20. Serendipity

VI

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Kaeden pov-

I watch Finley with great interest as he sits on the opposite side of the glass case holding some precious ancient Greek artifacts near the back of the British Museum.

Sitting on a stool with his sketchbook in hand he takes a small pencil and draws a line across the page with his beautiful hazel eyes narrowed in concentration. He blows a small piece of hair out his eyes as he continues working. We were here on a class trip for three hours with our art class bright and early on Monday morning.

His black eyebrows knit together in a frown of disappointment from whatever it is he's drawing and he's quick to erase the pencil mark. His serious face was so cute now that I had seen the full range of emotions he carries. Before, I thought he was either angry, flirting, or sarcastic.

But there's so much more to him than meets the eye.

Fin looks up and catches me staring at him. I couldn't talk to him through the glass because although we were looking at the same piece of pottery, we were cut off from each other in separate rooms. The serious focus he held for his piece quickly disappears.

Our professor walks up behind him and asks a question about his piece, pointing something out. I return to my own sketch, stealing a few glances now and then as she points from his sketchbook to the glass separating us. It could be me that she was pointing to, but it made more sense for it to be an artifact considering that is what we were supposed to be drawing. She rolls her eyes at something he says, which I guess is a smart remark of some kind, before moving to one of her star pupils.

I bend down to pick up my small cup of hot tea from the floor and take a sip. But once I sit up and get back into a drawing position, Finley had disappeared.

"What the hell?" I mumble under my breath as I take another sip. The professor comes to my side of the glass and looks over my sketch. Not saying a word to me before moving on to the next student.

"Hey," Finley's hands smack my shoulders, scaring me as I choke on my tea.

"Ah, sorry Kae, Are you alright?" he asks and I nod while continuing to choke on air and water, unable to breathe. He rubs my back as he patiently waits for the coughing to subside but also proceeds to steal my tea in the meantime.

"Christ Fin, don't scare me like that," I say with a raspy voice as I rub my throat.

"I said I'm sorry. Here take this back, you need it more than me," He suggests in a soft tone that I had grown accustomed to and I take my tea back.

"It's almost twelve. Are you ready to go?" he asks as I get in a few sips and nod. I pick up the large awkward sketchbook and toss my pencils in my small backpack, quickly throwing the strap on my shoulder before walking next to him. Taking a final gulp of the scalding hot water so I could throw the cup away and hold his hand in mine.

"What were you arguing about with the professor?" I asks as we sit on the end of the tube with my arm wrapped around his shoulder.

"Hmm? Oh, you saw that huh," He lets out an angry sigh.

"I drew a picture of you, and she said that wasn't the assignment. 'We were supposed to draw beautiful works of art, not mental abominations'. I turned to her and was like 'Is love not beautiful?' Then she laughed and said that 'a woman pretending to be a man shouldn't be allowed to love'. Then I said some things that weren't so great and she left. Fucking ugly ass witch." As he says this I grab hold of his sketchbook with my free hand.

"Is that how you see me? A woman pretending to be a man?" I ask, knowing what the answer would be but just needing to hear it.

"What? Kaeden no. Why would you even ask that?" He gently turns the pages in the sketchbook and I rub his shoulder.

"You're right, I'm sorry I asked." I apologize and he opens it to the last few pages, but before that, there was another drawing and I stop his hand from flipping forward. It was a sketch, not a completed portrait but I could tell it was me by the face and the scars on the bare chest.

"When did you do this?" I ask and although I couldn't see his face with his head buried so deep in my shoulder, I could tell he was embarrassed by it.

"One night I got up to go check on Mari's puppy because he was making weird noises and when I came back you were just laying there so peacefully. I wanted to capture that moment in some way that felt personal. Now you're okay but that night was the first and you were so vulnerable and trusting. I dunno, now I feel like I'm just rambling but skip over this creepiness and go to today's," he begs and I stare at it for a few more moments.

The sheets go just above my pelvis as I laid in his bed on my back. Asleep with only the light from the window coming in, my hand reached out and just touched his thigh, but that was the only part of him in the picture.

It was beautiful.

"It's not creepy sweetheart, I actually think it's gallery worthy," I laugh and he flips the page before I can get to it.

"I'm not an artist." he huffs, feeling self-conscience. But when he turns to the page he drew today, that last statement is turned into a lie.

"Oh," I gasp in surprise by how amazing the sketch was.

Through the glass case, I sat on my stool carefully examining my pencil, but the amount of detail from the pottery in the case to the threads in my jacket was incredible considering we had such a short time. The drawing wasn't flat, you could tell there was a lot of attention given to every detail and he was invested in his work.

"I know, it's pretty bad," he says and closes to book to take it back as we come close to our station.

"No Finley, it's beautiful," I gape is shock from how good it was.

"Ah, you're just saying that because you have to," He says as he sits up and brushes pieces of his loose hair to the side.

"I might be your boyfriend but that doesn't mean I won't tell you when your work is terrible. That's really good," I hint and he doesn't know it yet but I drew him too.

"Are you still coming over for dinner tonight? You don't have to do it you know," Finley suggests as we get off at Regents Park.

"The dinner with your cousin? I wouldn't miss it for the world Fin. Why? Do you not want me to go?" I ask and he shrugs.

"I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or anything. I know we just started and I told Mari it was a stupid idea but he can be overbearingly protective sometimes so I don't know if it was just..." He stops when he sees the look I was giving him and blushes.

"It's been almost three months and I've only met your cousin like twice while sneaking out. I can at least give him a better impression of me than that." I interrupt him and he stops fighting me.

"Besides it's our last day off from the play before tech week hits and everything goes to hell. Don't worry Fin, I'm actually kind of excited," I add and he smiles.

"You are?" he raises his eyebrows and I take him into my arms to kiss him in the middle of the park.

"Of course. Now you have me all nervous though so stop throwing a Tizzy. There's nothing to be afraid of," I cup his soft cheeks in my hands and he sniffles a little from the spring allergies.

"Okay," He quietly mumbles and I kiss him once more before we go our separate ways.

*****

Got a few chapters up my sleeve

BTW I love the man who plays KAEDEN

Alex Bertie is one of my favorite Gay transgender FTM role models that I relate to and he helped me so much when I first started my transition, so I'm glad I could do a character dedication to him.