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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 3, 2009 23:36:31 GMT -5
Michael had debated telling Emilian, but he knew that he needed to tell and that it would be better to go ahead and do it. He had let himself in the shop, thinking that Emilian wouldn't care too badly, and stood at the top of the stairs to knock. Dare was with him, Michael's hand tight around his, though admittedly not as tight as it had been before. It would be strange to tell Emilian, but they would be okay.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 3, 2009 23:42:29 GMT -5
Where Michael was nervous, Dare was near terrified. He hid it well, knowing it wouldn't help anyone, and focused on what they were here to do rather than the possible immediate consequences. There was nothing in him that wished he'd waited longer, nothing that wished the engagement was secret, but all the same, he was intimidated by Emilian. He was definitely letting Michael do as much of the talking as possible. Dare forced as genuine-looking a smile as possible for Michael, then waited for whatever would happen next.
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Post by Emilian Sota on Jan 3, 2009 23:51:12 GMT -5
Emilian, who had been hoping for a quick return from Adara, stood to open the door, only to have a broad smile spread over his lips. "Come on in," he said, getting a vivid image in his mind of one of the pictures Mano had found in particular when his eyes caught on Dare. It was hard not to imagine that picture, though, when it had shown so much, when he had looked at it so much. He stepped back to let the two in.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 3, 2009 23:54:50 GMT -5
Michael didn't like the smile that was on Emilian's lips, but he smiled anyway and walked in. He headed toward the couch, refusing to take a chair when he had gotten so used to the near-constant contact he had with Dare since they had moved in together. It gave him a thrill to think of it. "Is Adara not here?" he asked, looking around. He had hoped maybe to tell Adara, too.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 3, 2009 23:59:37 GMT -5
Dare was still thinking about the way Emilian had looked at him, still feeling it to be honest, and wondering what it was about. It seemed like he had some kind of secret, and the first Dare could think of was that maybe he knew. But then, why would he be smiling so widely? Either way, Dare settled beside Michael and adjusted his hand and fingers against Michael.
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Post by Emilian Sota on Jan 4, 2009 0:04:05 GMT -5
Emilian shut the door and shook his head. "No, she had some work she had to do up at the school, she'll be back later," he said, then moved to sit in a chair. In his mind, the pictures he had hidden in a drawer in the bedroom were dancing in his head. Ones of Michael teasing in familiar sleep pants were followed by Dare in much, much less, only to change to the moving scenes of their private moments. "So what brings you here?" he asked, pulling his eyes up from where they had fallen improperly low on Dare's body.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 4, 2009 0:12:39 GMT -5
Michael's eyebrows came together slightly at Emilian's gaze on Dare like that, but when Emilian looked up at him again he was able to ignore it long enough to speak. "I wanted to tell you something," he said, unable to keep his lips from curving or the sparkle from his eyes. "I stayed over at Dare's for Christmas," he started, then looked over at Dare, though he didn't expect him to speak.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 4, 2009 0:18:00 GMT -5
It was only hearing his name that pulled Dare's attention away from Emilian. Still, he'd shifted to sit with one ankle over the opposite knee rather than stretching out like he preferred. He wanted to be glad that apparently Emilian liked him, but he'd almost have preferred the brooding, protective... whatever he was. Emilian hadn't even looked at him like this the day they'd met in that café. Still, Dare managed another smile as he looked aside at Michael and tried to push aside his other thoughts as nonsense.
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Post by Emilian Sota on Jan 4, 2009 0:25:59 GMT -5
Emilian raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Dare. "Well I'm glad you find that important enough to tell me about," he said, crossing an ankle over his knee in an imitation of Dare. If that was all there was to tell, then he didn't know why they had come. Just that thought made him think that there was something else. But what could it be?
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 4, 2009 0:30:54 GMT -5
Michael smiled and looked away from Dare to Emilian again. He could feel his nerves tingling through his body, so he decided it would be best to go ahead and say it. "Well, Christmas morning," he started, hand tightening in Dare's. "Dare asked me to marry him, and...I said yes." And they would get married, even if it was years down the road after a lot of work and a civil ceremony.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 4, 2009 0:36:59 GMT -5
There were a lot of things Dare wanted to say, that he'd waited as long as he could, or that they weren't actually having any sort of ceremony until next summer, though they'd already chosen a date. He kept his mouth closed, though. He had recognized his tendency toward talking too much in front of Emilian, at least when he was nervous, so he bypassed the problem entirely and gave Emilian an unarguably sheepish smile.
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Post by Emilian Sota on Jan 4, 2009 0:47:13 GMT -5
Emilian stared at Michael in something like shock for a few moments before he turned a sharper glance than was proper toward Dare. His jaw clenched and he pulled his eyes over to Michael. "Congratulations," he said, forcing the look out of his eyes, forcing himself to have at least a neutral expressions. "Do you like the ring?" It was his merchandise, after all.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 4, 2009 0:49:26 GMT -5
Michael's eyebrows came together and his hand tightened in Dare. He hadn't expected such a negative reaction from Emilian. "Yes, of course I do," he said, his voice uncertain and his smile failing. He didn't like the feeling he got from Emilian, and why was he looking at Dare like that? It was such a different look than he had given when he had first opened the door, and Michael didn't know which one he disliked more.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 4, 2009 0:55:52 GMT -5
Dare's free hand crossed over his body to settle over the one Michael had linked in his. He had been at the receiving end of Emilian's glares before, and though it didn't get easier, at least he had been expecting it. "I was going to wait," Dare said softly. "But... things changed..." Dare clamped his teeth together to keep from saying more. It was true, though. He hadn't meant to ask Michael so soon. At the time, he hadn't had any solid intentions of asking at all. But the closeness they'd shared after being outed and while living in such close quarters had developed into intimacy, and he'd changed his mind. Thank God the rings were paid for, and therefore their property.
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Post by Emilian Sota on Jan 4, 2009 1:00:21 GMT -5
Emilian clenched his jaw again and narrowed his eyes slightly as they turned to Dare again. "When?" he asked, eyes moving slowly from Dare to Michael and back again. Maybe they were at least waiting until they were out of school. He couldn't imagine that they were doing it instantly, if they could even get a marriage.
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