The Sixth of March
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ🎂*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ: *✧: *✧: *✧
Rafayel was desperate.
He couldn’t find the watercolour brushes he had just recently bought.
He looked everywhere.
But he couldn’t find them.
It was a tragedy.
He had chosen these brushes with the purpose to go outside and paint the landscapes with soft, vibrant colours… but no. He couldn’t do it anymore.
It was probably his fault, even if he wouldn’t ever admit it. He might have been a bit disorganised with his painting stuff -setting the palette anywhere close by, leaving glasses full of dirty paint water in precarious balance, brushes drenched in fresh paint rolling from desk onto the floor, the seashells he intended to use for creating new shades of colours forgotten inside pockets of clothes he had worn who-knew-when.
Yeah, he was kind of messy. But in an artistic way, of course.
Unfortunately, his memory was as short as a goldfish’s. So he always had trouble finding things. And he had never learned from his mistakes because he managed to figure it out after the initial struggles. Not very mature of him but it didn’t matter.
Rummaging through the drawers of the desk, his fingers touched something soft and he gasped out loud. His heart raced in excitement as he thought that he had finally found them.
But then the object fit completely in the palm of his hand, his fingers curling almost fully into a fist, and he understood that it wasn’t what he was looking for.
It was a small trinket, its short fur made it soft and cute to caress without ever getting tired.
His breath got stuck in his throat. He didn’t need to look at it to remember what it was.
After a moment of hesitation -a desperate attempt to rein the overwhelming emotions that swirled inside his chest- he plucked the trinket out of the drawer and opened his palm to glance down at it.
It was a pink seahorse plushie keychain.
“Professor Qi...? I’m sorry if I’m disturbing you but I promise that I won’t take much of your time.
I recently found out that it was your birthday and… this is a small gift from me.
It’s silly, I know… but when I saw it I remembered the trip to the aquarium you organised for our class. So I thought that it was perfect to have as a memory.
I hope you like it. Happy birthday, professor.”
He had felt so guilty for all these years when he thought that he had lost it forever… just like he had lost her and her beautiful smile that was a fading memory clinging onto the back of his mind.
Against his will, round tears like pearls rolled down his cheeks and he slumped down the closest chair, holding the seahorse keychain between trembling fingers.
He was happy to have it again but at the same time it felt like putting salt in an old, still kind of open wound.
A couple of knocks against the wood of his studio’s door made him jolt.
Rafayel sat up straight while quickly hiding the trinket in the pocket of his sweater, and then used his free hand to rub at his face.
He hoped to have a moment longer to collect himself and make sure that his cheeks weren’t wet anymore.
Though, a figure entered right away, without waiting for permission.
His stiff shoulders dropped down when he recognised the snow-white hair and a pair of crimson eyes meeting his in an instant.
Sylus understood immediately that something had happened in his absence because the studio was more messy than usual, if that was possible, and Rafayel's indigo eyes were glossy and red-rimmed.
Noticing his hand inside the pocket of his sweater, Sylus decided to let him take his time to open up and share whatever had made him cry later. In the meantime, he would do his job of a good lover and make Rafayel smile again with the surprise he had organised.
“This is for you, birthday boy.”
He said simply, his voice low and calm, as he handed Rafayel a take-out bag from his favourite sushi restaurant and another bag that contained his gift.
The latter was heavier and caught Rafayel's attention. Peeking inside, he discovered that there was the whole set of painting accessories of the same brand he was recently passionate about - included the watercolour brushes he had been looking for the whole time.
“You forgot them at my place last time… I bet you were going crazy to have them back.”
Sylus teased him halfheartedly and leaned down to press a lingering kiss on his temple.
Rafayel smiled happily and set everything down on the messy desk. Throwing his arms around Sylus’ broad shoulders, he hugged the white-haired man tight with a mixture of emotions he couldn't voice out loud yet.
Later that night, with their stomachs full of fine sushi and the moonlight shining over silken bedsheets, Rafayel reached in the pile of clothes disregarded on the floor and grabbed the small trinket from the pocket of his sweater.
Sylus welcomed his slender but strong body against his side, and he listened carefully to Rafayel sharing its story while holding the seahorse keychain between them. His arm gently squeezed Rafayel's waist as a pang of empathy swelled inside his chest.
He treasured her small, innocent gifts too -traces of her had their special place inside a safe in his quarters. But now there were more things of Rafayel scattered around his place like the painting of the ocean at midnight hanging in his bedroom, so many cotton towels ruined with paint stains in the laundry basket, scattered handmade sketches spread among his documents on his desk... And he didn't mind.
Their bond for the same person they had lost was a part of themselves they couldn’t forget but accepted as a common ground.
It felt less lonely having one another in their lives.
Sylus wanted to leave traces of himself in the other’s place too.
And Rafayel let him, allowing him to fill the void and to satisfy the aching need for love inside his heart.
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[This is a special chapter for Rafayel's birthday. To read more of this, check out in the masterlist “Like Blood in the Water”]
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