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Intricate lace at its seam, light and delicate, the sheer fabric glided along Lycaon’s fingers as he carefully folded the wedding veil and placed it on his desk.
Now, where did he put that protective bag?
Since the sun had already set long ago, he would have to keep it with him for now, but he’d have to return the item to his client come morning. Hopefully they’d be satisfied with his work, fixing the small tear it had sustained before, so the wedding preparations could proceed as planned.
A gentle breeze blew through his open office window, lightly billowing the curtains on its sides. It carried a familiar scent with it that put a small smile on Lycaon’s lips, which in turn meant that the gentle thud of dress shoes on his hardwood floor a moment later didn’t catch him by surprise.
“I wasn’t expecting you tonight. Didn’t you say you’d be busy managing your gallery?” Lycaon greeted the unexpected, yet by no means unwelcome guest and turned towards him, forgetting all about his search for the garment bag for now.
“Aw, if I didn’t know any better I’d almost think you’re unhappy to see me,” Hugo complained with feigned grievance and proceeded to plant himself on top of Lycaon’s desk with a casualness that clearly demonstrated the regularity of this occurrence. “I finished sooner than expected, except for some minor tasks that Robin can manage without me. I’m surprised to see you’re still up at this hour. Isn’t it past your bedtime already, old man?”
Lycaon decided to ignore the taunt as he sauntered over to his brazen lover and placed his hands on the desktop on either side of Hugo’s hips. “It shouldn’t turn into a problem if I stay up a little while longer tonight,” he said and leaned forward to capture the blond’s lips in a kiss, sweet and tender.
When they parted, Hugo’s hand happened to brush against the folded veil behind him, the soft sensation drawing his attention to it.
“What’s this?” he asked and pulled it closer to check it out. “A veil? Who’s getting married?”
“Leave it, it belongs to a client,” Lycaon said, but he knew telling Hugo what to do was pointless, proven by the fact that the blond carefully unfolded the garment despite his words. “Hugo…”
“Don’t get your tail in a twist, I’m merely taking a look,” Hugo allayed him, then proceeded to start humming a wedding hymn and nonchalantly draped the delicate item over Lycaon’s head. After that he scrutinized him, putting a hand to his chin.
“Hm… you wouldn’t make much of a pretty bride.”
Lycaon didn’t grace that with a reply and just sent him a flat stare through the veil’s sheer fabric. With a sigh he raised his hand in means of taking it off again, but just as he lifted the veil up, Hugo slipped beneath it with him and grinned.
It gave him pause and after a few seconds of contemplating, Lycaon decided to play along for now.
“It may not be for me, but it looks good on you.”
Hugo chuckled. “Is that so? Would you like to see me in one again?” he joked.
“It’s a bit early to think about that, don’t you think?” Lycaon commented with a smile, just as unserious about it as Hugo. He didn’t give him an honest answer. Eventually, surely, but there was no need to rush.
Despite the joking Hugo managed to catch him off guard with his next words.
“Early? Hardly! Haven’t you left me waiting for over ten years already? You were so quick to put a ring on me back then and nothing came of it.” Both his tone and gesturing were overly dramatic, and yet Lycaon couldn’t help but feel flustered, his eye falling to Hugo’s right hand.
“Hugo, that ring… that wasn’t–”
“I know,” he interrupted him, regaining his seriousness. “I’m aware you didn’t mean anything by it and that you did it without much thought… or any at all.”
Lycaon couldn’t refute it. It had been part of the loot they had acquired on one of their first successful heists together after Jack’s passing. Just the two of them. A little drunk on their accomplishment, when he had found the ring he had slipped it onto Hugo’s finger on a whim. He still remembered the surprised look on the blond’s face and how he had made fun of him for it afterwards.
The gift in itself didn’t hold special meaning, but it was the first one he had ever given to Hugo.
“You kept it all these years.” The implication behind that fact made Lycaon feel warm but also rueful.
Hugo absentmindedly played with the ring on his finger. “It would have been rude to throw out a gift, wouldn’t it? Back then I had almost hoped–” He abruptly stopped and took in a sharp breath as if he had just realized what he was about to say. Then he quickly dropped the topic, not meeting the other’s eyes. “Anyway, don’t take my words so seriously, I was just kidding.”
But Lycaon couldn’t let it go just yet. “Hugo… I’m–”
“Don’t say it,” Hugo interrupted him once more. “There’s no need for apologies anymore. Let’s just focus on the presence, shall we?”
Lycaon let out a sigh and gently took Hugo’s hand in his, placing a kiss on his finger right beneath the ring.
“When the right moment arrives, I’ll ask you properly,” he announced and meant it.
Hugo huffed in amusement, but the smile on his lips was genuine.
“‘When’, huh? Not ‘if’?”
Lycaon didn’t feel the need to clarify and just embraced his lover’s slender waist, pulling him off the desk to hold him close. Hugo’s arms naturally snaked around his neck in return and he closed the distance between them to share another kiss.
Another breeze gently moved the veil still covering them as they bathed in the mix of the coolness of the moon and the warm light of the desk lamp.
“Stay the night,” Lycaon found himself saying, voice soft against his lips. He didn’t want to let go of him. Luckily it seemed that Hugo felt the same.
“Alright.”
~*~