The Sun Also Rises

How foolish it was that he might find any sense of nervousness in something so entirely simple as the giving of a gift! He had presented gifts to others numerous times throughout his overly long existence and yet more often than not they had been impersonal, formal, part of his duty and nothing more. There was something decidedly more emotive about the giving of a gift he had so taken the time to choose and too- presenting it to perhaps the one other being within this world outside of Samantha for whose opinions he found mattered to him so desperately. He was quite assured that by the nature of their relationship alone anything he so presented his lover with would be well received and yet he is entirely assured that he should know, no matter how Sebastian might try to hide it, whether or not he truly liked it after all. Yet, for all his nervousness in those moments in which Sebastian so plucked at that ribbon, there was too, a great anticipation of sorts and a truly pleasing sense of pleasure in so giving these gifts at all. To think, he had spent centuries failing to partake in such things as this if only for his long since deceased Father's assurance that it was a peasantry act and yet in that moment Dorian so found he hardly cared just what sort of act it was. He enjoyed this. He liked that sound of crumbling paper and the warmth of the fire. He enjoyed seeing Giles pass about those gifts to allow the giver to offer them in turn, just as he took pleasure in the sounds of delight from Elizabeth or Elaine or Charles and even Giles himself as they unwrapped their own boxes. If this was truly Christmas as it should be then Dorian is assured he had missed something very grand all those years.

His attention is pulled readily away from those more disparaging thoughts, his silver gaze so fixating upon Sebastian alone as the man so at last opens that box to reveal that splendid wrist watch. It is with a delicate ease that he so reaches forward then, taking the watch gently from his lover only to fasten it to his offered wrist. Dorian entirely content to speak of the significance he himself had found within it and too- the very reasons as to why he had chosen just this particular watch. The Fae King so assuring his lover in those moments of just the time and effort that he had taken in selecting something he so hoped the vampire might like and in turn take some amusement from so looking at each time his gaze fell upon it. It looked, Dorian is sure, wholly splendid upon his consorts wrist. A ready simper tugs at his features as Sebastian leans so suddenly forward to press that soft, chaste kiss against the side of his lips in a moment of affection. Those words of assurance that Sebastian liked his gift very near saw the Fae King beam in delight at having managed to so successfully give his first ever Christmas present. The man so surprised to find an excitement of sorts in this entire gifting business before Sebastian so asked for a particular gift from beneath that tree, Dorian eyeing that golden swirly box Giles so dutifully presented to him as Sebastian assured him it was his turn.

How boyish it was to be so excited about this and yet how much he was all at once! The Fae King so finding himself in that moment subject to a veritable swell of emotion, no one true feeling so managing to stand above the others as he found himself near accosted with delight and excitement and curiosity and wonderment all at once. Love perhaps- for Sebastian alone- so managed to make itself felt a little more than those other things. Dorian assured he would be eternally grateful for all his boyfriend had so done for him as his hands extended to take that gift from his companion now and remove that wrapping paper. The simple, black box he finds within his hands is of evident curiosity to him, his head tilted just so as he managed to find the find the lid and lift it aside. The identical set of rings within momentarily sees the Monarchs heart skip a beat. The man, for the faintest of seconds, allowing his mind to believe something else of such a gift before his gaze so assures him there is not one but two. Two rings? How very curious and yet how lovely they were too! Dorian moving to take one from within the box, eyeing that blackened surface and white gold inlay he adored so much- utterly incapable of holding back that grin at a gift so exquisite.

His words of gratitude however are halted upon his lips, Sebastian so suddenly seeking to explain that these were not merely rings in the traditional sense, Dorian eyeing them once more as his lover spoke in an effort to explain such a gift. A ring that might allow you to feel the beat of another's heart was near unbelievable! Dorians features so shifting into a look of wonderment that a thing such as this might exist. How gloriously wonderful this modern world was!

"Truly? I might feel your heartbeat even when you are not beside me? Even when we are apart?"

Those nights in which he so returned to Samantha had, of late, become increasingly more difficult. Dorian so spending more and more evenings in Sebastian's bed. He adored Samantha and indeed so valued that time they might spend together each week and yet when the Fae Queen retired to her room and he in turn was so left to his own cold bed the man had so come to realise that he missed Sebastian. He had become used to sleeping beside him. His bed so empty without the man there, Dorian so often given to that fitful, restless sleep when he slept alone though he had never uttered as such to his lover. Such a gift as this was so truly meaningful for just what it might represent, Dorian almost inclined to believe that Sebastian perhaps well understood just how empty those nights might be. For both of them. His words soft enough for Sebastian alone.

"Thank you, Mon Cher. This is a glorious gift. I am given to miss you when you are gone- sometimes. Perhaps now I might not so much."

It was perhaps the closest to an admittance of just how much that Dorian might so be willing to say aloud. He moves then to pluck one ring from that box, holding it out to Sebastian now for the vampire to take before picking up his own. The Fae so easily slides it onto the ring finger of his left hand. It was a significant place surely, yet it is, to Dorians knowledge, the place rings of significance should be worn. He is given but a moment to so examine that newest addition to his hand before the faintest of beats so makes itself known. That followed by another and another in that steady, easy thrum. The silver of his gaze lifts readily to Sebastian once more, his features so adorned with that striking smile.

"This is my favoured of all gifts I have ever had. Although, I am given to wonder...."

That smile so shifts into something near impish, if only for a moment, Dorian shifting but briefly upon the couch until he rested within Sebastian's lap, his lips finding the man's own in a kiss that was hardly chaste in any sense. A smile of satisfaction so spreading across his features at the sudden, more increased thrum of beats against his finger as he leans abruptly away.

"Hmm, I think it works."

A chuckle rises softly from within his throat, Dorian slipping easily from Sebastian's lap now to wander towards that Christmas tree, taking his final gift from beneath it, Giles having become too absorbed in trying on a new hat to hand out any further gifts. Dorian returns to the lounge then, pressing that large white, rectangular box into his companion's hands now.

"This one is for- later."

Another chuckle finds itself readily upon his lips as Sebastian so lifts the lid of that box to find quite the collection of varying styles of red undergarments so ranging from boxers to briefs in fabrics from silk to cotton to lace. Dorian so seemingly having covered near every possibility.

"Je ne savais pas ce que vous pourriez préférer puisque je suis encore à jamais vous voir porter. Comme tel, je les ai tous pour que vous ayez le choix et me surprendre encore avec ce que vous choisissez venir de nouvelles années. Joyeux Noël, mon amour."
(I didn't know what you might prefer since I am yet to ever see you wear any. As such I got them all so you might have choice and surprise me still with what you choose come New Years. Merry Christmas, my love.)

The amusement within his voice is distinctly clear, Elizabeth, from across the room, so attempting to conceal a small chortle as Dorian lays easily back against the couch now with an all-too pleased simper of delight.

"I find myself most fond of this gift giving."

Dorian Aragona