.” Joel smiled before changing the subject. “So, where do you want to go for dinner?”

  “There is this nice burger joint just around the corner. I simply love their food.”

  “Uh, I know which one you’re talking about. Max’s, isn’t it? They have the best choice of burgers in town.”

  “Yeah, that’s it.”

  “Great, let’s go.” They reached the restaurant in minutes and went in. As soon as they entered, Joel noticed Linda, his ex, with some of her friends sitting in the restaurant. He paused, not sure if he wanted to be there after all.

  “What’s up?” Timiny looked up at him. Joel nodded his head to where the woman sat. “Oh, is that your ex? Do you want to leave?” There was no judgement or disappointment in the little fey’s voice, and Joel felt himself relax.

  “No, I was just startled is all.” He smiled at his new boyfriend and hugged him closer to his side. Just then, Linda looked up and noticed him. She waved and stood up to approach him.

  “I’ll go get us some food,” Tim said. “Why don’t you find us a table?” Just as soon the man left, leaving Joel to deal with the blast from the past, Linda came closer and smiled at him tentatively. She looked well, Joel noticed. Their breakup was obviously good for her.

  “Hey, Joel, how are you?”

  “Not bad, you?” Awkward didn’t even begin to describe how Joel felt.

  “Fine, fine.” She paused as if not knowing what to say. Joel wasn’t surprised. He himself had no idea how to proceed with this strange encounter. Linda took the decision out of his hands. “So, I see I was right after all,” she stated calmly. Joel frowned.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Your boyfriend there.” She tilted her head, indicating Tim. “You’re together, aren’t you?”

  “And if we are?” Joel became defensive, but Linda only smiled sadly.

  “Then I’m happy for you,” she said then waved at one of the empty tables, away from her friends. Joel followed her, and they sat together in silence for a while. “I knew you were interested in men from the very beginning, you know?” she suddenly said, and Joel nearly opened his mouth in shock.

  “What? What are you talking about?” he asked loudly. Linda snorted and answered.

  “Don’t be so surprised. I’m pretty perceptive when I want to be, you know?”

  “You couldn’t have known I was interested in men. Even I didn’t know that, not until I met Tim, and it was only after we broke up.”

  “Yeah.” She laughed, a short bark of a sound. “You were always pretty clueless when it came to your own desires and needs. At first, I thought you were denying it, hiding in a closet or whatever they call it, but then I realized you had no idea what was going on with you. That’s why I tried to keep you away from that gay cousin of yours. I thought if you were separated from him, you could be happy with me, not missing something you didn’t even know you wanted. I thought seeing Dominic with another man would make you realise what you really needed. I was wrong. You were unhappy, and you didn’t know why, or that you even were. It, in turn, made me unhappy that I couldn’t give you what you needed.”

  “Are you telling me you broke up with me because you suspected I was gay?” There was a heavy dose of disbelief in Joel’s voice. Linda laughed once again.

  “Nope, not gay. I thought you might be bi, though. You definitely did not pretend to like sex with me, I could tell.”

  “Linda, you’re overwhelming me here. I don’t know what to say.” He never in a million years suspected this was the reason she behaved like she did, and why she broke up with him.

  “You don’t need to say anything. I only wanted you to know that I’m happy for you. I saw how happy you two were when you came in. I hope this man deserves you. You’re pretty awesome, Joel Simmonds.” She stood up and leaned in to plant a butterfly kiss on his cheek before leaving to join her friends. In the middle of the aisle, she passed Timiny and leaned in to whisper something in his ear. The pixie stopped, looked at her, and nodded. Then he came to join Joel, setting a tray of food between them.

  “What did she say to you?” Joel’s curiosity won.

  “To take good care of you,” Tim said without a hint of surprise in his voice.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, it seems pretty obvious to me that she cared about you and saw that being together wasn’t good for either of you. I think that’s why she broke up with you,” Tim stated and grabbed a nice, beefy cheeseburger with different toppings overflowing from it. He took a big bite and chewed, moaning in appreciation. Joel felt his dick jerk at the expression of pure bliss on the pixie’s face.

  “Well, she just told me that she did it because she thought I was interested in men and that she wasn’t giving me what I really needed.” He was still perplexed at the woman’s admission.

  “Mhm, that makes sense.” Tim nodded and continued to chew his food. “That’s really good, you ought to try it.” He nodded to the tray containing another burger, some French fries, a salad, and some fizzy drinks. “I know they say it’s all processed food in this kind of joint, but I love myself some junk food every once in a while. We don’t have anything like this in the fey world.” They ate in a comfortable silence for a while before Tim asked. “Does it bother you?”

  “What?” Joel was slightly confused.

  “What you ex told you, how she always suspected that you might like men?” Tim clarified.

  Joel looked him in the eyes and answered honestly.

  “Actually, no, it doesn’t. Frankly, quite the opposite. I worried about what it was that broke us apart. Was it some flaw of mine? Was I not attentive enough? Not caring? But it seems she saw something in me that no one else, including myself, did. What she did, breaking up with me, was good. It was a hard decision, but the best one for both of us in the long run. What if we got married, had kids, and then I discovered I preferred men? I wouldn’t cheat on my wife, that’s not it, but I’d be miserable and so would she.”

  “Yeah.” Tim nodded. “It’s good that you can see that. Maybe the way she broke up with you wasn’t the best, but she did it for both your sakes.”

&n
bsp; “Mhm.” Joel went back to his burger, and they abandoned the topic. There wasn’t much more to say, maybe beside one more thing, but Joel preferred to keep it to himself. Meeting with Linda made one thing obvious for him. His feelings for Tim were real. They weren’t some aftereffect of the mating dust, or the result of his sexual frustration. Linda proved to him that he’d had the potential to love men all along. It only took one special individual to help him realise it. This realisation didn’t help him with other problems, but it was a start. Joel smiled at Tim and asked him about the movie. It was a date, after all. Now was not the time to dwell on serious stuff.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The sound of a throat clearing broke Tim’s concentration. He glanced to the side where his twin sat, seemingly working on a box that needed to be painted. From what Tim could tell, Jiminy had been working on the same damn box for the last half hour, and it didn’t look any different than it had before.

  “So…” Jim started, looking very uncomfortable, “you and Joel, huh?”

  Ah, here it comes. To tell the truth, Tim was surprised it took Jim so long to corner him about it. His brother was overprotective and curious, not a good combination when it came to Tim’s personal life. Jim always discovered all about Tim’s sexual partners sooner or later. This time, the situation was more complicated. Joel was Jim’s mate’s cousin. It made for some awkward conversations.

  “Yeah, me and Joel,” Tim finally said. He wasn’t about to make it easy on his twin. He liked seeing him squirm. Tim hid his smirk.

  “Are you…um, you know…”

  “Are we what, Cricket? Are we fucking? Are we screwing each other’s brains out?”

  “Timmy!” Jim blushed furiously and scowled at Tim. “Oh, I see what you’re doing. You’re trying to embarrass me so I drop the subject. Well, guess what, mister?” Jim stood up and put his hands on his hips. “No such luck. I’m not dropping it. I’m your brother and I worry about you.”