On Monday night Sören and Magni ended up pulling another all-nighter of music and art - once again Sören felt compelled to give Magni the piece he'd painted, swan-shaped boats sailing on a sparkling sea, reflecting colors of the sunrise, the lavender-gold gradient of ametrine, with hazy clouds of pink and peach. On the shore was a man Sören had painted before, from his threesome picture... the blond one. This time he was alone and clothed, wearing flowing white robes trimmed with green and gold, looking out at the sea and up at the sunrise with a pensive look on his face, silver-gold hair flowing in the breeze. For some reason, Sören got the strong impression that the man he was painting was seeing the sun rise for the very first time and having mixed feelings about it - including sadness - but it sounded absolutely daft when he explained it to Magni.
Of course, Magni didn't think it was mad, or he was doing a very good job of hiding that reaction. But he seemed to be in genuine awe as he looked at the painting - looked into the painting, it seemed.
"I feel like I'm there, watching the sunrise with him," Magni said, his voice shaking; Sören did a double take, he could have sworn Magni said first sunrise but he hadn't.
"So... you don't hate it?" Sören bit his lower lip.
Magni turned to look at Sören, narrowed his eyes, and then he leaned in, grabbed Sören's face, and kissed him hard.
They had kissed once before - the last time Magni had come over and they'd pulled an all-nighter of art and music. That first kiss had been gentle, just their lips.
This time their lips parted and their tongues met for the first time. Magni's tongue slowly slid against Sören's, seeking, and Sören's tongue played back, until they were kissing deeply, fiercely, tongues twirling, lashing, like they were trying to fuck each other with a kiss. When they pulled apart, breathing harder, Sören wanted to fold out the couch, throw Magni down and ride him, but then they both glanced at the clock. It was after five AM - Sören had to go to work at one, so he was looking at maybe six hours of sleep if he started to unwind now, and he didn't want their first time to be a quick fuck, much as he was aching for it, dripping slick, Magni's Alpha scent almost overpowering.
"Shit," Magni said. "I need to get going, don't I."
"I'm afraid so." Sören frowned.
Magni smirked. "I hope that answered your question." He narrowed his eyes again, face stern. "I really wish you had more confidence in yourself. You have an amazing gift."
Sören's cheeks burned and he gave a little smile. "Thanks."
Magni looked at the painting, then back at Sören, and smiled. "Enough of a gift that I don't... feel right... taking this. I love it, I want to hang it up in my flat, but... you deserve something for it."
"It's like I told you last time. Consider your music payment. Your music is a gift, I feel honored, privileged to hear you perform."
Magni pursed his lips. He looked down at his boots, then back at Sören. "No, really, I insist, this time. Name your price."
Sören looked at the clock again and swore internally. If they had finished just an hour earlier... but of course they'd gotten lost together in that creative space, like magic. Now Sören was the one to smirk, as his hole twitched and more slick dripped, wanting him. "You can let me ride your knot when we have some free time." Sören waggled his eyebrows.
Magni threw back his head and laughed, then he tousled Sören's curls. "I'd do that anyway. I'm serious. Name your price, besides that."
Sören shrugged, and spoke honestly. "I try not to want things. I've never had money, and I wouldn't know what to do with it when I got it. I've learned to entertain myself in low-cost ways - I paint, I read, I spend time in nature. I don't have room in this flat for fancy gadgets or decorations. What I want most, isn't really tangible."
"What do you want most, Sören?" Magni cocked his head to one side.
You. But Sören didn't say it aloud. He sighed, and spoke a deep, uncomfortable truth. "Time."
"I know your job runs you into the ground," Magni said, nodding solemnly. "So... you want to go on holiday? I can arrange for that. I think this painting is worth at least a few thousand American dollars - though I wouldn't sell it, it has too much value to me." Magni put his hand on his heart.
Sören's face burned even hotter - he wasn't used to thinking of his work in material terms, but that was a lot of money, especially right now with Iceland's financial crisis. Then Sören gave a nervous laugh, not wanting to come off like a golddigger - he didn't want Magni to think he painted that just to get something out of him - and that wasn't exactly what he'd meant by "time", either. "No, I didn't mean going on holiday. ...Well, yes, but no, but yes, but no... not in the way you're thinking of -"
Magni put up a hand. He sat back and folded his hands, waiting.
Sören took a deep breath. He normally wouldn't feel comfortable disclosing something like this to someone he'd only known a few weeks, someone he was still getting to know... but it also felt like he knew Magni. The way they connected through art and music was intimate at a soul level. They resonated, deeply. Sören felt like he could trust Magni with something this vulnerable, this private. "The summer solstice is coming up, which is my late father's birthday. My mamma's birthday was on May fourth and I usually go up to my hometown, Akureyri, to put flowers on her grave, but I didn't this year because I can't afford to take time off, with everything happening in the country right now, inflation is so bad that I have to work as much as I can to try to make ends meet. I feel guilty about it, and I tell myself she'd understand, not that I believe anything really happens after you die, but... I still feel bad."
"So you'd like to go to Akureyri for the summer solstice to visit your parents' graves."
Sören nodded. "It's a day trip - fly up in the morning, fly down in the evening - though I wish I could spend more than just a single day there. But on my days off, what few there are, I'm too tired to go, and even if I wasn't, I have to use that little bit of precious time to take care of food shopping and chores and shit, not flying up to Akureyri and back -"
Magni put up a hand. "If you can clear three or four days off work - tell them you have a family emergency or you don't feel well or something - I'll take you to Akureyri. I'll pay for the airfare, the hotel -"
"It's not just that. I just told you, I can't afford to take time off work like that, not in this economy -"
"I'll match whatever you expect to make in a day with wages and tips. Hell, I'll give you extra, since you're probably not getting paid enough to deal with the public."
Sören snorted; truer words had never been spoken. But then he felt a twinge of guilt. Even though Magni claimed to be independently wealthy, enough that he didn't have to work for a living, Sören still didn't want to take advantage. Wealth wouldn't last forever if one was pissing it around, especially to compensate close to a week's wages for someone barely more than a stranger. "You really don't have to -"
"Yes, I do. I understand that... honoring your dead family, touching their memory, is important." Magni's eyes were wistful. "Let me do this for you."
Sören leaned back. He wasn't going to argue about it. "All right."
There was a long silence. Once again they looked at the clock - there was really no time for them to go further than that kiss... but they would have time in Akureyri. That unspoken possibility hung there between them - Sören knew Magni was thinking about it too - as Sören led Magni to the door and they lingered in each other's arms, and Magni's lips pressed his forehead.
The last person who'd been willing to give Sören any kind of financial help cheated on him and abused him, and Sören was wary... but breathing in Magni's Alpha scent, he felt safe.
Safe enough to let Magni take him home.
Maybe safe enough to let Magni become home.
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