Not Unanticipated
Soren and Eli greeted people at opposite ends of the double doors to the gallery. Eli smiled and waved, fidgeting a bit in the black suit that he hated wearing. Soren was much more relaxed on the outside, tall, sharp, and formal in his own navy blue pinstripe. But he felt so idiotic, standing there just saying "hello, welcome," while Eli was warmly greeting people he knew or had seen before. Maybe that was his problem. Eli was so much more relaxed...
"Hiya, Denise," said Eli, jovially. "Glad to see you again. Take a look at Lunar Pole, I think you'd love that one."
The Banette smiled. "Sure thing dear. Glad to be back."
Soren snapped his fingers as an idea struck him. As more people streamed in, Soren continued to greet people, now more warmly, recommending his own favorite paintings, pointing people towards all the works of art he saw Eli sculpt before him.
After over an hour of smiling, waving, and telling people to check out Deep Sea, Arctic Shadow, and Sunless Dawn, the last person walked through the door. The only piece that Soren couldn't recommend was Nocturnal. Mostly because it was a portrait of him... kinda. It was a vulpine profile constructed of minimalistic polygons, colored deepest blue and speckled with silver-blue stars. The face was in profile and had no features beyond piercing blue eyes, but Soren still found it bizarre that he modeled for a piece of art that would soon be spread throughout the world at large.
Eli helped Soren close the door, smiling widely and picking at his sleeve. "Good crowd tonight," he said, bouncing on his heels.
"I know," said Soren. "How many of those people do you actually know?"
Eli thought for a moment. "About half of them, actually."
Soren was wowed. "Do those people always buy pieces every time they come?"
Eli shook his head. "No, but it's all publicity. If they like what they see, they tell their friends. The more people who come, the more people who bid."
Soren chuckled and offered Eli his hand. "Aren't you the little wheeler dealer. Shall we give them the tour?"
Eli took it and smiled. "You never recommended Nocturnal . Can't admit that you let me paint you?"
Soren leaned down a bit and kissed Eli's cheek. "Maybe. Let's go." Together they rounded the corner and walked between the people, talking to people about the pieces and greeting people that Eli missed the first time.
The gallery was really crowded, and Eli liked to chat up as many people as he could before the bidding began. Both Eli and Soren worked around opposite sides of the gallery, Soren casting a shadow on many of the other patrons as he slipped up to them, Eli weaving through the crowd and greeting even more people he knew, both offering little quips and tidbits about paintings that the patrons were contemplating. As they worked their way about the gallery, Soren and Eli converged on Arctic Shadow.
A Feraligatr and a Luxray were staring at the surreal landscape of swirling whites and darkest blues, forming snowy patterns in the subconscious. Eli was talking already. "I was really trying to play with the light using the pale and dark colors. I had a lot of fun with this one."
Soren stepped up behind Eli and chimed in. "He spent so much time with layers. He spent days painting and then repainting when parts were only partially dry. It was really cool to be there with Eli and watch it take shape."
The Feraligatr raised an eyebrow. "Oh... are you two... roommates?"
"No," said Eli in a steely voice, recognizing the skeptical tone in the growl of the water type. "We're boyfriends."
The Feraligatr began to scowl, but Soren loomed over him, his body restored to its former strength and power after months of intense dancing with Eli. "We are. I love him." Soren held Eli in his arms and gave the pair a challenging look, daring them to contradict him.
The two patrons frowned back, and eventually the Luxray said, "Let's go dear. We are definitely done here now." The two walked away in a huff.
Soren glared after them for a minute, but he felt Eli shaking in his arms. Holding him warmly, Soren whispered "We've got better people to talk to, love. Come on." Eli fell still, and then gave the smallest of nods. "That's better. You wouldn't want idiots like those owning your pieces anyway. " They broke apart, and Eli nodded again. They both wandered off in different directions again, going to paintings on the other sides of the gallery.
Soren went through the other half of the gallery, talking over forty patrons through sixteen more paintings. Soren kept a passive eye on Eli the whole time. He seemed ok. He was really enjoying chatting with someone he seemed to know, telling him all about Ivory Tower. But as Soren turned around, something nasty flew into his ear. "There he is... I might have guessed Eli was, but that silver one? Never would have guessed if I hadn't seen them kiss..." Soren turned around and scanned the crowd and found a pair of foppish looking Golducks gossiping audibly in a corner. Soren gave both of them a glare, but they turned their backs on him after slinging the dirtiest of looks at him. They continued in a less audible whisper, and Soren could only catch vague snippets.
Soren decided to just move on, but more and more he heard the trails of gossip throughout the babble of the gallery, and many a person continued their conversations while Soren was clearly within earshot. Soren still had an eye on Eli, and it seemed that the patrons were being no more considerate to Eli than they were to himself. Cutting a conversation about Storm of Eyes short, Soren wove his way back to Eli, whose once genial smile was now more closely resembling a grimace of determination.
Soren waited politely for Eli to finish, listening to Eli talk about Maelstrom but feeling unable to add anything that could contribute to the conversation without feeling redundant. As the couple walked away, Eli turned around. "You're hearing them too, aren't you," stated Eli, a frown returning to his face.
Soren nodded. "We don't have much time till the bidding. Only an hour or so. Can you make it?"
Eli nodded back, curtly. "I think so. Care to work together again?"
"Yes," said Soren at once, taking his lover's hand. They walked together, looking conspicuously happy to be with each other. Whispers continued to reach them at varying intervals, some carrying quite clearly across the cluttered and buzzing gallery. "There they are... Disgraceful, I'd say... In public, even... They even kissed... You'd think he'd hide it, at least for his career's sake." Soren grasped Eli's hand with each whisper, as though by doing so he could make him ignore the dark muttering that was eating away at both of them. He seemed to be doing all right, at least well enough that he was still in full control. A stray comment flew by, loud and not even attempted to be concealed. "So THAT is how he gets his perspective... yes, yes. It makes a lot of sense."
Soren jumped as he heard the sharp plastic creak of Eli crushing his empty water bottle in his hand. Soren hugged Eli again and whispered in his ear, "Let me get you another drink." Soren walked purposefully away and returned two minutes later with a bottle of ice cold water. He put his hand on Eli's shoulder. "Vincent wants us in the back for a minute."
The two returned to the back of the gallery. Soren shut the door behind him and locked it with a flick of his hand. He swept up Eli in a tight hug, pressing Eli's face gently into the crook beneath his muzzle. "I'm sorry," whispered Soren, "I knew I would cause trouble."
Eli gripped tightly, pressing his head deeper into Soren. "No. I'm not ashamed of loving you. Let them talk."
Soren swayed them gently side to side. "Do you need a minute?" He felt Eli nod his head. After a time, Eli broke apart and kissed Soren. He grinned a bit. "I take it you're ready. We don't have much time left now."
They walked out together, patrolling the gallery hand in hand. For some reason the whispers were coming less frequently, and Eli was shrugging them off without now that the constant stream of half-concealed comments had eased up. Eli broke away to use the bathroom, leaving Soren to continue the patrol.
A short, squat, Meganium dressed in lavender satin stood contemplating Nocturnal . She was quite alone, her face furrowed with lines of concentration. Soren walked up next to her and pointed at the painting. "Shift your perspective to change how the light plays in your eyes. It's almost iridescent."
The Meganium jumped a bit at Soren's sudden arrival, but did as Soren suggested. Her eyes lit up. "Wow! That's really cool. I was just admiring how the tails draw attention to the eyes." She pointed a green finger, and in the air she traced the circling pattern that the painted tails made.
Soren nodded. "You should reexamine a lot of the other paintings. This set really is all about playing with lighting."
The Meganium pouted. "You're gonna make me backtrack through the whole gallery? I can't believe I was so clueless."
Soren smiled. "You should play with distances too. The paintings really change when depending on where you look."
The Meganium nodded, and then stepped back and looked up at Soren. "I'd say your fur is almost as good as the paintings." She smiled widely. "Would you wanna grab a drink when this is all done? I hope you're not already taken."
"He is," said Eli as he poked his head around Soren, snaking his arms around his partner's chest. "Hands off, Risa." Soren and Risa both jumped at Eli's sudden appearance, but Soren saw that both Eli and Risa were smiling. Eli broke apart from Soren long enough to give Risa a hug. "Good to see you again. You're really late."
Risa giggled a bit. "Sorry. So this is your boyfriend? You didn't tell me what he looked like. I'm a little jealous."
Eli grinned. "This is Soren. And Soren, meet Risa. She's a regular."
"I was admiring your painting before I was admiring your boyfriend," said Risa, pointing towards Nocturnal . "And I honestly want a piece of both. Soren was showing me how you were playing with the lights. He really knows how to showcase your work. Has he done this before?"
Eli shook his head. "Nope. This is the first time I brought him with." Eli paused for a moment. He gave Soren a meaningful look, nodding his head towards Nocturnal. Soren hesitated, then nodded. Eli turned back to Risa. "You can own a piece of both you know."
Risa looked at Soren and Eli in confusing, and then when back to the painting. She gave a little gasp. "Of course. Those eyes... I have to have this one. It's beyond gorgeous, and I know the perfect spot for it in my house!"
Eli grinned again. "The bidding starts in ten minutes." The two foxes walked away, leaving Risa to fidget around Nocturnal as she was entranced by the play of light and perspective. Most of the crowd had gathered for the bidding, their red cards at the ready.
Soren and Eli stood in the back and watched. Not long after, Lisa, the Noctowl curator, stepped up and began the bidding. Soren held Eli's hand and watched in awe as the crowd of people began to bid ruthlessly. Despite the relatively low base prices, the first ten of Eli's set went for huge sums of money as the patrons clamored to out bid the other. The next five pieces went for relatively smaller amounts, but still would leave the buyer's wallet considerably lighter after purchasing. Soren saw Eli grimace as he saw Ocular Storm, Deep Sea, and Sunless Dawn go for such small amounts. He hated it when his favorites didn't do well. Ivory Tower was the second to last piece, and that pulled away at nearly $20000.
The last piece up was Nocturnal. The crowd gasped in delight as they all saw it from a more distant perspective, seeing how the nine tails traced a spiral pattern around the slim body, drawing the view towards the single blue eye that dominated the viewer's attention despite not taking up much space on the canvas. The bidding began, but was finished almost at once as Risa stood up and shouted quite clearly "$30000!"
The crowd gasped, partially at the breach of etiquette but mostly at the absurdly high bid. There was a ringing silence for nearly a minute. "And sold," said Lisa, somewhat deadpanned. Soren and Eli still were standing at the back, their jaws desperately attempting to reach the floor in shock at how reckless Risa had been.
Soren tugged on Eli's sleeve. "Come on. We need to open the doors and see everyone off." Eli nodded. The two hustled away to open the doors.
Risa was the first one out, carrying the canvas like it was an infant. "Thanks boys. This was worth every dime."
Eli smiled and waved after her. "See you next time." As Risa walked off, Soren heard a low buzz as the rest of the patrons followed in a herd. Soren and Eli waved and greeted them all as they past, but there were more mutterings to be heard and not only about the drama of the auction. Soren heard more dark whispers as people rushed by them, and they grew in frequency and intensity. As the last patron left, Eli waved , but his smile was gone, now replaced with a tooth grinding grimace.
Double checking that no one was left, Soren quickly stepped up to Eli and hugged him again. "I'll drive home." Stepping into the emerald green Prius, Soren flicked the stick from neutral to first and pulled slowly out of the parking lot. The drive home was short and quiet, Eli not saying a word, his mouth tight shut and his arms crossed along his chest. Soren waited the whole half hour drive for Eli to say something, but neither exchanged a word, even as they rode the elevator up. Soren broke the silence as he unlocked the front door. Putting his hand gently on Eli's shoulder, Soren said, "I'm going to run a hot bath. Would you like that?"
There was a pause as Eli shut the door behind them. He hugged Soren. "Yes, please." Soren went to fill the tub, deciding to mix in a plum scent. Something sweet, but mellow. Once the tub was filled, he went to hang up his suit in the closet. By the time he returned, Eli was already in, his suit draped unceremoniously over the shower door.
Soren sighed and hung up Eli's clothes before slipping in beside his lover. He kissed Eli tenderly before speaking. "I'm so sorry. I knew I would be a problem."
Eli gripped Soren tightly, rolling his body so that he was now lying on top of Soren. Soren gripped back, just as hard, growling a bit as they enjoyed their favorite cuddling position. "It's their problem, not yours," grumbled Eli. "I will never be ashamed to say that I love you, Soren. But those people... how they behaved.. it drives me nuts. It always does."
Soren sighed, kissing Eli's hair as it drooped over his forehead. "I've just sort of resigned the rudeness to being an occupational hazard of loving you."
"I know," said Eli. "But why should it? It's so stupid. It's fucking stupid how they treated you. I don't care what they think of us, really. But dealing with them, I just hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it!" Eli thumped the side of his head on Soren's chest with each repetition. Soren could feel tears leaking out of Eli's eyes, mixing with the scented water. Soren held Eli tighter, stroking his body, feeling Eli's beautiful, slender body shudder a bit as he slowly rocked them from side to side in the sweet scented water.
After a long time, Soren lifted Eli up and kissed him again, brushing a few stray tears from Eli's green eyes. "I hate it too. But they don't matter. They can rain on our parade all day. I still love you. They can't stop that."
Eli returned to Soren, laying down on top of him again. "I know that. It was just... tonight... it felt like I was back in high school again."
Soren raised an eyebrow. "You came out to your parents when you were sixteen, right?"
"Yeah," said Eli, now stroking one of Soren's tails. "But I came out to a few friends first." Soren stayed silent. He had never heard Eli talk about his high school friends. After a pause, Eli continued. "I told Lily and Minerva first. They were artists, like me. Lily did graphic design, and Minerva painted. They were both actresses too. Minerva also threw javelin. She set a few state records, actually.
"So you worked with them for a while," said Soren. "In both art and theater. You did lighting in school, right?"
Eli nodded. "Yeah. I came out to them first. We were all sort of each others toughest critics and we loved to bounce ideas off of each other. We were all artists since at least middle school. One afternoon we were working late in the studio, and I just...sort of told them."
Soren nodded again. "So you knew you could trust them."
"Yes. Sort of a comrades in arts kind of thing. They were probably the best people to come out to. They got up and hugged me. They told me they were glad I figured myself out. I had been depressed for ages. I was just holding it all in. Telling them just took a huge weight off my chest that had been sitting there for months."
Soren remembered when he told Grandma Jeanne. It was one of the scariest things he had done at that point in his life. To stand up, look her in the eyes, and say "I think I like boys." But her reaction was probably the best thing she could have said.
Looking straight back at her grandson, she said, completely deadpanned, "So what?" To hear that she didn't care at all about his orientation, to hear that her opinion of him was completely unchanged, was probably the best possible thing she could have said, complete with her dry and witty touch of humor.
"Minerva was completely unsurprised though. A small part of me still thinks that she knew even before I did," continued Eli, breaking Soren out of his brief episode of reminiscence. "At the end of the day she pulled me aside. She told me she was glad that I told her. But she warned me. 'Not everyone will be as accepting as us,' were her exact words I think. I should have listened to that better." Eli's voice cracked a little bit. Soren kissed his sweet smelling hair, hoping Eli would continue but not wanting to pry. There was a small pause as Eli sighed a bit, a hint of contentment mixed within the currents of melancholy.
"I told my sister next," said Eli. "Coming out to her was hard in a different way. We got along well, but sometimes she was such a gossip. I had to make her swear not to tell Mom and Dad. But when I told her, she was perfectly fine with it. That really gave me the courage to tell my parents. I was terrified, actually. But Mom and Dad were fine with it, too. They were completely nonchalant about the whole thing.
As Soren held Eli, he felt within him the tiniest surge of jealousy, hearing how his parents accepted their son unconditionally. but after a short moment, he realized that he too felt their warm welcomes, their loving acceptance and respect for the fox that their son loved. He smiled a bit on the inside and waited for Eli to keep going.
"After that, I was able to tell my geeky friends. I played games with James, Artur, and Vanessa. And it seemed to me that everyone I came out to was completely OK with me, whoever I was." A steely chill entered Eli's voice as he went on. "But then I told Victor. He was the first clarinet, and he was also a football player. I looked up to him as a mentor, and we were friends. But when I told him, it was so idiotic."
Eli's voice changed to a sarcastic and bitingly accurate imitation of the stereotypical dumb jock. "So, wait. You're into dudes? Does that mean you want to do me? Right now?" Eli snarled in exasperation.
Soren squeezed Eli a bit tighter than he should have, gritting his teeth as he imagined Victor's idiotic reaction in his mind's eye. "What did he do?"
Eli snarled again. "That stupid loudmouth Loudred. Told everyone he knew. The football team for starters. And all his friends who were high up on the social hierarchy. It wasn't bad at first. I didn't know anyone he told.
Soren raised an eyebrow. "At first?"
Eli nodded. "All of the clarinets. One day I sat down at rehearsal, and... it just felt... different. Like the atmosphere of the room had changed. As I opened my case, I was hearing things. Whispers and mumblings. Like tonight, almost." Eli stopped to blow a lock of hair out of his eyes, still looking thoroughly miffed, and maybe a little regretful. "Everyone was giving me weird looks, and Victor was the worst. I was 2nd clarinet and he was 1st, but when I sat down, he scooted his chair away from me. There was, I don't know how to describe it right... I guess you could call it an 'aura' of unwelcomeness. People laughed when I made mistakes, gave me dirty looks... and I could hear whispers, carrying names like 'clueless fag,' stupid shit like that. But I could deal with that. Half of the clarinets wouldn't even talk to me."
"What did you do," asked Soren, concern in his voice but some part of him desperate for Eli to finish his story.
"Nothing," said Eli, simply. "I was too scared to go to the director, even though that's probably what I should have done. I was afraid to draw attention to the issue, even though everyone knew what was going on. A lot of the others shared their attitudes. At least it seemed like that to me. I had a friend, Kelsey. She wanted to help me, but she was a french horn. All she could do was watch while shit went down."
Soren nodded in understanding. French horns were on the complete opposite side of the ensemble. "But what about after practice."
Eli shook his head. "You were in orchestra, right? You know how cliquish sections can get. There were twelve clarinets and Kelsey was the only french horn. It was too scary for her, a lone, geeky little Kirlia to stand up to eleven other band members, especially with Victor, a big, intimidating athlete as the ringleader. I understood. I just ended up quitting. It was too much to deal with."
"So that's why you stopped playing music," asked Soren.
Eli sighed and nodded. "I regretted it, but going to the director wouldn't have changed their attitudes. I felt like no one could really do anything about it."
Soren reached beneath the water and began to run his fingers through Eli's tails. "But what about after you quit?"
"Well, I didn't really need to come out to my other friends," said Eli, half grinning but with no hint of happiness in his voice. "but I officially told Kelsey, James, and Artur. They were my geeky friends. Kelsey played Vampire, the Masquerade with me along with being a fellow performer, and James and Artur played Dungeons and Dragons with me. And they were all fine with me. But as the news spread amongst the social higher ups, I started getting harassed more."
Soren kissed Eli again, holding him tight. He knew how vicious bullying could get. He had stayed closeted all through high school, but he was still picked on for being a gamer, and also for being a fat little Vulpix. He didn't even evolve until he graduated. Soren pressed his cheek into Eli's hair and waited.
"It was standard bullying material. Harassment, name calling, being pushed around. I didn't let it bother me too much," said Eli, his voice casual. "But it happened everyday, and it was very visible. But I had friends who stood by me. But it was too much for some of them. One day I went to game and James wasn't there. And when I called him, he never picked up. One day I got a hold of him and we talked."
Soren had a good idea where this was going, but sat and listened.
Eli sighed, "James, Artur, Kelsey, and myself already took a good deal of flak for being gamers. But James saw how much abuse I was taking now. He said he didn't want to be seen with me. He was afraid that people would start attacking him for being friends with me." Eli growled a bit. "The whole thing just unraveled into this huge fight. We just ended up refusing to talk to each other." Eli paused for a brief moment. "But there was a bright side. I met my first boyfriend."
Soren, who was frowning at James' cowardice, brightened a bit. "What was his name? What was he like?"
"His name was Artur," said Eli. He smiled at the look of confusion on Soren's face. "We had always been close friends, and when we did stuff together, we always worked really well together. He worked with me on lighting in theater. Artur had watched me deal with all the crap that was being slung at me, and how I wasn't letting it bug me. He told me that my resolve gave him the courage to come out. And we started dating."
Soren was dying to ask more questions, but Eli seemed to read his mind.
"We dated till we began going to college. Well, you know where I was going, But Artur was going to this engineering school on the east coast. We both agreed the long distance thing was just not working. We still keep in touch."
"That's actually really cute," said Soren, kissing Eli's hair again. "It's nice that it didn't end badly."
Eli giggled a bit. "He was really sweet. Lily actually bet Minerva that we'd end up together."
Soren looked up at the clock. It was past 1:30. "I'm glad it's Friday. I'm kind of tired. What about you?" Eli responded with a jaw cracking yawn. Soren released the water by flicking the switch with his foot. They lay there as the water drained around them, playfully sending red and blue sparks across each other to dry themselves.
As Eli started to unravel himself from Soren, Soren gripped tighter and stood up, sweeping Eli off his feet. Eli gave a small "eep" of surprise as he found himself held off the ground, cradled in Soren's strong arms. The two laughed as Soren carried them to bed, Soren laying Eli gently on the bed before lying down next to him. Laying the sheets on top of them, Eli held Soren in his arms as he lay his muzzle softly on the crook between Soren's neck and his right shoulder.
"Good night Eli."
"Good night Soren. I love you."
"I love you too."
Eli was asleep in minutes, leaving Soren time to caress his lover in his silver arms. But the soft sighs of Eli's gentle breaths and the silky fur running between his fingers soon caused Soren's eyes to droop, and then he too was lost in his own dreams.