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 Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 11:59 am
Beginning of September 2016
After a heartfelt and emotional night and following morning of Caspian being sick with a summer fever, Michael Gallo and Caspian Lyons decided to officially go out together.
Yes, despite the fact that Michael had never ever expected himself in a position where he would be anyone’s significant other or what have you, he had more than willingly agreed to being Caspian’s boyfriend. It was terrifying and exciting at the same time, and while Michael was sure that he was not going to be very good at it, he was at least willing to try.
It was difficult to leave Caspian that day, but when he finally did, Michael was sure to collect a decent pile of Caspian’s clothing that he wouldn’t miss to bring back home to his place. That way they wouldn’t have to worry about being stuck borrowing someone else’s clothes, or walking around without any clothes, despite the fact that it probably wouldn’t bother either of them.
In the following days, Michael brought over a small pile of his own clothes, and returned, as promised, the sweatshirt that Caspian had taken home with him after the night he’d been attacked by the mysterious Captain and left for dead. He knew that Caspian liked the sweatshirt, and it was a strangely pleasant feeling to know that Caspian had kept the sweatshirt instead of just getting rid of it.
Now, going out to dinner together wasn’t really new, since Michael had already suggested making it a weekly thing, but this was the first time Michael had ever gone out to dinner as a boyfriend, and he wanted to make sure everything was okay.
“It’s not that fancy,” he’d promised when he suggested them going out to get sushi that night when he and Caspian were talking on the phone that morning. “I’ll pick you up around seven?”
Michael’s version of not that fancy was a pair of khakis and a white button down shirt. He didn’t bother with a tie, but wore a navy sports blazer. He still sported scruffy, but trimmed, facial hair, and his hair had been trimmed that morning as well, but only the sides and back, leaving the strands on the top to continue to grow some more.
He’d parked his car outside Caspian’s house, rang the doorbell, and slipped his hands back into the pockets of his pants. It was about quarter til seven, so he was a little early and wouldn’t blame Caspian for not being ready, but he couldn’t help but want to see him. —————— He still couldn’t really believe it.
Caspian had tried his hardest not to overthink things, but that was impossible when all he could think about was Michael. It was exhilarating in a way he wasn’t familiar with; he’d certainly never been this excited and terrified when he’d been with his high school girlfriend, which now seemed so far away in comparison. He’d also tried to be calm around Cassie, because he still hadn’t told her yet, but that would come later, when he was more secure in things.
Right now, all he wanted was more of this fragile relationship that meant so much to him.
It’s not that fancy, Michael had said, but Caspian was still tossing clothing here and there in an attempt at figuring out what to wear. For someone who was used to dressing however he pleased, he wanted to actually make an attempt this time at looking...well, less outrageous, especially if they were going somewhere nicer. Several of his shirts now lay on the floor in a heap, and pants were draped over the bed and chair.
He was just finishing everything up when the knock came at the door, and Caspian promptly almost dropped the bottle of cologne he’d been examining and on the verge of discarding in favor of none at all. He fumbled, then set it down carefully on the desk, glanced at himself in the mirror, and took a deep breath.
It’s just a date. Relax.
A date. A date with Michael Gallo, because even if they had said it’s just dinner, it was still a date.
Caspian almost tripped going down the stairs and trying to tug on a shoe at the same time, but eventually made it without any accidents. He stumbled to the door and flung it open, slightly out of breath.
"Hi, sorry,” he said breathlessly. “I was still getting dressed.”
He was not staring, he was not. Michael in his clean cut clothes and his swooping hair and his scruff made Caspian slightly dry mouthed even as he tried to finish buttoning up his shirt. He himself was wearing a pair of black pants and a blue dress shirt patterned with little yellow stars. His nails were painted the same dark blue as his shirt, and there were still a jangle of multicolored bracelets at his wrist, Caspian smiling up at Michael.
“Hi,” he said again, sounding happy. “You look really great.”—————— Michael was a little concerned as he heard the commotion from the other side of the door, and he was tempted to try and open the door on his own, if only to make sure Caspian didn’t need any help. His worrying was calmed not too long after when the door finally opened and Caspian was looking up at him, bright eyed and looking happy, if not a little out of breath.
“Hi. Sorry, I know I’m early. Do you need more time?” he asked, but still leaned down to press a quick kiss to Caspian’s lips. A small laugh escaped when he was told he looked nice, straightening back up with a shake of his head.
“This is just what I wear to work,” he said as he looked Caspian over with a smile, “You look good, too.” Which was probably safer than saying something like adorable or cute because he didn’t want to offend Caspian with words that he might consider to be more of the youthful side of compliments. That didn’t change the fact that he happened to think Caspian was quite charming with all his stars and multicolored bracelets and the hidden color of hair below the darker layer.
“The reservation isn’t until seven thirty, so we’ve still got plenty of time. It’ll probably take about ten minutes to get there. Really, if you need more time, that’s fine,” he insisted. “I just wanted to see you.” The admission was a little hesitant, thinking it probably sounded kind of silly, but it was the truth. He’d been wanting to see Caspian all day. A phone call wasn’t always enough. —————— ”No, no,” said Caspian quickly, as he fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, bracelets jangling. “I’m just about ready to go, I just need to grab my keys and s**t.”
The quick kiss made him stupidly happy because in spite of the fact that it was just a simple, brief thing, it was just so very….couple-ish that it brought a wide smile to Caspian’s face that he tried to hide, clearing his throat as he took a step back to let Michael in.
“Well, I’m sure your students get a nice glance at Mr. Gallo,” said Caspian teasingly. There was a mirror in the hallway hanging above the table where he kept his keys and wallet, and he stood in front of it now, trying to make sure that his collar was lying flat and there weren’t any obvious wrinkles anywhere there shouldn’t be. He sort of felt like a kid trying on clothes a little too adult for them, Caspian tugging worriedly at the sleeves of his shirt and trying not to overthink it.
Relax, he told himself, relax.
The gentle, tentative admission made his expression - and his heart - soften, Caspian turning around. He stopped messing with his clothes and reached up to rest his hands on Michael’s shoulders, twining hands around the back of his neck and linking his fingers together.
“I wanted to see you too,” he said softly, eyes alight with pleasure. “And you really do look very nice.”—————— When the door was opened for him, he stepped inside, closing it behind him so the hot air from outside didn’t seep in too much. He watched as Caspian fussed over his shirt in the mirror, finding it, like almost everything Caspian did, rather endearing. Michael happened to think that Caspian looked just fine, but he could understand why Caspian felt the need to fuss.
His smile widened a little as Caspian turned to lift his hands up to his shoulders and then slid them around to the back of his neck, his own hands reaching up to take hold of Caspian’s waist to keep him from losing his balance. Michael liked seeing Caspian so happy. He liked it a lot. It made him feel at least a little like he was doing something right.
“Thank you,” he said in response to the compliment, not wanting Caspian to think that he didn’t appreciate it. “You really look nice, too. I like the stars. Reminds me of someone I met once. He spray painted a wall with a moon and stars and then followed me around for a while. I told him he’d never see me again, and I’d never see him,” Michael reminisced, glancing curiously up at the ceiling as if something interesting would suddenly show up if he looked long enough, but really he was purposefully avoiding Caspian’s eyes so he wouldn’t be tempted to smile.
“I wonder what happened to him. Probably got arrested since he had no one looking out for him.”
Oddly enough, his own comment made his heart twist with needless anxiety, because what would have happened if he’d never run into Caspian, or Remus, again? He certainly wouldn’t be standing there, with his arms around Caspian’s waist. He wouldn’t be anyone’s boyfriend, that was for sure.
Michael realized that the smile he’d been trying to fight back had completely dissipated into a small frown instead, and he glanced down at Caspian, stared at him for a long moment, and then leaned closer to press a kiss against his forehead.
“Sorry, that wasn’t…” he tried to quickly explain, and shook his head when he couldn’t figure out what he wanted to say. He just knew he didn’t want to ruin the relatively good mood they’d both been in with his stupid comments. —————— He let out a laugh, unable to help himself. “That someone sounds like a totally interesting person,” said Caspian, in a would-be casual voice. “I don’t think he got arrested, I think he ran into some badass teacher with a liking for motorcycles and decided to stick with him or something.”
He gave a shrug of his shoulders as though to say who knows? but caught the frown on Michael’s face. Caspian’s stomach gave a little flutter of anxiety, and his hands slid down to rest on Michael’s upper arms so that he wouldn’t have to strain quite so much up onto his tiptoes in order to reach his neck. He wasn’t sure what was causing the look on Michael’s face, but it made him a little nervous.
“Hey,” he said, giving his arms a squeeze. “You okay? Don’t worry, we both know I wasn’t arrested. A really great guy came across and stopped me from going too far with what I was doing, so I’m okay.”
He smiled up at Michael, Caspian smoothing fingers up and down Michael’s arms.
“And right now those two someones get to go out and eat good food,” he said lightly, a note of teasing in his voice. “And one of those someones thinks the other someone is pretty damn awesome and he also looks absurdly hot in his nice teacher getup.”
He reached a hand up, fingers fluttering at the neckline of Michael’s shirt, resting on the buttons there, Caspian smiling still.
“Plus, you know,” he added, with a look from under his lashes. It was both mischievous and a little shy all at the same time. “I think the first someone would be pretty happy if the other spent more time with him.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 12:01 pm
The smiles Caspian offered and his hands moving up and down Michael’s arms seemed to settle him somewhat. He knew it was pretty stupid to suddenly feel anxious over things that had happened in the past, but everything could have been so different had something happened and their paths never crossed again.
What Michael thought bothered him the most was that he’d already been completely resigned to the fact that he would never see Caspian again after that night. Why would he think they would cross paths again?
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he insisted, showing Caspian a small smile in reassurance. “I don’t know what really great guy you’re talking about, but yeah, I know you weren’t arrested,” he said, removing one of his hands from Caspian’s waist so he could lift it up and take hold of the hand that rested on the buttons near his neck.
He took hold of Caspian’s hand and pulled it away from his shirt, but only so he could lift it up and press a kiss against it. The anxiety still twisted in his stomach, but he was able to overlook it somewhat for now.
“You just love making me sound like some amazing person. I still don’t understand what I did for you to think that way,” he said and let out a small, exasperated breath, but kept hold of Caspian’s hand as he lowered his back down to his side. Michael tried to ignore the heat that lightly flushed his cheeks, and gave Caspian’s hand a squeeze instead.
“Let’s go get that food, okay? And I’m sure if that’s what would make you happy, then he wouldn’t want to let you down,” he said, making sure Caspian was able to grab his keys and whatever else he needed, but reached for the door to open it. “Ready?” —————— He snorted a little. “Oh, please,” said Caspian airily. “There’s definitely a great guy standing right in front of me, and he definitely needs to look at himself and realize just what a great guy he is. Besides,” he added, lips curving up into a slightly shy smile. “I really...really like that guy, just so you know.”
His lashes fluttered as Michael kissed his fingers, his heartbeat almost erratic. Caspian laughed again, reaching out with his free hand to snag his wallet and keys and stuff them somewhat unceremoniously into his pockets, refusing to let go of Michael’s just yet. It was such a silly, simple thing, holding hands, but it was endlessly warm and wonderful and just so simple a pleasure.
“I don’t need to make you sound like an amazing person, you do that yourself by just being yourself,” said Caspian as they stepped down the front steps. “I mean, it’s only natural. I’m pretty badass, so of course I’d need someone else badass to be my boyfriend.”
He was grinning, even if inwardly he was stupidly thrilled just by saying the word aloud. Caspian threaded their fingers together palm to palm and squeezed.
“So where are we going again?”—————— Despite the look of exasperation Michael gave Caspian, he couldn’t really bring himself to say anything that would counter him. He still didn’t get it, but if Caspian was happy, then that was all that mattered.
Michael waited until Caspian had the door shut and locked behind him before making their way down towards his car. His free hand reached out to open the door, only letting go of Caspian’s hand for him to sit in the front passenger seat.
“Sushi,” he said simply, his smile slowly coming back the more Caspian smiled. It was infectious. Even if he wanted to stay miserable, he doubted he could last for very long. It was one of the things he liked about Caspian.
The door was shut once Caspian was settled, and Michael went around to the driver’s side to get in and start the car. As all the times before, there was no music playing, but that would just be distracting if they were planning on talking.
“Your definition of ‘badass’ is a little skewed, you know,” he shook his head, glancing over at Caspian once they were on the road to their destination. “Some might prefer the term ‘reckless’... which you definitely are, by the way. In case you didn’t already know that,” Michael thought it important to point out.
He paused for a few moments and shook his head. “I don’t think badass is the right word. Maybe something like… silly, or amiable, or warm hearted,” he said, reaching over with his right hand to tap the back of his knuckles against Caspian’s leg to make sure he knew he was just messing with him. —————— He turned his head to give Michael a mock outraged look as they began to drive, as though he’d just been mortally wounded, a hand pressed to his chest.
“My definitions are straight out of Merriam-Webster, I’ll have you know,” Caspian said airily. “And reckless is just a figure of speech, you know.”
He felt Michael tapping against his leg and grinned over at him, reaching to snag his hand. “Okay, now whose definition is a little skewed?” Caspian asked pointedly, threading his fingers through Michael’s just so he could have the simple, sweet privilege of holding Michael’s hand. “I am totally a badass, like, for real.”
But he was also messing with him, because he felt lightheaded and dizzy with happiness. It was stupid, maybe, or even childish to get excited over such silly things - but Caspian was too thrilled to consider anything else at the moment, and it was a very liberating, open feeling that he wanted to bask in for as long as he could.
A date. He was going on a date with Michael Gallo. It was almost surreal, and yet they were in the car and his hand was holding Michael’s, and they were going on a date.
“So,” said Caspian, “Did you...ever talk to Peter?”
His cheeks flushed a little, even as he was trying to keep his voice casual.
“About, uh. Things? I mean?”—————— Michael snorted in amusement, unable to stop himself. “Reckless is not just a figure of speech,” he countered with a shake of his head, although his voice was rather light. “Alright, your majesty, if you say you’re a badass then okay. You’re a badass.” It was silly, but he liked the joking quality in Caspian’s voice, and allowed him to take hold of his hand, squeezing Caspian’s hand lightly in return.
The question about talking to Peter had him tensing somewhat, and his thoughts immediately shifted, which he was sure Caspian didn’t intend, and a quick glance in his direction had him realizing he was talking about the other night.
“Oh,” he said, his eyes back on the road, although the tension in his shoulders seemed to fade a little when he saw the flush in Caspian’s cheeks. “Sort of? I asked him not to say anything yet. He seemed pretty okay with that.”
Of course, Peter also demanded payment for his silence, to which Michael would rather not admit to agreeing to. There were already plenty of things Peter had over Michael’s head to blackmail him with. What was one more? Oh, right… an increase on what he was paid. Brat kid.
“He said something about being fifteen and not five, and then reminded me how to close doors properly,” Michael explained with a small shrug. —————— ”Thank you,” Caspian said airily, giving a little bow of his head, as though accepting Michael’s explanation. “I can share my badassery with you too, don’t worry,” he added, grinning over at Michael.
He wasn’t sure why he was nervous about what conversation might have been had with Peter. It was not that Caspian didn’t like Peter - in fact, he actually kind of did, even if Peter had a tendency to be obnoxious and a strong - too strong - penchant for showing up at exactly the most inopportune moments. But Peter had also been the one to try and contact Caspian when Michael had gone missing, because he’d known Caspian would worry.
“Fine, next time we’ll shut the door,” Caspian mumbled, rolling his eyes. He absently drew circles along the back of Michael’s hand with his thumb, toying with his other fingers with his free hand, not quite aware of what he was doing. Simple, idle gestures just for something to do.
“Do you think he...cares?” he asked cautiously, Caspian frowning slightly. “About...about us, I mean? I know he cares about you a lot, and you kinda...look after each other and such. I don’t know if that extends to...me. Or not. Or whatever.”
It wasn’t about to stop him from dating Michael, but it would at least be easier if Peter actually supported them or if he just thought it was weird.
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Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 12:04 pm
Michael shook his head, unable to hide the exasperated look at Caspian talking about being a badass and sharing that with Michael. Of course, he was also unable to hide the small grin that was tugging at his lips in response.
He held his hand as still as he could for Caspian to run his fingers along, enjoying the gentle sensation. Even if it was something done absently, Michael thought it was very like Caspian; the gentle touches and desire to be close. It made it feel as though nothing had really changed. And yet everything had changed, but not really. If anything, Michael felt as though they’d become a little closer to each other, which was something that both made him happy and scared him, because he didn’t want to mess up what fragile thing they had.
“Who knows what Peter thinks,” Michael commented with a shake of his head, although he knew the reason that Caspian asked was because he was probably worried. Peter was Michael’s brother and housemate, so a lot of what Michael did would affect Peter and vice versa.
“He asked about you after you were hurt,” he said, eyes on the road but glad that they were almost at the restaurant so they could continue their conversation where Michael could see Caspian’s expression better. “And…” he hesitated, not really sure how it would sound to Caspian, but figured he would want to know since he asked. “After you left when I came home after running away, he told me not to hurt you again… that I’ll regret it if I do… because you’re good for me…”
There was another pause and small shrug. “But Peter tends to exaggerate,” he quickly explained, hoping all of that wasn’t too much for Caspian. He was also wondering when his brother had matured as much as he had. With all his childish tendencies, Peter was pretty wise for his age. Sometimes. Other times he was still rather obnoxious.
“But to answer your question… yes and no… I think he cares a lot, but also doesn’t care, if that makes sense?” Michael tried to explain, although he was sure he wasn’t giving his brother enough credit.
“Anyway,” he quickly cleared his throat, “We’re here.”
It was valet service, since in the city it was just easier that way. He’d pulled the car up to the entrance of the restaurant, and gently untangled his hand from Caspian’s so they could get out of the car. After passing the keys off to someone to park for him, he turned to make sure Caspian was on his way to follow him.
“Reservation for Gallo,” he said to the hostess at the front door as she bowed to them in greeting, and then directed them towards a table for two in a quiet corner. The restaurant itself had a traditional, yet somewhat modern Japanese vibe. It was definitely Americanized in some aspects, but it seemed as though they tried to keep as many traditional elements as possible. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, but the lights were dimmed and a floating candle helped to set the mood.
Michael waited until Caspian picked his seat before sitting down as well, folding his arms over the edge of the table so he could lean a little closer. “Doing okay so far?” he asked, hoping Caspian wasn’t getting too overwhelmed by anything, or if Michael was doing anything wrong yet. —————— He couldn’t help the slight quirk of his lips up into a smile at the idea of Peter asking about him, Caspian’s eyes on Michael’s hand as he smoothed fingers along the back of it. He wanted to make a teasing comment about how Peter really did care after all, but was stopped as Michael continued, his heart in his throat.
So Peter had actually told Michael that Caspian was good for him after telling Caspian that he shouldn’t get his hopes up and shouldn’t expect anything. Caspian wasn’t sure how he felt about that; grateful, to some degree, and pleased that he was considered a good influence - but also vaguely concerned about it, because what had made Peter change his mind? Not that it mattered a great deal, but it was a curiosity that was unexpected.
“It makes sense,” Caspian said, even if parts of it didn’t. He lifted Michael’s hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it, smiling over at him. “So I’ve got approval from little brother, that’s good.”
Now it was just a matter of approval of the rest of the family, although Caspian wasn’t about to broadcast things, either to his own family or to Michael’s. He liked having the privacy at the moment, whether selfish or otherwise; a part of him knew, however, that it was because it was still such a fragile thing that he was afraid too much stress would break it - and this was the very last thing that he wanted.
So he kept it quiet, for now, and that was just fine with him.
The restaurant was a pleasant, dimly lit place that had a glow of warmth and intimacy about it while still remaining open and welcoming. Caspian looked around with wide-eyed interest, following after Michael to their assigned table.
“A reservation and everything,” he said as they took their seats, Caspian’s face alight with pleasure. He grinned across the table at Michael, looking relaxed and comfortable.
“Doing great, mister,” he said with a laugh. “This place is great. Got any recommendations?” he added, as he picked up the menu to leaf through it, choices popping out here and there.—————— "What, you think we were just going to randomly show up to a popular place during dinner rush and cross our fingers that we'd get a table?" Michael asked with a small laugh and shook his head in amusement, although he hoped that Caspian wouldn't be insulted by his teasing. Caspian seemed to be enjoying himself so far, which was good. He'd hoped that he would like at least the atmosphere.
Michael let out another small laugh, his eyes bright, when Caspian asked about recommendations he might have. "Sushi," he repeated what he said before they got into the car. In fact, he went as far as to reach over and gently pull the menu out of Caspian's hands and set it face down on the table.
"You'll ruin the experience if you think about it too much," he explained. "Next time we can sit up at the bar and see what's being made and talk to the chef, but for now I thought it would be better like this." That way Caspian was hopefully not as overwhelmed by everything and they could focus on actually talking instead of just the experience, especially with this new level of their relationship.
Even as he was speaking, their server approached with chalices of water, small cups and a pot of green tea, and hot towels for them to clean their hands. Michael took his first to make sure Caspian could follow his lead if he wanted. Once he was finished, he folded the towel back up to place on the tray it came from.
After he quietly placed an order with their server and gave back their menus, Michael turned back to Caspian with a pleased, somewhat cheeky grin. Even though he'd never been in an actual relationship, he wanted to at least try and make some kind of effort. This is what people did, right?
"Alright," he started, not wanting any confusion or concern from Caspian to linger. "What are your plans for the weekend?" —————— Caspian made a face at Michael. “I didn’t know you were going to bring me here, now did I? You could have brought me to some hole in the wall for sushi, so don’t give me that, Michael Gallo.”
He was grinning, however, unable to hide his pleasure. At the table, his gaze sweeping across the menu, he tried to figure out what there was to eat amongst the dozens of different choices - too many choices, in fact, though Caspian was somewhat saved the trouble of choosing by Michael plucking the menu out of his hands.
“Hey,” protested Caspian, but he relented, lifting up both hands in a gesture of submission before folding them together in his lap, squirming a little. “Okay, fine, I’ll trust you to make sure I get good sushi,” he said with a laugh as the server appeared. Caspian accepted the cloth and everything else with a certain amount of hesitation, watching Michael out of the corner of his eye as he wiped his hands with the cloth before settling down.
And now Michael was grinning at him as the server departed, Caspian giving him a vaguely suspicious look. He gave a shrug of his shoulders.
“Not sure yet,” he said lightly, reaching for his cup of green tea and gently swirling it around, peering curiously into the cup. “It’s too hot to stay outside for too long, but I thought maybe I’d go to the shore and play some volleyball, or maybe board a bit, if I can. The summer season for my team is mostly over, we just have a few games left, but there’s no practice this weekend. I also thought I might see what my boyfriend was doing,” he added nonchalantly, getting a stupid little thrill from just saying the word.
Caspian took a small sip of tea, and said, “What about you? Anything exciting?”—————— There was a part of Michael that wondered if he should be enjoying this as much as he was. Should he be this happy to be around Caspian and spending time with him, or was he just over exaggerating things because this was the first time he’d been in a relationship that lasted more than a night? He felt a strange little thrill and fluttering in his stomach that he couldn’t explain. Maybe it was just boyish infatuation, but there was also that voice in the back of his head telling him that, no, it wasn’t.
“I’m just trying to keep you on your toes,” Michael said with a small shrug in response to Caspian’s comment about where Michael had brought him. “I wouldn’t want you to get bored, because then why would you want to be around me?” he laughed softly to cover up the very real fear that Caspian would probably get bored of him before Michael would get bored of Caspian. Michael wasn’t exactly the most interesting or entertaining person.
“You’ll get good sushi, I promise,” he said, picking up his own cup of tea to sip, still somewhat amused by the suspicious expression Caspian was giving him, although he really had nothing to be suspicious about.
Michael lifted his eyes to meet Caspian’s when he casually mentioned seeing what his boyfriend was doing, a grin fighting to take over Michael’s face. Caspian was charming, that was for sure. Michael was being drawn in by his teasing and jokes, enchanted by his smiles and laughter, and his heart was attaching to those quiet moments they shared together when all the jokes and laughing was placed aside for something just as meaningful, but deeper and more raw, rarely seen emotion.
“What would you know,” he said, still fighting a grin. “I was going to see what my boyfriend was doing. Maybe I’ll go to the shore and play some volleyball with him, or watch him board a bit.” —————— Caspian, who had been looking down at his teacup with curiosity, now looked up at Michael, his expression absurdly fond in spite of the lightheartedness in which the comment had been spoken in the first place.
“I could never get bored of you,” he said quietly, and his cheeks were flushed a little, but he was smiling, Caspian leaning back in his chair, his hands still wrapped around his cup to imbibe some of the warmth of the drink into his palms. “Besides, there are a myriad of other reasons why I wouldn’t get bored of you, especially considering your entirely charming family,” he deadpanned, grinning across at Michael.
But truth be told, he couldn’t think of getting bored of Michael anytime soon. There was still so much to learn about him, so much to do with him, so much more time that Caspian wanted to spend with him. From the start, he’d been curious, and that curiosity had only grown now into something deeper and more meaningful, something that drew Caspian in more and more each day.
And now he got to see that mischievous look in Michael’s eyes, the way his gaze had lit up and the way he was clearly fighting a smile, Caspian’s stomach fluttering with pleasure. He gave a noncommittal shrug, still feigning as much nonchalance as he could, but it was difficult now, when he kept fighting smiles of his own.
“I think if said boyfriend was to arrive at the shore, or go boarding with him, there would be no objections,” said Caspian, lifting his teacup again, and over the rim, his eyes were glinting with amusement. “In fact, I’m pretty sure that he’d be pretty...damn happy if said boyfriend did exactly that.”
It was a silly game they were playing, but it was filled with so much playfulness and affectionate banter that Caspian could hardly play along; he felt light and happy with it all, his fingers itching to reach across the table to take Michael’s, but not quite knowing how to initiate that without being awkward.
He settled for toying with his chopsticks instead for the time being. “Tell me something about yourself. Something random.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 12:11 pm
While his initial reaction was laugh off Caspian’s comment about never getting bored of him, the look in Caspian’s eyes had him holding back. He was sure that at some point Caspian would get bored of him, but the way he claimed he could never made Michael’s chest constrict a little.
“Yeah, well… you’ve only met one from my family, which is probably a good thing,” he added with a small grimace. “Peter is bad enough to deal with.” It was said lightly, because despite saying things like that, Michael really was fond of his siblings. “Maybe one day you’ll meet the others,” he shrugged lightly, swirling the liquid in his cup with one hand.
“I think,” he started, just as amused as before. “If my boyfriend didn’t decide what he wanted to do, it would be pretty counterproductive if I ended up at the shore, and he stayed home to board,” Michael said, lifting his eyes as if to suggest Caspian should decide. “Or maybe he’ll just call me once he does decide,” he said with a small shrug.
Michael snorted softly when Caspian asked him to say something random about himself. “I’m left handed,” he said with a shrug, lifting the cup he was holding in, believe it or not, his left hand. “You probably already figured that out, though,” he said with a small shake of his head for not being very good at the game.
“What about you?” he asked, but was interrupted by the arrival of their food.
It was a decently sized tray of various types of sushi, and at least two of each so they wouldn’t have to fight over any particular one. The fish types ranged from smoked salmon to yellowtail to eel, and everything in between. Naturally, it was all artfully arranged with plenty of ginger and wasabi if wanted on the side, and tiny plate-like bowls were available for soy sauce as well.
“Usually the chef will pick the best fish of the night, so I normally just let them decide,” Michael explained, setting his cup of tea down and picking up his chopsticks to poke at some of the ginger. “It’s a lot more fun to sit right in front of them, but this works too, right?” —————— There was a small pause and then Caspian said, in a tone of deliberate casualness, “I, uh. Two, actually.”
He gave Michael a slightly apologetic look. “When you went...uh, away for that weekend, I was at your place looking for you and your other brother, Chris, he was there too, with Peter.”
Caspian shook his head, grimacing slightly. “I didn’t really talk to him that much, but I was there when I asked him to send you notes to your knight form. I think he probably thought I was a little weird, or maybe just a little kid, or something, but he seemed kinda nice.”
Truth be told, Caspian didn’t even remember much about the third brother, mostly because he’d been so worried about Michael at the time. He gave a small laugh and added quickly, “But, uh...I think that going to the beach would be really great, especially if...certain people decided they wanted to come along.”
He felt like he was fumbling a bit, Caspian lifting his gaze to meet Michael’s, his cheeks pink. He did, however, snort a little at the fact given.
“That’s cheating,” he pointed out, raising his eyebrows. “I already knew you were left handed, you gotta tell me something I don’t know. As for myself…”
He didn’t get a chance to answer, the food arriving before he could. A tray of delicious looking sushi was suddenly in front of Caspian’s eyes, and he stared in awe at them all, his expression wide-eyed with pleasure and curiosity. The smell of it wafted up to him, practically making his mouth water.
“This is amazing,” he said, and grinned at Michael. “I’ll just...pick one at random.”
He plucked up his chopsticks, debated for a few seconds, then chose one that had avocados in it, setting it onto his little plate in front of him. After a second, he decided one more, with little red things on top, and set it next to the first, reaching for the soy sauce and looking very pleased with himself.
“I actually liked going to school,” said Caspian, continuing in the conversation as though it hadn’t stopped. “I mean, I like going to school. Maybe not the people, but I like learning new things.”—————— Michael stared at Caspian for a few moments, trying to recall if Peter mentioned anything about Chris being there at the same time as Caspian. “I didn’t even know he was home. It always seems like he’s traveling,” Michael admitted, feeling a little guilty that both of his brothers were there to look for him. He talked to Chris on the phone, of course, but he never mentioned meeting Caspian. Probably because he knew Michael would mention something if he wanted, and at the time Michael just wanted to go back to being normal.
“I doubt Chris thought of you as a kid. He was pretty eager to grow out of being called a kid, himself,” Michael shared, although he didn’t know how much better that would make Caspian feel. He wanted to mention how he hadn’t met anyone in Caspian’s family yet, but that seemed to be a little too much. Caspian would introduce him when he was ready, and there was no point into rushing things.
He looked up at Caspian, frowning just slightly at him as if deciding something, and then glanced back down to the tray of sushi laid out in front of them. “I’ll drive,” he offered. “It’s a little late to get my sailboat out and ready, so I hope you don’t mind just going to the beach,” he said. Well, Caspian had mentioned the beach, so that was kind of silly for Michael to mention his boat. It was a thought that made him grimace for sounding kind of lame. Clearly he liked his boat.
Glad that Caspian seemed to be enjoying the different options he had in front of him in terms of food, Michael picked a white colored fish laid over rice to eat first.
The comment about school and liking to learn things, but not the people, concerned him for the few moments as he chewed and swallowed, eyeing Caspian curiously. “Rough time at school?” he guessed softly, knowing that Caspian said before that he didn’t have many people he would consider friends, but nothing about the details.
And, to follow through with something random about himself, Michael shrugged lightly, “Sometimes I regret I ever went into the Navy. It was a lot to try and live up to and I feel kind of burnt out after everything.” —————— Caspian winced a little, wondering if he should have said anything at all. “Peter said something about...calling Chris because he wasn’t going to talk to your parents or whatnot,” he said, tapping a finger against his water glass. “And then he called me because...well…”
Caspian’s cheeks flushed, turning his head slightly to try and avert his blushing from view, though this seemed impossible under the circumstances. “...because he knew how much I’d worry otherwise,” he mumbled, then cleared his throat, attempting to sound like he hadn’t already wanted Michael back then; how he hadn’t already started to like him more than he should. He wondered, vaguely, if Peter had already known this fact or if he’d just thought them friends before that afternoon caught in Michael’s bed.
He couldn’t think about that either. The blush on his face deepened, and Caspian gave a delicate little cough as though attempting to act normal.
“I’d love to go out on your boat again sometime,” he said with a smile. “But the beach is fine for now.”
Maybe next time they could spend another night out there, out under the stars, engulfed in inky darkness and the scent of the ocean, just the two of them. Caspian would have rather thought about that then his school associates, but he was the one who had brought it up, and being honest was important.
He gave a self-conscious little shrug, popping a bite of sushi in his mouth. “I don’t really talk to anyone at the university,” Caspian admitted, chewing and swallowing. “I know I should, but...after my other school days, I just sorta...keep myself separate.”
He found he liked the avocado ones a great deal, but the red one was also delicious, Caspian scouring the sushi tray again for his next choice, glancing over at Michael.
He had not expected that. Considering that Michael almost never spoke of his time in the navy, it was unexpected and almost startling, but Caspian reigned it in, pulling a few more pieces of sushi onto his plate and debating which one to try first.
“Do you have to live up to it, though?” he asked, hoping the question wasn’t too intrusive. “I mean...expectations kinda suck, that’s a lot of pressure on you.”—————— Michael stared at Caspian for a little longer, but eventually lowered his eyes back to the sushi in front of them, leaning one arm against the table as if subconsciously trying to be closer to Caspian. Or maybe it was just easier to talk to him this way.
“Probably a wise choice, calling Chris,” he said, keeping his eyes lowered for Caspian’s benefit since it seemed as though he didn’t want Michael to see the flush that took over his face, or maybe the expression in his eyes. He wanted Caspian to be comfortable around him, and while he did enjoy how Caspian’s face looked when it was flushed, he also didn’t want him to actually be embarrassed or upset about something.
“I’m sorry I worried you,” he added, chancing a glance up at Caspian. He knew he’d apologized many times already, but he still felt bad about what happened. So far he seemed to have everything back under control, at least. A few more nightmares than usual, and sometimes a horrible sense of anxiety… but that wasn’t happening right now, so he could easily pretend that it never happened.
“Of course we can go out on my boat again. I’d be upset if we didn’t,” he half joked, but glad that they were deciding to go to the beach. “Maybe we can plan a trip sometime. Maybe next summer. I don’t think Azure’s spring break and DCU’s spring break line up. I could be wrong,” he suggested with a casual shrug, hoping Caspian wouldn’t be weirded out by the thought of making plans so far in advance.
Michael glanced up again in concern when Caspian admitted to not really talking to anyone. “Cas…” he started, and opened his mouth to try and maybe say how he should try to talk to people and make friends, but he was sure Caspian knew very well that he should. Clearly something was preventing him.
He frowned, hesitating for a few long moments, and then drew in a breath. “‘I’m not going to spend every second of every day constantly looking over my shoulder,’” he recited, pulling the memory to the forefront of his mind and hoping he was at least close, if not verbatim. “‘I’ll do what I can to be strong, but I’m not going to let those assholes control my life.’”
Another hesitation, and Michael glanced back down at the tray between them, his chopsticks poking at a loose piece of rice. “Or something like that, right?” He let a sigh out through his nose and shook his head. “If you want to talk about it, you know I’ll listen.” It was the least he could do. And hopefully Caspian would realize that Michael would not only do his best to listen, but try his best to remember, too.
“It was my own fault. I went into it knowing that I had a lot to live up to. It doesn’t help that I look almost exactly like my father. I got a lot of ‘hey, you’re Gallo’s kid’ or ‘aren’t you the Admiral’s son?’. I knew I would going into it, but it starts to define you after a while…” —————— He waved his hand at Michael. “It’s fine,” he said, “Really. You, uh. Made it up to me.”
In more ways than one. Caspian was now blushing hard and latched eagerly onto the topic of summer. “Yeah, DCU’s spring break is a few weeks before Azure’s, I think,” he said with a slight frown of concentration. If he had been startled at the idea of planning something for a year later, he didn’t show it, Caspian tapping his chopsticks against his chin thoughtfully. “We can take the boat out and have a little trip, it’ll be great.”
He had never talked to anyone about what had happened during school, not even Cassie. Caspian had never thought it would make a difference, so he’d kept it to himself, although he was relatively certain that his sister suspected anyway, even though he hadn’t said anything. They were twins, after all; she knew how to read him better than anyone, save for the man sitting across from him.
Caspian toyed with his sushi, bracing himself for possibly a sentiment about go and make friends - except it didn’t come. What he got instead was Michael’s low, gentle voice, quiet and reassuring - and remembering, apparently, what Caspian had said. His head jerked up, his eyes widening, lips parting in surprise, and for a few seconds he stared at Michael, completely taken aback.
“...I said that to you,” he said, after a moment. “When I first met you - well, as a civilian. You...remember that?”
He hadn’t thought Michael remembered anything, considering he’d considered Caspian just a troublemaking kid at the time not worth the attention. Caspian looked down at his plate again, his hand resting on the table, chopsticks resting poised over his plate, though he’d paused in his eating, listening silently to Michael before glancing up at him again.
“...I’ve never met your father,” he said, finally reaching for another piece of sushi. “But having met your brothers, I know you’re not them, and they’re not you, so if we’re going by those standards...then I think you’re just fine like you are, you’re not your father, so you don’t need to try to be him.”
Caspian ate a bite of sushi, chewed for a moment, and then said quietly, “I didn’t have any friends in school growing up because they all thought I was too girlish, so I learned to keep my distance from people.”
His eyes flickered to Michael, a softly affectionate look in his eyes as he said, “Well. Most people.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 12:14 pm
Michael could tell by Caspian’s voice that he was blushing again. It was tighter than normal, and slightly higher pitched. He kept his eyes lowered to give Caspian the time he needed to compose himself, doing his best to not make a big deal about it. Michael just hoped it wasn’t anything bad that he was blushing about.
He could hear the surprise in Caspian’s voice when he recognized his own words he’d said to Michael. Of course, that had been about youma and negaverse officers, but he thought that it still applied to this situation, maybe.
”I have a good memory…” he said simply, taking another piece of sushi to eat, and glancing up to get a peek at Caspian’s expression. He hoped it wasn’t too weird that he remembered something from that time. He remembered a lot of things; it was a blessing and a curse.
Michael could appreciate what Caspian was saying to him. Yes, Caspian had met his brothers; the golden boy and the audacious trouble maker. Michael felt like a shadow, and maybe that was what he was.
“I tried very hard not to be him and to be my own person. He’s a good man, and I love and respect him, but everyone looked at me like I was supposed to emulate him, or got preferential treatment because I was his son. Some of the other crewmen tried very hard to get me to slip up and fight back, even if it was only to defend myself. Any need for discipline within three years would mean I would lose my eligibility for merit and the three years would have to start over. They wanted to see me fail,” he explained, but knew he was being vague. He didn’t want to throw everything on Caspian all at once, especially since he probably hadn’t planned on such a heavy conversation for dinner.
Caspian’s comments about being too girlish for people made him frown, and he reached out across the table with his right arm held with his palm up, clearly with the intention for Caspian to take hold of it with his left hand. Michael’s eyes met Caspian’s, but unlike the warmth from Caspian’s eyes, Michael’s was a bit more determined and resolved.
“This probably sounds like a shitty thing to say, but I’m glad. If you hadn’t been treated poorly and kept your distance from others, then maybe I would have never met you, or maybe you would have already found someone to make you happy,” he said, really hoping he wasn’t saying anything that would screw up their evening, but he wanted to be as honest as he could with Caspian.
“I’m happy to have met you, Cas. And there’s nothing I would want to change about you. Except maybe the way you think about yourself,” he half joked, if only to try and keep the mood somewhat light, but also because it was true.
“What the hell did people think was girlish about you?” he finally couldn’t resist asking any more, and scowled as the questions left his mouth, unable to keep up his attempt at a lighter mood. “Your hair? Your clothes? This is why I hate kids… they’re all a bunch of assholes.” —————— The idea of people making life purposefully difficult for Michael just because of a stupid reason of being his father’s son made Caspian scowl as he ate another piece of sushi. People were just as stupid as he believed them to be; trying to get someone to screw up so they could watch another person fail was pathetic and petty in more than one way.
“People are idiots,” Caspian said, sounding disgusted. “Anyone who decides to just set things up to laugh as other people fail is a moron. Not to mention failing is a part of life,” he added, with a small snort. “It’s just a matter of how we deal with failings, everyone messes up now and then, anyone who doesn’t is either lying or a robot.”
He stabbed a piece of sushi unnecessarily hard. The table was small enough that Michael’s gesture of extending his hand was hardly able to be missed, Caspian staring at it, then up at Michael, his face flushed. After a second, he tentatively reached over and took ahold of it, fingers lacing together as he tangled them with Michael’s. It sent a little jolt through him, Caspian swallowing hard.
It wasn’t exactly shitty, Caspian decided, his eyes flickering to meet Michael’s. Different, yes, and certainly unexpected, but coming from Michael...no, it wasn’t shitty.
“...I’m glad I met you too,” he mumbled, his blush growing. “I...I didn’t think that you would ever…”
He trailed off, giving a shake of his head, Caspian’s fingers curling a little more securely around Michael’s. A wan smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he exhaled a breath.
“My hair,” he said, with a little self-conscious shrug. “My nails. My clothes too. And...the fact that I kissed other boys,” he added, biting his lip a little, toying with the chopsticks in his free hand. “All of that apparently amounted to being too girly for the rest of them to handle, even the girls thought I was weird, so I just...kept my distance from them all.”
Caspian shrugged again, trying to pass it off as nothing big. “It just seemed easier not to let myself get invested.”—————— While Michael tended to agree with what Caspian was saying, he lowered his eyes so that he couldn’t meet Caspian’s. Failing was a part of life, but he didn’t handle failing very well. Not when the stakes were high and lives were involved.
So instead of looking up at Caspian’s face, he focused instead on the hand that cautiously reached out to take hold of his own, fingers laced together. There were a lot of things he was unsure of; he didn’t know if he was going to fail at this boyfriend thing, or if he would fail in being a good friend, or fail Caspian in countless other ways. He didn’t like not knowing. Stepping into this relationship thing with Caspian was terrifying, and he realized he needed the touch of Caspian’s hand for himself as much as he was offering it as comfort for Caspian.
I...I didn’t think that you would ever…
What? What didn’t he think?
Michael’s eyes lifted to meet Caspian’s for a few brief moments, before Caspian went on to explain what it was about himself that other people didn’t like. Even though he knew it was very common for people to be complete assholes to each other, he thought that at least he wasn’t so much of an a*****e to ever be one over how people looked. How they acted, sure, but how they looked wasn’t hurting anyone.
He thought about trying to say something reassuring, maybe to tell Caspian that they weren’t worth worrying about, but he knew that saying something like that would be pointless. Caspian probably knew all of that already, but it had been so ingrained into him that he couldn’t help it.
“You were naive and idealistic,” Michael said softly as he pushed some of the ginger around with his chopsticks. “You trusted the wrong people and in the end you were really alone.” Despite continuing their conversation, it wasn’t completely clear who Michael was talking about. The assumption could definitely be made for Caspian, or people in general, but a light squeeze of his fingers laced with Caspian’s suggested he was offering an assessment of himself as well.
“It’s easier to keep your distance and push people away, isn’t it?” Michael mumbled, and then shook his head. “I like your hair and nails and clothes. There’s nothing wrong with that, or with being girlish…” he said, and then paused, looking up at Caspian again. “How would you like for people to see you? Because I just see you as Caspian.”—————— It felt both natural and unusual at the same time, holding Michael’s hand. On one side of things, Caspian thought he could get used to this, something as simple as holding hands. It felt warm and pleasant and so achingly familiar; if he shifted his fingers away from Michael’s, he would be able to feel the pulse at his wrist, though for now he kept them where they were, laced with Michael’s.
But it also felt unusual and, confusingly, unfamiliar at the same time, because Caspian was not used to this affection. He was not used to the sensation of having someone - having a boyfriend - like Michael, on whom to rely. He had held hands with his high school girlfriend, certainly, but there had been no sense of warmth or reassurance; it was just a requirement of dating, something he did because it was expected of him. But Michael reached out to him because he cared, and it was frightening and exhilarating all at once.
Caspian felt the light squeeze of Michael’s hand that accompanied his words, and did not know whether they were directed at him, or if Michael was talking about himself. Something in his tone of voice was an indication of the latter, but it was at least part of the former as well - maybe it was both.
You trusted the wrong people and in the end you were really alone.
His fingers instinctively curled tighter around Michael’s, Caspian staring at his plate. He didn’t know what he expected people to see when they looked at him; had always just assumed that they’d be the same as everyone else, as the ones in elementary school who had pretended to be his friends all the way through middle school, and then the ugly truth was out - though Caspian thought that, somewhere inside, he had suspected this, even if he hadn’t wanted to admit it.
It was why it was so hard to believe Michael now, when he said he wanted Caspian; why he had such trouble accepting his feelings, why it was so painful sometimes to learn the fact that he was trying, truly, to be a good man for Caspian.
Because who would? said the nasty voice in his head. Who would do that for you?
Caspian gave a small shrug of his shoulders, laughing a little, though it was slightly forced and a little weak sounding. “I dunno, I guess,” he said truthfully. “Not...this, maybe. Something else.”
His eyes traced the blue nail polish, the colorful bracelets, the tiny star ring that was on left pinky.
“Do you really not care that I look like this?”—————— There was something that he was missing. Something that was eating at Caspian that he could see in his expression and hear in his voice; feel in the way his fingers were tense, twined with his own. Was it something that he said? Something that shifted Caspian’s thoughts. Michael wondered if he should regret talking about himself, since it wasn’t anything exciting or even anything good.
Michael felt as though he was frozen, any movement threatening to break the delicate string wound between them, each word and motion taunt, even though outwardly that was not the case. Caspian was there in front of him, telling him things about himself that he was sure not very many others have heard, if anyone else at all.
He opened his mouth to respond, but hesitated and shut it again. Something he couldn’t quite decipher was in Caspian’s eyes. Shame? In himself perhaps? Definitely caution and hesitance. Michael thought he could understand why, and he didn’t want to push Caspian into any certain way of thinking about himself. Healing didn’t work like that. He would know. He was only just starting to heal with Caspian’s help, whether either of them knew it or not.
“Have I ever said anything negative about how you look?” he asked quietly, not wanting to just say ‘no’ because that didn’t mean anything. Just because he said something didn’t mean he had any proof. But, unless his good memory was failing him, he could not recall ever making any comment towards how Caspian dressed or his hair or his nails or his jewelry that was meant to be disparaging.
Even still, he also knew that Caspian needed that reassurance, and he shook his head slowly. “No, I don’t care.” A pause, and then, “But you could show off your legs more and I would be fine with that.”—————— No, Caspian thought, as the question slid through his mind, Michael’s voice quiet even among the din of voices and the clatter of forks and dishes around them. No, Michael had not said anything negative about his appearance, and never had. From the start, he’d been forthright and honest about his opinions - which admittedly had sometimes been blunt - but he’d never been disparaging about anything other than Caspian’s supposed life choices. His stubbornness, yes. His inability to let go of things. A few other miscellaneous traits of his personality. But his appearance, which, vainly, was important to Caspian - no, Michael had never said anything even remotely negative about that; nothing that could even be construed as vaguely disapproving.
“...no,” said Caspian, after a long minute of silence. “No, you haven’t, but I…”
His voice faltered a little, as though unsure of how to say what it was that he wanted to, a look of frustration on Caspian’s face that shifted to one of startled disbelief at the rest of Michael’s words, his head snapping up to stare at him with wide eyes. For a moment he looked completely flummoxed, unable to figure out a response to that as red began to creep its way across his cheeks, burning a sharp contrast of scarlet over the normally pale skin.
He could not tell if this was a flirtation, an attempt at seduction, or a simple compliment meant to reassure him. Caspian thought it might be a combination of all three somehow, his open mouth slowly shutting, lips pressing together. Michael knew how self conscious he was about his body in general, especially in comparison to Michael’s - and yet he was sitting right here in front of him, encouraging him, not taunting him.
“Maybe, um.” Caspian cleared his throat, averting his gaze, though his grip on Michael’s hand was solid. “Maybe...after dinner, if you, uh. Don’t have any plans. Or something. Maybe. We could spend a little more...time together. Or something.”—————— Michael didn’t really react to the expression that crossed Caspian’s face. He didn’t smile, nor did he frown, but instead just continued to gaze across at him, probably more affectionately than he realized he was. He knew very well that Caspian worried about the way he looked; maybe not as much as when they’d first met, but definitely now. Maybe it had something to do with his own self consciousness, which seemed a little ridiculous, but he hated having to explain his scars. Masking them with muscle made it easier.
He didn’t realize he was holding his breath until Caspian quietly, shyly asked if they could spend more time together after dinner. His hand tightened around Caspian’s as he nodded. “I don’t have plans,” he said softly, a little relieved that Caspian would still want to spend some more time with him after.
“Peter’s probably home,” he reminded Caspian. “If you think your sister might come home sometime tonight, there’s a couple other places I can think of.”
He knew Caspian didn’t want to really let his sister know about Michael just yet, and that was fine. Michael didn’t mind in the least. He wanted them to both be comfortable whenever they did meet each other’s families. If they wanted to do that, which Michael had a feeling that it would happen with his family some time or another, whether they liked it or not. —————— He felt relief ease through him, accompanied by a sense of slight anxiety and a thrill that was warm and fluttery in his chest, Caspian’s stomach doing flipflops. A part of him wanted to draw Michael’s hand across the table towards him, press his lips to each of his fingers - but he couldn’t do that, not right now, when they were in the middle of a restaurant and there were people around. He wasn’t normally so conscious of others, but it seemed, with Michael, he was, likely because he was too aware of the differences in his and MIchael’s appearances.
A small smile tugged at his lips, shy and affectionate.
“...if you have other places, that’d be nice,” he said after a moment. He knew he still hadn’t told Cassie about Michael, and he had no plans to do so in the immediate future. The fragility and newness of this relationship made him want to keep it to himself just for a little while longer, until he could be certain that things would not crumble so easily.
And besides...if he was being honest with himself, Caspian simply wanted to spend more time with Michael on his own.
Caspian’s fingers curled around Michael’s, and he gave a small sigh.
“You’re so patient with me,” he mumbled. “I’m sorry for...for making it all about me sometimes.”—————— “I could say the same about you,” Michael pointed out when Caspian commented about how patient he was with him. That also went for making it about himself, especially after that little stunt he pulled the other week where he disappeared without any notice.
Besides, Michael didn’t think he was as patient as Caspian gave him credit for. He certainly wasn’t as patient in the beginning, when they’d first met. It was also easier to be patient when Caspian offered him just as much, if not more.
“You’re more patient with me than I think you should be,” he admitted, giving Caspian’s hand one final squeeze, before reluctantly unwinding his fingers from Caspian’s so he could prepare for them to leave, which included paying. He already had his wallet out by the time their server came back with the bill, and it would only be a little longer before they could leave.
“And don’t apologize. I make it about myself plenty. I like hearing you talk about yourself,” Michael said as he folded the napkin he had on his nap so he could place it on the table. He hadn’t even realized that they’d finished their entire plate of sushi, he was so distracted by Caspian.
“Ready?” he asked as his card was returned and the receipt was signed.
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