ofcatsandfate | I knew the pathway like the back of my hand. {For Demetri}

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I knew the pathway like the back of my hand. {For Demetri}

Fabrice is exhausted when the witches' meeting finally breaks up. He sends his cats home ahead of him, wanting them to be able to rest and not having the energy to conjure up a glamour for them. His head feels sluggish from the wine and the volley of seemingly never ending arguments, especially between his cousin and Nerium. He loves Moira, but he worries that her stubbornness is going to get her in trouble one day, no matter how justified she feels in how she acts.

He lets out a sigh, wrapping his arms around himself as he makes his way through the park, much too consumed by his own thoughts to bother calling for a cab of any sort. Besides, he enjoys walking, even if his pace tonight is slowed by both his weariness from the meeting and lingering aspects of last night.

Last night. He finds himself smiling as thoughts and images of Demetri flicker through his mind, those blue eyes, that damned bewitching smile; his cheeks warm at the memories of his scorching kisses and sweeping touches. And then falling asleep with and waking up to the other man the next morning. He makes a wistful noise, not quite a sigh, at the thought of returning to a home without Demetri in it.

Then memories of the witches' meeting creep back into his thoughts again and Fabrice wishes, for once in his life, that he smoked.

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He’s only in the park because he’s cutting through it. It’s a shortcut back to his makeshift office, and thereby back to his car. His plan is to go home, to check on June and Daniel and maybe see if James is at his place and wants to have a few beers or take part in movie night like they were all kids again. A normal night, the sort of thing he would have done before he’d gotten wrapped up in Fabrice. His father is sure to comment soon on the fact Demetri is home even less, and with James back he’s trying again to play the good son.

But intentions only go so far, and seeing Fabrice in the park derails all his plans. “Hey Junebug, I’ll have to call you back. Start the movie without me, okay? Yeah, I swear, I’ll be home.”

He shuts the phone and veers across the park. “Hey. Looking for something?”

Fabrice turns when he hears a familiar voice speaking into a phone and the previous, ridiculous grin upon his face reappears along with a slight flush. Giddiness fills his chest like air in his lungs as he begins walking towards Demetri. It feels like something out of a mystery, or one of the old, 19th century romantic classics, running into Demetri in the middle of the night in the park.

"Yes, and I just found it," he grins. He wants to throw himself upon the other man and kiss him madly, but they are in public and he doesn't know how comfortable Demetri would be with that.

It may be public, but it's also fairly late, the park is empty enough that Demetri risks it. It's a quick kiss still, though he rests his hand on Fabrice's cheek for a moment longer. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you had done something to me."

A joke, but perhaps a poor one, the rumours and stories of the curse considered. "Only I'm pretty sure I did something right back."

He grins at the kiss and the way Demetri's hand lingers on his cheek, taking comfort from the warmth seeping through from his touch. Brief, to be sure, but potent all the same. He's convinced this is Demetri's own form of magic.

"Yes, you did," he replies, eyes glowing as brightly as his cheeks. "And I have to say, I very much regret nothing."

He's thrilled in a way beyond attraction at happening upon Demetri in the park. Something about Demetri just makes Fabrice feel at ease, more of himself in the world.

His hand drops away, only to linger near Fabrice's own before Demetri finally pulls back to a respectable distance. There's taking a change and being a fool, and Demetri doesn't treasure the idea of being on the front page of one of the Siren Cove rags tomorrow. It was bad enough there were pictures from after his brother's return, but those at least didn't involve much explaining to his father.

"I'd hate to think that you did." They're not just words though it's the sort of thing he's said to many through the years. This time they feel different to him. "I didn't think to see you out tonight."

Fabrice's own hand curls in on itself when Demetri pulls his hand away; as much as he understands why, he still aches to entwine his fingers with Demetri's. But he knows that even the brief kiss they just shared could bring unwanted attention to them both, so he remains where he stands.

"I could never regret such a wonderful evening," he replies, his own words leaden with significance as he catches upon that beneath the other man's words. Even if they can't touch, just standing here with Demetri makes Fabrice dizzy in the best of ways. "I didn't plan on being out tonight," he admits, running a hand through his hair and thinking about the witches meeting he'd just left. "But obligations have a way of sneaking up on you like that."

Even chatting in the park has its dangers, but Demetri knows he can laugh off any rumours that start because of that. Mocking the curse obliquely by pointing out that Siren Cove's prominent citizens had a duty to their fair town often worked.

"Family?" He looks the way that Fabrice came from and where he was heading. "Don't tell me Moira has you watching movies all night the same June wants with me?"

Fabrice is aware that standing around with Demetri in the park, for all of its innocent appearance, could be taken the wrong way if some wayward photographer happened to snap a picture of them, especially at this hour. He does feel exposed, having already spent so much time in public as it was that night. Still, they're not currently in any compromising positions, at least.

"Sort of? Witches' meeting," he admits without thinking, before his eyes widen and he clamps his hand over his mouth. "Shit," he grimaces when he pulls his hands away. "I probably wasn't supposed to tell you that."

The words 'witches meeting' ring in his head and he stiffens, immediately wondering if these are formal, regular gatherings. Shoudl he inform the Mayor? He'll discuss it with James, he's already decided when he realises that Fabrice seems worried about what he's said. "No, it's fine. I'm sure it's fine."

"I hope so," he groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Leave it to me to screw the whole secrecy thing up. But God, was it long." Once he starts rambling, he can't seem to stop himself in front of Demetri. "At one point, I almost thought Moira was going to set Nerium on fire."

He wants to tell Fabrice to stop talking, to stop telling him the names of other witches. But he can't, even if he feels more like a spy than a friend and lover in that moment. "It didn't go well? Somehow it sounds like a dinner with the Thorntons."

Fabrice realizes afterwards that he's probably said too much. He winces, but he's also tired from having to deal with an entire room full of witches, Riley Jung being the one exception. "Or a dinner at my aunt's," he shudders, remembering the last time he had eaten over at Aunt Violet's manor, just before his own attack. Something about that seems funny to him, but he pays it no further mind, recalling the copious amounts of awkward silences and glares.

"Our families are such fun, aren't they?" He muses, his tone heavily sardonic.

"I think you have a seriously messed up sense of fun," he has to say, touching Fabrice's hip lightly, almost so quickly as to be an accident. "See, to me fun would be getting you back into your bed and not leaving it for at least eight hours."

"Funny you say that," he grins, heart racing faster as the brief collision of Demetri's hand with his hip. He finds himself warming more from just the two glasses of wine he'd consumed during the meeting. "I was just on my way back to my bed, if you'd care to join me and help me, er, redefine my definition?"

Demetri shakes his head, and he'd be sad if he wasn't going to see his brother and sister. Still, he wants to, something tugging at his gut. This is bad, he thinks, like an addiction. "Family obligations. I've promised I'll watch a movie with June and James."

"Oh, well, of course you must go with them," Fabrice nods, managing to keep his disappointment to himself. He is certainly not anticipating returning home alone, indeed, the more he thinks of it, the more he dreads it, but he would never deny Demetri time with his family. "Especially your brother, after everything. How is he holding up?"

"Good. I mean, I foisted June off on him, so there's a chance she's mid makeover or inundating him with fashion advice he's not going to listen to, but it's only a chance." He laughs, knowing that of all the Thornton siblings Demetri is the one most likely to let June play her version of dress up. "But.. I don't have to go yet. I have a little while. Walk with me?"

"That June of yours sounds mildly terrifying," he observes, thinking she would most likely blanch at the state of his wardrobe. "But I'm glad to hear he's doing well and has her to look after him."

"Yes, of course," he answers instantly, happy to have at least a little more time with Demetri even if it wasn't as much as he would like. "It's a good night for walking, I think." He falls in beside Demetri as he begins to walk, unable to keep the dorky smile from his face.

"She is definitely a force of nature," he says affectionately. June may be intense at times, but he loves that about her.

"Good," he says with a quirking smile. It feels strange to be nervous. He's sure Lara would laugh at the very idea"I- I have a busy week at work. But maybe I can come by one night?"

"I always wanted to have siblings," he admits, dwelling on his old dreams of a full and happy family. Of course, his father's early demise and his mother's inability to move on from it put the idea of siblings out of the question. "Especially a sister, I think. But then, I have my cousins."

Fabrice blushes at the question, because it sort of sounds like a date, and he can't keep the hopefulness out of his voice.

"Oh, of course! What night works best for you?" He tries not to sound overly eager, but he suspects he fails, judging from the way the corners of his mouth hurt from smiling so much.

"It's not all it's cracked up to be," Demetri says with a laugh, even though he's lying. There's nothing he wouldn't do for his brothers and his sister, even if they drove him crazy sometimes. "Cousins might be nice. There aren't a lot of us. I always used to wonder why."

The curse, again, but he's not going to say that now. Even if he's implied it, he doesn't want to dwell, letting his hand touch Fabrice's as they walk. "Tuesday is council night... Wednesday?"

"I totally believe you," he grins, catching the overwhelming fondness behind the other man's words. He obviously cares deeply for his siblings, and his delightful laughter shows that. Fabrice thinks he could listen to him laugh all night and never grow tired of the sound. "My cousins feel like siblings, anyway."

Fabrice thinks, from the implications in Demetri's tone, that he is referring to the curse. But he doesn't dwell on it, distracted pleasantly by the feel of Demetri's hand against his own. He smiles. "I work late Tuesdays, so Wednesday would be perfect," he says, already anticipating it.

“Should I bring take out?” He’s not much of a cook, when it comes down to it. He works late, buying meals or raiding the Thornton kitchens for whatever their cooks have made and left for him. He’s looking forward to it as well, as loathe as he is to admit it aloud. That isn’t to say he doesn’t appreciate food, because he certainly does. “Or are you one of those people who understands what happens in kitchens?”

"I can't cook to save my life," Fabrice admits with a sheepish grin. "I almost set my kitchen on fire attempting to make popcorn, once. So, yes, take out would be wonderful." Even magic couldn't save his wretched cooking; he knows this because he tried, several times.

He wishes he could say he was something of a chef, but he spent most of his life eating his mother's amazing cooking, and when he'd moved out on his own, considering that the zoo had a cafe of its own as well as having several other places nearby it, eating out just seemed the more suitable option.

"If you bring take out, I'll bring dessert," he offers, already having an idea in mind.

"I think that's a record, even for me," he says with a laugh. "Burning popcorn? You'll be burning water next."

Demetri is just teasing, and he hopes that Fabrice knows that. "Then I'll bring dinner and dessert..." He takes a step away to look Fabrice up and down hungrily. "I think you'd already have brought that."

"Don't give my lack of cooking skills any ideas," he grins back, recognizing the teasing and actually enjoying it, though he still blushes, of course. "Next thing you know, I'll be burning air, too."

His blushing only increases when Demetri steps away from him and looks at him like he's the shiniest option on the menu, his breathing growing ragged in the process.

"Well, there's always room for two desserts?" It sounds lame as hell, but Fabrice is still working on the whole flirting thing, and to be honest, it's difficult for him to concentrate when Demetri is devouring him with his eyes and he is staring back.

“Until Wednesday then,” he says softly. Demetri’s smile freezes as he glances over Fabrice’s shoulder, noticing two people in the park chatting and watching them. This walk was too good to be true after all. His face changes, schooling to casual interest, holding out a hand to shake as if this were a business meeting. “I guess we should head off now.”

"Yes, until then," he nods back, until he notices the way the smile freezes on Demetri's face. He follows the other man's gaze over to where two strangers are watching them from the other side of the park. Fabrice feels his heart drop into his stomach; he hopes they didn't see much.

As much as it pains him, he watches Demetri's face fall into its usual, carefully composed mask. He tries to do the same with his face, but he knows he's not nearly as structured as the other man's. He shakes his hand and gives him another nod.

"I hope you have a good night," he says, keeping his voice level.

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I knew the pathway like the back of my hand. {For Demetri}

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