# Not Unanticipated

Author: DarkSoulsSauron
Tags: ninetales, pokemon





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.

Source: https://sofurry.com/view/584629