Chapter 1

1

*****

He was reading a case file. His patient would be arriving to visit him in thirty minutes. He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his prominent nose. Putting off his reading glasses he put his head on the head rest of his office chair. 

He was at his home office. Working as a top notch Psychiatrist was surely a headache. As per his brother said, he was a psycho himself reading the course and then practicing with the patients. 

He had a PhD in Psychology. He had a brother, an engineer in automobiles. Again a PhD. Running his own company. 

Jagger was so immersed in his thoughts that he lost the count of time. He opened his eyes when he saw his assistant knocking on the door. 

"Sir, Mr. Thomas is here". He said and Jagger straightened up in his chair, waving his hand to let them in. 

"Hello Cole''. The man entered. He was an epitome of beauty. Pale white skin with silk black hair. Thick eyebrows covering his sharp intelligent eyes, that could be cold enough to burn others with ice. His smile was warm adorning his red luscious lips. Only if Jagger wasn't interested in boyfriends and relationships, he would have courted him long ago. 

There was a boy behind him. He was not more than 18-19 years old. Maybe a student. He was actually Thomason’s patient but he had to go to the states, so he asked Jagger to take care of him. 

Jagger observed the boy who made himself comfortable on the chair near Jagger's working table. Seems like he was so used to it. 

"Hello Thomas. Good to see you. Hello young man". Jagger observed him who shook hands with him with a courteous nod but his eyes... There was a mystery. Or pain. Or hate. He couldn't say anything. 

"Ashwin". He just said one word. 

Before they could proceed, the assistant knocked again to serve some snacks and juices.

"Jagger. I am in a hurry. I have to leave. But Ashwin will surely cooperate with you. I believe you have read all the details. From his childhood till now. My assessments. Our sessions. Everything is mentioned. Anything you want to ask"? Thomas explained taking a sip while Ashwin was looking around the office. He was unbothered and nonchalant as if doing everything automatically. 

"What triggers him"? Jagger just asked one thing. Ashwin looked at him for once and then back to office staring. 

Thomas sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"To be honest. I don't know. As you know, it happened just once in my session and that escalated quickly because I was too shocked to react. I couldn't find anything from his father too regarding his issue". Thomas told and Jagger instantly caught how Ashwin went rigid at the mention of his dad. 

"Ah, about his dad? Will he come"? Jagger asked again just to observe and he was right. There was something off between the son and the father. 

"Are we done Dr. Thomas"? He directly asked Thomas glaring at Jagger. 

"Uhmm. Well. It’s up to Mr. Cole if he wants to have a word with you? How about an introductory session"? Thomas held his shoulder gently. 

Ashwin sighed in disapproval but he sat back again. 

"Okay. I am leaving then. Good luck". Thomas stood up waving a bye hug to Jagger and patting Ashwin's shoulders, who seemed uneasy. 

"Believe me Ashwin. No one can do it better than Jagger. You may take time but you can trust him to open up to him. I will take care of everything". Thomas smiled his warm smile and left the office. 

Ashwin turned to Jagger, looking at him with judging eyes. It was clearly stated that he is not interested in any session. But there was a mystery to be solved. 

Why his father does needs him to go for psychotherapy?

What happened that this 19 years old boy is so fed-up of living?

Why are his eyes so blank?

And this was something Jagger had to resolve. But first he had to break down the walls surrounding the boy.  

Usually his clients were not that difficult. Divorces, broken marriages, cheatings. Lies. Crying woman, frustrated men. But this kid. Yes. He was a kid. A kid encaged in a big body. And Jagger had to pull him through. 

"Soccer or basketball"? Jagger asked and Ashwin looked at him. There was a hint of surprise for a while before they turned blank again.

"Actually my brother is good with soccer. And his boyfriend and I, we have an upper hand in basketball. How about a friendly match"? Jagger offered and Ashwin thought for a while. 

He looked at his wrist watch. 

"In a hurry"? Jagger asked again but he shook his head. 

"Not that anyone is waiting for me to go back. So where do we play, Dr. Cole". Ashwin said with a raised eye brow and for the first time he saw Jagger smiling. 

"I am 29. Am okay if you call me Jagger. I don’t go for DR honorific. And for the game, we have the backyard arranged as sports court. As I said my brother and his boyfriend love to play. So finish the snacks and juice and then we can go". Jagger stood up removing his coat and hanged it on the coat hanger neatly. 

Ashwin was just taking in his moves sipping the juice while Jagger was tiding up the table off his files and enjoying his juice too. 

They heard a loud honk. 

"The wolf is here". Jagger said and Ashwin looked at his with anticipated eyes. 

"Wolf "? He asked and Jagger chuckled. 

"Oh not WOLF, wolf. My brother. He is an engineer. His gang had Wolf slogan. So we call him Wolf. And his boyfriend. The Moon. He was the moon of his faculty". Jagger explained and Ashwin lowered his head in embarrassment. 

"Come. Let’s meet the Wolf and The Moon". He ruffled his hair. Folding his shirt sleeves neatly. Popping two buttons of his shirt open. 

"You are handsome, Dr. Jagger". Ashwin blurted out, out of blue and Jagger stopped in his tracks. 

"You think so"? He winked and this time Ashwin was flustered. He hurriedly finished his juice and walked ahead Jagger followed by a laugh. 

*************

"Master Jagger, Master Noah has arrived with Master Ford". One of the house maids announced as Jagger entered the lounge with Ashwin walking a little behind him. He was kind of confused. The Mansion was huge. Marvelous. It spoke of money, decoration and comfort. 

He was in awe. It was impressive. The lounge was in white and black theme. There was a huge chandelier hanging in the middle of the ceiling illuminating sparkles in the place. 

He was nervous. Jagger felt a tug at his shirt. He turned back to look at him. His eyes were nervous. He was biting his lips. 

"Nothing to be conscious about. Usually, it’s me and my brother at home. But on weekends we have his boyfriend too. 

I guess it would be better to get used to each other. This way we can interact better. What do you say? Do you want to be my friend"? Jagger turned to him offering his palm. Ashwin was just looking to and fro between his open palm and his face. Looking for anything suspicious. But didnt find any. He only saw a warm smile in those chocolate orbs. 

On the note, he forgot he was dealing with a professional Psychiatrist. 

He was about to close his palm nervously but he heard a loud laughter. More like a Wolf bark. 

Jagger was right. Noah was surely a wolf. 

"Hey bro. Free early"? He came and hugged him tightly, followed by another man. He was bit taller than both Jagger and Noah. But he was gorgeous. 

"Hi there". Jagger returned the hug warmly.

"Owh. Who do we have here? Isn’t he a Cutie"? Ford saw a boy hiding behind the broad back of Jagger and there Noah noticed too, who was apparently still so immersed in the beauty of his handsome boyfriend. 

"Ohh. He is Ashwin. We just met today in our first session. Ashwin, he is Noah. The Wolf of Automobile engineering. He may look cool but let me tell you he is the bad ass". Jagger introduced them with a wink and Noah rolled his eyes. 

"For god sake Jagger. Don’t introduce me like this. The kid will be scared". He scoffed and Jagger laughed watching them shaking hand.

Noah may look stiff, but he was a puppy for those he loved. He was warm like a bear. Caring and possessive like a Wolf. Protective and brave.

"And he is the Moon of Medicine. Means he is the doctor. A successful Heart Surgeon Dr. Ford William. You can call them Noah and Ford or anything that suits". Jagger turned to Ford and he smiled looking at the cute boy. 

"Hey Ashwin. Good to see you. You know, so far you are the first one to enter the lounge with Jagger". Ford said and they all cooed looking at Ashwin who was beet red due to blushing so hard. 

He was never the center of attention. Even in University that he was newly admitted in Sports Major, he used to stay alone. No friend no siblings. 

"Hey stop you both. Don’t make him uneasy. Actually Ashwin is Soccer player. He plays basketball too. So I was waiting for both of you for a friendly match. Then we can have dinner. What say"? Jagger said. 

"Dinner. Out? Your treat"? Noah said with twinkling eyes. 

Jagger smacked his head. 

"Losers will treat. And that excludes Ashwin. It’s his first match with us. Done"? Jagger held his palm and they all cheered. 

"Give us ten minutes to change. We will be back". Ford said going upstairs. Yes. He was staying in Noah's bedroom. And why not??? 

"Phew Ashwin. I guess we have to play alone". Jagger faked a sigh. 

"Wh... Why?? Did I do something wro ...wrong"? Ashwin was stuttering and it clicked Jagger. He looked at him with curious eyes. 

Ashwin stuttered when he was blamed or if he felt guilty. He made a mental note. Even Noah and Ford were confused. 

"Oh no Ashwin. I said because they both won’t come out of their bedroom for next one hour. You know boyfriend business. So". Jagger winked teasing Noah and Ford but Ashwin didn’t get the joke. 

"Wait you don’t have any girlfriend or boyfriend"? Jagger asked in surprise and Ashwin blushed again. They all laughed watching a shy smile on his face. 

"Okay okay lets go. Let’s have a match". Noah held Ashwin's hand. "Me and Ashwin. You and Ford. Okay"? He led Ashwin to the back yard while Ford saw Jagger smiling. 

"Someone falling". He bumped Jagger's shoulder who playfully hit him. 

*********

Jagger, Noah and Ford had same university. Same session. Just different majors. 

It was the freshmen year when they all heard about the campus moon thing. And for the first time in the history, there were two moons. Since Noah and Ford won equal votes they both were titled as the moons of their faculties.  

But since Noah had the Wolf gang, he would like to be addressed as Wolf. And Ford was carrying the title of Moon. 

They were not friends in the first place. Competing in everything, they were the rivals. 

Only if one day Ford had not met an accident. 

It was late when he finished a lab session. He was going to his car. Tired and hungry. He only wanted to grab something quick and sleep...

There was a group of students who were targeting him for long. And he was constantly ignoring their requests for FRIENDSHIP. He knew they had bad intentions. And he avoided them always. But this time. He was stuck. Badly. There was almost dark in the parking lot where he had parked his car. 

Although tired he managed to knock out 3 goons but they were outnumbered. 2 boys held his arms pinning him to his car. While their leader was trying to assault him. He was trying to resist and fight back but the leader of the gang choked his neck with one hand. 

As Ford lost his strength to fight back he was pulled by his hair and forcefully slammed him in his car back facing him. He was trying to unbuckle his pants when the parking lot roared with heavy bikes. 

The group divided to fight who ever tried to disturb their leader's fun time. But they all lost the fight as they saw the angry wolf gang. 

Noah felt his blood boiled looking at the deshelved condition of Ford. His boys from engineering were informed by few medical students about a fight at the parking lot and now they all made sure to knock everyone out while Noah rushed to Ford who was slumped on the ground. 

He was crying. His shirt was torn. His face had bruises. His lips were bleeding. His pants were almost unzipped. 

Noah quickly fixed his dress hiding him in his chest. He was boiling with rage. It was good that his boys had already beaten the pulp of the other gang; still he didnt forgot to hit the unconscious men on their faces. 

He signaled his boys to take him to the dungeons while he tossed his bike keys to one of his friends to take care of his bike. He held his palm for Ford to hand him the keys. 

He didn’t know where his dorm was so he took almost an unconscious Ford to his apartment. He didnt live in the dorm, instead he had his own apartment...

By the time he settled him in the bed, Ford had gained his conscious back. He was still under the impact of the incident. He was scratching his face where the leader of the gang tried to kiss him. His lips were bleeding even more as he was biting them hard. He was trying to clean himself. He felt thousands of ants crawling under his skin. 

It was like he didn’t recognize Noah. He was screaming and yelling as Noah tried to calm him. He scooted at the corner of the bed seeking forgiveness and pleads to leave him. 

Not knowing anything, Noah dialed Jagger who was currently studying psychology. He rushed to Noah's apartment and his heart ached looking at Ford. Even if not so close, he had always appreciated the doctor to be Ford William. He was perfect. His uniform, his grades. Looking at him like this was a heart ache. 

Jagger calmed himself first because he was about to burst in tears too. He asked Noah to bring in food and water. 

"Ford. It’s me Jagger. Look at me. I won’t hurt you. I won’t touch you. Look at me". Jagger sat beside him maintaining a safe distance. He held his hands up to show he wasn’t there to hurt him. He could relate to his situation. He knew being close to him could trigger him. 

Noah returned after a while and Jagger told him to sit at a distance.

"Ford. Here. Water". He held the glass to Ford who looked at him with scared eyes. 

"We will not hurt you. He is Noah. Remember. The moon from engineering. You are safe. No one gonna hurt you. I promise". Jagger was just talking. Even if Ford was just looking at him with blank eyes. Not replying. Still he kept the conversation. He knew Ford was traumatized. He would need some time. And space…

"Have some water. Look Noah has brought dinner too. We are hungry. You must be hungry too. Right"? Jagger said bringing the glass to his hands and this time Ford responded. 

He looked at the glass and then Jagger. And then Noah. And he was trembling again. He was crying again. Jagger motioned Noah to come close to him carefully. 

Noah slowly stood by his side holding his hands and next moment Ford was crying hiding his face in his stomach. 

Jagger sighed in relief. These tears would help him to heal. He wasn’t hurting himself physically. Noah was just ruffling his hair racking his fingers. Waiting for him to calm down. 

After a while, Jagger handed him the water and he drank in one go. He was exhausted. Mentally and physically. 

Noah brought his first aid kit and sat beside him while Jagger left to arrange the dinner. 

Noah was tenderly attending the wounds. The bruises. He applied ointment and held him to the dining table. 

Jagger smiled warmly looking at Ford. 

"Come have dinner. Then you can rest". He said. 

"I... I don’t want to go to my apartment. They... They will come back". Few more tears slipped passed his swollen eyes. 

"Stay here. With Noah. You are safe here". Jagger said holding his hands. 

"Here". 

"Yes. Stay with me. Although those bastards will never be able to even look at you. Still. Stay here". Noah assured. 

"But …" 

"Look you can wear my clothes. We can stop by your apartment tomorrow and get your accessories. Okay"? Noah said and this time Ford nodded. He was scared to be alone. 

"Okay now let’s eat. I am hungry guys. And I have to finish a report too". Jagger whined and they chuckled. Noah was just looking at the chuckling Ford and he felt his heart skipped a beat. 

*************

Since then Noah and Ford were inseparable. They moved in together as it was convenient to leave and come back together. With their busy schedules they would usually be free together or else they would wait. 

Ford's family lived in another city; he would spend his free time at Noah's place with Jagger. They would play games. Go outing. Hiking. Or sometimes Jagger would discuss his course cases with Ford. 

"Noah". Ford was out of city to attend a family function and Noah was with Jagger. Sulking pouting and sighing very five seconds. 

Jagger called him because Noah was apparently watching TV but Jagger was sure he was missing Ford. 

"Hmmm". Noah replied. 

"You are missing Ford". Jagger said sitting beside him. 

Noah was about to retort when Jagger raised his finger.  Noah looked at him for a while and then sighed again. He leaned into Jagger's shoulder. 

"Why don’t you call him"? Jagger said racking his dark hairs. 

"I did. He said he will call back tomorrow. He is busy". Noah replied pouting. Jagger smiled at his brother. They were age fellows but it didn’t hurt to be pampered sometimes. Right. 

"You like him"! Jagger said. And yes it was a statement.  Noah looked above his lashes. He was shocked to listen to what Jagger was saying. Or maybe he didn’t want it to be said out loud. 

"Why are you so surprised? It’s so obvious Noah". Jagger said with a chuckle but it didn’t amuse Noah. 

"Look Noah. It’s okay if you like him more than a friend. I am not objecting to it anyway. But better to clear things with him. I have seen people while case studying; neglecting the voice of your heart will only cause pain. And regrets. So grab your chance while you have. 

Talk to him. Talk about your feelings. It’s been 3 years already since freshmen. Ask him. Propose him to be your boyfriend. You guys are already living in together. He is like another brother to me. So why not"? Jagger told holding his hands. 

He could see Noah was uncertain. Scared maybe. 

"What if... What if he rejected? I am scared of the rejection Jagger". Noah said pulling his own hair. 

"And for that fear you will never admit. Right"? They both heard a voice behind them and Jagger smiled. 

Noah snapped his head. He was looking at a tired Ford standing in the lounge with his luggage. Maybe he was tired of the 7 hours journey or the delay from Noah. 

"Stupid. Here my parents were trying to arrange a marriage for me. And you are having cold feet. You idiot. You stupid. You still don’t know that I love you too. From the day we met at moon competition. Don’t you think I don't know that the 99 flowers were from a stupid named Noah? 

I am living with you practically. I stay here at your place instead of going at my home on off days. And still you are afraid that I would not accept. I think I should propose Jagger. At least he is expressive and courageous than you". Ford was frustrated. He was surely scared when he found out about his wedding. He packed his bags and drove back to Noah. And here he had to listen to all this shit from Noah. 

"Also. Who says you are a wolf. You are a mouse. Brave huh. Brave my ass".  He stomped his feet to go back but he was just spun and encaged. 

"I am sorry, Ford. Am so sorry. I love you too. It’s been long enough that I forgot since when. Please don’t go. Don’t leave me. I may be stupid idiot, but I am your stupid. I cannot live without you. I am sorry Ford". Noah held him tight letting all the fears drop in the tears. 

"Wow wow wow. How lonely I feel". Jagger said with fake hurt expressions perfectly breaking the moment. 

"Fuck off Jagger". Noah said holding his giant crying baby making him blush. 

Jagger laughed out. 

"Well. I am happy for you. Welcome to the family Ford". Jagger sincerely hugged him.  

"Now since you both have the company and I don’t have to see a POUTING WOLF. Ewwww. I got to finish a lab report. See you around guys". With that Jagger left to view one of his lab reports.