Tour Eiffel Affair

And this was enough to make Xavier smile brightly, an arm sliding around the boy to hold him close.
"I love you..." He murmured lightly. Although he didn't expect Prentiss to say it back right now, he couldn't help himself.

Prentiss smiled though, nuzzling into the crook of Xavier's neck. It felt nice to have someone love him.
It must have triggered something, because he could see something in his mind. He wasnt sure what it was at first, but slowly things linked together.
"'Ou 'avee a tattoo. I likee eet." He was thinking carefully about it. "Eet 'as a floweer. A whitee floweer. A plumeeria." The boy paused, not quite able to recall the name that went along with it.

Xavier tilted his head curiously, though he nodded.
"I do... Are you talking about my mom's tattoo?" He blinked. He never thought the boy really noticed it. They never talked much about his mother.

"Eez zhat what eet eez?" Prentiss smiled warmly at him. "I don't reemember much, but I know I loveed eet. I can zee eet in my 'ead. Zhere eez a namee with eet, but I dont know zhe name. When in his right mind, Prentiss could tell you of every tattoo Xavier had, he had memorized all of them.

"Mhm." Xavier nodded, smiling lightly. "Alexandra Malone is the name you're thinking of. It's on my back, right below my shoulder blade."

"Aleexandreea." Prentiss sounded in his French accent, curling closer into Xavier. "Zhat eez 'our mom?" He wondered if she was still alive, yet was not brave enough to ask.

"It is." Xavier smiled, slowly turning around to show Prentiss the tattoo he was thinking of. It also had the words Rest In Peace, answering Prentiss's question about whether she was alive or not.

Prentiss's fingers danced over the ink staining the mans skin. "Eet eez gorgeeouz moniseur!" The french man cooed softly. "I am glad to 'ave 'ou." He spoke after some time, still unsure of how he managed.

"I'm glad to have you too." Xavier nodded sincerely, turning back around to kiss the man's forehead. "I know you don't remember it but you make me happier than anything in the world, Prentiss..." He smiled softly.

Prentiss folded into the man, so happy he could almost cry. He wished he could remember them, he wanted to know all about Xavier. "I 'opee I reemember zoon. I zhink I mizz 'ou."

"I miss you too." He sighed softly, kissing Prentiss's temple. "I kind of like getting to know you all over again but I do miss the you that's been with me for a while." He admitted.

"Geeting to know moi all over again?" Prentiss couldnt help but smile at that. "Don teell me im geeting boring amour." Truly he hoped he wasnt. He wanted to keep Xavier around.

"Well of course there's always things to learn about you, but it's interesting starting all over. And I'm glad to see that you still seem to like me even though you don't remember me." He grinned lightly down at the other boy.

"Juzt looking at 'ou eez a pleazuree, mon cherie." Prentiss's cheeks were slightly pink, his smile gentle as he watched Xavier. "'Ow could anyone not likee 'ou?" He just couldnt see that happening, under any circumstances.

"I don't know, I'm pretty awesome." He joked lightly, grinning at his lover. "So is there anything you want to do today until you remember me?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Non..." He seemed to be reluctant to leave the bedroom. Not knowing who he was, who Xavier was, everything was so terrifying. He simply felt lost. "Eet eez bezt I ztay 'ere. 'Ou can go zhough, eef 'ou need to."

"No, it's okay." Xavier nodded slowly. "I can stay here with you. I'm just used to you wanting to be out doing something." He smiled lightly. "But I understand."

The boy buried his face into Xavier's neck. "Moi mom acteed likee I do zhiz a lot." It made him feel faulty, like a bad piece of technology or something. His hard drive blue screens and his internal storage data fails. Everything just erased. "Eet eez....Scareey." Prentiss had never admitted to being really afraid of anything. He had wanted to be perfect for Xavier, had made himself perfect for Xavier. But right now he did not remember Xavier, and made a fault in allowing himself to show flaws in front of the man. He would be angry with himself later.

"I'm sorry Prentiss." Xavier frowned lightly, hugging the boy tight. He felt like he was getting to know the boy even better this way, Prentiss wasn't keeping anything from him. "If it helps... I know how it feels. Not exactly of course but I'm... dying. I know you don't remember but I have AIDS. And being sick... it's scary. Scarier than you ever want to admit."

Prentiss let out humorless laugh, bringing his head up to cover his face. "Wee aree doomeed." The boy couldnt stand the thought of it. No one had told him he way dying, but he felt it. He didn't understand why, but really its because dying is always in the back of the boys mind. It never stops, weather he remembers why he is thinking about it or not. "No onee dieez a virgin. Lifee f*cks uz all." The boy muttered bitterly, cursing even though that was something Prentiss normally never did. He didn't remember Xavier and still hearing that the man was dying sent pain through his chest.

"We are doomed." Xavier nodded in agreement. "But we can still enjoy life while we're living it." He smiled softly. He always tried to not dwell on his death even though it loomed closer and closer each day.

Prentiss flipped onto his back, glaring up at the ceiling as though it were the reason they were both dying. "'ow do 'ou eenjoy eet?" As much as he has thought about it today, he doesnt see how he manages to live with it. "Zhere eez alwayz zhiz feeling....Eet weighs moi down eeven zhough I don't reemember why."

"I used to dwell on it all day every day and then I realized that if I was going to do that I might as well just end it all now. But I wasn't ready to die yet so I told myself I had to keep living. I couldn't just give up because I was going to die one day." Xavier smiled softly. "You just have to tell yourself that because you're going to die one day you have to make each and every day more special. Live while you can."

Prentiss blinked as though surprised, his lips twisting into a wistful smile.  "Oh, Je souhaite que je pourrais être que fort." He had never thought of himself as strong.  It seemed as though his entire life his adoptive mother had tried to shield him from everything.  Even when Prentiss had felt normal his mom was always leaving him sticky notes. As the years went by and he began forgetting, Prentiss found himself using his notes more and more.  Even today while he had been alone in the bed room he had read several postit notes he had found.  It is what convinced him he was safe around Xavier.  "'Ou Zavieer aree truly zhe greeatezt of meen,"  Xavier was sick, but asides from that he was the thing dreams were made of.

Translate: "I wish I could be that strong"

"I'm happy you think so." Xavier murmured, kissing Prentiss's cheek gently. "But Prentiss, you're one of the only reasons I keep living somedays. I'm nothing without you. You make me who I am. Thank you."