Aurélien Cullen thrived on chaos. Maybe that's why fate presented him with a werewolf for a soul mate. After all, what's more chaotic than a love that goes against your very Biology?
"You have such a beautiful soul, Seth Clearwater."
Seth Clearwater...
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"Alice, I'm 194 years old. I think I know how to dress myself," Aurélien complained as Alice once again tried to offer him an alternative outfit to the one he was wearing.
"You'd think after 175 years you'd develop a more exciting dress sense. Aren't you a little tired of dressing like an English major?" Alice queried. Her eyes ran over Aurélien's current outfit: dark, skinny jeans; a crisp, collared shirt; his usual red Doctor Martins and a jumper that was a matching red. His sister liked the outfit well enough, she just wished he'd go a little more out there with his clothes (though their definitions of out there were very different).
"Most English majors don't wear designer clothing Alice," Aurélien corrected, swatting away his sister's hand when she reached out to touch his hair. His eyes flickered over to Bella — who was seated on his bed — when he heard her snickering from behind his copy of Pride and Prejudice.
"How about Alice gives you a makeover next?" Aurélien asked with raised eyebrows and a smirk. Bella shook her head frantically but it was too late, Alice was already planning exactly how she'd style Bella's hair and what outfit would look best with what eyeshadow shade.
"Well have fun with that, I have to go and collect Seth," Aurélien said with a grin, gliding out the room and leaving behind an excited Alice and a pouting Bella. He'd been planning the day out for a week. It was the second date the two would have, and the first one planned by Aurélien. For the last one they'd had the house entirely to themselves and Seth had brought over all of his favourite films and a massive bag of popcorn that Aurélien was still surprised he'd managed to eat. Most of them he hadn't seen before (he wasn't really a film person) and he'd enjoyed them well enough, but Aurélien's favourite part was Seth's running commentary. Having him point out his favourite characters and moments, explain why certain parts were filmed the way they were and why that was so amazing, or why he would have done it differently. Seth's passion for films was astounding to him and he loved listening to the shifter talk about them with unbridled joy (Aurélien was very impressed by the extent of the younger boy's knowledge of film making and the industry).
Since Set had shared with him something he loved, a part of who he was, Aurélien wanted to do the very same. He wanted to allow Seth to see parts of himself that nobody else had, to tell him the truth.
Aurélien had already decided that everything about Seth was beautiful, but it still caught him off guard every time. So when Seth stepped outside of his house, clad in skinny jeans and a Star Wars t-shirt, and into a patch of sunlight, the air Aurélien didn't need to breathe got caught in his throat.
Brown eyes shone in the light, layers of gold and amber and honey woven together. His russet skin glowed and his head of inky hair was haloed by the morning sun. Aurélien was reminded strangely of the stained glass windows in old churches, the angels memorialised in colourful glass and lit up like Christmas lights when the sunlight shone through. Seth looked ethereal to Aurélien in that moment, bathed in light, and he tried his hardest to sear the scene into his brain. To ensure that he never lost the image of Seth looking like a celestial being, Apollo himself in his sunlit glory.
"No car?" Seth asked as he approached, sounding confused. There were not a lot of viable date spots in Forks it's self, so a car was necessary to go anywhere remotely interesting.
"Don't need it," Aurélien replied with a grin, holding his hand out for Seth to take. The other boy understood immediately their mode of transportation today, and he paled slightly.
"What's it like?" He asked softly as he slipped his hand into Aurélien's pale one. They had not really discussed his abilities during the times they had spent together, or rather Aurélien had steered them away from any supernatural conversational topics previous to the fight with the newborns only two weeks prior.
"It's not painful, just strange at first. It's kind of like the sensation you have in a lift when it first starts to rise," Aurélien reassured his nervous mate, brushing his thumb over Seth's knuckles reassuringly. The russet skinned boy nodded, signalling that he was ready.
Concentration was key to Aurélien's ability, but over time he'd gotten better at doing it quickly and under difficult circumstances. Still, he shut his eyes to ensure that visual distractions were blocked out, picturing their destination in his minds eyes. Then he felt the strange sensation of being lifting off the ground, lasting barely a second, before solid surface was beneath their feet once more.
"We're here," Aurélien said with a grin, turning towards his mate who had yet to let go off his hand. Seth opened his tightly clenched eyes hesitantly, gasping when he saw where they were. The bleak landscape of Forks has been replaced by grass and trees and people milling about.
"Is that the Louvre?" Seth asked excitedly, eyes flying to the large building some way ahead of them. "Aurélien we're in Paris!" The excitement dancing in the brown eyes of Seth filled him with warmth.
"I wanted to show you my home," Aurélien said with a grin, squeezing Seth's hand. The younger boy beamed back at him, bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation. He leaned forwards to give Aurélien a soft kiss, a thank you without words.
"Are we going in?" Seth asked when he pulled back.
"Of course, we have the entire day to see what ever you want," Aurélien said as they walked towards the Louvre. "The Eiffel Tower, the Luxembourg Gardens, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Pantheon." By the end of the list Seth was practically skipping towards the ornate building, one hand towing a chuckling Aurélien behind him and the other on the camera around his neck, poised to take as many photos as he possibly could.
"I've always wanted to go to Paris," Seth said in a singsong voice, camera snapping away at the glass pyramid structure outside the Louvre, before turning to take photos of the beautiful building itself.
"I know, it's on your list." Aurélien was referring to the list Seth had pinned on the photo covered board on the wall, in his room. Paris was on the list, as well as New York, London, Tokyo, St Petersburg, Amsterdam, Rome, Greece, and a few others. Seth wanted to travel the world and take photos in pretty much every major city, and Aurélien was more than happy to take him to those places.
"This is the best date ever!" Seth exclaimed excitedly as he snapped a photo of Aurélien smiling down at him lovingly.
"This is the second date you've ever had, and the first one you've been taken on," Aurélien pointed out, chuckling at Seth's declaration.
"Well, no one could ever top a date to Paris."
"Is that a challenge?" Aurélien asked, raising both his eyebrows. "Because I fully plan to take you on many memorable dates to many memorable places."
Seth grinned and grabbed Aurélien by the hand, dragging him towards the Louvre excitedly and informing him that they had to start quickly because Seth had many things he wanted to fit in before it got dark.
A/n: This chapter is later than I normally post, but in my defence I'm currently on holiday in Berlin (and loving it) so...🙃
This chapter is dedicated to the wonderful eliartyrell.Thank you for all your comments, you're an absolute sweetheart ❤️😘.
(And of course thank you to everyone else who reads and comments and likes. This book is almost at 30k reads and it's because of you so ❤️🧡💛💛💚💜 @ you all).
I know I said there would only be two more chapters two chapters ago but I need a third chapter to finish everything of before Breaking Dawn. Expect some serious talk about Aurélien's past next chapter.
