FSE

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Nathan was tired. The bedroom was cleaned, the porn was hidden, the bedclothes were changed, the bath was scoured and mopped, and windows were open at either end of the second floor so a breeze would blow straight through; what had he forgotten? Should he bring the animals up? No, better wait for Luke. Oh, right, shut down the display in the living room.

The doorbell rang. Luke? Yup, with one minute to spare.

"Hi! Come on in!"

The lights on the security display next to the door showed some electronics -- compatible with a computer and phone. Metal detection was minimal, presumably just a belt buckle. He really needed to add an rfid scanner, but he kept forgetting. He didn't get enough visitors for it to matter, though. Annoyingly, neither the box nor the plush animals had made it even flicker. So far as it was concerned, they really were made of cardboard, polyfill and foam rubber.

Luke slipped off his backpack and handed Nathan his jacket.

"Everything ready? Masters kicked out?" he asked innocently as he took off his shoes. Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. Where'd that saying come from, Nathan wondered. Every once in a while some traditional phrase would jump out at him like that.

"They put up a struggle, but I think I won. Want to see?"

"Sure. Lotsa blood to clean up, I'm sure." He grinned.

Luke made appreciative noises about the display and sound system. They weren't as impressive as what was in the living room, but more than adequate for the bedroom. He bounced on the bed a couple of times.

"Feels comfy!"

"Well, it's not a waterbed, but the previous owners spent a lot on it. It's got good support but isn't too hard."

"Plenty of room, too."

Eastern King Size according to the label. Nathan often wondered if it had seen many orgies. The only ones he'd seen were in the display. That wasn't quite the same.

The bathtub was what really impressed Luke, Nathan could tell. Almost the size of a traditional hot tub, it was intended for people with an affinity for water. The steel girders supporting it were hidden in the floor and walls.

"Wow. That must do a job on your water bill!"

"I usually just use the shower, but it does make impressive bubble baths."

Luke obviously wanted to give it a try but didn't dare ask. Nathan pretended not to notice. Maybe another time, though.

"You must be hungry," Nathan said as they returned downstairs. "Would it be OK if I ordered some Chinese? It's a little early for dinner, so they should be able to deliver it quickly. Do you like mu shu pork?" Another excuse to go off his diet.

"That's the one you wrap in pancakes, right? Sure!"

Luke stood there, shifting impatiently from one foot to another while Nathan called the order in. "Something wrong?"

"Not really, but, well, could I use your computer for a while? I've got some physics homework I probably should work on." Oho. Wants to play with the toys, huh?

"Sure. Let me bring up an interface you're familiar with. It's non-privileged, so you don't have to worry about breaking anything."

The tiger and husky were still pretending to ignore them. "Will working in front of our friends bother you, or should I take them upstairs?"

Luke looked sadly at Ben. "Why don't you leave them here. However things work out, it doesn't really matter, does it?" He caressed the cat.

Nathan gave Sasha a pat, too. "Yeah, you're right. There's no reason to take it out on them. Not yet, anyhow." He gave the husky a stern look, but then a hug. No matter what, he did still like the plush animal. They'd had lots of fun together in dream.

When the food arrived, Nathan insisted they eat in the kitchen. He didn't want the juices getting into the furniture. The mild seasonings went down well, as did the plum sauce, one of his favorites.

"How's the homework going? E'n'M does seem appropriate, considering."

"Well enough, I think. Do you think they'll ever detect magnetic monopoles?" Questions: Luke had 'em.

"Nah. Everything fits together too well for something like that to really exist. But people do keep trying. Finding them would force physicists to reevaluate a lot of things."

Luke belched and yawned. Nathan had let him eat more than half of the mu shu. It did seem to be staying down, though. Apparently he'd gotten used to the idea of something foreign in his head, or else was just ignoring the possibility.

"Sleepy? Why don't you finish what you're doing while I clean up. Then maybe we should take the animals up to bed."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I think I could fall asleep right now." Not surprising after the afternoon he'd had, although it was still quite early. Nathan wasn't so sure about himself. A sleeping pill didn't seem appropriate, though. It'd knock him right out, and a dreamless sleep would defeat their plans.

Nathan let Luke use the master bath while he cleaned and changed in the one across the hall. Luke cracked up when he saw what Nathan was going to wear to bed.

"Hey. They were a Christmas present. And you did say something about hogging the covers, I seem to recall."

Nathan's pajamas were thick flannel, with emerald green pine trees against a bright red background. Luke's were thin and a faded blue, not quite reaching all the way past his wrists and ankles. He'd obviously grown since they were bought. Nathan thought he filled.... Nope. Don't think about that. He'd never get to sleep.

They put the plush animals across the foot of the bed. They'd had solo dreams with them at that distance, so it should be OK tonight, too.

While Luke got into one side of the bed, Nathan selected some quiet music. Lullabies, actually, although they were played by a jazz band and weren't quite recognizable. They should be almost as good as a sleeping pill.

They certainly worked for Luke. He was out like a light and snoring quietly in just a few minutes.

Nathan lay awake for almost an hour. Having someone else in his bed was very distracting, especially since it was someone he cared for so much. He finally dozed off while watching Luke breathe.