The Code of Aries ?

(36) Atlas

"Well, I—"

"Dom," Aries suddenly called out, walking towards me with the car keys in his hand, ignoring his father like he didn't see him at all.

"Where are you two going?" Mr. Anthony asked.

Aries sighed and turned to his father. "I'm driving him home," he answered.

"Driving him home? What is he, a girl?" He suddenly asked before laughing, but he eventually stopped when he realized that no one was laughing with him.

"Dom, let's just go," Aries told me with irritation present in his voice, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the house. When we got out, Dom flounced his way to his mother's car and went inside before slamming the door shut.

I got inside as well and sat in the passenger's seat before turning to him. "You okay?" I asked, and Aries took a deep breath and clenched the steering wheel to calm himself down. That short encounter with his father probably pissed him off. Or maybe the conversation he had with him earlier left him in a bad mood.

"Hey, Aries. You okay?" I asked again, reaching out to him to touch his shoulder.

Aries decided not to say anything, so I didn't force him to open it up to me if he didn't want to. That's why when he drove me home, the two of us didn't say a single word. I just left him alone with his thoughts, and I could tell that Aries wanted that because he slowly started looking less tense compared to earlier.

"And we're here," I said when we finally arrived at my house. I removed my seatbelt and looked at Aries. "Thank you for tonight," I told him before stepping out of the car. But as soon as I closed the door, Aries pulled the window down and called out for me again.

"Dom," he said. "Can I...can I stay here for the night?"

My eyes widened in an instant the moment I heard the question. Aries wasn't the type to ask for such a thing. Something must have really happened.

"O-Of course. Yes..." I answered.

"Then let me just park the car and follow you there."

"Okay."

While Aries left to park his car, I rushed inside the house and started washing the dishes that I had left this morning. I then picked out the dirty clothes on the floor and threw them inside the laundry basket. I wasn't expecting a visitor, let alone Aries, to stay over. If I did, I would have called Gelo and asked him to clean up for me. It's the least he could do for always hanging out here whenever I'm in school.

"He could have at least thrown the trash out," I complained.

While I arranged the scattered books at the living room table, Aries knocked on the door and removed his slippers before entering the house.

"Aries, come sit down first. Do you want some water, or do you want something else? Juice? coffee?" I asked as I walked towards the kitchen. But as I took a few steps, Aries suddenly grabbed me and hugged me from behind, resting his head on my back while his arms wrapped around me.

I took a deep breath and looked over my shoulder to give him a gentle kiss on his head. "What's wrong?" I whispered, and Aries hugged me even tighter.

"Did someone say something to you? Are you not feeling well?" I then asked.

"My dad..." he started, and the mere mention of him instantly made me feel nervous. "He saw the video. Someone from church sent it to him," he then revealed, instantly making my eyes widen in shock.

"W-what?"

"I told him that it was all a misunderstanding and the uploader just wanted attention. I told him that he was crazy to believe such a stupid video, but do you know what he said? He said, 'You better make sure that it was really just a stupid video.' He said it like some kind of threat. I can't believe I ever thought for one second that there might be a chance that he'll understand. I hate him...I fucking hate him," Aries said as he hugged me even tighter.

I didn't know what to tell him, so I just let him hug me until he finally pulled away. When he removed his arms around me, I turned to face him and leaned close to kiss his forehead before pulling him towards me again to hug him, letting his head rest on my chest while I patted his back.

"What do you want to do then? Hmm?"

"I just want to stay with you for the night," he answered as he wrapped his arms around my neck. I then grabbed his legs and lifted him off the floor, carrying him to my bedroom while he rested his head on my shoulder. When we got to my room, I gently laid Aries down on the bed. I turned the electric fan on and was about to walk out of the room to wash up, but Aries grabbed my hand to stop me. "Where are you going? Sleep beside me."

"I am. I'm just gonna clean myself up and—"

"No, it's fine. Just come here."

I sighed and removed my shirt instead before lying on the bed beside him, spreading my arm wide so he could use that as a pillow. "If you continue to act like this, I'll end up spoiling you too much," I told him as Aries moved closer to me.

"I'm sorry. I just love your smell. It smells sweet and familiar," he whispered, and I leaned toward him to give him a kiss, letting his tongue slide inside mine so he could taste me better. And when we pulled away from each other, I reached out and wiped his lips for him. 

"Maybe I really am starting to spoil you," I said, and Aries looked away from me and started touching my chest with his index finger, sliding it down my skin like he was writing something down. 

"You can rest here as long as you want. But you have to tell your mom about it. Or maybe your brothers. They're going to be worried, and I don't want them to think you just left without saying anything," I told him, and Aries looked out of the window instead.

"Waning Crescent phase," he said, referring to the moon peeking outside.

"Aries..."

"I called Art when I was parking the car outside and told him I'm staying at a friend's house for the night," he then revealed, looking back to stare at me instead. "Are you worried that I'll get in trouble?"

"I'm always worried about you," I said without batting an eye, and Aries's expression changed into something that was mixed with embarrassment and guilt.

The two of us stared at each other again, and Aries reached out to touch my face. He touched my eyes, my nose, and then my lips. Soon after, he leaned close to give me a soft kiss before snuggling his head on my chest like a puppy. He was acting so cute that I just wanted to cuddle him like this all day. After all, Aries isn't the type to willingly act like this around anyone.

"You know, I like your house better. It feels more like a home," he said while I wrapped my arm around him so I could hug him.

"I'd agree with you, but I feel like I'd be less depressed if I had a pool in my house instead," I managed to joke, and Aries lifted his head and suddenly bit my shoulder, making me wince.

"It was a joke!" I defended, and Aries ignored my pain and went back to snuggle his head against me like I was a teddy bear.

"By the way, how's your mom doing?" He then asked, and the question instantly made me smile because he still asked about her despite the things that were already in his head.

"She's doing good," I whispered as I hugged Aries tighter, gently brushing his hair back with my fingers.

"Can I visit her tomorrow?" He then whispered back.

"Of course. She'd love that."

And that's the very thing I love about you too.

"Alright. You should go to sleep now," I said to him instead.

 I stayed like that for a couple more minutes, patting his back until my eyes felt heavy. With our bodies pressed against each other and our hearts beating as one, I fell asleep with the man I loved in my arms, holding onto him tight so that he'd know he'll always have a home with me that he can easily run to whenever he's tired or scared.

But while I was embracing him, a sudden thought suddenly came to me. I thought that if I had the weight of the world on my shoulders like Atlas, I'd still carry Aries and the rest of the weight that comes with him just so he wouldn't have to feel like the world is against him anymore. And maybe then, he'll be able to admit out loud that he loves me too, just like how his eyes and his actions are able to scream it.

end.