In the Beat of a Wing {boyxboy}

Chapter Twenty-Two

~Wednesday 6th March 2013~

Eden rolled over in bed, sighing as he stared at the ceiling. He couldn't quite manage to get back to sleep, even though it was five in the morning and his body was exhausted, his mind was alert and awake. His dream had bothered him more than he would care to admit, the images fusing into his brain, playing over and over, like a roll of film stuck on the same three frames.

Eden would have liked to think his sleeping pattern had gotten much better since he had gotten with Malcolm, but that wasn't true. It was when Eden had started sleeping in the same bed as Lex that he the restlessness had dispelled. He slept the best when in Malcolm's arms, yes, but he couldn't lie that even just being in the same bed as Lex calmed him enough to add a few extra hours. Not that particular morning, however.

Eden didn't often dream, and didn't dwell on them when he did. His dreams were cryptic, with a thousand different meaning for each second, he didn't want to base any stupid decisions of a scene played out in his unconscious state. That particular dream, he wished was no different, yet he couldn't lie to himself, something had just gotten stuck with him, a feeling deep within his chest that he couldn't shake.

"Stop fidgeting," the voice next to Eden murmured groggily, making the boy blush, he had been trying his best not to wake up his companion. Clearly he hadn't been trying hard enough.

"Go back to sleep," Eden whispered, looking at Lex through the darkness, "it's really early, you can still get a few hours if you-" Eden was cut off when Lex's arms wrapped around his waist, tugging him closer into the man's chest.

"You gonna tell me why you're not sleeping then? If it's so early?" Lex may have been human but he still had a superhuman ability to read people, Eden was lucky they were in the dark or the man could have probably inferred everything from his expressions.

"Can I ask you something?" Eden's hand travelled up and around Lex's neck, running his fingers through the man's hair, making him almost purr in appreciation. Maybe if he kept it up he could make Lex fall back to sleep before any of the serious questions had to be answered.

"Go for it," Lex mumbled, resting his head in the crook of Eden's neck. Maybe Malcolm had every right to be worried about Eden living with Lex, they were pretty close, closer than they probably should have been. Eden was entirely committed to Malcolm, he wouldn't ever ever cheat on the man, he lo- That just wasn't necessary to think about just yet.

"Do you believe in love at first sight?" Eden's voice was quiet, almost uncertain.

"Of course, why wouldn't someone? The thought of meeting your soul mate, your one true life companion, and just immediately loving every aspect of them, that sounds amazing. That's the real magic in the world," Eden felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth, having never thought of it that way.

"Sounds nice, really nice, when you put it like that," Eden stared off into the darkness in the corner of the bedroom, watching the shadows curl and shift with the movement of the clouds out the window.

"Why do you ask?" Eden hesitated, chewing on his bottom lip, "is this about Malcolm?"

"Hailee said it was obvious I was in love with him, I just wasn't... I didn't believe it right away. I mean, how can you look at a person, without even knowing their name, and just decide that they're who you want to be with for the rest of your life? It feels impossible."

"We're creatures of habit, Edee, humans might be physically so much more evolved than all the other animals on this planet but our instincts have always remained the same. We don't realise it but we still look for the most eligible mate. The first thing you notice with a person is their appearance and, whether you admit it or not, that's what you base a lot of your decisions off. You didn't need to know Malcolm's name, or anything about him for that matter, if your internal primate had already made the choice of him being your mate."