(this is a dream)
#12 of El Primero de los Misterios Dolorosos
The End.
[THIS IS A DREAM]
He actually looks surprised to hear me say that.
Leo: I'm sorry, but I think you're just a memory of him. In my head.
Leo: Saying what I wish he'd say.
Leo: Being how I wish he'd be.
He leans over the bar towards me, smiling like's about to try to make me feel better.
I hang my head. Even if it's true, admitting this feels like losing him all over again.
Leo: Wouldn't be the first time I had that problem.
He touches my cheek.
The shame of accusing him melts away.
He presses his forehead to mine. I feel his breath in my whiskers when he talks.
Chase: Then why not let it be a good dream?
And then he kisses me.
Not in a memory out of a bottle.
It's everything I could ever want.
He's right.
Who cares if this isn't real?
I don't care if this isn't real.
I want more. I want it forever.
I feel his lips leave mine. I look around, worried for a moment. After all, if he is a dream, he could vanish any time...
But he's just locking the doors.
Chase: You know what? I think we're closed for the night.
He holds out a hand. I take it.
He leads me upstairs, to a second story that definitely wasn't there before, and I don't care if it wasn't.
The bedroom is old fashioned and bare. That doesn't matter either.
Because he's pulling off my clothes, and sliding my hands under his shirt. And he's pulling me down beside him on the bed. And he's in my arms and I'm in his the way I wanted to be for the rest of my life since the first time I kissed him.
I take him in my mouth.
He takes me beneath his tail.
I take him beneath my tail.
I bury my face in his chest.
He wraps his arms around my head.
He worships my muscles.
I run my fingers through his fur.
Every time I kiss him feels like the first time again.
I can smell him all over me.
I can feel him inside me.
We don't go to sleep. We lie naked in eachother's arms all night.
Chase: Keep hoping, Leo.
Leo: Otter, I don't know how.
Chase: I know.
Chase: But you still love me.
I do.
Leo: I do, Chase. And I will. As long as I live.
Chase: And as long as you love me, there's still a chance for this to be real. For you to find your way back to me. For you to lead him the same way.
I don't understand. But he touches my chest, so I don't care. His hand feels heavy and cool there, like smooth metal.
Chase: Keep hoping. And when it gets too hard to bear...
It should be hard to see him in the faint light, but it's like he's turned brighter than everything else. As if his fur were the color of the moon.
???: ...you know where to find me.
And that's when I wake up.
I'm naked in my bed.
The sight of my same walls, my same bed, my same life should be the most depressing thing I could see. Because it was nothing but a dream after all.
But I still smell him all over me.
And I feel smooth cool metal on my chest. There's something hanging around my neck.
It's an anchor.
[THE END]