#mitjan

The picnic of course, was only a precursor to the actual surprise Mitjan had in store for his closest and dearest friend. Though he hoped by the day's end, they would be far past that stage.

Lately he had started to view Lath'n in quite a different light. As less of a friend and more of a.... potential lover. The thoughts made his head swirl pleasantly and brought a nice dark flush to his green tinted cheeks. Thra he really hoped everything went smoothly. He didn't know if his poor heart would be able to handle any slip ups.

As he produced a container of flaky Stonewood pastries from his satchel, his ears perked at the sound of underbrush crunching in the distance.

"Mitjan? Are you there?"

Mitjan cursed lightly under his breath. He hadn't expected him to arrive to soon. Then again, Lath'n was always the more punctual of the two so it really shouldn't have come as much of a surprise to him. Nevertheless, he scrambled to his feet and nervously looked down at his spread. Perhaps it was just him being hard on himself, but the presentation could've been tweaked just a bit more.

Oh well, there was no time to dwell on that now.

"I'm over here Lath'n! Actually, could you uhm... close your eyes first?"

A melodic giggle bounced off the cave walls. "Why do I get the feeling I'm being lured into a trap?"

Mitjan rolled his eyes, and he was sure his friend could hear the action in his tone as he responded.

"When have I ever tricked you?"

"Well there's a first time for everything, isn't there?"

He'd be lying if he said he didn't find the cheekiness endearing. It was one of the many things he secretly adored about Lath'n. If all went well, it wouldn't have to be a secret any longer.

"Do you want the surprise or not?" He feigned exasperation, though he found it hard to fight the growing smile on his face.

"A surprise?"

The older Grottan chuckled. "Yes Lath'n. Now close your eyes or else I'll have to send you on your way home and you'll never find out what I had in store."

After a bit more friendly bantering, Lath'n finally stepped out into the light with both hands over his eyes. Mitjan felt his heart rate pick up slightly. There was definitely no turning back now.

"Alright.... you can open them..."

Though Lath'n has never not given him a positive reaction to most things, for some reason he felt this was one he had to brace himself for. So despite his better judgment, he waited with baited breath as the younger Grottan slowly uncovered his eyes.

"Oh... my..."

A hot pink flush immediately flared to life on his cheeks, and Mitjan couldn't help but release a silent sigh of relief. He sat down on the woven blanket he'd laid out beforehand and patted the spot next to him.

"I was hoping you'd like it," He said, motioning towards the bountiful feast before them. "I know you've always been curious about the amount of daylighter food I've got stored away, so I thought I'd use that to my advantage and surprise you with a picnic."

When Lath'n was properly settled, he poured them each a glass of cider and offered him one of the pastries. The outside was a rich golden brown, and there was already a bit of fruity filling escaping from one of the corners.

"These are called peachberry tarts. They're one of my favorites!" Mitjan said as he dug in, catching some peachberry jam on his finger when it missed his mouth completely. It was one of the messier treats included in their picnic, but it was arguably one of the tastiest.

"Need some assistance there, Lath'n?" Mitjan offered, cocking his head to the side in amusement as he watched the younger Grottan struggle to contain the spillage from his own pastry.

"Ehrm, no no! I've got it!"

Not even a second after he said that did a glob of jam splatter all over the front of his tunic.

"Oh dear...."

Mitjan shook his head with a fond titter. "Here, let me get that for you." Reaching into his satchel, he pulled out a few cloth napkins and almost dotingly wiped at the stains. "If you want, I could take this home to wash then return it once it's clean. I'm afraid these napkins can only do so much."

"Are you sure this isn't just an excuse to get me to take my shirt off?"

Now it was Mitjan's turn to fluster.

"Goodness no!" He said a bit too loudly, causing Lath'n to let out a snort.

"Calm down Janni! I was only teasing," he put a hand to his chest, trying to calm his laughter. "You act like I just suggested I strip naked in front of you!"

Mitjan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Lath'n my love, one of these-"

He immediately clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes widening to the side of moons. The silence was so thick and suffocating it was a miracle he could still breath. Breathing as though he was sucking air through a clogged straw, but breathing nonetheless.

".... Mitjan?"

A gentle hand was placed on his shoulder, and the older Grottan swore he was about to pass out right then and there.

"Are you.... alright?"

Don't speak, His brain internally scolded him for his slip of the tongue. Don't speak, and perhaps you might have a chance of salvaging this date.

"Janni it's.... it's ok..."

The hand on his shoulder was replaced with one cupping each side of his face, cradling him like he was something precious. Slowly, ever so slowly, Mitjan uncovered his mouth.

"It's....ok...?"

Lath'n smiled, and Mitjan nearly choked on his own spit when he leaned in and pecked his lips.

"Yes, it's ok..... my love."

Honest to Thra, Mitjan didn't know how much more of this he could take. This had to be dream. He had passed out, and now his mind was playing cruel tricks on him. There was just no way....

"In case you were wondering," The younger Grottan started, bringing his new lover in for a hug. "Yes, you are still very much awake. If you were passed out, I would've already dumped cider on your face in an attempt to bring you back to me."

Finally letting his guard down, Mitjan buried his face into Lath'ns shoulder and chuckled wearily.

"A waste of good cider if you ask me..."

Lath'n giggled, the sound bouncing around inside his ear like an infectious melody. He felt another kiss being pressed to the crown of his head.

"I love you, Janni. Now then...."

The younger pulled away, and Mitjan almost wanted to whine at the loss of contact. He watched as his lover picked up another peachberry tart and held it out to him.

"I don't suppose you'd like to feed me this next pastry yourself, would you?" He batted his lashes in a flirtatious manner. "We are lovers now after all. Is this not what lovers do?"

Mitjan's shoulders shook in a bout of hearty laughter. How could he ever refuse an offer like that?

"My love, I would be honored."