77 77- Early Presents

Michael thought he hid his disappointment fairly well when it turned out that the surprise was actually dinner as expected and not some sly scheme to get the two of them between a set of hotel linens. The restaurant had a designated elevator, and as soon as they were inside Michael knew he was in trouble.

"Ah… How far up is the restaurant?" Michael asked, clinging to Eddie's arm a little tighter.

"Probably about sixty floors or so. Why?" Edwardo pressed the button for the floor once the doors closed.

It was easy to tell this was a glass elevator. There was a little garden right outside its walls. Michael wanted out of it. Now. But, it was too late. It started moving, and at the sight of the ground rapidly falling away instinct took over.

It was such a quick movement Edwardo didn't realize what was going on at first. One moment Michael was next to him apparently fine, and the next Michael had physically gotten himself inside Edwardo's own buttoned up coat. Michael's arms squeezed Edwardo's torso so tight, it was almost hard to breathe.

"Hey- What- Mick- Michael, what are you doing?" Edwardo stood awkwardly with his arms held away from his body.

"I'm- I'm sc-scared of h-heights…" came Michael's muffled reply.

So that's what it was? Edwardo sighed and gently hugged Michael back, patting what he assumed were Michael's shoulders through his coat. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. We're almost there, okay?"

The elevator finally reached its destination, and there was an awkward shuffle to get off with Michael refusing to let him go. Edwardo signaled to the gentleman running the hostess stand to give them a minute.

"Okay, we're not on the elevator anymore." Edwardo soothed, undoing his coat buttons. "You can't see outside from here. You want to try opening your eyes?"

Michael peeked his eyes open ever so slowly, and sighed in relief when he found Edwardo's words to be true. He was still shaking a little. How embarrassing!

"Are you okay?" Edwardo asked. "I didn't know you were so afraid of heights."

"I'm short, okay?" Michael pouted, pulling away from Eddie just a little. "I'm made to stay close to the ground. Usually it doesn't bother me to be so high up so long as I can't tell I'm high up, but that damned elevator's a damned torture device!"

Edwardo frowned, unsure how to handle the situation.

"If you gentlemen would like," the host spoke up, "we have an employee elevator that's completely enclosed, should you gentlemen decide against dining with us today. However, we do have a few tables far from the windows without views of the city available as well."

"What do you think?" Edwardo asked Michael. "Do you want to try eating here, or do we need to leave?"

Michael took a deep breath. He finally got his shaking more or less under control. "You said this place was good. It would be a shame to go through all that and not at least try it… I'll be okay so long as I can't see the ground. That, and I really need to sit down."

With Michael giving them the okay, the host showed them to a table near the middle of the restaurant, right next to the kitchen doors. Ordinarily it would be the least desired spot, but with the textured glass partition blocking off half of the usually desired view it was the perfect spot for them to be. They were left with menus and a waitress soon came to take drink orders.

Michael sipped at his water and nibbled on the skinny cracker-like breadsticks that were left on the table as he looked over the menu. This was definitely the most expensive place they'd been on a date to by far, and he just made a total fool of himself. If he couldn't get his digestive system going again after that mini panic attack he wasn't even going to be able to eat. He didn't want to waste their date like that.

Edwardo gazed at Michael from across the table. He was still feeling the rush of endorphins from when Michael clung to him so desperately. Having Michael in his arms was the best feeling, hands down. Now, if only he knew that Michael was scared of heights ahead of time. There was a certain guilt in having put him through that.

"I was thinking after this we could go back to my place to watch the snow fall?" Edwardo suggested. "I've got a projection screen in the atrium we could watch a movie on, and I know Ms. Princessa Bonita Esperanza would love to see you again. She can smell you on me after our dates, and she always goes looking for you afterward."

Michael gave him a tender smile. "That sounds like fun. Count me in!"

Dinner proceeded about as expected. With it still being in the early afternoon the restaurant wasn't too busy, and Edwardo wasn't lying about the quality of the steak. Michael had a somewhat slower start on eating than usual, but with the quality of the food and the quality of the company he was eventually able to finish his meal. Despite finishing first Edwardo didn't rush him, which was nice. Honestly Michael wouldn't mind coming back here again, so long as he didn't have to ride in that glass elevator.

After dinner the host showed them to the employee elevator as promised. It wasn't anything fancy, but Michael found it a thousand times more tolerable. By the time they were back on the ground and waiting for the valet to return Edwardo's car, Michael was back in good spirits almost like nothing ever happened.

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Edwardo figured his dog Essie would be excited to see Michael again, but he didn't expect this kind of reaction.

She had tried to jump up on Michael immediately, and if Edwardo hadn't held his hand out to stop her she would have probably knocked him to the ground. As it was, she was whimpering and carrying on something fierce as she wiggled and squirmed while Michael petted her head. Edwardo could see there was a little puddle of urine he'd have to clean up too.

"Aww, did you miss me, Ms. Cutie Pie?" Michael asked Essie in baby talk. "Guess what? I missed you too! Yes I did! Such a good girl, yes you are! Such a good puppy!"

Essie calmed down eventually, and after Edwardo cleaned up her little over-excitement accident he set to work getting the projection screen in the atrium set up. The snow outside was still coming down in little flurries, but his yard was already dusted in the white stuff. Before their movie premier got started though, he had a little surprise waiting for Michael.

"So, since I'll be out of town, I figured I'd give you your Christmas present early." He handed Michael a medium sized professionally wrapped box he'd left sitting on a table nearby. "I was a little worried it wouldn't get here in time."

Michael had noticed the box when they first came in of course. He was hoping it was for him, but he tried not to comment on it. He took it gleefully, not bothering to try and hide his excitement.

"Can I open it now?" He asked, almost bouncing. "Is it okay if I open it now?"

"Of course!" Edwardo nodded.

Michael ripped into the colorful paper with reckless abandon. Under that was a nondescript white box he had to pop some tape off of to get open, but inside was somehow the number one thing from his wish list this year. He wasn't even sure how Edwardo got his hands on one. He pulled out the contents and held it up to admire, letting the box fall to the floor. It was a new coat from one of his favorite indie brands. Brightly colored and lined in faux fur, it had animal ears in the hood and embroidered patches of assorted candies everywhere. How in the hell was Edwardo able to get this? Michael himself had sat up all night refreshing the shop's web page and still it managed to sell out before he got his order in! Just- HOW?!

Edwardo took his finger and physically closed Michael's jaw from where it had been left hanging open with a chuckle. "Well, do you want to try it on?" he asked. "This is the one you were talking about online, right?"

Michael wasted no time trying it on once given permission. It was a little oversized, just like he liked. If his smile got any wider, he'd split his face in half. Edwardo was having a hard time repressing his grin too. It hadn't been easy to get his hands on this particular present. He'd checked the designer's website the day of the release to find it sold out already and after an exhaustive and futile search to find someone willing to sell theirs, he'd had to eventually had to reach out to the brand and offer to pay extra just to get one. It was worth every penny. Michael looked adorable in it.

"Check the pockets," Edwardo suggested, getting almost more enjoyment out of this than Michael was. Sometimes having a well invested trust fund wasn't too bad.

Michael did as he was told. One hand brought back a handful of gourmet chocolate bars, and the other had something much more practical.

"Is this one of those pepper spray keychains?" Michael asked.

"I thought it might be a good idea since I won't be here for a while. I'd feel better if I knew you had a way to defend yourself. All the ones I saw in stores were kind of bland, so I had this one custom made. Do you like it?"

Michael turned the device over in his hand to examine it. The front had a big letter M done in iridescent rhinestones, and the body itself was an attractive matte baby blue with tiny glittery stars in all different colors. It was exactly the kind of thing he'd be happy to carry around, and the fact that Edwardo had it made custom just for him was overwhelmingly sweet.

Michael put the pepper spray back in the coat pocket, then beckoned for Edwardo to lean down. Once his lips were in reach, Michael wrapped his arms around Edwardo's neck and gave him a big, wet kiss.

"Thank you," Michael murmured.

"I'm glad you like the presents. I'm sorry I'll be out of town for the holiday."

Michael frowned slightly at that. It seems he still wasn't getting an invitation to go with him. He tried to tell himself not to get greedy. Edwardo had spent pretty much every afternoon with him for almost a month. And he couldn't go anyway. And even if Edwardo still hadn't said he loved him, the attention to detail in these presents was way beyond proof that he cared.

"Don't worry about that." Michael shrugged it off like it didn't bother him. "I'm just disappointed I don't have your present ready yet. I was trying to put something special together too, but the last part I needed for it got lost in the mail. With the curfew, not being able to go out shopping on my own has made things a little difficult."

It was Edwardo's turn to give the big, wet kiss. "Don't worry about it. I'm patient. Now, big question. Do you want popcorn to watch the movie with?"

Considering their big dinner, they split a bag of microwaved popcorn between them, and after he took off his early Christmas present and put it back in the box for safe keeping, Michael followed Edwardo out to the atrium where the screen he'd set up was on standby. It was barely getting dark, and the sun was setting on the other side of the house so the lighting was almost perfect. There were two beanbag chairs with a fuzzy blanket on each of them. Really nice setup, but completely impractical in Michael's opinion for couple's move time.

Michael gave Edwardo enough time to get settled in his seat before he proceeded to simply plop down in his lap, wasting no time getting comfortable himself.

"This is okay, isn't it?" Michael asked innocently.

Eddie was quietly screaming inside, trying to keep his composure. "O-of c-course! N-not a p-problem a-at all…!"