Free A Fluffy Tale 2: Warm & Fuzzy by Ann Somerville

liked a lot, maybe more than he should, and
a break of sorts from the grind of the office, and the disapproval of the other
PAs.
    “The only part about this I’m looking forward
to is the food,” Spen said, pulling a face at the train’s approximation of
coffee. Daniel hadn’t even bothered, sticking to fruit juice. “The expense
budget is pretty generous. Just watch out for the boozers. Some of the managers
drink like camels.”
    “I can’t imagine what could induce me to
want to drink with anyone except you.” Spen grinned at Daniel’s declaration.
“Oh you know what I mean.”
    “I do. They’re not all bad. The IT guys
from Northern are fun, so long as I don’t spend too long around them. I’m too
old for that kind of thing now.” Daniel lifted an eyebrow at that statement.
“No, it’s true. I like a quiet pint or two. That was one of the things that did
for me and my ex. He was a party animal. Me, not so
much.”
    “You were together a while, though?”
    “Four years. I still care a lot about him.
He’s a good guy, smart. But he didn’t want to settle down, and I got tired of
acting like a kid.”
    “Not every kid drinks until they puke.”
    “What, never?”
    Daniel’s face grew warm. “Maybe once,” he
mumbled. “But I don’t like being drunk. I really hate hangovers. Such a waste
of study time.”
    Spen’s grin slipped a little. “Are you
planning to go back to the degree when things settle down?”
    Daniel shrugged, but tried not to let the
pain in his chest show in his expression. “Maybe. Might take a while. I can’t
go back to where I was enrolled, not while Alex is still young. They need me at
home. The degree’s not important, set against everything else. If the
prosecution is ever finished, the lawsuit is over, we win a payout, Dee gets
through her exams, and Alex finishes school.... My study’s pretty low down the
list.”
    “So you keep working for Tony Noble or
someone like him, when you could be working on power stations and water
treatment plants and...what
is it you guys build?”
    “Just about everything,” Daniel admitted,
the pain growing sharper. “Yes, if I have to. At least until
Dee and Alex are independent. I’m their parent now. Their needs come
first.”
    “Yes, I know.” Spen smiled at him, a
thousand watts of kindness that shone on the hidden stone in Daniel’s chest and
warmed it a little. “You’re quietly amazing.”
    “You’d do the same for your brothers.”
    “Maybe. But I’m the youngest, so it
wouldn’t come up. It’s not just that you’re doing it, it’s that you’re doing it
so well. Dee and Alex are so well-adjusted.”
    Thinking back to a month ago and Alex’s
miserable birthday, Daniel couldn’t agree. “Mum and Dad did all that. I’ve had
it easy.”
    “And you could still have fucked it up.
Give yourself credit, kid.”
    “If you insist.”
    Spen smiled again and shook his head. It
was nice to have someone who thought so well of him, but Daniel didn’t like
praise for what he couldn’t claim proper credit for. Still, it wasn’t worth
arguing about. “We’ll be there in ten minutes.”
    “Then countdown until we can escape. Why
can’t they have this damn thing somewhere warm, and by a beach?”
    “Because we’d all skive off and not do any
work?”
    “See? Told you that you were smart.”
    Daniel rolled his eyes. Yes, if he had to
be here against his will, he could be worse off than in Spen’s company. It
might even be fun. He wasn’t sure if he remembered what fun was like, but he
hoped he’d know it if he had the chance.
    ~~~~~~~~
    He was right about the bed, and the room
was as bland and uninspiring as he’d expected. But there was more space than he
expected, plenty of room for their bags, and fast internet
access, which was all he needed. Tony wouldn’t arrive until late that evening,
so tonight was a little like a holiday—at least Spen decided to make it
one. He encouraged Daniel to explore the