Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:16:19 -0600
From: Katya_Dee <concertoind@gmail.com>
Subject: The Dreamtrap - chapter 7

This is a story of fiction, all resemblances (dead or alive) are eerily
coincidental. Everything in the story is owned by myself beloved. Contains
descriptive sexual scenes between males, if you are not supposed to read it
then don't. Feel free to e-mail me.

****

- VII -


            Julian woke up a couple of hours later and lay in bed without
moving or opening his eyes for several more minutes, enjoying Raven's even
breath on his skin. Finally, he sighed, opened his eyes, and shifted
carefully, trying not to wake up the sleeping brunet. Raven didn't even stir
at that, and Julian slid out of bed and headed to the shower.

   By the time he emerged from the shower, he realized that he was hungry,
so he went downstairs, carefully shutting the bedroom door behind him, since
Raven was still asleep. He looked through the fridge critically, noting that
every single dish had to be warmed up first in order to be edible, and
Julian knew that the microwave would only ruin the flavor.

   He didn't feel like fiddling with the stove and reached for the phone
instead. Soon enough, he ordered enough food to last them until the end of
the day without need of warmth (potato and chicken salads are great things
once in a while), and after he finished, he glanced at the clock; it read
2:45. He knew that they fell asleep around eleven, give or take, and decided
to let Raven sleep for a bit longer.

   He went into the garage to retrieve his bag from the car, and while he
was doing that, he threw a quick glance into the back seat of Raven's car.
There was something in there, which Julian could not identify without the
lights on, so he opened the door of the car, and then blinked a couple of
times, a small smile playing with his mouth. It was the picture frame and it
wore the exact same design Raven drew a bit ago. Julian immediately knew
that it was the new frame for Raven's latest obsession.

   He pulled the frame out and slammed the door shut, figuring that he might
as well get the painting that his mate was drooling over for the last ten
days or so into this frame before Raven wakes up. He made his way to the
study, the weight of the frame never bothering him, his mind wondering.

   "You thought that he was fucking someone else," his inner self sighed,
and Julian opened the door to the study and lowered the frame onto the
floor.

   "What was I suppose to think?" he reasoned silently while walking towards
the curtains and pulling them apart.

   "You could wait until actually witnessing whatever it was before jumping
to conclusions," his inner self retorted.

   "Right," Julian muttered under his breath while pulling the painting off
the wall and getting it out of its shabby frame quickly without as much as
even glancing at it. "One comes home unexpectedly early..."

   He shoved the old frame into the corner next to the door and grabbed the
new one, swiftly undoing the latches on the back.

   "...hears clearly fuck-induced moans that come from his mate..."

   He flipped the painting facedown, fitting it neatly into the new frame.

   "...and then he hears, `Oh, yeah, just like that, fuck, don't stop!'
Seriously..." he blew a strand of hair off his forehead and critically
looked at the back of the painting, making sure it aligned just fine with
the structure of the frame.

   "There could be a number of reasons," his stubborn inner self all but
rolled its eyes. "Masturbation would be one of them," it said pointedly, and
Julian sighed.

   "Right..." Julian sighed once again and carefully put the latches back
on, making sure they stay put, while flipping the painting face-up. "I
guess..." He frowned and straightened up, staring at the painting without
seeing it. "I am paranoid..." he shrugged finally.

   "Why?" his inner self asked with sincere surprise. "You only had one mate
before, and Vivienne never cheated on you... Is it because Raven is a guy?"

   "Might be," Julian muttered and grabbed the painting off the floor, never
paying any real attention to it.

   "Are you going to tell him about your initial reaction?" it sounded as if
Julian's inner self was having the time of its life while the blond was
carefully fitting the painting onto the hook in the wall.

   Julian sighed and straightened up, propping his arms on his sides.

   "Yes," he said finally. "I am going to tell him about my initial
reaction, and yes..." he narrowed his eyes before his pesky inner self could
chime in with anything else. "I will owe him; I am fine with that. I'll do
whatever he wants..."

   "You know, you don't really have to..." that damn inner voice started
saying thoughtfully, and Julian cut it off, turning away from the painting.

   "I will," he said firmly. "And I will deal with his reaction. Now shut
up!"

   He nodded with satisfaction when there was no more outbursts from his
inner annoying self, grabbed the old frame, and left the study without even
bothering pulling the curtains together. He walked towards the bedroom after
quickly glancing at his watch. It was almost four in the afternoon. Julian
pushed the door of the bedroom open, and it swung inwards without any
creaking. Raven was still asleep; he was lying in the same position as
Julian left him more than an hour ago.

   The blond marveled at Raven's ability to stay asleep and motionless for
this long and he walked closer. He sat down on the edge of the bed and
carefully ran his finger along the smaller man's eyebrow.

   "Hey..." he called softly and sighed when the brunet never moved. He
cupped that sleeping face in his palm, running his thumb over the jawline.
"Raven..." he called softly. "It's almost four in the afternoon...! Wake
up...!"

   Raven hasn't made a single noise or movement, remaining as still as
before Julian touched him. The blond sighed.

   "Really...?" he muttered. "Raven, wake up..." he squeezed his fingers
tighter on brunet's face, frowning slightly when that caused no reaction
whatsoever. "Raven...?"

   He let go of Raven's face and grabbed his shoulder.

   "Raven...!" he called louder and shook the sleeping man somewhat
carefully. Careful transformed into vigorous when the brunet wouldn't even
sigh. "Raven...!" The blond was getting more and more concerned. "Is this a
joke you decided to pull?" he asked sharply, knowing that wasn't it – Raven
lay absolutely still, his breathing remained the same, and he was definitely
not faking this strange lethargic sleep. "Raven...! Shit..."

   Julian let go of the smaller man's shoulder and closed his eyes, reaching
for the magic streams. He found the one he needed and yanked it towards
himself, his hands shaking. He wrapped that stream around Raven's sleeping
figure, and the stream shimmered soft pink for a few seconds. Julian waited
somewhat patiently, knowing that this particular stream could bring back
someone who recently died if used correctly.

   When nothing happened, blond's expression became dumbfounded, and he
forced the stream to shimmer harder. This time, Raven's body glowed bright
red for almost a minute while Julian was biting his lower lip mercilessly.
Nothing happened.

   Julian tried the stream several more times, each time more frantic and
desperate than the previous one. Finally, he let go of the stream, his
concern blooming into full-grown panic by now. He got off the bed and went
into the closet, his movements rushed and jerky. He emerged from the closet
a minute later, carrying some clothes in his hands.

   He dressed Raven's unresponsive body, his hands shaking worse than they
did ten minutes ago, and after he finished, he lifted the smaller man up in
his arms and left the bedroom. The blond carefully lowered Raven into the
back seat of the car, slid behind the steering wheel and slammed on the gas
pedal, flying out of the garage without even bothering with the brake before
he threw the car into a different gear.

  ...It took him ten minutes at the most to arrive to the hospital's main
entrance, and he parked his car in the front row, completely ignoring `For
Staff Only' sign. He pulled Raven's limp body out of the back seat and
kicked the door of the car shut. He crossed the parking lot quickly and
marched into the lobby, heading straight for the receptionist desk. The
young woman on duty raised her head, and slight panic splashed in her eyes
when she recognized Julian immediately – the man was rather well known.

  "Master Sal..." she started saying, but the blond interrupted her.

   "I need the doctor and the private room... Now," he said darkly, and the
woman blinked at that.

   It seemed like she was about to say something about signing-in, but at
the last second, she wisely decided against that.

   "Yes, master Salamander," she said quickly instead and waved her hand
vigorously at the young man in white uniform not too far from the desk.
"Henry," she said as quickly as before. "Take them into three-fifteen... Do
it...!" she said when the young man was about to say something. "I know it's
reserved, but we'll figure something out...!" She made desperate eyes at the
young man, and Henry just shrugged and nodded. "Make sure everything is okay
in there," she added, and Henry nodded once again. The woman shifted her
gaze towards Julian. "The doctor will be there shortly," she said with a
rapid nod, and the blond turned away from her without saying anything.

   "This way," Henry said mildly and walked towards the elevators. Then he
paused slightly and looked at Julian. "Would you like me to get a wheelchair
for him?" he glanced at Raven, whose head was resting in the crook of
Salamander's neck.

   "No," the blond answered shortly, and the tone of his voice left no room
for further questions.

   Henry swallowed quickly and nodded, looking away from Julian's cold eyes.

   "This way," he said once more and pushed the button with an arrow up next
to the elevators.

   The elevator's doors smoothly slid open, and Henry let Julian in first
before stepping into the cabin himself. He pushed the black shining button
with green number 3 on it, and the doors silently rolled shut. They arrived
onto the third floor thirty seconds later, and Henry held the doors of the
elevator just in case while waiting for the blond to step out.

   He led Julian to the room 315, opened the door, and switched on the
lights. He scanned the room with his eyes quickly, making sure everything
was in order. He knew that the room would be fine, since it was reserved for
the last three days for a certain surgical patient; Henry briefly wondered
what are they going to say to the person when he arrives here tomorrow
morning and finds out that the room he specifically requested and paid for,
wasn't available anymore. Then he shrugged to himself – it wasn't his
problem.

   "Is there anything you want me to get for you?" he cautiously asked the
blond who lowered Raven onto the bed and was standing next to it, his back
rigid. "Some water or a cup of coffee...?"

   "No," the blond answered as shortly as before without turning around.

   Henry shuffled his feet somewhat uncomfortably, having no idea whether
Julian wanted him to stay here until the doctor arrives or to do the
opposite. He didn't dare asking Salamander any more questions, afraid that
the blond would unleash something nasty on him, considering his rigid
posture and dark expression. It was obvious that Julian didn't have much
patience right now.

   "Leave," the blond said quietly without turning around, answering Henry's
silent, desperate question.

   "Yes, master Salamander," Henry said with audible relief and stepped out
of the room, carefully shutting the door behind him.

   He took a deep breath and went towards the stairs, ignoring the
elevators. He walked into the lobby a minute or so later, and headed towards
the receptionist desk. The same young woman, who told him to lead Salamander
into room 315, looked at him with a silent question in her dark eyes.

   "Everything is fine," Henry said in a low voice when he got close to her.
"The room is in order and..."

   "I don't give a damn about the room," the woman interrupted him with
hushed impatience. "This is it, right? It finally happened!"

   Henry sighed and leaned on the desk.

   "Maybe she will leave us alone at last," he muttered. "I would be able to
shave in front of the mirror again without being ambushed by her every
single goddamn time...!"

   The woman let out small, relieved laughter.

   "Tell me about it," she agreed with a slight nod. "I still can't believe
that Salamander's mate was the one who bought that damn painting! Out of all
people..."

   "Yeah," Henry said darkly. "Scared the shit out of me when I realized
that... I mean, it's Salamander we are talking about...! If he finds out..."

   "He won't," the woman interrupted him firmly. "First, there is no way he
could even make a connection, and second..." She smiled gently. "Even if he
does somehow, I'll take care of that."

   "He doesn't strike me as an easy puppet," Henry muttered as darkly as
before, and the woman snorted.

   "I prefer challenge," she said in a low voice. Then she sighed. "I wonder
what she wants us to do now, after she finally sucked him in... I guess
we'll find out tonight," she sighed again, and Henry gave her a silent,
agreeable nod.



****



   "Goddammit, Raven, don't you dare getting stuck there..." Julian muttered
and his fingers tightened their grasp on the sleeping man's wrist. "I don't
know where you are right now, but don't you dare getting stuck there...!"

   Soft knocking on the door made him look up.

   "Come in," he called loudly, and the door opened smoothly, letting in a
slender, young-looking woman with dark, piercing eyes.

   "Master Salamander," she nodded professionally. "I am doctor Callum..."
She stretched out her hand, and Julian reluctantly shook her warm, slender
fingers. "What seems to be the problem?" she asked, shifting her gaze
towards Raven.

   "He won't wake up," Julian said tightly. "He was fine in the morning,
fell asleep at eleven, and won't wake up since... Magic seems to be
useless," he added after the doctor started checking Raven's pulse, frowning
slightly.

   She threw a quick glance at him, and the blond nodded.

   "I tried waking him up using magic streams; nothing happened."

   Doctor's expression became quite thoughtful after that statement.

   "If the streams did nothing," she started saying slowly mostly to herself
without looking away from Raven's serene face. "There might be something in
his blood that prevents him from..." She didn't finish the sentence and
looked up. "I need to run several tests," she said quickly. "I need to check
his blood, and do some..."

   "Do whatever you think is necessary," Julian interrupted her in the same
tight voice, and she nodded without saying anything else.

****

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