Date: Wed, 12 May 2010 10:56:59 -0600
From: Katya_Dee <concertoind@gmail.com>
Subject: The Year of the Salamander, chapter 20

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. All the resemblances are completely
coincidental. All the characters, situations, and everything else in the
story is owned by myself beloved. Contains descriptive sexual scenes between
males. If you are not supposed to read it, do not read it! Feel free to
e-mail me.

   This is a sequel to Specter' Gamble
</nifty/gay/sf-fantasy/specters-gamble/>.  You don't have to read the first
one in order to get this one, but it would make it easier to understand the
characters in this story.




- XX -



            It was a month later, and Desmond gloomily stared out of the
window in his office. It was the end of October, and the weather this year
was beyond merciless. It started getting quite cold a week ago, and it was
almost freezing right now. Desmond didn't even want to think of what would
happen in November. To top everything off, it was raining right now, and
Desmond hated rain.

   He sighed and pulled a pile of papers that was sitting on his desk closer
to him. At first, he thought of simply taking all these tests he needed to
grade home and do it there, but then it started to rain, and he decided to
do it in his office instead, hoping that it would stop raining by the time
he was done. He started scanning the papers with his eyes, marking the
mistakes automatically, without even thinking about the subject, which he
knew so well, he could do something like this in his sleep. He was thinking
about Sam, about the whole sacrifice thing, and also about the kid's strange
behavior lately. He would be gone for the entire day every day again; he
would do anything he could think of to avoid talking about whomever the hell
it was that he was seeing; and on the second week of October, he was staying
home again for almost ten days in a row. He wouldn't even go grocery
shopping.

   Desmond frowned slightly, thinking about the last time the same thing
happened. It was back in September when all of a sudden, the kid just stayed
home for longer than a week. Desmond thought harder. Yes, he remembered,
writing a score of 75 on one of the papers and putting it aside. Sam stayed
home on the second week of September, just like he did this month. He
grabbed another test, his pencil flying above the paper, making necessary
corrections. And just like in September, he left the house early in the
morning for no apparent reason ten days or so after his self-inflicted house
arrest. Desmond wasn't sure what to make of it. He was certain, however,
that it was not just a simple coincidence.

   He glanced outside and winced. It was raining even harder by now. He
sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket, deciding to call Rayhe and
tell him that he is not coming home until he is done grading the papers. He
knew that it would take him at least two hours, and he feverishly hoped that
the rain situation would improve somewhat by then.



****



   Gabriel was sitting in the back of a small coffee house, drinking his
espresso when his phone rang.

   "Yeah," he sighed into it after he fished it out of his pocket.

   "It's me," the phone said gloomily. "I am going to grade papers for a
while. I am not going outside in this rain!"

   "It might rain until tomorrow morning," Gabriel said, scanning everyone
in the coffee shop with his eyes absent-mindedly. "You just gonna sleep in
your office?"

   "No," the phone snorted. "If it still rains by the time I am done, I'll
just suck it up and go home."

   "Fine," Gabriel sighed and drank more of his espresso. "What do you want
for dinner?"

   "You," was the answer he got. "Dressing is optional."

   "Easily arranged," Rayhe said very seriously even though he was smiling.
"See you in a few hours then."

   "Uh huh," the phone said, and then the line clicked dead.

   Gabriel put the phone next to his coffee cup and resumed his espresso
sipping. He stopped by the coffee shop on his way home from work because he
knew that they were almost out of coffee. When he got coffee, he decided to
get a cup of espresso as well. He kept looking at the people inside the
shop, thinking about this blasted rain, when to his surprise, he saw Sam. He
was sitting in the opposite corner of the shop, chatting animatedly with
some red-haired guy. Gabriel was about to call his name, when all of a
sudden, the redhead leaned closer to Sam and kissed him on the mouth.
Gabriel just blinked when he saw Sam's arms fly up immediately and wrap
around the redhead's neck.

   Rayhe shut his mouth and drank more espresso. So that's whom Sam is
seeing, he thought. Why was he hiding it though? Gabriel frowned slightly,
studying the redhead. He seemed to be in his late twenties, and he was
taller than Sam – that was obvious even when they were sitting down. The
redhead laughed at something Sam said and planted another kiss on the
younger man's mouth. Gabriel slowly drank his coffee, trying to figure out
Sam's reasons for hiding something like this from them. The redhead was
obviously older, he thought. Was that the reason? Was Sam afraid that
Desmond or Gabriel would throw some sort of a fit if they found out about
their age difference?

   He shook his head to himself. No, that could not be the reason. Sam
should know both of them rather well by now; he should know that something
as ridiculous as age difference would never matter to either one of them.
What is it then? Gabriel was so curious that he almost got up and went
towards those two. Then he decided against it, thinking that he would just
ask Sam later. He thought for a second whether he should tell Desmond about
it, and decided to keep the information to himself until he finds out why
Sam was so protective of his flame's identity.

   He waited for those two to leave the coffee shop, since they were sitting
right next to the door, and Gabriel didn't want Sam to see him right now. He
was relieved half an hour later when the redhead finally got up. To his
greatest frustration, instead of leaving, that guy just grabbed both – his
and Sam's – cups and went to the counter for the refills.

   "Oh for the love of God..." Gabriel muttered. "How much coffee are you
going to drink? Just get out already!"

   Then he had an idea and took his phone. He punched in Sam's number, and a
few seconds later, he saw Sam reaching for his phone.

   "Hey, Sam," Gabriel said lightly. "I am not sure that I can make it home
for the next couple of hours, and that dog of yours turns into a nightmare
if he is not fed by eight-thirty... Could you stop by the house and feed
him?"

   "Umm," Sam said uncertainly. "Sure... What time is it now?"

   "Seven-forty-five," Gabriel glanced at his watch.

   "Umm," Sam said again. "Yeah, I'll do that."

   "All right," Rayhe smiled with relief. He didn't want to stay here any
longer. "Bye."

   "Bye, Gabriel."

   Rayhe put his phone down and watched Sam to get up and walk towards the
redhead. He said something to him, and the redhead nodded and told something
to the barista. She gave him a quick smile and poured their refills into
paper cups. Sam grabbed his cup, and a minute later, they finally walked out
of the coffee shop. Gabriel glanced outside. The rain wasn't coming down as
hard anymore. He thought that there was a very good chance for Desmond to
get home without looking like a wet and a very pissed off cat tonight,
grinned to himself, got up, and left that coffee shop, glancing around a
couple of times when he went outside. Neither Sam nor the redhead were in
sight and he nodded with relief. Five minutes later, he was on his way home.

   ...When he got home, Sam's car wasn't there. Specter attacked him with
furious tail wagging immediately, and Gabriel just sighed when the dog
shoved his nose into Rayhe's crotch.

   "Get out of there," he pushed him away with his knee, noting the fact
that right now, the dog didn't even have to look up to conduct such an
operation, which was the case merely a week or so ago. Now he was a perfect
height. "He is not even six-months-old yet," Gabriel thought
melancholically. Then he sighed and told himself to stop imagining what this
dog is going to look like in the next couple of months. Desmond was right –
Akbash dogs were bloody huge.

   He kicked off his shoes and went into the kitchen. He was digging through
the fridge when Specter let out a high-pitched yelp and raced towards the
front door. Gabriel immediately knew that Sam was about to walk into the
house. He was right.

   "Hey, Sam," Gabriel said when the younger man walked inside, shaking the
rainwater out of his hair. Sam looked at him with a small frown.

   "I thought you said..."

   "Yeah," Gabriel shrugged. "I just got home, didn't get a chance to call
you."

   "Oh..." Now Sam looked thoughtful. "Well, I'm gonna feed him anyway,
since I am here and all..."

   "Okay," Gabriel nodded.

   He watched Sam fill up the dog's bowl with food, his movements somewhat
rushed, as if he couldn't wait to get out of the house again, which was
probably the case.

   "So who is the redhead?" Gabriel asked casually, and Sam's hand jerked
and spilled some of the dry dog food onto the floor.

   "What..." He coughed and bent down, picking up the dry pellets. "Umm,
what redhead...?"

   "Sam," Gabriel sighed. "I saw you in the coffee shop... That's why I
called you. I wanted to leave but you two kept chugging down coffee... Just
leave it alone," he sighed again when Sam dropped all the pellets he just
picked up. "I'll sweep it later, okay?"

   Sam straightened up and slowly turned around. His expression was
mortified. Rayhe frowned at that.

   "What is, Sam?" he asked. "Why were you hiding this? Is it because he is
older? If it's a yes, then it's ridiculous! How old is he, anyway?
Twenty-seven?"

   "He is thirty-one," Sam muttered, and Gabriel blinked.

   "Huh," he said. "He doesn't look thirty-one... Anyway, is that the
reason? Because Sam, the age..."

   "No," Sam said in the same quiet voice. "Age has nothing to do with
this..."

   "Then what is it?" Gabriel frowned even deeper. "Sam, talk to me!"

   Sam closed his eyes.

   "Oh, God..." he muttered and opened his eyes. Now he looked determined.
"Gabriel, I didn't say anything because Blair is..."

   "His name is Blair?" Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "Sounds familiar... I've
heard that name before..."

   "Yeah..." Sam took a deep breath. "Blair is the Fire Guardian," he said
quickly as if afraid that if he talks any slower, he will end up choking on
his own tongue.

   At first, Gabriel didn't even register what he said.

   "So?" he snorted. "That was the reason you were hiding..." Here he
stopped talking for a few seconds. "Hold on..." he finally said slowly.
"Hold on... The Fire Guardian...? As in... *The Fire Guardian*?"

   "Yeah," Sam muttered, avoiding looking into Gabriel's eyes.

   Rayhe blinked very rapidly, opened his mouth, closed it, and shook his
head.

   "Holy hell," he said finally. "You managed to fall for the Fire Guardian?
How in the world did you even meet him?"

   "It's a..." Sam coughed. "It's a long story... See, I wanted to tell you
but I knew that if I did, Desmond would find out... And Desmond *hates *the
Guardians...!"

   "Tell me about it," Gabriel muttered. "Holy hell..." he shook his head
again. "Hold on... So this is why you were staying home all those days, huh?
Those were his rounds-weeks, right?"

   "How do you know about the rounds?" Sam blinked and finally looked into
Gabriel's eyes.

   Rayhe snorted.

   "It's not a secret, Sam. I used to be curious about them a while ago," he
shrugged. "I mean, I wanted to know what they did, what the whole Guardians
thing was about, you know? So I did some research... That's why the name
sounded familiar," he hemmed. "Of course, Felix, Daniel, Nicholas, and
Blair... Well, Nicholas is gone now but that's beside the point."

   "Gabriel..."

   "Sam," Rayhe interrupted the younger man who looked beyond miserable
right now. "Does he make you happy?"

   Sam blinked at that, and Rayhe nodded.

   "I am going to say yes," he said and leaned on the kitchen counter. Now
that the first initial shock was gone, he felt good again. "If he makes you
happy, that's the only thing that matters, okay? Don't worry about Desmond.
He'll probably throw a fit, he'll bitch about it for a while, but that's
about it. He won't do anything else. First of all, there is nothing he *can
*do, to be honest. It's not like he can forbid you to see Blair... And
second of all..." He shrugged. "I don't think he would do anything even if
he could... Believe it or not, but Desmond *does *want to see you happy."

   "I know that..." Sam muttered. "It's just... I don't even know how to
tell him, I mean..."

   "Don't worry about Desmond," Gabriel said again. "I'll do the telling
part. Go now," he waved his hand. "I'll feed your dog, get out now. You are
itching to get back to him; I can see it written on your face!"

   Sam laughed weakly at that, looking enormously relieved. He scratched
behind Specter's ear and walked towards the front door.

   "Gabriel," he said right before he walked out, and Rayhe looked at him
silently. "Thanks..."

   "Go," Gabriel waved his hand. "You have nothing to thank me for... I just
happened to be born with common sense; if anything, you should thank my
parents... Would be difficult," he added with a small nod. "Since they are
both dead..."

   "Right..." Sam muttered, and walked out of the house.

   ...Desmond walked through the front door of the house at nine in the
evening and he looked relatively dry and peaceful. That was good. Gabriel
considered telling him about Sam's flame (literally) right away but then he
decided against it. He knew that Desmond's reaction would be explosive to
say the least. He also knew that whenever his mate was relaxed enough, it
was a hell of a lot easier to tell him something that usually would make him
tear the house apart. He remembered Desmond's answer to `What do you want
for dinner?' earlier, and grinned to himself.

   "I finished grading all the papers," Desmond was saying meanwhile,
throwing his car keys onto the small table by the door. "One of them got a
perfect hundred, can you believe it? Huh, didn't expect Zabrowski to get a
perfect score..." he muttered thoughtfully. He glanced at Gabriel. "What?"
he narrowed his eyes slightly. "You look... Mmm..." he finished after Rayhe
pushed him against the wall and shut him up with his mouth. "Dinner time..."
he muttered several minutes later, and Gabriel dove into his mouth once
again.

   ...An hour or so later, Desmond looked very relaxed, and Gabriel decided
that there would be no better time than now. He took a deep breath.

   "Des, we need to talk," he said firmly, and Desmond opened one eye and
looked at him.

   "Mmm?" was all he said.

   "It's about Sam," Gabriel said slowly, trying to figure out the best way
to say it.

   "Mmm?" Desmond said again.

   "I know whom he's been seeing," Gabriel said as slowly as before.

   "Mmm?"

   "It's..." Damn, Rayhe thought. There *was *no good way to say it. "Des,
he is with Blair... The Fire Guardian," Gabriel said quickly, and Desmond's
other eye popped open.

   He stared at Rayhe without blinking.

   "Des," Gabriel said carefully after several minutes of silence. "Say
something..."

   "The fire guy," Desmond said quietly. "Son of a bitch... I knew it had
something to do with that damn fire guy!"

   "Huh?" Gabriel frowned at that. "What are you..."

   Desmond kicked off the blanket and got out of bed.

   "The fire guy..." he muttered, furiously pulling on his pants. "I figured
that he didn't want me to know about those two assholes..." He grabbed his
sweater. "The fire guy..."

   "Des... What are you talking about...? And where are you going?" Gabriel
added when Desmond yanked one of the drawers open and pulled out a pair of
socks.

   "The fire guy..." was the response he got.

   Rayhe sighed and started to get dressed as well. It took Desmond several
tries to get those socks on his feet finally, since his hands were shaking
with fury.

   "Des..."

   "The fire guy..." Desmond muttered again and stormed out of the bedroom.

   "Desmond, where the hell are you going?"

   "For a drive!"

   "It's raining again..."

   "No shit!"

   "I am coming with you..."

   "Like hell you are!"

   "I am coming with you. I don't want you to kill someone... Don't worry, I
am not going to bitch about your speed right now."

   "I want to be alone."

   "Tough. Shut up and go. I am coming with you...! Umm, yeah, we just did
that. We can do it again if you..."

   "Shut up, Rayhe! If you want to go, then go... The minute you say
something about my driving, I am throwing you out of the car! Forget the
damn umbrella, just move it!"

   "Just wanted to... Oh, never mind, let's go."