The Seasons

Chapter 10

“Autumn!” Summer yelled as he walked into their house. “I got us some cake!” As he walked in, Autumn looked over the black couch to stare at Summer. Despite only being the beginning of June, he wore a Hawaiian-themed white and blue t-shirt with white shorts and flip-flops.

Autumn sighed as he followed the man into the kitchen. Summer hummed to himself as he took the cake out of the box, cut up two slices, placed them on the plate, and handed one to Autumn with a spoon. He couldn’t help but smile as he saw Summer grin.

“How often have I told you to wear more clothes, Summer? You’re only human; you’ll end up in the hospital with pneumonia.” He grabbed his hand and found it to be freezing, and his face paled. “Look at how cold you are. For goddess’s sake, Summer. Go turn the fireplace on and sit in front of it. Warm-up. I’ll bring you some tea.”

“I’m fine. It wasn’t even that cold, the sun was out.”

“And I don’t care. Go sit at the fireplace.”

Summer sighed, took his plate and walked into the living room. Autumn moved around the black kitchen, making him tea, and once he was finished, he brought it over to him. He groaned when he realised Summer had curled up and fallen asleep in front of the fireplace. He had told him not to sleep on the black rug. It would piss off his dust allergies. But did he ever listen? No.

He looked down at the tea and sighed, placing it on the wooden table, leaning down and groaning as he picked Summer up. He gave the human a minute to settle into his arms before he struggled up the stairs and into Summer’s messy green and white room. He climbed the step and placed him on the bed before closing the curtains, and he scowled at the green bar counter in the room. Why he even needed a bar counter in his room was beyond Autumn’s understanding.

He eyed the walls; one of Winter’s paintings was the largest, and smaller posters and picture frames surrounded it. He heard Summer grumble something, and he frowned when he heard the word ‘immortal’.

He raked a hand through his hair before he went up the step and sat on the bed, staring down at him. He gently ran a hand through Summer’s blonde hair and sighed. Maybe having him hang around them wasn’t the best thing for his human mind. Autumn knew that besides the younger wolves, the rest hadn’t aged, and it might have been taking a toll on Summer’s mind having been the only one who had aged.

Now more than ever, Summer was aware of his mortality, and he didn’t want him to do anything irrational. Goddess, he would never forgive himself if something happened to him. He thought having him live with him would get easier, but it had only made matters more complicated. Autumn hadn’t squashed those feelings of his. Instead, they had become stronger, and he hated it just as much as he loved it. Despite his mind screaming at him not to, he leaned down, kissing Summer’s forehead softly and stood up; he walked to the door and turned around one last time to ensure he was okay before slipping out.

He walked from Summer’s chaotic room to his simpler one and sprawled on the bed. Why had he thought this had been a good idea? Sure, in the beginning, it had been. Summer was a human working in a non-human bar/cafe. He had suggested that the two of them live together after a particular customer got overly fond of Summer and followed him home, trying to get Summer to reciprocate his feelings.

But now, he was regretting the idea. Sure, he had thought he could keep his feelings at bay, that Summer’s safety was his priority, and it still was, but his feelings. Some days, he woke up and thought he would drown underneath their weight, and he wasn’t quite sure what he was meant to do about any of it.

He changed into some red pyjamas and slipped into his bed as he stared at the ceiling blankly. What was he meant to do in this situation? Summer was human; he would find a wife, have some kids, grow old, and die, and he knew he would have no say in the matter. He would live longer than his best friend ever would, and he wasn’t sure how he was meant to stomach those thoughts.

What could he possibly do besides wish Summer the best?

After almost an hour of tossing and turning, Autumn gave up on trying to sleep; no matter how much he wanted it, it didn’t want him, so he got up, changed and returned to The Seasons. He knew it was one of his rare days off, but he had nothing to do but overthink and honestly, he couldn’t.

Stepping inside, warmth greeted Autumn. The loud chatter assaulted his ears. It seemed to be a full house, with Winter and Neo both at the bar, walking between customers, making drinks and chatting with their customers. Autumn slipped his jacket off as he walked behind the bar and into the back room.

He wasn’t surprised to see Blue sitting on the couch, their leg crossed over the other, a wine glass in hand, as they frowned over something in their lap. They looked up when Autumn came in and gave them a soft smile.

“Hi, Blue. Anything on Slaine’s necklace?”

“No. And I’m pretty sure that little s**t is hiding something from me. I can’t help him if he isn’t honest with me.”

Autumn frowned as he tied his apron. “What makes you think he is hiding something?”

“Wing swore he saw Winter having a conversation with himself.”

Autumn wasn’t quite sure how he was meant to process that. “Maybe he was just thinking aloud?”

“No, according to Wing, he was staring in the mirror, a faint smile on his face as he talked to his reflection. He stopped when he saw Wing.”

Autumn sighed as he picked up his notebook and pen. “Maybe he just was thinking to himself and was embarrassed he was caught?”

“His emotions are still of.”

“Ava said vampires could choose which emotions they had turned off. Maybe he turned his embarrassment on.” Blue stared at him blankly. Autumn gave them a small smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry? I’m just going to go. I don’t think I’m much help.”

“Yes. If you see Wing out there, send him in.” Autumn nodded as he walked out, smiling. Autumn frowned as he eyed a tired-looking Winter, and then his eyes landed on Aether, who was sitting at the end of the bar, a glass of coke in front of him, but he was more focused on Winter, noticing the gaze Winter scowled at him before not so subtly avoiding him.

He shuffled over to Neo and leaned in. “What’s going on with them?”

“Winter had his heat,” Neo replied tightly.

“f**k. Is he okay?”

“He managed to get to Jasper’s. They injected him. According to Jasper, Aether hasn’t left his side since. Where’s Summer?”

“Asleep. I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d come over and help.”

“Good. Grey said he and Jem would be late. Go take orders, and then please help Maddox in the kitchen.”

Autumn did just that. He introduced himself and took orders from werewolves, vampires and the occasional witch. He was surprised when he noticed someone fae but did not comment as he took their order and left to help in the kitchen.

~*~