Page 34 of A Quiet Man

Riley and Justin were trying to work out a day to have Auden and Tomas over for a meal, to meet everyone and hang out. But between the unpredictability of Auden's schedule, their own work, and all the kids' needs, it kept being postponed and switched around. To be fair, Tomas wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to expose Auden to Justin's caustic ways.

Justin might be perfectly nice to Auden. That would be good, of course, if he could rein himself in that much. Maybe he wouldn't even find it an effort. That would be difficult in a different way, though: it would prove once and for all that it was Tomas that Justin hated, not that he had a problem with basically everyone.

Tomas reminded himself he didn't — or at least, shouldn't — care what Justin thought of him. That he was quite used to the man's caustic unfriendliness, and one of these days, the unexpected jabs wouldn't hurt anymore. He just wasn't looking forward to seeing Justin anytime soon, even if Justin would apologize later for anything rude he had done.

Telling his parents would definitely be an issue, partly because he didn't know how to explain his new relationship, how much detail he should go into, or at what point it was appropriate to meet family members and let them start getting used to the idea and attached to Auden. On one level, Tomas was absolutely ready to go: move in together, get married tomorrow, settle down for the good life. He was there for it. On the other hand, he recognized that yes, relationship rules still applied to them. You didn't do that; you got to know one another, you dated, you figured things out and didn't take gigantic leaps when you were still in the besotted stage and didn't even have each other's birthdays and food preferences memorized yet.

So far, Auden was remarkably patient with him about everything. He seemed happy just to be around him, to have their relationship defined as boyfriends, and to have the occasional hug, kiss, and time to hang out. He also appreciated the rides to and from his job when Tomas could fit it into his schedule.

Then Tomas wondered if it was too soon to buy your boyfriend a car. Probably he should wait for at least a few months, right?

Even though Cody had been interested in being more than friends, he was really good at stepping back into that friendly role without hinting or asking for more. In fact, he became such a good pal that Tomas didn't feel weird about sometimes confiding in him. He trusted Cody, and nothing Cody had done so far proved that that was a mistake. It was weird, because Tomas usually kept his work and personal lives very separate and didn't trust any of his other coworkers with anything personal. Did he trust Cody because he was a shifter? Or was it his friendly personality that seemed able to overcome any barriers?

Cody and Riley could actually talk now without Riley panicking about interacting with the fox shifter. Tomas felt proud of them both: Cody for making the effort to be kind to the wolf shifter, and Riley for being brave enough to work past his initial nerves.

Cody hadn't asked for more advice about the precinct. He seemed to be walking the tightrope well: vulnerable but not too vulnerable, hard-working but not courting burnout. He'd reined in his naturally flirty nature and was very work-appropriate at all times around his coworkers. But as the weather shifted from winter to spring, he started showing up outside work in tank tops and cut-off jeans that even Tomas could see made him look like a highly sexual guy. They also looked far too chilly to him, even for spring weather, but apparently Cody's fast metabolism kept him perfectly comfortable.

There was an odd mix of softness and canniness to him; it seemed easy for people to underestimate him, and also to misjudge him.

Cody was delighted when Tomas agreed to let him meet Auden. He didn't want his work-friend-and-taco-pal to have to stay in a different part of his life forever. Meeting Auden would mean Cody could be more than just a work friend. Tomas needed that; he'd never been one to make friends easily, and Cody seemed to accept and like him for who he was. The feeling was certainly mutual, at least since the guy was no longer hinting about dating him.

Cody had become quite the connoisseur of the taco truck, having ordered every possible combination off the menu, a few things that weren't on the menu, and now knew all the guys on the truck by name. They liked him a lot better than they liked quiet, straight-laced Tomas, despite (or because of?) his flirty ways.

Tomas was always going to be a more quiet and introverted personality, but Cody made him laugh, and he liked being around him, within reason. At any rate, he finally set up a time to bring Auden along on a taco stop to meet up with Cody and introduce them.

When Tomas and Auden were together, they usually ate at Tomas's place. Tomas liked to cook, and Auden enjoyed being cooked for and sharing the comfort and privacy of Tomas's home rather than a noisy or crowded restaurant, where they would be watched if they kissed or hugged.

At first, Tomas fell way behind on his reading, and he didn't mind because it was so much fun to hang out with Auden. But as they got a little more comfortable together, sometimes they'd sit in the same room, or beside each other, and work on their own silent projects — a book for Tomas, a movie review for Auden. Auden was a passionate movie fan, and he had a review blog. It was definitely a hobby, not a job — he earned a few dollars once in a while from advertising, but not much, and sometimes nothing at all — but he loved it. He loved waxing poetic about movies and picking them apart, and all the rest of it. Tomas read his reviews sometimes, and he enjoyed them. He'd never been as into movies and TV as Auden was, but he enjoyed it when they watched things together, and Auden had an interesting take on things, sometimes pointing out cinematographic details that totally skipped by Tomas, who was a more casual viewer.

Auden had strong opinions about movies, and they could be surprisingly interesting to listen to. Tomas was fascinated by Auden's interpretations and viewpoint, even on touchy subjects. Once, Auden told him about how he used to love old movies but wasn't able to enjoy some of them anymore.

"I see more than I did when I was a kid, and stuff like yellowface really turns my stomach. I didn't see those things when I was a kid, and now I do, and it spoils it, you know? But I'm not sorry I've learned more, and I'm glad to think about movies critically. It's sort of my thing! It's just weird sometimes to realize that an old favorite really isn't anymore, and there's a very specific reason for that — stereotypes and racist shit."

Tomas decided he would work his way through every single post about movies that Auden had made, even if it took him awhile — after he found out that Auden's previous boyfriend hadn't bothered to read even one.

It was nice to be able to just hang out, and he appreciated that Auden spent a lot of time at his place. Auden's place was a lot smaller and had thin walls and noisy neighbors.

Auden shamefacedly loved being at Tomas's place with him. More than once, he tidied the place up when he didn't have to, or fluffed and arranged pillows. It was strangely adorable to Tomas, though Tomas wasn't sure why — Auden putting his mark on the place in some small way, perhaps?

Once, Tomas caught him sliding along the hardwood floor in his socks, although he stopped quickly, with a sheepish grin, when he saw Tomas watching. "I like your floors," he said.

"Nice to know you like me for the right reasons," teased Tomas. He loved seeing a spark of joy, energy, and life in Auden. Sometimes, after he'd worked a long shift at the restaurant, he was so tired and discouraged that he seemed to have nothing left in him.

They hadn't talked about it much, but at some point, Tomas thought they would probably try to have sex. He found Auden incredibly attractive, and even though that didn't make him feel like he wanted to have sex with Auden, he also wasn't at all disgusted by him, and thought they could probably have fun together, exploring each other's bodies — if only there was no pressure to get it all right.

Since he'd never had a sexual relationship work out in a mutually satisfying way, it was scary to think about starting that with Auden. He'd been putting off even broaching the topic, gratefully taking advantage of this time of grace, where Auden seemed content with things as they were — and with Tomas as he was.

The day of the taco truck meet-up, Auden was understandably nervous. Tomas talked about his friend from work sometimes, and Auden knew that Cody was a fox shifter, had a good job, and was an attractive, flirtatious guy and a good listener — and someone who'd wanted to date Tomas. It would be difficult not to find that a little intimidating; Tomas knew he would have, if the situations had been reversed. He was as reassuring as he could be, and he made sure to let Auden know his outfit was perfect, and no, he didn't need to change a thing.

Of course, Auden always looked cute to Tomas these days, but he thought he was still at least a bit objective. Auden was wearing his newest pink t-shirt, a pair of weird but cute brown stretchy overalls, and a colorfully blocked windbreaker over it that was probably from the eighties. He made the retro outfit look extremely attractive, as he did with everything he wore or didn't wear.

So far, the most undressed he'd been in front of Tomas was wearing an oversized t-shirt, pajama shorts, and tube socks during one of their snuggling-and-movie nights. And yes, he'd made even that look fantastic.

"Don't be nervous," Tomas told his boyfriend as they drove to the taco truck. "He'll like you, and it doesn't matter if he doesn't. I don't need his approval or anything. This isn't important. It's just..." He hesitated, not sure how to word it. "The beginning of being open, I guess."

Auden's soft, helpless smile told him it had been good to hear. And it made sense; Cody was a pretty low-stakes person to tell. Why start at the high end of difficulty, the boss level of family and possible parental disappointments, when you could start with friends?

He supposed that meant meeting Justin was next on the list, although he really didn't want to think about that right now.