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Gaius should have known that Evelyn wanting him to open up his birthday gift from her "in private" was going to be a terrible idea...
And yet, here she is... standing in the middle of his bedroom, bouncing with excitement as she hands him a small, fancy-wrapped box. As excited as she is, you'd think it was Evelyn's birthday.
Even the box she prepared is cute.
Gaius couldn't tie such a pretty knot like this if his life depended on it, and yet Evelyn wants him to destroy it? He hesitates, fidgeting with the mystery box so that he can properly steel himself for what might be inside.
Being alone in a room with Evelyn is already a gift on its own, truth be told. Every single day Gaius can lay an eye on her gives him all he needs to smile.
"Come on, open it already." Evelyn's smile is as cute and demanding as ever. Like there's nothing in the world that could ever make her confidence fade. "I can't wait to see your face!"
Maybe that's what he loves about her the most.
"A-Alright, hold your buffamoos, it's just nerve-wracking with you staring at me like that, ya know..." Gaius sighs when she giggles softly, still watching closely as he unties the plush ribbon on the box. "I never quite know what to expect with you and your gifts. Should I be worried this year?"
Her smug silence speaks volumes.
Gaius can only think back to previous birthdays, when Evelyn had made him the most interesting outfits that—though he didn't have the guts to actually wear them on a regular basis—he certainly treasured. In their own special ways. They were all concrete proof that Evelyn cared about him, and that's all that really mattered to him.
Hell, Evelyn could make him a loin cloth crafted entirely from cactus and broken glass and he'd still probably be on his knees thanking her for it.
...Gaius hopes that he hasn't willed that particular present into existence this year, at the very least.
The box falls apart easily in his hands without its ribbon holding it together. He sifts through the silk inside until he feels yet another soft, foreign fabric unfold at his fingertips.
Not one he expects, either. But this in a whole new league of unexpected Evelyn gift-giving. This is beyond expecting the unexpected.
This is...?
Gaius blinks nervously. "Um... what exactly is this, Ev? I don't think lace is really my thing. N-Not to mention that there's such little fabric here... uh..."
Evelyn leans forward to snatch the frilly lace contraption from him. "Don't be silly—this isn't for you to wear. It's for me to try on for you." She smiles innocently. "For your birthday."
"Oh, yeah, 'course, that makes much more sense—" Gaius stops mid-sentence, cheeks flared. "Wait, what?!"
He's not entirely sure that he isn't dreaming. Maybe that extra special curry udon Blaise whipped up for him earlier had some kind of weird, adverse effect—had he died!? Is this the afterlife...? No, no, if this was the afterlife, Evelyn would already be wearing that thing... or... nothing at all...
"Why do you look so surprised?" Evelyn asks, placing the downright scandalous-looking outfit against her form, as if to model it over her clothes. "It's the least I could do for you after you made this beautiful ring for me. Don't you think it matches perfectly?"
She holds up her hand to emphasize the ring against the lace, but Gaius admittedly isn't looking at the ring or the lace. His vision is too fuzzy to focus on anything at all, like he's been forging iron on the hottest day of the year while wearing a thick, wooly coat.
The one, singular eye he has left is ready to pop out of his head and desert him for good.
"Yeah, I... um... think I need to sit down for a sec." Gaius stumbles miserably to his bed, though Evelyn follows just as quickly to join him.
Her soft, porcelain hand is pressed over his forehead in a flash. "Your face sure is hot all of a sudden. Should I call Marian over to examine you?"
"Please, no, anything but that," Gaius whines, even when his heart starts twisting even tighter with Evelyn so close to him. Touching him. "I'm sorry. I just—uh, can't stop imagining it." He swallows hard. "You. I-In that outfit."
He worries he will never, ever stop imagining it again for the rest of his days.
"Well, you don't have to imagine it. I was going to wear it for you..."
"You really don't have to do that... no, you shouldn't do that. Ever. At least, not tonight! N-Not right now!"
"I see." Evelyn pouts. "I'm sorry. I thought it would make you happy..."
"Oh, it makes me plenty happy. A little too happy. You shouldn't offer something so amazing like this to someone... e-even on their birthday." He tries to smile when their eyes finally meet. "It's... too much!"
"I mean, it's not like I would try this on for anyone else..." Evelyn tries to match his pitiful smile.
"I'll be honest..." Gaius can't help but laugh awkwardly, in spite of himself. "I would probably cry myself to sleep if you did."
"Well, that would never happen. I made it just for you." She reaches boldly for his hand. "I'm sorry. I forgot how shy you are about these things."
"I'm not shy, I'm just..." The words pathetic and hopeless come to mind. Gaius bites his lip, secretly begging his shy little heart to stop skipping around in his chest. "I genuinely don't want to have a heart attack tonight, Ev. Not on my birthday."
Evelyn giggles, leaning her head gently against his shoulder. Everything about being with her is like a happy dream... even now, when she's teasing him into an early grave. At least he'd die happy.
"I understand," she finally says. "You're cute when you blush. It just makes me want to bring it out of you even more."
"Hey now, I'm trying to be a decent guy here. I can't help it, I don't make the rules. There's just, uh, an order to these things. T-That's all."
"Says the one who gave me an engagement ring before asking me to go on a date with him."
Gaius nearly chokes. "Okay, well, touché on that one, but... it's not like I showed up to your room wearing—" He gestures weakly at the lace in her hands, "—that when I gave it to you."
Evelyn can't help but burst into another fit of laughter.
"You're imagining it, aren't you? Stop that. It's for your own good, I'm warning you. Me and pretty lace just don't mix."
"Too late," she chirps, cuddling closer. "I wouldn't mind seeing you in it." She winks. "Maybe for my birthday?"
"Uh, has anyone ever told you that you have very unique tastes?" Gaius smiles. "Nah. I'm kidding. Everything you make is wonderful."
Evelyn happily twists her fingers around his until the light hits the diamond on her ring just right. "I could say the same to you."
"I'm happy enough just seein' you wear that. I promise... you don't owe me anything else. I'm a very easy man to please."
"I imagine so, if I didn't even have to put it on for you to enjoy yourself tonight—"
"I-I-I didn't mean it like that!" Gaius stutters, his blush back and brighter than ever. "I'm not used to being the one on the end of the joke like this. Man, this is rough."
"I'm sorry," Evelyn sing-songs, every bit a woman who does not sound sorry at all. "But... I'm glad you're happy. And I'm glad you're getting more comfortable with me... with us."
He looks down at their hands, molded perfectly together. "Yeah. I remember when I couldn't even look at you when we were in a room together." He laughs. "Ugh. How embarrassing..."
"I told you, I think it's cute." Evelyn's eyelashes flutter perfectly when she talks; he hadn't noticed until now, pressed so close to her. "Everything about you is cute. I just can't help myself."
"Now you're just teasing me again, aren't you?"
"Maybe. But I was serious about the gift. That wasn't a joke."
"I-I know it wasn't." Gaius genuinely, genuinely hopes it wasn't. "Seriously. Um. Definitely the best present I've ever gotten, no contest there."
"Really?" Evelyn asks, a sudden glimmer in her eyes. "Just wait until I get to wear it for you one day, then. I can't wait."
"Ugh, you're too good to me." Gaius lets out a pained breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. "It's getting pretty late. How about I walk you back home for the night, before you kill me? Don't think my heart can take much more."
Evelyn nods happily when he pulls her up to stand with him. For a moment, it's just them—nothing exists but their heartbeats and the anxious breath in their lungs. The outside world completely disappears. Evelyn's smile is too beautiful, too perfect to look away from; it's always been like that. Even now, with Gaius' hands wrapped around hers... he's so close to her lips, to her rosy cheeks...
He can't bring himself to kiss her, even now. She's too good for him. She always will be.
One day, will she finally realize it and leave him behind...?
Gaius snaps himself back to reality, forcing himself to pull away from her, back into his own personal space. "Right. Um... we're off, then."
He only takes a few steps towards the door before Evelyn catches one of his hands.
"Gaius, wait."
He turns to look back at her, to ask what's wrong... but nothing is wrong.
Everything is perfect.
Evelyn's lips are pressed passionately against his, melting against him; it's even more perfect than all the times Gaius had imagined kissing her would be. Of course it is. This is Evelyn, after all. Confident, charming Evelyn. All of her weight is balanced against him as she leans forward to further deepen and seal the kiss, a little something extra for her to—no doubt—give him to look forward to. It's too much and yet not nearly enough, all at once. Gaius wants to know all of her, wants to know everything that will make her happy and fulfilled. No one in the world has ever made Gaius feel so peaceful and yet so excited, and he suspects no one ever will, ever again.
Only Evelyn.
He isn't sure if this is her first time doing this. Ambiguous as always, Evelyn defies any logic or preparation Gaius might have had for this moment. All he knows is that the cute yet faint little sounds she makes when he rakes his fingers through her hair has made him go pleasantly numb against her.
When they finally end their kiss, Evelyn is still pressed against his chest in a warm, smothering embrace that has already left Gaius yearning for more. He's forever thankful that at least one of them has the stones to make all the first moves like this, but... he only wishes they'd done this much sooner.
"Happy birthday," Evelyn says, and her voice sends a gentle hum of vibration throughout his core. "I love you."
Gaius instinctively tenses. When she squeezes him tighter to assure him, he reminds himself that he can relax. He's safe with Evelyn. He can be himself around her now. "I... I, um, I love you, too. Thanks... for everything."
He walks her back home to the de Sainte-Coquille estate, simply unable to stop basking in the sheer happiness it brings him to be standing by her side like this. Everyone knows that Evelyn is his girl now, and there's something so primal and real about seeing her proudly show off the ring when the other residents smile and stare at the two of them when they walk by.
Gaius can't imagine ever having a better birthday for the rest of his life, although knowing Evelyn...
He gulps.
When he gets back home, he instantly realizes that Evelyn left that lace contraption here in his room. Now that he's left alone to examine it more closely, Gaius is already looking forward to his next birthday, if only for the most impure, selfish reasons imaginable. And here he thought he'd been the most charming gentleman ever about this whole ordeal. But now, here he is, left alone with nothing else to do but second-guess himself. After all, Evelyn herself insisted, didn't she? That she'd... wear this for him?
Is this his punishment for turning down her selfless generosity? For not trusting himself around a pretty girl wearing nothing but this delicate, sinful lace?
Yep. Something tells Gaius that it's probably part of her master plan to continue torturing him with this new present of his for what's left of this year's birthday, too.