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Welcome to Charming, the year is now 1895. It’s time to join us and immerse yourself in scandal and drama interlaced with magic both light and dark.

Where will you fall?

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Did you know? Jewelry of jet was the haute jewelry of the Victorian era. — Fallin
What she got was the opposite of what she wanted, also known as the subtitle to her marriage.
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#17
Dean fixed Don Juan with a look. "It's been... a lot lately. You've been through some stuff. I want to be here for you." His tone was earnest as he pulled Don Juan closer. He kissed him softly. "I don't say things I don't mean," Dean continued. "There are very few instances in which I am entirely unavailable to you." Work was really the only thing Dean could think of. Even then, Dean could write back and figure it out as soon as possible.

Hanna was another story, but Dean thought that with her, they had an understanding. He mulled over how best to bring his conversation with Hanna to the forefront of this conversation, but still couldn't quite tell how much Don Juan wanted to know. "I don't want her to be something that comes between us." Dean reiterated from their first discussion on the matter. There was too much history here, too much attachment, for Dean to let that happen. "She knows," he confessed, figuring he would just have to get it over with. "She saw your notes in my drawer and put the pieces together." It would be hard not to, given everything that happened that night.




[Image: Dean-Sig-New.png]
#18
Right, there were nearly no boundaries here, but Don Juan thought there should have been some, which meant it was down to him to set them. Dean would come any time he called, so he had to exercise self-restraint in knowing when not to call. Don Juan didn't think he was worth anyone blowing their lives up over, and it scared him to think Hudson would sideline his friends or his hobbies or his work or even his own sanity because Don Juan was being needy... but if they were really relying on Don Juan's self-control to keep Hudson's life intact, well, that didn't bode well for anyone.

He didn't love the idea of Hudson always putting her second, either. Was that hypocritical? He wanted to be assured that Hudson wanted and needed him as much as the reverse, but that didn't necessarily mean he needed to be Hudson's priority at every minute of every day. It seemed problematic for Hudson to continue this other relationship if he wasn't going to be fully present with her. The way the interaction had gone on the first night had never entirely sat right with him either, but he'd never wanted to bring it up. It seemed like it wasn't any of his business how Hudson conducted his other relationship, if it was something they were both happy to keep doing. He was prepared to swallow his reservations once again, but then Hudson said she knew and it seemed like maybe this relationship was about to become his business after all.

He went still. Not quite tense, because he wasn't panicking. He trusted Hudson and knew he would have heard about this sooner if it was going to be a problem... but this was still uncharted territory and he wasn't sure how to proceed. "She knows what, exactly?" he asked. Specificity seemed important here. And some degree of reciprocity, perhaps — Don Juan didn't even know her last name, and given that he'd seen her only once when he was in a state and she had her hair down he wasn't confident he'd recognize her if he met her out in society. If she knew a lot about him he would want to at least know that he was talking to her, next time it happened.



[Image: 0hYxCaj.png]
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#19
Dean knew he had to be very careful about what he said here. This whole thing entangled more people than Dean was used to involving. His relationships had always been singular and parallel, but now he felt like there was some sort of crossover that was unavoidable. "She knows we're together." He trusted Hanna when she said she wouldn't tell anyone. They were all in a delicate equilibrium that only worked if everyone continued to be discreet. Dean was the problem really, he needed to be less obvious at parties where Hanna was concerned and he knew that. It was something he was conscious of.

"And that I still see other people, well just her, outside of this." He had enough goin on right now, even just for anything casual or a one-night stand. Truthfully, even with his upcoming trip to Greece this week, Dean was sort of looking forward to a break, to sleep and focus on work for a little bit so he could come back refreshed and ready to jump back in. He felt a little selfish and guilty about that, but the trip was required and it wasn't like he could invite anyone with him.

"Some level of transparency and genuine communication are necessary, but at you get to decide what and how much gets shared." He wanted to make sure both Hanna and Don Juan knew that. Dean was the one going in between and he needed to know everyone's limits and he could handle himself.




[Image: Dean-Sig-New.png]
#20
She knew they were together. Fair enough, Don Juan supposed; that might have been unavoidable if she'd found the letters. Technically he knew that about her, too. But she could know that without knowing anything about their relationship, and it wasn't clear to Don Juan how much of that she knew. Did they know how long they'd been together? When they'd stopped seeing each other, or why?

Maybe it was selfish, but there was really one question at the forefront of his mind: did she know about his drug habits? He didn't think Hudson would have told her, but he also didn't know how he could have avoided it; it was so bound up in the history of them. "Does she know..." he started, but wasn't sure exactly what to ask. "Why we stopped before? Or why we're together now?"

(Hudson might have argued that it wasn't the only reason, but Don Juan wasn't fooled; if he wasn't sober he wouldn't have been here now, no doubt).



[Image: 0hYxCaj.png]
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#21
In the pause, Dean felt the ache in his body return full force and he moved to strip all of the way and settled into the tub before the water grew cold. The hot water felt good on his battered body and he sank into it gratefully. He looked up at Don Juan and motioned with his head to get in and join him. "No details. Just that we weren't together for a while and now we are again. I thought that was enough." Those weren't his secrets to give away. She hadn't even really flinched at the fact that it was two men together, which was surprising, considering everything he'd had to teach her about the basics of sex. She'd taken all of the information in stride.

"I'm still navigating how much either of you wants to know," he admitted, as he leaned his head back against the tub and rolled it to look at Don Juan again. Hanna had been full of questions, but he'd expected that and had been able to steer the conversation accordingly. "I've never been in this position before." And he wouldn't be, if everyone wasn't alright with it. He knew that, but he still couldn't help the nagging sensation he was being selfish for trying to hold onto both of them.




[Image: Dean-Sig-New.png]
#22
Don Juan worried his lower lip again while he finished undressing. "I don't need to know anything," he insisted. He didn't want to put Dean into an uncomfortable position and he still didn't think he was entitled to demand any details about the relationship if Dean or his partner weren't inclined to share them. "But I don't — I mean. I don't want you to think you have to hide anything."

He really just didn't want to be the reason this all collapsed, one way or another. He didn't need any more reasons to feel guilty.

He climbed into the water and wrapped himself around Hudson. "I've never done this before, either."



[Image: 0hYxCaj.png]
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#23
Dean pulled Don Juan in close and relaxed a little more fully. "That helps," he would still toe the line of keeping things separate, but he would have to figure out the right rhythm for spending time with both of them, though it was easier to see Don Juan as neither one of them really had anyone else to answer to. Hanna had an entire life outside of Dean, which was good, and she should, so he had to work around her schedule most of the time.

"I don't want you to feel like you can't ever come over," Dean missed him when he wasn't here. "But I'll give you a quick heads up when plan to see her?" It didn't have to be anything major, just a quick note to say if there was a night she would be here. It wasn't all that often, it had no regular schedule, which was for the better. Any pattern to their visits and it would become suspicious. "Just be open with me about what you need from me." Dean could manage. He would have to if he wanted things to work out all around. "You will always be the most important to me." Things with Hanna were still new and he couldn't say with complete certainty that they wouldn't get more serious than he intended, they already had, but Dean had been in love with Don Juan for so long he didn't know what it was like to be anything else anymore. Now that he had him back, Dean intended to keep it that way, permanently.




[Image: Dean-Sig-New.png]
#24
Don Juan settled his head against Dean's chest and let one of his hands lazily roam over his body beneath the water. "That'd be nice," he said, about having a heads up when Dean had plans. He had felt a little like he was walking on eggshells this time around every time he showed up, wondering if he was interrupting anything... or tonight when he'd stayed mostly dressed in case Hudson came back home with company. A little more certainty would be helpful.

"You're the most important thing in my life," he said. Not that it needed to be said, but Hudson was more vocal than him in many ways and he felt he ought to say the obvious at least occasionally. "I love you."


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#25
Dean felt the knot in his chest finally loosen completely. Though he knew it, it had been a long time since he'd heard those sorts of sentiments from Don Juan and he'd needed it more than he'd been willing to admit. He wasn't insecure about their relationship, but didn't want to come across as too intense. Having Don Juan back in his life was all he'd wanted.

"I love you, too," he sighed contentedly, feeling much better than he had when he'd started today. "Come here," he mumbled as he used the arm beneath Don Juan to slowly pull him up fully into his lap. Dean leaned forward, sitting up more, pulling him close as the water sloshed around and over the edges a little. Framing Don Juan's face with his hands gently, he kissed him tenderly, pouring the rest of the emotions into the kiss. This was going to work, he was determined.




[Image: Dean-Sig-New.png]

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