Aurelien couldn’t think of the last time he had longer than a moment alone with Palis. Work had driven him to the brink between an influx of new clients and trying to pad his own pocketbook with independent deals, and this was a much needed getaway. It was something he was more than looking forward to. Though it was only a night -- not even a full day -- it would be enough to satiate him. In him was an appetite, not just for the warmth of food, but the warmth of his love. Palis’ strawberry hair would warm and uplift him like a shock of flame.
Tonight was the anniversary of Aurelien and Palis’ meeting. Then, it was hard to figure out where life would take the both of them -- given that they had managed to dodge one another’s orbits for so long. Now, it was fairly clear that Palis was a complementary piece to Aurelien’s lacking whole. Where the former was jovial and bright, the latter was somber and dim. Where the former was talkative, the latter was quiet. Now, they spun around one another like destined stars, and Aurelien knew he didn’t want it any other way.
Aurelien stood on the sidewalk just outside of Palis’ apartment complex, a bouquet of roses in hand. He was dressed in fine evening wear and the color matched his usually somber mood. Because it was approaching night, Aurelien was donned in a fitting black tailcoat and waistcoat embroidered with a pristine silver thread. His trousers were succinctly matched and a scarf was draped around his neck, the tailends marked with his mother’s emblem. Obviously, it was a construct of his mother’s business, for he always sported Reign as if it was a contract signed at his birth. He did not mind, though, for being bold and fashionable was just one way he expressed himself wordlessly to the world.
There was a carriage parked behind him, the driver waiting to whisk him and Palis away. He had not told Palis what was planned for the night, only that the man be dressed formally. Aurelien knew Palis’ definition of formal would be a treat to the eye. He could already imagine Palis’ hair groomed to perfection if only to be a showboat.
Aurelien was quick in his ascension of the stairs, in his freshly shined shoes, leading into the complex, and equally swift about making it to Palis’ door. While he had been to his love’s home before, this time felt different. Butterflies fluttered freely in his belly, tightening their hold on his gut with every step. He fought to dismiss them, and though they did not listen to his subconscious, he knew they would melt away at the sight of Palis. He huffed a quick breath from pursed, stressed lips and raised his hand to the apartment’s door. A quick rap sounded off, a signature knock that he formulated to announce his presence in the past.
He withdrew his hand and slid it into a hidden pocket lining the interior of his coat and produced one other gift, a small box wrapped with a singular gold ribbon. Inside was a surprise. Not only was it a gift from himself, but his mother in acceptance of Palis’ place in her son’s heart. With held breath, Aurelien waited for Palis to open the door.