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 Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2017 8:07 pm
It was going to be great. Michael had been planning something special like this since he’d first talked to Peter about what he should do for Caspian. First for Christmas, and now that Valentine’s day was coming up, he figured now was a good a time as any.
The only problem was getting Caspian to stay out of the house long enough.
Somehow he’d managed it with excuses that he had a teacher’s conference and Peter had to help their parents out with something for the weekend. How he managed it with a super stubborn and curious fiance, he had no idea, but the surprise hadn’t been spoiled by Valentine’s day morning.
He’d seen pictures of what the final product should look like, so there was no doubt in Michael’s mind that he couldn’t replicate it, and while it took him longer than he’d expected and took a whole weekend away from spending time with his fiance, Michael was please with the result.
Hundreds of painstakingly drilled holes in his bedroom ceiling were now each filled with a thin fiberoptic thread that would shine like the night sky when they were turned on, and really wasn’t all that noticeable with them turned off. It was great, something Michael was sure Caspian would love, what with his own starmobile hanging above his bed at his and his sister’s townhouse.
And after a weekend of barely even seeing Caspian, it was difficult not to just drag him back to the house to show off his work. Yes, it involved climbing into the crawlspace between the roof and the bedroom ceiling, and being a two-hundred plus pound, six foot two guy wasn’t the easiest thing to do. He was just glad the ceiling didn’t cave in on him. He’d tried convincing Peter, but he was apparently going through one of his moody teenager fazes.
“Oh, shoot. I forgot today was Valentine’s day. Sorry, Cas,” he lied, which was easier to do over the phone so that Caspian couldn’t see his face. “We can try to get a table somewhere for dinner. Or we can get takeout. Or I can cook,” he offered, balancing his phone between his ear and his shoulder as he set the last of the bouquets of flowers onto the table beside the bed. They weren’t roses. Well, there were some roses, but there were other flowers, too. All in colors of reds and purples and blues. This was the first time he’d actually attempted to do anything for a Valentine’s day with any real purpose, so he hoped a few dozen flowers wasn’t overdoing it. And there was chocolate cake waiting in the kitchen for dessert.
“Did you want to met somewhere? I can pick you up. I was gonna try to get out of the house for a bit. Go on a walk or something. I’ve been sitting all weekend, so I need to stretch a bit.” Another lie. Sort of. He had been cramped and on his knees instead of sitting, but close enough. Caspian had resisted the very strong urge to throw things. And swear. And possibly aim a kick at the nearest wall while wearing a pair of combat boots meant for breaking s**t.
It had taken a lot of effort.
It had also taken a phone call to Peter, whom he now owed a significant amount of either money or a favor to pay back, Caspian wasn’t entirely sure which, since, well, blackmail was blackmail. He’d spent the majority of his day wallowing in a fit of annoyance and frustration and disappointment, all of which he’d also been trying very hard not to let spill over into Michael’s knowledge, except that had only half worked.
Because who, honestly, in real life, forgot about Valentine’s Day when one was engaged to be married?
Caspian wasn’t even fond of the holiday. He’d always thought of it as kind of stupid, for a variety of reasons, but being engaged made things different. He wanted to do something with Michael. He wanted the romance and the sweetness and the flowers and everything that would make his heart flutter and his affection grow.
Instead he’d gotten...well, nothing.
At least until his phone call to Peter.
Caspian stood outside of their shared house now, trying to figure out how he was going to go about all of this. He was restless with energy and with a mixture of exasperated amusement, but also just nervousness in general, because if this went badly, everything would be screwed.
But, well - what was life without a little risk?
(Michael would have said safe.)
He took a breath, raised his hand and knocked.In spite of everything that Caspian might think, Michael really did want to spend time with him, and it had been painful to be away from him as long as he had, even if it was just a couple days. It was lonely at night, the bed was cold, there was no one to wake up next to, and then pretending that he hadn’t done anything for Valentine’s day was even worse, because he could hear the disappointment in Caspian’s voice. It took everything he had not to cave right then and there.
The knock on the door came sooner than Michael had expected. He was still trying to figure out what he wanted to do to “make up” for him “forgetting” to make a reservation. In his defense, he had no desire to go to a crowded restaurant with dozens of other couples who would be all stressing out the wait staff and making it miserable for everyone. Instead, he had every intention of cooking a nice meal at home, because it was much more intimate than going out in public with everyone else. It just depended on what Caspian told him he would like to do.
“Cas, hey,” he greeted as he opened the door, unable to stop himself from smiling stupidly big when he saw his fiance for the first time in what felt like forever. He was glad that he’d jumped in the shower when he had, because he only got out about ten minutes ago, his hair still somewhat damp even though his now long bangs had been brushed back and off his forehead. He hadn’t bothered shaving in the past few days, but did make sure his face was neatly trimmed, the length just a bit more than scruff.
He was halfway through tucking in his white, long sleeved button down shirt into his dark grey trousers, a dark purple tie with little stars slung around his neck, matching the purple of his recently painted nails. While he hoped it wasn’t too obvious that he had every intention of wanting to make that night special for them, and had obviously dressed up for the occasion, he was immediately stopped in his tracks at the expression on Caspian’s face.
“You okay?” he asked, pausing mid lean to try and steal a quick kiss, suddenly wondering if maybe he really was in trouble for making Caspian believe he forgot what that day was, his smile fading and replaced with a look of concern. The expression on Caspian’s face as the door opened had been schooled to one of disgruntled displeasure, Caspian’s hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. He was wearing a lime green hooded sweatshirt, the fingers of his hands painted a bright blue that sort of went with Michael’s purple (which still inwardly made him smile, because he couldn’t help it, even if outwardly he had to restrain the stupid flutter of pleasure at that simple gesture).
And Michael, dressing up, looking the way he did -
It was already hard to stay mad. Or at least, pretend to stay mad.
The quick kiss made Caspian’s mouth warm, and he had to resist another urge to simply give it all up and throw himself into his fiance’s arms. Caspian kept his hands resolutely in his pockets, however, his eyes taking in Michael’s slightly damp hair, the way the dress shirt fit him like a glove, the look of concern on his handsome, strong face.
Stay strong. Keep strong.
Caspian took a breath.
“So - what is this?” he asked roughly. “You forget about Valentine’s Day and now you’re just dressing up? Are you planning on going out somewhere?”
Keep strong.
“That’s kind of - sucky.”Michael had been expecting Caspian to be upset, angry even, but seeing him in person was like a knife to his heart. Part of him wondered if the surprise was really worth making Caspian miserable up until he could show him.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” he said quietly, although he had straightened up a bit, trying not to look too bothered by the disgruntled expression on his fiance’s face (as cute as it was, otherwise). “The days just got away from me,” he lied, trying not to seem so shifty as he focused on tugging at the cuff of his sleeve, sliding it over his watch.
“I didn’t think you believed in a day like Valentine’s day, anyway,” he pointed out, which was really just him grasping at anything for help and not just because it was partially true. Caspian didn’t seem the type to give in to all the hype and commercialized holiday nonsense (unless he wanted to and was in the mood for it), but apparently Michael had been wrong, at least to an extent. “It’s kind of overdone, don’t you think?”
Just keep talking and hopefully he’d be able to get Caspian settled.
“Yeah, I’m planning on having dinner with you,” he said in explanation of his dressing up, paused, and then added, “If you’d like.” He was trying not to wince at the way Caspian voiced his displeasure at everything, knowing it was just as sucky as it seemed.
“You don’t have to dress up, I just…”
What…?
“Did… you want to come inside?” he offered instead after clearing his throat, a strange nervousness he hadn’t felt in months settling over him. Maybe he should just tell him everything that was going on. He didn’t really need to keep this a secret, right? Caspian’s scowl was darker than it would have been normally, perhaps because it wasn’t that hard to recall his earlier frustration and annoyance at Michael’s apparent forgetfulness for a stupid holiday that he shouldn’t have cared about but still, irritatingly, did. He didn’t want to care, because, well...Valentine’s Day was the soppiest, stupidest, most ridiculous holiday of all, and Caspian was sentimental, but not soppy, at least not when it came to a romance he cherished.
He just had to keep that in mind, when Michael was looking at him like that, with an expression that was clearly intended to be innocent, but that shifted into one of anxiousness a second later, the gloriously attractive outfit he was wearing. It would have been distracting if Caspian had not been so intent on getting through this like he said he would have.
Or at least like he’d intended to.
” ‘If’ I’d like?’ “ He repeated, his lips pressing together, his fingers curling against his palm. “That’s...really? Are you serious right now?”
It was kinda hard to keep doing this. Caspian pressed on, because he was nothing if not entirely stubborn.
“Look, I know we’re...we’re getting married and everything, but I didn’t think that meant that like...we wouldn’t do s**t together as a couple. It’s not like we’re suddenly just gonna sit around and do nothing because we’ve been together this long, so I mean…”
He gave a shrug of his shoulders, turning his face away.
“I don’t know if I wanna do dinner right now.”This was what he’d planned. He knew Caspian would be upset or angry, and now that he was standing in front of him, seeing the hurt in his expression, Michael had to wonder if this really was the best idea he could possibly come up with. A surprise wasn’t worth getting the cold shoulder.
Michael’s hands froze as they pulled at the tie around his neck, just about to start knotting it, and instead dropped them back down to his sides.
“This is really bothering you, isn’t it?” he asked honestly, because this was the stupidest reason to have a fight. As much as he’d wanted to do this, as much as he wanted the surprise, be couldn’t stand seeing Caspian this upset and frustrated.
“I think I’m rubbing off on you, babe. That scowl is going to give you horrible wrinkles, you know,” he said in an attempt at a joke, but wasn’t too sure how well it was received.
“Hey,” he tried once more, leaning in the direction Caspian turned, trying to see his face, his own brows drawn together in concern. He couldn’t do this. He was just not made to string Caspian along like this. “Hey, no, you’re right. I want to do stuff with you. I…”
This was stupid. He should have just told Caspian from the start.
“I made it up. I didn’t actually forget. It was just… I don’t know. I wanted you to be disappointed so I could make it better later,” he tried to explain, taking a step now in the direction Caspian turned, wanting to try and see his face. Which meant he had to lean down a lot. “I know, I know. It’s stupid. I’m not good with this stuff… Cas…”
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2017 10:55 pm
He hated seeing that look on Michael's face; part hurt, part disappointment, part confusion. Caspian had to make this work the best way he could, even if he was walking a fine line here - but to be perfectly fair, Michael had been the one to start this in the first place.
And Michael was looking unfairly attractive in that outfit, with his painted nails and a tie that Caspian wanted to reach up and tug at to pull him in for a kiss. And he had called Caspian babe, which wasn't normally a common occurrence, but Caspian liked it far more than he had thought he would like a term of endearment.
Damn it.
Focus.
"It's bothering me," said Caspian, and his lips pressed together again, trying both to appear annoyed and to fight off a stupid urge to smile. "I learn from the best."
He meant his scowls. Caspian kept his face turned away from Michael, the facade of his fiance's apparent carelessness crumbling - and he knew it had been a fake, which was why they were in this predicament in the first place, Caspian's teeth worrying at his lower lip.
"You're not - you mean you just wanted to see me upset?"
His voice hadn't risen in tone, but it was incredulous with the idea of such a thing. Caspian's gaze jerked back to Michael, the scowl more pronounced than ever.
"I'm not doing this right now," he said, and turned, stomping outside and out the door, back out to his car - because in spite of Michael driving them everywhere, Caspian did, in fact, have a car that he shared with Cassie - and slammed the door shut.
Now. Hopefully Michael wouldn't just leave things as they were.
Hopefully.
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2017 2:14 pm
s**t. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.
Michael physically winced, his eyes widening in surprise and guilt as Caspian basically proved to him how stupid of an idea all this had been. He had wanted to see Caspian upset, sort of. Not quite upset like this, but that was because he didn’t think it would take all that much for his fiance to forgive him for being stupid and forgetting a holiday that shouldn’t really matter.
“Cas,” he said, opening his mouth to try and explain himself when Caspian turned to head out the door and to his car, leaving Michael gaping wordlessly at the retreating form of his fiance, only seeming to snap out of it when the car door slammed.
“Cas!” he called after him, leaving the front door wide open as he tried to follow after him, not even caring that he wasn’t wearing shoes and was probably ruining his dress socks, jogging across the small yard to try and catch him before he drove off. “Wait, Cas. I’m sorry. This is stupid. I didn’t want you to be this upset,” he tried to explain, not knowing how much Caspian could hear through the car door.
“Let me explain, please,” he practically begged, reaching out to try and open the passenger side door of Caspian’s car.
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2017 3:31 pm
He hadn't expected Michael to run after him. Well, he had, except Caspian had to get back to his own house first; Michael running after him in just his socks, still looking unfairly and unbelievably attractive in his dress shirt and tie, was extremely Michael-ish and very endearing.
Damn it.
This was harder than he'd thought it would be.
Caspian swallowed hard against the desire to just give in, hastily pressing the door lock buttons before Michael could actually get in. He could hear what his fiance was saying relatively clearly, if not a little muffled; but he simply shook his head, lips pressed together in a tight line.
"Not now, Michael," he said loudly, to be heard through the window, and then he was pulling away, careful not to actually hit Michael or anything as he drove down the driveway and back across town to where his own townhouse was with Cassie.
Except as soon as he got inside, he was racing, Caspian hurriedly darting up the stairs two at a time and throwing off his teeshirt and jeans, stumbling to the closet to drag out the outfit he'd planned to wear all along - a pair of dark slacks, a midnight blue button down with little silver stars printed all across it, black belt, shiny black shoes, a gray vest that matched the silver of the stars, and a black dress jacket.
Now all he had to do was get to where he meant to go and hope Michael wasn't going to leave things completely undone - and that Caspian hadn't ruined anything by driving off.
He got back into the car, along with a bag full of necessities, and drove.
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2017 5:07 pm
Michael had no idea what was going on, but this was not what he’d meant to happen when he decided to be secretive and try to plan some stupid surprise for his fiance. Surprises were stupid. And he was stupid for attempting this. Because not Caspian was mad at him, and probably hurt and upset, and it was supposed to be a nice evening together, but noooo, Michael had to go and screw things up. Great.
“Cas, please answer. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I need to talk to you. I love you. Call me,” he left probably the fifth message on Caspian’s cellphone as he tried to figure out what to do. He thought about driving over to Caspian’s townhouse and hope he was there.
But what if Caspian really didn’t want anything to do with him? s**t, had he really managed to screw things up to the point where Caspian really didn’t want to talk to him? Usually they would work through whatever they didn’t see eye to eye, but this was not how he expected things to play out.
He’d gone back inside and changed his socks and pulled on shoes and then paced around the living room, watching his phone as if it would suddenly start ringing and Caspian would tell him he’d had enough time to cool down and they could talk or something.
And after about an hour, he decided if he didn’t hear anything in another hour, he was going to go looking for him.
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2017 7:09 pm
He knew his phone was ringing, but Caspian didn't answer it just yet. He was running around the location he'd driven to, carefully putting together everything, making sure even the smallest details were in place. He'd been working on it all afternoon, before he'd driven over to Michael's; and now, he was almost sure it was perfect.
Almost. He hung a few more strands of lights around just to be on the safe side, then finally picked up the phone that had been buzzing consistently for the last hour while Caspian had worked. It was no surprise that all of the messages were from Michael - a few voicemails, and then some texts. Caspian felt his lips curving up into a small, affectionate smile.
Hopefully this would work out. It had to work out.
Michael would receive a text about a half hour before the hour was up:guine Text to Michael:Fine we can talk. I'm at the boxcar.
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2017 8:40 pm
The text came through and Michael stared at it for a solid minute, just trying to decipher if this was real or some kind of trap. But oh, okay. Just the boxcar. That would be fine except the last time they went to the boxcar Michael realized what he’d been feeling for Caspian for quite some time was love… and they were attacked by a youma and couple of negaverse officers and Caspian almost died.
Okay, so they both almost died, but that wasn’t the point. The point was he’d been holding Caspian’s body in his arms as he grew paler and colder and it was all kinds of traumatizing.
But it was also the place where they’d first really tried to work through some things. Michael had given in and Caspian gave him unbelievable amounts of patience.
So this was either a good thing that it was at the boxcar, or a bad thing. Because why would Caspian go there when he was obviously upset and didn’t even want to talk to Michael earlier when he was at the house and Michael could have (should have) dragged him into the bedroom to show him everything he’d worked on.
He sent back a simple response of “okay” and immediately headed out the door.
His jacket was left in the car, but he’d at least finished tying his tie, even if it had been loosened while he paced and waited, his hands nervously balled up in the pockets of his dress pants as he approached the familiar car through the overgrown weeds of the train station.
If Caspian looked at Michael and thought he looked nervous, he would be absolutely right.
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2017 9:06 pm
Caspian had known that giving up the boxcar as their location would make Michael drop everything and come, even if he was angry or upset. It was their special place, after all - the place where they had had their first fight, where Michael had tried - and failed - to push him away. The place where he'd woken, tangled in Michael's arms for the first time.
The place where they had both almost died.
It held a lot of meaning, which was exactly why Caspian wanted it, especially with the last time hanging over their heads as something terrible and traumatizing. He wanted to overwrite the bad memories with good, to remind Michael that they had not died, that they were both still alive.
He was looping a tie around his neck when he heard the footsteps crunching across the ground towards the car. It wasn't late enough to be very dark yet, though evening was approaching, and it was a cool, clear day, the sun just starting to set over the horizon. Caspian hastily finished knotting the tie, took a breath, and stepped out into the doorway of the boxcar.
And there was Michael, still dressed to the nines, looking a mixture of apprehensive and nervous. Caspian drank in the sight of him, folding his arms across his chest and leaning casually against the doorway to the car, his lips pressed together as a smile tugged at them.
"Hi, handsome," he said lightly. "Fancy meeting you here."
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Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2017 10:48 pm
Michael tried not to scowl too much, although it was mostly because he was miserable for trying something stupid and then obviously failing. His eyes lifted from where he watched his feet along the uneven ground when he heard Caspian’s voice, looking him over to make sure there wasn’t anything overly concerning right away.
He noticed right away that Caspian had dressed up, his dark slacks and star printed shirt and black jacket making him look especially mature for someone who was still only twenty. And Caspian was smiling. Sort of. The makings of a smile, which only had Michael frowning with a sense of disquiet.
“This is giving me a very strong sense of deja vu, you know,” he grumbled and glanced warily around them to make sure they were actually alone. No youma. No negaverse agents. His heart felt both light and heavy at the sight of his fiance, both for fear of him being in danger, but also seeing him as he was, dressed up with his arms casually folded over his chest, the makings of an almost mischievous grin on his lips - it was enough to put Michael at ease.
Even though he’d obviously screwed up.
“Listen, Cas… about earlier. It was just. Me being stupid. I shouldn’t have pretended I forgot what today is,” he said as he carefully made his way up to the boxcar, peering miserably up at Caspian. “You look very nice,” he mumbled, looking him over once more. “I like the tie.”
As if there wasn't enough deja vu to go around already.
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2017 9:29 pm
His heart was beating a little fast, half because of everything he had so meticulously thought out and half because he was nervous about Michael being angry at him for taking things too far. Still, Caspian's face was as composed as it could be, a relaxed smile dawning irrepressibly across his face as he flicked his gaze up and down Michael's outfit - this time able to take it all in openly.
"I'm sure it does," he said a little dryly.
He had expected the apology; Caspian gave a little nod, bracing his hands against the doorframe of the boxcar so that he could hop down onto the grass, sliding them back into his pockets as he ambled towards Michael. He met him before he would be able to see into the boxcar, Caspian peering up at his fiance, expression shifting.
A hand reached out, black painted nails winding around the tie and giving a little tug. Caspian smoothed his fingers down Michael's shirt, carefully plucking out a stray thread.
"I know," he admitted, flashing a look at Michael's face, lips quirking upwards. "I talked to Peter. He told me that you'd been planning something all along. I was annoyed at first, but I wasn't angry. So I thought, I'd...you know."
He gave a playful shrug of his shoulders, a knot of anxiety still in his stomach, though his expression was light.
"I thought I'd turn it back on you."
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2017 8:43 pm
He instinctively drew his hands out of his pockets as Caspian began to get down from the doorway of the boxcar, as if he was anywhere close enough to actually catch him should he fall. Thankfully, there were no issues and Michael lowered his hands back down to his sides, still watching somewhat morosely as Caspian approached.
“Wait, you knew?” he gaped in stunned surprise as his tie was tugged on, Caspian’s hand smoothing down his dress shirt. He’d been so focused on the fact that he probably really upset Caspian that he hadn’t even seen the signs that perhaps his fiance was onto him. And of course Peter was involved, because naturally Caspian would reach out to him if Michael didn’t tell him everything he wanted to know
But even more importantly, Caspian had turned around and did this for him. For them.
“I thought you did this because I messed up,” he said, staring almost incredulously at Caspian for a moment, and then his eyes lifted to the boxcar behind him. Instead of throwing something together for them because Caspian thought Michael forgot to do anything, Caspian had done this with full knowledge that there was something meant for him.
And somehow, that was so much better than what Michael had been expecting.
“Brat...” he mumbled, his expression undeniably adoring even though he was still frowning. And then he lifted his arms to wrap around Caspian’s shoulders, pulling him face first into his chest to hold, because it was such a relief that he wasn’t actually angry with him.
“I thought you were really pissed with me, Cas. I didn’t want you to be upset. I just… wanted to surprise you. But you ended up surprising me,” he groaned, purposefully smothering his fiance with affection as he lowered his head to nuzzle his face against Caspian’s hair, his arms tight around him.
“I’m gonna kick Peter’s a**,” he added with feigned irritability, his voice muffled against black hair.
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:43 pm
He shook his head, some of the black strands shifting to reveal the blue and purple beneath, the corners of Caspian's mouth still quirked up into a small, knowing smile.
"Nah," he said, "You didn't mess up. I mean, you did, or I mean, I only thought you did. But once I got the story from Peter, I figured, well..." Caspian's shoulders rose and fell in a slight shrug, mischief dancing in his eyes. "Why not turn things around back to you?"
It was still a little nervewracking; he didn't know if Michael would be utterly pissed at him for scaring him, or if he'd be relieved, Caspian watching his features carefully for any sign of anger or annoyance. At the moment, it was only incredulity and shock - and then it shifted, his eyes saying much, much more than the perpetual scowl. Caspian's heart melted.
He stumbled a little as Michael tugged him forward, but Caspian's arms rose instinctively and immediately, wrapping around Michael's waist, burying his face into Michael's chest. The relief was tangible; he could feel it in his own roiling emotions, and he could hear it in Michael's voice, along with exasperation as the realization set in.
It had worked. It had worked, and Michael wasn't angry with him, and his face was in Caspian's hair, and it had worked.
Caspian felt inordinately pleased with himself. He wriggled back a little, tilting his head up to grin widely up at his fiance.
"Be nice to Peter, he only told me after I threatened to make out in front of him again," he said. "I was upset, but you fixed it. And then...I fixed it too."
He tugged on Michael's tie, Caspian standing up on tiptoes so that he could give Michael a brief kiss, rocking back down after only a moment, eyes twinkling. He stepped back, untangling himself from the warm circle of Michael's arms, and took ahold of his hand, pulling him forward.
"Now, c'mere and see what I've done, mister."
He squeezed Michael's hand, then let go again and leapt up into the boxcar, stepping back to wait for Michael.
Inside it had been completely gutted - a project that Caspian had actually been working on ever since their last night in the boxcar, the night he tried not to think about too much. It had been hard at first, coming back; Caspian kept thinking of Harmotome's hand in Michael's chest, his starseed glittering and gone in the grass - but it had become easier the more he came. Weeks and months of steady cleaning a few times a week, until the entire inside was shining clean. After that, he'd repainted - white, because it lightened it up, but with blue and silver and red accents, nothing fancy, but enough to be cheerful. String lighting had been carefully hung all around the top, and the floor was covered in a series of sample carpet squares that Caspian had been taking from hardware stores all across Destiny City. None of them matched, but he'd painstakingly glued them all to the floor, and now it looked like a festive, hodgepodge mishmash of color. Pillows, of course, tons of them, and blankets. A little table in the middle, meant for sitting on the floor around, not in chairs - and this time - dinner set out, a candle glowing on the table.
Caspian's face was radiantly pleased, his eyes fixed on Michael's.
"What do you think, handsome?" he asked, gesturing to the setup. "Better than before?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2017 6:51 pm
Caspian pulled back before Michael really wanted him to, but then again, he wanted to keep Caspian in his arms forever if he could manage it. He’d never wanted someone on such a deeply intimate and emotional and physical level before. Sometimes he wasn’t even sure how to react because this was just nothing he’d been used to, up until this point.
He showed Caspian a scowl at the thought of being nice to Peter for telling on him, but it was a forced scowl at best, and he followed along after his fiancé as he walked to the boxcar. He held out his hands once more just in case Caspian ended up needing help, but he didn’t, and was soon following him up into the car.
The sight was stunning. It looked nothing like it had the first night they’d been stuck there while the wind howled and rain poured down around them. In fact, if Michael hadn’t known it was the same boxcar already, he might have questioned it.
“Cas…” he let out a breath, looking from the painted walls to the carefully placed carpet squares on the floor, to the table in the center with the lit candle and dinner prepared and the pillows. The lights strung around them made the setting so much more intimate somehow, and yet still so very much them. Because the more he was around Caspian, the more he was able to relax and just be himself instead of what other people expected him to be. Caspian was breaking down the walls he’d built for himself, slowly but surely.
“When have you had time to do all this? This – it’s a lot of work.” And it definitely blew his own surprise out of the water, because Caspian had obviously put a lot of time and energy into making sure everything was perfect. Michael turned around slowly, taking everything in, and then looked down at Caspian with the utmost adoration shining in his eyes.
“Come here and let me kiss you,” he said, reaching out for him as he took a step closer, careful not to trod on any of the many pillows. “This is amazing. You’ve really outdone yourself, babe,” he murmured, bending down to meet his fiancé.
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Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2017 7:37 pm
Caspian's shoulders rose and fell in a casual-as-you-can-be shrug, trying to be blase about the whole thing, but failing miserably because his eyes were shining with excitement and his heart was practically bursting with the pleasure of Michael finally seeing the fruits of his labor of all these months.
"On and off for the past six months or so," he said lightly. "All those times I told you volleyball practice ran over, or when I was out grocery shopping - " Caspian held up his hands in an air quotes gesture. " - I was really setting all this up. It took a while, but I finally finished the other day."
He loved the look of incredulity and awe on his fiance's face - and he loved even more the way that Michael tugged him closer, hands drawing him closer, the soft, affectionate babe always making Caspian's heart flutter with pleasure. He stretched up onto his tiptoes, meeting Michael's warm mouth with a slow, sweet kiss, letting himself linger, hands resting on Michael's arms.
"Well," he said, leaning back down after a few moments. "I figured it was high time we had ourselves nice things without the interruptions from a certain brother of yours."
Caspian's grin was wide. "Plus, you know. Valentine's Day and all that s**t."
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Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 2:44 pm
“What, you were lying to me?” Michael half scolded, although he couldn’t quite stop the smile from overtaking his expression. There were a lot of things that he loved about Caspian, but just the fact that he’d taken so long to work on something to surprise him made his heart grow twice its size. He felt like laughing for no reason other than the fact that he was there with Caspian, and he couldn’t make himself take his eyes off him.
“You’re incredible,” he said with a quiet laugh, his hands still resting on his fiance’s waist, keeping him from pulling back too far, already missing the kiss that was broken.
“Valentines? Is that what today is? And I’ll be sure to let Peter know he’s the reason why we can’t have nice things,” he teased, leaning in for another kiss because he could.
This was beyond anything that he had ever expected. He’d never had anyone put this much work into something, for him. For them. He almost didn’t knowhow to react, other than to keep Caspian close to him as he broke the one kiss and leaned in to pepper his face with kisses.
“You made dinner too?” he finally brought himself to ask, glancing down at the table that was set for them. “Did you bring champagne and chocolate covered strawberries? I would have brought flowers at least if I realized you were doing all this, you know,” he mumbled against the side of Caspian’s face, his arms still around him because he didn’t want to let go.
“I love you, you know that?”
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