C.E.O x C.E.O

Ch. 25 - Define The Relationship

The ceremony went on without another hitch. Dmitri had made sure nothing technical had been tampered with, no guests were absent from the guest list, and that James never left his sight. As much as James appreciated his cautiousness, and will certainly reward him later on, he did end up having to ask Dmitri to be more subtle, less bodyguard-y, less suspicious. Attention had already been on them. Neither of them wanted an uproar.

If anything was worthwhile during the ceremony though, it's when they spotted their secretaries dancing together in a ballroom ballad.

James is definitely going to tease her with this. He had already been giving her auspicious looks as she danced, but Katherine was Katherine, and returned the look by gesturing at Dmitri.

Once the ceremony was over and everyone had left the hall, James had too retreated into his hotel room. He lands on the bed the second he could. It's been such an exhausting day, physically and emotionally. He's going to need a warm bath, a warm bed, a whole lot of warm things just to get over this exhaustion.

"Tired?" Dmitri says, strolling towards him. James doesn't question the fact he's decided to spend the night here, as if his own hotel room isn't just as luxurious.

James huffs. "No, not at all, I'm super energetic."

Dmitri chuckles, sitting beside him. "There ya go again."

James' hand brushes against his, and Dmitri took the initiative to lace his fingers with his. James still could barely believe it. It's real. They're real. He couldn't believe he was so bold to have kissed him in the hallway where anyone could potentially ruin their lives, but he's glad he did it.

Dmitri's face then falls slightly. "So... what are we?" He asks.

Right, they haven't exactly defined their relationship yet. There had been no establishment, no proper clarification. James couldn't blame Dmitri for asking, though the question did return a few of his doubts.

"What do you want us to be?" James asks right back, sitting up, but his hand remained locked with Dmitri's.

Dmitri scratched his head, a nervous smile on his face. "If you want, we could... try?"

"Try?" James tilts his head. "Try what? I'm going to need more information than that."

"Y'know, we could..." He hesitates. Why is he hesitating now? "We could..."

James sighs, though amused. "You're really bad at this."

"Well, sorry!" Dmitri throws a hand in the air. "I've never been in a committed relationship with another man before! And I want this to work but I always get so tense when things get serious!"

James hums into a smile. "So you do want this to work?" He scoots a little closer. "You want to be with me?"

"I do!" Dmitri exclaims, then realizes how booming his voice had been. "I mean... I do. I want this to work. I want us to work. I know it ain't gonna be easy, for... a lotta reasons. But if... but if yer willin' to make this work too, then we could... y'know, we could-"

James couldn't help but burst into laughter. "You were so confident about your confession yesterday. What happened now?"

"Well, it's actually happenin' now! It's real!" Dmitri exclaims.

"So, we could try... dating perhaps?" James decides to finish the sentence for him, for if he keeps waiting then he'll never see the end of it.

"Yes," Dmitri answers quickly, almost immediately. "Will you go on a date with me?"

James couldn't stop smiling, watching Dmitri stumble on his words and hesitate like this. He can't remember the last time he's smiled so much, and he could tell by Dmitri's eyes he's not used to the sight either, but welcomes it anyhow. If anything, it's like he wants to see more of it.