On Being a New Wizard in Arcadia--XXVII

    Rei's birthday was at the end of March. After three notorious years at Arcadia College, there had been a running wager among the other residents as to how roaringly drunk Rei would get, exactly how much money he would spend on booze, and most importantly, how high his bail would be. Christian refused to participate, but he had a nice little cache set aside to help toward bail. Even Scott (for he was acting so completely like Scott again that it was easy to forget that it wasn't) got involved, going so far as to post a new dry-erase board in the lounge to keep track of the current odds and bets.

    When the momentous day rolled around, Rei came back to the room with Zoe. She was dressed to the nines, her dark auburn hair in a complicated up-do, and she sat patiently while Rei put on one of his better suits. He glanced at Christian with clear annoyance.

    "You are not wearing that to my birthday dinner, are you?" he finally asked. Christian stared down at his slept-in jeans and t-shirt.

    "I wasn't aware I was invited." Christian didn't put down the book he was reading, a loaner from Lilly on late nineteenth century mysticism. Rei sauntered over and plucked the book from his hands.

    "You are invited, you are my best friend, and you look like a bum." Rei started digging through Christian's closet. "No, no, no...do you not have any nice clothes here? Everything looks like you shop at a thrift store."

    "Chill, babe," Zoe said as she shoved past Rei. "You get yourself dolled up. I'll take care of Christian." She started carefully looking through his wardrobe. She finally pulled out a pair of his best jeans, whistling at the line of them. "These babies don't leave much to the imagination, do they? What else do you have?" She decided on a light purple dress shirt and a gray pinstriped wool suit vest. "Ties?"

    "Top dresser drawer on the left." Christian stripped to his skivvies right there, and started getting dressed. "There's a dark brown leather belt in there. I'd like that too, if you don't mind."

    "Oh, that one that goes with your motorcycle boots. I do like that." Zoe handed him the belt while she looked at the ties. "You do like your purples, don't you?" She finally pulled out a slightly darker light purple tie. "You do know how to tie it, right?"

    "Well, yes. I wish I had something to cover up my wrists. They look rough." Christian scowled as he did up the buttons of his shirt. Zoe made a distressed noise.

    "They do look bad. Oh, wait." She went back to rooting around in the drawer. Christian made a pained whimper. "Settle down. I'm not disrupting your organization. Ah, there they are." She pulled out a pair of thick leather cuffs. "Not your favorite, I know, but better than nothing, right?"

    "Indeed." Christian let Zoe finish putting the final touches to his outfit, then ran a brush through his hair, fighting through a couple of nasty snarls. "Do I meet your approval, Rei-kun?"

    "You do not look as nice as me, but it works for you." There really was no arguing that Rei looked sharp. He knew how to dress, and the cut of his dark gray suit emphasized his broad shoulders and lean frame. The pangs of the old crush fluttered in Christian's guts, but quickly faded. "Then shall we go?"

    "I'm not going to be a third wheel?" Christian asked as they headed downstairs. Zoe laughed.

    "Sebastian said he'd meet us there, and Audrey's coming with Laz. Oh, and Kit's coming too with his current boyfriend."

    "I wish that we could have Ohda-sensei's son come back. He was a good drummer. I miss performing with you. I hope you get better over the summer." Rei threw an affectionate arm over Christian's shoulders. "Maybe I will come to see you in Nashville this summer. I want to go visit the honky-tonks with you."

    Christian's heart nearly stopped at a sudden realization. "We're going to be seniors next year."

    "Yes," Rei said. "So you better move some place I want to live too. I like city life, you know, and warm weather."

    "We're not going to let you drift away," Zoe reassured Christian. "You're Rei's best friend, and I'm pretty fond of you too. But don't worry about that tonight. Tonight we celebrate that Rei has somehow, despite his every attempt to the contrary, managed to reach legal adulthood."

    Dinner was at Ichiban, of course. Mrs. Tanaka had set aside one of the private rooms for her favorite employee and adopted grandson, and ushered the three of them back there with a great deal of fawning over Rei. She was tiny compared to him, but insisted on him bending over for a kiss on the cheek before letting him go into the room. Everyone else was already there, and they gave Rei a rousing ovation when he entered. Rei gave an exaggerated bow as he entered, delighting in the attention.

    "Give him an audience, and he's content," Christian whispered to Zoe. She rolled her eyes, but her smile betrayed her genuine joy at his happiness. "He's a good guy, Zo. Don't ever doubt that." He went to take a seat by Sebastian, briefly regretting his boots as he struggled out of them before clambering onto the tatami-covered platform. He also could not help but notice that Lazzaro and Audrey were holding hands in a very familiar way under the table. Laz caught his eye and gave a very pleased, half-crooked grin.

    "Valentine's Day, at Valletta's little gala," he said softly, answering the unasked question as Christian settled down next to Sebastian. "She'd been waiting for months. She'd just about given up on me."

    "I'm not forward like Zoe," Audrey said serenely. "I'm glad you finally asked. Valletta thinks it's because she had me looking exceptionally pretty that night. I think it's because maybe you got the nerve up to finally ask if I liked you."

    Christian leaned over to look at her. "How does your mom feel about it?" An eight-year gap in ages would be enough to give most parents pause. Audrey gave the ceiling a thoughtful look before answering.

    "She's pleased, so long as Lazzaro treats me well and behaves himself. I'm not an easy person with which to live, and it is sometimes very challenging." Audrey leaned against Laz's shoulder. Lazzaro nuzzled her hair. "He has been very tolerant thus far."

    Mrs. Tanaka had gone above and beyond for Rei. She had made his favorite dishes, even those that weren't on the menu. Rei let her card him for the very first time, and ordered sake for the entire party. It turned out that Christian and the twins were the only ones still under age, but Mrs. Tanaka turned a blind eye to that fact, so long as they didn't try to order any drinks for themselves. It was a pleasantly festive atmosphere without getting too raucous.

    "He's kept it low-key for you and Audrey,"  Sebastian whispered to Christian half-way through dinner. "I didn't even think about it. He could have had half the campus here, as popular as he is. He didn't want to chase you two away, though. He's a deeper and more considerate person than I ever give him credit to being."

    "I wouldn't have been friends with him if he was half as shallow as he plays it," Christian said softly. "I'm glad you can finally see it too."

    "These last few months have been an eye-opener for me, that's the truth." Sebastian grabbed Christian's hand and held it so tightly that it hurt.

    After dinner, the party moved across town to the twins' house. There was more of a crowd there, since Rei apparently wanted dinner with his closer friends, but was not at all distraught over having a bigger affair with just about everyone he knew. Dr. Werner did not seem to mind the crowd, especially since Valletta had volunteered to pay for catering. Much to Christian's genuine astonishment, there was not a single alcoholic beverage to be seen. He cornered Rei partway through the evening to ask about it, while Zoe was busy talking to her mother.

    "Yes, I thought you would notice." Rei set down his glass of punch so that he could take Christian for a spin around the dance floor. "Sorry, but I have been watching you dance all evening, and you are a much better dancer than Zoe." He grinned at the whistles and cat-calls as they took the floor. "I will make it up to Sebastian later, but you better dance like you mean it. As for the drinks, well, I am of age now. I can drink all I like all the time."

    "Well, yes." Christian felt like he might have died of sheer bliss. "You've been drinking almost non-stop since I met you."

    "Yes, but now it is not breaking a rule. This," and he spun Christian extravagantly, then pulled him close again, "this flaunts a rule. A straight man should not be dancing with a gay man, even if it his dearest friend. A man under age should not be drinking, particularly good whiskey and scotch. Those are drinks for grown men, yes? Well, I am grown now. I still like whiskey and scotch, but where is the fun of rule-breaking?"

    "You asshole," Christian laughed, resting his head on Rei's chest as Rei pulled him closer. "We all thought you needed an intervention. This has all been about rule-breaking?"

    "Well, yes, of course. Some rules are okay, but I hate most rules. They deserve to be bent and broken." He looked Christian in the eyes. "Lucky Sebastian. You are a good dancer. It is a very good thing you are a man, because otherwise I would be tempted to get you into bed with the way you can move." He sighed wistfully. "I like women too much."

    "Keep in mind that we like men," Sebastian said as he and Zoe swayed nearby. "Poor Christian might drop dead of unfulfilled lust if you keep this up."

    "Well then, you get to reap the benefit. Switch?" Rei offered his hand to Zoe. "Thank you, Christian. You have a lucky boyfriend."

    "You're damn right he does!" Sebastian agreed whole-heartedly. Christian didn't disagree, but he felt like he might be the lucky one.