{"sf1_id":599806,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Ogling Mice","author":"DarkSoulsSauron","words":4586,"posted_at":"2013-10-07T15:56:00.000Z","tags":["Gay Relationships","ninetales","pokemon"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/599806-ogling-mice","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/599806","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=599806\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Eli\nfelt a rustling of the blankets through his morning haze. Soren had\nslipped out of bed and was moving around their bedroom. Eli didn't\nmove or stir as Soren got dressed and grabbed his bag. Eli was never\nan early riser anyway. Besides, what was the point of making Soren\nfeel guilty for waking him up earlier than he liked? Eli sneaked a\nglance at the clock. Was it really five in the morning? No, he\nmust've read it wrong. Whatever._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Eli\ncame down the spiral stairs as he heard Soren walk through the front\ndoor. \"Heya, sweetie.\" Soren\nreached up over the railing to kiss Eli. \"Did you make some\nprogress today?\"Eli\nsmiled but shook his head. \"Not as much progress as I would have\nliked. I keep losing steam.\" He finished his trip down the stairs\nand embraced Soren. \"How was your day, love?\"\"Busy,\"\nsaid Soren. \"I was stuck behind a desk for a lot of it. I was doing\nsome data entry for a while.\" Eli\ngiggled. \"The horror! Did you catch a fearful glimpse of what being\nan office slave is like?\" Soren\nshuddered. \"It was harrowing. I can't wait to get back to working\nwith the mice. What do you want for dinner, sweetheart?\" \"I'd\nlove something... garlicy. Can't tell you why.\" Soren\nchuckled. \"I have a few ideas. Can I surprise you?\" Eli\nstepped onto tip toes to kiss Soren again. \"Any day you like. I'm\nkinda hungry though, so tell me how I can help so we can speed dinner\nup.\" Soren\nhugged Eli and steered him towards their couch. \"Then stay out of\nthe kitchen, please.\"Eli,\nsat down , leaning back on the recliner section. \"Once upon a time\nyou promised to teach me how to cook so that I could help you rather\nthan sit here like a lazy ass while you cook for us.\"  Soren\nyawned as chopped vegetables. \"I'm sorry Eli. I've been kinda busy\nwith work. This particular project has been pretty intense. Maybe\nnext week.\" \"Do\nyou mean it,\" asked Eli. \"I hate sitting here like this. I don't\nneed to be as good as you. I just want to help you without ruining\nour dinner.\" \"You\ndon't need to worry about cooking, sweetheart,\" smiled Soren.\n\"Cooking is a lot of fun for me. It's not really work or a chore\nlike it is for other people.\"\"I\nknow that,\" sighed Eli. \"But wouldn't it be nice if I could make\nyou dinner every once in while. That way you could come home to hot\nfood on the table that isn't out of a take out box. Just every once\nin a while, wouldn't it be nice for you to not have to cook?\" Soren's\nresponse was muffled as he fished their panini press out of the\ncabinet. \"It would be nice, but it's not a big deal, sweetie.\"\"It\ndoesn't need to be a big deal, Soren,\" said Eli. \"It's just\nsomething nice I'd love to do for you. I love to learn from you .\nYou're such a good teacher.\" Soren\nchuckled, placing the sandwiches on the warmed press. \"Really? You\nmean that?\" Eli\ngot up to set their table. He kissed Soren on the cheek on his way to\nget plates. \"I do. We got so close to winning in November. You had\nnever danced and I only started playing violin a few weeks before I\nstarted teaching you dancing. You're a wonderful teacher when you put\nyour mind to it.\" Soren\nopened the press, checking on the pepper chicken paninis on garlic\nflatbread. They were wafting a salty, savory aroma. \"You're so\nsweet, Eli. Tell me if you like this. I sorta improvised.\" Eli\nkissed Soren as he took a plate. \"I don't think I've ever disliked\nwhat you cooked for me. It smells wonderful.\" He dug in,\ndemolishing his food. \"And staying on that topic, do you wanna\ndance a bit after dinner?\" Soren\nshook his head. \"Sorry sweetie. I'm feeling too tired right now. I\nwouldn't be able to keep up with you.\" Eli\nnodded. \"They aren't running you too hard at work, are you?\" Soren\nshook his head again. \"Nope. It's not them. But it's been a long\nweek.\" \"Maybe\nthis weekend then,\" said Eli. \"I might paint some more, then. I\nhave an idea brewing in my head.\" \"Would\nyou like some inspiration,\" said Soren after he swallowed a\nmouthful of food. \"I've been in the mood to play my cello.\" Eli\ntook his plate to the sink. \"Why are you asking? I love your\nmusic.\" He leaned down to kiss Soren's cheek. \"Thanks for dinner,\nsweetheart. I'd write down the recipe if I were you.\" Soren\nsmiled in satisfaction as he finished his food. \"Thanks sweetheart.\nI'll be right behind you.\" Eli\njumped up the loft stairs two at a time, eager to actualize the\nvisions that had been brewing over dinner. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Eli's\neyes opened slowly. He had fallen asleep on top of Soren, but now he\nwas lying on his side of the bed. There was a small rustle of fabric\nand the tiniest creak of the door. \"Soren? Are you up,\" asked\nEli, turning over closing his eyes again. Eli\nheard a snap of clawed fingers as Soren muttered, \"Oh shit.\"Eli\nlooked at their clock. \"Soren, it's... five in the morning? Are you\ngoing for a run or something?\" Soren\nopened their bedroom door, revealing himself to be dressed in his\nnormal work attire. \"Eh... not really. I'm, well, going into the\nlab today.\" Eli\nsat up. \"It's Saturday, Soren. You know that, right?\" \"I\nknow,\" said Soren. \"The project I am working needs people\nmonitoring it all day. You know that's just the nature of some of the\nexperiments that I work on.\" Eli\nsighed. \"Fine. Yell at Harold for me, will you.\"Soren\nchuckled. \"Why would I yell at him? He's never treated me badly.\"\n\"Then\nyell at the person who scheduled you on a Saturday.\" Soren\nscratched the back of his neck. \"So uhh... you want me to yell at\nme?\" \"What?\"Soren\nlooked down. \"I... uh... volunteered. They needed more people this\nweekend and I wanted to help out.\" \"Dammit\nSoren,\" sighed Eli. \"Why did you volunteer for a Saturday?\"\"Well...\nthis whole project requires observers and not all of the normal\nweekend people couldn't make it. So I volunteered.\" Eli\nfrowned. \"And they're making you work on an early shift?! It's five\nin the morning! Are they expecting you to start work by six?\" Soren\nshook his head. \"No. I've just been going in early lately. I work\nbest when the labs are empty.\" \"Lately,\"\nsaid Eli, \"Lately? This Tuesday... it was five\nin the morning. Have you been going in this early all week?!\" Soren\npicked at his tie. \"Yes... all this week. I've just been trying to\nput some extra hours in on this project.\" \"Soren,\nis this about money,\" asked Eli. \" Have you been working\novertime? Because of the car?\" \"I...\nIt's not about money at all,\" said Soren. \"I understand it's a\ngift.\" \"Then\nwhy have you been working extra hours all week? Dammit this is why\nyou've been so tired lately.\" \"I\njust, well, like the project I'm working on. That's all, really.\" Eli\ncrossed his arms. \"And what, exactly, is so compelling about your\nwork right now? What is it that makes yo u want to dash off to the\nlab at five in the morning when normal people have a day off? Soren\nwas pacing now, not looking at Eli as he composed his thoughts.\n\"It's... when I work at the lab... when I've got my hands on\nexperiments testing new medicines... it's the only time where I feel\nimportant..\" Eli\nscowled. \"What about us? Do I make you feel important?Soren\nabruptly ceased his pacing. \"shit, that came out wrong. That wasn't\nwhat I was trying to say.\" \"Then\nsay it,\" growled Eli.\"I...\nit's just... I feel significant,\nthat my work is saving and changing lives. And it feels really good.\"\n\"And\nso you go slinking off to the lab at five in the morning without\ntelling me what you were doing? What if I had made plans for us\ntoday? This is the day we save to do stuff with just us. Why wouldn't\nyou at least bother to tell me?\"Soren\nstared at the floor, gritting his teeth a bit. \"I... well I knew we\ndidn't have plans, and I didn't really want to bother you about\nthis.\"\"And\nyou didn't think I'd notice that you'd have disappeared for the day?Soren\nwas floundering. \"No... it's just... I...\"  Eli\ngave a growl, \"Dammit Soren, just go. We can talk later.\" Eli\ndived back into the covers, pressing a pillow over his head with a\nsnarl.Eli\ncould hear Soren shuffling towards the door again. \"Eli... I uh-\"Eli's\nvoice drifted out from under the pillow, muffled.\"Just go. Go have\nfun with your damn mice.\"There\nwas a pause that felt like an eternity. \"Goodbye Eli.\" _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Eli\nwas tossing and turning for what felt like hours. It was hours. It\nwas nine in the morning. Four hours of blank fuming, unable to get\ncomfortable but still weighed down with the special tiredness Eli got\nfrom waking up at ungodly-o-clock-in-the-morning. Eli sighed, giving\nup on sleep and shuffling to the kitchen for some breakfast. It would\nbe cereal today, unless he felt like setting off their smoke\ndetector. Eli\ncrunched his honey oats broodily, the peaches he cut into the bowl\nunable to sweeten his mood. Normally on Saturdays Soren cooked them\nsomething tasty. And warm, too. This kind of rubbishy breakfast was\nreserved for weekdays. Throwing\nthe dishes in the dish washer, he stared at the clock. It wasn't much\nafter nine. Normally he wasn't up this early. It was one of the nice\nadvantages of freelancing. He'd be up at ten-ish and paint till Soren\ngot home around seven. On weekends they'd sleep in together. They'd\nalways wait for each other to wake up. Waking up in Soren's arms felt\nso...sweet. How he'd hold him so tenderly in those strong arms, how\nSoren would rest his head on his chest, or hold him so close as they\nwrapped themselves around each other. And then a kiss on the lips or\ncheek as the other's eyes began to flutter.But\nSoren liked this kind of cheesy, romantic stuff as much as he did.\nWhy was he suddenly dashing off to the lab on their Saturdays.\nThis was the day they both put stuff aside to just be with each\nother. What was his deal? Eli\ndrifted up the loft during these ruminations and started something\nnew, ignoring his six pieces of work that were still unfinished.\nBright colors, sharp angles, something that almost assaulted the\neyes. Was it money? They had found a car for Soren. A Prius, one of\nthe new models with some of the fun gadgets. It was a stick too, now\nthat they could both drive manuals. It had some power behind it, and\ndamn, dat gas milage. It was a nice car. Was it too nice? Soren had\nthat habit of trying to repay every favor equally. But they had\ntalked this whole deal out plenty of times. This was his\ngift to Soren. The car wasn't on\na loan. It was Soren's. It\nwas theirs, really. But almost everything they owned belonged to both\nof them, really... though Eli doubted Soren would ever part with\nthose instruments. But those had a legacy behind them. Eli felt\nhonored that he was even able to play on those treasures. But was\nSoren trying to earn more so he could give something of equal size\nback? He'd do that, too... But no, it was a gift. He\nsaid he understood it. No... this was about more than money. Maybe\nhe was after a promotion... that might be it. He always talked about\nwanting to be hands on, but what if he wanted to climb that ladder\na bit more. Try and get to a position where he was still working with\nthe tests but had a bit more standing in whatever hierarchy the\nlaboratory had. But\neven that didn't make too much sense. Eli remembered when they first\nstarted dating, after that wild night together that felt like a\ndream, too good to be true. Soren would stop by after work, and he'd\ntalk about wanting to get out of IT. He hated being stuck in there.\nHe wanted to work in the lab as a scientist, not as some tech slave.\nBut ever since that debacle with the break in, Soren had been a lab\ntechnician. Soren had never complained after that. He was clearly\ncontent with whatever he was doing there. Or\nperhaps... had Soren found some other guy at the lab? Could Soren be\nseeing someone else. He could be going in early so he could leave\nearly, and then today... he didn't have to be at the lab at all\ntoday.Eli\nabruptly slapped himself. No. that was stupid. It wasn't even stupid.\nIt was insulting to Soren. How could he be cheating? Soren had always\ndevoted himself to him. The guilt of seeing someone else would rip\nhis apart. It was almost a bit unhealthy, but he always did\nhis best to please Eli, often before himself. He'd always ask what\nEli wanted for dinner, what Eli wanted to do for fun. Hell, even\nduring sex, it was always what felt good to Eli. How could he accuse\nSoren of cheating when he could bet money that Soren would be right\nnow running through his head exactly how this stupid little scuffle\nwas all his fault. This was absurd. Eli's\ninternal monologue was interrupted by the refrain of Istanbul (Not\nConstantinople) as he felt his\npocket vibrate. He checked the caller ID. It was Elly of all people.\nHe accepted the call and put it on speaker so he could keep painting.\n\"Heya, sis.\" Elly's\nmusical voice echoed through the loft, colored with a hint of her\nconstant playfulness.\"Hey Eli. How are you?\" Eli\nscowled at the painting. It was going in a direction he wasn't sure\nhe was liking. \"Eh,\" was all he could really muster. \"Eh?\nHow articulate,\" teased Elly. \"What's bugging you?\" \"Soren's\nbugging me, Elly. But you don't need to listen to me whine about my\nboyfriend.\" Elly's\nvoice suddenly became harder, losing its music. \"I do need to\nlisten. You sound like you need to vent. So I'm hear to listen if\nyou're willing to talk.\" Eli\nsighed. \"It's stupid really. He's just gone off to the lab today.\"\nElly\nsounded perplexed. \"On a Saturday? Are they paying him overtime at\nleast?\" \"I\nthink so. But that's not the point. It's just, Saturdays are kind of,\nyou know, our days.\nAnd he was getting up at five in the morning to go to work early all\nweek.\" \"He\ndid this voluntarily? That's job dedication there.\" \"I\ncan't figure it out,\" said Eli. \"I don't know what's making him\ndo it. I dunno if it's extra money he's after, or a promotion, or\nsomething... I don't get it.\" \"Did\nyou ask Soren yourself?\" \"Sorta,\"\nmuttered Eli. \"If you count asking him during an argument at five\nin the morning.\" \"Well,\nwhat did he say?\" Eli\nsighed again. \"He said something about how the lab made him feel\n\"important.\" Like he was making a difference with his work. And\nhe said that he was really into his current project.\" \"\"He\ncould be, you know, telling the truth,\" said Elly, slightly\nsarcastically. \"But\nwhat's so compelling about ogling goddamn mice,\" growled Eli. \"It's\njust a lab job.\"\"Eli,\nyou know how neurotic and consumed you can be over your paintings,\nright?\" Eli\nactually snarled. \"Dammit, Elly, what the hell does that have to do\nwith anything about this conversation?\" \"Everything,\nstupid,\" said Elly. Eli could swear he heard her eyes roll. \"He's\na scientist. We get attached to our work sometimes. Just like you,\nbut you get attached to artwork while scientists fall in love with a\nbunch of test tubes or whatnot. We all have projects that are close\nto us. Did you ask what he's working on?\" \"Well,\nno,\" said Eli, slightly awkwardly. \"It would just be Greek to me,\nreally. You know that better than anyone. The only way I could get\nyou to shut up about science was to gossip about boys with you.\" Elly\ngiggled a bit. \"You never really tried. But you have no idea what\nhe's working on. It could be personal, or it could be a lot of fun.\nSome experiments are more than just 'ogling mice.'\" Eli\nsighed. \"You're right. I guess I was just miffed at not being able\nto spend my Saturday with him. And being up at five in the morning.\nBut why'd you call Elly? What's up?\" Elly\nsighed. \"Well, I really wanted to talk to Soren.\" \"What,\nwere you bored and felt like teasing him,\" joked Eli. \"Maybe,\"\ntittered Elly. \"But I also had some questions for him on\nbiochemistry that he might be able to answer. The internet has been\nvery unhelpful lately, and he might know something my textbook isn't\ntelling me.\" \"Well\nyou'll have to call tomorrow,\" grumbled Eli. \"he doesn't answer\nhis phone unless he's on break when he works.\" \"Well,\nsorry to bug you,\" said Elly. \"I'll have to save those problems\nfor tomorrow I guess. Say hi to Soren for me. And chill out a bit.\nJust ask him about what he's working on or something. Show a little\ninterest and he might tell you why he's going on every so often. I'll\ntalk to you later.\" \"I'll\ndo that. Bye, sis.\"Eli\nhit the end call button, being careful not to smear paint on his\nscreen. He sighed. Elly was probably right. Maybe he'd ask tonight.\nRight now they just needed a little space. Well, that's why he shooed\nSoren away to the lab anyway, so they could both think on this thing\nseparately. But what was there really to think about? All he was\nreally doing was getting jealous of some mice. They seemed to be\ngetting more attention from Soren than he was lately. But that was\nwrong. Soren was just the same as always, coming home, cooking them\ndinner, finding something fun for them to do afterward. Then they'd\ngo to bed together. He was just being petty, really. Eli sighed,\nreturning to his new painting. With a few touch ups this might\nactually work... ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________Soren\ncame in the door at ten o clock, putting his jacket and bag on the\nhooks near the door. Eli looked up from the screenplay that Alexis\nhad sent him. \"Hello, Soren.\" Soren\nreached back to scratch his neck. \"Hi, Eli. Did you eat?\" Eli\nnodded. \"I did. I just finished the lasagna. I hope you don't\nmind.\" Soren\nshook his head. \"I wrapped it up for you in particular. That recipe\ndoes not travel too well.\" \"Well,\nthanks for wrapping it for me. Did you have fun with your work\nfriends?\"\"Yeah,\"\nsaid Soren, \"We went to Silvia's. Thomas carpooled with Lester, but\nThomas wanted to go early, so I took Lester home.\" \"I\nknow,\" said Eli. \"I got your text. It's fine. I might go to bed\nsoon. I did a lot of painting while you were gone.\" \"Did\nit go well,\" asked Soren, tentatively. \"I hope it did.\" Eli\nfrowned. \"It was... OK. I got blocked after dinner.\" Soren\nnodded. \"Well, show me if you want. I might go to bed soon, too.\"\nEli\nput his nose back in his screenplay. \"That's fine. I'll be there\nsoon, I expect.\" Soren\nwalked to the bathroom, running the water to brush his teeth. Eli\nwaited for Soren to finish before heading to the bathroom himself. He\nfelt like a shower. A long one. He sighed as the hot water ran over\nhim, wiping his wet bangs out of his eyes. What was the point of his\ndelaying? This mess was his fault, really. He stewed in the hot water\nas he washed himself. He wasn't even able to think straight. Eli shut\noff the water and toweled off.Stepping\nout of the bathroom, he saw the shadow of Soren on his side of the\nbed, curled into a ball. Eli's heart sank at this. He was closing\nhimself off. Eli whispered to the ball of covers, softer than soft,\n\"Are you awake, Soren?\" \"Yeah.\"\nEli\npaused, bowing his head. He sat on Soren's side, sliding into the\nniche that was formed by Soren's elbows and knees. He turned and\nreached down to rub Soren's shoulders. \"Sore, I just wanted to tell\nyou... no matter what, I still love you.\" Soren\ntensed under Eli's gentle touch \"I- what?\"Eli\nran a hand down Soren's back. \"I'm sorry. I blew the whole thing\nout of proportion. It's my fault we fought. But I'm sorry, and I love\nyou no matter what.\"To\nEli's surprise, Soren sat up in a whirl of blankets and embraced him,\nwrapping them in soft fur and strong arms. \"Oh, Eli. But... This is\nall my fault really. I mean, I was the one who was going to work at\nfive in the morning. I was going in on our Saturdays.\" \"There's\nnothing wrong with that. Not really,\" said Eli, pressing his face\ninto Soren's chest. \"It's just... you work so hard. All the time.\nAnd it makes me worry. I wish you'd take a break some days. And I\nwish you told me that you were getting up early like that.\"Soren\nkissed Eli. \"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't want to bother you at\nfive in the morning. I didn't think it was a big deal at the time.\" Eli\nran his hand across Soren's cheek.\"It isn't a big deal. I\njust wish you would have told me. But mostly I... I just wish you'd\ntake some time off. Even when you have time off, you spend it with\nme, or with friends. I can't remember the last time you took time for\nyou. I really wish you would just... relax.\"Soren\nheld Eli close, resting his muzzle on a shoulder. Eli could feel soft\npressures on his shoulder as Soren spoke. \"I'm sorry, Eli. I guess\nI got overzealous when I got assigned to this project.\" Eli\nclosed his eyes as Soren held him. \"Soren, I know you love your\njob. And there is nothing wrong with that. You love your lab work as\nmuch as I love to paint. But I just don't really understand... what\nabout this project is driving you so much?\" Soren\nscratched the back of his head. \"I uh... never did tell you what I\nwas working on, really... did I?\"\"No,\"\nsaid Eli. \"I generally don't ask. You know I can't wrap my head\naround that kinda stuff.\"Soren\nsat back down on their bed, letting Eli slide on top of him.\"Well,\ndid I tell you how Grandma Jeanne died?\"Eli\nrested his head on Soren's chest, repositioning himself to wrap his\narms around Soren's shoulders. \"Didn't you say it was pneumonia?\"\nSoren\nnodded as he rested his hands on the small of Eli's back. \"Yes. It\nwas... kind of stupid really. Grandpa Gregory was a chain smoker. And\nyou know, even fire types can't breathe that crap in for thirty years\nand get away with it.\" Eli\nnodded gravely. He wasn't a doctor, but he didn't need to be to see\nwhere this was going. \"So... she got a cold or something, right?\"Soren\nclosed his eyes for a moment. \"Yeah... she was so healthy and fit.\nIt didn't seem like a big deal even when it dragged on a bit. She was\njust the type that didn't get sick. And when she did go see her\ndoctor, it had... progressed. It was something that younger lungs\ncould have handled. Or maybe some healthier lungs. But it just...\nconsumed her really.\" Eli\nraised his head to see tears leaking from Soren's eyes. He held Soren\ntighter, letting Soren gather himself. \"Oh, sweetie,\" was all he\ncould say.\"It\nhurt to see her so... diminished. She was so vibrant before she got\nsick. And then in a matter of weeks she was stuck in a bed with\noxygen tubes... and... and...\" Eli\nwiped a tear from Soren's eye. He tried to say something. Three of\nhis own grandparents were dead. But what could he say? Sometimes a\ncuddle was enough. At least he hoped it would be enough. \"It\nwas so greedy of me,\" said Soren, talking into Eli's shoulder. \"I\nwanted her to get well because, you know, I loved her and didn't want\nto see her sick. But there was a more personal reason. I told you.\nShe was my safe haven, away from my stupid family's drama. Their\nfucking inane bibles and manners and politics. And that they refused\nto talk to me unless I broke one of their stupid fucking rules. I\ncould go to Jeanne's whenever I wanted. I could play music, I could\ncook with her, I could just do my homework or talk to her without\nhaving to be in that damn house. And I lost that when she was sick.\nAll I could do was watch her get sicker.\" Eli\nheld Soren as they lay in their bed., \"Sweetie, I'm so sorry. But,\nI uh... how does this pertain with your job? Are you working on\nsomething that treats pneumonia?\"\"Well,\nyeah,\" said Soren, smiling through his tears. \"I mean... I know\nmedicine has progressed in the last decade, but still. I have the\nchance to rescue someone from going through... that. It's stupid and\nsentimental, but the drug specializes in combating the illness in its\nmore progressed states. I guess I've gotten a bit too into this one.\"Eli\nlay his head back on Soren's chest again. \"I understand,\nsweetheart. But, Soren, please, there's more to life than work. I\nknow it's important, and I know you love it, but for god's sake you\nwent to work right after you got in a car wreck. You're going in at\nabsurd hours and working overtime. I know you're doing it because you\nlove your job, but please, sweetheart, you aren't the only person in\nthat lab.\"Soren\nsat them both up, kissing Eli, lingering for a while before\nwhispering, \"Eli, sweetie, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was\nbothering you. I don't have to spend so much time there if you don't\nwant me to.\" Eli\ngrowled in pleasure as he felt slightly rough lips brush against his\nown. \"Soren, it's not bothering me. It's worrying me. I\ndon't care if you work early or late every so often. You and I love\nwhat we do and that's wonderful, but please, Soren, take a break\nevery now and again. Soren\nsmiled. \"I promise not to go in Saturdays, OK? I'm sorry for all\nthis mess.\" \"I'm\nsorry I blew all this up,\" said Eli, rolling off Soren onto his\nside of the bed. \"You can go in for extra time if you want to, but\nevery day is too much. You deserve some play with your hard work.\"Soren\ngrinned as he swamped them both in the blankets, kissing Eli along\nhis collarbones. \"Does that mean I get to play with you?\"Eli\nreached for Soren and kissed him on the muzzle. \"Any day we want,\nsweetie. I love you.\" "}