Six months.
Six wonderful, hard-to-believe-remarkable months.
Takeo gave a happy sigh, ignoring the looks he was drawing from people on the street as he walked passed with what was likely a deliriously happy expression. It was his and Aburatsubo's six month anniversary, and he'd gone out to find a gift. It was a big deal, half a year already, and he wanted to find something special.
Well, something else special.
He wanted to find something as a physical representation, to go along with what would be the emotional representation.
He'd been thinking about it for days now, weighing the desire for it against the last remaining reservations he still felt. And he'd found his desire stronger. Once they returned from their fancy dinner, he would ask Aburatsubo to live with him when they graduated. To live with him like the way two people did when they were in love, with one bed and a night stand on each side, with their toothbrushes and towels resting next to each other, with the comfort that all they had to do was turn around and one would be there for the other.
And, afterward, he wanted to show Aburatsubo that he loved him, completely and unconditionally. He wanted to show the other that he could make himself vulnerable in the strongest sense that a man could, and show that he trusted Aburatsubo with him in the strongest sense of that emotion also.
They were going to officially graduate in just a week, having already taken the final exams and received their final grades. All that remained now was the ceremony, and they would be on their way to university after summer break.
It was hard to believe they'd already come so far, with all aspects of their lives. Both of them had celebrated their eighteenth birthday in the last six months, inviting the girls over for cake and presents, the kind of birthday you couldn't have once you were an adult where they laughed over immature jokes and gave each other birthday bumps. Then, they would celebrate again together later, alone.
Nanaka and Sae had managed to build up their relationship onto sturdy legs as well, and the four of them had double-dated every other weekend once they'd each become secure with their respective relationships. Takeo had slowly become secure with himself and his feelings, and it had been fun to meet up with the Aburatsubo and the girls, to head out and enjoy himself fully with his boyfriend and friends without the underlying concern of what people might be thinking. They'd even gone to a dance club a couple of times, and Takeo had spun around the floor with Aburatsubo without the slightest care of the people staring.
It had taken a while, even after the shift of their relationship to that of lovers, but Takeo had finally felt sure enough about himself that he'd marched into the living room and announced to his parents that he was gay, or bisexual at least, and was in love with Aburatsubo, and had been his boyfriend for the last two months.
He still winced at the thought, though. He should of planned it out a bit better, instead of just storming in there the second he'd gotten his courage. They hadn't had the slightest idea that he'd been dating for Aburatsubo, and had been completely shocked. His mother had dropped the plates in her hands, shattering them. His father had nearly choked to death on his coffee.
His sister, being the sweet girl she was, had screamed 'I knew it!' before she'd been promptly sent to her room.
Good thing he'd said 'boyfriend' instead of 'lover' or both his parents might of had a heart attack on the spot.
Even so, they still hadn't been too happy with the information. They'd been polite about it of course. 'It's your decision to make', 'we love you no matter what you choose for yourself', and all that. But it had taken a while for either of them to be able to look Aburatsubo in the face, and they'd always exchanged looks whenever he said he was going out. They had eased up in the last month, seeming to finally get used to it. He thought they might still be disappointed, his mother especially had wanted grand children, but they had never been so callous as to disapprove, and he was thankful for that.
Aburatsubo had finally gotten used to the idea that he didn't have to keep up his perfect appearances. It had helped that no one had even noticed the difference, his fan club running strong as ever, gaining more crushing girls with every week that passed. His grades hadn't slipped and he still took good care of himself, but Takeo had enjoyed being able to hold Aburatsubo the morning after without the other feeling he had to run to the washroom and fix his hair.
They had shared so much, he had to make this anniversary as special as he could. Aburatsubo didn't actually know about their plans. He'd simply told his boyfriend that it was a surprise, and left it at that. Takeo had made reservations at a restaurant where you could get a steak as big as your hand, where they had candles on the table tops and laced table clothes. He'd had to make the reservation two weeks ago to make sure that they would be able to get in on the right day, this upcoming Wednesday.
He'd gotten a part time job two months ago, one that he would work full time through summer, and he'd saved up the small cheques. They'd actually added up to quite a bit, and Takeo was confident he could pay for the expensive meal, while still having money left over for the gift he wanted to buy.
Takeo smiled when he reached the store he'd wanted, and he slipped in the door with a shimmering ring from the chimes. It was a magic store, dedicated more to the Wicca type of magic with candles and charms, but it would still have what he wanted.
It had been incredibly difficult to think of what he wanted to give to Aburatsubo. The young man already had a lot of the things a person could want, and Takeo didn't want to cop out and buy just chocolates. And, while Aburatsubo might of had long hair and soft features, he was undeniably male and it wasn't as though Takeo could by him jewelry or something like that. He needed something that was suitable for a man, while still being romantic. Diamond earrings with a matching necklace, which seemed to be basically the only type of gift available in most stores, were definitely not an option.
In the end, it had been their conversation a few days ago that had made up his mind.
"So, what do you think about the Magic Club, now that we're graduating soon?" Aburatsubo questioned.
Takeo frowned, pursing his lips as he thought. "Well, we won't be able to meet at the school anymore. The girls still can, to keep practicing, but the two of us wouldn't be permitted onto school grounds now that we're not students. Someone's house isn't very good either because it's too easy for a family member to walk in during a spell, and then we'd have that whole 'trying to explain away the floating books' problem again. I think it would be best to set up a meeting place somewhere secluded in the city. Like the woods outside the city limits, or a park, even on the roof of a building if there is one easy to get to."
"It's hard to believe that it's over, isn't it? No more Magic Club," Aburatsubo commented with a wistful look on his face. "What about the two of us? Are we going to just forget about magic as we get on with university and working and paying bills and such?"
Takeo saw the slightly saddened look in his boyfriend's face, and took Aburatsubo's hand in his own. "Of course not. It's something remarkable, a secret that we share. There isn't much for us to learn any more, you know. Soon, we'll be the masters of magic and we'll have every spell memorized."
Aburatsubo smiled. "So, what, we'll be mages then?" he asked.
Takeo grinned. "Kind of a funny word to hear in this day and age, isn't it? But, I guess that really is what we'll be. I dunno, maybe warlock? Official warlocks, or whatever, after years of learning! Now that we're mature, we can trust ourselves to use the magic wisely in our daily lives."
Aburatsubo laughed. "Does this mean I can finally use a spell to open a jar, instead of having to wrestle with it for ten minutes?"
Takeo laughed too, although he sobered up after a moment as he thought about exactly what they were saying. "Yes, I think it does! As long as we're careful that no one sees. We always said that we wouldn't use magic in our regular lives, that we would keep it only for lessons and practice, until we had every spell memorized. Well, in a few weeks, we will have accomplished that."
"Amazing," Aburatsubo commented with a slight shake of his head. "To think, that we've come so far."
And so Takeo knew what he wanted to get. It was time to move on with their lives, graduate from members of a school club to real wizards/warlocks/mages/whatever. Along with that, they would need something more suitable. The girls were still learning and so they could continue to wear the fun, young, flashy costumes. He and Aburatsubo needed something new, something which represented their new status as magicians.
He let his hands trail over the different robes, feeling the quality of the material and double checking the stitches. As someone who had bought his own clothes for the last five years, he knew to look for something that wasn't going to fall apart after being washed just a couple of times. In the end, it took almost an hour for him to complete the outfits as he wanted them. They would still require some personal touches, these were all bare of any symbols and the like, but he was enthusiastic to start the modifications. He grabbed a few other supplies, candles and some incense, before making his way from the store.
Aburatsubo would be pleasantly surprised, he thought with a satisfied smile. He knew it.
