Red String of Fate

Sweet and Sour

"So, when did he say he was gonna show up?" Ryan asked, peering around Henry to get a better look at the students coming in through the library door. He groaned when he still couldn't spot anyone matching Pierre's description. "Come onnnn, how much longer is he gonna take?" he grumbled, laying his head down on the table and sulking childishly. Em was also looking impatiently towards the door, but her display of frustration was limited to fidgeting in her seat and performing a pretty accurate imitation of a meerkat.

"Calm down, man," Henry said with an amused eyeroll. "He said he'd be here by 7:45, so he'll be walking through those doors any minute now." Ryan huffed in annoyance and folded his arms over his chest. He fidgeted in his seat as Henry casually scrolled through the messages he and Pierre had sent back and forth last night and this morning. He wasn't looking for anything in particular, he was just enjoying Ryan's growing impatience. A new message from Pierre popped up, saying he had just walked into the library. A second later he heard Ryan start to speak and a pair of warm arms draped themselves over his shoulders.

He looked up with a grin into Pierre's smiling face. "Found you," the Frenchman hummed happily, tapping Henry's nose with a finger. Henry squawked and rubbed his nose indignantly as they both looked back at Henry's little group. "Allô everyone!" Pierre chirruped brightly, beaming at all of them. Em blushed a little and waved at him shyly, and when her hand movements caught his eye he waved back. "I remember you! You're Em from the office yesterday, oui?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. Em's blush deepened and she nodded as Michael put his arm around her. Pierre's eyes lit up and he winked at Michael. "And the handsome one behind you is your boyfriend, I see. You make a lovely pair."

Em squeaked and hid in Michael's chest in embarrassment while Ryan laughed. "Thank you for the compliment," Michael said softly, his eyes dancing as he ran his fingers through Em's hair. "You're pretty easy on the eyes as well." Ryan clutched at his sides as his laughter continued, but Henry wasn't as amused. He tugged Pierre's arms so that the taller boy had to rest his chin on top of Henry's head, and scowled at Michael with an unamused pout. Michael chuckled at Henry's expression before speaking to Pierre again. "I'm Michael. I was the assistant in your Painting class yesterday." Pierre's eyes lit up with recognition. "Are you ever going to finish painting that angel?"

"That is an excellent question," Pierre mused, "but I think think the answer is that it's already finished." Michael blinked, and Henry felt Pierre shrug behind him. "It was a speedpaint, no? It was finished rather quickly." He bent down and nuzzled Henry's cheek lightly. "Though I'd be more than willing to do a more finished-looking piece. With Henry as my model perhaps?" Henry blushed and grumbled something under his breath, but he leaned into Pierre's touch. He could see people staring, and his flush deepened even more. He forced himself to look back at the group and pretend he didn't notice everyone watching him and Pierre. "And I think this is the best friend you spoke of?" Pierre was saying, blinking over at Ryan.

"Indeed I am," Ryan said proudly, striking a 'noble' pose. "The name's Ryan Day, and I've been Henry's best friend since middle school." Pierre nodded and responded with his French form of 'enchanted.' Henry found himself transported back to his first time meeting Pierre and hearing him use the elegant-sounding word for the first time. He smiled to himself as Ryan continued talking. "How was your reunion yesterday?" he asked, resting his chin in his hands. "Was it awkward? Silly? Romantic?" He wiggled his eyebrows at the two of them, and Henry kicked his ankle under the table. Pierre didn't seem to be bothered by the question, though he didn't reply at once. "Was it weird for you guys after not seeing each other for so long?"

Pierre thought for a moment. "I suppose there was a little bit of that awkwardness," he finally relented, "but not much. I think we were just too happy to see each other." Henry nodded, leaning back into Pierre's arms. Two girls sitting a couple tables away had put their heads together and were whispering to each other while casting not-so-subtle looks towards them. "We talked a lot about the last ten years, and remembering our time together at the orphanage," Pierre went on, nuzzling Henry's cheek again. The two girls appeared to be whispering even more fervently. "You know," Pierre murmured, a little smile appearing on his face, "I don't think I realized until then just how much I missed mon ange."

"Your what?" Em asked, cocking her head to the side. Henry squirmed and buried his face in his hands as he listened to Pierre chuckle. He could feel the vibrations in Pierre's chest as he translated the pet name, and he ducked his head so no one could see his smile. Em cooed over how adorable the name was while Michael made a soft 'hm' sound. "Speaking of angels though," Em said suddenly, "the angel you painted was beautiful! How long have you been doing art and stuff?"

"About ten years," Pierre said simply, finally pulling a chair up and sitting down. He still kept an arm around Henry's shoulders though. "I saw beautiful paintings in a store in town, and I decided that I wanted to do what they did. I practiced all the time after that, and I took classes after I was adopted." He looked back over at Henry. "Do you remember that store at all?"

Henry laughed. "Do I remember it? Pierre, you would stare up at those paintings the whole time we were visiting town!" he teased. Pierre flushed a little and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "He really liked the angel pictures, and he practiced drawing them a lot. And his practice paid off from what I can tell." He grinned at Pierre mischievously, who was trying very hard not to look as embarrassed as he probably felt. "But when he wasn't teaching himself how to draw," Henry went on, "he was teaching me more French words. Which I may or may not have forgotten most of by now..."

Pierre pouted unhappily. "You've forgotten our French lessons, cher?" he whimpered, bumping his nose against Henry's cheek. "But how will you know when I'm calling you cute pet names in French if you don't remember our lessons?" Henry swatted at him half-heartedly as his friends laughed at Pierre's theatrics. Ryan took control of the conversation after the laughter had died somewhat, and as Michael and Em responded Pierre brought his lips next to Henry's ear. "Have you seen those two girls over there?" he murmured, so low that Henry could barely hear him. "The ones who keep looking at us and whispering?"

"Yep," Henry murmured back, glancing over at the two females in question. They were giggling behind their hands and whispering excitedly to each other. "I noticed them a little while ago. They're not being very subtle about watching us." Pierre nodded in agreement, his eyes narrowing the tiniest bit. "What do you think they're whispering about?" he asked as casually as he could, trying to conceal his growing concern for those glances and bursts of excited giggles coming from the girls' table.

"...I don't really know," Pierre replied simply, "and to be honest I don't think I want to know." He settled back in his chair and tugged Henry toward him so his head was resting on his shoulder. "Let's just ignore them," he suggested. "They're not harming us just by staring. No need to get worried over curiosity, oui?" Only feeling slightly better about this, Henry willingly let Pierre guide his head to rest on his shoulder, burying his face in the crook of his neck and breathing the scent of his cologne. It's probably nothing, he tried to reassure himself, and they're probably just curious. Nothing to be worried about, just like he said. But a small squeal followed by another fit of giggles from their two observers seemed to negate Pierre's statement and Henry's attempts to reassure himself.
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Author's Note: Thank you so much for your patience, these last few weeks have not been kind. x_x The next few weeks are going to be incredibly busy, since it's almost the end of Spring semester for my university. Just three more weeks, then finals...almost done...almost...done...

Like I said before, these last few weeks have been interesting. I've been dealing with some old stuff and coming to terms with some not-so-lovely things about myself and my past that I've never dealt with (healthily) before. Add that on top of projects, exams, festivals, and other dramas, and you get a heck of a week. Or two. Or three...but anyway. Thank you again for being so patient with me. I know this is short, but hopefully this will help get the ball rolling again. I love you all, and please stay safe out there.