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“Cynlaef!” He whines and sticks his bottom lip out, pouting. “Stop tugging!” He says, pulling back on the oversized scarf.
The other man turns and glances over his shoulder at him and glares. He again tugs on the scarf wrapped around both of them and huffs. “Then walk faster!” He snaps.
“I caaaant’t!” He whines again and shakes his head. “I'm too cold!” He stomps and tries to dig his heels in, wanting to slow down. He wants his mate to walk beside him, maybe to hold him, to pull him against his body and maybe the warmth of him will help.
“Athelstan!” Cynlaef snaps his name. “We'll be late!”
Athelstan frowns. “Late for what?”
Cynlaef huffs and reaches back to grab his mate’s hand. “I don't know!” He says with irritation. “I just know we’ll be late if we don’t hurry up so hurry up!” He hisses, tugging harder on him.
Athelstan hurries to catch up with him. He falls in step and squeezes Cynlaef’s hand. “We’re late but you don’t know what for?” He asks curiously.
Cynlaef nods. “Yeah. It’s just a feeling and we need to hurry.”
Athelstan breathes out and scoffs. “Fine.” He says, pulling his hand away. Cynlaef frowns but Athelstan just smiles and wraps his arm around the other man’s shoulder, tugging him close. “Then keep me warm until we get there.”
Cynlaef laughs and nods. “I can do that, baby.” He says, snaking an arm around Athelstan’s lower back. He holds his mate just as close and leans against him.
“Oh… excuse me…”
Cynlaef feels the man bump into him and he stumbles for just a moment, falling off the curb of the sidewalk and onto the road. But Athelstan’s grip on him tightens and he recovers quickly. Athelstan tugs him back up on the sidewalk and he follows and lets go. He shakes himself and brushes himself off before he turns.
Athelstan leans against his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Cynlaef nods as he looks at the man who bumped into him. There’s no malice in him as he smiles at him. Because he assumes it was just an accident. No harm done. Cynlaef just slipped a little. But then he catches the man’s gaze and his mouth drops open as his heart starts beating faster.
“I’m sorry, man.” The stranger says, shaking his head. “Wasn’t paying… attention… uh…” The man blinks and steps closer. He feels his own heart thump and he swears he can feel the beating of the other man’s. He swallows and opens his mouth slowly. “Hi… I… I’m Osbert.”
Cynlaef smiles and holds up his hand. “I’m Cynlaef and this is Athelstan.” He says, nodding sideways.
Osbert takes Cynlaef’s hand and he feels a jolt, touching the other man. He glances down at their joined hands and sucks in a sharp breath. “Wow…”
Athelstan frowns, glancing between his mate and the stranger. “What? What’s going on?”
Osbert glances up and meets Athelstan’s gaze. He feels his heart thump again and he lifts his other hand to grab Athelstan’s hand. He feels the jolt again for a second before the other man pulls his hand away.
Cynlaef leans closer to Athelstan. “Athel, baby, it’s okay.” He says softly, feeling his mate’s confusion and nerves.
Athelstan blinks and shakes his head. “It’s not okay!” He hisses. “Is this… do we… can we… uh…” He swallows and looks at Osbert. “Are you our mate?”
Osbert drops Cynlaef’s hand and shrugs. “I don’t know, dude. Never met mine until now so…” He holds his hand out to Cynlaef and wiggles his fingers. “Got a phone?”
Cynlaef blinks for a moment and shakes himself when Osbert’s words sink in. He nods and quickly digs his hand into his pocket. He doesn’t hesitate to pull his phone out, unlock it, and hand it over to the stranger.
Osbert hums and nods. He glances down at the phone. He swipes his finger over it and can’t help but smile at the candid shot of Cynlaef and Athelstan as the background. It gives him an odd tingly feeling and he thinks he likes it. He opens the contacts app and quickly types in his name, number, email, and address. Then he scrolls through the contacts until he finds Athelstan’s number. He smiles at the picture of him making a kissy face. He’s tempted to scroll through the photos, wanting to see more of them both. But the thought is fleeting because that seems way too rude and invasive for a first meeting.
Osbert clicks on the message app and starts a new chain. He adds himself to it and types a quick message so he’d have both their numbers. Then he smiles and holds the phone back out to Cynlaef. “Put my info in there and then made a text chain with all three of us. Use it… if you guys want to. And I really fucking hope you do. But I understand… this seems weird… because I get the feeling you two are dating and yeah, this is weird because maybe we’re supposed to be mates all together and that’s weird and different but…” He shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels. “I really, really wanna hear from you. But I gotta run because I’m way late for work but I’m off at 7 if you guys wanna meet up after.” He says it all quickly and chuckles. “Text me, okay?” He steps closer and fingers the oversized scarf wrapped around both of their necks. “And I like your scarf. It’s fucking adorable.” He says before he turns and starts off down the street.
Athelstan blinks as he stares after him. “Did that… did that just happen?” He asks softly.
Cynlaef glances down at his phone and at the new contact. He hums and nods slowly. “Yeah… that happened.”
Athelstan frowns as he looks over at Cynlaef. “So… we have another mate? A third?”
Cynlaef shrugs. “I guess so.”
Athelstan breathes out. “Wait… was that why you were in such a hurry?”
Cynlaef shrugs again. “Maybe. I don’t feel in a rush anymore.”
Athelstan laughs as he steps closer. He grabs Cynlaef and hugs him closer. “Good. Then how about we just go home and wait for him to get off work.”