IncuBUST

Time

Nearly an hour had passed and the snow I was laying in had melted around me soaking my clothes. I barely felt the cold so astonished was I by the sight above me, but after a while Barapha sighed and said, "We should get you out of those wet clothes." I clung to him and gazed up at the sky mumbling, "Just a few more minutes."

"Your sister will never forgive me if I bring you home with hypothermia," he said, "Let's go into town. I'll find you some dry clothes and something hot to drink."

"I'm fine," I insisted, and he retorted, "You're shivering." He was right. I hadn't noticed. I stared at the sky indecisively and he leaned in pressing his lips against my temple and murmuring, "We can come back whenever you want. The stars aren't going anywhere. I promise." I sighed and closed my eyes turning my head so that my lips brushed his.

I reached up and caressed the side of his face. A wild wind sprang up around us as the kiss deepened and Barapha whisked us off the mountain top. We reappeared in a small scenic village nestled near a pristine river running through a valley in the mountains. There was an open-air market crawling with nocturnal Mythics. It suddenly occurred to me that it was after three in the morning in France.

We approached a stall selling an array of clothing and the woman working it greeted us joyously in French. Barapha returned her greeting then turned to me saying, "Pick whatever you like, and I'll buy it for you." I put down the shirt I was looking at and said, "I can buy it." Barapha smiled and replied, "I know you can, Chase, but I want to buy it for you. Let me."

I felt heat concentrate in my face and I cleared my throat saying, "In that case--" I snatched up a T-shirt, some sweatpants and a pair of socks. Barapha held up a pair of boxer shorts that said, 'I <3 France' on them and I laughed saying, "I'd rather go commando." The woman working the stall giggled quietly and my face flamed.

"Do you speak English?" I asked warily and she held up her fingers replying, "Un petit." My face grew even more red and Barapha laughed. He paid for the clothing I had chosen and asked if there was somewhere I could change. The lady directed me towards a small area shielded by a curtain, and I changed out of my wet clothing. I stuffed my wet clothes in a plastic shopping bag and Barapha hooked his arm around my shoulders.

"Now for something to drink," he said steering me down the cobbled street. I gazed up at him and murmured, "I'm not cold anymore." He smirked and his grip tightened on my shoulder as he said, "I can fix that." His fingers pressed firmly against the bare skin of my arm sapping the warmth from my flesh. I sighed and leaned into him.

We found our way to a small riverside bistro and Barapha ordered two cups of mulled wine. The inside of the bistro was crowded and smoky, so we sat outside on a bench by the river. The willow trees lining the bank were twined with bright fairy lights that flickered and danced across the surface of the rushing river.

"This...this is really nice," I murmured leaning against Barapha's arm and sipping at the wine.

"Better than our last date anyhow," he replied, and I sighed saying, "Better than any date I've ever been on to be honest." He looked at me and I grinned nervously explaining, "I haven't had much luck when it comes to stuff like this."

He chuckled softly and said, "Neither have I really." A crease appeared between my eyebrows, and I muttered, "I find that hard to believe." Barapha sighed and leaned closer to me whispering, "In case you haven't noticed, Chase, people don't really like me very much. Unless you count the occasional outing with Quetz, you're the first person I've dated since Sissy...if one would even consider that experience as dating."

I stared at him for a long moment before saying, "Nothing happened between Nikolai and I last night." Barapha smiled softly and said, "I know."

"If you knew that then why were you acting like such a passive aggressive ass this morning?" I asked and he sighed, leaning away from me and taking a long drink of wine.

"He's in love with you, Chase. Deeply, and I... I don't like it. This morning...I wanted to kill him, but I knew you wouldn't like it, so I was trying to scare him off," he finally said, and I felt annoyance and affection vying for dominance.

"Well, it worked. He was gone when Sissy got back from shopping this morning and he was still gone when I got home," I said and Barapha fought a smile as he replied, "I'm sorry." My expression warped in confusion, and I asked, "Why are you sorry?"

"Because you like him," he said, and I was silent for a long moment. I took a sip of wine and mumbled, "Yes, I like him, a lot, but I'm not in love with him." I felt his eyes on me, then his hand curling around mine. I suddenly realized what it sounded like I was saying, and my skin grew warm.

"N-not that I'm in love with you," I stammered, "It's way too early in the relationship to be tossing around words like 'love' and anyway—" Barapha leaned in and pressed his lips gently against mine completely derailing my train of thought. The kiss was so sweet and soft my entire body seemed to melt in response.

After several seconds, he pulled away and I opened my eyes not quite remembering when I had closed them and Barapha murmured, "Take all the time you need, Chase. It's the only thing I have an unlimited supply of."