James opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. It was not that James didn’t  want to see the young omega man but more like he hadn’t expected to see him in front of his childhood home of all places. And even dressed like that, James thought to himself. It was obvious that Claude was out for a jog but even so, should he be dressed like that?

 "I was giving you the benefit of the doubt," jokingly remarked Claude, "but now I am becoming weary of you." Claude walked up to James who finally strung together some words and said 

"T-this was my old house. I was just stopping by,” replied James. 

Claude walked up  next to James, lightly panting and leaned in to peer through the window. He stood very close to James making him all the more aware of their close proximity. Claude cupped his hands around his eyes, trying to get a better view inside the house. This move shortened the distance between their limbs even more. Instinctually, James remained totally still, not wanting to be the first to move. 

"Your family left everything in there? Is there a way to go inside the house?" 

"No, it is locked. I tried shimming the door but it wouldn’t budge.”

“You think Miss Sharon has a key? I’m sure you’d love to go inside.”

At this, Claude stopped trying to look through the window and turn back to James. James smiled back to him politely and replied, “More than likely. I think my dad left her with the keys after I went off to college.”

"How long since you were last here?" 

"Hmm, about ten years since I've been in town and about fifteen since I lived in this house."

 Claude peered into the window once more. "That’s a really long time.”

“Yeah. After dad moved away, its been difficult finding the time to come back down. It is nice to be back though.” 

“I’m sure it is… Wow, well, your parents must have been well-off back then to leave behind their furniture. Were they in a hurry?" James felt uncomfortable, it wasn't so much about Claude mentioning wealth but his ability to immediately pick up on a sore subject. 

"Dad didn't want to throw it away nor did he want to keep it when he moved. 'Too bulky' he said." James imitated his dad's tone of voice at the very end of the sentence but Claude turned his head in confusion. James chuckled awkwardly seeing as his façade was immediately shatttered. 

 "That’s weird. Why?"

James briefly avoided Claude's eyes and muttered "I'm not entirely sure."

Even Claude could pick up on James’s lie but decided to not place too much pressure. James turned to him and changed the topic, "Were you on your jog?"

 Claude nodded, "Yeah, I am on my last couple miles. Have you been doing your priestly thing?" he asked gesturing to James's attire. Momentarily, James had forgotten he'd even been wearing his collar. 

"Yes, just helping out some folks with their chores and serving some communion." 

Claude nodded before saying "Debent ut vestri comitatu." 

James brightly smiled and replied, "Spero ita! When did you learn Latin?" Claude scrunched his nose while lightly grinning. James couldn't help but notice how his freckles accentuated his mischievous look; he looked very cutesy. 

"I learned a bit in high school and have been brushing up since attending law school. I'm now in my final year so I've had some time to hone on it." James had suspected the young man was a bit older than he appeared but he did not suspect him to already be at the end of his postgraduate studies. "Were you just now more impressed with the Latin or with my studies?" Claude poked cunningly. 

"Can I say both?" retorted James, now grinning too. The air between them felt light and in the intimate silence James heard the faint sound of his heart beating a bit quicker.

"Usually I make people choose one but since it you," Claude teased, poking at James playfully, "I'll let you off the hook." James blushed and tried his best to control the smirk on his face. 

As the two walked towards James's car, Claude announced "I need to finish my run but I am glad I ran into you." 

"Me too," replied James, a bit too fast. 

"I'll catch you around." 

And just like that, Claude resumed his stride and swiftly descended down the street. James continued to watch him feeling giddy and shy at the same time. His heart continued to beat gently as he slowly inhaled the lingering scent. Catching himself in an unbecoming position, James's grin slowly dropped, and jerked his head back to reality. What am I doing? It was very inappropriate, James berated to himself taking car keys out of his pocket. He slid down into the driver's seat. The car was boiling hot as James cranked the ignition to blast the A/C. Still feeling slightly dazed, James pressed his forehead on the hot steering wheel. It burned his skin but felt that the pain could be an act of a small penance. He shouldn't have been flirting with Claude. I mean, he thought to himself, was he flirting or was I?

A knock on his passenger's side window broke up James's wallowing in self-loathing. He turned to see Claude, with a bright pink face and gesturing to roll down the window. James leaned across the car and quickly rolled it down. "I'm so glad I caught you," panted Claude "but are you okay?" Claude was looking at the red steering wheel mark on James's forehead. James could feel the warmth erupting from that spot.

 "I'm fine, I was just... praying," he countered which elicited a confused nod from Claude. 

"I see... Anyways, I was wondering," continued Claude "if you were busy tonight?" 

James felt his ears grow pink and a subconscious smile erupt on his face. He was sure he had smiled more today than he had in his entire life. "It's just I've done nothing but studying and thought we could continue our chat. It's okay if you're too tir-" 

"No, please! Stop by," ejected James. "I'd love your company."

Claude smiled back and giddily replied "Great! I'll finish my run and stop by 7:30? 8 the latest?" 

"Yes, that sounds perfect.”

“Awesome! I’ll bring over a bottle of wine. Wait, do priests drink wine?”

James laughed and smiled brightly. “Yes, we drink wine. I look forward to it.”

“Great then, I’ll see you tonight!”

“See you tonight. Enjoy your run." With a quick goodbye, Claude ran off again this time with a little bit more speed in his stride.