Date: Sun, 12 Jun 2005 04:53:45 -0400 (Eastern Daylight Time) From: Krys <liljademoon@msn.com> Subject: Dealing With It 12 12 Caelum January passed quietly with soft kisses and caresses. Ci teased us every chance she got, and with the amount of time Zane and I spent together, that was a lot of teasing. But it all fit into the flow. Anthony and Ci, Jeff and Rick, Zane and I and Rich with the flavour of the week. The calm and quiet seemed more than welcome after the blow up at the beginning of the month, but we were all still glad to see January fade into February. "Are you planning anything for Valentine's Day?" Ci asked, flopping down on the bed beside me. "I haven't though of anything yet," I admitted as I looked up from my homework. "Besides, I"m not sure if Z wants to celebrate it or not." "You haven't asked him yet?" the shock in her voice was enough to make me laugh. "Damn Cae, you should talk to him about it." "Why? Has he said something to you?" I asked, trying to sound non chalant. "No, but he's never been in a relationship and this is the biggest day of the year for lovers, so you'd think he'd want to celebrate it with his boyfriend, don't you?" I sighed. My sister was way to logical. And way too right. "What do you think I should do? Take him out some place?" This was not my forte. I didn't do romance very well. Not to say that I can't, but it doesn't come easy. Ci shook her head. "No, Zane is still too shy for something really public. I think a private venue would be better." She was quiet for a moment and I could almost hear the wheels in her head turning. "I'm gonna think about this. If you come up with anything tell me. Whatever is decided, we only have a week and a half to pull it off, so it can't be too elaborate." "Yeah, okay," I replied, all thoughts of homework forgotten and I tried to think of something romantic that Zane would enjoy. I ended up so lost in my thoughts that I didn't even realize when Ci left the room. Zane For three days, Cae had been acting strange, asking the weirdest questions and being secretive. Every time I asked him about it, he would reply it was nothing and I began to worry. Finally I cornered Ci, hoping she could shed light on her brother's odd behaviour. "It's nothing major, Zane. He's just putting some things together. In a little while it will all make sense so don't worry." That didn't help any. If anything it made me worry more, and I spent the next week bouncing back and forth between concern and fear as Cae's behaviour got stranger and Ci and Anthony started to join him. I woke on the 14th surprised at the day. I had forgotten about Valentine's Day, having never had anyone to celebrate it with before. Suddenly, Cae's behaviour made sense. He was planning something for me and I felt bad. I hadn't gotten him anything. Uncertain of what to do, I called Jeff, hoping he could help me figure out what to get Cae. After talking with Jeff I finally decided to go simple and found a frame for a picture Rich had drawn of the two of us. It was a simple charcoal sketch, but somehow he had manage to capture the contrast of our skin. The picture was beautiful and I hoped it was enough. While I was out getting the frame, Cae called and left a message with my father to head over to his house at six and to dress up. I shook briefly at the though of having to go out somewhere, my naturally shyness surging forward. But for Cae I would endure the stress. I enlisted Lisa's help in getting ready, letting her pick my clothes and style my hair. I want to look my best. Once Lisa was happy with my look, she sent me on my way without letting look in the mirror first. I made the walk to Cae's with my heart pounding in my chest the whole way. Silently I prayed that Cae would be happy with my gift and that Lisa didn't make me look like a fool. Caelum I jumped when I heard the knock at the door. Panic momentarily overwhelmed me, before I got myself under control. Quickly I looked around to make sure everything was in place before I opened the door. The sight that greeted me stopped my breath from a second. Zane was wearing a long sleeved aquamarine shirt that made his eyes seem even greener, and fitted black pants that were molded to his ass and legs. His hair was pulled back into a french braid that made the red stand out even more. He was beautiful and I felt honoured to have him as mine. I pulled him into the house, smiling at the bewildered look on his face. The kitchen and living room were dark and faint flickers of light could been seen from the dining room. The house was silent, and I'll admit it was a bit unnerving. I pulled in forward so we were standing in front of the dining room table that was set with a romantic dinner for two. Zane's eyes were wide and startled when he turned away to look at me. "Ci, A and the rest helped me set this up. I suggested taking you out dancing, Ci wanted me to take you to dinner and Rick said we should go to the movies. But I know how shy you are and thought maybe a smaller scale might be better." I paused to watch his reaction. His face was slightly flushed and I could tell he was surprised. "So on the agenda for tonight is a dinner that was made by my mother, she wanted to help out. Then some dancing. I'll even let you pick the music. And a movie to round off the night." "You didn't have to do all this," he whispered. "Yeah, but I wanted to. It's okay, isn't it?" I felt a moment of panic. What if he didn't like it? A sweet smile slide across his lips. "It's more than okay. Just makes me wish I had gotten you something more." "Not to sound really mushy, but having you here is the best possible present." Both of us blushed at that and I ushered Zane over to the table, hoping that food would take away some of the embarrassment. Zane Supper, dancing, movies, I never expected anything like this. I hoped the picture would be good enough, despite what Cae had said, I still had some misgivings about it. Supper went off without a problem, the food was great and our conversation was light, not letting anything interfere with our night. When we finished eating I helped Cae clear the dishes and then followed him back to the den. The low table had been moved to the side and a radio was set up, waiting. I allowed him to pull me closer. "The guys made a CD for us, or you can pick something out," he told me. I looked over at the stack of CDS sitting beside the radio before turning back to look at him. I didn't want to waste time looking for music when I could be spending my time with Cae. "I guess we should trust the guys," I smiled and stepped closer. "Doesn't really matter what's on anyway." Laughing Cae started the music and a slow jam filled the room. I didn't know the song, and I didn't' care, it gave me a chance to wrap myself in Cae's arms and that was all that mattered. We danced to several slow songs, before a fast one came on. It was sweet. There was no one there to make me feel self-conscious, only Cae who danced close, brushing against me whether the song was slow or fast. I lost track of time as we danced, my attention all focused on the man in front of me. When the music stopped Cae stepped closer and brushed the first kiss of the evening across my lips. The kiss was short, sweet and perfect. The look in Cae's eyes as he drew back was one of contentment. I moved away and reached for the picture, hoping that he would like it. I watched him unwrap it, my heart in my throat. He raised his eyes to meet mine, tears shimmer, turning them into grey storm clouds. "When was this done?" he asked softly. "Rich never said. I think he did it from memory. He has sketches of all of us. Um, do you like it?" "It's beautiful. Thank you," he pulled me close and the kiss this time wasn't short, but it was still sweet. We both pulled away breathless and Cae smiled at me, brushing stray hairs from my face. "You're beautiful." I blushed and ducked my head. "I'm not, but thank you. You said movies, what are we watching?" I was desperate to change the subject. I could see the acceptance in his eyes, he knew what I was doing and wasn't going to fight me on it. "There's a couple of choices downstairs and another choice to make," he told me as he head toward his room. "What choice?" I asked. "Well, we can stay in our dress clothes, watch the movie and you could head home after or we could get comfortable, watch the movie, probably fall asleep on the couch and you stay the night." I thought about it. The night had been more than I expected and in someways I wanted to leave it as it was, go home and spend the rest of my time thinking and recalling. But a large part of my wanted to spend the night wrapped in Cae's arms, feeling safe and loved. "I'm staying. Besides, that was Ci can easily interrogate me in the morning." I replied, heading into their bedroom to grab the clothes I normally slept in. He smiled and grabbed his own, taking them into the bathroom to change. We choose a movie and settled down onto our couch, me sitting between his splayed legs. It was out favourite position and I loved the solid heat of his body against my back. We watched the first movie and started the second before my eyes started to drift shut and I snuggled back into Cae letting sleep take me. I woke sometime latter to static on the t.v. and a gentle hand un- braiding my hair. Twisting I looked up at him, smiling at the sheepish look on his face. "Time to go to bed," he whispered, levering me up. I stood, sleep fogging my mind. Cae directed me to the bed, his hands on my waist. I climbed into bed and waited for him as he turned off everything. He slid in behind me and I flicked off the light before turning to face him. "Tonight was awesome, Cae, thank you," I told him leaning forward to find his lips in the dark. "You're welcome, and thank you for the picture. Now sleep, we have to deal with the others in the morning." He wrapped his arms around me, pulled me as close as possible and I let sleep take me down again, but as everything faded I heard a soft whisper. But I figured I had heard wrong. "I think I love you." There was no way I heard Cae say that.