A/N: I felt like I should write this from one of the characters' perspectives, but then I started writing as one of them and I felt bad for not addressing the other point of view, so I wrote this chapter the same as I did with the kissing chapter where they both tell the story from their own point of view. Since Josh went first in the kissing chapter, Aidan goes first in this chapter. (Also, you could choose to read just one, it'll give you the story line, but if you read both you get both men's perspective on the situation.

Aidan's Point of View

For a moment I thought I would die from the pungent odors of the scented candles. But, when Josh came down the stairs, his aroma filled the room and I felt suddenly at ease. The candle light flickers across his face and I can barely keep my composure. I smile as he gapes at the scene in some sort of bewildered wonder. I can tell that he is going to remain paralyzed until I act, so I pull out the chair that I am leaning on and invite him to sit.

As he shakes out of his confusion and walks slowly over to the seat, he looks at me with a slight sparkle in his eye and asks, "What's all of this?"

"It's been a week since our first night together, so I thought we should celebrate." I know I'll probably have to fess to it being Sally's suggestion eventually; but, for now, he can think that it was all my idea.

"Aidan, I…" He stops at the side of the chair and faces me, leaving only a small space between us. "Thank you." He gives me a slight and gentle kiss on the lips and then allows me to slide the chair in under him.

I take my seat across the corner of the table from his and pour us both a glass of wine. "Wine?" I offer, passing him the glass.

"Oh, so you're trying to get me drunk. I get it now," Josh jokes. He laughs at his own quip and I laugh with him. The gentle creases accompanying his amusement make me feel warm inside; which is something I haven't felt in a very long time.

The laughter dies down after a minute and I realize he still hasn't even touched his food. I'm beginning to wonder if I did something wrong. "Aren't you hungry?"

He looks down with some sort of sudden realization. "Oh, right," he says, picking up his utensils and carving away at the steak. He moves quickly at first, as he usually does at dinner; but, when he remembers the fact that we're on a date, he slows his pace substantially. He takes a far too large bite of steak and I raise my eyebrows at him, and he starts to laugh.

A choking noise comes from the back of his throat at the sudden laughter and I am instantly worried. I rise to my feet, but he waves his hand to dispel my concerns and he swallows quickly. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he coughs out between gasps of laughter. "Sit down; I'm not choking."

I sit, tentatively following his command. When I finally calm down, I say, extremely relieved, "Don't scare me like that." Josh laughs at my melodrama, but I can see he is happy to see that I am so fretful over him. "How does it taste?" I ask, silently hoping I didn't accidentally give him food poisoning.

"It's really good. Other than the choking, I mean." He is clearly joking, but I am finding a bit difficult to laugh at his brush with death. I know 'brush with death' seems a little excessive, but it's true. One thing you learn as an immortal is that life is fragile. I envy Josh's mortality, but I also feel the need to protect him from it.

I see he's cutting off another, even larger piece from the steak, and I put my hand on top of his forearm, "Maybe you should take smaller bites." At first he looks a little offended, probably thinking I am treating him like a child, but he quickly realizes that I am just worried he'll choke again and he obliges, cutting the piece in half before eating it.

After he swallows, he takes a deep breath through is nose. "Did you buy scented candles?" He inquires speculatively.

"Yeah. You like them, right?" I've told him before that I hate the smells.

"Yeah… But, you probably can't stand it. We should just put them out." He begins to stand but I put a hand on his shoulder and sit him back down.

"Josh. It's fine. Besides, I can't smell them over your wolf scent." He looks self-conscious all of a sudden and so I quickly reassure him. "No. Don't worry," I extend my hand and rest it on his forearm. "I like your scent."

He looks a little puzzled. "I thought vampires hated were-smell?" I look at him without responding and, after a long moment, he realizes that I like his smell. A look of satisfaction washes over his face at the understanding and smiles his cute little smile.

It's a little strange: we usually talk about all sorts of random stuff at dinner, but tonight we seem to be unable to just talk. He eats and I watch, both of us wearing stupid grins. But, after a while, I feel like the silence needs to be broken, so I ask that most generic of questions: "Anything happen at work today?"

Josh finishes the bite of the potato he was chewing and starts in on one of his infamous work stories. "Okay, so I was wheeling Mr. Peterson - you know Mr. Peterson, right? The older guy with dementia and cancer? It's so sad." He stops for a moment to emphasize the sadness of the man's situation. But then he continues animatedly with his story. "Anyways, I was wheeling him down the hallway when we passed this nurse. She was wearing scrubs that were at least two sizes too small, so they were way to tight. Mr. Peterson noticed her assets, as if anyone couldn't have, and totally just reached over and grabbed her ass." I roar with laughter as he finishes his tale, and he laughs along with me.

By the time we've both finished laughing, Josh has finished the meal and leaned back in his chair, slowly drinking his wine. "So," I say, pushing the rest of the laughter out of my voice but retaining my large smile, "You want to go sit on the couch?"

He tips his glass back, finishing off the rest of his wine. Then, standing and grabbing my hand, he practically whispers, "I think I have a better idea." He pulls me up and practically drags me up the stairs, turning every few steps and meeting my eyes. I swear, he's almost being seductive.

"Josh, where are we -" My question gets cut off as we reach the door to his room and I see the undeniably romantic scene. There are rose petals and white sheets. Candlelight flickers and lights the room at varying intervals. There is a distinct lack of scent in the room, however; and, I realize that Josh has done the same thing I did. Just like I got the frou-frou candles for him, he got the unscented candles for me. I look at him adoringly and he returns the gaze. "So… Now what?"

I'm still a little concerned that I might lose control with him, but he reassures me with his eyes and his movements. He pulls me into the room and wraps his arms around my waist, kissing me gently. "That depends," he says between tasting my lips. "What do you want to do?"

He runs his hand up my back and I have to take a deep breath to keep from freaking out completely. "Josh… I…"

"It's okay," he whispers in my ear, gently swaying us back and forth. "I trust you."

Josh's Point of View

I can't believe the scene before my eyes. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of dates and courtship and chivalry and all that; but, I didn't think Aidan did. He's been around so long that I figured he must just be over all the trite little romantic gestures. But this. This is amazing. The music, the candles, the smell of the food, the way he's looking at me like I'm the only person in the world. It all makes me feel so… special.

He pulls out a chair and offers it to me. Pulling myself back out of my thoughts and into the real world, I walk over to the chair. "What's all of this?" I ask, gesturing to the various items of romance in the room.

"It's been a week since our first night together, so I thought we should celebrate." I am freaking out a little bit internally. There is very little chance that what I've put together upstairs will stack up to this huge romantic gesture. I'm suddenly realizing why Sally was looking so devious earlier: she knew we were both planning dates that the other knew nothing of.

I stop next to the chair, standing as close as I can to him without having us touch. "Aidan, I…" There's so much I want to say to him, but I can't find the words; so, instead, I kiss him lightly and whisper, "Thank you." I go to sit down and he slides the chair under me, practicing his chivalry like always. Even though it makes me feel good to have him be so protective, I sometimes feel like I act the part of the girl in the relationship too well.

Aidan sits down diagonally from me. I am lost in thought for a moment, and then he offers me a glass of wine. "Oh," I begin jokingly, "so you're trying to get me drunk. I get it now." Always the picture of social grace, I begin laughing at my own joke before he does. Aidan doesn't laugh all that often, but he will always laugh at my jokes, and his laughter always enhances my amusement.

"Aren't you hungry?" he asks as our laughter begins to die down. I suddenly realize that I haven't even touched my food yet. I did get around to eating at the hospital, so it's not like I'm starving; but everything smells so good that I begin to dig in.

I'm used to eating quickly since Aidan and Sally don't eat at dinner, so I am attacking my meal with very little manners. But, it occurs to me that this is a date, which means that I should not be eating this quickly. So I slow down. I cut off a piece of the steak that is far too large to chew, but I don't realize its size until it's in my mouth.

Seeing the amount of food I just took in, Aidan has a sort of shocked look on his face. I try to laugh, but all that comes out around the meat is a sort of choking sound. His expression goes from amused to concerned in under a second. He starts to stand, but I wave him back down and swallow hard. "I'm fine, I'm fine," I say between coughs. "Sit down; I'm not choking."

He sits with a speculative look on his face. After a moment of him examining me to make sure I'm okay, Aidan sighs, "Don't scare me like that." I have to laugh at his overly dramatic response to the relatively minor situation. It is nice to know that he is so concerned about me, though. "How does it taste?" he asks cautiously. I had completely forgotten that he has different taste than I do, so it was probably really difficult for him to tell if he was cooking the food correctly. It is good, not fantastic, but definitely better than would be expected. "It's really good," I say. No reason to sully the mood, right? Then I joke, "Other than the choking, I mean."

Just as I finish cutting another piece of the steak, Aidan places his hand on my arm. "Maybe you should take smaller bites." I look down and see that the piece I just cut off is even bigger than the one I choked on earlier, so, feeling his concern in the look in his eyes, I cut it in half and he removes his hand so I can continue eating.

After I swallow the smaller piece of meat, I take a deep, soothing breath in through my nose. A number of flowery scents fill my nostrils. Looking around the room, I realize that all of these candles are scented. "Did you buy scented candles?"

He looks just a little proud of himself. "Yeah. You like them, right?"

I feel both doted on and guilty. "Yeah… But, you probably can't stand it." I stand to stop the candles, saying, "We should just put them out."

He places his hand on my shoulder and gives me a non-verbal cue to sit back down. "Josh. It's fine. Besides, I can't smell them over your wolf scent." I'm suddenly very embarrassed. I just took a shower and I literally scrubbed every inch of my body. No matter how OCD I am, that wolf smell is probably never coming off of me. He must have noticed my flushed face, because he quickly reassured me, "No. Don't worry. I like your scent."

I am really confused now. "I thought vampires hated were-smell?" He looks at me with some sort of hidden meaning in his eyes. What is he trying to - Oh, okay. I get it. He likes my smell. As in, 'even though I think most werewolves smell like mangy dogs, you smell nice because you are special to me.' I am so contented to have him imply my importance to him that a smile leaks out onto my face, and I'm afraid it may stay there forever.

We sit in silence for a while. I eat and Aidan watches me; pretty normal as far as we go. Then, out of nowhere, Aidan asks, "Anything happen at work today?"

I finish the food I have in my mouth and then immediately think of one of the funniest things that happened at work today. "Okay, so I was wheeling Mr. Peterson - you know Mr. Peterson, right? The older guy with dementia and cancer?" I know I'm awkward, but even I understood that was a little too insensitive, so I pause a moment to indicate the severity of the man's situation. "It's so sad. Anyways, I was wheeling him down the hallway when we passed this nurse. She was wearing scrubs that were at least two sizes too small, so they were way to tight. Mr. Peterson noticed her assets, as if anyone couldn't have, and totally just reached over and grabbed her ass." Aidan howled with laughter. I know it was funny, but I didn't think it was that funny. But, his outburst of laughter forces me to laugh with him.

I finish eating and sip my wine while he continues to simmer down from the giggles. When he is finally done laughing, he asks, still smiling, "So… You want to go sit on the couch?"

Now's the time. I mentally prepare myself to take him upstairs. Then I realize there's wine in my hand and I tip the glass back, finishing off every last drop. I grab his hand and rise to my feet. "I think I have a better idea," I say, trying to put some innuendo in my voice.

I pull him up the stairs to the room, turning every so often and trying to be as sexy as possible. I don't think I have nearly the experience in this field as Aidan does. I'm also still a little concerned about the wolf, but I think I'm far enough from the full moon to control it. Of course, the adorably confused look on his face is quite reassuring.

"Josh, where are we -" he begins, but is cut off by the sight of the room. He seems lost in thought for a moment, but then he looks at me with a sort of vast intimacy in his eyes. "So…" he asks, "Now what?"

I pull him into the room and kiss him gently, wrapping my arms around his waist. "That depends," I say while I take a break from our gentle lip-lock. "What do you want to do?"

I trace my hand up his spine, and I feel his body stiffen slightly. "Josh… I…"

I can tell he is concerned about his self-control, so I start to sway us back and forth. "It's okay," I reassure him. "I trust you."

At least, as much as I trust myself.

A/N: Okay, so I like showing the relationship from two perspectives, but the repetition of plot seems a bit redundant. What do you think? Should I keep writing with both POV's, or should I just choose one? And if I choose one, which one should I do?