At Last

Sometimes he didn’t think it was real.

Whenever Desmond would wake up, only to feel the weight of Victor’s body beside his in their bed, his heart melted every time. Though he was more sensitive to heat as a Peppermint, he never minded cuddling with him every night. Unlike the flicker of a flame or the heat of a glaring sun, it never hurt to be with his lover.

It had only been a couple of months since they began dating, but they were at least comfortable with sleeping in the same room. Otherwise, their daily interactions went on without much of a difference. They hadn’t done much else together, which might be why Brooke has dragged them out of the lab one day in a flurry of excitement.

“I’m setting up a tea party for you guys!” she announced, a spark dazzling in her gray eyes. “It’s about time we did something to celebrate the occasion! After all, it’s Valentine’s Day.”

Being the miracle planner that she was, Brooke had managed to transform the living room into a frilly fantasy world.

Multicolored banners draped from the ceiling in rainbow loops. Standing in the center, a large table stood. Dove white cloth enveloped the surface, topped with a tier tray stocked full of baked goodies and chocolate strawberries.

Scattered across the floor were a glittery arrangement of pink and red rose petals. With an internal sigh, Desmond made a mental note to himself to sweep those later. As beautiful as they were in the moment, he knew they would be a hassle to gather later.

As Brooke ushered for them to take their seats, she couldn’t help but snap some photos for memories.

“Just enjoy yourselves!” she managed to say, one last time before her making her leave. “I’ve got my own date to go to while you guys chill here!”

With that, she departed with a hopeful farewell, a bright buzz of energy fueling her every move.

There was an electric charge in the air as soon as she had left. An unprecedented force pressed down on Desmond’s shoulders, serving as some kind of tangible weight, and he didn’t know if this was anxiety or whatever else. His nerves were itching with anticipation, his eyes sensitive to the elaborate decorations surrounding him. There were so many things to register, so many deserts to accept, and everything was just bursting with life all around him.

And out of all of this, the first thought that still came to mind was to serve Victor tea.

After all, his well-being held priority over everything else. It was the least Desmond could do.

While hoisting up the teapot in between of his two hands, however, his aim was thrown off. One of his arms was angled in a way that was off. It was enough to accidentally spill the last remainder of Victor’s tea onto the silky tablecloth that Brooke had invested her time and money in.

With automatic apologies spewing forth from his mouth, Desmond was quick to resolve his fuck-up. However, the burning humiliation that he contracted from it all set his face and neck aflame. He could feel the heat of Victor’s stunned stare boring into him after he had fumbled for a paper napkin to wipe with.

“Hey, um, it’s okay.” Victor offered a wobbly smile. “It didn’t get on me.”

But nonetheless, his words fell on deaf ears. The pressure was still on, mounting more and more with every second that flew by.

Shortly after that little incident, Desmond tried to accommodate all of Victor’s desires to the best of his ability. He wanted to prevent any more potential slip-ups and would push himself to do the best he could possibly do.

The more he tried, however, the more prone he was to error. For example, his wrists would knock over a few tea cups here and there, some empty and some not so empty. There were also times where a sticky sensation would cling onto his hands every time he consumed some sort of messy pastry and forgot to wipe the remaining bits off his fingers.

At one point, he even tried to feed Victor a chocolate strawberry, only to have a droplet of chocolate stain his tuxedo jacket.

Not just any jacket though.

It had been worn and bestowed down to Victor by his deceased father, whom had meant a great deal to him. It was an important piece of his past and something that Desmond had now ruined after a stroke of bad luck.

As he cracked from the pressure of trying to not screw up once more, and with another set of apologies ready to be launched from the tip of his tongue, Desmond suddenly felt a hand being planted on his shoulder.

Concern creased his brow as Victor turned to him, his lips pressed together in a firm line. Before Desmond could open his mouth to say anything, he was cut off by Victor’s soft-spoken voice.

“Hey.” Slowly, he grabbed onto one of his hands, their fingers now meeting together. A rush of warmth washed over Desmond just then, smoothing out his unease from earlier. “We’re together now. You know I care for you a lot, always have.” He gave Desmond’s hand a light squeeze that sent his heart racing. “I don’t want you to feel nervous about us.”

“I just . . .” Desmond trailed off, the rest of his sentence evaporating in thin air. His tongue weighed like lead with every time he tried to speak. “I want you to have a nice time.”

“Desmond.” Victor leaned forward, albeit with a touch of shy hesitance, before gently cupping both sides of his face. Their gazes were locked onto each other now, a heated ambience hovering over them. “I love that you care, but you don’t have to get so worked up over me to this extent.”

“I’m fine,” he tried to say, “and it’s because I care that—“

“I-I know, but you’re not just someone who’s supposed to help me, you know.” His eyes were looking a little glossy now, almost misty even. “I care for you too. We’re both equal here. Together.”

Desmond was stunned speechless. He didn’t know what to say, if anything.

He wasn’t going to deny it, he had always thought of Victor as someone above him, regardless of any light objections he had made in the past.

He didn’t even have it in him to think that he was worthy of being near him. He was always meant to be in the back, working behind the scenes to help Victor with his goals.

Never was he supposed to get anymore than that.

Yet here he was, getting spoiled with everything that was a part of Victor. His love, his touch, his delicate gestures and mannerism. There was affection burning in his eyes right now, a blaze so strong that Desmond couldn’t help but be shaken to the core by it all.

“. . . Do you want to feed me then?” he asked instead. “That way we can both be more . . . equal?”

A soft chuckle escaped from Victor just then, followed by a smile so warm that it made Desmond want to melt all over again.

“Okay.”

For the rest of their date, everything progressed smoothly from there. No longer were there any more nerve-wracking tea spills after that, much to Desmond's relief.

And throughout the rest of their time together, Victor didn’t let go of Desmond’s hand.