Next, I needed to text Touya to make sure Zephyr wasn't bothered today unless absolutely necessary, and then I'd find my man.
Zephyr
I buttoned my shirt sleeves, then adjusted my collar as I eyed myself in the mirror. Keoni hadn't mentioned when we'd go on our date, or where. If we were going to the human world, I'd need to skip the cloak and find my gloves. If we were staying here, I could get away with wearing the cloak.
The long purple cloak was my oldest possession. I'd used magic to keep it in perfect shape, and I liked wearing it because it felt like a barrier between the world and me. And it looked good on me, if I was being honest.
I'd put the cloak on, and if we were going out, I could just take it off.
Decision made, I finished getting ready, and just as I was about to head out for breakfast—and hopefully ask Keoni for details about our date—there was a knock on my door.
Confused, I pulled it open, and Keoni smiled up at me as he bustled in, then closed the door.
"Um, hello," I murmured, confused why he was here when we would've seen each other in a few minutes. Then the scent of fried bacon reached my nose, and I felt even more puzzled.
"Good morning, Zephyr! Are you ready for our date?"
"Huh?" I mumbled like an idiot, and he chuckled.
"Well, I thought a lot about what our first date should be like. I made a lot of big, elaborate plans, but then I realized we've had a lot of excitement over the last few months anyway, and maybe what we need is something a bit more calm and cozy. Soooo... home date!" He exclaimed, spreading his arms wide like he was a presenter on a TV show.
"Oh," I mumbled, stunned, and his smile dimmed a little.
"You don't like it? We can go out if you'd prefer that," he said, and I shook my head.
"I think a home date sounds perfect," I said, and I meant it. For one, we could be ourselves here. Keoni wouldn't need to hide in a wheelchair, I wouldn't need to wear gloves, and we could just focus on us. I'd like to go out at some point, but for now, staying in sounded much better.
"Great! I brought us breakfast, and my laptop. I thought we could eat and then maybe watch some movies? Cuddle, if you're up for that?" he asked, then turned to glance at my bed, his lips pursing in thought.
That wouldn't do. I snapped my fingers, and the bed doubled in size, the room adjusting itself to make space for it. Keoni blinked, then turned a blinding smile on me.
"Fuck, you're so powerful!"
Not powerful enough, I thought, but didn't say it, not wanting to ruin the mood.
"Let's eat first," Keoni said, and I nodded, leading him to the small table and chair in the corner. There was just one chair, but that was okay since Keoni couldn't sit in one anyway. I raised the height of both table and chair so he wouldn't have to lean down, and took out our packed breakfast from his cart.
"Jacinta knows, so I'm sure everyone will by the time our date ends," Keoni said with a wry smile, and I chuckled.
Jacinta was, well, Jacinta. They were guarded, but they'd opened up a little in recent years. They'd been pretty anti-human until a few years ago, but they mellowed out a little after Touya and Bellamy—another human resident who'd arrived soon after Touya—started living in the Sanctuary. They were also a huge gossip.
"That's good. It would feel awkward to make an announcement."
Keoni snickered at the idea, and we chatted as we ate our breakfast, our conversation moving between topics relating to our family and ourselves seamlessly. I'd thought I'd gotten to know Keoni pretty well over the years, but I was getting to see a whole other side of him now. A confident, self-assured side that I found extremely attractive.
I'd never been in a relationship in all my years, had never been able to trust someone to let them get that close. And the people I trusted—the people in the Sanctuary—I could never look at that way. I was responsible for them, for their welfare, and the power imbalance there would've never let me even think about them as anything but family.
Keoni should've been the same. I didn't know if it was because we were mates, or because Keoni had never treated me like hethought he owed me, never called me headmaster, but I didn't feel the same way about him.
Not only did Keoni not see me like the others did, he called me out on my shit. He liked bossing me around, and while I would probably never admit it, I liked it when he did that too.
Eleven
Keoni
After breakfast, we curledup on Zephyr's bed, which took some doing.
"You know, before last night, I hadn't really thought about how awkward lying down is for you as a centaur," Zephyr said as he shifted a little closer to me.
