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It was nothing like the past, but everything like the future, and Raphael allowed that thought to warm him as he pushed his little gift into Dmitri’s hands. “I have real holiday presents for you. This is…something else.”
“It’s too big to be a ring,” Dmitri mused, and Raphael flushed because although he swore marriage and kids wasn’t ever on the table, the thought of Dmitri wearing a band on his finger made him feel warm inside.
“It’s not a ring. If that happens, you can expect a whole symphony.”
“And a flash mob?” Dmitri asked.
Raphael nodded sagely. “And a chorus line. But that’s a while off, mein Engel. This is something else.”
Dmitri’s fingers tore at the wrapping, the newspaper giving way to the little wooden box that held his heart inside.
He nearly laughed again, knowing exactly what Dmitri would see, but held it back as his lover pried the lid off and stared down. His cheeks went pink as he pulled the charm up by the leather cord.
“Knox made like six different versions of it,” Raphael said, like maybe that would explain it. “if it was bigger…”
“It’s a Twinkie.”
Raphael bit his lower lip, not really surprised at all that Dmitri knew. “I thought about having him make it flattened on one side. Like our first, but…” He stopped and shrugged.
Dmitri met his gaze and didn’t let go as he slipped it around his head and tightened it in the back. His hand drifted down the metal, and Raphael reached out to follow the path with the tip of his first finger. It was already warm from Dmitri’s skin, and the leather thumped with the pulse in the side of his neck.
Raphael leaned in to kiss him. “I love you, so very much.”
Dmitri didn’t answer. Not with words, anyway. He held tight, fingers digging into Raphael’s hair, his body open and soft and willing against Raphael’s stiff one that fit right alongside him anyway. His legs twitched, and his hands wouldn’t open all the way because it was still cold, but every piece of him was full as he curled around Dmitri until neither of them knew where either began or ended.
“So, this is it, isn’t it? Being loved by you?”
Raphael smiled, pulling away just a little so he could look into his lover’s eyes. “Yes, meinEngel. This is it.”
The End
