Aurelien flipped the driver’s seat sun visor down, checking his hair in the little mirror, messing with it, brushing it to the side with his hands, trying to make his curly mop look as tidy and appealing as possible. He wasn’t satisfied with the end result, but it was as good as it was gonna get, so he flipped the visor back up and looked out the side window.
A minute later he flipped the visor down again, and started ruffling through his hair once more.
He had been doing this for the past fifteen minutes.
Man. Jeez. Man. This was supposed to be, if not a perfect night because there was bound to be a heaping of awkwardness and fumbling that would be utterly charming regardless, but a very very good one. But the only thing running through his head right now was all the things that could potentially go wrong. Stuff could go wrong before he even got to see Dante. He could… trip as he was getting out of the car and cover his suit in mud, or something.
Aurelien slapped his hands to his cheeks, blowing air out his lips, making a noise that would have made him laugh if he wasn’t totally on edge right now. He just had to do something, and it had to be more than baby steps, because messing with his hair in the mirror was supposed to have been that, and look where that had taken him.
His hand twitched towards the sun visor once more, before he closed his eyes, exhaled, then opened the car door and got out.
Well, first crisis avoided there. No sudden puddles outside of his car, of mud, water or, like, custard. His freshly polished shoes and newly rented suit pants were clean and safe. His dad had really come up clutch on that front; as soon as Aurelien had asked to borrow one of his suits, he’d shook his head and made plans to go out and rent one, and a really nice one at that. It was a good fit, and a really dark green colour, with a dark blue tie to go with it. He couldn’t fix his permanent bedhead, but at least the rest of him looked good.
The same could not be said for his car, however, and there was very little he could do about that. It’d had one tire in the scrapyard since the day he’d gotten it, and it had only grown worse since then. At least it… kinda matched his suit colour?
He realised he’d been standing out in the street for a good few minutes, now. He slapped his cheeks again, and half walked, half jogged up to the Valerio front door. Alright. On three, he was gonna knock on the door, and everything was gonna turn out a-okay. Alright. Okay. Alright.
One.
Two.
Three.
…
Ahem.
One.
Two.
Three.
Knock knock knock.
Green Grass Gradation
tagging a Fen!
Green Grass Gradation
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
>> Dante Valerio continued from Who wears short-sell shorts?
Oh shit.
Time was weird as fuck. Like sometimes you'd be waiting for a thing to happen and every single day would drag and drag and drag and it'd be like a decade before you got through a month. And other times you kinda forgot about something and five minutes later it was happening and oh shit you weren't prepared? The second one happened more often to Dante cause his brain was off-kilter so much of the time but like, this particular time he really didn't think it was. Like he was excited about this thing? He was counting the days and everything? But then he lost count and also he was caught up in the whole "trying not to fail any classes because not graduating sounds pretty uncool" spiral of attempting and failing to study and then- whoops.
Dante genuinely had forgotten it was prom night until Aurelien had texted him that morning.
Luckily he'd told his parents he had a date back when Lion had asked, so all the prep was done. Dad had lent him a suit that didn't quite fit him but was like, clean and made him look pretty handsome if he did say so himself. Mom had insisted he get a matching corsage and bou-to-whatever, so he'd gotten red roses for both, and she'd fussed over them and over him and at one point started crying. She wasn't paying much attention to him tonight, though; she was much more occupied with Venetia, who had apparently landed a date with a senior boy and had blown a big chunk of several years worth of saved allowance on a nice dress. She seemed much more distressed about this whole thing than he did.
He sat in his parent's room as his mom and sisters bustled around in the living room. He eyed himself in his mom's favorite mirror. He looked handsome, yes. But he should have tried harder, right? Aurelien probably looked amazing. And he probably had a suit that fit. He was too nice to say anything about it, and that's part of why Dante liked him, but it was Dante's fault for not doing more. He wasn't great at saving money, but maybe he had enough. He hadn't thought to check. He was messing this up.
There was a knock at the door.
He heard a bunch of squeals come from the living room, the swing of an opening door, followed by an audible groan of disappointment. His worries melted away in an instant and a grin formed on his face. That was his cue. He made his way to the living room, parting the sea of his sisters, ruffling the hair of the openly-pouting Venetia, until he got to the door.
"Hey."
And now the key was getting out of here as soon as possible.
He'd told his parents he had a date. He also told them a friend was picking him up. He hadn't given more details, he didn't like lying to them, but he sure as hell couldn't tell them the truth.
"Uh, see you guys." He waved awkwardly at his sisters and his mom, turning away-
"Wait, wait, wait, cucciolo." His mother stopped him. Of course he did. She was never happy when he tried to avoid speaking to her. It was a rare occurrence, and his attempts were almost never successful. Rosa Valerio's voice was thickly accented and quickly spoken; she'd have spoke Italian if they were alone but kept up her English for Aurelien's benefit, something he was grateful for.
"You haven't introduced your friend." She smiled graciously at Aurelien. "It is very nice to meet you, young man. And if Dante hasn't thanked you for the ride allow me to do so. My husband is so busy, you see, so busy all the time, and so we didn't have a way to get Dante to prom. Do you have a date yourself? Handsome young man like yourself, I'm sure you do."
Dante fought the urge to cut and run, instead just smiling nervously. "We should probably get going, mama."
"I'm just making conversation!" Her smile wavered, but it recovered quickly. She turned around and picked up a box from the couch. "The corsage for your date. Don't forget! And don't forget to take pictures, and let me know if you're coming home late!"
"Yes, mama. Promise." He resisted the urge to bodily drag Aurelien out the door. He didn't breathe again until he was safely in the passenger seat of Aurelien's car.
He exhaled, paused, looked at Aurelien, and grinned.
"Hey. Again."
Oh shit.
Time was weird as fuck. Like sometimes you'd be waiting for a thing to happen and every single day would drag and drag and drag and it'd be like a decade before you got through a month. And other times you kinda forgot about something and five minutes later it was happening and oh shit you weren't prepared? The second one happened more often to Dante cause his brain was off-kilter so much of the time but like, this particular time he really didn't think it was. Like he was excited about this thing? He was counting the days and everything? But then he lost count and also he was caught up in the whole "trying not to fail any classes because not graduating sounds pretty uncool" spiral of attempting and failing to study and then- whoops.
Dante genuinely had forgotten it was prom night until Aurelien had texted him that morning.
Luckily he'd told his parents he had a date back when Lion had asked, so all the prep was done. Dad had lent him a suit that didn't quite fit him but was like, clean and made him look pretty handsome if he did say so himself. Mom had insisted he get a matching corsage and bou-to-whatever, so he'd gotten red roses for both, and she'd fussed over them and over him and at one point started crying. She wasn't paying much attention to him tonight, though; she was much more occupied with Venetia, who had apparently landed a date with a senior boy and had blown a big chunk of several years worth of saved allowance on a nice dress. She seemed much more distressed about this whole thing than he did.
He sat in his parent's room as his mom and sisters bustled around in the living room. He eyed himself in his mom's favorite mirror. He looked handsome, yes. But he should have tried harder, right? Aurelien probably looked amazing. And he probably had a suit that fit. He was too nice to say anything about it, and that's part of why Dante liked him, but it was Dante's fault for not doing more. He wasn't great at saving money, but maybe he had enough. He hadn't thought to check. He was messing this up.
There was a knock at the door.
He heard a bunch of squeals come from the living room, the swing of an opening door, followed by an audible groan of disappointment. His worries melted away in an instant and a grin formed on his face. That was his cue. He made his way to the living room, parting the sea of his sisters, ruffling the hair of the openly-pouting Venetia, until he got to the door.
"Hey."
And now the key was getting out of here as soon as possible.
He'd told his parents he had a date. He also told them a friend was picking him up. He hadn't given more details, he didn't like lying to them, but he sure as hell couldn't tell them the truth.
"Uh, see you guys." He waved awkwardly at his sisters and his mom, turning away-
"Wait, wait, wait, cucciolo." His mother stopped him. Of course he did. She was never happy when he tried to avoid speaking to her. It was a rare occurrence, and his attempts were almost never successful. Rosa Valerio's voice was thickly accented and quickly spoken; she'd have spoke Italian if they were alone but kept up her English for Aurelien's benefit, something he was grateful for.
"You haven't introduced your friend." She smiled graciously at Aurelien. "It is very nice to meet you, young man. And if Dante hasn't thanked you for the ride allow me to do so. My husband is so busy, you see, so busy all the time, and so we didn't have a way to get Dante to prom. Do you have a date yourself? Handsome young man like yourself, I'm sure you do."
Dante fought the urge to cut and run, instead just smiling nervously. "We should probably get going, mama."
"I'm just making conversation!" Her smile wavered, but it recovered quickly. She turned around and picked up a box from the couch. "The corsage for your date. Don't forget! And don't forget to take pictures, and let me know if you're coming home late!"
"Yes, mama. Promise." He resisted the urge to bodily drag Aurelien out the door. He didn't breathe again until he was safely in the passenger seat of Aurelien's car.
He exhaled, paused, looked at Aurelien, and grinned.
"Hey. Again."
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
“Hey.”
Aurelien beamed at Dante, flooding the car with his smile, letting his heart beat out of control. Man. Dante, his date Dante, Dante his date, his date who happened to be Dante. Dante. God. It had sounded wonderful when he’d first thought about it, and it sounded even better now that it was actually happening.
“You look great. Like, holy shit, you look amazing, we’re gonna show up every single other couple there, you know that?”
And he really did look wonderful. Even Aurelien’s battered and broken old car looked pretty now that Dante was sitting in it. It had taken quite a lot of willpower to stop himself from yelling in excitement the moment Dante had stepped into the doorway of the Valerio house, but he knew how important the script they had to follow was. It had taken him, what, months to tell his parents, even after he was certain he was gay, and here Dante was, still incredibly uncertain as to what his sexuality even was any more.
On another day, that might have been a dark enough cloud to sour Aurelien’s mood, but it wasn’t even close to doing so today. They’d successfully navigated the main obstacle that had stood in their way without much hassle, and now Dante was here, sitting next to him.
“Sorry for, uh, disappointing your sisters and all.”
He grinned, running his hand through his hair, still unable to tear his eyes away from Dante.
“I guess opening the door to see your, uh, chauffeur rather than your date isn’t what they were hoping for.”
He was feeling a little bit tonguetied, a little bit flustered, not quite sure what to do with his hands or what to say or whether or not a kiss would be too premature at this point, but all in a good way, an exciting way. The last time he’d been in the dating scene had been a couple years back, with an old friend back from Luxembourg. All that had manifested in was a few months of flirting and sexts online. Aurelien hadn’t even been able to visit him in the short time they’d been together. This? This was in his hometown. It was close, it was tangible. It was real.
“Think I should put on the corsage? Make sure it doesn’t, I dunno, go to waste.”
He laughed, and smiled at Dante. Man, it was still really hard to shake the habits of a lifetime, and stop himself from calling Dante ‘bro’, though.
Aurelien beamed at Dante, flooding the car with his smile, letting his heart beat out of control. Man. Dante, his date Dante, Dante his date, his date who happened to be Dante. Dante. God. It had sounded wonderful when he’d first thought about it, and it sounded even better now that it was actually happening.
“You look great. Like, holy shit, you look amazing, we’re gonna show up every single other couple there, you know that?”
And he really did look wonderful. Even Aurelien’s battered and broken old car looked pretty now that Dante was sitting in it. It had taken quite a lot of willpower to stop himself from yelling in excitement the moment Dante had stepped into the doorway of the Valerio house, but he knew how important the script they had to follow was. It had taken him, what, months to tell his parents, even after he was certain he was gay, and here Dante was, still incredibly uncertain as to what his sexuality even was any more.
On another day, that might have been a dark enough cloud to sour Aurelien’s mood, but it wasn’t even close to doing so today. They’d successfully navigated the main obstacle that had stood in their way without much hassle, and now Dante was here, sitting next to him.
“Sorry for, uh, disappointing your sisters and all.”
He grinned, running his hand through his hair, still unable to tear his eyes away from Dante.
“I guess opening the door to see your, uh, chauffeur rather than your date isn’t what they were hoping for.”
He was feeling a little bit tonguetied, a little bit flustered, not quite sure what to do with his hands or what to say or whether or not a kiss would be too premature at this point, but all in a good way, an exciting way. The last time he’d been in the dating scene had been a couple years back, with an old friend back from Luxembourg. All that had manifested in was a few months of flirting and sexts online. Aurelien hadn’t even been able to visit him in the short time they’d been together. This? This was in his hometown. It was close, it was tangible. It was real.
“Think I should put on the corsage? Make sure it doesn’t, I dunno, go to waste.”
He laughed, and smiled at Dante. Man, it was still really hard to shake the habits of a lifetime, and stop himself from calling Dante ‘bro’, though.
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
It wasn't until they got to the car that Dante could get a proper look at Aurelien, or at least a look that didn't have to seem uncaring for his mother's sake. And he'd been right, of course, that Lion looked amazing, cause of course he did. His suit looked brand new, his hair looked... relatively tame, for him (not that he didn't love the tangled curls that usually covered his head), hell, he glanced down and even his shoes looked all proper and shit. For a moment he was even more aware of his flaws. He hadn't been sure what to do with his hair so he hadn't really done anything special, the suit was tight in the chest, buttons threatening to pop when he breathed too deep, his shoes fit okay (thank God for his dad's matching foot size) and had been polished for the occasion but there was no hiding the deepest scratches in the 10-year-old leather. Even the colors—they should have coordinated or something, maybe, but the green and blue Lion'd picked out were just unusual enough to look fantastic, and all Dante could manage was a basic black suit/white shirt/red tie combo. Fuck, he should have done more. His parents might have understood if he'd asked to hang on to a little more of his money from work, rented a better suit, he knew Venetia'd been doing the same but he felt too guilty withholding money his family needed—
Then Aurelien complimented him, and none of that really mattered, anymore.
Dante's cheeks felt warm as he scratched the back of his neck, the corners of his mouth turning up in an unforced grin. Man, it still felt weird to hear it out loud. Here was Aurelien, one of his best friends, possibly his singular best bro, and he was telling him how good he looked, and it was making him blush? Cause they were, like, dating? Still super fucking weird. But good. Weird but good. Very, very good. He was just kinda sitting there looking at Aurelien grinning like an idiot, because it was good, and because he didn't want it to stop, and it was always totally possible he'd say some dumb shit and ruin the moment. Dante's talent for saying dumb shit was legendary. Even on dates, when he was supposed to be in his element.
"Bro, trust me, if anyone's gonna show up the rest of prom, it's you."
Yeah, that's a good start. Call your boyfriend "bro". Wait, were they boyfriends? Was that how this worked?
"No worries. Venetia's got a senior boy taking her—uh, Alton, I think? Dunno if you know him, he's in a few of my classes. Anyway, yeah, she's mega stressed out. Overthinking everything. She does that." He shrugged. "She'll be fine. I'm supposed to check in on her, but she made me promise not to, and like... trust me, you don't want Vee getting mad at you."
He glanced at the package his mom had given him. The corsage... he'd probably have to ask some girl to wear it for a minute, take a couple pictures. He hadn't really thought about that part. But for the time being...
"Yeah. Yeah, for sure." He unboxed it. Red roses, matching both his boo-ton-whatever and his tie. Didn't quite match Aurelien's color scheme, but it tied it closer to his own, and something about that made him happy. He paused for a moment before gently taking Aurelien's left hand (and praying that his hands weren't sweaty) and carefully pushing up his sleeve just enough to slide the corsage onto his wrist.
He beamed. It really did look perfect.
"You don't mind it, do you? I know it's kinda girly, but, uh... I dunno. I like roses, I guess. They're pretty."
Like you, he probably shouldn't say. Too cheesy.
"Like you."
Shit.
Then Aurelien complimented him, and none of that really mattered, anymore.
Dante's cheeks felt warm as he scratched the back of his neck, the corners of his mouth turning up in an unforced grin. Man, it still felt weird to hear it out loud. Here was Aurelien, one of his best friends, possibly his singular best bro, and he was telling him how good he looked, and it was making him blush? Cause they were, like, dating? Still super fucking weird. But good. Weird but good. Very, very good. He was just kinda sitting there looking at Aurelien grinning like an idiot, because it was good, and because he didn't want it to stop, and it was always totally possible he'd say some dumb shit and ruin the moment. Dante's talent for saying dumb shit was legendary. Even on dates, when he was supposed to be in his element.
"Bro, trust me, if anyone's gonna show up the rest of prom, it's you."
Yeah, that's a good start. Call your boyfriend "bro". Wait, were they boyfriends? Was that how this worked?
"No worries. Venetia's got a senior boy taking her—uh, Alton, I think? Dunno if you know him, he's in a few of my classes. Anyway, yeah, she's mega stressed out. Overthinking everything. She does that." He shrugged. "She'll be fine. I'm supposed to check in on her, but she made me promise not to, and like... trust me, you don't want Vee getting mad at you."
He glanced at the package his mom had given him. The corsage... he'd probably have to ask some girl to wear it for a minute, take a couple pictures. He hadn't really thought about that part. But for the time being...
"Yeah. Yeah, for sure." He unboxed it. Red roses, matching both his boo-ton-whatever and his tie. Didn't quite match Aurelien's color scheme, but it tied it closer to his own, and something about that made him happy. He paused for a moment before gently taking Aurelien's left hand (and praying that his hands weren't sweaty) and carefully pushing up his sleeve just enough to slide the corsage onto his wrist.
He beamed. It really did look perfect.
"You don't mind it, do you? I know it's kinda girly, but, uh... I dunno. I like roses, I guess. They're pretty."
Like you, he probably shouldn't say. Too cheesy.
"Like you."
Shit.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
There was a lot there for Aurelien to think about, a lot of Dante’s words for him to pore over and analyse at his leisure; and gosh, could he listen him talk forever. He was glad that Dante had stumbled into the pitfall of ‘bro’ that he’d been so desperately trying to avoid; it was cute, endearing, symbolic of the clumsy but earnest relationship they were trying to develop, and strangely enough, it made him feel more hopeful that everything would work out perfectly in the end. And it was an interesting little tidbit, that Dante’s sister was going to prom with Alton. He felt a little sorry for her; Alton was cute, no doubt about that, but he also seemed like you’d wake up in a bathtub with your kidneys missing if you hung out with him.
But all of that could wait until later. Because right now, the only thing Aurelien could think about was the compliment Dante had just laid upon him, the one that had taken him by surprise and wiped every other thought clear out of his mind. He stared at Dante, his prom date, his… boyfriend? He still wasn’t sure, wouldn’t be sure until it was spoken out loud, but he wanted very badly for it to be the case.
Whatever Dante was to him, Aurelien stared at him, warm smile growing on his face, blush rising in his cheeks. It was unbelievably dorky, and incredibly cheesy, sure, but he didn’t mind one bit. It was another thing that made it feel real and right, the stumbling and the tripping over your heart that he’d missed out on until now, the sort of earnesty you only got when face to face with the person you really liked.
Plus, it was really cute. Just like Dante!
Aurelien tilted his head slightly, staring at Dante and his gorgeous eyes for a moment longer before he leaned in, kissing him on the cheek.
“You’re a fine one to talk,” he said, grinning. The hand that now had the corsage around its wrist hovered uncertainly for a moment, before settling on top of Dante’s own hand, index finger lightly tracing the back of it. “You really do look stunning, you know? I’ve been thinking about this for weeks now, and every single time I play it out in my mind it goes slightly differently, and you know what? This is already better than I could have ever imagined it going.”
God. He was just grinning and blushing and gushing like an idiot, wasn’t he? Well. If looking like an idiot was the price he had to pay to feel this damn happy, he’d take it in a heartbeat. And, considering how fast his heart was pounding, that was almost instantaneous.
Aurelien looked down at his wrist, smile turning wistful.
“It really does look lovely, doesn’t it? The corsage, I mean.”
But all of that could wait until later. Because right now, the only thing Aurelien could think about was the compliment Dante had just laid upon him, the one that had taken him by surprise and wiped every other thought clear out of his mind. He stared at Dante, his prom date, his… boyfriend? He still wasn’t sure, wouldn’t be sure until it was spoken out loud, but he wanted very badly for it to be the case.
Whatever Dante was to him, Aurelien stared at him, warm smile growing on his face, blush rising in his cheeks. It was unbelievably dorky, and incredibly cheesy, sure, but he didn’t mind one bit. It was another thing that made it feel real and right, the stumbling and the tripping over your heart that he’d missed out on until now, the sort of earnesty you only got when face to face with the person you really liked.
Plus, it was really cute. Just like Dante!
Aurelien tilted his head slightly, staring at Dante and his gorgeous eyes for a moment longer before he leaned in, kissing him on the cheek.
“You’re a fine one to talk,” he said, grinning. The hand that now had the corsage around its wrist hovered uncertainly for a moment, before settling on top of Dante’s own hand, index finger lightly tracing the back of it. “You really do look stunning, you know? I’ve been thinking about this for weeks now, and every single time I play it out in my mind it goes slightly differently, and you know what? This is already better than I could have ever imagined it going.”
God. He was just grinning and blushing and gushing like an idiot, wasn’t he? Well. If looking like an idiot was the price he had to pay to feel this damn happy, he’d take it in a heartbeat. And, considering how fast his heart was pounding, that was almost instantaneous.
Aurelien looked down at his wrist, smile turning wistful.
“It really does look lovely, doesn’t it? The corsage, I mean.”
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
"Course it does. You're wearing it."
Okay, he was kinda getting in the swing of it now. Like, he was good at the flirting business. He was good at having the right thing to say, at coming up with perfect compliments for the moment. That was sorta one of the only things he was good at, really. Problem was he'd been a little too confident, and he hadn't really taken account how the whole "flirting with my best bro who I actually like a lot" thing was gonna mess with him. He could shake that off, though! Being chill was like... the other thing he was good at.
Still, when he looked up at Lion again, he froze.
He'd kissed Dante on the cheek. Like, that had happened. He remembered it, sort of. Might have blacked out for a second when it happened, actually. But he was pretty sure he hadn't made it up, and he didn't have a good reaction for it yet. Should he do the same thing? He probably should. Right? But the butterflies in his stomach had turned, suddenly, into a lump of lead.
"Sorry if I'm... like. Kinda..."
Kinda what? He didn't know.
"... I'm happy. Y'know? Like, I said yes cause I wanted to, and I'm really... really glad we're here, like this." So why was he hesitating?
"Maybe we should head out?"
He toyed with his rosary ring, still hanging around his neck.
Okay, he was kinda getting in the swing of it now. Like, he was good at the flirting business. He was good at having the right thing to say, at coming up with perfect compliments for the moment. That was sorta one of the only things he was good at, really. Problem was he'd been a little too confident, and he hadn't really taken account how the whole "flirting with my best bro who I actually like a lot" thing was gonna mess with him. He could shake that off, though! Being chill was like... the other thing he was good at.
Still, when he looked up at Lion again, he froze.
He'd kissed Dante on the cheek. Like, that had happened. He remembered it, sort of. Might have blacked out for a second when it happened, actually. But he was pretty sure he hadn't made it up, and he didn't have a good reaction for it yet. Should he do the same thing? He probably should. Right? But the butterflies in his stomach had turned, suddenly, into a lump of lead.
"Sorry if I'm... like. Kinda..."
Kinda what? He didn't know.
"... I'm happy. Y'know? Like, I said yes cause I wanted to, and I'm really... really glad we're here, like this." So why was he hesitating?
"Maybe we should head out?"
He toyed with his rosary ring, still hanging around his neck.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
“Hey…”
Aurelien spoke softly, his excited, ridiculous grin shifting into a much gentler smile, as he placed his hand, the one wreathed in the corsage, on top of Dante’s. This was always something that was gonna be different to anything he’d experienced before. All his previous hook-ups and flirtations and one-night stands and everything inbetween had been with people he’d known to be gay beforehand. Dante was different. Special in so many ways. Aurelien had made a leap of faith into the dark and, so far, everything had turned out far better than expected.
What was it Myles had said at the party? Aurelien tried to cast his mind back, digging through buried memories and a drunken haze. He’d said “Dante is straight.” Or something like that. It was what everybody at school thought, after all. Hell, he could hazard a guess that it was what Dante had thought until very recently. And now, here he was, getting ready to head off to prom with the guy he’d considered a friend, as… well, more than friends.
Aurelien couldn’t help but feel guilty sometimes for pushing Dante all the way through his realisation.
He noticed Dante nervously playing with his rosary as well. Aurelien had never considered himself religious, nor did he particularly consider himself an atheist. He supposed that made him agnostic, but really, he’d just never taken much time to think about religion too much. He supposed that was, to pardon a phrase, a blessing in a way. This was just another thing for Dante to ruminate upon.
And Aurelien wasn’t about to let Dante stay downbeat and upset. Not on a night that was supposed to be wonderful for him. Time to be a good… boyfriend at most, prom date at the very least.
“It’s okay, blummen, it’s okay,” Aurelien said, tilting his head softly as he spoke. “I understand. Take as long as you need. I’ll be here for as long as it takes to figure out. Promise.”
Aurelien spoke softly, his excited, ridiculous grin shifting into a much gentler smile, as he placed his hand, the one wreathed in the corsage, on top of Dante’s. This was always something that was gonna be different to anything he’d experienced before. All his previous hook-ups and flirtations and one-night stands and everything inbetween had been with people he’d known to be gay beforehand. Dante was different. Special in so many ways. Aurelien had made a leap of faith into the dark and, so far, everything had turned out far better than expected.
What was it Myles had said at the party? Aurelien tried to cast his mind back, digging through buried memories and a drunken haze. He’d said “Dante is straight.” Or something like that. It was what everybody at school thought, after all. Hell, he could hazard a guess that it was what Dante had thought until very recently. And now, here he was, getting ready to head off to prom with the guy he’d considered a friend, as… well, more than friends.
Aurelien couldn’t help but feel guilty sometimes for pushing Dante all the way through his realisation.
He noticed Dante nervously playing with his rosary as well. Aurelien had never considered himself religious, nor did he particularly consider himself an atheist. He supposed that made him agnostic, but really, he’d just never taken much time to think about religion too much. He supposed that was, to pardon a phrase, a blessing in a way. This was just another thing for Dante to ruminate upon.
And Aurelien wasn’t about to let Dante stay downbeat and upset. Not on a night that was supposed to be wonderful for him. Time to be a good… boyfriend at most, prom date at the very least.
“It’s okay, blummen, it’s okay,” Aurelien said, tilting his head softly as he spoke. “I understand. Take as long as you need. I’ll be here for as long as it takes to figure out. Promise.”
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
It really was weird had shit caught up to you out of nowhere. First prom, and now... what?
Basically an eternity ago (until he was like, 7) his family had gone to a different church. He didn't remember the Father's name, because he tried to talk to him as little as possible, cause even as young as he was he could tell that he just... didn't like kids. At all. And even as young as he was he could tell that he seemed less like he loved God and more like he just wanted to yell at people. He always seemed to turn every bit of scripture he read around into some kinda rant about some kinda sinners, and he was too young to really understand but just the energy made him want to stay home. That wasn't what made them switch churches; his mom got in a fight with some other mom about her panettone or something like that and she was offended enough to just make the whole fam up and move. Definitely for the best. Dante doubted he'd feel the way he did now about religion without Father Esposito's help.
It was in that first church that he'd first heard those words. "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." He had no goddamn idea what it had meant at the time, cause he'd been, like, five. But he remembered how angry the Father had been. And he remembered his parents nodding along.
He had his own thoughts. About God, about the Bible, about what was and wasn't really a sin. He told Father Esposito, because he understood, even if sometimes he tried to gently nudge Dante back on the correct path, whatever that even meant. Mostly, though, he just listened. Dante was sure of himself. He was sure his friends weren't wrong. He was sure God had made them as they were for a reason, and that reason was good and important. He'd heard some thoughts on that particular line, on how it wasn't really condemning being gay and it really meant something else, and he took comfort in that, too.
That had gotten him this far. That surety. He had other things to worry about, anyway, like sounding like an idiot or his suit looking half-decent or whatever. He'd done his damn best not to think too hard about any of this before tonight because he didn't want to second-guess this, to doubt his own happiness. Because he'd been so happy!
He still was. But now that he was sitting here, knowing he was lying to his parents, something he never did—it was now that it was hitting him. Twirling his rosary ring. His parents hadn't protested that day. No one had. Did no one else think it was wrong?
He could have just... not done this. Plenty of girls would have gone with him. Fuck, one had even asked. He wouldn't have had a bad time that way. His mom would have taken a million pictures and probably gotten one printed all big and put on the wall to embarrass him forever. She would have been happy. His dad would have been proud. What was that worth to him?
He looked back up at Aurelien. He figured that would be enough to melt the anxiety away again. It helped, but it was still there. He didn't like it. Being anything less than chill just wasn't his bag.
"S'a lot to figure out. And like, I get it if you don't wanna, like... deal with that? I mean we're kinda... already here. So I guess you're kinda stuck with me for now." He grinned wryly. "Uh... what's blummen mean?"
Man, he hoped he hadn't pulled the mood down too hard.
Basically an eternity ago (until he was like, 7) his family had gone to a different church. He didn't remember the Father's name, because he tried to talk to him as little as possible, cause even as young as he was he could tell that he just... didn't like kids. At all. And even as young as he was he could tell that he seemed less like he loved God and more like he just wanted to yell at people. He always seemed to turn every bit of scripture he read around into some kinda rant about some kinda sinners, and he was too young to really understand but just the energy made him want to stay home. That wasn't what made them switch churches; his mom got in a fight with some other mom about her panettone or something like that and she was offended enough to just make the whole fam up and move. Definitely for the best. Dante doubted he'd feel the way he did now about religion without Father Esposito's help.
It was in that first church that he'd first heard those words. "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." He had no goddamn idea what it had meant at the time, cause he'd been, like, five. But he remembered how angry the Father had been. And he remembered his parents nodding along.
He had his own thoughts. About God, about the Bible, about what was and wasn't really a sin. He told Father Esposito, because he understood, even if sometimes he tried to gently nudge Dante back on the correct path, whatever that even meant. Mostly, though, he just listened. Dante was sure of himself. He was sure his friends weren't wrong. He was sure God had made them as they were for a reason, and that reason was good and important. He'd heard some thoughts on that particular line, on how it wasn't really condemning being gay and it really meant something else, and he took comfort in that, too.
That had gotten him this far. That surety. He had other things to worry about, anyway, like sounding like an idiot or his suit looking half-decent or whatever. He'd done his damn best not to think too hard about any of this before tonight because he didn't want to second-guess this, to doubt his own happiness. Because he'd been so happy!
He still was. But now that he was sitting here, knowing he was lying to his parents, something he never did—it was now that it was hitting him. Twirling his rosary ring. His parents hadn't protested that day. No one had. Did no one else think it was wrong?
He could have just... not done this. Plenty of girls would have gone with him. Fuck, one had even asked. He wouldn't have had a bad time that way. His mom would have taken a million pictures and probably gotten one printed all big and put on the wall to embarrass him forever. She would have been happy. His dad would have been proud. What was that worth to him?
He looked back up at Aurelien. He figured that would be enough to melt the anxiety away again. It helped, but it was still there. He didn't like it. Being anything less than chill just wasn't his bag.
"S'a lot to figure out. And like, I get it if you don't wanna, like... deal with that? I mean we're kinda... already here. So I guess you're kinda stuck with me for now." He grinned wryly. "Uh... what's blummen mean?"
Man, he hoped he hadn't pulled the mood down too hard.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
“It means, uh, flower, blummen.”
Aurelien grinned back at Dante, gently tracing his thumb in circles on the back of his hand. Whoops. He probably shoulda known that question would be coming. At least if he’d chosen French then Dante would have been more likely to understand it.
“I kinda, I guess… saw the corsage again, and my mind kinda linked it and you together. Or something.”
He couldn’t say he was complaining, though. It was something he could very much get used to; slipping in occasional Luxembourgish words and phrases into sentences, waiting for Dante to eagerly, curiously ask what they meant. Yeah. Yeah, it was cute. Really cute.
“Plus, any other, like, Luxembourgish terms of endearment just sound kinda lame. If I’d just called you, uh… léif or hunneg, see, they both kinda just sound like I’ve got somethin’ stuck in my throat.”
He laughed softly. Wasn’t he supposed to be doing more, here? He felt like there could be so much more he could, should be doing, reassuring Dante, letting him know that everything was going to be okay. But he didn’t know where to even start starting with the religion thing, and he’d just gotten all distracted by the gentle warmth of Dante’s hand underneath his, and how good his soft, fluffy hair looked on him, and his eyes, and his smile.
“Blummen sounds nicer. It sounds pretty. It fits you perfectly.”
Got him back.
“I wouldn’t wanna be stuck with anyone else but you.”
Aurelien grinned back at Dante, gently tracing his thumb in circles on the back of his hand. Whoops. He probably shoulda known that question would be coming. At least if he’d chosen French then Dante would have been more likely to understand it.
“I kinda, I guess… saw the corsage again, and my mind kinda linked it and you together. Or something.”
He couldn’t say he was complaining, though. It was something he could very much get used to; slipping in occasional Luxembourgish words and phrases into sentences, waiting for Dante to eagerly, curiously ask what they meant. Yeah. Yeah, it was cute. Really cute.
“Plus, any other, like, Luxembourgish terms of endearment just sound kinda lame. If I’d just called you, uh… léif or hunneg, see, they both kinda just sound like I’ve got somethin’ stuck in my throat.”
He laughed softly. Wasn’t he supposed to be doing more, here? He felt like there could be so much more he could, should be doing, reassuring Dante, letting him know that everything was going to be okay. But he didn’t know where to even start starting with the religion thing, and he’d just gotten all distracted by the gentle warmth of Dante’s hand underneath his, and how good his soft, fluffy hair looked on him, and his eyes, and his smile.
“Blummen sounds nicer. It sounds pretty. It fits you perfectly.”
Got him back.
“I wouldn’t wanna be stuck with anyone else but you.”
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
It meant flower. Of course it did. "Blummen". Like, bloom? Duh. But he could have been totally wrong about that, so it was probably better to have asked, cause now he'd only sound like sort of a dumbass instead of a huge one. Baby steps. Luxembourgish was a funny word. Like he probably shouldn't say that to Aurelien, but it was. Like Luxembourg already sounded funny but the "ish" part made it funnier. Was Aurelien a Luxembourgish name? He'd never asked. He'd definitely never heard it before. But it was so pretty, and it was so him. Not that he'd really heard Dante outside of himself and like that book about hell and allegories or whatever. They were both kinda foreigners. Well, Dante didn't have an accent, unless he tried to, which he did sometimes. And also he was born here. But still, wasn't a huge Italian population in Chattanooga. Strangers thought he was Mexican sometimes and yelled mean things at him and he just kinda looked at them because what else do you do with that??? He didn't even speak Spanish. Well he spoke a little Spanish because he was taking it at school but honestly most of the time he just strung the Spanish words he knew together and filled in the blanks with Italian and it came out good enough. Good enough that he had a C in the class anyway, which was better than he was doing in most of his other classes.
Whoa, what?
Dante refocused on Aurelien, at least fairly certain that he hadn't been staring at him blankly for more than, like, five seconds. His brain went off on tangents sometimes. That was okay, though. Aurelien knew that, and he didn't mind. Aurelien didn't mind anything about him. He was good like that.
"I mean, I think they sound pretty good, coming from you."
He let go of the rosary ring.
This was dumb. Like, the worry thing, not the Aurelien thing, or the prom thing, which were both assuredly not dumb and in fact pretty cool and rad. They'd been together for a couple of months now. They hadn't really done a lot of Dating in that sense, mostly because of that same worry thing that Dante was rapidly regretting, but they'd talked lots. They'd touched, a little. They'd touched significantly more on one specific occasion, though his memories of that were unfortunately a little hazy.
They'd kissed, then, too. Not before or since, but his lips still burned when he thought of it.
"Mia anima."
He reached forward with his free hand and, almost delicately, touched the side of Aurelien's face.
"You're more than worth it all."
And he leaned in.
He could worry later.
For now he was only in love.
Whoa, what?
Dante refocused on Aurelien, at least fairly certain that he hadn't been staring at him blankly for more than, like, five seconds. His brain went off on tangents sometimes. That was okay, though. Aurelien knew that, and he didn't mind. Aurelien didn't mind anything about him. He was good like that.
"I mean, I think they sound pretty good, coming from you."
He let go of the rosary ring.
This was dumb. Like, the worry thing, not the Aurelien thing, or the prom thing, which were both assuredly not dumb and in fact pretty cool and rad. They'd been together for a couple of months now. They hadn't really done a lot of Dating in that sense, mostly because of that same worry thing that Dante was rapidly regretting, but they'd talked lots. They'd touched, a little. They'd touched significantly more on one specific occasion, though his memories of that were unfortunately a little hazy.
They'd kissed, then, too. Not before or since, but his lips still burned when he thought of it.
"Mia anima."
He reached forward with his free hand and, almost delicately, touched the side of Aurelien's face.
"You're more than worth it all."
And he leaned in.
He could worry later.
For now he was only in love.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
And as they kissed, the last, lingering worries in Aurelien’s mind melted away too. Because how could he worry when Dante was here? He was perfect. He was radiant. The car was bathed in light and in warmth whenever the two touched, and even as he broke away to smile at Dante, the look in his eyes and the way his hair fell around his face made his heart skip a beat all over again.
He was hopelessly in love, and he couldn’t be happier to realise it.
He could’ve quite happily stayed here for the rest of the evening, but they had a prom to get to. He settled for tracing his fingers down Dante’s arm instead, hand coming to rest on top of his. He smiled warmly at Dante, his date, his boyfriend, because who was he trying to fool, as if that wasn’t what he wanted more than anything else in the world.
“Should we get going, then?” he asked. “Can’t knock people out with how good we look if we’re stuck in a car all evening, eh?”
He laughed, and gently squeezed Dante’s hand. Everything was going to be fine.
No, scratch that. Everything was going to be wonderful.
“Also, you realise you’re gonna have to tell me what ‘mia anima’ means too, right? So I can use it on you in the future.”
He was hopelessly in love, and he couldn’t be happier to realise it.
He could’ve quite happily stayed here for the rest of the evening, but they had a prom to get to. He settled for tracing his fingers down Dante’s arm instead, hand coming to rest on top of his. He smiled warmly at Dante, his date, his boyfriend, because who was he trying to fool, as if that wasn’t what he wanted more than anything else in the world.
“Should we get going, then?” he asked. “Can’t knock people out with how good we look if we’re stuck in a car all evening, eh?”
He laughed, and gently squeezed Dante’s hand. Everything was going to be fine.
No, scratch that. Everything was going to be wonderful.
“Also, you realise you’re gonna have to tell me what ‘mia anima’ means too, right? So I can use it on you in the future.”
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017
They were supposed to go somewhere, right? Like they weren't supposed to just sit in the car for the next six hours? Because the look in Aurelien's eyes when Dante pulled back was something he'd be happy to lose himself in for the rest of the night. But no, they had a party to get to. Dancing to do. Pictures to take and all that. It didn't seem all that important, now, but maybe it'd feel a little more important when they got there?
There was the whole "kinda implicitly coming out to the whole school at once" thing he had to deal with, but that was fine. Or maybe it wasn't fine, but it was definitely worth it. Which made it fine, in a way. That didn't make any sense! Whatever.
"Yeah," he said, and he realized just how wide his smile had become. "Yeah, we should. Probably should get out of here before Vee's date gets here. We're in his parking space."
He managed, barely, to pull away, only after returning the squeeze Aurelien had given his hand that had given him goosebumps up his arm. After a moment, he paused and tucked his rosary ring necklace into his shirt.
"Mia anima. It means my soul."
His face felt warm. His heart felt warm.
It could be so easy, if he let it be.
>> Dante Luciano Valerio continued in Ballare
There was the whole "kinda implicitly coming out to the whole school at once" thing he had to deal with, but that was fine. Or maybe it wasn't fine, but it was definitely worth it. Which made it fine, in a way. That didn't make any sense! Whatever.
"Yeah," he said, and he realized just how wide his smile had become. "Yeah, we should. Probably should get out of here before Vee's date gets here. We're in his parking space."
He managed, barely, to pull away, only after returning the squeeze Aurelien had given his hand that had given him goosebumps up his arm. After a moment, he paused and tucked his rosary ring necklace into his shirt.
"Mia anima. It means my soul."
His face felt warm. His heart felt warm.
It could be so easy, if he let it be.
>> Dante Luciano Valerio continued in Ballare
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
It was warm. Everything was warm. Warm and gentle and wonderful. Dante smiled at him, and Aurelien’s entire world lit up, and nothing but this little moment of time and space mattered anymore. His own smile matched Dante’s in how bright and wide it was, and he wanted nothing more than to kiss him, like they had done just now, for the rest of eternity.
But reality, unfortunately, just had to ensue. Aurelien laughed softly as he turned the key in the ignition. Yes, best to leave before Vee’s date saw them, and asked her why exactly her brother and his friend hadn’t left yet and had been maybe sort of kissing in his car. That would be… difficult to explain.
“Of course,” Aurelien murmured serenely. “Mia anima.”
It didn’t sound quite as good, coming out of his mouth with his Benelux accent, but then again, nothing sounded as good as when it came from Dante.
And now he was getting all excited, all over again, because everything he thought about contained Dante in it, and wanted nothing more than that and for it to never stop. Of course, that was, at this moment in time, wishful thinking. A year could change things. College could make everything different.
But he couldn’t even begin to think about that right now. All he could think about was prom, and spending the rest of the night with Dante, and just how radiant that thought was.
((Aurelien Valter continued in Ballare))
But reality, unfortunately, just had to ensue. Aurelien laughed softly as he turned the key in the ignition. Yes, best to leave before Vee’s date saw them, and asked her why exactly her brother and his friend hadn’t left yet and had been maybe sort of kissing in his car. That would be… difficult to explain.
“Of course,” Aurelien murmured serenely. “Mia anima.”
It didn’t sound quite as good, coming out of his mouth with his Benelux accent, but then again, nothing sounded as good as when it came from Dante.
And now he was getting all excited, all over again, because everything he thought about contained Dante in it, and wanted nothing more than that and for it to never stop. Of course, that was, at this moment in time, wishful thinking. A year could change things. College could make everything different.
But he couldn’t even begin to think about that right now. All he could think about was prom, and spending the rest of the night with Dante, and just how radiant that thought was.
((Aurelien Valter continued in Ballare))
"bryony and alba would definitely join the terrorists quote me on this put this quote in signatures put it in history books" - Cicada Days, 2017