Aging had a scent to it. Pheromones decayed over a period of time, and though Oscar hadn't been around him for a full twelve months, Sebastian still found his body attuning to the passage of time. The aging of the other man. It was, undoubtedly, due to their close quarters and the specific taste of Oscar's signature he'd had from the start of their acquaintance. There were a few others with whom he had a similar talent.
A few weeks ago, he'd noticed a certain... change in Oscar. Oh, some would laugh if he phrased it like that. Citing it to a woman's cycle at the end of her life, perhaps. But men had cyclical changes as well, and ones that occurred yearly, and sometimes even daily. Sebastian could tell himself what time it was according to these pheromones, if he had left his special watch on the bed stand at home.
Of course, he never did, because to fail in the patterns of his meticulousness meant sure death for a blind man.
Sadly, Sebastian's math was off. That might have been due to Oscar's body chemistry altering slightly over the past few weeks, or because it was quite simply difficult to tell time just by letting a cloud of pheromonal influences surround you. But he got it nearly right on, and he'd gone through great pains to give Oscar something special on (what he thought was) his birthday. Only off by a day, though, so perhaps the thought did count for more than he thought. Oblivious to this error, he tugged the careful green satin ribbon tight around the doorknob of their shared chamber, and then fluffed the petals of the ribbon.
Oh, each of them had their own apartments for sleeping in, truly. But when they wanted more extended work, they would come (together or alone or sometimes for an impromptu collaboration) to this room. Concrete floors. Steel bars. Nothing in the room but broken furniture and an industrial hose to wash everything clean again. It reeked of the both of them. Satisfied that the bow would stay, and that Oscar would understand the meaning and come to open his present, Sebastian put his hands in his pockets and wandered into the rest of the Villa, whistling to himself. Perhaps he'd take in the after-theater crowd again that weekend.
( Either way, Oscar's gift would keep. )
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