Bird Came Down

Seems I accidentally posted this to the wrong story, well, here it is where it belongs.

The plans for a nap were ruined by "Buffalo Soldier"thrumming through the sixth floor and up onto the seventh.

“From them?” Felix murmured.

“Enough.”

Time to take care of this. He thumped on the door but no one answered. He thumped again, but still no answer. He breathed out of his nose and then thumped on the door and, at last, the door opened and Bob Marley blasted him in the face while a not entirely unattractive unshaven guy in briefs answered the door half asleep.

“Other people live here,” Felix said. “Please turn your music down. Or better, turn it off.”

The broad shouldered, shirtless boy, who was a little shorter than Felix blinked at him, and Felix said, “Thank you.”

As the door shut he went up the stairs, but stopped, surprised when it was suddenly louder. And then it was louder, Felix opened his door to see another door in his hallway open and then couple more, heads peaking out in consternation. This is when it happened, when Felix picked up the fire axe by the extinguisher, came downstairs to his neighbor’s door and began hacking into it, and a few minutes later he stood on the other side of a door whose top was demolished with four neighbors behind him, and the guy in his underwear and his roommate standing on the other side of the hole.

“What did you just do?” the roommate, taller than the first guy demanded.

“See how that music is off?” Felix said. “That is the perfect volume.”

Behind him Leah in 623 began to clap, and then others nodded or clapped while the shorter boy said, “We’ll tell.”

“Tell what, that you were smoking large amounts of pot which we can all smell? Or tell that you were driving your neighbors crazy?”

“Tell that you fucking destroyed our door with an axe!” the tall one said.

But Leah took the axe from Felix’s hands and, polishing it with the edge of her housecoat, said, “I didn’t see anyone hack your door down.”

“Me neither,” Gus from 620 said.

“Now,” Felix said, taking a bow, “if you don’t mind, I’ll be catching up on my sleep. Welcome to the Maron Arms. This is how we do business.”

As Felix was heading upstairs, he heard Leah tell the boys, “This is how we always do business.”

Felix was in the middle of a fish and chips nap when his phone rang shrilly, and he rolled out of bed naked—the only way to sleep—and crawled on hands and knees about the apartment searching for the little buzzing phone.

“Huh…hullo?” he began.

“Felix?”

“Huh?” he said, because it sounded like Scott, but it could have been Joey.

“It’s me.”

Only Scott would say that.

“Hey.”

“Did I wake you?”

“You know I pretty much sleep in after church.”

“Yeah,” Scott said. “Sorry about that.” He sounded strange, like he was about to say something. Was he about to ask about Joey? Could he know?

“I’ve got the kids with me.”

Should he say he knew? Did Scott know Joey had spent the night here?

“That’s… Well, that’s good isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Scott said. “I just wanted you to know why I hadn’t called yet. Or… Yeah, I’m going to be looking at places so we can all live together. Maybe I’ll even get an apartment in your building.”

Felix woke up right away.

“That’s a terrible idea.”

“Whaddo you mean? It’s a great idea.”

“You need a two bedroom apartment, at least,” Felix said quickly. “It would be cheaper to get a house.”

While Scott tried to form a response, Felix added, “Besides, if you’re getting divorced and the judge has to look at custody, they’re going to see a woman with an empty house or a man with an apartment.”

“That’s true,” Scott noted. “I probably should look at a house.”

Then he said, “Wouldn’t that be neat? Instead of me staying over with you, you could stay with me. In a house. It would be like our house. No, it would be our house.”

“What? And we’d raise your kids together? You’d be the daddy and I would be the mama?”

There was a palpable pause on the other side of the phone ,and then Scott said “Are you pissed with me? You’re not yourself.”

“Scott, I’m fine.”

“Can I come over?”

“Not right now. I’m going back to bed.”

“Well, I didn’t mean right now,” Scott said, though Felix wasn’t sure if he was lying.

“My family wants to do Vespers at church tonight, and I’m gonna take the kids. But afterward can I come over?”

“Yeah,” Felix said, instantly ashamed of his attitude. The moment he sounded flippant, he realized he loved Scott and wanted to see him.

“Yes,” he said. “I’ll be here.”

“Put some clothes on,” Scott said when he arrived at the door.

“I’m wearing clothes.”

“You’re wearing basketball shorts and a dirty tee shirt, and if I know you, that’s not the way you want to go into the world.”

Felix was about to say, “Maybe you don’t know me,” but that sounded trifling, so he got up, went to his large closet, closed the door behind him and got dressed inside of it.

“Where are we going?”

“On our date,” Scott said. “Remember?”

“I had actually forgotten,” Felix confessed.

Scott gave a corny wink and said, “I never forget.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m offering you my arm,” Scott said, “Like a gentleman.”

“We’re in the Midwest, not California.”

“I don’t care,” Scott said. “Not if you don’t.”

Felix did care, but not about that, and Scott closed the door behind him and folded his arm across his chest. He looked so handsome in a dark blue blazer over a white shirt and a sky blue tie. Just for him? Just for him.

“I wish you’d tell me what was wrong.”

“I know you had sex with Matt yesterday.”

Scott blinked, looking slapped.

“Joey was here.”

“Yes.”

“Why would he…?”

Then Scott said, “Joey’s in love with you. Joey just told me. I mean, I just told him. About me.”

“What are you talking about?” Felix sat down.

“I just told Joey I was… gay.”

“That’s the word.”

Scott frowned at Felix.

“I just told him yesterday. And… he told me the same thing. I told him I was in love with you.”

“But… you slept with Matt.”

“I… I don’t know what was going on.”

“But you did fuck him?”

“Please don’t say that.”

“But—”

“Yes, Felix! Yeah, I did. I fucked Matt alright? He fucked me. Is that what you want to hear?”

“You weren’t going to tell me. You were going to pretend that it never happened.”

“That’s what you said you wanted!” Scott shouted. “You said you wanted someone who cared enough to lie! Well, this is me caring enough. We went back to his place. We were talking about the case. We got high. We fooled around and yeah, I fucked him. Do you want to hear about the sweat, and what it tasted like and if I went down on him?”

“Please stop.”

Scott shook his head.

“You said we weren’t exclusive. You said that. You knew I wanted to be. I didn’t break any promises. Not a one. And by the way, who are you fucking when you’re not with me?”

When Felix said nothing, Scott said, “Cause I know you’re fucking someone. I know you are.”

Scott looked at him suspiciously.

“Is it that punkass Ben? Or is it Rule’s crazy ass? No…” Scott looked down, squinting as if he were divining it from Felix’s face. Then suddenly his eyes bulged and he put his hand to his mouth, staggering back.

“No!” Scott decided. “No. That is not happening.”

He turned away from Felix.

“You’re fucking my brother.”

Felix said nothing.

“That’s why he’s so jealous. That’s why you know him. That’s why you came to pick me up at the airport.”

Scott said nothing after this. He just looked at the floor.

It was a while before he spoke.

“I thought we loved each other,” he said.

“Maybe we don’t really love each other that much,” Felix said.

Scott sat on the floor, under the door, and pulled his knees to his chest, folding his arms over his blue trousers.

“No, Felix,” he said, “I do love you.”

Then he said, “Were you with Joey before you found out he was my brother?”

“Surprised would be an understatement.”

“Then you actually cheated on my brother with me. He’s the one who should be pissed, then?”

“He didn’t want us to be serious. He… wanted to be bi. He did not want to date me. And he’s too young to date seriously. And then you came. And we were not supposed to be having sex. Not you and me. That was not supposed to happen. I didn’t cheat on anybody. But I’m afraid I did lie to the both of you.”

“I’ve been lying to everyone my whole life,” Scott said. “So I can’t get too mad. Only… I did cheat on you. It wasn’t complicated with me.” Scott looked up at Felix. “We slept together on Friday. I told you I loved you Saturday, and then I fucked Matt Saturday afternoon, and I really don’t know why.”

Felix crossed the room, getting on his knees before Scott. He took Scott’s hands in his hands. Scott looked up at him.

“Don’t you think before anything else happens between us you should figure out why?”

“I don’t know what you mean?”

“I’m not Kim. Just because we fell into bed you don’t have to fast forward this into a marriage. We can just be friends like we were. And be free till you decide what you want.”

“I want you!” Scott insisted. “I want us to be together!”

“Scott,” Felix shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere. Just… You just got out of something.”

“Felix, I know what I want. I’ve never had what I want in my life, and now—”

“If you really wanted it you would never have slept with Matt.”

Scott opened his mouth, but Felix said, “I’m not blaming you. I’m just saying I know what you want, but what I want is to never be in a relationship with someone who loves me so much they have to fuck other people.”

Felix stood up, shaking his head. “I’m not doing that again.”

Scott nodded his head.

“Do you want me to go?” Scott said, sounding a little sullen.

“No,” Felix told him. “I want you to stay. But not the night.”