Chapter Thirty

A few weeks had gone by since his last visit with Valentine, and now Luke was in his bedroom packing his duffel bag, to go visit him again. Valentine had given him the address of an estate within driving distance. He told the pack he was taking a long weekend trip. They once again gave him their blessing. He told Magnus where he was going, and he too had been pleased.

Luke drove out of the city, past the suburbs, until he was out in the country side, where the houses were few and far apart. He drove down a narrow gravel driveway until he reached the end. Valentine told him he would need to approach by foot, and gave him a talisman that would grant him entry past the estate's warding. He parked his car and hopped out. It was a beautiful spring day. There was a dirt path, and he grabbed his bag and set down upon it. Life was always an adventure with Valentine.

He walked until he reached a small creek, with a stone bridge covering it. He paused on the bridge to look down into the water, then continued, spotting an old cobblestone house.

Valentine told him this was a property he sometimes watched, that a friend of his owned. She was currently overseas. Luke knocked at the door, but no one answered. He checked his watch. He had arrived early.

Valentine drove up the gravel driveway to find Lucian's pick up already there. He had hoped to arrive first, but he was sure he would find Lucian outside enjoying the weather. Sure enough, after he crossed the bridge, he spotted Lucian sitting on a bench, his duffel bag beside him. Lucian waved to him in greeting, and Valentine made his way to him.

"How was your trip here?"

"Good. I enjoyed the drive." Lucian said.

They left their bags in the house, then started to walk around the property. The land was flat and the house sat in a large clearing with trees and brush surrounding it. They followed the creek. He was surprised to hear Lucian chuckle. When he turned to him, Lucian had a smile on his face.

"Do you remember our return to base camp, after we had hunted the spider demons?"

Valentine smiled. That hunt had been successful, but almost everything else that could go wrong had. The weather was miserable, with a steady drizzle and cool temperatures. Their tent leaked; they had difficulty finding any dry kindling or firewood; they found edible plants, but they tasted horrible. Their moods grew steadily more agitated as the days went on, and the terrain became so water logged it was difficult to traverse.

"When you slipped descending the hill, then upon landing, threw mud at my back, unprovoked?"

Lucian laughed. "The look on your face, you were so shocked."

Valentine smirked. He had been shocked, but then he leaned down, grabbed some mud himself, and they were off. They kept their distance, lobbing mud balls, but eventually they tired, declared a ceasefire, and laid down next to each other. But, Valentine had still been irked Lucian got the first shot and as they were getting up, he took one last handful of mud and rubbed it into Lucian's hair. Lucian now echoed back what he had said as he did so: "'It matches your hair color, no one would notice.' It took so long to get the mud off, once we got back to the river. I was freezing. Still, it was worth it."

"I agree."

They continued walking until they looped back around to the front of the house, then sat down on the same bench Lucian had been sitting on when Valentine first arrived. The sun was shining on them. That day, the gray skies had caused everything to look lackluster, but sitting in the sun now, he could see the natural highlights in Lucian's hair. He reached forward and caught a lock around his fingers. Lucian gifted him a small smile in return.

"I apologize, your hair is not the color of mud." Valentine said, with a slight joking tone.

"You were upset I caught you off guard."

"You have caught me off guard in many ways."

He was surprised, but not displeased to see a faint blush appear on Lucian's face, but Lucian changed the subject. He had felt confident leaving Lucian's home after their last visit, but he knew that was now the past.

He was well versed in many areas, and they chatted easily, but he purposely kept Lucian in the dark about his personal business, and he wondered if this would be an issue for them. Doing so was second nature to him, after living so many years under the radar. Most of his contacts lived similarly.

He always enjoyed traveling, and his transient lifestyle suited him, but he also wondered how Lucian would react to another unfamiliar location.

Their day together was peaceful. They enjoyed the spring weather until a chill wind began, upon which they entered the house. This home was elegantly appointed, in reds and golds, cherry furniture, and marble top tables. They parted briefly before preparing dinner. After they had eaten, they retired to a sitting room with a grand piano by a large bay window, looking out onto the herb garden.

Valentine gravitated to the piano. "Care for a concert?"

Lucian looked amused. "Do you play often anymore?"

"You are correct. I rarely have the chance, but my mother's lessons have stayed with me."

Lucian nodded, then took a seat close by, and waited for Valentine to begin. Valentine took the piano bench, and began to play. His father had been against these lessons initially, believing they were not essential for a warrior, but his mother had insisted, and eventually won the argument with, "Intelligence is honed in many ways, and a dull minded warrior is a dead warrior." He was glad for the variety to his studies, and he took to the instrument easily. Those lessons were some of his fondest memories of his mother.

In honor of her, he started with her favorite song. He knew it well, having played it with her many times. "Play songs that you like, my love, that way you will never grow bored." she had said to him often. He continued with other songs that held personal significance. The song his father begrudgingly requested, still embarrassed he had been proven wrong. He played a waltz that always played at dances in Idris, remembering fond times with his peers that went on well into the night.

For his final piece, he played a song that at the time he did not care for, but now held great meaning for him, because of the man sitting nearby. After he finished, Lucian spoke. "You were correct. Beautifully played, as always."

"Did you recognize the final song?"

Lucian looked pensive. "Moonlight Sonata. The moonlight, when I was young seemed so peaceful. Sometimes, it still does."

"I think of you, always, when I see it. Even during our estrangement."

Lucian was quiet for a moment, then stood up. "I brought something for you." he said, reaching into his jacket pocket, pulling out a small box, and handing it to Valentine. He was pleasantly surprised, for he too had a gift for Lucian, but it was in his bag upstairs, and he did not want to delay the moment to go retrieve it. He took the box, rose from the piano bench, and with a nod from Lucian, opened it, revealing an antique ring, set with a topaz. The color of it aligned with Lucian's eyes. He took it out of the box, and placed it on his right index finger.

"I found it unexpectedly, in the drawer of a dresser I purchased. I've held on to it all this time."

"It fits. It is rather like Cinderella, is it not?" said Valentine, with a lilt to his voice. When he looked to Lucian, his heart warmed at his radiant expression, though he noticed Lucian became self conscious, and tried to stifle it.

Valentine waited for Lucian to respond, but instead he leaned forward and kissed him. He had waited for Lucian to make the first move towards this today, thinking that would be best, though it was difficult to strike a balance, in that he did not want to appear uninterested. Lucian seemed tranquil today, and they spoke easily with each other as they always had, but he could sense a small reticence underlying all of his actions, including this kiss. He was fairly certain he knew why, and he was relieved it was not the same weightlessness that had plagued their previous meetings.

Lucian pulled away, and took a moment to look out the window. From where they stood, they could see the last of the sun's rays, and a small crescent moon in the twilight. Lucian faced him again, and asked if he would like to go upstairs, with an expression that betrayed none of troubles that they had had with this aspect of their relationship, but Valentine knew were present nonetheless. He was glad for the chance to dispel some of the doubts tonight.

Valentine nodded, and they made their way up to the guest room. There was a four poster bed with drapes surrounding it, and oriental rugs.

He had not been certain this trip would lead to this, but he could not deny how pleased he was; with Lucian's blush when he undid his belt buckle, seeing the pile of their discarded clothing growing on the floor, the way Lucian's skin heated up underneath his fingertips, the electricity between them, this state of being so in sync with one another. When Lucian extricated himself and rose from the bed, going to his bag to retrieve a bottle of lubricant, he could scarcely believe his good fortune.

Later, Valentine awoke, having dozed off in the afterglow. He was momentarily irritated to find that Lucian was not in the bed beside him, but standing at the picture window, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. It was full dark now, the sky was clear, the stars shining, the sliver of moon just setting.

"What a vision, you are." said Valentine, announcing he was awake.

Lucian turned back to him, startled. "Did I wake you?"

"The night is still young." replied Valentine, as he rose from the bed, put on a robe, then went to his luggage. It occurred to him upon waking that he had still not given Lucian his present. Once he had it, he walked over to Lucian, draped the necklace around his neck and shut the clasp in one smooth motion, then wrapped his arms around his waist, pushing the bottom of the t-shirt up to touch skin.

Lucian took hold of the necklace in one hand, to get a better look at it.

"A gold chain?"

"Yes."

"It's hard to see in this light."

"How thoughtless of me. It must be because I have pictured you wearing it so many times."

Lucian wrapped his arms around him, and Valentine was surprised to feel a slight tremor running through him. He tightened his grip on him.

"Do you approve?"

"Yes. It's... I thought this was impossible. We reconciled, we're together again. We shot the moon. I'm so happy."

"You honored me when you became my parabatai. You honored my children and their mother, and you have honored me letting me lie with you. Please accept this as a token of my care for you. And know, that I am joyous as well."

Lucian leaned forward to kiss him, then pulled away. "What shall we do now?"

"As I said, the night is young."

Finito

Author's Note:

Much love and gratitude to anyone who made it through to the end of this.

The title Shoot The Moon refers to a situation in certain card games, for example, Hearts, when a player makes preparations to take all the Hearts and the Queen of Spades, which normally players avoid because these cards have points, and the player with the lowest points wins, but when a player collects them all, all of their opponents take on points instead. It is challenging to accomplish, but the reward is great.

I often listened to the Phil Collins song "In The Air Tonight ('Panski & John Skyfield Remix)" while writing this. It can be found on YouTube, and matches the mood I was trying to evoke with this story.

For anyone interested in astrology, I loosely think of Luke as a Capricorn Sun, Taurus Moon, with Cancer Rising, and Valentine as a Sagittarius Sun, Libra Moon, with Scorpio Rising.