{"sf1_id":584629,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Not Unanticipated","author":"DarkSoulsSauron","words":4747,"posted_at":"2013-09-02T05:25:00.000Z","tags":["ninetales","pokemon"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/584629-not-unanticipated","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/584629","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=584629\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\n\n\n\nSoren\nand Eli greeted people at opposite ends of the double doors to the\ngallery. Eli smiled and waved, fidgeting a bit in the black suit\nthat he hated wearing. Soren was much more relaxed on the outside,\ntall, sharp, and formal in his own navy blue pinstripe. But he felt\nso idiotic, standing there just saying \"hello, welcome,\" while\nEli was warmly greeting people he knew or had seen before. Maybe that\nwas his problem. Eli was so much more relaxed...\n\n\"Hiya,\nDenise,\" said Eli, jovially. \"Glad to see you again. Take a look\nat Lunar Pole, I think you'd love that one.\"\n\n\nThe\nBanette smiled. \"Sure thing dear. Glad to be back.\"\n\n\nSoren\nsnapped his fingers as an idea struck him. As more people streamed\nin, Soren continued to greet people, now more warmly, recommending\nhis own favorite paintings, pointing people towards all the works of\nart he saw Eli sculpt before him.\n\n\nAfter\nover an hour of smiling, waving, and telling people to check out Deep\nSea, Arctic Shadow, and Sunless Dawn, the last person walked through\nthe door. The only piece that Soren couldn't recommend was Nocturnal.\nMostly because it was a portrait of him... kinda. It was a vulpine\nprofile constructed of minimalistic polygons, colored deepest blue\nand speckled with silver-blue stars. The face was in profile and had\nno features beyond piercing blue eyes, but Soren still found it\nbizarre that he modeled for a\npiece of art that would soon be spread throughout the world at large.\n\nEli\nhelped Soren close the door, smiling widely and picking at his\nsleeve. \"Good crowd tonight,\" he said, bouncing on his heels.\n\n\"I\nknow,\" said Soren. \"How many of those people do you actually\nknow?\"\n\n\nEli\nthought for a moment. \"About half of them, actually.\"\n\n\nSoren\nwas wowed. \"Do those people always buy pieces every time they\ncome?\"\n\n\nEli\nshook his head. \"No, but it's all publicity. If they like what they\nsee, they tell their friends. The more people who come, the more\npeople who bid.\"\n\n\nSoren\nchuckled and offered Eli his hand. \"Aren't you the little wheeler\ndealer. Shall we give them the tour?\"\n\n\nEli\ntook it and smiled. \"You never recommended Nocturnal . Can't admit\nthat you let me paint you?\"\n\n\nSoren\nleaned down a bit and kissed Eli's cheek. \"Maybe. Let's go.\"\nTogether they rounded the corner and walked between the people,\ntalking to people about the pieces and greeting people that Eli\nmissed the first time.\n\n\nThe\ngallery was really crowded, and Eli liked to chat up as many people\nas he could before the bidding began. Both Eli and Soren worked\naround opposite sides of the gallery, Soren casting a shadow on many\nof the other patrons as he slipped up to them, Eli weaving through\nthe crowd and greeting even more people he knew, both offering little\nquips and tidbits about paintings that the patrons were\ncontemplating. As they worked their way about the gallery, Soren and\nEli converged on Arctic Shadow.\n\n\nA\nFeraligatr and a Luxray were staring at the surreal landscape of\nswirling whites and darkest blues, forming snowy patterns in the\nsubconscious. Eli was talking already. \"I was really trying to play\nwith the light using the pale and dark colors. I had a lot of fun\nwith this one.\"\n\n\nSoren\nstepped up behind Eli and chimed in. \"He spent so much time with\nlayers. He spent days painting and then repainting when parts were\nonly partially dry. It was really cool to be there with Eli and watch\nit take shape.\"\n\n\nThe\nFeraligatr raised an eyebrow. \"Oh... are you two... roommates?\"\n\n\n\"No,\"\nsaid Eli in a steely voice, recognizing the skeptical tone in the\ngrowl of the water type. \"We're boyfriends.\"\n\n\nThe\nFeraligatr began to scowl, but Soren loomed over him, his body\nrestored to its former strength and power after months of intense\ndancing with Eli. \"We are. I love him.\" Soren held Eli in his\narms and gave the pair a challenging look, daring them to contradict\nhim.\n\n\nThe\ntwo patrons frowned back, and eventually the Luxray said, \"Let's go\ndear. We are definitely done here now.\" The two walked away in a\nhuff.\n\n\nSoren\nglared after them for a minute, but he felt Eli shaking in his arms.\nHolding him warmly, Soren whispered \"We've got better people to\ntalk to, love. Come on.\" Eli fell still, and then gave the smallest\nof nods. \"That's better. You wouldn't want idiots like those owning\nyour pieces anyway. \" They broke apart, and Eli nodded again. They\nboth wandered off in different directions again, going to paintings\non the other sides of the gallery.\n\n\nSoren\nwent through the other half of the gallery, talking over forty\npatrons through sixteen more paintings. Soren kept a passive eye on\nEli the whole time. He seemed ok. He was really enjoying chatting\nwith someone he seemed to know, telling him all about Ivory Tower.\nBut as Soren turned around, something nasty flew into his ear. \"There\nhe is... I might have guessed Eli was, but that silver one? Never\nwould have guessed if I hadn't seen them kiss...\" Soren turned\naround and scanned the crowd and found a pair of foppish looking\nGolducks gossiping audibly in a corner. Soren gave both of them a\nglare, but they turned their backs on him after slinging the dirtiest\nof looks at him. They continued in a less audible whisper, and Soren\ncould only catch vague snippets.\n\n\nSoren\ndecided to just move on, but more and more he heard the trails of\ngossip throughout the babble of the gallery, and many a person\ncontinued their conversations while Soren was clearly within earshot.\nSoren still had an eye on Eli, and it seemed that the patrons were\nbeing no more considerate to Eli than they were to himself. Cutting a\nconversation about Storm of Eyes short, Soren wove his way back to\nEli, whose once genial smile was now more closely resembling a\ngrimace of determination.\n\n\nSoren\nwaited politely for Eli to finish, listening to Eli talk about\nMaelstrom but feeling unable to add anything that could contribute to\nthe conversation without feeling redundant. As the couple walked\naway, Eli turned around. \"You're hearing them too, aren't you,\"\nstated Eli, a frown returning to his face.\n\n\nSoren\nnodded. \"We don't have much time till the bidding. Only an hour or\nso. Can you make it?\"\n\n\nEli\nnodded back, curtly. \"I think so. Care to work together again?\"\n\n\n\"Yes,\"\nsaid Soren at once, taking his lover's hand. They walked together,\nlooking conspicuously happy to be with each other. Whispers continued\nto reach them at varying intervals, some carrying quite clearly\nacross the cluttered and buzzing gallery. \"There they\nare... Disgraceful, I'd say... In public,\neven... They even kissed... You'd think he'd hide it, at least for\nhis career's sake.\" Soren\ngrasped Eli's hand with each whisper, as though by doing so he could\nmake him ignore the dark muttering that was eating away at both of\nthem. He seemed to be doing all right, at least well enough that he\nwas still in full control. A stray comment flew by, loud and not even\nattempted to be concealed. \"So THAT is how he gets his\nperspective... yes, yes. It makes a lot of sense.\"\n\n\nSoren\njumped as he heard the sharp plastic creak of Eli crushing his empty\nwater bottle in his hand. Soren hugged Eli again and whispered in his\near, \"Let me get you another drink.\" Soren walked purposefully\naway and returned two minutes later with a bottle of ice cold water.\nHe put his hand on Eli's shoulder. \"Vincent wants us in the back\nfor a minute.\"\n\n\nThe\ntwo returned to the back of the gallery. Soren shut the door behind\nhim and locked it with a flick of his hand. He swept up Eli in a\ntight hug, pressing Eli's face gently into the crook beneath his\nmuzzle. \"I'm sorry,\" whispered Soren, \"I knew I would cause\ntrouble.\"\n\n\nEli\ngripped tightly, pressing his head deeper into Soren. \"No. I'm not\nashamed of loving you. Let them talk.\"\n\n\nSoren\nswayed them gently side to side. \"Do you need a minute?\" He felt\nEli nod his head. After a time, Eli broke apart and kissed Soren. He\ngrinned a bit. \"I take it you're ready. We don't have much time\nleft now.\"\n\n\nThey\nwalked out together, patrolling the gallery hand in hand. For some\nreason the whispers were coming less frequently, and Eli was\nshrugging them off without now that the constant stream of\nhalf-concealed comments had eased up. Eli broke away to use the\nbathroom, leaving Soren to continue the patrol.\n\n\nA\nshort, squat, Meganium dressed in lavender satin stood contemplating\nNocturnal . She was quite alone, her face furrowed with lines of\nconcentration. Soren walked up next to her and pointed at the\npainting. \"Shift your perspective to change how the light plays in\nyour eyes. It's almost iridescent.\"\n\n\nThe\nMeganium jumped a bit at Soren's sudden arrival, but did as Soren\nsuggested. Her eyes lit up. \"Wow! That's really cool. I was just\nadmiring how the tails draw attention to the eyes.\" She pointed a\ngreen finger, and in the air she traced the circling pattern that the\npainted tails made.\n\n\nSoren\nnodded. \"You should reexamine a lot of the other paintings. This\nset really is all about playing with lighting.\"\n\n\nThe\nMeganium pouted. \"You're gonna make me backtrack through the whole\ngallery? I can't believe I was so clueless.\"\n\n\nSoren\nsmiled. \"You should play with distances too. The paintings really\nchange when depending on where you look.\"\n\n\nThe\nMeganium nodded, and then stepped back and looked up at Soren. \"I'd\nsay your fur is almost as good as the paintings.\" She smiled\nwidely. \"Would you wanna grab a drink when this is all done? I hope\nyou're not already taken.\"\n\n\n\"He\nis,\" said Eli as he poked his head around Soren, snaking his arms\naround his partner's chest. \"Hands off, Risa.\" Soren and Risa\nboth jumped at Eli's sudden appearance, but Soren saw that both Eli\nand Risa were smiling. Eli broke apart from Soren long enough to give\nRisa a hug. \"Good to see you again. You're really late.\"\n\nRisa\ngiggled a bit. \"Sorry. So this is your boyfriend? You didn't tell\nme what he looked like. I'm a little jealous.\"\n\n\nEli\ngrinned. \"This is Soren. And Soren, meet Risa. She's a regular.\"\n\n\"I\nwas admiring your painting before I was admiring your boyfriend,\"\nsaid Risa, pointing towards Nocturnal . \"And I honestly want a\npiece of both. Soren was showing me how you were playing with the\nlights. He really knows how to showcase your work. Has he done this\nbefore?\"\n\n\nEli\nshook his head. \"Nope. This is the first time I brought him with.\"\nEli paused for a moment. He gave Soren a meaningful look, nodding his\nhead towards Nocturnal. Soren hesitated, then nodded. Eli turned back\nto Risa. \"You can own a piece of both you know.\"\n\n\nRisa\nlooked at Soren and Eli in confusing, and then when back to the\npainting. She gave a little gasp. \"Of course. Those eyes... I have\nto have this one. It's beyond gorgeous, and I know the perfect spot\nfor it in my house!\"\n\nEli\ngrinned again. \"The bidding starts in ten minutes.\" The two foxes\nwalked away, leaving Risa to fidget around Nocturnal as she was\nentranced by the play of light and perspective. Most of the crowd had\ngathered for the bidding, their red cards at the ready.\n\n\nSoren\nand Eli stood in the back and watched. Not long after, Lisa, the\nNoctowl curator, stepped up and began the bidding. Soren held Eli's\nhand and watched in awe as the crowd of people began to bid\nruthlessly. Despite the relatively low base prices, the first ten of\nEli's set went for huge sums of money as the patrons clamored to out\nbid the other. The next five pieces went for relatively smaller\namounts, but still would leave the buyer's wallet considerably\nlighter after purchasing. Soren saw Eli grimace as he saw Ocular\nStorm, Deep Sea, and Sunless Dawn go for such small amounts. He hated\nit when his favorites didn't do well. Ivory Tower was the second to\nlast piece, and that pulled away at nearly $20000.\n\n\nThe\nlast piece up was Nocturnal. The crowd gasped in delight as they all\nsaw it from a more distant perspective, seeing how the nine tails\ntraced a spiral pattern around the slim body, drawing the view\ntowards the single blue eye that dominated the viewer's attention\ndespite not taking up much space on the canvas. The bidding began,\nbut was finished almost at once as Risa stood up and shouted quite\nclearly \"$30000!\"\n\n\nThe\ncrowd gasped, partially at the breach of etiquette but mostly at the\nabsurdly high bid. There was a ringing silence for nearly a minute.\n\"And sold,\" said Lisa, somewhat deadpanned. Soren and Eli still\nwere standing at the back, their jaws desperately attempting to reach\nthe floor in shock at how reckless Risa had been.\n\n\nSoren\ntugged on Eli's sleeve. \"Come on. We need to open the doors and see\neveryone off.\" Eli nodded. The two hustled away to open the doors.\n\n\nRisa\nwas the first one out, carrying the canvas like it was an infant.\n\"Thanks boys. This was worth every dime.\"\n\n\nEli\nsmiled and waved after her. \"See you next time.\" As Risa walked\noff, Soren heard a low buzz as the rest of the patrons followed in a\nherd. Soren and Eli waved and greeted them all as they past, but\nthere were more mutterings to be heard and not only about the drama\nof the auction. Soren heard more dark whispers as people rushed by\nthem, and they grew in frequency and intensity. As the last patron\nleft, Eli waved , but his smile was gone, now replaced with a tooth\ngrinding grimace.\n\n\nDouble\nchecking that no one was left, Soren quickly stepped up to Eli and\nhugged him again. \"I'll drive home.\" Stepping into the emerald\ngreen Prius, Soren flicked the stick from neutral to first and pulled\nslowly out of the parking lot. The drive home was short and quiet,\nEli not saying a word, his mouth tight shut and his arms crossed\nalong his chest. Soren waited the whole half hour drive for Eli to\nsay something, but neither exchanged a word, even as they rode the\nelevator up. Soren broke the silence as he unlocked the front door.\nPutting his hand gently on Eli's shoulder, Soren said, \"I'm going\nto run a hot bath. Would you like that?\"\n\n\nThere\nwas a pause as Eli shut the door behind them. He hugged Soren. \"Yes,\nplease.\" Soren went to fill the tub, deciding to mix in a plum\nscent. Something sweet, but mellow. Once the tub was filled, he went\nto hang up his suit in the closet. By the time he returned, Eli was\nalready in, his suit draped unceremoniously over the shower door.\n\n\nSoren\nsighed and hung up Eli's clothes before slipping in beside his lover.\nHe kissed Eli tenderly before speaking. \"I'm so sorry. I knew I\nwould be a problem.\"\n\n\nEli\ngripped Soren tightly, rolling his body so that he was now lying on\ntop of Soren. Soren gripped back, just as hard, growling a bit as\nthey enjoyed their favorite cuddling position. \"It's their problem,\nnot yours,\" grumbled Eli. \"I will never be ashamed to say that I\nlove you, Soren. But those people... how they behaved.. it drives me\nnuts. It always does.\"\n\n\nSoren\nsighed, kissing Eli's hair as it drooped over his forehead. \"I've\njust sort of resigned the rudeness to being an occupational hazard of\nloving you.\"\n\n\n\"I\nknow,\" said Eli. \"But why should it? It's so stupid. It's fucking\nstupid how they treated you. I don't care what they think of\nus, really. But dealing with them, I just hate it. I hate it. I hate\nit. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.\nI hate it. I hate it!\" Eli thumped the side of his head on\nSoren's chest with each repetition. Soren could feel tears leaking\nout of Eli's eyes, mixing with the scented water. Soren held Eli\ntighter, stroking his body, feeling Eli's beautiful, slender body\nshudder a bit as he slowly rocked them from side to side in the sweet\nscented water.\n\n\nAfter\na long time, Soren lifted Eli up and kissed him again, brushing a few\nstray tears from Eli's green eyes. \"I hate it too. But they don't\nmatter. They can rain on our parade all day. I still love you. They\ncan't stop that.\"\n\n\nEli\nreturned to Soren, laying down on top of him again. \"I know that.\nIt was just... tonight... it felt like I was back in high school\nagain.\"\n\n\nSoren\nraised an eyebrow. \"You came out to your parents when you were\nsixteen, right?\"\n\n\n\"Yeah,\"\nsaid Eli, now stroking one of Soren's tails. \"But I came out to a\nfew friends first.\" Soren stayed silent. He had never heard Eli\ntalk about his high school friends. After a pause, Eli continued. \"I\ntold Lily and Minerva first. They were artists, like me. Lily did\ngraphic design, and Minerva painted. They were both actresses too.\nMinerva also threw javelin. She set a few state records, actually.\n\n\n\"So\nyou worked with them for a while,\" said Soren. \"In both art and\ntheater. You did lighting in school, right?\"\n\n\nEli\nnodded. \"Yeah. I came out to them first. We were all sort of each\nothers toughest critics and we loved to bounce ideas off of each\nother. We were all artists since at least middle school. One\nafternoon we were working late in the studio, and I just...sort of\ntold them.\"\n\n\nSoren\nnodded again. \"So you knew you could trust them.\"\n\n\n\"Yes.\nSort of a comrades in arts kind of thing. They were probably the best\npeople to come out to. They got up and hugged me. They told me they\nwere glad I figured myself out. I had been depressed for ages. I was\njust holding it all in. Telling them just took a huge weight off my\nchest that had been sitting there for months.\"\n\nSoren\nremembered when he told Grandma Jeanne. It was one of the scariest\nthings he had done at that point in his life. To stand up, look her\nin the eyes, and say \"I think I like boys.\" But her reaction was\nprobably the best thing she could have said.\n\n\nLooking\nstraight back at her grandson, she said, completely deadpanned, \"So\nwhat?\" To hear that she didn't care at all about his orientation,\nto hear that her opinion of him was completely unchanged, was\nprobably the best possible thing she could have said, complete with\nher dry and witty touch of humor.\n\n\n\"Minerva\nwas completely unsurprised though. A small part of me still thinks\nthat she knew even before I did,\" continued Eli, breaking Soren out\nof his brief episode of reminiscence. \"At the end of the day she\npulled me aside. She told me she was glad that I told her. But she\nwarned me. 'Not everyone will be as accepting as us,' were her exact\nwords I think. I should have listened to that better.\"\nEli's\nvoice cracked a little bit. Soren kissed his sweet smelling hair,\nhoping Eli would continue but not wanting to pry. There was a small\npause as Eli sighed a bit, a hint of contentment mixed within the\ncurrents of melancholy.\n\n\"I\ntold my sister next,\" said Eli. \"Coming out to her was hard in a\ndifferent way. We got along well, but sometimes she was such a\ngossip. I had to make her swear not to tell Mom and Dad. But when I\ntold her, she was perfectly fine with it. That really gave me the\ncourage to tell my parents. I was terrified, actually. But Mom and\nDad were fine with it, too. They were completely nonchalant about the\nwhole thing.\n\n\nAs\nSoren held Eli, he felt within him the tiniest surge of jealousy,\nhearing how his parents accepted their son unconditionally. but after\na short moment, he realized that he too felt their warm welcomes,\ntheir loving acceptance and respect for the fox that their son loved.\nHe smiled a bit on the inside and waited for Eli to keep going.\n\n\n\"After\nthat, I was able to tell my geeky friends. I played games with James,\nArtur, and Vanessa. And it seemed to me that everyone I came out to\nwas completely OK with me, whoever I was.\" A steely chill entered\nEli's voice as he went on. \"But then I told Victor. He was the\nfirst clarinet, and he was also a football player. I looked up to him\nas a mentor, and we were friends. But when I told him, it was\nso idiotic.\"\n\n\nEli's\nvoice changed to a sarcastic and bitingly accurate imitation of the\nstereotypical dumb jock. \"So, wait. You're into dudes? Does that\nmean you want to do me? Right now?\" Eli snarled in exasperation.\n\n\nSoren\nsqueezed Eli a bit tighter than he should have, gritting his teeth as\nhe imagined Victor's idiotic reaction in his mind's eye. \"What did\nhe do?\"\n\n\nEli\nsnarled again. \"That stupid loudmouth Loudred. Told everyone he\nknew. The football team for starters. And all his friends who were\nhigh up on the social hierarchy. It wasn't bad at first. I didn't\nknow anyone he told.\n\n\nSoren\nraised an eyebrow. \"At first?\"\n\n\nEli\nnodded. \"All of the clarinets. One day I sat down at rehearsal,\nand... it just felt... different. Like the atmosphere of the room had\nchanged. As I opened my case, I was hearing things. Whispers and\nmumblings. Like tonight, almost.\" Eli stopped to blow a lock of\nhair out of his eyes, still looking thoroughly miffed, and maybe a\nlittle regretful. \"Everyone was giving me weird looks, and Victor\nwas the worst. I was 2nd clarinet and he was 1st,\nbut when I sat down, he scooted his chair away from me. There was, I\ndon't know how to describe it right... I guess you could call it an\n'aura' of unwelcomeness. People laughed when I made mistakes, gave me\ndirty looks... and I could hear whispers, carrying names like\n'clueless fag,' stupid shit like that. But I could deal with that.\nHalf of the clarinets wouldn't even talk to me.\"\n\n\"What\ndid you do,\" asked Soren, concern in his voice but some part of him\ndesperate for Eli to finish his story.\n\n\n\"Nothing,\"\nsaid Eli, simply. \"I was too scared to go to the director, even\nthough that's probably what I should have done. I was afraid to draw\nattention to the issue, even though everyone knew what was going on.\nA lot of the others shared their attitudes. At least it seemed like\nthat to me. I had a friend, Kelsey. She wanted to help me, but she\nwas a french horn. All she could do was watch while shit went down.\"\n\n\nSoren\nnodded in understanding. French horns were on the complete opposite\nside of the ensemble. \"But what about after practice.\"\n\n\nEli\nshook his head. \"You were in orchestra, right? You know how\ncliquish sections can get. There were twelve clarinets and Kelsey was\nthe only french horn. It was too scary for her, a lone, geeky little\nKirlia to stand up to eleven other band members, especially with\nVictor, a big, intimidating athlete as the ringleader. I understood.\nI just ended up quitting. It was too much to deal with.\"\n\n\"So\nthat's why you stopped playing music,\" asked Soren.\n\n\nEli\nsighed and nodded. \"I regretted it, but going to the director\nwouldn't have changed their attitudes. I felt like no one could\nreally do anything about it.\"\n\nSoren\nreached beneath the water and began to run his fingers through Eli's\ntails. \"But what about after you quit?\"\n\n\n\"Well,\nI didn't really need to come out to my other friends,\" said Eli,\nhalf grinning but with no hint of happiness in his voice. \"but I\nofficially told Kelsey, James, and Artur. They were my geeky friends.\nKelsey played Vampire, the Masquerade with me along with being a\nfellow performer, and James and Artur played Dungeons and Dragons\nwith me. And they were all fine with me. But as the news spread\namongst the social higher ups, I started getting harassed more.\"\n\nSoren\nkissed Eli again, holding him tight. He knew how vicious bullying\ncould get. He had stayed closeted all through high school, but he was\nstill picked on for being a gamer, and also for being a fat little\nVulpix. He didn't even evolve until he graduated. Soren pressed his\ncheek into Eli's hair and waited.\n\n\"It\nwas standard bullying material. Harassment, name calling, being\npushed around. I didn't let it bother me too much,\" said Eli, his\nvoice casual. \"But it happened everyday, and it was very visible.\nBut I had friends who stood by me. But it was too much for some of\nthem. One day I went to game and James wasn't there. And when I\ncalled him, he never picked up. One day I got a hold of him and we\ntalked.\"\n\nSoren\nhad a good idea where this was going, but sat and listened.\n\n\nEli\nsighed, \"James, Artur, Kelsey, and myself already took a good deal\nof flak for being gamers. But James saw how much abuse I was\ntaking now. He said he didn't want to be seen with me. He was afraid\nthat people would start attacking him for being friends with me.\"\nEli growled a bit. \"The whole thing just unraveled into this huge\nfight. We just ended up refusing to talk to each other.\" Eli paused\nfor a brief moment. \"But there was a bright side. I met my first\nboyfriend.\"\n\nSoren,\nwho was frowning at James' cowardice, brightened a bit. \"What was\nhis name? What was he like?\"\n\n\n \"His\nname was Artur,\" said Eli. He smiled at the look of confusion on\nSoren's face. \"We had always been close friends, and when we did\nstuff together, we always worked really well together. He worked with\nme on lighting in theater. Artur had watched me deal with all the\ncrap that was being slung at me, and how I wasn't letting it bug me.\nHe told me that my resolve gave him the courage to come out. And we\nstarted dating.\"\n\n\nSoren\nwas dying to ask more questions, but Eli seemed to read his mind.\n\n\n\"We\ndated till we began going to college. Well, you know where I was\ngoing, But Artur was going to this engineering school on the east\ncoast. We both agreed the long distance thing was just not working.\nWe still keep in touch.\"\n\n\n\"That's\nactually really cute,\" said Soren, kissing Eli's hair again. \"It's\nnice that it didn't end badly.\"\n\n\nEli\ngiggled a bit. \"He was really sweet. Lily actually bet Minerva that\nwe'd end up together.\"\n\nSoren\nlooked up at the clock. It was past 1:30. \"I'm glad it's Friday.\nI'm kind of tired. What about you?\" Eli responded with a jaw\ncracking yawn. Soren released the water by flicking the switch with\nhis foot. They lay there as the water drained around them, playfully\nsending red and blue sparks across each other to dry themselves.\n\n\nAs\nEli started to unravel himself from Soren, Soren gripped tighter and\nstood up, sweeping Eli off his feet. Eli gave a small \"eep\" of\nsurprise as he found himself held off the ground, cradled in Soren's\nstrong arms. The two laughed as Soren carried them to bed, Soren\nlaying Eli gently on the bed before lying down next to him. Laying\nthe sheets on top of them, Eli held Soren in his arms as he lay his\nmuzzle softly on the crook between Soren's neck and his right\nshoulder.\n\n\n\"Good\nnight Eli.\"\n\n\"Good\nnight Soren. I love you.\"\n\n\n\"I\nlove you too.\"\n\nEli\nwas asleep in minutes, leaving Soren time to caress his lover in his\nsilver arms. But the soft sighs of Eli's gentle breaths and the silky\nfur running between his fingers soon caused Soren's eyes to droop,\nand then he too was lost in his own dreams.\n\n\n\n"}