Unexpected Places (Kane/Keith)

[Keith Evans]

"Well typically you don't date someone that's married," Keith said. "Or someone that's f~ing someone else." That wasn't how things worked. "But I like Rowan, and everyone thinks I'm crazy for it but I do." He looked to the side. The one away from Kane.

[Kane Garrett]

"You never said you were dating," Kane pointed out. "I take it there was a physical element?"

[Keith Evans]

"Yes," Keith said. There was a physical element, even more when Rowan could get loose. "He's asexual, so it wasn't like anything I'd been involved in before, but yeah. And he even more or less said he was interested in continuing where we left off." He had hoped that during the massage his mind would have been able to work through some of it.

[Kane Garrett]

"So is the fact that he's married an issue for you? Whether his marriage is unwanted or not, it still exists, and I get the impression that you aren't as comfortable with it as you'd like to think."

[Keith Evans]

"I know. I wanted to talk to Rowan about it! We were talking about it, until Trent showed up," Keith said. He needed to talk to Rowan and try to figure things out with him. Talking to Kane wouldn't do any good without Rowan's input.

[Kane Garrett]

"You already know how Rowan feels about it," Kane said. "How you feel about his marriage, whether you believe it's relevant to your relationship, is something only you can decide. Trent's arrival didn't make the decision more difficult for you, nor did it remove your ability to discuss it with Rowan another time. I understand your frustration. I understand your desire to work things out as quickly as possible, but for all Trent's flaws, he isn't responsible for the distance in your other relationships. If you see him as a wedge between you and Rowan, that's a different subject entirely."

[Keith Evans]

"I know, it's not Trent's fault," Keith said. "I just don't know what to decide about Rowan. Because there's the marriage thing, and hell he's definitely not into the same stuff I am sexually. I know a relationship isn't just sex but it's important to me, you know? But I like him, I can't help that." And the idea of not trying was painful to think of.

[Kane Garrett]

"Can you have a relationship with Rowan without the hope of sex?" Kane asked. "Don't answer right away, but think about it. If you knew right now that the two of you could never have a sexual relationship, if he told you he was straight, as opposed to asexual, how would that change things?"

[Keith Evans]

What did sexuality matter if Rowan was interested? And when Rowan felt something he was so much more interested in physical things. Yet Keith was kind of afraid of things progressing too far and bordering on love. "I need to just talk to Rowan. Probably doesn't help that he was the first person I really talked to here."

[Kane Garrett]

"You avoided the question, Keith," Kane pointed out. "Will a relationship between you and Rowan work if there's no hope of ever having sex?"

[Keith Evans]

"I'm not just obsessed with sex!" Keith said, his eyes darting over to Kane. Kane knew that, most people didn't think he was. "I don't know, I doubt it," he said, voice quieter than his first statement. He hated admitting that, even while he knew it was true.

[Kane Garrett]

"I didn't mean to imply that you're obsessed," Kane said carefully, "or even that your priorities aren't exactly where they should be. You may want to think about what kind of relationship you can have without sex, though. Removing the expectation could remove the stress on your part, or you could discover that Rowan isn't as interesting as you thought. Having that closure can clear the way for a more fulfilling relationship, whoever it's with."

[Keith Evans]

Keith sighed and nodded, though it felt like so much to think about. A few minutes later he was heading out. After a few minutes' internal debate, he directed his footsteps to Rowan's.