A small chorus of ohs and ahs came from the group as Ansel pulled out the exquisite bottle, a smile on the man's face. "I don't think I have ever received anything boring from you, love. You'll help me enjoy this later, I presume?" He knew the champagne was coming, and while he was appreciative and excited to drink it, he knew the true gift was whatever lay in the second box. After setting the champagne carefully back in its packaging, Ansel took the second box. He opened it carefully as per Lucio's instructions, his eyes growing wide as the shiny golden rose was revealed. Part of Ansel was incredibly amused; it seemed just like Lucio to take something of Ansel's and unexpectedly turn it around on him, do it bigger and better and leave Ansel feeling astonished. Never before had he ever been truly surprised by a gift another person had given him, but this surprised him, and at first he didn't know what to say.<br/><br/>His fingers gingerly caressed the exquisite petals, along the leaves and down the stem. He dared not remove the rose from its protective case, mostly due to his paranoia that his fairly drunken self wouldn't be careful enough. No, this was something he would have to appreciate again later, when he could take the time to turn the flower around in his hands and appreciate every single line created by the rose's lovely form. Thought had gone into this, very careful thought, but that wasn't what Ansel liked most about it. At its core, the rose was the perfect metaphor for Lucio. It was everything Lucio was to Ansel: beautiful, delicate, extraordinary. And in that moment, as Ansel turned the meaning of the rose over and over in his overly analytical head, something dawned on him. This rose wasn't just a pretty gift. It was a symbol. It was everlasting. Maybe Ansel was making too much of it. Maybe Lucio just wanted to give him something nice. But if he wanted to do that, he would have just stuck with the alcohol, something that, while lovely, would disappear eventually. The rose wasn't just going to disappear. It was meant to stay. Lucio was meant to stay, even if the young man didn't realize it yet.<br/><br/>Ansel closed the box and set it very carefully on the glass table, pushing it slightly away from him to ensure it wouldn't tip over the side. As far as Ansel was concerned, they were alone now in Johanna's apartment. The rest of the world fell away as Ansel looked up at Lucio, no one else in that moment mattered. He took Lucio's hands into his and pulled Lucio into him, hugging him close. "It's perfect," he whispered. "You're perfect." Ansel then kissed Lucio, deeply, like they did when they were alone. He didn't care if people stared, became uncomfortable, became aroused, whatever. This kiss lingered, Ansel's hands on Lucio's body with no intention of releasing him anytime soon.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center">&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;<br/>​</div>Everyone had left, and now it was just the three of them. Ansel had refused the glasses of water his sister tried to pour down his throat and stuck with his beloved bourbon. He was drunk, and happy, and in love with a man half his age and he didn't care what anyone thought about it. If Johanna had known that their relationship had only started a week ago, a relationship based completely on arrangements and duplicity, she would have questioned Ansel's sanity, his utter dedication to the English bombshell. But she didn't know, for now, and for the moment she thought her brother's affection for Lucio was sweet. Dangerous, but sweet.<br/><br/>"You two are welcome to stay here, like I said before," she said to Lucio as she cleaned up a collection of half-empty glasses. "But Ansel tends to be grumpy when he sleeps in beds that aren't his own. He's a strange one." She placed the glasses in the sink and moved back to the living room to grab some serving trays. "Of course, I could just get you guys a car."<br/><br/>"A car? I have a car," Ansel said dismissively from the couch, his fingers outlining the rose box lazily.<br/><br/>"Yes, a car that you cannot currently drive, dear," Johanna laughed.<br/><br/>"Lucio can drive me."<br/><br/>Johanna's face adopted a shocked expression, her jaw dropping. Ansel was typically very protective of his car, the idea that he would let someone else drive it seemed unfathomable. "You're going to let Lucio drive your Mercedes?"<br/><br/>"Yes, I'm going to have him drive it right through your open mouth if you keep staring at me like that."<br/><br/>Johanna scoffed and threw up her hands in defeat. "Fine, fine, I can't stop you. You can go if Lucio's fine, but if not I will not approve of sending you two out in the night. Lucio, darling, how are you feeling?"