Caius and Felix, Backdated July 22nd

[om_velikaia]

Post masquerade festivities, we find Caius and Felix among an eruption of clothing doing what the boys do best: being fabulous. In a moment of seriousness, Felix confesses that Remus kissed him on the cheek! AND he thinks he may like to do it again.

In Caius' opinion, the introduction of a new article of clothing or accessory could completely transform a woredrobe if it was the right article or accessory. Of course, the article of clothing could also just be an excuse to rummage through a closet for nothing more than the fun of arranging new outfits for himself or someone else. Whether it was because of the former reason or the latter, Felix's room was presently, for lack of a better word, a mess. Clothing had been strewn on every available surface, some grouped together with matching components and others left alone waiting for me made into something fabulous.

In the midst of this chaos stood Felix and Caius looking as if they were having the time of their lives which, as expected in this situation, they were.

"Oh my dear you must wear this scarf next time we go out. It will work magic with your eyes."

Laughing, Felix draped the scarf around his shoulders, flipping the tail of it in his fingers so it fluttered against his nose. "Both of them?" he teased, but only briefly, because Felix spent very little time dwelling on his physical oddities.

Hopping over a pair of shoes and a few pairs of trousers, Felix leaned and reached to pick up the white headband bearing the miniature sparkling, feathered crown he'd worn at the other night's Starlight party, and tucked it securely into his hair. He glanced over at Caius with a grin that bordered on impish. "Sorry, I just adore this too much. I know it's ridiculous, and I can't wear it anywhere, and it was in the sale bin at Claire's, but..."

His hands fluttered, not making things clearer at all. "I guess I actually don't have a 'but'."

Caius found Felix's eyes fascinating and could not see any reason for his friend's shyness of them. He made a point to work on that in the future.

"You do," said Caius. "It's small but perky."

Felix might be bashful about his imperfections, but no longer about his laugh. Caius had cured him of that. He laughed freely, even though it was accompanied by a flush in his cheeks and a scandalized look at his friend. "Caius! You're incorrigible," he scolded fondly, dropping down in a very small clear space on his bed. "I'm not sure what I think of you noticing my... that."

"What sort of friend would I be if I let you wear something that didn't flatter from every angle?"

Though Felix gave Caius a reproving look, but forgave him almost instantly. "Well, you let me wear white to the masquerade party, and that was very successful. Remus liked it," he added, arching a brow to tempt Caius away from comments about his posterior with a nugget of gossip.

Caius shuddered at the thought of wearing white but he couldn't influence all of Felix's decisions. He let himself be led away from the topic at hand. "Oh? And how are things going on that front?"

It had only been a couple of days, so Felix was still a touch giddy about the developments. Perching on the edge of the bed, he confided, "I think we took a step forward. You see, not long ago, I... happened to see his powers manifest. He thought I'd be frightened and wouldn't want to be... his friend, anymore. But of course that's preposterous."

Felix nipped his lower lip lightly before relating, "He held my hand for a long time while I said that. And he seemed so pleased, he kissed me. On the cheek, but, he did kiss me."

"Oh Felix that's wonderful! I'm so happy for you! How was it?" It may not have been a kiss on the lips but it was a momentous event all the same and Caius would give this news the apt attention it deserved.

Even though Felix had known Caius would be excited for him, it was gratifying (and a bit of a relief) to have someone to tell! His toes curled with nervous energy; he did his best not to fidget. "It was sweet. I quite liked it, I think, because Remus seemed very pleased and happy, and like he wanted me to be pleased and happy, too. He kissed me because we both wanted him to, do you know? Not just because he did."

Caius did not know all of Felix's past but from the tidbits his friend had shared and the details he seemed to focus on when talking about things like this, the boy had some inkling of where his friend may be coming from. "Do you think it will happen again?" he asked.

Felix's eyes widened briefly in surprise, but he smiled immediately at the idea. "Is it silly that I hadn't really thought of that? But... I do think, yes, probably. I think... I wouldn't mind terribly if it wasn't even on the cheek?"

Caius grinned. Even after drawing the boy out of his shell, he found his best friend's shyness charming. "I think that is a perfectly acceptable feeling," he said. "I would be surprised if Remus didn't feel the same way."

Felix looked a little relieved that Caius thought he was normal. Even though Caius had a very unique view of the world that might not be considered 'normal' by others, his opinion mattered to Felix a very great deal. "We don't have to progress terribly quickly," he amended, his fingers toying together with a touch of anxiety. "You know, I first thought Remus was the best choice because he... you know, isn't very experienced. But I do think I am starting to like him especially."

"Hmm," said Caius, taking a seat on a small patch of open bedding on Felix's roommate's bed. "I think this may work out well," he said. "Everyone should experience having a high school sweetheart. Remus could be yours."

It sounded so quaint, and yet so lovely and tempting, when Caius spoke that way. Could Felix really have a sweetheart, even after everything he had left behind? "I think I would like that. I... think." He breathed a tiny, uncertain laugh. "Everyone else seems to have one, after all."

Caius wouldn't classify all of the relationships at Xavier's as 'sweetheart' worthy but he knew Felix's relationship would be. "Not I," he pointed out. "We're going to have to work on getting a sweetheart for me next."

Felix tilted his head curiously, very willing to shift the subject slightly off of himself. "But what about Nico? I thought you quite fancied him."

"I do!" said Caius. "I'm still working on getting him to realize that he should feel the same."

A giggle escaped before Felix could stifle it, but he quickly bit his lip against it. Caius seemed to like it when he laughed, but he was pretty sure his friend was serious just now. "Well... maybe we should start with things he likes. How much do you know about Greek myths?"

Caius pursed his lips. "The same as anybody, really. I haven't taken an interest in studying it extensively before."

"I expect that's the way to Nico's heart," Felix confided with a nod. "But you don't have to read every book in the library about it. I'm sure Nico would be delighted to share his interest with you."

"I'll be sure to slip the topic into conversation next time I have him under the care of my ministrations," said Caius.

"If you asked him to teach you, he might be interested," Felix mused, thoughtful. "Or maybe go to a museum. There's bound to be lots of ancient god things at a museum, right?"

"Do you think they would have anything dead there, like mummies or something? I wouldn't want him to accidentally raise anyone while we were out. Though..." Caius tilted his head thoughtfully, "that could be entertaining."

Felix considered, then shrugged. "There might be. I don't think Nico would do it accidentally though." His expression turned more serious. "Please do be careful, if you do. I'm not sure the world is ready to know about young people who re-animate corpses, and museums have a lot of security."

"Never fear, my dear. I shall not have Nico animating corpses at museums. Too tacky."

"We can't have that," Felix agreed, though his thoughtfulness did not abate fully. "Caius... when you and Nico are spending time together, do you... I don't know, feel differently? I'm not sure I know how to describe it. Like there's a soda pop bottle fizzing in your chest, but it's a good thing?"

Caius tilted his head curiously. "Is that how you feel when you are with Remus?"

Felix gave a small, too-solemn nod. "Sometimes. Mostly when he laughs, or when we talk about something we both like. It's not like how I used to get around Warren, where my stomach turned upside-down and my whole mouth felt numb. It's much more pleasant."

"I haven't experienced either of those sensations," admitted Caius," though they sound like something to look forward to. I'm sure that such a pleasant sensation must be a good thing."

That did help Felix feel a bit better about it. "I think so. I just don't want to do anything wrong. I mean, not wrong but... incorrect. Remus doesn't know a thing about anything, and, you know... if we mess up, it could be... bad?" Between Remus' wolf and Felix's mental power, it could be rather bad indeed.

"Felix," said Caius, looking his friend in the mismatched eye, "I think it is high time you stopped worrying so much and enjoyed the moment. According to most laws, we are still considered children. Sometimes it is acceptable to revel in that fact and leave the consequences to the adults."

It was rare enough that Caius was both quite so direct that it caught Felix by surprise, to say nothing of the very practical advice itself. Of course Caius would counsel him to act according to his impulse -- that was his best friend's way of thinking, through and through. Felix smiled, slightly. "I don't know if I'm brave enough."

"You won't know until you try," Caius pointed out.

Felix breathed out the lightest of sighs; he couldn't argue with that. It's what he would say, himself. "So what this really comes down to is, I should kiss him if I feel like it."

"Absolutely."

This, unusually, did not make Felix blush. He nodded, thoughtfully. "If he wants to, and if I want to..." Felix mused, as though this were quite a new concept. Then, he smiled quite fondly at Caius. "You always know what to say."

Caius grinned. "It's part of my charm," he said. He hopped off the bed and picked up a pair of trousers from the floor. "Now, what were we going to do about these?"

Oh, Caius' bold smile was reassuring. Perhaps not to other people -- it had a lot of teeth in it -- but to Felix it was the surest sign he'd done well. Unfolding his ever-growing self from the bed, Felix half-stepped, half-tripped over to the other side of the room, and retrieved a very slimming, and very unmistakable, striped shirt he'd achieved at the local thrift store. "What do you think?"

Caius pursed his lips, considering. "Didn't you have a hat that could go with this as well? I thought I saw it a minute ago..." 'Minute' being very flexible in Caius/Felix Fashion Time.