Once again, Ezra woke feeling like shit. Once again, he was in a hotel he didn’t really remember. This time however, he recognized the man lying next to him.

He shut his eyes again and curled back under the covers. No reason to get up for awhile; Dimitri wouldn’t expect him to pay for the hotel and there would be no awkward morning after introductions and farewells.

His hangover actually wasn’t as bad this morning. He had gotten really, really drunk, but it had been right after it had gotten dark. By the time Dimitri and him actually left the club, Ezra was sobering up. Dimitri had still been drinking and had continued to until they actually went to sleep, hours later. Ezra liked Dimitri when he was drunk. All the tension eased out of him, the rigid behavior relaxed a little, and the formal reserve that seemed to hand around the dark man like a storm cloud just disappeared.

Ezra smiled lightly and rolled over a little, closer to Dimitri. The fae man was asleep, breathing slow and steady, the barest hint of a snore sounding. It was really soothing.

Ezra sat up carefully and looked over at his husband. The man really was gorgeous. His skin was a true black, not the brown of those of African descent, but truly black, as only the fae seemed to have.

Ezra stroked a hand lightly over his shoulder, enjoying the look of its paleness against Dimitri’s darkness.

He leaned over and gently pushed Dimitri’s dark hair out of his face before pushing his lips against Dimitri’s in a barely-there kiss.

The man shifted slightly, letting out a soft sound.

Ezra quickly pulled back and by the time Dimitri opened his eyes, he was on his side of the bed, pants on, long hair twisted back in a semblance of a ponytail.

Those large, odd lavender eyes blinked up at him, mild confusion replacing the normal neutrality.

Ezra waved. "Good morning, Darkness."

Dimitri groaned and rolled over, burying his face in the pillow.

"Coffee?"

Dimitri mumbled something that was completely unintelligible. Ezra assumed it was yes.

He grinned and rolled off the bed, starting up the automatic coffeemaker before sliding back in next to Dimitri. This was so much easier than yesterday. Dimitri was kind of cute when he was just waking up.

Ezra grinned. "Can I get you anything else? Water, aspirin, a good morning blowjob?"

Dimtri just turned and blinked at him. "Wha‘?"

"Water, aspirin, more alcohol? If Holly and Rylan are waiting, you’re gonna need it."

Dimitri groaned. Ezra knew it was a cheap shot, bringing up the two, especially after all Dimitri had disclosed the night before between drinks and sex, but cheap shots seemed to be a specialty of his.

"All three."

Ezra grinned and hastened to get all three. In a moment of clear-headedness, they had picked up aspirin and water bottles while at the liquor store. They had also gotten what they had gone for- lots and lots of alcohol.

He tossed the water and aspirin bottle onto the bed before grabbing a mug and filling it with coffee. Two shots of Irish whiskey were next. He handed the Irish coffee to Dimitri and made his own quickly before sliding back onto the bed, bringing the coffeepot and bottle of whiskey.

Both were quickly emptied and Dimitri pushed Ezra back onto the bed.

Later, Ezra was lying cradled in Dimitri’s arms, curled on his chest. Both were naked. It was an oddly intimate position considering they barely knew each other, but it was… comforting. It had been a long time since he had felt this safe.

He gently kissed the dark skin. "How did you get involved with… those people?"

Dimitri chuckled, the sound vibrating along his stomach to Ezra. "Those people?"

Ezra lifted his hand and waved it dismissively. "You know what I mean. Rylan. Let’s start with Rylan. How did that happen? Were you already with Holly or Leo or something?"

He felt rather than heard Dimitri sigh. "He was first."

Ezra blinked and turned startled eyes towards Dimitri. "What?"

"T’was arranged… Necessary…"

Ezra blinked up at him. "Dude, there aren’t arranged marriages anymore."

"There still is in the faerie hills. You must remember, the fae live a long time and with age comes a resistance to change. Things have changed little there in… centuries."

Ezra stayed silent for a moment. "So you were in an arranged marriage to Rylan." He debated prying. He was curious, but it really wasn’t his right… They were married, but it was bullshit. They had known each other for two days.

Dimitri solved the problem for him. "It was horrible for the first few decades… We didn’t get along, but by law, we could not get divorced, not if we wanted the alliance between our families to hold."

Ezra stayed silent, stroking a hand gently along Dimitri’s heavy hair.

"He decided he wanted to move out of the hills. I… didn’t object. We went, moved here, and he started cheating on me with everything that moved. We lived in the same house, but never saw each other. It worked really, really well."

Ezra snorted. "Sounds fun."

"Not fun. It was never fun with Rylan," he said wistfully.

"You know," Ezra said softly, hefting himself onto his arms so he could look into Dimitri’s eyes. "If Rylan is-"

Dimitri snorted, pulling him down to kiss him firmly on the lips. The dark fae tasted of whiskey and apples.

He pulled back, leaving Ezra breathless. "He doesn’t abuse me. We ignore each other. If you hadn’t come in yesterday when you had, yes, he would have hit me, but it would have been the first time. You do not seem to get it; what we all have works for us. I love Holly and Leo and they both love me, Rylan, and Malachi. Leo and Giovanni love each other. The fact that a few of us don’t get along is irrelevant in the face of that."

Ezra’s twice pierced eyebrow raised, but he said nothing.

Dimitri caught the look though. "You don’t believe me?"

Ezra shrugged, uncomfortable. "Not really. You can’t love more than one person."

Dimitri just looked at him. "That is a very… human way of looking at things."

Ezra snorted. "I am human."

Dimitri stared at him, his lavender gaze suddenly turning from languorous to sharp. "Your pulse just sped up."

Ezra carefully blanked his face. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Fae have enhanced senses. We can smell lies. What are you hiding?"

Ezra rolled off Dimitri, pressing a bottle of gin in his hand. "You’re drunk."

Dimitri pushed the bottle away. "Am not. I was several hours ago. If you are not human there could be issues with-"

"I’m human," Ezra said firmly. "That’s what it says on my birth certificate and my license and my passport."

Dimitri just continued to look at him. Ezra took the bottle of gin back and took a long swig.

A slender, dark hand rested on his shoulder. "Please do not be mad. Enough people are already mad at me."

Ezra turned, meeting large lavender eyes. He tried to force a smile, but knew it looked fake. He took another long swig of the gin and handed it over to Dimitri who looked at him for a moment, but in the end, took the bottle.

--

Rylan watched Holly pace back and forth. "Will you quit worrying?"

"He’s been gone for two days!"

"He does that occasionally," Rylan pointed out. "He did it in the fae hills and once or twice here."

"That’s a bad thing, you douche! He’s been fucking some guy every single one of those times!"

At Rylan's questioning look, Holly stuck out his tongue. "We actually talk to each other."

"You actually like each other. We were in an arranged marriage."

"Yeah, well, I bet he’d let you fuck him if you tried," muttered Holly.

Rylan raised an eyebrow. "You’ve spoken of the possibility?"

"Well, no, but he’s sort of submissive in bed. Totally your type."

"Dimitri is not submissive. He’s quiet. And bitchy. Not my type."

Holly waved his hand. "Where is he?!"

Rylan sighed. "Relax, firebug-"

"Don’t call me that."

"-he’ll be back when he’s ready. He’s probably just doing paperwork."

Holly turned and glared. "It does not take a full day to get paperwork and make sure a slut who is not opposed to the divorce starts it."

"Maybe they ran off together," snapped Rylan sarcastically.

Holly flinched like he had been slapped.

Rylan’s eyes widened and he quickly crossed the room to gather Holly in his arms. "He’s just getting the slut started," he soothed. "Maybe the little whore decided he wanted money or something."