kersen | James

Kersen was... nervous, which he knew was completely silly. But it had been such a long time since he'd been on a date like this. Even though he and Klaus had gone on dates, it was after they'd already slept together.

He took a lot of care with his appearance. Dressed as a boy, but with his typical androgynous flair. Some makeup, mostly his eyes, and a pair of trousers that he knew made his ass look amazing. Also the cashmere scarf that James had admired.

James had offered to come to his house, so when the doorbell rang he managed to clamp down the butterflies, and answered the door, a smile already on his face.

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"Well... You're not dressed as a cartoonish version of Dracula. That helps," James said with a tiny glint in his eye and a smile on his lips.

"I would never," Kersen assured him with feigned indigence.

He took a drag on the cigarette and looked out at the garden. "If you're not ready for the night to end either... maybe you'd like to come see where the peacock ended up?"

"I'd like that very much," James admitted. "Your sewing room, you said?"

Kersen smiled brightly. "Yes." Then his eyes glinted and he added, "The lighting is pretty good."

Both of their cigarettes were nearly to the end, so he added, "Is there anyone you'd like to say goodbye to?"

James smiled to the tease. "We might say our goodbyes to the host," he suggested and gestured Kersen to enter first.

Kersen walked back in ahead of him, taking in the house one more time. It really was beautiful. And so open, so many windows - the opposite of his own house. He found himself wishing, stupidly, that he could see this place in the daylight.

Politeness over and done with and a cab called, Kersen and James walked out of the house. "It's a beautiful mansion, isn't it?" He remarked, having noticed Kersen being quite taken with it.

Kersen glanced back at it. "I confess, I was thinking how beautiful it must be in the daylight. All those windows."

"It must be, yes," James said, and felt a bit for Kersen, who would not be able to see such beauty. His hand found the small of Kersen's back, for a brief moment.

Kersen smiled a little, and started to say something, but then the car that Kersen had called before they walked out of the house pulled into the driveway. So instead he said, "Our chariot awaits."

Ever a gentleman, James opened the door so Kersen could step inside, before going to the other side and getting in himself. They were small gestures of civility, but James adhered to them always.

"Thank you," Kersen said, as he settled in the car. It was one of the things he liked best about James, actually. Maybe there was a part of Kersen that appreciated the old fashioned. Because he was even older.

It wasn't long before they arrived at Kersen's house, and as he opened the front door with his keys, he smiled at James and teased, "I really do want to show you the painting. This isn't some kind of 'let me show you my etchings' kind of ulterior motive, just so you know."

There were several replies James thought of. He was not one for spontaneous impromptu replies. Everything he said and did was measured and weighed.

"Oh," he said. It sounded vaguely as if he was disappointed, and that was exactly the effect he was going for.

Kersen didn't comment on this, but a little smile did twitch at his lips... and he took James' hand to pull him back to the sewing room across the hall from his bedroom.

The lighting in the room was quite good, because despite not having a window that could open to the light, there were lamps with soft bulbs and an overhead light. There was a sewing machine and a cutting/drafting table, and shelves filled with fabric and related things.

The painting was hanging above the drafting table, centered and lit by the lamp there. And in the middle of the room as well there was a tall dress form (clearly custom-made for Kersen), and on it was a stunning gown that was in the last stages of completion. It was made entirely of feathers. Midnight blue, royal blue, teal, turquoise, the colors creating lines that followed the curves of a body. The neckline featuring a collar of sparse feathers, and the whole thing ended in a train that looked, well... like a peacock tail, with the black eyes of the feathers dotted with black crystals.

Kersen looked almost shy as he confessed, "I was inspired."

James didn't care too much for dresses as such. Fashion had never been his area of expertise. But to see that dress was to see inspiration, art and beauty, from canvas to fabric. It was quite astonishing. And the lighting was so tastefully done, that the peacock looked at its best.

"I'm very pleased to have been proven to be right about your taste." And as an afterthought. "And the dress is quite beautiful."

"Thank you on both counts," Kersen said, looking pleased. He was very proud of the dress. He wasn't much of a painter; this was his form of art.

He realized he was still holding James' hand, and let it fall, a bit awkwardly.

James noticed and turned to Kersen. "May I kiss you?" He asked.

Kersen's face brightened. "Yes, please."

James cupped Kersen's chin and leaned in to kiss him. It was quite chaste, at first, a tentative kiss, surrounded by beauty and art.

It felt like it had been a long time since someone had kissed him so sweetly. It was awfully nice, and Kersen couldn't help but deepen the kiss - still sweet and soft, but perhaps not quite so chaste.

James didn't mind not so chaste either, and he put an arm around Kersen's narrow frame as they deepened the kiss.

It really was a nice kiss. It felt real, like it meant something, not like it was just a prelude to sex.

When James pulled him close, he pressed against him, and made a content little sighing sound into the kiss.