Piper by Carver Leona

Author:Carver, Leona [Carver, Leona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: M/M romance, sci-fi
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Published: 2013-09-09T22:00:00+00:00

Atmosphere's ability to deal with rejection hadn't had many opportunities to develop. Once, at the tender age of seventeen, heady on the meagre success of his second album, he had propositioned one of Oceania's heavily tanned and muscled pearl divers. The reward for young William's bravery had been a broken nose, a rash of threats to his family, and a lifelong hatred of pearls. However, the event did encourage him to become a person that no one could refuse.

Until now, Atmos steamed. I'm a piper. A piper! No one spurns a piper.

His flute leapt violently up and down its scales, screaming his frustration.

How dare he? He wanted me, I know he wanted me. But he's a damned fool, arrogant, and a coward. He could have had me and he threw me away. Twice. And I am twice the fool for trying.

He vibrated with rage and betrayal. We had something. We would have been beautiful together.

His bedroom door slammed open.

Atmos startled so badly that he jumped sideways, flute held protectively across his bare chest, and cracked his toes against his bed frame.

"Shit," he hissed, dropping onto the mattress. He clasped his throbbing foot and glared at the short figure in his doorway. "What's your problem?"

"Do you know what time it is?" Starlight stalked into the circle of soft light thrown by his ceiling globe, illuminating her dangerous expression.

"I don't know," he grumbled back. He eyed her warily, fury cooling into mild apprehension. She looked angrier than usual.

"Oh-four-fifteen." She spat each word, punctuated by a deliberate step. "You have been playing that thing for five hours." She paused. "No. You have been torturing that thing for five hours."

He straightened and stomped his aching foot back to the floor. "Hey!" he barked. "I'm a musical genius."

Star lashed out and snatched the flute from his grasp. "You're insane," she snarled. "And you're driving me insane with this caterwauling."

Atmos tried to stand and grab his instrument, but Star planted a palm on his chest and shoved him back onto his bed.

"In two hours I'm dragging your ass down to the gym," she told him, pointing. "So go to sleep. Don't make me drug you."

"Agh." He surrendered ungraciously, covering his face and rolling away into the mess of sheets and blankets. He couldn't fight her, not without a small army. "Fine," he moaned into his pillow. "Just go away. Leave me alone."

"What's wrong with you?" she sighed. "Are you still pining over that kid? I thought you were done with that."

I'll never be done with it.

"No," he muttered. "You can go away now. I won't be able to play while you're holding my flute captive."

"Oh, Atmos," she murmured softly. He heard her step closer.

He curled tighter. "It's fine!" he bellowed into his pillow.

Another sigh. Then she left, clicking his light off as she went.

Atmos didn't think he would sleep. His nerves were wound too tightly around each other, tangling in his gut, stiffening in painful bands across his shoulders and up the back of his neck. However, after several long minutes of glaring into the darkness, his mind began to wander.

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