Nowhere To Go But Up

End

The ensuing complete silence covered the room like a thick, muffling blanket. Both of them were abundantly aware that neither of them were letting go. Of course, the one who recovered fast enough to speak was the one that wasn't Taranza. "Did you do that on purpose?"

He snapped out of the almost trance-like state he was in. "Oh. Uh... not really." He pulled one of his free hands up and brushed something out of his hair that didn't exist. "That just sort of... happened. It was an accident."

"You're still doing it." Despite the slight mocking in his voice, he clearly wasn't unhappy about it.

"Any chance you'll buy that it's still an accident?"

Magolor reached around Taranza and pulled him in closer. He tilted his head slightly toward the back of the couch, a gentle smile on his face. "Oops." Then he shifted backwards, almost imperceptibly. His eyes opened wider. "Your face is turning blue. Is that normal?"

"Yes, that's normal. Nothing to worry about."

Magolor's eyes relaxed again, as he inched forward on the couch. "Heh... that thing I thought I couldn't tell you about, it looks like you found out yourself."

Taranza put a hand behind Magolor and slowly pulled him closer, making sure not to come off as aggressive. You could almost see the tension within him being replaced with a very different kind of tension. "Is this okay?"

A nod. For the first time since they noticed there was any physical contact between them, Magolor let go of Taranza's hand, though it was only to pull down the scarf that covered his mouth. "I'm sure you know where I'm going with this."

"I do. Go right ahead."

Trying to rein in his quickening heartbeat, Magolor took a few slow breaths, closed his eyes, and then leaned forward, kissing him.

Time stopped. Or at least, it may as well have. The only sound either of them could hear was the beating of their hearts. It was as if the world outside this small couch had completely frozen. The world could have been sliced in half at that moment, and they likely wouldn't have noticed. It could have been anywhere between a second and an hour until one of them moved again. Magolor moved his hand up and ran it through Taranza's hair, but flinched and opened his eyes again when he tried to reciprocate. "Ah, uh, sorry. That was just... instinct. Also, I don't have hair like that."

"No, no, it's my fault. I got a little carried away..."

Despite the reaction, the two of them remained there, holding each other. Magolor had to look up to make eye contact. "Did I do that right?"

"Yes. You did great."

Magolor grabbed the blanket behind Taranza and pulled it over them. "Great, huh. I don't get told that one very often. ...Thank you, Taranza."

"This is a lot to happen right after I wake up. I haven't even had breakfast yet." He laughed quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't even think about that!" Magolor tilted his head. "Are you hungry?"

Taranza took the blanket and wrapped it around Magolor fully. He started making a quiet noise that Taranza had never heard before. "You don't need to do that for me. As nice as-you can purr?"

"Oh, uh, I guess? I didn't know that myself, actually."

"Hehe. That's really cute." He brushed his thumb along Magolor's scarf. "Seriously though, I'm really hungry, you can get off me. We can cuddle more afterwards, right?"

Magolor looked up, holding one hand in the air like he was about to woefully monologue in an old play. "The hands of fate have guided me somewhere cold and heartless." He got off the couch, a big beaming grin spread across his face. "While you're doing that, I need to go get more food from the grocery store. You just let me know if you need anything, okay?" He went out of the room, leaving the door open.