So I guess that happened

Dorian handled crushes with the finesse of a ballerina with two left feet, which was to say, poorly. It was a normal afternoon, with the usual banter from Mia. This time, he poked and poked until she broke, and went off to her usual self-deprecating motto "I'm fuckable and unlovable"... except his lack of sleep basically spat out "I love you though" in a crowd of no less than six people. It was, honest to god, the most awkward thing he'd ever done (this week) and he bolted out of the scene, clumsily tripping on cables on his way out. He shut himself in his office, pulled out some scented paper and learned calligraphy in a grand total of ten minutes, but when it came right down to it...

Mia was receptive. Mia "Boys Are Disgusting" Vesuvius responded well to his romantic advances. Dorian, of course, never looked a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe he could pull some self-deprecating "I Don't Deserve This" shit but honestly? Dorian was a selfish man through and through, and he was going to try, goddamn it. They shared some moments, but the assholes around them were getting to be a bit much, so he swept Mia away bridal style and took her back to his apartment.

And now...

Dorian slammed a bottle of vodka and a tub of Ben n' Jerry's on his counter. And then, he flipped the channel to MTV.

"Alright, Vesuvius. Just you and me here." He sat next to her at the counter. Pausing for a bit, he looked her over, tenderly, before moving close to kiss her again. Couldn't get enough of that, nope.

@Kathinja

Dorian felt his face heat up at the mention of, well, the whole incident. It was literally just a few minutes ago, and he treated it with as much panache as a kid that peed himself in class.

Before Manta Carlos, he'd always been smug about his genius. He cultivated this well-crafted self-image that he was perfect, and infallible within that. There was nothing in this world that could surprise him, nothing here but tired methods and worn out concepts. Everything other people did looked pathetic to him, and by extension, everyone other than him was pathetic. It was an arrogant thought, and he'd never be caught admitting that he once held those beliefs, but at the time, it seemed like the gospel truth. Everything in his life pointed to that conclusion, from all his trophies and awards, to the admiration of people older and supposedly so much more successful than he was.

Stripped of the company once promised to him at birth, as well as his family and old friends, then taken to an island full of strangers that knew nothing of the Crawford name — strangers, in fact, that had gods and kings among their number... It was a humbling experience. Dorian was dirt here, even he could see that plain as day. His successes, once impressive, were now mundane.

He started viewing people in a new light. He started talking to them different. He learned to pick up small talk, say please and thank you, and asked them what was wrong when they were visibly upset. People became less as obstacles and minions to serve his purposes, and more creatures with feelings, thoughts, dreams, and aspirations. It was like being able to see colors for the first time.

Before, he knew he would've seen Mia as nothing but white trash, but he was different now. The kind of man that, he supposed, would've broken another guy's kneecap for calling her white trash. She was radiant, wit sharp as a knife and too much hidden compassion she liked to hide under a shallow front. He fell in love by inches, and when the l-bomb dropped from his mouth out of nowhere, it was a surprise to both of them.

He couldn't take it back, though. It felt right.

"Um," he said, articulately, biting his lip. He was embarrassed, sure, but this dumb goofy smile on his face just won't go away. He scooped some of the ice cream on a bowl and poured vodka in it to watch it sizzle. He scrubbed his face and laughed. "It was silly enough that I couldn't possibly stage that, huh?"

Joking aside, he cleared his throat and held her hand. He supposed this was where the real sappy things came in, because there weren't any douchebags watching them anymore. "I do, though. I do love you. I don't know. I guess it just happened along the way, it wasn't like I... planned it or anything. When I talk to you, my heart goes on overdrive. It's like, whoops, I guess this is happening. Thanks, heart."

He lifted their hands and kissed her fingers, fond. "I didn't know how you'd respond to it. I'm not one of those jackasses that pressure women to go out with him. I wanted to be respectful. You are my friend first and foremost. Still, I'm glad you responded well. Guess being this cute has its uses after all!" He smiled. "So... in the interests of being a gentleman, I guess I'll ask: What now? Do you want to try out this whole dating thing with me?"

Vodka ice cream was gross, but just like many alcoholic things, it did the trick. He nodded along as she talked about her personal rules, holding her hand and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

She was right about all of those. Dorian didn't know what it was about his gender, but there was something about men that was just objectively repulsive, especially with the way they treated women. Dorian wasn't going to make any excuses for his gender at all. It was hammered to them from childhood into adulthood. Everyday, every time he interacted with women, he strove to be respectful and careful not to overstep boundaries.

Emotional connections were tricky. Mia and Dorian were both emotionally guarded people, Dorian because of his broken empathy, and Mia because... she got hurt. It was plain to see. It wasn't as if Mia didn't want to care for people. She did. But she always seemed terrified of being close and being bad, and that was always something he tried to handle with care, and he'd try even harder now. Anything, anything. He wouldn't fuck up again.

And the last one made him cringe, because she was right, no amount of self-improvement would be able to change that. In an island for a gods, he was just a man with a bullshit genius power. He could become the richest mogul in the world and he'd still wither and die when his body reaches its limit. He was so small, but here he was, trying to hold heavenly bodies in his arms.

He swallowed and squeezed their hands, meeting her eyes. She was so beautiful. Dorian felt his earlier nerves settle, not as jokey or smiley as he was earlier, defense mechanisms breaking to let something more human break through. Dorian was rarely honest with his emotional state, because he knew that if he lost the salesman act, he was a very quiet and deliberate person.

"We can try, yes. And if it ever gets too much for you, and you feel like you're not ready, we can slow it down and break it off completely. I'm open to criticism, unlike the rest of my gender." He stroked her cheeks and pressed a small kiss on the tip of her nose, then all over her face. Soft. "I know I'm just mortal. Trust me, being in an island full of supers, I agonize about it everyday. But that's why we have to make the best of what we have right now. I'd like to get to know you better, Mia. Be intimate. Make the most of the time we have now. That's all we can do. I love you."

Jesus. On a cosmic scale, Mia was enormous, but in his living room, she was so very easy to break, like glass. Dorian wasn't, in comparison. He didn't feel much, but he knew what he felt right then — protectiveness and affection. If that wasn't love, he didn't know what was.

Mia was crying as she kissed him. She was so precious. Dorian placed his hands lightly on her waist, kissing her back, feeling his face flush. He didn't think they could have much of a conversation at this point. Dorian's logic with crying was if you cry, I'll cry, at least when it came to the people he cared about.

It was official, then. Maybe it was meant to be, after all those running jokes about getting married and having threesomes together. In retrospect, that wasn't very platonic at all.

Dorian pulled back and caressed her cheek. That was about the only warning she had before he bent down and picked her up, holding her bridal-style. "Come on. Let's go lie down for a bit, maybe cry a little." He laughed, sighing. "Long fucking day, huh!"

He carried her into his room and kicked the door behind them. Long fucking day indeed.