What, another story so soon? Yep, because I'm still trying to keep up with being a consistent writer this year, and also because I'm fueled by spite.
Oh, and because I have another story to tell with these two, and I actually want to bring it to life before I forget all about it and move on.
Unlike the last story, which had lines from quite a few songs, this is all from "Remember Me" by Dove Cameron and BIA, which is all about reminiscing on the perfect moments in a relationship before things can so quickly turn around. And we might get there, who knows, heh.
In this case, I would definitely advise reading Firsts before starting on this fic.
Please Remember Me Like This
Chapter 1: "Right Now We're Just So Perfect"
Ian spent what seemed like the better part of the summer looking for the absolutely, no questions about it, perfect gift for Aeric's birthday.
What did one get the absolutely, no questions asked, perfect boyfriend in the realms? He had everything: a great car, the best job (where Ian could indulge in his quickly growing caffeine addiction for free now), wardrobe that never failed to show off those bulging biceps... Ian supposed newer exercise equipment, but what actually worked? He would never be able to figure out what Aeric needed without it being too obvious. And even worse, all Aeric said he wanted was the company of his boyfriend! No huge party, no mention of cake, even!
"You're more than enough," Aeric had complimented during one walk along the beach. "I don't need anything else when life is pretty much perfect."
Meanwhile, here Aeric was, constantly pestering what Ian might want for his birthday, only about a month and a half after his boyfriend's. Ian could think of a bunch of things he might want: a celebration with their friends and family, these adorable pink floral printed shorts he saw at the mall and a new pair of wedges (the superior heel, he'd come to find this summer), new assist items to help with magic, a car.
Yes, that last one was certainly the most implausible, but a soon-to-be senior could dream.
All Aeric seemed to want was Ian's company and a show of magic. And, not to brag too much, but they had spent a great majority of their summer so far practicing together, and Ian could feel magic just becoming easier to wield and control. Going into stance took very little thought, as did believing in himself, with Barley and Aeric constantly cheering him on and encouraging him. Hell, he was even learning more spells in Quests of Yore Volumes 2 and 3 (the strength and water spell being two of Aeric's absolute favorites), and with all this extra time not spent at school, attending boring classes, his advancement and progression were just... natural at this point.
Whether it was tossing a ball in the park for Aeric and Gurge to chase after, or practicing astral projection when he and his boyfriend eventually had to physically part, Ian could feel the swell of his powers becoming prouder, his smile growing whenever he cast anything, as opposed to his initial apprehension. Barley, of course, played impressed every time.
"By this point, you're going to be the first full-blown wizard of the 21st century!" he complimented, only after Ian had apologized for dousing him in water in the front yard (again, for skipping yet another shower).
"I wouldn't know about that," Ian replied sheepishly, shrugging. "You should really take care of your hygiene more—you have a girlfriend now."
"Such things matter not in the presence of my lovely Athena!" Barley cried, wringing out his beanie. The sweet mechanic who had so carefully fixed Guinevere 2.0 found herself enamored with Ian's older brother—even convinced him to sign up for classes for the upcoming semester at NMCC, effectively ending what Mom still liked to call "the world's longest gap year." Ian still couldn't believe it: someone had tamed Barley's seemingly permanent bachelor status—a centaur, nonetheless (which he'd continue to tease his brother with, after all the crap they'd said about Colt back in the day).
But Athena was lovely, as Barley so often complimented: her gentle voice appealed to everyone, she didn't mind showing off her wits and intelligence, and she even got along with Aeric, helping him jog some mornings (which, for a centaur, was absolutely nothing).
"Speaking of..." Ian continued, setting down his staff in the grass. "I think I know what I want to do for Aeric's birthday."
"When is it again?" Barley asked, sitting down to face the sun. One thing Ian would give to New Mushroomton summers: they were at least a dry heat, and the Lightfoots lived pretty close to the ocean.
"The eighth," Ian replied, sitting beside his brother and hugging his knees to his chest. "He keeps saying he has everything, so I was thinking... maybe if I give him an experience as opposed to a physical gift, he'd still love it."
"Ian, as your older brother, I am definitely not having that conversation with you about being responsible about—"
"What?" But Ian flushed when he realized what his brother was implying. "Gross, Barley! I should douse you for that again! No, I was just going to ask if I could borrow Guinevere and take Aeric beach camping for the weekend! His birthday's on a Saturday!"
"Oh. Well, that's nice." Barley shrugged. "But no can do, Iandore. I'm working that night."
Damn, that's what he was hoping not to hear! But Ian wasn't too proud to beg, especially when it came to his boyfriend. "Come on, please? Can't you ask your girlfriend to give you a ride or something, or work it out with Mom and Colt? This is the only decent idea I've had about Aeric's birthday!"
"You sure you can't ask to borrow one of your friends' cars? Or Aeric's and like, actually pitch up a tent or something?" Barley suggested.
"Yeah, but it's not about the setting as much as it is about her." Ian gestured to his brother's prized van in their driveway. "You know how much Aeric loves Guinevere—especially with her new paint job, and the skylight you just installed..." An absolutely perfect, romantic setting for the two of them... "A tent just isn't the right setting." To add emphasis, Ian widened his eyes and gave the slightest pout—the absolute last resort when he wanted Barley to do something.
"Aw, damn it, Ian, not the face!" Barley groaned, rolling his eyes. "Fine, fine, I'll figure something out for work and see if I can get a ride from a coworker... You owe me, though, big time!"
"It's a good thing I'm working on yours and Athena's outfits for the Ren Faire, then!" Luckily he had this ace up his sleeve—though magic was definitely helping him out on getting those done in a quicker manner.
"I'm gonna regret this, aren't I?" said Barley, with a heavy sigh.
Ian shrugged. "Not sure—Mom still says I'm a better driver than you. She'll come back in one piece."
"Adhere to the rules, little bro," Barley warned, starting to stand. "Make sure she's sparkling from the inside out."
"Sure, I'll just use the water spell!" he joked, standing and wiping the grass from his shorts. "Aeric's really gonna love it."
"Yeah, yeah, you're spoiling your boyfriend." Waving a dismissive hand, Barley decided to change the subject. "Anyone ever tell you that your summer wardrobe makes you look like a mid-century housewife?"
Flushing, Ian took in his sleeveless button down and high waisted shorts. "Mom lent me these from when she was my age." It was better than buying new clothes at the mall, and had some great vintage vibes now that he wanted to explore with more feminine choices. "Aeric likes them..."
"Hey, I'm just calling it like I see it. She didn't exactly have the best taste, is all I'm saying."
Just for that, Ian doused his brother again.
The list for Aeric's birthday went as following:
[ ] Reserve a place on the beach for camping (preferably far from all other campers)
[ ] Buy materials for s'mores and a campfire
[ ] Make sure Guinevere has enough gas and is cleaned
[ ] Packing list:
[ ] extra clothes
[ ] PJs
[ ] blankets and pillows
[ ] speaker for playing music
[ ] toiletries
[ ] towels for the beach
It seemed simple enough, anyway. Ian knew to bring his staff, given Aeric just wanted to see him show off (and what magical birthday was complete without fireworks?), and even had a cute beach outfit to wear the next day. But he wanted it to be at least a bit of a surprise—all he told Aeric was to keep the night freed up, so he could spend time with his parents during the day, and to pack an overnighter. With each item he checked off the list, the more excited he was: his boyfriend was going to be seventeen!
"You're responsible, right, Ian?" Mom brought up the night before, as Ian dried up dishes and placed them away. "I trust you with your brother's van, but a night away with your boyfriend..."
"Gods, Mom, not you, too!" Ian cried with a flush, hiding his face in his hands. "Yes, now can we drop it, please?" He didn't know what was worse: getting this talk from Mom, or Barley. There was a huge reason he went to Aeric instead in the first place.
"I'm just saying." Mom held her hands up defensively. "Just make sure you're all prepared, baby, that's all."
After that mortifying conversation, Ian really wasn't sure what to think. Still, he wouldn't let it put a damper in preparing for Aeric's birthday, making sure every part of Guinevere was shining, that he had the best spells in mind to blow his boyfriend away. And while he had a flannel and jeans for what was sure to be a cooler night by the shore, he couldn't wait to show off the new wedges he just bought the next day.
Hell, he was even taking a page out of Aeric's book and preparing a whole playlist just for their evening together.
"Counting down the hours until I can see you!" Aeric texted the morning of. Ian, of course, was already up, too jittery and excited to sleep much. He couldn't wait to see the look on his boyfriend's face once he announced what they were doing!
"Me, too! Happy birthday, Aer!" Ian sent with a balloons gif, and a million other loving images. "I love you!" No matter how many times he sent it, or said it, those three little words just never got old.
Ian took a stroll down to the store this clear, glorious morning just to get rid of some of his nervous energy (if he'd bought the s'mores ingredients any earlier, they'd be finished off by now). "It's my boyfriend's seventeenth birthday!" he wanted to scream to anyone he passed, anyone who would listen. It was like the weather wanted to be perfect for Aeric today. Oh, was he the luckiest elf in the realms, to be dating one of New Mushroomton's golden boys: a guy so perfect that now Ian just wanted to show him off wherever he went.
He went over the plan again in his head: pick up Aeric by sunset, and Ian would surprise him with Burger Shire, which they'd eat on the beach. Make s'mores, listen to music, dance, dip their feet in the water... Hopefully this was the experience Aeric would rather have for his birthday than any physical gift (given that Ian was a bit cash poor on the Dragonland trip they'd always fantasized about).
Ian showered after his grocery trip, making sure his curls at least gave off the semblance of looking in place (seriously—even with magic, combs still got stuck in there sometimes, and once a spell straightened out his hair... never again!), made sure he had one of his nicer flannels and jeans on... He triple checked to make sure he had toiletries and an extra pair of clothes and socks and towels on top of the other pair he packed (just in case). And honestly, with how much he cleaned up Guinevere just for this trip, he might have taken care of her more than even Barley did.
"Not one smudge, Iandore!" Barley warned as Ian walked out the door, grabbing Guinevere's keys from the foyer. Luckily he was able to get a carpool ride from a coworker, and seemed to be waiting for her in the living room.
"Got it! See you tomorrow!" Ian called, making sure to take his staff from under the coat rack. Hell, he could almost twirl it, he was so excited for tonight!
Once in the car, he sent Aeric a text that he was on the way, glad that Guinevere 2.0's engine didn't have a sweet spot and a working gas gauge and turn signals. Her backseat had quickly been transformed into a comfy pad, pillows and blankets set up on her floor, and battery powered star lights to bathe their entire evening in a perfect, romantic glow (not to mention, Barley let Ian hang Dad's old Willowdale pennant just under the Phoenix Gem window). She seemed a little less of just Barley's, and a little more of the two of them working together on honoring her predecessor, from her newly gleaming, purple paint job around the magical portrait he'd made of them on Guinevere's back, the shape of her windows, how well she could handle magic when Ian wanted her to really fly.
True, Aeric's house really wasn't that far from Ian's, and on good days, he didn't mind the walk in the slightest, but the look on his boyfriend's face when he pulled up in his brother's van was absolutely priceless. Normally Ian would go in, say hi to Fiske and Della, but there was Aeric, waiting out front with a container of leftover cake.
"Holy Shantar's Talon, babe!" Aeric cried as he approached Guinevere, his violet eyes wide and his grin huge. "You're taking me out in Guinevere?"
"Happy birthday, Aeric!" Ian called back, rolling down the passenger window. "Took a little convincing, but I was able to get Barley to lend her to us tonight!"
Sighing as he got in, Aeric deposited his duffel and cake in the back and leaned over the dash to give Ian a proper kiss. "I have the best boyfriend in the realms."
"Yeah, well, don't thank me yet. The night's just getting started, you know!" He didn't know why this of all things, being able to drive off with Aeric in Guinevere, was something that made him realize that he'd been so nervous up until this point, like there would be something to try and stop them from having an incredible night together.
Irrational fears and scenarios that he'd played in the back of his mind, the craziest things his head could conjure, and yet that kind of soothed him into believing nothing would ever be so terrible. Aeric nodded along to the birthday playlist Ian started to play over Guinevere's speakers, and shot him a cheeky smile as they pulled into the Burger Shire drive-thru.
"You really wanna spoil me tonight, don't you?" Aeric crossed his arms over his chest. "I even had cake today. I think I'm gonna need you to throw the football in the park a little further next week."
"What's wrong with me spoiling you?" Ian scrunched his nose. "It's not every day you turn seventeen."
"You're about to next month," Aeric pointed out. "And I have so many ideas on what to get you, especially now that I've got a bit of income coming in with the summer job..."
"You sad about leaving it so soon?" Ian asked, pausing only to order for them: lettuce wrapped burger for Aeric with a side salad, griffin strips, extra fries and sauce for him. Iced tea and a giant slushie (cherry).
"Just a bit," Aeric sighed, leaning back in his seat. "Yeah, it was stressful catering to the morning crowd, and the amount of iced blended drinks these kids can consume... but it was a lot of fun, too. And now I know how to make proper coffee!"
"My own personal barista. You sure I'm not the lucky one?" Ian teased.
"Nah, never. You can meet a dozen guys like me, but there will only ever be one of you."
Ian hated when Aeric tried to undermine himself, like he was just some uninteresting kid, when nothing could be further from the truth. Wasn't Aeric gunning for Salutatorian this year? That had to be a textbook definition of "unconventional."
"There's only one Aeric K. Aldheim, and I'm lucky enough to date him," he countered instead, before opening the window to pay for their food. "Going into senior year with you is probably the most excited I've ever been about a first day of school... ever, I think."
"I think for me, too. I've never had a boyfriend going into a school year before—summer flings, sure, but those always ended. I like being so serious and committed."
"You like being a kept man, huh?" Ian chuckled, handing Aeric their food so he could keep driving.
"For once," Aeric laughed in reply, immediately grabbing a fry and holding it up for Ian to take, which he leaned over and practically slurped right up (how hot it was be damned). "Being the kept, trophy boyfriend of a wizard might just be the best label I've had at school."
"Or it would be, if anyone else referred to you as my boyfriend." Ian rolled his eyes affectionately; try as he did (and boy, did Aeric try), most people knew Ian as Aeric's boyfriend, not the other way around. The perks of being popular first, he supposed, but Aeric was really considerate in making sure people knew his name, knew him as his own person.
Occasionally Ian would glance at Aeric as they started to drive closer to the shore, hoping he understood just where they were going. And those purple eyes nwould widen, magnified in his huge, round glasses once it dawned on him just where they'd be camping out.
"Beach camping, babe?" he cried, clutching onto the paper bags tighter. "I thought we were gonna sneak into the lookout, but this is so much better!"
"This isn't technically loitering and trespassing," Ian pointed out, finding the scant few campers and parking as far away from them as possible. The more secluded, the better; this night was all about celebrating Aeric, and celebrating them. "Much as I love the view from the lookout over the city."
"Yeah, but a beach, the moons, a little fire..." Aeric sighed, and when Ian killed the engine, he leaned over for a longer kiss, the first of many to come for the evening. "You really thought about this, and it's all I could have wanted for my birthday. I love you so much."
"I love you, too, Aer." And now Ian could really breathe a sigh of relief, knowing Aeric loved his gift, and didn't need anything else.
They watched the sun set behind the ocean on the hood of Guinevere, eating their crappy fast food and mulling lowly over hoping they'd have more classes that overlapped this year a opposed to last year (Ian could finally take Study Hall, they'd probably have the same Lit and History classes). The Dragons would start practicing again soon, meaning more days when Ian could see Aeric with his hair up, contacts in...
Though there arguably would be less time ogling at his abs. Given all the beach time they'd gotten in this summer, both by themselves and with their friends, and how warm it'd been—Ian had seen quite a bit of his boyfriend showing off, and it was certainly enticing every time.
"You nervous for the season?" he asked as he tossed out their garbage in a nearby trashcan, before starting to scour for a few sticks for firewood (the one thing, of course, Ian forgot to bring).
"A little," Aeric admitted, playing with the stick in his hands as he started to wander to gather more. "Coach is really good at finding scouts for schools, and there's no way I'm gonna be able to afford Willowdale without at least a few scholarships: academic and sports. I just gotta do well."
"I know you will, babe," Ian assured, grabbing his staff from Guinevere and opening her back doors. With the moons rising, with the lights looking fantastic as they gave off a perfect glow, the atmosphere for their romantic evening. "I'm trying for a few academic ones—why is it we want to go to a private, four year university again?"
"Because they have a great team and your dad went there?" Aeric suggested with a shrug. "It's as good a reason to go as any. And something tells me it's where your brother wants to transfer after he's done with NMCC."
"It might be," sighed Ian, using magic to levitate stray sticks around the beach to their little pile. "Also it's close enough to home to visit on weekends. I couldn't imagine being so far away from everyone except for major holidays."
"You wanna do a tour together sometime?" Aeric placed the pile he'd walked around to gather to add to what Ian had collected. "Just us? No pressure from other students or our parents, maybe with Tina to see how she's adjusting?"
"Yeah," Ian sighed, and he couldn't help but smile at knowing Aeric wanted to suggest it just to make him feel more comfortable. "Yeah, that'd honestly be great."
It occurred to him that sure, he'd researched Willowdale when he started high school quite a bit, saw it as a way to be closer to his dad, given at the time he didn't think they had anything in common. And sure, while the website boasted smiling students and courses and majors that genuinely interested him, Ian still had yet to really explore the campus. Aeric, on the other hand, by his own inadvertent actions on his sixteenth birthday, accidentally forced the whole football team to practice there until the field had been rebuilt. Willowdale was lucky enough to be surrounded by nice neighborhoods, a few local restaurants and old theatres he couldn't wait to explore with Aeric... Right now it only played out as a fantasy—and Ian wanted to manifest it into reality.
"Flame Infernar!" Ian cried, setting the pile ablaze (and saving a few sticks for their marshmallows). Aeric set up one of the larger towels on the sand, and Ian moved his birthday playlist from Guinevere's speakers to the portable one he brought, letting it play lowly over the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. He thought back to the beginning of the year, to the beach party where he showed off magic to all the popular kids, the stolen kisses away from the crowd, having his first beer under Aeric's eye. This was, of course, warmer, given he had the fire raging close to them (and had already stolen Aeric's jacket to drape around his shoulders.
"We shouldn't think about school right now, or college, or the ORC test, or any of that other crap that's gonna plague us during senior year," Aeric decided, lifting his hips so he could slip his phone in his back pocket. The pictures they'd taken tonight were few, deciding to just stay in their little bubble (not to mention reception wasn't exactly the best in this more secluded cove).
"You're right," Ian decided, spearing a marshmallow on a stick and handing it to Aeric. Normally he knew his boyfriend wasn't one for more than one dessert in a night, but on his birthday, he seemed okay with making an exception. The leftover cake they'd snacked on a little earlier, while store bought from a little bakery in town, actually had a lot of light, gorgeous flavors (who knew dragonfruit could be made into cake so tastefully?), and Ian had to stop himself from gorging on the whole thing.
He took that piece of advice from his boyfriend's book, making sure to twirl his marshmallow on the fire slowly, to achieve that perfect, golden brown consistency. Sure, it'd take a good ten minutes, but wow, did the marshmallow puff up so much—it grew to twice its size!
"You got it, babe, just like that!" Aeric encouraged, chuckling as they leaned into each other. Gosh, the little star lights inside Guinevere had nothing on the array of stars shining above them, away from the city lights drowning them out.
"Well, I learned from the best!" Ian giggled, finishing his s'mores assembly. He hummed into the bite, adoring just how well all the flavors went together. If life could just be this: him, Aeric, magic, no cares in the world, he'd consider it a pretty perfect one.
A slower song from his playlist started to play lowly, and Aeric perked up. "Oh, I love this song!" he declared, then stood. "Dance with me?"
"What?" Ian asked, unable to stop the nervous chuckle that escaped. Sure, it wouldn't be their first dance together, but all alone, just on the beach? Wasn't that weird, even if it was just them?
"Dance with me," Aeric repeated, holding out his hand to pull Ian up. "It's my birthday and I want to dance with my boyfriend."
Obviously Ian couldn't say no to that. Still, that didn't stop his slight hesitance as he slipped his hand into Aeric's, who pulled him up like he weighed nothing (which, with those muscles and how much Aeric could bench press, was probably the case). It reminded Ian a lot of Spring Fling: sparkling lights, forgetting the world around them to where it was just he and his boyfriend, engrossed in each other, the slow circle they formed without much effort, Aeric leading gently with his hands encircling Ian's thin waist. Those eyes still trained completely on him, almost sparkling with reflections of their campfire reflected in the violet hues.
"You're quite persuasive," Ian sighed, leaning in to press his cheek to Aeric's chest. This was probably his favorite place to be, his ear hearing the assured, steady rhythm of his heart. "But be a little careful of what we have on the towel—I don't want to accidentally kick my staff into the fire or something."
"That's odd." Aeric chuckled, kissing the top of Ian's head. "What would happen if your staff caught fire, from a fire spell you made?"
"I honestly don't know. Barley thinks it'll burn away the magic and the staff will be useless, but it's just a theory. Don't think anyone has ever tried it recently, especially since finding a wizard staff is a little more rare these days... I don't feel like testing that anytime soon since my staff is just a splinter of what my dad used to have."
"I get it." Aeric led them a little more into the sand, just to distance themselves a little further. "I wouldn't want you to lose any other part of him, from the little you know."
Aeric used to not even want to listen to Ian gush about Dad, given his terrible relationship with his birth mom. It was nice to see him ask the occasional question, or give him the slightest of assurances. "Do you want to see some magic tonight?" he asked as the song bled into the next one on shuffle.
"I always do," said Aeric, kissing Ian's forehead next. "Without school in the way, you've gotten really good at it—from what I can gather, knowing only one wizard."
"Yeah—I thought I would have met another local wizard by now, but... no such luck." Sighing, Ian tried not to let his mind wander to his occasional research into forum boards of people speculating about magic, but there had been no indication that anyone around New Mushroomton knew magic. He couldn't be the only one out there, could he? And if so, what did that mean for his future? For the future of wanting to keep magic alive?
All this heavy thinking... he really couldn't let it get to him, not on Aeric's birthday. Slowly they stopped dancing, and Ian pulled back so he could look up at his boyfriend. "You don't think I'm the only one, do you?"
Aeric shook his head. "I don't, but... if you are, then I'm dating one in a billion. It makes me all the more lucky to know you, and better, love you."
Much as Ian wanted that to be reassuring, the loneliness of such a fate only made him feel worse. He hid that sadness in another kiss, pulling Aeric down by his jaw to hold him closer. "You're perfect," he said. "You're more than enough for me."
"I don't mean to make you sad," said Aeric, reading right through him. "How about... you show me some fireworks."
It had been Aeric's favorite spell from the beginning, ever since he did his demonstration with Corey on their first date. But knowing that always brought a smile to Ian's face, and he bent down to pick up his staff, getting into position like it was second nature now.
"Boombastia!" he cried clearly, a flurry of colorful fireworks blasting above them. With this new confidence in his powers, in all the practice he'd been doing over the summer, this one spell churned out more than just a few colorful explosions: there were streams of fireworks, some with bigger and louder sounds than others; some whistled, and some crackled.
A whole show just for them, the lights reflecting on the calm waves in colorful ripples.
And Ian showed off other spells he knew how to do now: shrinking a pillow for a moment, amplifying his voice to carry across the ocean, skipping a stone using magic and watching it disappear beyond the horizon... Aeric watched in awe from the towel, leaning back and taking in everything about magic, that even though he'd seen these spells what seemed like hundreds of times, the way his eyes widened always looked like it was the first, all over again.
Turning back to his boyfriend, Ian smiled. "You've been so quiet," he pointed out. "There's nothing else you wanted to see me do?"
Aeric darted his gaze to the side for a moment. The next person camping on either side of them was at least a mile away—and he bit his lip, looking up at Ian expectantly. "Strength spell, babe?"
Ian chuckled, knowing exactly what that entailed. Sure, it was a spell he started practicing last month during one of Aeric's workouts, to help him a little more, but his boyfriend realized he liked it a little too much. "What time is it?" he asked.
Aeric fished out his phone to read the time. "A little past ten," he said.
Yeah, that was late enough. Sure, Barley said to keep Guinevere clean, but... well, Ian could handle it; he brought his own blankets for them to sleep on, after all. And who was he to deny his boyfriend on his birthday—to deny himself, even? Smirking, he walked over to the towel, holding his staff close to his arms (as the Quests of Yore book had advised, as opposed to the usual stance).
"Might Magnora." The strength spell worked through him quickly, his muscles (or rather, lack thereof), pulsing, the need to pick something up much larger than him screaming.
Yeah, the image of skinny, average height Ian Lightfoot picking up his huge, muscular boyfriend looked a little strange, especially in the mirror (and especially when Ian wanted to wear one of his cuter outfits), but the look in Aeric's eyes, of complete trust, loyalty, and love, was more than enough for him to not feel as weird about the absurdity of the image. Enough for him to pick Aeric up like he weighed nothing, carrying him into the back of Guinevere while delving into a kiss, and used the staff to close the doors behind them.
The moons shone brightly through Guinevere's skylight, but Aeric finally opened the doors to get a bit of fresh air, making sure to at least pull on his boxers. Despite the breeze from the waves, it was still warm out, and by this point, probably past midnight. Past the time for his birthday, yet here he was, seventeen and with the one person that mattered most in his life right now. The fire had died down to glowing embers (at least, from what he could gather without his glasses), but with all the blankets Ian brought, they'd certainly be fine for the night.
Ian stepped out, clad in Aeric's shirt as he scratched the back of his head. Aeric leaned against Guinevere, still adjusting. "You okay, Aer?" he asked. It was always comical to see Ian in his clothes; they were so huge, hanging off his lanky shoulders, falling halfway down his thighs. But damn if he didn't love it.
"Yeah," he assured, taking in a deep breath. He remembered his seventh birthday, the first one he ever spent with his mom, before she married his dad. She brought him to another leg of this beach, and it was the first time Aeric had really seen her swim and stretch her fins, unable to forget the shimmer of her scales, far different in the ocean as opposed to the pool they eventually got. The smell of clear seawater, though, was what he remembered most, as it was his first real trip out here, despite living so close to the water his whole life. "Yeah, I just needed a bit of air. I'm fine, baby."
More than fine, been. Content. Pretty much perfect. This gorgeous summer evening, being able to freely love Ian and watch him become more and more of the powerful wizard he knew lurked beneath. Every day his powers seemed more sure of themselves, stronger, even, if tonight was any indication.
"Did you have a good birthday?" Ian leaned his head on Aeric's shoulder, looking out to the reflection of the moons on the water. "I know you didn't want anything physical, but if you did..."
"This was better than any gift anyone could have given me," he assured, leaning back against Ian. "This whole evening was perfect, Ian, thank you."
"It's past midnight; I had to ask," Ian chuckled, wrapping his arms around his torso. The strength spell had worn off, but ever since Ian discovered he could use it to pick him up... well, it'd been a great summer, that was for sure.
Looking out to the waves, blurred as they were, Aeric added, "Well, I can think of one more way to make it perfect."
"Hm?" Ian moved his gaze up to it. "What do you want to do now?"
Aeric tilted his head to the water. "You ever go swimming at night before?"
"N-not in the ocean," Ian admitted, shaking his head. "And I... didn't bring a bathing suit."
"So?" Aeric shrugged. "No one's around."
"You mean..." Even without his glasses, Aeric could see Ian's cheeks flush pinker than usual as his voice dropped. "Skinny dipping?"
"Why not?" He shrugged again. "I don't really want to go far, we have all these extra towels..." No, he wasn't going to play the birthday card again if Ian was truly uncomfortable with the idea. But boy, would it be the cherry on top of a perfect evening.
Ian glanced around, as if they'd be noticed this far off the beaten path, but he had to make sure, Aeric supposed, and nodded like if he thought any harder about it he'd change his mind. "Yeah... let's do it," he decided, reaching into Guinevere to pull out the extra towels (which Aeric was sure Ian brought just in case he accidentally forgot the one he meant to bring in the first place).
Clothes left on the beach, they ran hand in hand into the calm waves, only going in deep enough to Ian's chest. "Sh-Shantar's Talon, this is colder than I was expecting!" he cried, laughing.
"It's not that bad!" Aeric assured, stepping closer. "But come here." He pulled Ian in, holding him close just to share some body heat.
"That's better," Ian sighed, reaching up for a kiss, and then moving down to kiss one of the marks he left on his neck. "You know, only you could convince me to do something this crazy."
"Because I love you, and I love it when you live a little, and live life to the fullest," he replied.
"I love being more of that person," Ian confessed, and with the water displacement, he could actually lift Aeric without the aid of magic. "And I love you for showing me that I always could."
Aeric's only birthday wish, made when his parents presented him with his cake earlier today, was to stay in this perfect headspace with Ian, floating along together into senior year and beyond.
If tonight was any indication, that wish was already coming true.
So unlike Firsts, which stuck with the limited point of view for the boys for the whole chapter, this one is going to jump around a bit more, and hopefully feel a little bigger as a story, as that's my intention going in. It's a little different from that format, but I hope you enjoy it all the same!
As always, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated.