Kiss Me Like You Wanna Be Loved
Winter hadn't set in quite yet and left instead, to remind all of its inevitable presence, a covering of mist, a blanket of grey clouds, and the lingering question of whether or not the sky would crack and let rain fall anew. Some cared little for this, and walked as though any rain would not melt them.
One such person walked with only smiles, laughter, and the occasional stumble - which he quickly caught on righted as though nothing had happened. The disposition was a sunny contrast to the composure of his partner, who carried an umbrella open just in case, and whose sure and steady feet found easy placement on the Common's ground. His smile was smaller and many a passerby missed it at first glance, but for Aiden, whose eyes had grown accustomed to the small twitches of his husband's lips, Tegan was practically beaming.
It was not their anniversary, no birthday, no holiday. A business trip had been the cause of their abrupt flight from Westfield. And business was all well and good in Aiden's eyes, but he'd be damned if he let Tegan rot behind an oak desk and board tables for the entirety of their journey.
"Th' weather's great," he had said to a bemused expression and a raised eyebrow. He'd argued this point, no matter how far from the truth, by throwing on a pair of shockingly red gloves and a scarf to match. By the time he had begun inching towards the door to leave, Tegan had buttoned himself up in his most somber, most black coat, grabbed a black umbrella, and brought earmuffs - black, of course - for the both of them.
"I still say th' weather's great," Aiden chuckled as he recovered from one particularly nasty spill. He picked himself up, brushing off his clothes and readjusting the earmuffs that had twisted around his neck in the process. "Couldn' 'ave wished for better weather."
Tegan held his hand out from the umbrella with a look towards the sky that screamed of quiet, but humored, disagreement.
"'s no' rainin' yet," came the response as Aiden spread both his hands. "'n' 's no' li'e th' two 'f us'll melt when th' downpour hits. No wicked witches of th' west 'ere."
"It doesn't hurt to be prepared."
Aiden pursed his lips, a wicked grin slowly taking hold of his face as he leaned in. "'m prepared t' kiss ya silly 'f 't does rain. Tha's 'ow I'm prepared."
Much as he anticipated, Tegan's cheeks burned a brief pink as the man with the gold and diamond eyes looked away. But as always, his gaze returned to the man with the golden band on his finger, the man who winked at him and carried on as though nothing, and yet everything, had happened.
Tegan let out a slow breath as he followed. If there was one thing Aiden had done, it was take him outside more and more. Feeding the ducks, watching the stars, laying in the wet grass despite any suit he might be wearing. He suspected Aiden felt as though the world would somehow clear his mind and ease the headache that had been slowly growing behind his cranium for the past year.
In a lot of ways, Aiden was right. But Tegan wasn't sure it was the act of being outside that medicated his mind.
Aiden slipping didn't medicate his mind either. And as the man fell backwards, Tegan's hand shot forward to catch him against him. He pulled him firmly into his chest and held him there, lest the man's legs be eager to get away from him again. All of this, to the tune of Aiden's laughter and insistence, in his slurred away of speaking, that nothing had happened.
"What am I going to do with you?" Tegan asked quietly.
Without skipping a beat, Aiden answered, "Love me. Hug me. Kiss me. I'd say marry me, bu' ya already di'." He held up his hand to illustrate, twiddling the fingers and causing the gold band to shine in the light.
"I do love you." Tegan gave a squeeze to Aiden, having refused to relinquish his hold on the smaller man. "I am hugging you." He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Aiden's forehead. "I have kissed you."
And that was more than enough for Aiden, whose heart was already full of just this moment, of just Tegan, of just wandering together. With a kiss to Tegan's cheek, one delivered as he stood on the tips of his toes to reach, he moved to resume his course.
But the moment his foot reached from under the umbrella, and his shoulder passed the protection of it, the rain that Tegan had been so prepared for finally fell and Aiden's bright red sock, having had the unfortunate luck to peak out from under his jeans, turned several shades darker from the water dumped on it.
Aiden jumped back under the umbrella and was greeted by the soft, low rumble of Tegan's laughter. "No' a word," he said, shaking his head at the sudden rain. "No' one word."
"No?" came the bemused reply.
Fixing chocolate eyes to the blue pools of Tegan's, Aiden, his face battling between the humor of the situation and his own sense of having been quietly told it would rain, leaned back on the tips of his toes to capture Tegan's lips against his own.
And in that moment, when breath was spared and hands held to the other's coat, as Tegan maneuvered the umbrella to still cover them as he answered the kiss with one of his own, as the rain fell down around them, the two were caught up in a moment of bliss.
"No' one word," Aiden whispered against Tegan's lips.
And Tegan was more than happy to give him another kiss in answer.