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Welcome to Atlantis Academy! (Lia && Chokuro)

Raphael snorted. "You're probably right." He agreed, shaking his head a bit. Those two were running a zoo, he swore. He sighed before looking up at him. He wanted him to stay? He smiled before his purple eyes rolled at the comment. "Damn! I so wanted to have fantasies of having a threeway with you two. That yummy merman was definitely something to behold." He smirked and stuck his tongue out before he laughed and took the last bite of his food and pushed hte plate away a little more. "Delicious meal, Cay."
 
"He is." Even before they'd started dating, Caden would never have denied Uriel's beauty. "It's probably what drew me to him in the first place... The sex was just a bonus." It was amazing to him how easy this conversation came between the two of them. Of course, it amazed the blond that they were even having any sort of conversation after their past. But talking about his sex life wasn't something that came easily to Caden, even with the person he was currently dating. "Besides. His looks were purely the reason that I asked him to pretend to be dating me when you first showed up." He hadn't admitted that he'd asked Uriel that favor to anyone, and the wonderful man that he was, his friend never mentioned it. Maybe the wine was loosening his mouth a bit too much...
 
Raphael looked over at the other, smiling warmly. "I can imagine." He admitted with a chuckle, shaking his head a few times. "Definitely a gorgeous man, that one. " He sighed softly before he paused at his words. "You faked him as your boyfriend?" He laughed lightly, lifting his head to look over at the man, smiling a little bit more. "I never suspected. But hey! he turned into the real thing, and apparently, the sex was good. Bonus!" He grinned and finsihed off his food, gently pushing the plate aside to take his wine glass.
 
He shrugged the comment off and stood, taking both of their plates back into the kitchen and setting them in the sink to be taken care of later. "So what are you going to do now?" Caden knew that Raphael didn't lack for funds, but really (to his knowledge, at least) the redhead didn't do well when he was on his own. The blond had to wonder if his ex had been on his own the whole time from when he left to when he showed back up again. He doubted it. Moving back over to the table, Caden refilled their glasses and nodded towards the living room, moving over to sit on the sofa as he did. "Nikkos would give you a job here if you wanted...though Uriel might kill you on sight..."
 
Raphael stood and followed him into the living room. He sat and pulled one knee to his chest while his eyes stared at the liquid in his glass. He snorted and shook his head al ittle. "I think too many would want me dead if I were to work here." He sighed heavily, biting his bottom lip before he snorted. "I'm pathetic. I came here because of you. Even after all I did to you, I still expect you to pick up my pieces." He sighed heavily and sipped more of the wine. He closed his eyes before looking over at Caden once more. "I'm sorry, Cay. I know I've said it before, but I just ... I never should have hurt you. I'm ... such ... a shit head. Feel free to agree.' he smiled gently and turned to the glass once more. "i'll only stay tonight, okay? Maybe I'll go back to the states or something... Not that I want to, but I don't want to hinder your life...."
 
Go back to the states? Caden worried his bottom lip in between his teeth a bit with the thought as he attempted to sort out the rush of emotions that crashed over him with that one tiny sentence. He was confused...kind of. His heart told him that if Raphael did leave, he'd miss him. But his head told him that he shouldn't miss someone who had hurt him so terribly. Still, the blond couldn't really help it, could he? "I... I'd miss you if you left Italy." The words were spoken so softly that Caden wasn't sure if Raphael would hear them. And if he didn't? The vampire didn't know if he'd have the strength to utter them again. He sighed a little and kept his attention to his now half-empty glass of wine, unsure of what sort of position he'd just put them both in.
 
Raphael perked up. His eyes fluttered to the other and he remained silent for a few more moments. "Miss me?" he repeated, not quite sure he heard him properly. He felt far too conflicted. He was happy that he would be missed. That Caden still had some feelings for him, btu then, he knew that it would probably only be awful for them to have feelings again. "But ... How could you? I ... I've been so awful to you, Caden..." he let his eyes sink to his own glass of wine, staring at the liquid. "I don't deserve you. I never deserved you... I always made rash decisions from teh start and you forgave me every time... I fucked up your whole life and you were fine. I ... I took the trust you gave me and broke it. Made it crash and burn. All for what? A freak out? I ... I don't deserve you."
 
"I never said you did," he agreed, still speaking to his glass more than to Raphael. Speaking directly to his ex would hurt too much. "But I can't help it, can I?" Caden sighed as he sorted his thoughts into something coherent. "It doesn't make sense, I know it. But... But because of those rash decisions you became so intricately woven into my life. Even after all this time it feels like something is...missing." He shrugged and drank the rest of his wine in one gulp, needing something to occupy his mouth so that he wouldn't continue to say stupid things.
 
Raphael pulled his knees to his chest, letting hte heels of his feet set onto the edge of the chair. He rested his chin on his knees and his eyes to the glass, not able to look at Caden either. "I ... know. Even after all this time, the one question I keep coming back to is why. Why did I leave you? Why was I such a fool? And now, I know I have no right to, but I can't help but ... want to be with you. Even if just as a friend. I never expect you to take me back as a lover. You do not deserve that heartache, but I just want you in my life. I need you in my life. Your letters were... the best things to have happened to me." He slowly lifted his eyes to look at him, scared of what the other would look like.
 
The corner of his mouth turned up a little with the thought of the letters. "Those letters were my release," he answered. "They were my way of allowing some of the anger out. And Uriel. He may want to kill you, but he helped me to allow you back into my life." The blond fell silent then. His thoughts and emotions were quickly becoming too much for him to continue to process and he sighed. "I think I should go to bed..." He needed to be able to decompress. "There are towels in the bathroom closet." Caden stood and pointed down the hall. "And extra blankets in there, too. I, um, I have classes tomorrow so I'll be up early but you're...more than welcome to stay." The blond bent down and brushed his lips across Raphael's cheek before standing once more and retreating towards his room.
 
Raphael remained silent. Watching the man walk off and his heart skipped a few times when his lips brushed his cheek. He buried his face into his thighs, a smile to his lips and he relaxed a little bit more. He really was the worst. He wanted to make things right, but knew anything he tried would only fuck it up. He just was happy with Caden being around him. He would be so very happy just to have him in his life.
 
Caden laid in bed awake for a long time. What was he getting himself into? He'd corner Uriel in the morning before classes. At least he knew that his friend would give it to him straight. And it wasn't as if he was going into anything blinded: he knew Raphael's flaws...he'd been with the man for centuries! But to think about accepting the man back into his life in the same way he once had twisted him inside. It made his stomach flutter with happiness and it made his heart recoil deep into his chest to protect itself from being hurt once more. The blond spent a fitful night tossing and turning, not getting much sleep at all and sneaking out of the rooms before Raphael even awoke to sit outside of Uriel's room until his friend woke up.
 
Uriel opened the door, pausing instantly when he saw the other in fornt of him. "Um ... You know I've got a boyfriend, right?" He stared down at the blond, not quite sure why he was here. He knew that they would pop over from time to time to have a little romp around, but that was when they were both single. Now, he was taken. By a lovely man, that he did not wish to hurt either.
 
Caden looked up and stuck his tongue out at Uriel. "Shut up and brew some coffee please." He stood and pushed his way into the room, plopping himself down at the dining room table and allowing his head to fall forward. The blond's forehead gave a 'thunk' as it hit the glass tabletop. "Wyatt's gone. Raphael showed up. I feel like I'm looking in on my life through an out-of-body experience. I'm confused and I'd crawl back into bed and tell Tomias to find someone to cover my classes if I thought I'd be able to sleep until everything sorted itself out." He looked up. "How's your morning?"
 
Uriel arched a brow at the other, doing as he said nonetheless. He started up everything before turning to the ever-so-depressed man in front of him. He listened with quite the wide-eyes expression as his tale was told. "Well. Quite lovely. I had some nice morning sex before he went off to do ... whatever it was." He shook his head and moved to sit in front of him. "Raphael's back? Didn't you ... go to see him last year to confess your love or something?" He remembered the other coming back so very broken and, well, the make up sex was lovely!
 
"Yes...no...sort of?" Groaning, Caden recounted that day to Uriel, still finding the predicament that he had put Raphael in a bit humerus. "So I just left," he finished with a little shrug. "What was I going to do? Throw myself at him or something?" That just wasn't his style, no matter how much he wanted something...or someone. "But I still felt the same way then!" the blond insisted. "I knew that I was being stupid for still loving him! He hurt me once. What's to say he won't do it again? I'm scared that I feel this way about him."
 
Reaching forward, Uriel picked up the man's left ring finger, holding it between his fingertips and wiggling the digit a little. "Put a ring on him, baby. It's harder to run away when you are married. And if he does, then you just track his ass down, sue him for all he's worth, and take the money and leave him with the kids." not that they had kids -that he knew of - but just in general. He shrugged, letting go of his hand and pulling his own back to where he was. "That's if you want him back, of course. I hate him for what he did t oyou, but you ... do seem to go together well. And you seem to constantly be drawn back to him. Hell. Make it a stipulation. If you get together, you demand a ring. Or something."
 
"I...I can't do that!" Well, he could. But really, Raphael had given him everything he'd wanted when he left, even without the ring. "I...I'd want a ring because he doesn't want to live without me. Not because I coerced him into it." The blond sighed and let his head fall back down onto the table with another thud. "Why can't someone just tell me what to do?" he asked, only half joking. Someone telling him what to do in this situation would make everything so much easier...
 
Uriel sighed heavily and leaned toward the man once more. "Sweetie. If you're making this big of a deal about it, then you obviously still care about him. I know that's not the debate, but give it time. See how you like him in your life for a month or a few. If you still have the same feelings of wanting him in your life as your lover, then deal with the emotions then." He shrugged and stood up to get two cups of coffee for them. "Maybe he has changed. He could have grown up, matured..."
 
Caden snorted. "It's Raphael. Of course he hasn't." The blond had no illusions about his ex and what he was (or was not) capable of. Raphael was rash, and didn't use his head too often. He took what he wanted, anyone else be damned. He was selfish. But despite all of that, his heart still beat a little faster when he thought about him. "I guess you're right." The advice to let it play out for a little while was the most sound advice he'd gotten since they'd started exchanging letters. He wrapped his hands around the mug that was set in front of him and sipped it. "So wake up sex, huh? And you couldn't have put it on pause and invited me?" he teased, grinning at his friend.
 
Uriel smirked. "I try frequently to have him open up to the idea, he continues to shoot it down." He sighed softly, looking quite the bit saddened as he did so. He then smiled and poked his foot at the other's knee beneath the table. "You should totally just have a new fuck buddy. Sure, none are as good as me, but you do get far too stressed far too easily."
 
"That was what Wyatt was for, dickhead that he was." He shrugged, not really having any emotions towards the man. "I think you two should just open up your relationship to me and be done with it. It's the best for everyone when you really think about it!" Caden laughed at his own comment, feeling a bit of the weight being lifted from his chest and shoulders by his best friend. He finished his coffee and stood to leave, giving Uriel a peck to his cheek before doing so. "Thank you."
 
For the first week, Raphael had enjoyed his ex's company. A lot. He loved being able to talk with him again. Tell him about all that he had been doing and share stories of their lives in the past ... far too many years. It was great! but then the feelings bubbled more. he knew that he would not be able to win him the same way. They both had changed and he had to work harder. He did too. Started off by just making a few meals for them. Then adding some candlelight and then some music Making them a little more romantic. The more he did that, the more Raphael did. He sent Caden a red rose every day. Keeping it up for the months that passed. He even bought him a few little things that Caden had mentioned he wanted. Nothing like a house or anything, but just little things. A watch here, a shirt there. Nothing all that bad, but Raphael could not help it anymore. He wanted him. He wanted him badly, and he had no idea how to go about asking him to try to date him again. He was blank and he just wanted to make everything all right.

Not knowing what to do, and not wanting to fuck anything else up, Raphael kept with the small romantic gestures every once in a while. Though, recently, he would cuddle up next to Caden, read a book, ask him about his day. Slowly just getting a little closer, physically. Not too much, but just enough he believed, to feel happy.
 
The gestures of the past few months hadn't gone unnoticed. At first, the only served to tear Caden a little more in half over what he should do. And then, as they continued, he began to just accept them for what they were. He knew that, eventually, Raphael would want something in return for them (another shot at a relationship), and perhaps in a few months he wouldn't be opposed to it. But for now he was enjoying being courted and showered with the attention. The gifts and attention only served to draw his own feelings more to the surface, and magnify them a great deal.

As they were sitting on the sofa, Raphael in his new "spot" curled into his side, Caden began to reflect upon everything that had happened in the last couple of months and knew that it was no longer fair to allow (or expect) Raphael to pull all of the weight.

"Raph...what do you want?"
 
Raphael paused in the middle of the book he was reading. He kept his eyes to the page for a little while more before his eyes slowly lifted to look at Caden. He remained silent for another moment and then looked back at the book. "I ... want you, Caden. I want to be with you again." he whispered, lifting his head to turn and look at him, pushing himself off of the other slightly as he did so. "I know I shouldn't, but I really want to have you back."
 
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