Waking Up

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare felt the awkwardness as they walked along, and he tried any number of reasons for it. He hoped Michael wasn't upset with him, but he knew he deserved that much. He hoped Michael wasn't still feeling guilty. The anticipation wasn't nearly as high as it usually was, and that disturbed him, too. Normally the walk through London was excitement on its own, but today he and Michael were each in their own world, their thread of connection the linked hands between them.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael was in his own little world, his little world packed with essays, planning books, animals, and numbers. Not to mention the almost constant tension between him and Dare that had never truly gone away after the incident with the potions. He thought it had, that weekend that had been so amazing, but it seemed like every other day something was happening. He couldn't wait for the school year to be over, it would take away one part of his stress. He even was looking forward to everything with the ceremony being over with, it was so much stress, and there was so much they hadn't even done yet!

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Neither of them was watching where they were going well enough to avoid the collision. As they made their way down the sidewalk, a shop door opened, and a small group of women trailed out, talking too excitedly to notice them, either. Dare suddenly found himself chest-to-nose with a blushing blond, another woman only just managing to stay free, though she dropped her bags in the process. A sudden flurry of apologies began.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael's eyes widened and he apologized and pulled his hand from Dare's as he started to pick up the things that had fallen. He couldn't help but notice that it seemed to be a lot of...well, things that Emilian would rather enjoy. But also, a book caught his eye, a book on weddings and ceremonies...a planner of some sort. He glanced up at the store and his eyes widened again.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare didn't see where Michael was looking. He was gathering things too, though he didn't pay nearly as much attention as Michael did. It all went right over his head and when everything was back in a bag, whether its original bag or not, Dare stood, dragging a stunned-looking Michael to his feet as well. The women went on their way after a couple minutes, and Dare leaned close to Michael, his left hand settling lightly against Michael's back. "Are you all right?" he asked. He attributed Michael's wide-eyed state as a reaction to the unexpected collision.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael nodded and his eyes moved to Dare's, but then they immediately flicked up to the sign over the store again. Was he seeing it right? He recognized that it had a rainbow on it, and the male and female symbols interlocked in all three combinations, but could it be real? The things on display in the window made it look like it was, there were books on everything from coming out to decorating for a...wedding. "Dare..."

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare blinked, then followed Michael's gaze over and up. He blinked again. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting -- something ominous maybe, considering the look on Michael's face -- but it hadn't been that. His lips parted slightly. "Oh my God. How have we missed this place?" It made no effort whatsoever at subtlety. He tore his gaze away to look around. Were they a street over from where they usually were? He wasn't even sure, he'd been so lost in his own thoughts. Wherever they were, Dare brought his gaze back to Michael. "So we're going in?" The club had worked out so well that it seemed like a good idea.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"That's fine with me," Michael said, then glanced at Dare again before heading into the store. It was so strange, walking in and seeing everything there that so obviously screamed of the world he had become accustomed to in the club. There was a very well dressed man behind the counter and a woman wandering around straightening things on shelves that seemed to be an employee. Other than those two there were a few others that were looking around at the merchandise. There was a section with books and magazines, an area with clothing, and a corner in the back sectioned off with hanging beads. All around was little odds and ends.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare had followed Michael in, and now he moved up beside him, sliding one hand absently against the back of Michael's waist. He didn't know what to look at first. For the moment, his now-customary apathy was thrown off for curiosity. He shifted a few times, almost walking toward something before something else caught his eye. He didn't hear the man behind the counter greeting them, nor the usual inquiry about whether he could help.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael spoke a light, absent greeting to the man and then looked up at Dare. He brought his own hand up light against Dare and then turned them to the nearest object, which was a wall of books. "Look at all this," he said softly, his hand coming up to run lightly along the edge of the shelf. Yes, there was much more to look at in the store, but for now it seemed like the easiest thing to do would be to start at the front.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare nodded, and his eyes scanned the covers. He was in awe at everything there, things he and Michael had skipped past, like the decision to come out publicly, to... "Oh my God, Michael, look at this." Dare reached over and pulled a paperback book off the shelf. It wasn't the title that had gotten him, though once he managed to look at it he looked twice. The Price of Temptation. What got him was the picture on the front, obviously one of those books that some girls loved so much, but instead of the princess kneeling at the feet of the bare-chested hero, it was another man.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael's eyes widened once it clicked in his mind what was going on in the picture. Was it really a novel about two men? "It's so weird..." he said absently as he took the book to flip it over and read the back, just to be sure his mind wasn't running away with him. But, sure enough, the words on the back cemented his thoughts. He had half a mind to buy it just to see what in the world the author could have written.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare was thinking the same thing, only it was more than half his mind thinking it. He read the back over Michael's shoulder, then turned back to the bookshelf to see if there was another copy he could open at random to satisfy his curiosity. He didn't immediately find it, but found another by the same author that made his eyes widen: Discreet Young Gentleman.

They certainly didn't look discreet, and Dare had a difficult time even turning it over to read the back. He did so quickly before turning to the front again, where a man with black hair was embracing, for lack of a better word, a slightly shorter man with red hair. At the edge of a forest, with a castle in the background. "I'm so buying this," he said under his breath. Not that he'd ever had any desire to read one of these books-- the ones he'd known about, anyway --but just one would be interesting. "We could read it together," he added, looking aside at Michael with a suggestively crooked smile.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael pulled his eyes away from the book in his own hand to glance at Dare's, then up at the crooked smile. Then he glanced back down at the book as his own lips curved up, "Are you really going to get that?" he asked. Then he turned his eyes back up to Dare. He wouldn't stop him, especially since he was more than a little curious himself. He didn't even consider there wouldn't even be time to look at it.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare slipped his free hand around Michael's waist again. "I don't think they'd appreciate me leafing through it for more than a minute or two," he said, gesturing back toward the counter with a nod of his head. "What about you? Is there anything here you want?" He leaned close to press a brief kiss to the side of Michael's neck. He'd entirely forgotten their proximity to the windows at the distraction of the books.