#oleandre torchier

Oleandre Torchier went immediately to the kitchen after asking Auliander to sit in front of the roaring fire.  He set to the finishing touches on the homemade cocoa he had prepared, adding a candy cane to each mug before returning and handing one over to Auliander, keeping the second for himself.  

"Merry Starlight, my dear.  I'm sorry I woke you, I simply couldn't wait any longer. I hope you'll forgive me."

Auliander Zielione carefully rubbed away what sleep remained from his eyes as he adjusted his glasses and looked at Oleandre. He smiled warmly at his partner. "It is alright Oleandre. Nothing to forgive." The Duskwight's voice was low, heavy still and waking up. He welcomed the hot cocoa gladly. With his free hand, he reached out briefly to take Ole's fingers in his and squeezed lightly. "Merry Starlight."

"May I give you your gift?" Oleandre didn't want to rush Auliander, but he had already been nervously awaiting this moment for a while, so he was keen to quell his anxiety by just getting on with it.

Auliander Zielione could clearly see the anticipation in Oleandre's movements and the excitement held within the other's voice. "I think it a good idea. Lest you implode on the spot due to your /eagerness/." Auliander's tone was teasing and his smile only widened. His motion was deliberate as he placed his mug of cocoa on the table beside him before turning towards Oleandre to give him his full attention.

Oleandre Torchier smiled wide and then hurriedly rushed over to the cupboard and withdrew two items.  A smallish red velvet box with a golden ribbon, and a large black envelope sealed with wax and an unfamiliar crest.  He returned to his partner and handed both over.  "Open the box first."

Auliander Zielione looked down at the box and envelope, confusion writ upon his dark features. He adjusted himself slightly in his chair and gave Oleandre an apprehensive glance before he began to carefully unwrap the box. A moment later, Auliander had an unfamiliar item held in his fingers. Carefully, in his fingers as he could feel it was made of glass. He tilted his head and gazed at the gift. "... It is beautiful." Golden eyes shifted to Oleandre, "What is it?"

"It's a crystal.  Nothing more..."  Oleandre said with a smile, "I had it commissioned for you after seeing an artisan displaying them recently.  I rather hoped you'd like it, but now, open the envelope." He sat in silent anticipation, awaiting Auliander’s next move.

Auliander Zielione gazed at the crystal and turned it slowly. Colors wrapped and folded, glowed with the light from the fire. He smiled. "Thank you. I will have to find a stand for it." The Duskwight placed the glass orb carefully back into the box and looked at the envelope. He turned it over in his hands, deft fingers making quick work and before long, Auliander was frowning at the piece of paper he had retrieved from inside. "A... " Auliander's voice became hushed as he read on.

"Oleandre." The retainer placed the box on the side table and stood quickly, eyes still glued on the sheet of paper, "Oleandre this.... T-this..." He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes as his voice, and his hands, shook, "This... I-is this what..." His face pulled upward and his unsteady gaze found his partner.

Oleandre Torchier nods, "Yes.  The estate was condemned.  I'm afraid I could not save the remnants of the previous manor, but some of the ashes from its original beams were imbued into the glasswork in the crystal.  I thought perhaps an early housewarming gift?  For us?"  He swallowed hard, "There is a small catch, however."

Auliander Zielione swallowed hard, emotion coiling deep in his chest as his voice became caught in his throat. He took a deep, shuddering breath and wiped at his eyes, "A c-catch?"

Oleandre Torchier felt his breath catch in his throat as he took Auliander's hand after the Duskwight wiped his eye.  He slowly fell to one knee and retrieved a third, smaller parcel from his own pocket.  He allowed himself a moment before flicking open the clamshell closure, looking up into Auliander's eyes for news of his fate, preparing himself to ask a question he had rehearsed in his mind a million times.

Auliander Zielione 's visage was a mix of emotions. Confusion, as the man in front of him got down on a knee. Curiosity at the reveal of another gift and finally shock as the small package was opened. Auliander's mouth opened, yet no sound came out. Golden eyes went from the small box, to Oleandre and they flickered in his partner's gaze. Just moments before, the emotions within the Duskwight had been chaos and unrest. Now, they came to a sudden and abrupt halt. Time, seemed at a standstill.

Oleandre Torchier had also been affected by the cessation of time.  In those quiet moments, Auliander might see a dark platinum band inlaid with polished meteorite.  Oleandre had chosen meteorite because he felt that somehow their love was otherworldly.  He often mused to himself that his mother had sent him an angel to guide and love him in her absence, and had long felt foolish for the notion, but now discarded that thought as useless.

"From the moment I met you, I knew that you were going to change my life.  I can't explain how I knew it, I just did.  It was something in the way that our eyes met, in the unspoken words of our touch, and in the quiet moments of those early days where I watched you sleep and marveled at how lucky I was that you didn't leave."

Oleandre Torchier continued, voice cracking intermittently as he poured his heart out, "You are the answer to every unanswered riddle in my life. My lover.  My best friend.  My family. In short my life has become intrinsically interwoven with yours, and I'd be hard pressed to determine where one ends and the other begins."

He swallowed hard as he finally arrived at the most important question he had ever asked, "Auliander Zielione, would you do me the great honor of being my husband?"  He looked up rather bashfully, an errant tear stinging his eyes and one final word came in a hush, "Please?"

Auliander Zielione stared. Heat rushed his cheeks and his limbs felt weak, almost as if they were fading away. He felt sick but it mingled with a new happiness that threatened to burst. A daze filled Auliander's mind as he listened to Oleandre. He could do naught else as his lover's words poured straight to his heart. When all was finished, and the question was asked. Auliander continued to stare.

Auliander Zielione couldn't look away from Oleandre. Even as that single tear ran down his partner's face, he stared. "Ole.... Oleandre..." Finally, Auliander spoke the other's name. Quiet. Hushed. Heavy with countless emotions and meanings. The small box and the ring held inside wasn't forgotten but the Duskwight's entire focus was not on that. It was on the man kneeling in front of him.

“Oleandre, I... I had no... N-no idea that a love like... this could be." His words were uncertain at first but with each passing moment they grew more firm. With his free hand, Auliander bent down to place his palm at Oleandre's cheek. Rough fingers ran along the man's jawline. "That I could... find family once more."

"That... I could find boundless love with another." There was a long pause then, only filled with the sound of the crackling fire. The feeling of those fingers still glided over the Wildwood's cheek, this time catching the tear's trail and wiping it away.

"Yes."

Oleandre Torchier allowed himself to breathe finally, a slow exhalation of both air and relief washed over him as his tears began to fall in earnest.  Trembling, he retrieved the ring from its padded home and raised it slowly toward Auliander's hand as if to place it on his finger.

"I love you.” Oleandre said, “With every fiber of my being."  His voice caught several times as he spoke, completely overcome with emotion as his heart threatened to pound right out of his chest.

Auliander Zielione watched intently as the ring was placed upon his finger. He stared at it now. It was as if, their entire relationship came rushing back at the Duskwight. The happiness they had shared, the hardships they had seen through - everything. He could see it in the band now adorning his finger. "O-Oleandre... No, no do not cry." Auliander's voice cracked and tears now ran down his face too.

Auliander Zielione placed the piece of paper alongside the crystal and knelt beside his partner. Both hands were encompassing Oleandre's face now, thumbs wiping at the man's cheeks and his tears as Auliander tried to bring the other closer. "I love you. /I love you./"

Oleandre Torchier sought the Duskwight's lips with his own as the most beautiful words he would ever hear in this lifetime or any other were repeated, as if a mantra.  He had heard them before but it felt like the first time all over again.  His eyes closed as the space between the two was slowly lessened until, at long last, he placed a burning kiss upon the lips of his fiancee'.  He smiled widely into the kiss at the thought.  'I have a fiancee'.'

Auliander Zielione closed his eyes as he felt Oleandre's lips meet his. Those same, rough fingers trailed down to Oleandre's neck and one hand fanned out to weave through auburn locks as the Duskwight not only closed the space between their kiss, but their bodies. Between small moments their lips would part, Auliander would murmur again and again, 'I love you' against the other's lips.