The Guard To My Sanctuary - Chapter 11: Chapter 11

Marco
Spending the night with Elm through the phone was insufficient at best. I had grown accustomed to him sleeping in my arms and found myself tossing and turning as he slept the whole night through. He snored lightly in my sleep and it had become my lullaby and he acted as a pillow. I had grown so used to him holding my shirt when I walked I found myself tripping when I walked due to me overcompensating the amount of weight I was walking with. I got used to the smell of him flooding my nose, he no longer smelled of cotton candy and was even revolted by the smell of it to the point of being physically ill. We all learned that the hard way when we went to golden corral and he walked by a child with a cone of the stuff. He looked at the boy and doubled over throwing up on the pastry counter. We had a lot of angry pastry chefs to explain to.
Elm smelled like spearmint body soap and whatever spray he bought from Victoria Secret. His skin was so soft and he subtly shimmered from the pearlescent glitter in his lotion. He was so kind and nervous almost like a deer taking in its new surroundings. I doubted he knew it but his facial expressions were priceless around people he got comfortable with. I had to push those thoughts down as I walked into my classroom to teach my students as a stand-in for another instructor who had gone on maternity leave.
"Hello everyone I'm Sergeant Tafferty, from this point on I will be teaching this class for well I don't know but I'm here so 'Xiànzài ràng wǒmen kāishǐ', "shifting into Mandarin. I spoke six languages which included Mandarin, Korean, German, Spanish, and Arabic. I had many offers for jobs if I choose to get out but I hadn't really seen a reason to leave since I was getting a steady paycheck and allowances for food and housing. Everyone put on their headsets and began translating the information that was set up for practice. I moved around the room helping anyone who looked like they were in need. The job was pretty easy and the area was good so I could see myself enjoying this position for the time being.
"Excuse me, sir," an Asian presenting girl spoke with her hand in the air. I walked over to her and smiled.
"Wǒmen zài zhèlǐ bù huì shuō yīngyǔ," I told her that we didn't speak English during class.
"Xiānshēng, nǐ néng bāngzhù wǒ ma,"  she repeated as well as completed her statement.
"Nǐ zěnme shuō zhōngwén de rendezvous," she asked me how to say rendezvous.
"Xiàng nǐ gāngcái shuō de," I told her there was no translation before walking to another student with his hand up in the air. Throughout the course of the class, I answered many questions through the day which wasn't too bad since the class was more advanced in their studies and only needed me for a few things. They went marching to lunch then came back till four in the afternoon and I filled out paperwork and gave the assigned study work before leaving out to talk to my Commander who asked me into his office.
"Hello Colonel Josephson," I said walking in and standing at attention.
"Oh calm all of that down, I asked you in here just so I could introduce myself to you," he said standing up in his uniform and shook my hand. I shook his and then sat in one of his chairs.
"So how was your first class," he asked the scratched his sandy blond hair. His hairline had seemed to start receding.
"It was fine, everything went smoothly sir, all I did was answer a few easy questions and showed a few how to conjugate some verbs properly," I said wanting to get out of the traditionally decorated room and call Elm to make sure his visit to the DMV went smoothly. I knew he didn't want to go to that crowded building and hoped he didn't have a panic attack. It was a necessary trip though because he needed a form of identification. He really needed to catch up to everyone in his age group so that he wouldn't feel so behind in life.
"Oh that's good, you have somewhere to be you keep checking your watch," he said. I didn't even know I was looking at it.
"Sorry, sir I have a friend in town who had PTSD like I do and we have been working through it together," I said to him. I stole another glance at my watch the looked back to his face and found myself actively doing my best to not look down at the time.
"Must be a good friend, you look like your going to explode," he said with a smirk. I noticed his hands were covered in powdered sugar from the sleeve of doughnuts on his desk. There was even trace amount of the powder around his lips.
"Yes, they are," I said smiling a little at the thought of Elm. Just thinking about him made me insanely happy.
"I see we're playing the nongender specific game. I love playing this game it's especially more exciting in this town since there is a higher concentration of the LGBT and the other letters in town," Josephson chuckled.
"Sorry, sir not trying to be deceptive but he's a he," I said back to him and blushed.
"I assumed, so he must be special since you seem to be pissed I'm holding you," Josephson said taking another doughnut into his hand and inhaling it.
"He's great he has just been through a lot of trauma so I'm keeping everything at arm's length because he could fall over the edge at any moment. While I'm trying to make sure he doesn't fall over that cliff we're growing closer every day. He lives down in San Jose so I get to see him on the weekends," I told Josephson getting comfortable in the seat.
"Well, I'm glad he's helping you through your issues as well. I know it's been two years but you still need someone to lean on in your hard times. But let me not waste any more of your time mine because I have a wife to get home to and a daughter to annoy. I really asked you in here to see if you are reenlisting. I know you probably have offers for jobs by the nice high-paying contractors but I want you to take the Air Force into consideration. We're in a slow period as far as recruitment and your field are definitely going to need all the help they can get since it takes so long to train Linguist. I'm not trying to guilt you or nothing just saying that you are valuable to our organization," he said standing up.
"Sir I have no plans on leaving as of right now but if anything changes you will be the first to know," I said shaking his hand firmly.
"Alright, have a great night," he said and I left out of the room. I rushed through the business to my car and called Elm who picked up on the fourth ring.
"Marco," he said with his nice soothing voice that was high and soft at the same time.
"How was your day did you get your ID, " I asked smiling glad that he couldn't see me blushing.
"Yes I did, I look ugly in the picture but at least now I can get things in my name," he said.
"There is no way you can look ugly, a bear could rip your face off and I'd still think you'd look amazing. Then I'd have to beat bear's ass for hurting you," I said. I could already imagine him turning red. It was so easy to make him blush. He wasn't used to kind words so even the smallest compliment went a long way.
"Are you going to call me tonight," he asked sounding nervous.
"Of course," I said to ease his stress levels.
"Great," he responded.
"I'm going to call you around eleven okay, I do that want to talk and drive," I told him as I ran a red light and received at least a hundred horns in protest.
"Alright," he said then waited before ending the call.
I pulled off and turned on some Frank Ocean and drove all the way to my apartment and raced up the stairs since my stomach had started to growl. I threw off my jacket and shoes to get comfortable and got to work on making a burger. I realized just how silent it was in the nice apartment and felt isolated without anyone being there. I could imagine having Elm here helping me chop onions or cooking while I watched television and bringing the food to me as housewives did in the old black and white television shows. My mind drifted to the fact that he could get pregnant as well which was odd at first but cool once I got used to the idea. I could imagine having a son with him one day in the far future. I could picture myself throwing a ball around with a child that looks just like him and Elm sitting on a rocking chair watching us with a smile while sipping on a glass of tea.
"Get it together you need to focus on the food."
I finished making the food and took my burger to my living room. The apartment I moved into was nice and came fully furnished which was a plus since I didn't have any furniture to move in with. My housing allowance covered all but the utilities which meant I had to take two hundred dollars out of my money to pay for it which was fine. The theme was green and openness which worked to make the small space feel bigger than it actually was. I turned on the television so I wouldn't be in complete silence but knew it wouldn't make me feel less lonely. I liked Elm's house there was always noise from people talking or arguing. I never had that kind of family and felt myself become a little envious of their bond. I watched television all the way till the news came on and jumped up to get ready for bed since I needed and wanted to call Elm so he could hear my voice as he went to sleep. I moved quickly into my bedroom throwing my phone on the bed then ran into my bathroom and hopped in the shower making sure to get clean before getting out and drying off. I brushed my teeth and flossed before walking into my room my sizeable dick swaying in the wind. I grabbed a pair of boxers from my dresser drawer and pulled them on before climbing into bed and getting comfortable in the cool covers. I reached for my phone and dialed his number. He had bought his phone with the money he was carrying along with a little extra from his brothers and it was his favorite little possession since they didn't allow him to have a phone. He answered his phone immediately.
"I thought you forgot," he said sounding nervous.
"I'd never forget to call, I was just a little late," I said with a smile. I heard him shifting in bed through the speakers.
"You okay," I asked.
"Yeah, tell me about your day," he asked so I did. I told him every tedious detail till I heard soft snores coming from his line. With him asleep I found myself in a peaceful state as I had fulfilled my promise. Before closing my own eyes I made sure my phone was connected to my speaker and was on the charger. Seeing that everything was fine I closed my eyes and drifted into a  peaceful slumber.