Take my heart

Epilogue

Milan, Italy

"I take it people come here and flirt with you to get lower prices?"

A lingering gaze shifts from his shoulders to his face, eyebrows quirked up at his question.

"That's insulting."

"So it doesn't work?" Caesar insists, circling a colorful vase on a glass stand. "Let me see. How much for this one-? Uh." He stops abruptly upon finding the price tag, a number with several zeroes behind it. Connor's laughter starts bubbling out at his surprise, until: "Do you take a blowjob for it?"

"Oh my god!"

Who would have thought, there is still some innocence left on sweet Connor. It's Caesar's turn to laugh as the boy becomes a red, spluttering mess.

"Fuck off, asshat."

"Charming. I assume that's a no, then."

Connor rolls his eyes and nudges him on the ribs. Their conversation comes to a halt as some visitors come close and start talking to the boy about his works. He changes back to his captivating persona in a heartbeat, elegant smile and laid back shoulders. Caesar steps aside a little, happy to just watch.

Listen, he's not saying the art pieces scattered around the museum aren't worth looking at. Connor's made them, of course they are. He'll fight anyone who utters a bad thing about them—already has, actually, he got in an argument with a critic five minutes after the exposition started—but still. In the center of it all stands his favorite thing to stare at, and now that he's allowed, he doesn't plan on glancing away anytime soon.

It's exhilarating, how things have developed. He's allowed to stare, allowed to touch, to kiss, to hold. It's like being gifted the world over and over again. Greedy as he is, though, he keeps asking for more.

Connor gives without question.

In the middle of the conversation, he reaches out to him, barely noticeable. Caesar steps close and Connor snakes an arm around his waist, all the while explaining something or other about one of his pieces.

The event ends late at night, just a few minutes after the rain outside dwindles into a quiet drizzle. As people start heading out, Arun, their assigned adult companion for the trip, makes his way toward them from the other side of the room. Connor and Caesar exchange a look, flash each other a secret smile, and it's decided. Caesar steps forward to meet Arun on his way.

"Back to the hotel?" he asks, casually putting his hands in his pants pockets.

"Indeed. We can do some sightseeing tomorrow before the flight, but Connor's mom doesn't want us to be outside too late," Arun says.

"Reasonable as always. I hope you got a chance to talk to that interior designer over there?" Caesar jerks his chin toward a man behind Arun's shoulder. "He asked me about you a few hours ago, I'm not sure if you know him..."

Arun turns around and audibly gasps when he spots the man in question. Without having to look, Caesar can feel Connor smirking behind his back.

"Know him? We studied together! Oh dear, I have to go talk to him!" he's already making his way to the corner of the room, but stops on his tracks and turns back to them. "Wait for me here, boys, okay? It'll only be a minute."

"Sure, man. Take your time," Connor pipes in, propping his arm on Caesar's shoulder.

What a sweet guy. He disappears between the few people left with a big smile, and the boys don't waste a second.

Fighting to keep his laughter down, Caesar grabs Connor's wrist and pulls him to the exit, both lowering their heads to pass as unnoticed as possible. They don't stop past the glass doors of the museum, instead keep running down the street with the only purpose of getting away. Once they turn right on the first corner, fighting becomes useless, and their laughter pours out to mix with the sound of their footsteps on the wet pavement.