“You don’t understand?” Gale asked turning to face Chaz again looking rather destroyed, “I don’t know, Chester, maybe I’d like to slow things down a little, save a few things for later. Maybe it’s that I don’t like it. That I can’t remember why I don’t like it.” He tucked his hair nervously behind his ear. What did that even mean? “Maybe...it’s just not something I want to talk about right before dinner. That I worked really hard on to please you.


With a soft kiss on his shoulder, Chaz murmured, “I’m sorry, Gale.  I really don’t understand but I’d like to.” He remained there, moving no closer or further away, just being a presence that he hoped helped Gale feel a little better and perhaps forgive him for being insensitive.  His breath shuddered as he steeled himself, trying to give Gale a way out.  “You don’t have to explain, of course,” he blurted out quickly.  “You know, if there’s anything you don’t want to do, or don’t want to talk about, all you have to do is tell me.  I wanna help you and love you, whatever you need from me.”


"Love me?" Gale asked with a sarcastic tone in his voice, and turned on his lover, "Do you love me, Chaz? The past few months that we have known each other is that enough time to love?" He narrowed his eye on him, not believing him, but half convincing himself that it was true.

"Don't answer that unless you are sure, ok?" His tension eased, and he quickly threw up his hands, "Actually don't answer it at all. I'm just going to go." He couldn't keep his anger in, not right now. Too many emotions were at hand, and his swelled like a jealous rage.

"I'm sorry, but I have a lot of papers to grade anyway. And I've played perfect house for too long. Lived in this little fantasy that all was perfect, and it's not. "


“Hey wait a minute!” Chaz exclaimed.  His face was pulled into partial smile that conveyed confusion and disbelief.  He held out one arm, as though to beckon Gale back to him.  “Why are you leaving?  Don’t you think we should talk about this?”

He felt accosted for something he didn’t really do.  Or even, accosted for something that he did do that wasn’t all that horrible, like growing extremely fond of his boyfriend.  It wasn’t a crime.  Sure, he didn’t know whether or not he was ready to call it love, that was a pretty big step in their young relationship, but this wasn’t just some fling.   He certainly felt emotionally invested in the relationship. 

He rubbed his forehead as he thought about what to say.  Once again, elegant words failed him.  He could only do his best to explain as simply as he could.  “I don’t know if a few months is enough to love someone.  I hadn’t even thought about it before just now.”  His eyes were sad and apologetic.


Dressed now, Gale turned to face his lover, that sort of little defeated smile also on his own lips as he closed the distance between them. “Honey...” He purred, running a hand up over Chaz’s face, “I’m sorry. I just need some air. I’ll see you soon.” The walls were starting to close in, he could feel it, but this wasn’t over yet.

He stretched to his toes to kiss his boyfriend one last time before slipping out the door.



Gale replayed that night over and over, until the very memories of it were enough to haunt his every waking moment. He could still see Chester’s defeated eyes, the hurt there from not understanding, and how betrayed he must have felt when Gale couldn’t explain. He could hear his cruel words cut through him, and worried of what Darian had said that night at Dolly’s party.

"That's the wonderful part about being alive, Gale," he said, glancing up. His blue eyes were heavy and his mouth was unimpressed, beautifully blasé with Chaz' arm around his hips. "Everyone here has had experiences you couldn't dream of. What we have survived and what we have overcome. This isn't a pissing contest for the saddest backstory; we all lived through a war. So I believe you, darling, but no one really cares. It's not a valid excuse to act this way, particularly towards 'someone you hardly know.' The guilt-tripping, the threats, the ever-ready excuses... almost abusive, isn't it? What a fantastic way to start a relationship."[1]

1.	Dance With Death

He had been wrong, or so Gale felt. This wasn’t about a war that was fought in the flesh, but a sacrifice made. Yet, with everything that just happened Gale was surprised at himself for being so quick to push Chaz away when things got too personal. He hadn’t liked the way the events turned out, and worried that they wouldn’t make it through them.

Gale had taken the words to heart, carried them and protected them in fear of just how right Darian must have been. He hadn’t wanted to make excuses, but now trying to recall it all—Gale realized he couldn’t, the memories were not there—part of his mind was gone, and he didn’t understand why.

Far too much time passed between seeing Chaz again, but with it being Christmas Eve he’d made sure the artist knew he was welcome. The loft apartment wasn’t his, but rented through the holiday it was at his use. The decoration was of an elegance that Gale had never known, so sleek and modern that even the kitchen counters were made of a black stone that reflected the candles burning atop them like the night sky. The floor to ceiling windows were painted up with the skyline, and the furnishings complimented the long lines. He had gone and gotten his own tree, one that was tall enough to stretch from the floor to at least half way up the high ceilings and decorated it with a thousand tiny white lights. He’d stumbled upon it in the muggle papers, the offer one that started along the lines of ‘Come escape Christmas’, and the time-share was his with only one phone call. Chaz would have liked it here, and Gale would have brought him here earlier. However, this wasn’t home—this wasn’t his, nor was it Chaz’s little dumpy flat, and despite how the paper had read, he still felt like a prisoner.

The table until now had been used to do his grading, as old parchments and mid-terms stretched out across the onyx surface, but all of that had been cleared as the table was set now for two. Gale hadn’t cooked this meal, he’d ordered it from one of the fine places down in London’s higher end, and used a few charms to keep it warm while he waited to see if Chaz came. The owl had been short, but sent with an offer to meet him here for Christmas with promises of conversation and wrapped packages. But, Gale worried if he would even show.

In spirit of the season and the new required rental, Gale was inspired to clean himself up like a more civilized being. The pants he wore didn’t have tears; the shirt’s hem wasn’t undone. No, instead he was tailored to where even his black dress shoes matched the buckle of his jeans. A black shirt that fit snug around his broad chest wasn’t tucked in, but it was pressed and free of lint. His hair washed and dried in whatever fancy product was in there fell around his shoulders like a curtain of white silk, and no matter how much he moved it still seemed as glossy and soft as before.

Seven. He’d said seven, and the clock was just about to start its call of the hour. Nervous hands busied themselves with lighting the candles, and he tried his hardest to not count down the seconds until he could see his lover again. They had a lot to talk about, and he knew no amount of fine wine would make this easy. However, just for safe measure he poured himself another glass.
 

Hard, quick footsteps beat out a rhythm on the cold concrete of the sidewalk.  Chaz rushed up the street with a wrapped package under one arm and a bottle of wine in the other.  The wine was a token gift from a relative, sent by owl.  It would do as a guest gift, although if he didn't already have it he wouldn't have bothered to bring anything at all, it was far too formal for his tastes. 

Chaz paused in front of the building the owl had specified and glanced at his watch.  He was only five minutes late but he was desperate to know what had happened last week that caused Gale to flee like he had.  Days without so much as a word from his boyfriend and then out of the blue an owled invitation to Christmas Eve dinner.  An uncomfortable stirring sensation in his gut told him this was either going to make them up or break them up.  He hoped it was the former.   He hadn't been this happy since before Malcolm told him it was over.

With a slight adjustment of his hat, Chaz regarded the high-class building and went inside.  He knocked on the door and while he waited for a response, he shifted the wine bottle and fingered the second present he kept in his pocket.  He didn't want to bring it out just in case this ended badly.  The drawing he'd done would reveal enough but the second one would be just too intimate for anything less than the best opportunity.

When the door opened, Chaz managed an uneasy smile to greet his boyfriend.  "Hey," he greeted half-heartedly.  "I wasn't sure if we were going to do something for Christmas or not.  I was glad to get your owl, though."

Five minutes late and Gale stood over the table with a sinking feeling Chaz wasn't going to come. He wasn't going to be here, he'd given up. All of this had been for nothing, hadn't it? His nervous hands fidgeted before him, but he did well to keep his emotions in check. It was just five minutes, Chaz could be lost. His heart sank further--what if he'd gotten mugged? What if he was bleeding somewhere in the streets, and what if--a knock came.

Exhale.

Merlin, he'd missed those blue eyes, and even under the hat he could see them when he opened the door. He smiled up at his lover, and propped his shoulder on the entrance before he let him in, "Hi. I'm glad you came." Gale pressed from the frame and lead Chaz inside, "I hope you are hungry. I ordered in, didn't cook this time." He smiled over his shoulder while leading Chaz in, "So you'll have some redmeat with your meal." Gale didn't cook anything with any sort of iron content, especially steak, but that was what was waiting on Chaz on his charmed plates.

"Come in, make yourself at home." He stopped to let Chaz keep up, and watched him carefully. Waiting. He wanted to kiss his very on edge boyfriend, but Chaz seemed very...put off. To say he was let down by his greeting would be an understatement--that half-hearted hey? Made him worry a lip between his teeth and scan the floor. Had they ended on such a sour note?

Yes, Gale, this is what you want to talk to him about.

"I wasn't sure if we were going to do something for Christmas or not.  I was glad to get your owl, though."

"Well..." He looked back up at Chaz, but kept his quiet voice. "Why wouldn't we do something for Christmas?"

Gale looked delectable in a tight black shirt that was tucked in around his narrow waist.  His hair hung long past his shoulders and seemed to shine in the light coming from inside of the apartment.  It was heart-breakingly normal, the way Gale talked about dinner and although Chaz appreciated a hearty dose of red meat on his plate, it' wasn't really what he was expecting from the evening.

What was worse, Gale didn't even seem to understand why he was ill at ease.  He acted like nothing had happened, like Chad hadn't put himself out there only to be swatted away for some incomprehensible and unexplained reason.  Chaz shrugged.  His arms lifted and clapped back down against his thighs. 

"I don't know why.  Maybe you could tell me.  You did leave in quite hurry last time we saw each other."  It was an understatement, of course, but it was the most polite way he could think of to address it.  He looked around the incredibly swank apartment and added, "Not that I don't appreciate all of this, I meant it when I said I was glad to hear from you."  His eyes were earnest, communicating how sincere he was about it.

Chaz didn't even take off his hat, nor his coat. He really was mad wasn't he? His heart started to pound again, but this time he was biting back bile in the back of his mouth, and vile horrid words. He had hoped that they would be able to at least wait until after dinner to talk about this, or during. But Chaz made it pretty clear he didn't plan on staying long if things weren't settled--at least that is how Gale saw it.

"You know what. Stop. Can you just stop?" He held up his hands reference his request, "I had my reasons, ok? Things like this are not easy for me to talk about, and it's taken me a really long time to put them together. And I plan on getting to it ok? Will you just take your coat off, leave your hat by the door, and relax?" The distance between them was more than just vacant space, the tension was unbearable, and Gale took a careful yet dominate step towards him as if testing the waters before he closed in.

Gale took off Chaz's hat slowly, and with great caution put it on the hook by the door. He wouldn't break his gaze from Chaz's own, and planned to put up a fight if Chaz refused to comply. If he wanted to leave he could, but it wouldn't be without a bit of a brawl.

His eyelids drooped warily as Gale stepped into his space.  It was an aggressive invasion but Chaz was entirely opposed to the action, just the hint of intention behind it.  Just stop?  Stop trying to talk about their relationship?  But at least Gale offered to talk about it later, after dinner perhaps.  Chaz could do that.

It was extremely easy to just  give in to their intimate positions.  He brought his hand up and wrapped it around behind Gale's neck.  Strands of silky hair slipped between his fingers.  He leaned in and placed a deep, but relatively chaste kiss on his boyfriend's lips.  Chaz's chin was rough with the shadow of a beard he usually allowed himself but Gale was as smooth as ever.  He smelled so rich, though, clearly having used some nice and probably expensive products tonight.  It tickled him, in a way, that Gale had gone through extra effort for him.

"You're right, I'm sorry," Chaz conceded with a regretful sigh.  He stepped back and shrugged off his coat, revealing his deep blue sweater and black pants.  He'd agonized over his choice of attire far longer than he usually did but it turned out to be worth it.  He was neither under nor over dressed.  In fact, he was relieved he hadn't dressed in the t-shirt and jeans he'd been wearing earlier because his surroundings were much nicer than he'd anticipated. 

He handed Gale the bottle of wine and took an idle look around the main room with it's tall windows.  "I figured we could have a little wine, but it looks like you've already got one open, so maybe another time.  What you have will probably go better with dinner, anyway.  I hear you're supposed to drink red wine with red meat, not white like that."  He grinned ruefully at the useless scrap of pureblood etiquette he'd managed to retain after all these years trying to willfully forget them.  This was horrifically normal but nice at the same time.

Gale had gone through hoops of fire to make tonight perfect, but in one single motion Chaz stole the show. His beard tickled him as it always did, and even if the kiss was chaste he still smiled into it. He had to slip to the ends of his toes to meet him, but the strain was worth it.

"I like white wine best though..." He concluded taking the bottle and walking into the open kitchen, "It's sweeter. And you know me and my sweets." He put the bottle in the fridge for now, and poured Chaz his own glass while walking to the long formal table.

"I got all of my grading done." He admitted with a smile as he took his seat to start in on his salad, but would wait for Chaz to follow. "I just have a few other things that I need to do for the school, an I'll have this whole week off coming up." He felt a little too far from Chaz, but wanted to keep a little distance as he knew he had many things they needed to talk about. However, he would save the heavier subjects for after dinner, and away from all of the knives.

"I got wrangled into an auction. Booked my date for that, that way I can be displayed around like a prize cow and thrown money at." He snorted, "What about you? Any new interviews?" It was strangely familiar this, and the unspoken topics that shuffled between them were starting to pile up. Yet, they had to get through the basics first right?

Candles, leather, and stainless steel.  All the components of a modern and luxurious apartment.  It was not the sort of place that he would have put Gale, it didn't seem like his style, but in actuality it fit quite well.  The way Gale dressed, so immaculate tonight, and of course the elegant way he carried himself made it seem less strange.  This place was far nicer than any other place he'd been in since he left home.  In fact, is was nicer than a lot of the places back home in Germany because it at least embraced the modern age.

He followed Gale over to the table and sat down at the empty place setting.  He took a sip of wine and patiently listened to the way Gale recounted his past few days.  "What kind of auction?" he asked neutrally while digging into his salad.  He tried not to dwell on the fact that Gale had mentioned a date.  Chaz wanted to be that date.  Even to stuffy, boring events because that was his privilege as Gale's boyfriend.  He ought to be the one who got to show off his gorgeous lover.

The question about his interviews was right on target, though.  "I have, actually.  I found an architect with a small firm just outside London.  It's nothing new or exciting but I think I managed to impress him.  I'll hear back after the holidays, or so I've been told."  He didn't mention that he'd had to severely edit his portfolio in order to do all that impressing.  It didn't make him happy but it would be a job to sustain his lifestyle.  If he got it, that is.

"The kind of auction where I'm the prize." He said with a small smile, "The prize cow." With that he laughed, and looked over the table to his lover, "You can come bring the change in your pocket, Chester, and will win me. I won't fetch a high price, but it is for charity and it is for Dolly. How can I say no?" Watching his lover, proved to be a very daunting task only because Chaz seemed so stiff, he seemed so put off, and out of place. This couldn't do, this wouldn't do at all.

"That's great!" He said while standing, smiling still, and moving closer to his lover. "Hey," Gale ran his fingers back through Chaz's hair, his fingers laced through the thick locks of around the back of his skull and buried his nose in it to breathe him in. "You've got this, and this." He kissed Chaz's temple, and perched in his lap. The alcohol had painted his face with a little blush, and he giggled before uncovering Chaz's main course, "And this."

Gale slipped his arms around Chaz's neck to squeeze him, and put his chin on his shoulder so that way he could whisper, "I've missed you so much, and I'm so sorry for bailing on you like that. I just had a few things to sort out, and we'll get to that. Baby, smile for me, relax. Look..." He pressed his cheek to his Chester's so that way they could both look at the table, "It's dinner fit for my German boy no?"

Chaz slipped an arm around Gale's narrow waist with an easy attitude.  He picked up Gale's arm and placed a kiss on the inside of his wrist.  "I could work every day for a year and probably not earn enough money to win you like that," he mused.  "You're worth a lot more than some prized cow."  Money was a sore spot with Chaz out of work but he disliked the notion that Gale seemed so intent on selling himself short.

Back on even footing, with Gale in his lap, stroking his hair, and whispering into his neck, Chaz felt his tension melting away.  He slumped in his chair and grinned lazily.  "Dinner looks delicious," he murmured.  He turned his head and nipped at the tendons of Gale's neck. 

"Meat and potatoes, my mother would be so happy."  He sighed and withdrew from the feast of his lover to the feast of food.  "I suppose we should go ahead and eat all this before it goes to waste.  Wouldn't want all your effort to be in vain."

Gale rest his chin again against Chaz's shoulder and laughed, "No, you get the prized cow for free." He touched the side of his face with a gentle brush of kisses before he trailed off, and returned to his seat, "I would hope your mother would be pleased with me. Feeding you at least, supporting you, and loving you the way I do.  The staff downstairs in the lobby are wonderful about ordering things for you, I have not cooked once even with such a nice kitchen." He looked over his shoulder at the beautiful work of art that was the entire apartment. He liked that Chaz seemed pleased, it gave him an idea of his lover's taste if money wasn't an object. Gale pushed a few of the leaves around on his plate before uncovering his meal, a soup naturally.

By the time dinner was over, the bottle of red wine soon became two, and finally that white was opened so they could settle on the couch after dessert. Gale felt nice and warm, eating enough to keep the wine under control, and he slowed down when the white chased down the cheesecake. (his favorite) With a fire going, strong in the hearth, he took up part of the couch in the formal living space where the decorated tree waited with shimmering red paper.

"Which one do you want to start with?" He grinned, his face painted a hearty pink, and his fingers moving to undo a few of the buttons around his neck to help let air in. When had it gotten so warm in here? He swept his gaze up and down his lover, admiring how the blue of his sweater brought out the color of his eyes, and made a mental note to only ever buy the shade.

Dinner went so well that Gale wasn't ready to dive into the heart heavy subjects they both knew were coming, and he wanted to stretch out this warm fuzzy feeling at best he could. Chaz looked so tired, so defeated, and just confused--he deserved an answer, but it wasn't something Gale was looking forward to talking about.

"They are all yours." He smiled at the tree rather pleased, kicked his feet out from his shoes and curled up with his wine glass to wait for Chaz.

Chaz was pleasantly drunk by the time dinner was finished.  It was just enough to make him feel warm and give him a nice tingling sensation in his cheeks.  That could also just be a side effect of smiling the entire way through dinner.  Either way it had been a surprisingly enjoyable evening chatting easily over dinner and then dessert.

He trailed after Gale into the living room and stood gazing at the decorations while Gale curled up on the couch.  "All of them?" he asked incredulously.  His eyebrows shot up and then looked between his boyfriend and the presents under the tree.  He shrugged with a grin and walked over, picking up the largest of the packages wrapped in red.

Bringing it back to the couch with him, he sat down close enough to touch Gale and then tore open the paper.  He opened the corresponding box too.  His expression widened in surprise when the beautiful brown leather was revealed.  Rubbing his palms over it, he lifted it out of the box.  "Wow," he exclaimed softly.  He explored it mildly, opening the flaps and savoring the feel of the of the material against his skin.  He turned to Gale with an earnest expression and said, "Thank you."  He leaned in and kissed him, cradling the back of his head. 

When he pulled away, he stood up and fetched the flat box with Gale's present in it.  The wrapping was a bit shoddy, just some cheap green paper with candy canes dancing around on the outside.  But it would be ripped off anyway, so he didn't really care.  He gave the present to Gale and sat down again, watching for Gale to open it.

"It's for work. I figured you would need a new one, and I got you a hat, a new scarf, and some gloves." He used his wand to pull the presents over, hardly able to stand the excitement. The various boxes were all odd in size, but there were a few he left behind. One particular was saved for after their talk, and for the moment Gale sat back and opened his gift.

The drawing was beautiful, and Gale started at it a moment. He admired the way he could imagine himself there, imagine how Chaz must have been when working on the image, and how perfect it turned out. "Oh honey this is beautiful." Biting his lip he looked at one of Chaz's other presents, and worried that now wasn't the right time. God, who knew how this would end, but either way he was ready--ready for the next step.

"Ok now open this one." He pushed a silver box towards Chaz, that inside held the tickets to the upcoming Opera, and a pair of glasses for their box seats. "I know you may not really enjoy it," He took a deep breath and placed his drawing on the table so that way he could scoot closer to Chaz. "But I figured it that maybe it's time, you know? There are two tickets. One for you, one for me." He looked from the tickets to the man sitting with him, "So we can go together....in public. Because, Chaz..." Gale sighed and ran his fingers over the back of his own neck, and strangely feeling very sober.

"I understand if you are upset with me, or if you say no. I can wait until you are ready, but I'd like to prove to you that I'm very devoted. That I...I've not been this happy, in...well a really long time. Actually ever....well...because..." He suddenly couldn't make eye contact with Chaz, his only visible eye searching for an invisible spot on his lap as he ran his fingers through his hair trying to make sense of it all--not wanting to admit it.

"Because he never loved me," He bit his lip to keep from breaking down, "And you do. You won't admit it, but you do. I catch you staring at me. I see your smiles. The devotion in your eyes. I know that is love, but it hurts so much..." He scooted to the other end of the couch not wanting to be touched during his confession, "Because Arthur never did that. And it's just been really hard for me, because I'm realizing it wasn't love. Because this is love. What I feel? It's not the same with him. He was just cruel and unkind. He hated me, Chaz." The tears fell so heavily now that he had to try and dry them with the back of his hand.

"He hated himself and he hated me. And it's been so hard to realize, because I stayed so long, thinking he would change--until I thought I deserved it. That I was a dumb fuck that he had to take care of. Like with the other night, the reason I left. He would never do that, no matter how many times I would for him." Gale clenched his jaw, "And you...just fell to your knees like I was some prince you came to worship." He went quiet a moment still on the defense in his corner of the couch, "My counselors called it Stockholm Syndrome, and I didn't believe it until you. My guilt out weighed the truth." Maker, it got hot in this room, and when had he started shaking so bad?

The number of presents was slightly uncomfortable for Chaz, who couldn't really afford to do the same in return, but he laughed at the way Gale was so excited for them that he blurted out what was in the boxes before they were unwrapped.  That little insight into Gale was enough to rub out his concerns and leave him glowing and warm from the privilege.  Gale really seemed to appreciate the drawing as well, which was nice.  He'd spent a great deal of time on it, filling the space out and getting it just right.  There must have been something about it that touched Gale particularly though because his attitude changed.  Something clicked.

He was touched by the intention behind the tickets, more than he could really say.  Hadn't he just been dwelling on the very fact that it ought to be him showing Gale off in public?  He personally hated the opera but it didn't even cross his mind to say no.  He'd endure a hundred shows just to be able to be there with Gale and have people know what they meant to one another.  Hell, he'd endure them in exchange for this very moment. 

"Arthur never did that. And it's just been really hard for me, because I'm realizing it wasn't love. Because this is love. What I feel? It's not the same with him. He was just cruel and unkind. He hated me, Chaz."

Chaz didn't know if he was ready to say those words out loud, but hearing Gale pour out his story, he wanted to.  He wanted to lean forward and wrap his arms around Gale and wipe away all the hurt and pain.  But he couldn't.  That much was clear.  There was so much that must have been wrong with Gale's first relationship that it was no wonder he didn't know how to react in intimate situations. 

How could someone treat a person like that?  How could anyone harm and abuse the person they claimed to love, allowing hate to seep into all their actions?  Anger welled up in him for this Arthur prat.  He wanted to beat the living daylights out of him for daring to treat a jewel like dirt.  That emotion couldn't show.  He couldn't let it rule his reaction now because Chaz had a primitive understanding of just what Stockholm Syndrome entailed: attachment to your abuser out of necessity, survival, so he really shouldn't be too aggressive in retaliation and refutation.  Good thing that wasn't particularly in his nature.

He tried to respect Gale's distance as he rattled out his confession but when the shaking started, he couldn't hold back anymore.  With a wave of his wand, he summoned the second package from his coat pocket, the one he hadn't even been certain he wanted to give, and scooted closer.  He opened the box and showed it to Gale, inside on the white cotton was a beautiful old hair comb.

"You are a prince," Chaz said earnestly.  He picked up the comb and used it to tuck a section of Gale's hair back, then he tilted Gale's chin towards him and kissed him gently.  "And I would love to go to the opera with you."

This man felt like a victory, a battle well won, and Gale wrapped his arms around his lover so that way he could press his cheek to the other man's chest. There was more, there was always more, but right now all Gale could do was just breath in the scent of the most solid thing in his life. He loved this blue sweater, it was soft against his cheek, and fit snuggly over the firm body beneath it, and when he curled his fingers he clung to the fabric on the side.

"I've missed you so much," He confessed again before sitting up to realize Chaz stuck something in his hair. Through the tears he had saw what was in the box, but now in his hair he perked to catch his reflection. Like any bird, admiring themselves in a mirror he studied himself in the window, "It's beautiful." He chirped and turned a grin back at Chaz, "Where did you find such a trinket?" Carefully he touched the pearls, and beamed back at his lover a moment before looking back at himself. He had earrings to match this, and wondered where they were. His life was so scattered currently, which ultimately left him to one more of Chaz's gift.

"I don't mean to dwell on the past tonight. We just…well, we have a lot to talk about. I have a lot to tell you, but step by step no? I just wanted you to understand." He cleaned his nose on a tissue from one of the black boxes before reaching across the table to pick up one more of Chaz's gifts. He wanted to hear about his hair clip while he tried to get himself together again, but there wasn't anything that could ease his shaking more than being the crook of his lover's arm.

Gale settled right in, as he waited for this one to be opened instead of blurting it out. He knew it wouldn't go over well, no matter how much he tried to smooth it over, and though he was willing to fight that little emotional outpour tuckered him out--so he just waited.

The box was a long rectangle, that wouldn't take Chaz long to open, but what was inside was a single bank note in a rather large sum of money. And though settled now under the arm of his artist, Gale was still able to see his face.