WHAT. The trio examine Eli's race vehicle, flirt, and Del sticks his foot in his mouth. WHERE. Near the race starting line WHEN. December 15th WARNINGS. None STATUS. Complete
It wasn't that Del had never seen a car before, but it was that he had never seen one quite like this. A big barrelled thing, with a sizable trunk (for a casket, that's normal, he was told) painted with flames on the side (that's not normal, he was also told.) He liked the flames, he liked the idea of this massive thing cruising down a snow covered mountain, and he liked that it was Eli who was driving it.
What Del didn't like was that he was told he could not join Eli in the car. Logically, it was a sound idea. Del knew himself well enough to be aware that he would be a terrible passenger. There was even a chance he would be required to take the wheel which felt overwhelming to someone who was used to being his own mode of transportation. And he was expressly forbidden from getting out of the car while it was in motion, which seemed ridiculous if there were traps and pitfalls on the course.
When asked he had said, vehemently, Of course he would get out of the car and fight it. That was when he realized he had failed that portion of the "test" and was banished to being a bystander in the pit crew. Not the actual pit crew though. Del would only somehow make the car worse if he was in charge of speedy upkeep.
But now he was pacing around the hearse, brow furrowed in deep concentration, before the race. As if he could somehow understand what could possibly be wrong with the car. He didn't have a goddamn clue.
"And how many times have you done this before? And has it been in the snow?" Del asked as he looped back around to the driver's side to stand beside Cayden. "You'll be safe inside here with your sister?"
“Chill,” came Eli’s response as he leaned out of the window. He was doing prep work from the inside, unbuckled and wrestling himself around the roomy interior. He winked at Del and ducked back inside as if he knew full well that telling the dragon to chill would just make him more upset. “I’ve done like six of these!”
He didn’t outright mention the second one had left him in the care of healers, but he’d been an eighteen-year-old dumbass. And still hadn’t come in last place.
Eli climbed back to the trunk of the car, which had been transformed by him and his dad years before to be more of a limo than a hearse. There was a long sofa that he’d pushed flat (for aerodynamics, obviously) and a few cubbies that usually held beverages. It hadn’t ever really been used for it’s intended purpose, as his dad had bought it when he was a kid and Eli had grown up learning how to work on it and decorating it with his sisters.
The back door swung open and Eli stuck his head out on that end. “Jor and I got second place in the last one and that was the big race. I’ve been driving since I was like fifteen. Cade, tell him to chill.”
Cayden turned a straight face to Del and poked him in the ribs. "Chill."
Cars were still a big mystery to him but he very much liked the drama of this one. It practically screamed Grimsbane family. And it pleased him that he'd be able to spot Eli on the race track from far away. He couldn't decide if it was better or worse to not have Del in the car with him, but he was not looking to upset the family dynamic or claim a spot he hadn't earned, so he didn't ask to take Jory's place.
He did inspect the car with the eyes of someone who knew literally nothing about the machine in front him but who knew a lot about spotting sabotage hidden amongst everyday items. Ducking down next to Eli, he stuck his head in through the back and peered around.
"It is very nice. Perhaps not the most…efficient for speed, I would think?" He was unintentionally close to Eli as he turned his face towards him. "Is there magic involved?"
Del did not like being told to chill, twice. He frowned at Eli, then frowned deeper again when Cayden poked him. The two of them against him were terrible odds, and it did not make him feel any less concerned. He trusted Eli, but he did not trust the environment. Del knew, though, that this was a losing battle—Eli wasn't dropping out race and after being told no, Cayden wasn't going to let him get in the car. He would have to be a spectator; he imagined it was probably how Eli felt when he or Cayden were in fight club.
As Eli poked out the back of the hearse, Del was already opening the driver door and peering inside. He had more questions. And instead of walking around the car like Cayden did, he was crawling through the front. It was the most graceless Del had ever been in front of them as he managed to find the latches in the back of the car for the seats.
"There has to be magic involved," Del said, answering Cayden's question for Eli. But he was distracted, flipping down sofa part to make it lay flat, like a futon. Then folding it back up again. He caught how close Cayden and Eli were out of the corner of his eye and pretended not to. Del was having a difficult time navigating privacy. He wanted to stare, was that allowed?
"Why does it do this?" Del asked, still messing with the seat. "Do you sleep in here?"
“There’s magical boosters that shoot fire out of the exhaust pipes,” Eli stuck his head a little further out as he explained the magical workings of the car, and took the opportunity of Cayden poking in to lean over and kiss him on the cheek in thanks. It was just a quick peck of a thing, fleeting and soft, but it still made him grin like he was in school again. Eli had never been this enamored with two people before, where he grinned about it and even blushed.
But now the blushing wasn’t coming from kissing, it was coming from Del’s question. He’d never slept in here, not really, not for more than twenty-odd minutes. Because what he had done in this car was going to open a whole other can of worms.
Since when had he ever been embarrassed by his past sexual exploits? They seemed to annoy Del, despite having no other interest in Eli, but Cayden was virginal enough that Eli just felt a tad exposed at how much of a slut he was. But in the end, he didn’t regret any of it, which is why he opted for honesty instead of trying to lie. Instead, he shot finger guns in Del’s direction. “Sleeping is not usually the goal. But I’ve gotten horizontal a few times with company.”
Cayden flushed and smiled back. Many fae were aggressively and openly sexual to such an extreme that he felt like a freakish outlier even if his entire court had once been known to mate for life. Here though, looking at the pair of them in the dim light of the hearse's interior, he didn't have any regrets.
He was almost too distracted to notice how red Eli was as he admitted to using the car for intimate exploits, though. Almost, but not quite.
"He is blushing, Mnestaes," he announced cheerfully, crawling into the back of the car to sprawl across the seat as it was opened again. "This does not feel comfortable enough to have earned such a red face, but it must be so." He was looking up at Del from upside down, a doofy smile on his face. "We should probably focus on the magical boosters shooting fire. That sounds right up your alley."
He may have looked distracted (and he was) but watching Eli and Cayden exchange chaste kisses was overwhelming. It was what Del had wanted—with him included, but he never voiced such a thing, and now certainly wasn't the time either—and he wanted more. Wanted them to have each other if they couldn't remember a time before this. He could be happy like this, and he smiled small in private at their shared affection and the way it made them both blush.
But suddenly both Eli and Cayden were looking at him, saying things like getting horizontal and one of them being horizontal. His face did a complicated series of emotion gymnastics before settling on something between curious and pouting. He put his hands on either side of Cayden's head as he leaned over him toward Eli.
"I do not need magical boosters for fire," Del said, then immediately corrected. "Did not. This body cannot handle breathing fire, but it did. And it was magnificent." Was he trying to... prove something to them? Did he want to be better than the car? Absolutely. "Maybe after the race, when you are in one piece, you can bring Cayden back to the car."
Eli reached out to pinch Cayden ever-so-lightly, but it was with a laugh. “It’s really not meant for comfort but my sisters would’ve never let me hear the end of it if I put a mattress back here, so.” The slight-uncomfortable futon would have to do.
There was something about Cayden draping himself across it that made him appreciate that futon a little more. But Cayden could have told him kale was the best thing he’d ever tasted and Eli would have given it another shot without having to hide it in a smoothie, so maybe he was a little biased to Cayden’s opinion of things.
Now he was a little worried about Del being in the front, where the actual switch for magical fire boosters was and he knew full well that if he were to tell him not to touch it, the dragon would do just that. But his eyes still flickered to it. “Look, I know full fucking well this car is not as cool as a dragon, but it’s still something warm and fast to put between my legs, so don’t shame it. You’ll hurt Sweeney’s feelings.”
Eli stroked a loving hand down the side of the car’s interior as if he was soothing it.
Cayden had an interesting view as Del leaned over him. He wanted to reach up and touch him but he resisted. He couldn't resist rubbing his forehead against Del's forearm though, like a cat marking something it was fond of. It was getting harder and harder to resist such things when he was allowed to claim more and more affection from Eli.
"Do not pout. Both you and the car can be magnificent." He stared down the length of his own body at Eli, reaching up to tug at his collar. It was warm in the car. Or warm around them. Or unbearably hot hearing Eli talk about putting things between his legs. Probably all of the above but Cayden was having a hard time doing that kind of math. "Sweeney? Like the murderous barber?"
Del's expression narrowed. He did not want to be compared to an inanimate object, even if it was hot and fast. So naturally, Del wasn't going to let that stand. "Once you have been on a dragon, you'll change your min—"
Oh. That had stopped him. Surprised him. Cayden rubbing gently on his arm was not an unfamiliar sensation, only that he was usually a cat and not like this, spread out in the car with himself and Eli bracketing him. He should have moved his arm, pulled away because Cayden wasn't supposed to do those sorts of things with him. But, but, Del wanted him to. He wanted both of them to, but by being seemingly put out by the gesture would only result in Del making it worse. He was learning all his avoidance shit was backfiring.
So he simply didn't move. He left his arm there, let Cayden mark him, and tried to not notice he was getting hot. Del's constantly radiating heat was probably not helping the situation in the tiny space.
His eyes were intense on Eli though. He wanted him closer too, but he didn't know how to ask. He tacked on a question to Cayden's. "And do you name all the things you ride?"
Eli was also starting to get hot. He saw the gesture, and for a moment, he felt even more warm, with pleasure and comfort. He wanted to join in, to cuddle between the two, but held back. Every advance he’d made towards Del had been rebuffed enough that Eli had gotten the hint.
And given Eli’s own interest in Cayden, who could really blame Del if that was where his attention was? Eli couldn’t. He just felt-- a pang of hurt. But if anyone could disassociate and pretend nothing was wrong, it was Eliphas Grimsbane. So he tossed a devil-may-care grin in their direction and wagged his eyebrows. “Usually they already have names.”
He reached out to nudge Cayden gently, though, and looked genuinely pleased at his musical knowledge. “I’m proud of you for that one, Cade. I don’t even have to burst into song.” But still, Eli found himself quietly humming The Ballad of Sweeney Todd as he slipped out the back of the car and left the pair of them together to make himself look busy inspecting the car for any damage in the most comically overdone way.
Cayden huffed a laugh at Eli's reply and tried not to let a burst of jealousy show in his expressive eyes. He had no claim to Eli and it was not a fae emotion anyway. He had a feeling it was Del's possessiveness wearing off on him. But then, he'd never been a perfect example of his race, either. And he'd never felt like this about anyone, let alone about two people at once. Was it any wonder that his emotions were volatile things he didn't understand?
"I would hope I would remember that one with how many times we saw it." Cayden's little smile faded as Eli exited the car and he was left to stare up at Del hanging over him. It was a view he could get used to, but really shouldn't. He cleared his throat and scooted back down the seat to drop his feet back outside of the car. "Is it ready then? The car? Do you need…any fluids or anything? Something…torqued?" He looked sheepish. He'd asked a few questions, but he really knew less than nothing about cars.
As Eli left the car, followed by Cayden, Del felt cold. It was an irregular thing, a dragon being anything than warm. But how quickly the burst of feelings and affections disappeared left him empty. And then it was just him inside the car, and it was nowhere near as enjoyable without either of them in it.
But instead of following out the back door, he turned around inside the car and reversed the way he came. This now left him in the driver's seat, and hanging out the window, peering at the both of them as did their inspections. Del was a talented liar—or so he thought—so even he could see how obviously obtuse all of them were being. Part of him worried it had been his fault. Part of him knew it was.
"If it is ready," Del said, tacking himself on to the series of questions that Cayden was asking, "are you sure we can't convince you to take us along? I will be quiet." He shot them both a smile, innocent. Del was anything but innocent, but he even held up his hands in surrender to Eli to prove he wouldn't latch on to the steering wheel that he was currently sitting in front of.
"And I will stay inside the car. At all times."
Eli grinned at Cayden. “Torqued.” His grin was charming and a little devious, as if he found their lack of car knowledge cute, which he did. “It’s about as ready as it’s going to get, unless Jory adds on some extra something-something. She’ll probably have some smoke bombs ready to throw, and maybe will add some magic, I don’t know.” If it was any kind of complicated spell-work, it was over his head anyway.
But he could appreciate Del’s tenacity. As Eli moved up the side of the car, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to the side of Del’s mouth. “Nice try. You’re never innocent.”
It was so quick. He’d done it without thinking, just instinct flashed in front of him, and then his mouth was touching Del’s hot skin and all he could see were flashes of kissing, of touching, of hands where they weren’t allowed. Eli jerked away suddenly like he’d been burned. “Shit- Sorry I-” He didn’t know how to explain himself, but he took a few steps away from the car and held up his hands. “Sorry. I don’t know why I just-”
"You have never been quiet in your li--" Cayden's teasing cut off at the sight of Eli kissing Del. Even as innocuous as it was, it lit a fire behind Cayden's ribs. His eyes were wide as he watched from the end of the car. He didn't know what to say. How to soothe the look of distress on Eli's face. He did stop him from stepping backwards right into a ditch though, by dashing forward and pressing a hand to the base of his spine.
"Easy," he whispered, the word practically a purr. "I scent marked him when I am not even shifted. I think perhaps he is just very touchable today." He punctuated the sentence with a soft glance towards Del, hoping the look was enough to convey his request: be gentle with him. He did not risk sending the thought across the divide.
Stunned, shocked, surprised. Del was trying to find the right word for the electric jolt that surged through his mind when Eli kissed him. He was visibly bluescreening. All the frenetic chaos that usually swirled around him came settling down in an instant. And before he could do anything like speak or move or even fucking breathe, Eli was already too far away from the car and apologizing. Eli should never have been in the position where he had to apologize for that. Del was, once again, realizing he had made serious errors with the both of them.
He sat back in the drivers seat for a second, silent. That same sort of silence was usually because of anger, but that anger now was directed inward at himself. Del swallowed hard. He slipped out of the car, quietly shutting the door behind him. He should say something, he should be saying something.
He caught Cayden's look, his plea for gentleness. How terrible was it that Cayden had to ask because neither of them knew he could be, he would be, if their circumstances were different. With Del standing on one side, and Cayden and Eli on the other, the distance between them never felt greater.
"It's not—" Del stopped, tried again. His face scrunched up, and he looked up to the sky, like it was holding the answers there for him to steal. "You should be focusing on the race." That was... better. "Accidents happen, and I can't fault you for it." Worse, that sounded probably worse. "I would be a hypocrite, and neither of you would let me hear the end of it. We can just forget about it."
Del never would, it was impossible for him to, but he wasn't going to mention it.
Eli could pull off of Cayden’s emotions, and that helped, as it gave him something calming to latch onto. How he was so calm, Eli would never fucking know, but he was always thankful for it in times like this.
Accidents happen. It was like being punched in the gut. An accident being the only way Eli was getting his mouth on Del, it seemed like, and he had to shy away from it. But fuck- Relationship drama was something he was so used to being casual about, chill, and he could straighten his shoulders and deal with this like a fucking adult.
“Yeah. I’ll do that.” He did reach out to squeeze on Cayden to give himself the reminder that one of them liked his touch. Eli smiled at him and then reached into his own pocket to snag his keys. “I think I’m going to take it for a drive before the race.”
It was probably obvious that Eli didn’t meet Del’s gaze as he moved around him to pull open the driver’s side door. He was close, too close to Del as he glanced back at them. “If you two want to go for a drive, hop in the back.”
Cayden grimaced at Del. He just didn't understand. He knew what he'd overheard when Eli had been older. He was sure of it. Now he was starting to wonder if he'd messed everything up since then. He nodded stiffly at Eli's instruction and grabbed Del by the elbow to pull him to the back of the car.
"Accidents happen?" he whispered, sounding frustrated. "You and I really need to have a talk. But not today." He poked Del in the chest before he climbed back into the rear of the car. "Try not to say anything else to spoil his mood."
Del was not unobservant. He saw the way his words had inevitably crushed Eli's feelings. He could feel the frustration without having to look at Cayden. If only he could voice his own resentment, he would say I know, I know, I'm angry with me too.
For the first time in probably a century, Del nodded impassively, submissively to Cayden's words and climbed into the back of the car after him. He made a zipping motion across his mouth, as he murmured, "You won't even know I'm here."