Vashyron's eyes turned to meet mine as I slowly made my way across the small area between the bathroom door and the couch, and I saw his lips settle into a soft smile.

"Hey. Feeling any better?"

I perched myself on the edge of the seat beside him, trying to focus on the floor more than anything else.

"W...what?"

"You said that you had a bad dream. Are you okay now?"

I could still feel his gaze focused on the side of my face as I continued to stare nervously at the space just in front of my feet.

"Oh. Yeah...I'm fine."

There was a relatively awkward silence between us for a few seconds, before I felt a pressure beside me as he shifted closer.

"Zephyr, is there something you wanna talk to me about? You seem kinda...more quiet than usual."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, feeling the inside of my mouth become unnaturally dry, before forcing myself to look him in the eye.

"Why did you kiss me?"

For a while, he looked confused, as if for some reason he hadn't expected me to bring it up, and I was suddenly wishing I'd never said anything, but his expression quickly changed to one of slight amusement, and he raised his eyebrows in that annoying way that says 'Now I'm going to imply your question was kind of stupid'.

"We were at a kissing booth. That's kinda what you're supposed to do."

"I know that," I replied quickly, feeling myself for once becoming rather irritated by his laid-back attitude towards everything, "But why then? Why did you do it while all of those people were staring at me? Why didn't you just take me home? You just made everything worse. If you'd just let me go..."

I found myself suddenly getting upset, but I couldn't stop it, and I had to pause to take a breath and calm myself down.

"I'm sorry," he said after a while, calmly, and I felt his hand rest on one of my arms, "I shouldn't have done that. I wasn't thinking about how you felt, I was just...thinking about those people, and how narrow-minded they were being, and how they don't know that you're actually a great person, and I guess I just...wanted to show them that not everyone thinks that stuff about you."

I took a few seconds to think this over. So, in short, he kissed me because he felt sorry for me. It was exactly as I suspected.

"...Right," I managed to mumble, still avoiding looking in his direction and trying to somehow mask my disappointment. Sure, I was angry that he had kissed me in front of all of those people like that, but if, by any small chance, he had kissed me because he liked me as more than a friend, then it might have lessened the blow.

"Can I make it up to you?" he said suddenly, and I felt his fingers squeeze my forearm gently, "We can go out somewhere. I was planning to celebrate anyway."

"...Celebrate what?"

"Today's my birthday," he chuckled, shrugging as if he didn't really care.

I finally decided to look at him.

"What? Why didn't you tell me?"

He shrugged again, moving his hand away from my arm to scratch the back of his neck lazily.

"I...didn't think it was that important."

"...But I didn't have a chance to get you anything."

He seemed somewhat taken aback by this, and for a brief moment it seemed like he was going to hug me, but he stood up instead, making his way into the kitchen, where I followed him.

"You don't have to get me anything," he chuckled, but this time there was something slightly more forced about it, "Besides, you don't have any money, Zephyr."

He seemed to be pretending to look in the refrigerator.

Oh.

So that's what it was.

"I still have some left from the last job we did, and if it's your birthday then why shouldn't I be allowed to get you a present? You got me something for my birthday."

"Zephyr...that's different."

"Why?"

"Because...it just is. You don't have to get me anything. Just say 'Happy Birthday' and that's good enough for me. Deal?"

He looked at me expectantly, leaning on the door of the fridge, which was still ajar, but this time I decided to challenge him, looking him directly in the eye.

"No."

He raised his eyebrows at me, closing the fridge door slowly as if for dramatic effect.

"No?"

"I'm going out," I said bluntly, making my way out of the room quickly before he could stop me, taking a jacket from a hook by the door and pulling it on, "See you later!"

I have never exited a building so fast in my entire life, and I even made sure I had cleared a few corners once I was outside before I slowed down to a normal walking speed.

It wasn't that I had never said no to anyone before, nor that I found anything wrong with disobeying adults, but it was Vashyron, and ever since we first met there had been no disagreement between us. It was the first time I had ever said 'no' to him, at least.

I knew he wouldn't be angry when I got back, but with things a little awkward between us already I thought it would be best if we spent some time apart. Ever since I moved in we had been together constantly, and as much fun as it was, it was clear that we could both benefit from spending more time alone.

Plus, this gave me a great opportunity to figure out what I was going to do for his birthday. After all, when it was my birthday he made me a special breakfast, bought me a gun and a cake and took me to the arena to do some training.

What could I possibly do for him?

I spent a good half hour or so window shopping at various stores, feeling gradually worse and worse about the fact that none of these things seemed to be appropriate presents for someone like him. I knew what kinds of things he liked, more or less, but there were certain rules for this kind of thing. There are obvious choices for family members, couples, best friends, and children and so on, but Vashyron was none of those things to me.

He was my friend, of course, but we weren't related in any way, and considering the age difference between us even the whole 'friend' thing was a little awkward. Then again, I could be the only one who thinks we're friends in the first place.

What kind of thing should you buy for an older guy who you live with but aren't related to?

I mulled this over in my mind as I passed store after store, street after street, and eventually realised that I was running out of options. This town wasn't so big, after all, and the store merchandise was rather limited.

I perched myself on a short wall over-looking the bridge, deciding to take this moment to count the change in my pocket. It wasn't very much, considering the prices in this place, and I would be lucky to get a gift out of it anyway.

Sighing, I tucked the slightly crumpled notes back into my jacket, spending a while staring blankly out across the bridge. From where I was sitting, I could just make out the buildings at the other side.

And that's when I had an idea.

Café Chelsey.

Instead of buying him something from one of the stores, I could offer to pay for dinner. Café Chelsey wasn't exactly the best restaurant in town, but it wasn't shabby, either. I often heard stories about people seeing the cardinals dining there.

Then again, there's a chance that offering this as a gift might seem really weird. What if it was too much like a date? I'm no expert on dates, but it's possible that taking someone out to dinner at a nice restaurant could be classed as such.

However, as it was literally the only idea I had, I decided to go with it. The only problem was that a meal at that place was rather expensive. Vashyron had only taken me there twice, and I felt guilty about it both times. The small collection of notes and coins I was currently carrying in my pocket would only buy us some drinks there.

So with this in mind I made my way back into town to see what I could do about it. If I could make enough money by tonight, then everything would be fine. If not, then we wouldn't be able to go and I wouldn't have a present to give to him.

I entered quite a few stores before one of them finally offered to give me some work to do, and even then it wasn't much and only got me a small amount of money. So I decided to try my luck at the boutique instead. The woman there was very kind and understanding, despite how timid I was and how long it took me to finally ask if I could do some work for her, and she gave me a job stacking shelves in the back room.

It wasn't very difficult, but there were a lot of boxes and crates, and the room was quite cramped and not very well-ventilated. By the time I had finished my throat was dry and I had acquired quite a few splinters, but she payed me fairly, as promised, and I left the boutique with even more than I had hoped.

Counting the new total, I was quite sure that this would be enough, and decided to make my way home. Quite a few hours had passed since I left, and I was worried that Vashyron might still be a little bit mad at my leaving without telling him where or why I was going, but when I entered the house he still greeted me with the usual 'Hey, sport'.

He was sitting on the couch in front of the television, with his feet up on the table and a drink in his hand, seemingly not bothered by it at all. I took off my jacket and left it by the door, going over and slowly seating myself beside him.

There was a long, awkward silence in the room. Well, awkward for me. Vashyron didn't seem to care at all, and carried on with his television programme and his drink.

"I...I'm sorry about before," I stammered, suddenly becoming nervous when he looked over at me, "I shouldn't have gone out without telling you where I was going...and...I shouldn't have just stormed out like that. I'm sorry."

He started laughing before I had even finished my apology, patting me on the shoulder quite roughly and shaking his head.

"You don't have to look so worried! I'm not angry!"

I sighed heavily in a rather cliché manner, slumping back into the couch.

"I just...really wanted to do something for your birthday, so..."

"So...?"

"So I went out to get you something...but then I couldn't think of what to get you...so...instead of that...I think that we should go out to dinner, and I'll pay for it...this time."

I heard him chuckle, and looked over to see him smiling at me.

"Really? Where?"

"At...Café Chelsey."

"Can you afford that?"

"Uh...yeah. So...do you wanna go? I mean, we don't have to if you don't wanna...it was just an idea..."

He cut me off mid-ramble, putting his drink down next to the television and leaning forward in his seat.

"Are you kidding? Let me get my jacket!" he laughed, and I looked at him questioningly.

"R...right now?"

Talk about spontaneous.

"Yeah!" he chuckled, pushing himself up off the couch and going to the front door, "That's a great idea! It'll be so nice to not have to pay for dinner for once."

I followed him over to the door when I realised he was serious, pulling my own jacket back on and fastening the zip as he watched me, seeming somewhat excited, before he ushered me outside and locked the door, swinging the keys around his index finger.

It was starting to get dark as we strolled somewhat leisurely across the bridge, and although it was quite cold I felt strangely calm and content. In all honesty I hadn't expected him to accept my offer, but the fact that he seemed so pleased about it was really great. I just wanted to make up for all of the things he had done for me, not just on my birthday, so even if I had to use all of the money I had earned so far, it was worth it.

When we reached the restaurant it was fairly empty, probably because the majority of the seating was outside and it was a little bit cold, but Vashyron didn't seem to care, so I decided not to let it bother me either.

They gave us a nice table, which was outside but underneath a fancy canopy attached to the front of the building. There was a small outdoor heater nearby, which meant we could take off our jackets without freezing to death, and there were candles set at each of the tables. In a way, I felt a little nervous about how romantic it all seemed, and couldn't help noticing couples at other tables, but seeing a few families sitting with children eased my nerves a little.

"So how can you afford this?" Vashyron asked me suddenly, and I was forced to bring my attention back to the real world.

"Uh...I did some jobs around down."

"You did all of that just for me?"

I nodded, biting my lip slightly nervously and desperately hoping that he wouldn't take it the wrong way.

He chuckled, pausing briefly to thank the waiter who had just brought us some drinks, before turning back to me.

"You know, you really didn't have to do that, but thank you," he smiled, "I really appreciate it."

I smiled back sort of awkwardly, shrugging and picking up the glass of cola that had been put next to me, taking a long sip to try and postpone the rest of the conversation.

Luckily, the rest of the meal wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We talked about various things, none of them too serious, and occasionally he asked me a few questions about myself, but I managed to get away with being vague with my answers.

Vashyron ordered a bottle of wine during the main course, insisting that if it was too expensive he would pay for it himself, and forcing me to have a glass with him. I have to admit that I didn't like the taste, and it made me feel kind of light-headed, but he seemed pleased that I was enjoying it, so I continued pretending to, and ended up drinking the whole glass.

After that the evening seemed to pass quite quickly, and before I knew it I was pulling my jacket sleeves back onto my arms, paying the bill and following Vashyron back onto the street. The effects of the wine seemed to be getting to both of us, I more than him, and the conversation on the way home was rather strange. Although, it seemed to be that I was the one doing most of the talking while Vashyron watched me in slight amusement, occasionally making his own input.

"Don't you ever get bored of living here?" I mused as we were walking back across the bridge, fumbling in my jacket pocket with what little change I had left.

"Sure...sometimes," he chuckled, shrugging, "But it's pleasant enough. I mean, the people are nice and it's not too shabby."

"But you could do so much better," I said before I had time to think about what I was doing, "You're so cool and sophisticated and you can do everything."

He laughed, falling into step beside me and wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"I think you've had too much to drink. I am not cool and sophisticated."

"I think you are."

There was a brief silence, before he laughed again, shaking his head, and soon I found that I was laughing, too, despite the fact that I should have been kicking myself at that point. He pulled away from me as we reached the house, unlocking the door and going inside.

"Cool and sophisticated," he scoffed, still laughing to himself, and I couldn't help but start laughing again too as I followed him in, closing the door behind me. After a while I started to get a little dizzy, and I mentioned it to him, but he told me that it was just the wine. He seemed quite amused by it, actually.

"Are you drunk?" he chuckled, raising his eyebrows at me as he threw his keys aside, "You only had, like, one glass of wine."

I shrugged.

"I...I don't know...maybe. What does being drunk feel like?"

He laughed again, patting me on the back roughly, before grabbing my arm to stop me from falling when I stumbled slightly and tripped on a pair of my own boots that were next to the door.

"Woah."

I pulled myself back up straight using the sleeve of his jacket, chuckling and shaking my head, mumbling something about being clumsy, but he didn't seem to care, and instead of answering he reached past me to fasten the chain on the front door.

As he did this, some of his hair brushed across my cheek, and in my slightly intoxicated state I couldn't help but lean a little closer, my line of sight focused on the small section of his collarbone that was visible above his shirt.

He seemed to notice my sudden silence and moved back to look at me, much closer than he had been before, and I stupidly let my gaze settle on his lips for a few seconds. I don't know if he noticed it or not, but he stayed silent for a good few seconds, his eyes fixed on mine, and I suddenly noticed how quiet it was in the house, with nothing but the soft buzz of the television set.

My heart practically did a back flip in my chest as I saw his eyes lower to my own lips briefly. It was barely noticeable, but at this close proximity I definitely saw it. I wasn't sure what to say or do in this situation. My mind was a complete blur. Of course I wanted nothing more than for him to kiss me, but I knew it was just my imagination running wild. Any second now he would move away and everything would go back to normal.

The silence lasted for what felt like forever, both of us just standing there next to the coat hooks, and the longer he was watching me, the harder it was to look away. My mind still felt somewhat fuzzy from the wine, and all I could focus on was how close he was and how good he smelled. I let my eyes wander back down to his lips for a few seconds, and he seemed to take it as a sign, because before I could react to anything his mouth was on mine.

I felt my back hit the front door a few moments after, and the handle was digging into one of my hips, but I found it so hard to care as the kiss continued and became more forceful, and suddenly one of his hands was in my hair. I'm no expert on kissing, but he definitely seemed to know exactly what he was doing, so I let him continue, torn between being unsure of whether or not I should try and kiss him back and being content with him having complete control over me.

I settled for the latter, relaxing against the door as he leaned over me slightly to deepen the kiss, and letting my eyes slip closed as I felt the tips of his fingers run across my scalp to settle against the back of my neck. I wasn't aware of how long the kiss had lasted until he pulled away and I had to take a deep breath to ease the ache in my chest, but before I could even open my eyes I felt his breath on my lips.

"Open your mouth."

His voice was quiet, and I could tell that he was just as breathless as I was, but it didn't sound forced. If anything it sounded slightly...desperate.

In any case, there was no chance I was going to say no, and I was completely focused on said task, but once again, before I could do anything, his lips were on mine, slightly wetter than before. This time it was more forceful than before, too, and if being 'weak in the knees' was a real thing, that's exactly how I would have been at that point.

And then his tongue was in my mouth. I'm not even sure when it happened; as I was still focused on the fact that his lips were touching mine and his hand was now gripping the back of my neck. It felt strange at first, even a little unpleasant; someone else's tongue touching mine, the taste of someone else's saliva in my mouth, but as his other hand found its way onto my waist all of my thoughts seemed to stray elsewhere.

How far was this going to go?

Did I really want this?

However, he seemed to be thinking the same thing, and quite soon after there was a cold space in front of me as he moved away. I did the whole cliché intake of breath after a great kiss that they do in movies, opening my eyes to see him standing further away, looking rather distraught.

"Uh...I...I don't..."

He paced back and forth a few times, before stopping and pointing at me with his hands clasped together.

"Zephyr..."

That was clearly all he could manage to say, before he smiled at me very awkwardly, and then quickly retreated to his bedroom, closing the door.