I spooned the hot cup of tea, not really paying all that attention to the gentle clang of metal on porcelain as Aramis sat across the table from me. We talked absolute nonsense for the most part, and I couldn't help but smile warmly at the sheer amount of comfort I had just being near him and doing nothing.
I took in all his features. He was wearing a white, short-sleeved, shirt that hugged his biceps and chest like it was slightly too small for him. The sharp angle of his jaw as it turned from his neck and ended with a boyish smattering of small hairs, that dotted his chin and held a barely visible trail to the fullness of his bottom lip. The way his eyes seemed to sparkle with an unbridled sense of joy, when they weren't tucked away behind pleased and happy eyelids that he closed often when he laughed or smiled too hard.
He still had a moustache of froth from taking too much of a dive into his coffee which he hummed at sweetly. He'd attempted to lap at it with a surprisingly dexterous tongue earlier, but couldn't quite reach all of it, and I must admit; I felt only slightly disappointed when he wiped the rest away with the back of his hand.
"So there's a fair this weekend" I brought up nonchalantly, suddenly feeling a wave of self-consciousness wash over me; like we were being watched. I made sure that we weren't doing anything intimate or anything that could implicate we were a couple, no matter how much I wanted to. I wasn't entirely comfortable with what people might think, despite how modern attitudes were around here.
"I'm in" He replied, grinning, snapping me from my distraction.
"What? Really? We'd be going with Jace and Victoria..." I replied, doing my best to focus on the conversation. But my eyes kept darting around looking for other eyes looking at us. A few strangers caught my attention, making brief and awkward eye contact as they returned to their own conversations and tables. A fat, ginger, cat briefly looked in my direction with its expected indifferent expression before scampering off to find a suitable spot for a snooze. A man dressed in a blue business suit, walked passed our table, deep in conversation on his phone, but shooting a glance our way. The tapping of a magpie caught my attention then, as it smashed something shiny against a slate rooftop. Why was I being so paranoid? Why couldn't I just shake this feeling over being watched?
"Avery? Helloooo?" Aramis said, placing a hand on my shoulder, once again; returning me back to our conversation, I smiled uneasily.
"Oh sorry. I got distracted."
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes, yes. It's nothing. So you want to go with me to the fair with Victoria and Jace?" I reaffirmed, unsure whether I should bring up Victoria's previous attitude about Vampires to him or not, but ultimately decided not to. I didn't want him being nervous about hanging around my friends, as if one being a Witch and the other a Werewolf didn't already complicate things. I'm sure I'd be nervous enough for the both of us anyway.
"Sure! It's a date! Would this be our second, or our third one, I wonder?" He mused tapping his chin with his finger. I rolled my eyes and laughed, throwing a teasing jab at his arm, which expectedly, but still surprisingly, he caught. My fist was in his hand, although he wasn't squeezing, it shocked me how effortlessly he caught it, and it confused me how he still had not let go. He loosened a little more, snaking his fingers underneath my palm before brushing the softness of his lips against my knuckles. I could only shrink in response, immediately blushing, like I was some 1800s young maiden-fare being courted by a young suitor who with such a miniscule and intimate gesture, implied so much more.
He didn't laugh or poke fun, as I scanned the immediate vicinity for an audience as if I was amidst some scandal. Instead he lightly tugged at my hand, a gesture intended to pull me in further for a kiss somewhat deeper than the one on the back of my palm, but gentle enough that he left the decision to go further up to me. I couldn't tell if he could read my emotions in any capacity, but something about the soft expression that he held as he tilted his head slightly to the left; made me feel safe despite the panicked thumping of my heart and the current acute, hyper, self-awareness, that was coursing through my veins. My body was screaming at me to run, to pull away, to hide from the prying, judgemental, eyes of nobody. But there was a defiance bubbling up within the surface of my chest, a different kind of warmth to the uncomfortable clamminess of nerves. It was hot and fiery and devilish. It shone boastful, and proud in all it's unfathomable brightness.
I stretched over the table planting a slow, chaste, kiss on his lips. It didn't physically last as long as I wanted it to. But that heat, that confidence, immediately left the moment I leaned back into my chair. My hand still clutching onto his; as a cool calmness fell upon me, a rebellious smile creeping between my reddened cheeks, the realisation dawned on me that nothing bad had happened. The sky didn't fall, and the people of the cafe we sat in did not rally in mutual disgust. They didn't care. Nobody cared but us in that one electrifying moment and that was freeing.
He laughed sweetly as he watched me smile to myself in a flustered manner, as he released my hand and went back to his coffee. I wished I had his confidence, like he hadn't a care in the entire world. Although I suppose confidence comes easily when it would take the equivalent of ten, fully grown men, to physically be able to over power you. So the myths say anyway.
We spent the day basking in each others presence, laughing and giggling. I'd even been so bold as to clutch his hand with both of mine while we walked through the streets and various shops. It was a good day. I'd barely known this man for more than a week, and I was absolutely smitten. He left me feeling warm and flustered at the slightest glance he shot my way. His eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief as they are want to do.
Even when we went to part ways to go home, it was all in my power to leave. I wanted to linger. We kissed once more. Deeper and fuller than the one we had in the cafe. We held each other close, pushing my chest into his as our lips danced with one another, I wanted to breathe him in. We parted sweetly holding each other, with our foreheads rested on one another.
"Avery I--" I cut him off, with a gentle hush and placing my fingers softly onto his lips. I couldn't have been certain in what he wanted to say, although I had ideas. It was much, much too soon for that. Even if the idea caused my chest to flutter with an igniting spark, I couldn't. It was preposterous.
"Tread carefully... Your teeth are sharp" I whispered quietly. Opening my eyes only to see a very confused look upon Aramis' face, and I felt a certain sting of embarrassment that succeeded in turning the back of my tongue sour. I pulled away slightly in disgust at myself. I was a fucking idiot.
"What? See? I told you were funny" He giggled, pulling me back closer to rub his face into my neck, causing me to laugh at the ticklish sensation as his stubble scratched lightly. "Anyway" He continued as I pushed him off me. "Now don't hate me for this; but I want you to come over to my place again... To meet my family, properly this time..."
I hesitated to respond. A prickling of nervousness swelled up within me at the thought of seeing Bethany again. At seeing his mother again who, judging from our last meeting, did not view me as pleasantly as when she first met me. It was gut-wrenchingly sickening.
"Do they know?" I managed to splutter out after a mini panic attack had somewhat subsided.
"They know about us and that we're dating, yeah. Why? Is that bad?" He asked. I hadn't even thought of that. Of announcing that we were somewhat a couple. Even though we hadn't labelled or officially said anything to each other, it certainly made sense looking back on it, and I hadn't even the stomach to tell anyone that I'm even interested in someone, let alone partaking in regular lip-locking sessions with them. It brought a whole new realm of feelings bubbling together, and unforgettably, guilt.
"No, no. I meant about the thing that happened... Between me and Bethany?"
"Oh..." He said quietly, pausing as he mulled over his next few words. "Yeah, they know that too. They're not too bothered about it to be honest. Well... I'm sure Bethany is... But my mom is eager to move on, and has had several stern talks with Beth about it. The rest of them--"
"The rest of them? There's more than you three in that house? Vampires I mean?" I gawked, again kicking myself that I had yet to even think of the possibility that it'd be more than just those three.
"Well of course! We're a whole clan. It's a big house just for the three of us, dummy. But most of them are pretty cool. Bethany wasn't exactly discreet with her interest in Witches, and she certainly wasn't discreet about how she was wronged, and cheated, and tricked, and all that dramatic stuff. A lot of them actually think she deserved it. But you know, in general, they don't really care. When you have such a long lifespan, even nearly getting murdered to death tends to look pretty small on the grand scale of things. I'm not going to lie to you, if she had died, it would be an entirely different matter. But she didn't. So nobody cares, I promise. You have nothing to fear I swear." He said, trying to reassure me with gentle hands on both of my shoulders and craning his neck down to try and meet my gaze, that was ultimately trying to avoid his while I was in the middle of a meltdown.
I eventually did lift my face up to meet his. Pressing against his lips if only to stop the quivering of my own, although really, I was only doing so in the hope that it would siphon off some his boundless confidence and transport to me as courage.
"Okay..." I replied, barely above a whisper. "I'll think about it, okay? Give me some time to think about it... It's probably a yes. But don't take it as that right now, please?"
He smiled gently, doing his best to restrain a surge of unbridled joy that I could quite easily see was beginning to swell within him. Aramis pulled me into a tight hug, which I found myself melting in to. It would be okay. As long as I have this, it's going to be okay.
We eventually did part ways for real this time. Stealing a few last minute kisses as we walked home. Despite the inner turmoil that was currently reeling through my mind, I found them completely at odds with a warm tingling. Like a literal battle between the two was waging fiercely in there. When a surge of panic at facing my would be murderer rose up and threatened to spill over, the thoughts of the day and Aramis would wash over them like the sun-drenched waves of a paradisal beach, lapping gently at the shoreline.
I couldn't remember the last time I was so happy...
A/N: Woo, more set up! As I'm writing this, I am kinda loving how they're interacting with each other. It's adorable, and I'm surprised it's actually coming from me. Anyway, don't forget to consider commenting and voting! It'd be super appreciated. Thanks for reading!