It’s slowly becoming my habit—the falling on my knees thing, my cringy routine.
When I reach him, he turns slightly, setting his utensils aside.
I lower my head onto his knee, resting my forehead there, waiting for myreward, histouch.
And then his hand comes, soft, sweet, his fingers slipping into my hair, and the feeling hits instantly, a quiet sound leaving my throat as my body reacts, hard and hot.
I want him, I want to push into him, to hear those soft sounds from him again, to feel him open for me, to lose myself in him, but first…
"I want the world to see you the way I do… under that mask, because deep down, you’re… an innocent, beautiful soul."
I feel the effect of those words immediately. Blue stiffens slightly, his fingers stilling in my hair.
"Gabriel, I’m not perfect, please don’t idealize me."
"For me you are, you’re bigger than life… someone extraordinary I’ll never reach, Blue."
He slides his hand under my chin and lifts my head.
"You consider yourself so insignificant all the time, but your impact on me, on my life… is non-trivial. And only positive. I rarely beg, but I beg you this time. Never think of yourself as less. It ends today. Promise me that, Gabriel."
There’s a previously unseen intensity in his eyes as he says it.
Then he pulls my elbows up, making me stand up. He stands too.
"Don’t go on your knees, Gabe, be proud, you’re my partner, my equal."
We stand facing each other now, and Blue reaches for my hands, seriousness in his eyes.
"You make me… happy, Gabriel. Do you know that?" He hesitates, then adds, "My father said that’s the most important factor. And I’m inclined to believe he’s right."
I slowly raise my hand and gently touch the side of his cheek, stroking it lightly. I can still feel that faint shiver, that tiny spark of tension in him during the first instant of contact.
Blue truly isn’t used to this.
And still, Fate put us together, me hungry, dying for touch and him hesitant, reluctant toward it.
My fingers slowly trace along his cheekbone before lowering to his soft lips.
The words fly out before I can stop them.
"Are you mine…?"
Blue closes his eyes and lets out a slow breath.
"In all the ways that matter, yes, Gabriel. Undoubtedly yours."
I pull him to myself and just hold him like this, savoring the moment of his softer, more open energy. It’s so blissful to be so close to him, our bodies snuggled tightly, the air around us turning warm, pastel and dreamlike…
So I allow myself to simply enjoy this moment. Then a slim hand lands in my waistband and drifts even lower. Well, we obviously don’t stop at just holding each other…
???
By the end of the next week, something rather unexpected happens.
One day, when Blue is heading out to visit Jacob to go over some arrangements related to Beta Activation, we run into two people in the lobby of the DevApp skyscraper who I would never have expected to see there.
It’s… my uncle Lake and Aiden, the parents of… Winter.
