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It was 7:30 A.M. on a cool October morning. Tristan had stopped at the coffee shop to sit at his favorite bench in the small park-area near his house and drink his hot cocoa. The area was simply a strip of trees surrounded by a walkway, and though occasionally there was a sporadic jogger, they never ended up staying very long. Tristan enjoyed the quiet as he gazed up at the sky for a while before getting to his real objective, trying to gather up his courage to walk into the small dance studio across the way.
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Tristan had always had an interest in the dance community. Though he never had any kind of formal training, he was fairly active in the street scene, which had always been his favorite style anyway. It was a particularly lucky day for him when he was approached by another regular he had noticed on the scene, Nova. She was a fairly popular dancer, as her style had always seemed to be a mix of various styles to give her the edge over everyone else. She pulled Tristan to the side and had asked him if he had ever considered his future in dancing, causing him to be taken back a bit.
“Future? Uhm…”
He was too caught up in the scene around him, the loud beats, the vivid atmosphere and his own head to be able to give her a clear answer, only causing her to give a small laugh.
“Here. I’m here every morning before 9 A.M., stop by if you want to chat sometime. The earlier, the better!”
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That had been two weeks ago.
Tristan couldn’t believe Nova had taken an interest in him, as he knew his dancing was messy and wild and not very controlled. He had every intention of going to the studio and talking to her again, but the first day he had passed through, he couldn’t help but take a peek in to see what everything was about.
What he got to see instead was a tall, mysterious stranger (in some very tight pants) dancing on his own to some classical music. Tristan had never thought much about ballet before, as he had always seen it as something only done by young girls. As he watched this stranger before him though, he found himself holding his breath until the dance was finished and the man was left in silence, slowly regaining his breath.
Tristan almost started clapping vigorously, until he remembered he wasn’t here for the stranger! He quickly ducked beneath the door and made his way back out, hoping he wasn’t caught simply watching him the whole time.
Since then, he has had a hard time going back into the studio, and found that this small bench across the way was more than enough for him to watch his mysterious stranger and not make a total fool of himself at the same time. What a great win/win.
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“So, this is where you’ve been hiding.”
Tristan nearly spilled his cocoa as a small, familiar voice popped up behind him.
“Actually…. It’s not a very good hiding spot. Hiding in plain sight doesn’t really work when you’re so obvious about it.”
Nova settled in the seat next to him as he avoided eye contact with her and nervously gave off a laugh.
“H-hey Nova…. What are you doing out here?”
When he finally gave a look in her direction, he saw her pouting towards him.
“Why didn’t you ever show up? I’ve been very patiently waiting for you!”
Tristan felt Nova’s gaze burning into him as he struggled to find an answer. He didn’t expect this scenario, even though he hadn’t exactly been as subtle as he thought he was being. A hard smack on the back brought him back out of his own head as Nova stood up beside him.
“You can’t expect to sit on the sideline your whole life, you know?”
She flashed him a smile and he gave a slight blush, not expecting that kind of answer after he had blatantly blown her off these past few weeks. Not quite sure what overtook him, he found himself calling after her as well.
“Tomorrow! ….I’ll come for sure!”
Looking back at him, she flashed him a wink before walking into the studio.
“Six A.M.! Wear something comfortable and be ready to work!”
With this Tristan stood dumbfounded for a second as he wondered what he had just agreed to. He simply blinked to himself for a while, before deciding to go home and agonize in peace. A future in dancing? What does she want from him? Why did he agree? How did she do that?? He rolled around on his bed, looking into his wall as he couldn’t help but be excited to find out either.
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6:25 A.M.
Tristan rushed into the studio, doing his best to catch his breath and simultaneously explain his situation to Nova. He burst into the room, getting looks from all four people in the room before turning a bright red, starting to furiously apologize to Nova.
He had expected her to be mad, but she simply smiled at him once again and he felt a bit uneasy about it.
“This is your only warning. Be late again and don’t bother coming back.”
Though Nova was smaller than him and had the sweetest smile on her face, Tristan couldn’t help but be intimidated by her. He quickly nodded in understanding as he stood straight up again, finally calming down from his frantic jog here.
“Now that you’re finally here, let me introduce you. Everyone! This is the boy I was telling you all about. He hasn’t made much for a good first impression, but hopefully we can change that tune quickly and help him out.”
With his face still slightly red from her introduction, Tristan gave a small bow and looked down at the floor.
“My name is Tristan, it’s nice to meet you all. I’m sorry to have interrupted your practice…”
The other girl in the room was the first to greet him with much more enthusiasm than he was expecting.
“Hiya Tristan! My names Sophie, my family owns this studio! Nova’s told us so much about you, it’s nice to finally meet you!”
Before he could respond, a taller man with fiery red hair stepped in front of her, dramatically moving his hair out of his face.
“Ah, yes, Tristan! A pleasure to meet you, though your bad habits may get you in a bit of trouble if you don’t change your ways!”
With this, he tapped on Tristan’s forehead and gave a laugh.
“My name is Kai! I also come from the family that owns this studio, though you may have seen my face before.”
Kai seemed to be posing dramatically and Tristan simply gave him a confused look. He was supposed to recognize this flashy guy from somewhere? Though, he was never good with social media or keeping up with the latest magazines. After a very uncomfortable silence, Sophie pushed Kai out of the way.
“Ignore him, he just likes to act really dramatic. We won’t take up any more of your time. Good luck!”
“S-sorry…”
Tristan couldn’t help but feel bad that he didn’t recognize the man, but he could hear Nova stifling laughter from behind him. He wondered if Kai was some kind of big deal…… Though he was currently off in the corner, wondering how it was that he wasn’t recognized in his own studio with Sophie doing her best to comfort him.
“Finally, this is Cain. He’s a real pro, who practices incredibly hard. So try not to get in his way, okay?”
Tristan and Cain locked eyes, and Tristan suddenly felt everything else melt away around him. Here was the man he had been only seen through a window for the past two weeks in front of him, and Tristan had no idea how to react to him. Cain. At the very least, for right now, he had a name.
There was a hand waving in front of his face when he snapped back to reality, once again with Nova giving him a look along with a small sigh.
“Your focus is all over the place. Are you sure you’re ready to be here?”
Tristan quickly grabbed on to her hand, and looked directly into her eyes.
“I promise, I will take this seriously! Just, please give me a chance!”
Nova nodded, though took his grip off her hands.
“Alright. Good! I see potential in you Tristan, but you gotta work hard to bring it all out! And everyone here is gonna help you!”
With this last line, Tristan’s first thought immediately went to Cain. Was he really going to be able to help him with…. All this?
“Wait, what… is this?”
Suddenly everything seemed to click into place at once.
“What am I even doing here, why did you choose to come to me?”
Tristan suddenly had so many questions, but he stopped when Nova placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Like I said, I see your potential, so I’m gonna help you bring it out! That’s it!”
Tristan sighed and conceded that that was the best answer he was going to be able to get out of Nova, as vague as it was.
He decided, however, that he was going to take this opportunity and run with it as far as he could take it.
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His first few weeks were spent covering purely basics. Posture, correct stretching, arm movements, leg movements, Tristan could hardly move without getting scolded for him being wrong all the time. Through his breaks, he would sit against the wall and simply watch Cain, often tuning everything else out around him. The way Cain was able to fluidly move as if he was made of air was something Tristan had never seen before. He was a larger man than Tristan, though only in height. It was a little more than often that Nova would tease Tristan for ‘making eyes’ at Cain, but it was mostly him not paying attention to what face he was giving off at the time.
When he was finally able to begin learning the different styles of dancing Nova had promised to teach him, it started in unexpected ways. Though he expected her to do all the teaching, Nova had basically decided to pass him around to the others for their own specialized lessons.
Kai had been especially strong in the art of tango and waltzing, while Sophie had been proficient in the quickstep and foxtrot. Cain was, obviously, most skilled in ballet while Nova had never settled on a single particular focus.
It was much harder than he expected to be able to keep up with everyone around him. Kai was a teacher who was hard to understand, using strange expressions and various sound effects that normal people wouldn’t be able to process. Sophie was much more understanding and moved at a slower pace, but she seemed to often use even more erratic sounds to describe dancing than even Kai.
Finally, the time had come for Cain to learn the basics for ballet. He felt more nerves than usual, and tried to keep his composure as he came in. Tristan showed up especially early for this lesson, even though he hadn’t meant to. He began doing some light stretches until Cain walked in and noticed him.
“I’m not as strict as Nova, you don’t have to show up particularly early to count as on time.”
Tristan gave a small laugh as he looked up at the other man.
“This is just a whole new style I’ve never considered before, I just wanted to be sure I was ready…”
He had no idea what to expect with Cain as a teacher, but as soon as he stood up again the two were ready to get to work.
“Now, I hope you don’t mind but it’s much easier to guide you by direct contact, so try to ignore all of the touching and simply focus on how your body has moved.”
Though Cain had said this in his usual calm demeanor, Tristan gave a slight blush along with a nervous “o-okay.”
Time seemed to be passing quickly as Cain explained the absolute basics, being the positions of Tristan’s feet and arms before he could even consider to start moving around. There were so many terms and French words that Cain had been describing to him, that by the time it was all over you could practically see the smoke coming out of Tristan’s head.
He slumped to the floor, overwhelmed and gave a small laugh.
“I can see why they saved this for last….. this…. Might take a while…”
Before Cain headed out the door for the day, Tristan caught up to him on his way out.
“Um! I just wanted to say thanks for the lesson today. It was a lot to take in but I promise I will try my best.”
Cain looked at him for a moment before giving a small nod and walking out, leaving Tristan there in the hallway with a blank look on his face.
Did he say something weird? He scratched his head and felt a familiar smack on his shoulder, with Nova coming up behind him once again.
“Hey! How’s it going! If you’re worried about Cain, you shouldn’t be. He’s not much for talking but don’t take that personally~”
Tristan let out a sigh of relief before he knew it, gaining a grin from Nova.
“You’re way too easy to read, did you know that?”
While Nova gave out a small laugh, Tristan sighed once again as he began to gather up his things. He knew her teasing was harmless, but sometimes it got too much even for him. Tristan was looking for a way to get closer to Cain, without being too forward, but also he was afraid to scare him away.
“You knooooowwww,”
Sophie popped out of the main room and bounced her way over to him and leaned towards him, giving him a ridiculous look. He wasn’t sure how to read it, however, and could only give a confused look back at her in response.
“Kai’s family is hosting a big ol’ shindig in two weeks! It’s some fancy shmancy event and I’m not sure what it’s for…. But you should ask Cain to go with you!”
Tristan blanked for half a moment before he practically imploded. His face burned a bright red and he could feel himself begin sputtering nonsense, though he had no idea when it started or how he could stop it.
“Wha- who- whe- what?? No way! There’s no way I would be able to ever get the courage to do that, what are you talking about!!”
He hid is face in embarrassment as he quickly gathered his belongings and ran out the door, just wanting to be out of everyone else’s sight. Sophie had actually given him a fairly good idea, as impossible as it was for him to imagine himself having that much courage.
Tristan got home and raced up to his room, quickly stuffing his face into a pillow and giving a much-needed scream into it as he tried to clear his head. Suddenly thoughts of Cain in a formal setting, in a nice suit and tie and focusing only on Tristan. He knew his imagination was going too wild, but Tristan also realized that it wasn’t totally impossible either. If Tristan could just find a moment to ask him, this could end up like all of his favorite cheesy romance movies. Nothing bad ever happened in those! Suddenly finding a new confidence, Tristan felt as if he had talked himself into it, and was ready to face the next two weeks.
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Returning to class the next week, however, very quickly dampened Tristan’s spirits. The lessons he was getting from Cain were not getting any easier as time went on, and it was really running Tristan’s patience that he couldn’t get things right quickly.
It seemed to be a particularly bad day for Tristan, as he continuously forgot his next steps, fumbled over his own feet and quickly got frustrated at himself. Cain shut off the music, and Tristan looked at him, unsure of what to expect.
“I’m sorry I’m off today! I promise I can do better, I just, I don’t-“
Tristan was silenced when Cain placed his hand on Tristan’s shoulder understandingly.
“We all have our off days, don’t overdo it. How about we go get some tea?”
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Cain and Tristan ended up at a nearby Boba Tea store, and though it was quite large on the inside, it was still quite emptier than Tristan would expect. He sat across the way from Cain, nervously sipping at his tea as he wasn’t sure why he had agreed to come if he knew he was going to be a wreck.
“Thanks for the break. This is nice, every once in a while.”
Cain only nodded in response, leaving Tristan to only get more nervous. It was so hard for him to read Cain’s feelings, as he basically only talked when he really needed to.
“Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you. Some advice, maybe?”
Cain looked down at his drink while Tristan could only manage to look at him in disbelief. He had no idea that Cain found the two close enough to share advice, and he was nearly ready to fall out of his chair. He all but slammed down his drink before staring at Cain expectantly.
“O-of course! If there’s anything I can help you with, I’d be more than happy to!”
Cain fiddled with his drink, trying to find the right words for what he wanted to say.
“You’ve probably noticed by now, but I’m not…. Particularly good with people…”
He waited for the blonde boy’s response, wondering whether to expect sarcasm or mockery, but Tristan only continued to have his focused attention on Cain’s face. He decided to try and continue.
“I’m sure you also know that Kai’s charity masquerade is next week as well.”
Tristan vigorously nodded in response, hanging on his every word. His chest felt like it was ready to explode and he clasped his cup only tighter as Cain went on. This could be the moment Tristan had been looking for! Cain continued to look at the floor, giving off a soft blush and a slight look that Tristan had never seen in him before.
“There’s….. someone I want to ask to go with me, but I’m not quite sure how to break it to them. We haven’t known each other long, however….”
Tristan fell back into his chair, giving off a long sigh. Time had seemed to be frozen for him, here was his dream date sitting in front of him, asking how to entice his own dream instead. With his sharp, dark eyes, loving expression and his soft rosy cheeks that were not meant for Tristan, his chest suddenly felt very heavy. He had tried to get back to the conversation, and instead gave off a laugh that sounded much more off-putting than he had intended it to.
“Ah, is that all? You don’t have to worry about that, no girl would ever be able to resist your charms if you put your mind to it!”
Following up with more nervous laughing, Tristan felt the need for a quick escape. He feigned a shocked expression, and pulled out his cell phone to look at the time.
“Oh no! I forgot! I had plans today; I need to go! I’m so sorry to run out on you like this.”
He quickly gathered his things and went out the door, walking a few blocks and ducking behind a building as he hid his face.
‘What kind of reaction was that! He feels we’re close enough to ask me for advice and I run away? Because of my own expectations?’
He felt a warm tear roll down his cheek, but no matter how many times he tried to wipe them away they wouldn’t stop coming. Tristan realized that he had hyped himself up so much, that the fall was only that much worse. Of course, Cain had another person he was interested in. If Tristan had bothered getting out of his own head once in a while, he might have even been able to ask him about them.
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Tristan couldn’t go back to the dance studio. Not after he had blatantly lied to get away from Cain as he only asked an innocent question. Instead, he simply sulked in his room. He had turned off his phone, his lights, any sign that he was somehow connected to human society had been basically cut off. It was two days until the masquerade, but Tristan was not feeling very up to it anymore.
Suddenly, a knock on his door made him snap to his senses, as he wondered who would be coming and visiting him as he was busy trying to sulk. He figured it was some salesman, and they would get tired and go away soon, however, the knocks only seemed to be getting more and more violent as he let it go on.
“Alright, alright! I’m coming…”
When he opened the door, Sophie’s bubbliness seemed to shine twice as bright next to Nova’s literal glare towards Tristan, which ended up being way worse than her “I will beat you into next weekend” smile he had been getting before. Most of Tristan wanted to simply pretend these two weren’t here in front of his apartment, but at this point it was a bit hard to do that.
“Hey buddy! Can we come in for a moment?”
Sophie seemed genuine enough, but Nova seemed to be baring into his soul as the three of them stood in the doorway before he motioned for them to come in.
“How…. Did you guys know where I lived? I apologize for not having any snacks or drinks to offer, I don’t usually have…. guests…”
Nova, who had been strangely quiet for as long as they had been here, finally began. “What do you think you’re doing! You were doing so well, coming to every class, having all of these people helping you out and suddenly you stop showing up?”
Tristan grasped at his knees as he felt like a child being scolded. He knew it was all his own fault, his decisions to be a coward and run away instead of returning to face the truth. When Nova was finished scolding him, however, she went up to him and embraced him. Tristan nearly fell over from the new weight on him, but he felt her tears on his chest where she had embraced him.
“We were all really worried about you when you suddenly stopped showing up to class.”
Sophie was the one to explain, but Nova seemed to be more shaken up about it. Tristan wondered if there was anything he could do to comfort her, but he soon felt more tears coming from his own eyes this time.
“I’m really sorry guys…. I keep making dumb mistakes…”
He was the type to quietly laugh through his tears, always being sure to flash a smile no matter the situation.
After regaining his composure and explaining why he ran away when he did, he buried his face in his hands once again, in embarrassment. He knew how wrong it was for him and how much trouble he had caused, he had continuously apologized to Nova and Sophie.
“It sounds to me like you simply need to apologize? It was probably just a buildup of that whole day…”
Sophie and Nova were doing their best to comfort him, but Tristan was stuck in his slump.
“You know what!”
Nova suddenly burst up, taking a powerful stance and looking down at Tristan.
“Go and shower! We are going to buy you a nice suit and tie for the masquerade on Saturday. You smell like you haven’t moved from your bed in four days. Fix that.”
Tristan tried to protest, as he previously explained how he had tried to gather his courage to ask Cain and ultimately failed, but the two wouldn’t hear it, and continued to push him.
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Going out shopping with Nova and Sophie had ended up being a lot more fun that Tristan had anticipated. Though Sophie often picked the most outrageous and ridiculous suits she could find in the store, (including the neon green one, the zebra striped suit and the bright yellow polka dots), Nova seemed to be having a blast picking out suits that would best suit Tristan and having him try them on.
It was a good break from how he had been acting the past week, and a welcome distraction from his mistakes.
“Now, this is the one! You’re going to turn heads in that, rather than your usual kind of…. Scruffy clothing.”
Though she meant well, Tristan questioned whether or not that was supposed to be a compliment.
“Um…. Thanks? Though that’s not really what this is for….”
His voice trailed off, wondering what he did think he was doing it for. He shook off the thought, pulling a giggly Sophie and a surprised Nova into a group hug as he thanked them for the amazing afternoon.
Sophie started, “You’re welcome~ Can’t wait to see you Saturday! Don’t forget your mask!”
Nova put her hand on Tristan’s shoulder, with a small smile.
“I genuinely hope to see you there. You can fix this, I’m sure of it.”
With that, the group went their separate ways and Tristan firmly grasped his new purchase in anticipation. She was right, he could fix this. He would find Cain at the masquerade and properly apologize.
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It was finally the night of the masquerade, and Tristan was once again overwhelmed. Were the others used to extravagant events like this? It was a large hall, full of large chandeliers, a live band on the other end of the room, and various lights that seemed to be giving Tristan trouble.
Though he hadn’t meant to, he quickly found himself gravitating to a wall and trying to find his bearings. He hadn’t expected… all of this. It seemed to be another world to him, and, as much as he hated to admit it, the masks genuinely made it hard to recognize people. He had always thought people were exaggerating when they couldn’t see through a person’s disguise, but suddenly he understood everything.
He was fiddling with his mask when a familiar voice called out to him.
“Ah, Tristan. It is good to see you are alright! We were all so very worried at the studio, though some of us, ahem, more than others.”
Kai gave him a welcoming pat, and soon Sophie and Nova popped out from behind him and gave a wave.
“You could tell it was me? That’s a little impressive.” Tristan started with a small laugh. Or maybe, it was just him who couldn’t see through people’s masks.
“Actually, I thought we should look along the wall for people trying to hide away~ And here you are.”
As usual, Nova was three steps ahead of him.
Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled onto the main dance floor as Kai and Sophie waved them off to go and greet more people around the masquerade.
“Come on now, you didn’t come here to stand against the wall! Why don’t you show me your moves?”
Tristan couldn’t help but softly smile as Nova dragged him along. The two began to slowly dance to the soft ballad going on in the background, as Tristan took this moment to sincerely thank her for all she’d done.
“I just wanted to thank you…. For everything you’ve done for me. I will never be sure why you called out to me, or did all you have, but I could not be more grateful to you for your patience.”
Nova glanced around for a quick second, before leaning in closer to Tristan.
“Actually, it wasn’t me who picked you. There was a certain someone who often attended street dancing events with me who had their eye on you first~”
Tristan stopped for a second and stared at Nova in disbelief.
“Really? Who?”
It was easy to figure that it had to be one of the studio regulars, but Nova only happened to give him a wink in response.
“Not telling~”
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“Good evening to you my wonderful company!”
Kai’s address had seemed to be able to easily grab everyone’s attention. Tristan listened intently as it went on, though he also glanced around the floor. Unfortunately for him, tall men with black hair seemed to be abundant in his surrounding area, and he gave a small sigh.
“Ooh, that sounds like fun!”
Nova was once again, pulling Tristan into confusion.
“Kai said that we’re going to dance with someone we didn’t come to the party with. Link arms with your neighbors, our line will go one way and your line will go the other! Good luck!”
Tristan was dragged into the inside line, and the band started to play a cheerful tune as they began to move. When the music suddenly stopped, a seemingly slim, tall man stood in front of Tristan, and he looked at the floor in embarrassment. This wasn’t quite how he was expecting this night to go.
The man stuck out his hand to Tristan, who, though hesitant, decided to take it and prepare to dance with the man in front of him. Ever so gently, the man pulled him in closer as the waltz began to play. Tristan suddenly grew painfully aware of his heartbeat, as it felt like it was going to burst out of his chest. Though the man in front of him was a stranger, there was only one person on Tristan’s mind.
Neither of the two had been able to say anything, though the way they were dancing together made Tristan feel like they had been doing it their whole lives. Tristan’s partner was softly guiding Tristan throughout the dance, and Tristan could feel his curiosity rising. Suddenly, he heard soft hums of the song coming from the man in front of him, and despite himself, Tristan rested his head on the stranger’s chest, letting the world go for if only a few moments. At this, he felt his partner tense up a bit, and Tristan awkwardly stepped away for a second, ready to begin an apology for making his partner uncomfortable. The masked man, however, didn’t miss a beat as he spun Tristan back in towards him, with the couple for the first time this whole song managing to lock eyes with each other for a few small moments.
Much faster than he had anticipated, the song came to an end, with almost every couple releasing their other half to give an applause to the band. Tristan stayed, however, in his partner’s embrace, staggered.
“I…thought you may have come to dislike me…”
Tristan had been startled at the voice he did not get to hear very often, but also knew all too well. He finally let Cain go as he took a few steps backwards and bumped into nearly three people. Cain reached towards him to try and help, but once again Tristan looked for an escape, and he quickly made his way out to the balcony. This time though, not without Cain on his trail.
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As Cain made his way to Tristan, he was sure to keep his distance. Tristan once again was fighting his way through tears, as he attempted to hide his face from Cain. But, he had decided to apologize and that is exactly what he intended to do.
With as much courage as he could muster, he turned around and gave a deep bow in Cain’s direction.
“I am so sorry.”
It was a bit hard to make out through his blubbering, but Cain was easily able to understand, and picked Tristan up into an embrace as he pulled off his mask to be able to see his face clearly.
“I just keep running away, but I don’t mean to be…”
Tristan could feel himself beginning to ramble, and Cain was very patient in his embrace until he had seemed to be finished. Wiping his face, Tristan gave a small, sad look to Cain.
“I hope I didn’t ruin your night. Were you ever able to ask the person you wanted to? I know my advice probably wasn’t what you needed to hear…”
Once again. Rambling. However, Cain simply shook his head as he looked town at Tristan and removed his own mask.
“Actually, you ran away before I managed to ask…”
Tristan returned a blank look to him before feeling as if he imploded again. With his bright red face, the pieces had all finally seemed to click into place.
“O…h my god. It was me? Oh noooo, I’m so dumb!”
Tristan hid his face into Cain’s chest as he finally realized the unnecessary drama he had caused around him.
“I should have stayed and listened, but I got so worried about the thought of you being here with somebody else, and I-“
Cain gently grabbed Tristan’s face and lifted it up to meet his, bravely stealing a kiss from the blonde boy.
“I know I told you I’m bad with people, but I think you may have it just as bad as me…”
Tristan was so flustered that he momentarily lost his balance, though Cain had been able to hold him up. Both were burning a bright red, but Cain had moved his sleeve to hide the smile that had creeped its way to his face.
“You know, you might just be right. But hey, as long as it lets me see more of your surprisingly cute smile.”
Tristan laughed as reveled in Cain’s smile, his eyes shining brightly until he pulled him into a closer embrace. His whole misunderstanding had ended up being a disaster, but he was finally here, with the only person he wanted to be with, and he couldn’t ask for anything more.
They stayed outside for a few moments before a few curious kittens made their way to peek out onto the balcony and give looks. Kai seemed to be giving the two a haughty, knowing look, as Sophie stated how sensitive Tristan was, (only with love of course), and Nova gave a genuine congratulatory smile to the two.
The pair avoided eye contact with their brightly blushing faces, but quietly clasped their hands together before making their way back to the party.