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 Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 8:33 pm
Caspian put a hand to his chest in mock outrage.
"Michael Gallo, I would never lie to you," he said airily. "I may have omitted some things, and I may have stretched the truth a little thin, but I never outright lied to you, mister."
He was fighting a smile, even as Michael kept ahold of him, preventing him from going far away. The boxcar was large, but it was wonderfully private; the only people around were themselves and they were safe here, secluded away in this little haven of protection and warmth and love. It was a wonderful, blissful feeling; nothing would harm them here, Caspian was determined this time.
They would rewrite the devastating memories of last time with much, much better ones.
"You do realize Peter would say that we're the reason he can't have nice things," Caspian said, brows raising, but his eyes fell shut as Michael drew him close to kiss him again, Caspian pushing up onto his tiptoes once more, fingers curling in the front of Michael's shirt and holding on. He was slightly breathless by the time Michael pulled back, little bubbles of laughter escaping at teh kisses to his face.
"I did," he said, "And by made, I mean, I bought it. It's steak and mashed potatoes and green beans from the steakhouse downtown. And yes, there's champagne, no strawberries, but there might be some chocolate."
He turned his face, Caspian pressing a gentle kiss to what he could reach, which was the side of Michael's neck, happiness fluttering in his stomach.
"I love you," he said softly. "Forever. You know that, right?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 9:54 pm
”Right, right,” Michael mumbled incredulously as he fought and failed to keep a smile held back, Caspian’s promise that he’d never lied to him amusing him for some reason. Not that he expected Caspian to outright lie to him, at least not without good reason, but it was probably the way he denied it that made him want to laugh.
“Peter will get over it,” he grunted, trying not to roll his eyes at the thought of his brother, because he was sure Peter would fuss about one thing or another, no matter what.
The little bubbles of laughter making him want more, but he pulled back enough so that Caspian could kiss him in return, tiling his head to give him more access to his neck.
This was more than he could have ever wanted, more than he could have ever imagined. Each day with Caspian showing him more and more how much he needed Caspian in his life. He didn’t even know if Caspian realized just how important and wonderful he was to him, and how he’d saved him from giving up on everything, but he was sure Caspian had an idea.
“How the hell did you get champagne?” he couldn’t help but laugh. “Did you take it from the house?” he teased, knowing very well that Caspian was still about a month shy of being able to purchase alcohol on his own. “I hope it was the good stuff you grabbed. I set that aside for tonight, anyway.”
Michael’s smile brightened, his heart feeling light as he gazed down at his fiance. Sometimes it was still difficult to believe that he deserved this; this patience and understanding and love, but he did. Caspian made sure he knew that, just as Caspian deserved to be loved.
“I do know,” he said, tempted to lean down and kiss Caspian again, but he also didn’t want to make Caspian’s efforts go to waste, especially if he had food set up for them. “Alright, what can I do to help? Or is everything already set up?” he asked, forcing himself to look away from Caspian to the table. “This place looks amazing. We’ll have to make sure it’s locked up so no one else ruins it.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 2:55 pm
Honestly, he could have stood there and kissed Michael forever, because Michael was here, and he was alive and well and shining right in front of him. Caspian pressed another warm, slightly lingering kiss to his fiance's neck, snuggling closer, and inhaled deeply, simply breathing in the reality of him, as though he wanted to imprint the memory and the shape of him into his mind.
"If you really want to know," said Caspian, with a heavy sigh, as though giving away a huge secret. "I have a fake ID. And before you say anything about that, I've had one since I was sixteen, and I turn twenty-one soon anyway, so you can stop with the concerned face right there, Michael John Gallo."
He reached up a hand and patted Michael's face affectionately, Caspian's expression teasing even as he slid his hands down Michael's chest and let them fall away. One reached over and threaded his fingers through Michael's, giving his hand a little squeeze before letting go, Caspian padding across the carpeted floor and flinging himself down onto a pile of cushions beside the low table.
"Everything's all set up, so get over here and sit down," he said airily, gesturing at the pile of pillows opposite. "And I've already put locks on the doors, I thought about seeing if there was a way to move it closer to us, but I'm not actually sure it's possible..."
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 6:55 pm
Michael felt the color pale from his face at the thought of Caspian having a fake ID since he was sixteen. Even though he was warned to not be overly concerned, he couldn’t help it. Caspian was completely and utterly reckless, and the idea that he was doing who knew what at such a young age was enough to make Michael’s heart race.
What other questionable things had Caspian done? And it wasn’t as though he’d ever… really… talked about what Caspian had experienced before. Just that he had a girlfriend and he’d never gone all the way with a guy before. But the thought of him having a fake ID made Michael eye his fiance curiously, not because he was worried about any past relationships that Caspian had, but what trouble had he gotten himself into that could have affected him?
Maybe he was just being paranoid, and he kept his mouth shut as Caspian pulled away to sit down on the pillows. Michael looked down at the ones Caspian gestured to, and scowled lightly at them. He moved forward and kicked at the pillows, pushing them with his foot until they weren’t across from Caspian, but adjacent to him.
“Sorry to ruin your plans,” he said as he made himself comfortable on the pillows on the side of the table next to Caspian, pulling his place setting and glass closer, leaning his elbow on the table, his chin in his hand as he stared at his fiance.
“What other secrets are you hiding from me?” he asked, waiting to see what Caspian would do. “The fake ID, this place… is there anything else I should know?” He hoped Caspian could see his expression wasn’t angry or upset, just… curious and somewhat uneasy. He was just worried that Caspian was going to get himself into trouble, or had gotten himself into trouble in the past.
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 10:12 pm
He knew exactly what Michael was thinking, Caspian giving his fiance a pointed look. A hand stretched up, and he patted Michael's cheek gently, pressing his black painted fingers against the stubbled jaw with affection in his touch and in his gaze.
"Don't make that face, handsome," said Caspian. "Let's eat."
He was grinning up at Michael as the other came towards him, that disgruntled expression making him amused as the pillows and cushions were kicked into a better place. Caspian let Michael get comfortable, and then shifted a little closer so that their legs were touching, Caspian reaching for his own glass of wine.
"What do you, mean 'what secrets?' " He said with a laugh, and took a small sip. It was red, a good vintage, even if he wasn't usually a wine drinker. This stuff tasted good; he'd done well with his choice, Caspian glancing over the top of his glass at Michael, eyes crinkled in pleasure.
"I dunno. You tell me," said Caspian teasingly. He set his glass down and reached for his knife and fork, beginning to carefully saw his way through the steak, cutting it into smaller pieces.
He waited until Michael was occupied with taking a drink of his wine, and then said casually, "I got arrested when I was seventeen."
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Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 11:48 pm
As much as he loved Caspian, Michael was sure that he would be the reason he was sent to an early grave. For all of Caspian’s vivacious nature, Michael worried that it would get him into more trouble than it was worth. But right now Caspian was there beside him, sharing a nice meal and wine with him and Michael had to admit that his heart felt lighter and more at ease than it had in a long time. Probably more than it ever had before.
The setting was peaceful, and they were somewhere uniquely important to the both of them. And this time if anything were to happen, Michael already planned on just taking Caspian to Sessrumnir and stay there for however long they needed.
“Don’t be cute, you know exactly what I mean,” he said with a frown, although his expression still wasn’t irritated or anything like that, he was just worried. He settled closer to Caspian, content with their legs touching, getting comfortable enough to even kick off his shoes because who needed them when they were already seated on the floor? Habit had him giving the wine glass a swirl, before leaning close to breathe in the smell of it, and then finally tilted it to sip.
And then nearly spit it out when Caspian decided then to tell him that he’d been arrested.
“You did that on purpose,” he frowned, looking himself over to make sure he didn’t get wine all over his white shirt. “What do you mean you got arrested? What were the charges?” he asked, knowing that his fussing was probably annoying, and he knew that Caspian was less likely to tell him things if he fussed about it.
“I’m - not mad,” he said through gritted teeth, and it was true that he wasn’t, but troubled blue eyes searched Caspian’s face to make sure he was okay. “Are you okay?” he figured he might as well ask, setting his wine down so he could give his fiance all his attention.
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Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2017 12:22 pm
Caspian was very innocently cutting up his steak into smaller pieces, even as Michael was choking on his wine. It took a lot of effort not to smile, and Caspian failed at that almost immediately, because yes, he had done that on purpose just to see his fiance's reaction.
"Did not," he said, failing to sound innocent, Caspian reaching for the bottle of A1 sauce. "And it wasn't anything serious, don't worry. I can see your worry in your eyes," he added, gesturing at Michael's face with a pointed expression on his own. "Don't play that game, mister."
Uncapping the bottle, Caspian poured a generous helping of sauce onto his plate, then set it back down, close to where Michael would be able to grab it if needed. Then he plucked up the salt and pepper, also adding liberal amounts to everything on his plate before he decided he'd drawn it out long enough.
"I'm totally fine," he said, fork and knife in hand. "It was just trespassing; I was with some friends somewhere we shouldn't have been, cops threw us all in the back of a car, and voila, at the station. Mom was like, livid when she came and found us all there."
Zoe had shouted herself hoarse, Caspian remembered, and then given him a good thwack on the back of the head before dragging him back home. It hadn't been one of his proudest moments, probably, but it wasn't actually a terrible one. Caspian could think of too many terrible things already.
"There's nothing on my record, just a warning," said Caspian, putting a piece of steak into his mouth and chewing slowly. "You're still making that face, y'know."
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Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2017 7:46 pm
Don’t worry, he said. Michael didn’t think it was possible not to worry. Caspian was his fiancé and someone he cared for more than life itself, so he thought it was perfectly acceptable for him to worry, even if what he was worrying about was a while ago.
“Good,” he grumbled when Caspian admitted that his mother was livid, as she should be. But he was also relieved that it wasn’t anything more than that, most importantly that Caspian was okay. It really was probably pointless to worry about it, but Michael was good with worrying.
“I’m not making a face,” he grumbled through gritted teeth as he stared down at his plate, finally picking up his own fork and knife to cut a small piece of the steak, and then stab at it a little more ferociously than necessary.
“Is there anything else I should know about?” he prompted, glancing warily up from his food so he could look Caspian in the eye, knowing that he was one to talk, what with his own secrets and history that he didn’t like talking about, some things much more recent than others. Actually, that would probably be bad to get onto the topic of himself, so Michael shook his head as if that would cancel out his question.
“Nevermind. We can talk about it later. Let’s just have dinner,” he suggested instead, making sure to stuff his face with enough food so that he had an excuse not to respond for a little while. Besides, he didn’t want to ruin their night any more than he almost already had. After everything Caspian had gone through for them, he wanted to enjoy it.
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Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 7:22 am
He knew saying don't worry to Michael was the equivalent of saying the cows will fly tonight - but he said it anyway, because it was Caspian, and he really didn't want Michael to have to worry. Especially with a record that wasn't even really a record.
Caspian lifted a hand and placed it again Michael's cheek, grinning.
"You are too making a face," he said, voice teasing. He leaned over and pecked a quick kiss to his fiance's jaw before leaning back, going back to his food. "It's a nice face though, even if I know what it means. As for anything else you should know about that, there's nothing else to it."
Youthful indiscretions, the police had said sternly, which had been followed by a very firm don't do it again.
Which he hadn't. Much. Other than a few times.
Caspian glanced at Michael's steak. "Does it taste all right? I got you medium rare, since that sounded about right, it's only been sitting for a few minutes before we got here."
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Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 12:49 pm
He still watched Caspian with a wary expression, even as he lifted his wine to take another sip. The hand on his face was somewhat reassuring, even if he knew there was no way he wouldn’t worry. And he knew Caspian knew that too.
“Yeah it’s good,” he said with a nod as he went back to eating his dinner, his lips twitching at the corners because of course Caspian would know how he liked his food. “You know me so well,” he said somewhat teasing, and then let out a long suffered sigh, setting his fork and knife down and after one more gulp of his wine, he pushed himself up from where he was sitting and onto his knees, but moved far enough so he could reach out and take the utensils out from Caspian’s hands and set them on the table.
He pushed at Caspian’s shoulders, making sure there was a pillow behind him before his back could hit the floor, but still sliding his hand behind Caspian’s head anyway. Dinner was only about halfway eaten, but he’d already made Caspian talk about things that admittedly weren’t the most romantic topics.
“I’m sorry,” Michael mumbled as he leaned over his fiancé and showered his face with soft kisses. “You did all this and I’m being a grump about things. I’m sorry. You’re amazing. Dinner is amazing. What you did to this place is amazing.” Sometimes he hated worrying as much as he did, but he swore he couldn’t help it.
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Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 6:21 pm
Caspian made a noise of abject protest when his fork and knife was taken - the steak was delicious, after all - but then there were hands gently pushing him down, and Caspian fell back into the heap of pillows with a soft squeak of mingled surprise and amusement.
The kisses were all very much appreciated, Caspian laughing into them, feeling the warmth, the giddy, heady pleasure of Michael's unbelievable nearness and simple existence wash over him as he slid his hands up to rest on Michael's sides, curling into the jacket. He smiled up at him, shifting his head so that he could look up at his face more properly.
A snort escaped him; he couldn't help it.
"You wouldn't be you if you didn't worry," said Caspian, but his voice was affectionate. His hands came up, fingers taking hold of the lapels of Michael's suit and tugging him down a little more so that he could press a gentle kiss to Michael's cheek before leaning back again.
"I love you," he said softly. "This is my Valentine's to you, okay? And my promise that I'm going to marry you."
Another kiss, to the other cheek.
"I love you."
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Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 5:55 pm
Michael let out a breath of a laugh in response to Caspian’s comment about him and his worrying, smiling down at him as hands reached up to take hold of his jacket and pull him down to kiss his cheeks.
“I love you too, Cas,” he mumbled back, and then lowered his forehead to rest against Caspian’s, letting his eyes slip shut as he soaked in the closeness and warmth of everything Caspian was. “I’ll remember next time to not try to surprise you in such a jerkish way,” he promised. He should have known better, but he never claimed he was the nicest person. It was only Caspian who got to constantly see his softer side that he did his best to hide from everyone else.
“How do you feel about just staying here tonight? My surprise can wait until tomorrow. We can play hooky and not bother going to work or classes,” he half teased, not really wanting to be a bad influence, but also wanting to spend as much time with Caspian as possible.
“We can go to that diner again in the morning,” he suggested, his eyes shining with amusement as he opened them again, and leaned close to steal a quick kiss.
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Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2017 7:12 pm
Caspian eased out a breath as Michael's forehead came to rest on his, a small laugh escaping him. A part of him wanted to close his eyes as well, but the stronger part of him kept them open so that he could just look; so that he could trace the lines of Michael's face, letting his gaze flicker across the strong, stubbled jaw, the faint lines, indicators of his age, and the sweep of dark hair across his forehead. He still looked young, even if he thought otherwise.
"You can surprise me in other ways," said Caspian, fighting a smile. "I'm sure you could think of something."
Or several somethings. His eyes lit up at the prospect of staying the night, though they fluttered shut a moment later as Michael bent to kiss him, Caspian letting himself sink into it, all warmth and softness and a tenderness that left him breathless with wonder and affection.
"I'd be okay with staying here tonight," he said softly, as Michael drew back. One of Caspian's hands untangled itself from Michael's lapel and lifted to rest on Michael's brow, sweeping a few strands of mahogany from his temple.
"This is our special place, anyway."
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Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 3:26 pm
It was almost hard to believe that less than a year ago he and Caspian ended up stuck in that same boxcar during a storm. It was even more difficult to believe that it was the night they’d spent together after their argument, and the following morning, that very possibly was the turning point to their relationship. Up until then, Michael was still adamant about closing everyone out of his life, especially Caspian whom he barely even knew. But he’d promised to try, and slowly, over the course of several months, he found himself slowly falling in love.
And it wasn’t until the night that they returned to the boxcar, several months later, that Michael even realized it. He’d fallen for Caspian and his stubbornness and kindness and patience and everything that made him who he was. It was that same night where they’d both almost died; Michael without his starseed, returned only for Caspian to almost die in his arms from injuries.
All of it was overwhelming and horrible and wonderful at once. Michael smiled brightly when Caspian agreed that he wouldn’t mind staying there that night. They weren’t perfect, but even Michael knew that they were very good together. Even after stupid attempts at surprises and pretending to be upset and all of that, they still needed each other.
“I love you, Caspian,” Michael murmured as he leaned close to press another kiss to his lips, speaking against his mouth. “For always.”
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