The pensive piano that greeted Cardin as he stepped up to the front door told him that he wasn't the only one plagued with troubled thoughts that evening. Keary might not be in the habit of verbalising his feelings in words, but the emotions that manifested in his music were always telling and honest. Something must be weighing on his mind tonight, for him to be playing so sombrely.
As expected, Keary was sitting at the piano in the far end of the living room, seemingly so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t look up when Cardin let himself into the house. But just as Cardin concluded that the dark-haired boy hadn’t noticed his return, a lighter, happier note wove itself into the melodies, shifting it into something less melancholic.
Feeling his mood lift together with the music, Cardin crossed the room to stand behind Keary, who shot him a fleeting glance and a brief smile over his shoulder to acknowledge his presence, before turning his attention back to the piano.
On a whim, Cardin reached to cover his lover's eyes. The gesture earned him another smile and a low, pleasant laugh. Accepting the unspoken test of his skill, Keary continued to play without sight, effortlessly conjuring the stream of harmony from the black and white keys under his sure, graceful hands. The tune shimmered and soared, like a newly-reborn butterfly, pushing out of its chrysalis to discover its wings for the first time, meandering among rays of soft, peaceful sunlight. Without realising it, Cardin let his eyes flutter closed as Keary’s song washed over him in wave after comforting wave.
When the song came to an end, its last notes still hovering in the air, Keary made no move to withdraw the cold palms from over his eyes. Instead, he simply lifted his face in Cardin's direction, waiting. Smiling, Cardin bent down to press a light, lingering kiss on the expectant mouth as he combed his fingers through the dark hair. Only when he pulled away, did the silver eyes open to gaze up at him tenderly.
“You're back.”
“I am.”
"How did your day go?" Keary took Cardin’s hands and brought them to his lips. His warmth felt good on Cardin's icy fingers.
“I was late, of course. Very late. I’d be surprised if that didn’t immediately paint a target on my back.”
“Honestly, I didn’t think you were actually still gonna go at that point." Keary gave a small laugh. "Did anyone give you trouble?”
“You mean other than you?”
Keary’s eyebrows flew up. “Oh? Coming three times was troublesome for you? My deepest apologies. I shall do better next time,” he teased as he drew Cardin into his lap. “How about seven in a row? Or maybe we’ll aim for an even ten?”
"That's…" Cardin gave a faint laugh, trying to hide his alarm even as he blushed. He could still remember how weak his legs had been when Keary finally freed him, and how it had felt to sprint around on them. He was not eager to replicate the experience. “I think you’ll be humping a brain-dead vegetable.”
“Nonsense. You're extremely robust, you'll take it just fine.”
Making a face, Cardin squished Keary's cheeks with one hand in an effort to distort the dark-haired boy's crooked smile and stop his rubbish babble. But as his other hand fell to Keary's chest, he paused.
"Hmm? My tie…" It had been washed and ironed, and although it was clear to see that Keary still had close to no clue how to knot it properly, a valiant attempt had been made.
"I still can't do it as well as you." Soft silver met the cerulean blue that looked up at him. "I'm sorry if I got you into trouble today… but only just a little bit," he couldn't help adding, lips twitching.
Cardin made a grumpy sound to mask the shyness he felt in response to Keary's sudden switch to sincerity. "They got over it. Just… don't make me late again."
"Mmmm…" Keary leaned in. "Don't tempt me."
"You're incorrigible."
The mischievous smile widened, even as Keary feigned misunderstanding. "I'm what? Porridge? Are you saying you’d like to slurp me up? Or perhaps—"
Cardin yanked on the tie to pull the other boy into another kiss. It was the first thing he could think of to shut Keary up, but he wasn't prepared for the hunger in the mouth that met his. The arms that had been loosely looped around Cardin's middle wrapped themselves tighter around him, and he moaned softly against Keary’s tongue as it found its way in. As they refamiliarised themselves with each other’s taste, Cardin felt his yearning for the other boy grow.
Sometimes, he still couldn’t believe that Keary had actually let him in, that their days of tiptoeing around each other were finally at an end. He found himself captivated by Keary’s smiles and laughter, both the warm and the wicked, adored their lively banter, and revelled in being enveloped by the other boy as they searched out and learned one another… just like now. He pressed his body closer, wordlessly demanding more.
Playfulness gone, Keary released a shaky breath, then rose from the piano bench, lifting Cardin together with him. Cardin clung on, curling his legs around Keary’s waist to secure himself, refusing to break the kiss even when Keary laid him down on the couch. He clasped the dark-haired boy to himself, eager for the feeling of Keary’s weight resting upon him, the certainty of his affection.
Keary's fingers were already at work on the buttons of Cardin's shirt when he paused.
"Where did you go today? You're not in uniform."
“Oh… I went to do the, um…” The child and her radiant smile flashed in Cardin's mind. “I have a question, actually. It's about the job you assigned me."
"Hmm. Well, your boss is right here so…" Keary nuzzled against Cardin's neck, "ask away." The smell of the cold night air was still on the boy, mixing with his scent. Pressing his lips to the place where the pulse jumped in the milky-white throat, Keary breathed in deep, filling his lungs with Cardin’s aroma and letting it cleanse the pungent memory of all the blood he’d shed that day.
Cardin swallowed. “I went to the, um, kinder… garten, and I found the… uh…” It was a struggle to keep his thoughts from slipping out of his grasp as Keary started to kiss his way downward. His clothes parted under the other boy's knowing touch, which was just the right balance of gentle and insistent.
"What did you find? I'm listening." The whisper ghosted over Cardin's skin, but the goosebumps barely had time to rise when the moist heat of Keary’s mouth encased one of his nipples.
Cardin bit his lip and twisted his face aside. “I found… I'm finding it really… hard to… to focus when you’re doing that.”
Impish silver twinkled up at him. "Is that the only thing that's really hard?" Ever so slightly, he shifted his weight, adjusting his body so that his arousal nudged between Cardin's legs. Cardin arched as the movement awakened an ache within him, an intense craving to be satisfied by his lover’s body. But he couldn't resist a quip.
“This morning wasn’t enough for you?” he asked breathlessly.
“Never enough.” Keary’s eyes softened as he gazed at the beautiful blue-eyed boy lying beneath him. “I missed you today.”
Cardin’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t wanted to say it, because he’d thought himself ridiculous for missing Keary in the few hours he’d been out. But over the last few weeks, between working at the café and school preparations, he had spent every other possible moment together with Keary, and Cardin had gotten restless going through the day without the other boy’s constant company.
“I missed you too,” he murmured.
His question could wait. There would be time for it later. Right now, the most important thing on his to-do list was to reacquaint his body with Keary’s, to find a moment of relief from the guilt and uncertainty that had been plaguing him all evening. There would be time to talk about that later.
Catching the tie that was dangling between them, Cardin tugged Keary in again. The jerk elicited a grunt from Keary, but it got lost in the meeting of their mouths. The flavour of urgency in their kiss quickly grew stronger, and Cardin couldn’t help but moan in anticipation when Keary drew Cardin’s hands above the golden head, clasping them with fingers intertwined. He rolled his hips against Cardin’s, his movements slow but fluid, until all Cardin could think about was baring himself completely, to offer himself up to Keary for the taking.
As if reading his mind, Keary’s lips curved against his. “So pliant tonight. Looks like three really wasn’t enough for you.”
He released Cardin and sat back, holding the lust-laden cerulean gaze with his own as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt with purposeful delay. Impatiently, Cardin reached to help him pull it off, only to find his tie coiled around his wrists, binding them together.
At his look of surprise, Keary’s smirk broadened. He was just opening his mouth to say something cheeky, when they were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.
