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As talented a chef as Asra is, he’s never had quite the same penchant for baking as you. Evidently, neither does Julian -- a cloud of flour fills the air around both of you, sending you into a coughing fit, as he dumps a scoop into the bowl while you’re still mixing. You drop the bowl onto the counter and step back, and your coughs subside just as Julian sneezes violently, tripping and smacking his forehead against the counter. He falls to his knees and leans there, face buried in his arms, and curses under his breath.
At the sight of him, hair tinted with dusty white flour, you can’t help your amusement. You try to fight it at first, stifling your laughter into a single snort, but when Julian peeks over his arm to shoot you a pointed glare, the giggles spill out unrestrained. He groans, standing upright and straightening out his unbuttoned shirt, sending another poof of flour into the air that surrounds him like an aura.
“Oh, for the love of...” Julian presses a hand to his forehead, thumb rubbing at his temple as you double over, gasping for breath with your hand clasping his bicep. Your laughter dissipates into a few smaller, weaker coughs before your breath settles and you lean into Julian’s chest.
With a sigh, Julian wraps an arm around your waist and rests his chin on top of your head.
“I'm an idiot,” he whines, sniffling.
“You say that as if it's new information.”
Julian scoffs in mock defensiveness, and you squish your cheek into the center of his chest, humming with delight and affection. “You fell for the mystery, the intrigue, the danger. My idiocy is a well-kept secret from even the closest friends and family. There's no way you could have known.”
“I saw through you immediately,” you joke, pulling back to squint at his face. “That's what drew me in, idiot.”
“Oh, please. I seduced you with my rugged charm and dashing grin,” Julian smiles, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear.
“The second time we met, you said the words upsy-daisy. I knew what I was getting into.” You poke his shoulder teasingly and Julian sighs, defeated. Satisfied with your victory, you hook an arm behind his neck, standing on your tip-toes to trace from the corner of Julian’s lip along his cheekbone with your thumb. “You’ve got something just… there,” you murmur, leaning in closer.
“Have I? I hadn't noticed.” Julian feigns innocent ignorance and curves into your touch. “Would you mind getting that for me?”
Your lips brush against his ever so slightly as you reply just above a whisper, “Not at all.”
Tongue flicking out to trace the seam of his lips, the taste of flour makes you hum with restrained laughter once more. Julian smiles softly, his arm at your waist navigating to just beneath your shoulder blades as he pulls you closer. His lips part and his tongue greets yours playfully. Accepting the challenge, you deepen the kiss, allowing your senses to be filled with him. Breathing in, Julian’s musky scent is padded with the smell of the flour that has yet to settle. Your thoughts cloud over, set on the back burner in favor of the radiant light overtaking your chest that flows between you with every shift of your greedy tongues.
Julian pulls back first, standing up straight with a hand at either side of your face. You keep your eyes closed, relishing his touch and burying yourself once more into his arms. An almost bittersweet melancholy overwhelms you then, and you right yourself, parting your lips to tell Julian that you never want this moment to end, that you love him, and--
You open your eyes to darkness.
Blinking deliberately, the confusion clears from your mind as your eyes adjust, and you remember that you’re in your room in the shop. A dejected, hollow feeling settles over your chest, one you’ve grown far too familiar with over the past few days.
You roll onto your side and tug the blankets up to your chin, gently wrapping an arm around Asra’s sleeping form. Pressing a kiss to the back of his neck, you nuzzle against his hair and pull yourself closer to his comforting form. It’s good to have him back -- you’d forgotten how soothing it was to breathe his familiar scent, to hold him or be held by him when most you need it. Still, it was an unfair universe that had forced you to trade one loved one for another with no choice in the matter.
Asra mumbles something unintelligible into his pillow, and you sigh heavily, chin resting at his shoulder. Maybe he had been right, maybe you can change things and bring Julian back -- but now is not the time. The sky beyond your window is painted a deep red-orange, the sun threatening to make itself known before long. You close your eyes and soak in Asra’s warmth, pushing the hurt to the back of your mind and falling once more into the blissful escape of sleep.