A Suitable Brat

Old by Outguard standards, forty-year-old Westin is considering retirement and hoping that the familiar comforts of Solace House will soothe the ache in his chest at the thought. Solace House is renowned for serving the finest wines and teas, providing luxurious baths, and offering solace, be that through conversation or through time spent with a worker in a private room. But the normally centered and calm Westin is finding peace difficult to achieve, so far unsatisfied by both his bath and a good cup of tea, or his conversation with a friend and Solace House worker. When Sun stumbles into the inn amid a rumble of thunder from the passing storm, Westin is forced to confront why peace has been so hard to come by; he likes a little bit of trouble, at least in one particular form. Another outguard, Sun is young, bold, and pretty. He's charming to most but impertinent and demanding with Westin, and he only grows more difficult upon discovering that Westin plans to leave him... that is, to leave the Outguard. Sun acting a brat with Westin, with only Westin, might mean a great deal more than Westin believed it did. Despite his age and old wounds, the raging storm outside, and the brat at his brattiest, Westin feels a glimmer of hope: solace might be found for both of them. All Westin has to do is reach for it. m/m romance fantasy novella