Thin Ice (M/M Transmigration)

Chapter 13

"Ah," said Cale. Scratching his cheek, he tried to think of anything to say before deciding to just be honest. "I've got nothing to say," he said and blinked. Somehow, the world just got a little tilted.

"It's fine, my parents can be a lot," Julius reassured him.

Cale nodded. He decided not to say anything more about it and instead just continued to listen to Julius talking. Julius had a smooth voice at a comfortable pitch, and listening to it was calming. Cale drank in the sound and leaned his body a little closer to Julius—they were walking closer together than they needed to, and Cale got an extra spring in his steps when he thought about it.

They were engaged, they could be close (intimate) together in public. And nobody could say anything about it unless they started deep kissing with tongue in the middle of the ballroom where everyone could see.

Slowly, they walked across the ballroom. Occasionally people would greet them and they'd get dragged into polite smalltalk, but for the most part, their walk passed in silence. Cale soaked it up, basking in the comfortable silence with a person that he liked. The silence with Calla's parents was always awkward and he could never figure out a way to break it gently, but with Julius, the silence was comfortable. It was warm and welcoming and it made Cale feel soft.

He didn't have another—better—way to put it. Around Julius, Cale simply felt soft. Sometimes it felt like he was floating on a cloud, other times it was like he was drifting on a river. But regardless, Cale didn't have a problem with it.

"I love you," Cale said, stopping in his track as the unexpected words left him.

Julius' head turned so fast Cale worried he'd get whiplash. "What?" Julius croaked out, his voice hoarse.

Cale licked his lips. He wasn't going to retract it. "I love you, Julius," he said again. Taking a look around them, he pulled on Julius' arm to get Julius to follow him to a more secluded part of the ballroom by the wall. Julius went easily, not putting up the least bit of resistance.

By the wall, Cale lowered his voice and stated, "I'm in love with you. I want to marry you, Julius."

Julius' mouth opened. His eyes searched Cale's face for something but he didn't say anything. Gulping, Julius switched their grips so that his hands were on Cale's waist, the warmth seeping through the clothes. Cale was startlingly aware of the connection.

"You..." Julius stopped. He took a deep breath and bent forward, leaning his forehead against Cale's. "I love you, too," Julius said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Please, can I, can I kiss you?"

"Yes," Cale breathed.

This kiss wasn't like their earlier one: it was soft and gentle and it lasted for only the shortest of seconds. When they stopped kissing they were still close enough for Cale to feel Julius' breath hitting him. Letting their foreheads rest against each other again, neither of them said anything.

After a while, Cale moved. He curled his arms around Julius and hugged the younger man tight. Feeling Julius melting against him, Cale smiled. He closed his eyes and simply held him, clearing his mind and casting away all of his worries.

He wasn't sure how long they stood next to that wall, simply holding each other. He wasn't even going to bother to pretend that it mattered to him.

Somehow, it was all still a revelation.

It shouldn't be. He had been thinking about this way too much, his mind full of thoughts of Julius and the future. Over and over again, he had been going over the scenarios and the potential future they had; and yet Cale still felt flummoxed. It was still a shock. It still made him freeze up for a moment to catch his breath.