16. Revisiting The Past

Two daysbefore Rex’s dad was due to arrive, Olson brought Rex to the high desert.

“It’s called the high desert because it’s two thousand feet above sea level,” Olson said, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. “Or higher. But you get the idea.”

Rex pressed his nose to the window, staring out at the changing landscape around them.

They’d been driving between rocky hills, steadily climbing higher and higher. Sometimes they passed smooth, beautiful boulders. Other times, they passed flat ground, with dense shrubs dotting the scenery.

“I always thought the deserts were boring and full of sand dunes,” Olson said. “Until one day you pulled up all these pictures of the rocks and plants there. And it’s just breathtaking.”

Back then, George had shown him a photo of the Pinto Basin, a wide, open valley with a road passing through endless shrubs, the sky tinting the shadows blue. There was a vastness to the place, peaceful yet full of life, and Olson had wanted to visit.

“We camped out in Death Valley once,” he said with a laugh. “In the summer. And it was still sweltering past midnight; neither of us could sleep. You ended up taking pictures of the Milky Way. Then we woke up late and drove around, but all the interesting places in Death Valley are so far apart, I was asleep for most of it.”

They’d worked part time jobs when they could, saving up money for food and gas for those trips.

“I can’t believe how many places we visited the first year,” Olson murmured. “You were so excited. We went to the dry lake bed north of Victorville—there’s a massive solar array there now. We visited the mailbox on the Old Mojave Trail. We hiked around in Joshua Tree National Park, and then we went south, to the Salton Sea. Gods, the shoreline was made out of fish bones. And you wanted me to pose there. Barefoot!”

George had carried Olson back to the Jeep after, and painstakingly pulled out the bones from his soles.

Rex reached over the center console, squeezing Olson’s arm.

“One time, we went down this really steep offroad trail,” Olson said. “And there was a horrible smell. I asked you what it was. Guess what you said.”

Rex tilted his head.

“You said it was the smell of death. Fucking jerk. It was the clutch burning!”

“Bad?”

“We didn’t go any further,” Olson said dryly. “We reversed and made it out alive.”

Rex grinned.

Olson recognized a road sign and slowed down, pulling into a turnout. “And this. Here.”

Rex waited for him to continue.

“The day you told me you got your driver’s license and we drove out here? And you said we had enough money for gas? We didn’t. We got stuck here, and your mom got so mad.”

Rex grimaced. “Mom?”

“George’s mom, she’s still married to George’s dad. And the dad we’re seeing in two days—that’s your dad. Although... I could just invite George’s parents to come down at the same time. They’d want to see you, too.”

Even with the news of the reincarnation, George’s parents would still be devastated, wouldn’t they? Rex didn’t seem to have any recollection of them.

But maybe Rex’s presence might be enough, after the initial shock wore off.

Just like how Olson was starting to get used to seeing George’s face on Rex.

“Anyway, we sat here for three hours waiting for your mom to call a tow truck, and for the tow truck to pick us up. Luckily, we were on our way home, or I’d have been so disappointed.” Olson grinned. “We got some good pictures from that trip.”

Rex smiled.

Olson continued the drive, slowing down to take a side road, then a dirt road. This was the location he remembered best, because it was that very first spot they’d visited alone, with the flat rock on the ground that looked like a stage. He and George had come back so many times, sometimes for pictures, sometimes just to spend time out here in the quiet.

He parked the car and grabbed a backpack he’d filled with water and snacks, leading the way through the shrubs.

“These are called creosote bushes,” Olson said, waving at the scraggly shrubs with tiny, dark green leaves. “The ground’s barren between them, but somewhere under the surface, they’ve got roots. It’s how they spread—they send roots out several feet and grow a whole new bush. So basically these are all just one plant cloned a hundred times.”

Rex stared suspiciously at the shrubs, following when Olson pointed out the teddybear cacti.

“Do not step on those,” Olson said. “They may look fuzzy, but those are all sharp spines. They’ll pierce your shoes or your pants, and you can’t use your hands to get them off or they’ll hurt your fingers, too.”

“Olson step?” Rex asked.

Olson sighed. “I did, a couple times. Wearing my shoes. You helped to knock them off.”

They took the long way around to reach the rocky stage. Olson kicked off his shoes and did a small twirl. “This is where we went on our first trip alone. You took pictures of me here.”

Rex lit up, his eyes bright. “Picture?”

Olson opened the backpack, pulling out a point-and-shoot camera he’d bought. This wasn’t George’s—it was much newer and smaller, but it was probably more beginner-friendly.

Rex turned it on like how Olson had shown him to, holding it up to take a picture of Olson’s face.

Olson huffed. It was a bittersweet feeling, letting Rex do this. “This brings back so many memories.”

“Good?”

“The only time you took your eyes off me was to make sure you didn’t step on a cactus, or trip,” Olson said, laughing softly. “You... you were such a good alpha, Rex.”

Rex smiled, pleased. “Alpha for Olllsonnnn.”

He took several photos of Olson’s face. Then he lifted the hem of Olson’s shirt and snapped a picture of his bare belly, and Olson blushed.

Olson shrugged out of his shirt. Rex took more pictures of Olson’s chest, touching Olson’s nipple, taking a picture of his fingers on Olson’s skin.

When he’d gotten enough of Olson’s chest, Rex fumbled with Olson’s pants. Olson took them off, too, kicking his shoes aside. Leaving himself naked.

“Just like we used to,” Olson murmured, spreading his arms to display himself. “Just that I’m older now.”

“Mine,” Rex growled, taking a picture of Olson’s entire body. He reached over and splayed his palm on Olson’s belly, taking a picture of it. Then he crouched and grasped Olson’s cock, taking several pictures of it from every angle, more so when Olson grew hard and began leaking.

“Mine,” Rex said again, leaning in to lick his tip. Olson shuddered.

Rex pulled down Olson’s foreskin to expose his sensitive tip, taking a picture of it. He turned Olson around and took many pictures of his ass, grasping his asscheek, spreading him to photograph his hole.

Olson bit his lip and reached back to present himself.

Rex groaned. He pushed a finger inside without warning; Olson fought down a moan. The camera kept beeping as it took another photo, and another.

Rex worked his finger deeper, pulling it out and pushing it in. The entire time, he didn’t stop taking pictures.

Rex growled. He turned Olson around and made him lie on the flat rock, on his back. Then he pushed Olson’s legs open, and took a picture of him like that, too.

Actually, he took several pictures between Olson’s legs, pushing more and more fingers into Olson’s hole. Olson squirmed and panted, clutching his hair because he had nothing else to hold onto.

“Rex—”

“Mine,” Rex growled, pushing his bulge between Olson’s legs, grinding it against Olson’s sensitive entrance.

Olson came with a cry, come shooting all over his chest. Rex growled and took more pictures, before he set the camera on Olson’s chest, and unzipped his own pants.

“Fuck, this is so hot,” Olson moaned.

Rex took a picture of his own cock nestled against Olson’s. Then he shuffled up to straddle Olson’s shoulders, grinding himself all over Olson’s cheeks and lips, before pushing his tip into Olson’s mouth.

Olson whined, licking around him, taking more and more inside.

“Olllsonnnn,” Rex groaned, growing rock-hard. He began taking pictures of Olson sucking him, thrusting into Olson’s mouth so heat swelled through Olson’s insides.

“Yeah, like that,” Olson whimpered.

He sucked on Rex until Rex panted, until his precome flooded Olson’s mouth, his velvety cock pulsing against Olson’s tongue.

Rex pulled out, shuffling back to Olson’s hips, pushing his cock deep into Olson’s hole.

Olson came with a scream, then came again when Rex began to pound inside him.

It wasn’t all that comfortable on the rock—it never was. But out here in the quiet desert, with the cloudless sky above them and Rex caging him with his body, it felt like a little paradise of their own.

“Deeper,” Olson begged.

Rex set down the camera and hiked Olson’s hips off the rock to receive him better, driving so deep that Olson’s eyes rolled back. Rex gave a series of hard thrusts, his cock swelling inside like he was ready to come.

“I want your knot,” Olson whimpered. “I want it deep inside.”

Rex came with a roar, his warmth filling Olson. Then his knot grew, pressing against the best spot, and Olson wheezed.

“I never want to be without your knot,” Olson said dazedly. “I always want your claim in me.”

“Yessss.” Rex growled, grinding so sinfully inside him that Olson came, and blacked out.

When he came to,he found Rex taking pictures of his belly. It was all going on record—the mess Olson had made of himself, the way Rex was still buried deep inside him.

“Gods, you’re perverted,” Olson whispered.

“Knot,” Rex growled. “Give Olson knot.”

“Mm. Your knot is perfect.”

Rex leaned in, dropping kisses all over Olson’s face. He was wearing a silly grin, all bright and happy, and it made Olson’s heart flutter.

“Hungry?”

Rex nodded.

Olson pulled over the forgotten backpack, handing Rex a granola bar and a bottle of water. He drank from his own bottle, skimming his fingertips over Rex’s abs. “We should start heading back soon,” Olson said regretfully. “I managed to get Maria to cover me for the afternoon, but we have to be back for the evening shift.”

Rex rumbled, burying his face against Olson’s throat. “Want Olson.”

“Want you too.” Olson dropped a kiss on top of his head. Then he took the camera from Rex, scrolling through the pictures he’d taken.

A lot of the pictures were the same; close-ups of his body. They weren’t anything like George’s work. But George had years to hone his craft, to incorporate the landscape into his pictures, and Rex was only just starting out.

It was also extremely flattering to know that all Rex cared about was taking pictures of Olson, and not the landscape around them.

“I’ll show you the pictures you took in your previous life,” Olson murmured, handing the camera back to Rex and brushing his fingers through Rex’s hair. “You were really good, you know. Definitely my favorite photographer.”

Rex nuzzled him, pressing kisses all over his face.

Was it possible for Rex to become a functioning human? To know how to read and write, or hold down a job?

Was it possible for him to be a good dad?

Olson’s stomach fluttered with nerves.

No, he wasn’t going to tell any of their parents that he might’ve conceived. Not yet. Olson was worried about handling it all himself; he didn’t need more voices adding to those in his head.