He used to think that riling up the boy into a state of barely suppressed fury was one of the most enjoyable ways to spend his time. Watching as unbelievably large eyes darkened with a furious color and pearly white skin flushed to a shimmering blush of pink. It amused him, it enthralled him, it had, he realized, made him happier than he had been in years. At least that's what he used to think back then.
Now he found himself in a very different place, in a home he never thought he would have. Living a life he never dreamed he could create. Now the barely noticeable smirk on his face appears as swiftly and secretly as the bouquet of wildflowers he has been hiding behind his back. Now the deep, glimmering eyes widen with wonder, as if his fair lover was still shocked by sincere, romantic gestures. Even after all the years that have past, years they have spent together. For a moment the flash of passion flickers into some more hidden, vulnerable emotion and he finds himself wondering as well.
There is still that uncertain moment when he sees the welling of tears and the faint shuddering and he's terribly afraid he's pushed his troubled partner back into the darkest realm of his memories. It's only when he hears the quiet peel of laughter floating around him that he finally relaxes into the moment. The tears that are shed are happy ones, he's sure of it. He always makes sure they are.
The boy who had flustered and excited him had disappeared into the hands of time but the man who took his place still had the exuberant energy he had come to adore. Suddenly, the lithe figure before him is all momentum as he throws his arms around his shoulders. The flowers are forgotten, which is just as well considering they have been utterly crushed by the unrestrained colliding of their bodies. The air around them is warm yet sweet and he knows that this must be the most content either of them have ever been.
At times it still seemed strange to him how well they fit together. The delicious heat of the body nestled against his chest, the comfortable burden resting in his arms. He used to think that pushing his little stray to the very edge of exasperation would make him happy. Now he thinks he was wrong.