"What's so important about being here at midnight?" Mill asks, perching on a low stone wall among the rubble.
Wandering around in the ruins of a church, Duo takes a deep breath. "This place, Your Highness, is the first place I ever thought of as a home, where I lived for a while with the only people I come close to considering my parents," he manages to say with that single breath.
"There's not much left," Mill whispers, looking about in the nighttime illumination of the colony.
"No." Stopping in front of the seated blonde, Duo whispers, "The Federation blew it to bits." He produces a lopsided grin. "Why are we whispering?"
"So the ghosts won't hear us?" Mill reaches for Duo's hands, lightly weaving their fingers together. "It must hurt to be back here."
"In a way it does," the standing man says in his normal tone of voice, "but in another way it's comforting. I considered this place my second chance for a reasonable start at life when I was living here. My hair first got braided here..." Removing his hands from the gentle grasp, he pulls his braid over his shoulder and places it in the now empty hands as he takes a step closer. "The woman I've always thought of as my mother, I called Sister Helen," he says as he closes the other man's hands around the rope of chestnut hair. "She taught me how to braid this mess." Violet eyes lift to see the look of awe on the face of the blond staring at their hands wrapped tightly around the braid. "I wanted the ghosts here to witness what I'm about to do tonight." He waits till the ice blue gaze meets his before continuing. "There is so much of myself that is represented in this braid, my past, my heart, my soul and, maybe, my future. Today, right here, with the ghosts who mean the most to me as witnesses, I'm giving it to you."
Mill can only stare, speechless, into those deep pools of violet that are Duo's eyes. He can see himself reflected in them and beyond that, the unspoken promise intrinsic to the gift in his hands. "I... can't..." he stammers. Fingertips touch his lips, silencing his attempt at speaking. Those same fingers then move upward to brush his fringe from his forehead. He blinks at the moisture gathering in his own eyes.
Duo's smile is luminescent. "When you're ready to let him go, I'll still be right here, beside you, with my braid and, if you want, we can be more than friends."
The sudden teary chuckle takes them both by surprise. Mill lifts the braid and rubs it against his cheek. "I've been sober and celibate for over seven months. You've just given me the one thing that means the most to you, in front of supernatural witnesses, and you're telling me no sex?"
"I don't want your ghost with us in our bed, Zee," Duo states, his jaw set, the laughter dying in his eyes.
Mill blinks in surprise. "You haven't called me that since..."
"And I won't, again, till you're all mine and only mine." Taking a step forward, Duo places his palm to the pale cheek. "I want you, only you, and when I make love to you, I want you to be making love to me, only me and no one else. I want you screaming my name, thinking of me, feeling me and loving me. Only me."
Mill looks down. The braid, once again, is clutched in both hands. "What if I'm not ready?" he asks, voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm not going anywhere." Duo's fingers slide under the aristocratic chin and lift it up. "I can wait. I'll still be there when you wake up. I hear his name on your first waking breath every morning when you move in for your cuddle. The morning I hear mine, I'll roll you onto your back and fuck you into the bed."
Ice blue eyes light up. "Is that a promise?" Mill asks with a smile.
"Yes, it's a promise." Gathering the taller man into his arms, Duo squeezes and hugs the blonde. "Happy Valentine's Day."
"I love your gift, thank you." Mill places a chaste kiss on the cheek beside his. "I want another promise from you."
"Shoot." Duo grins. "I'm giving 'em out by the dozen tonight."
Lowering his head to the offered shoulder, Mill says, "Promise never to give me red roses, for any reason."
Duo lifts the prince off his shoulder and captures his lips, licking at them till he is allowed entry. "I promise," he says when they finally part for a breath.
Morning illumination filters in through the window of the hotel on L2. Platinum blond hair is spread over most of the pillow and Duo's chest. Mill's arm reaches out and encounters solid muscle. "Max," he breathes.
Violet eyes flick open to stare at the, not quite awake, prince snuggling into his side. The slow smile turns into a full, wide grin as Duo shifts and rolls the sleeping beauty onto his back. He pauses to admire the view before keeping his promise from the night before.
The End
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