Anniversary

[mystiklsushi]

Who: Kiku and Willem
When: The evening of the 8th
Where: The roof of the Royal Cafe
What: The celebration of a one year anniversary

Comments

[oranje_windmill]

He bent down and kissed that soft smile, felt the butterflies in his stomach settle a bit. Whatever happened tonight, they'd be fine.

"Happy anniversary," he replied as they slid apart. Taking the other man by the hand, he walked over to the dinner laid out for them. Pulling out Kiku's chair, he let the other man sit down before taking his own seat. Looking down at the folder he still held, he decided now was as a good a time as ever.

"Kiku," he said, making sure he had the other man's attention before he went on. "We've been looking for a place to move into a while now and I...I think I may have found one."

With a deep breath he handed the folder over. It was a simple cream colored folder, with the poem I Want by Kim Konopka written on the front cover.

"It's just that it's...it's different than what we talked about."

Different in that is was a two bedroom house and not an apartment. Different in that is was a completely different step then they'd talked about making, a bigger one. Taking another deep breath he forced himself to sit back and be quiet, to wait for the other man's reaction.

[mystiklsushi]

Gingerly, he took the folder, reading the poetry written on the cover before anything else. It seemed fitting, if they were going to be discussing moving in together. With a nervous glance at Willem, whose face could not hide the hopeful expectation of his reaction, he pulled the papers from the file.

Immediately, his eyes went wide.

"This is...Are you..."

It was more than he had expected. Had dared hoped to expect. A house together with Willem. A home. He teared up, hand immediately jumping to blot at the moisture in embarrassment.

"You really want us to make this kind of life?"

[oranje_windmill]

At the appearance of tears his heart sank in his chest. A half a dozen things sprang to his lips; how he'd found it biking home from the beach one day a few weeks ago, how the house was for rent, how it was small and in need of a new coat of paint and someone to tend the flower beds, how it would give them privacy and a postage stamp of a back yard for Pochi to run around. He swallowed them all, not wanting to put any more pressure on his boyfriend then he already had with the contents of the folder.

"I do," he replied, glad to hear his voice didn't shake. "But if we're not there yet that's okay."

There were other apartments they could move into, and they still had perfectly good ones if they decided living apart was best after all.

[mystiklsushi]

Kiku hiccuped, unable to hold back anymore as a little laugh escaped. They hadn't even started dinner yet and he was already an emotional mess. He wiped at his eyes with the back of his hands, smiling at his boyfriend across the table while he tried to pull himself back together. But try as he might, tears continued to roll down his face. He laughed again, feeling foolish and elated at the same time.

"Willem Van Peeters. How did you find such a wonderful place within our budget?"

[oranje_windmill]

Hope welled up in him at that laugh, at the question.

"I took a different route home from the beach the other day and a For Rent sign caught my attention."

As had the fact that the house had looked so nice even in such obvious disrepair.

"The landlord can't do upkeep anymore and agreed to lower the rent if we did it ourselves."

He already had plans for the garden. It was too late in the year for tulips but there were others he could plant for the summer.

"Are you saying yes?"

[mystiklsushi]

"Its a big step." He looked over the pictures, still dabbing at his eyes. They would have to do some working to get it perfect, and if it was rental, it was really not terribly different than having an apartment. But the feeling of a house was different. It was much bigger, held more meaning. More promise.

"A big step...but not too big for us." He nodded, beaming. "When can we move in?"

[oranje_windmill]

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, could feel that the smile on his face had become a bit dopey.

He didn't care. Kiku had said yes to the house.

"It's been empty for a while so we'll need to do some cleaning first but after that it's just a matter of signing the papers and getting everything moved."

They'd get a delivery at the bar over the weekend so he'd have to make sure to get the boxes. Kiku probably had some from when the cafe got deliveries as well.

"I can't wait to see Pochi's reaction when he realizes he has his own yard."

[mystiklsushi]

"Oh, I'm sure he'll handle it well," Kiku laughed, uncontainable joy bubbling over. The remnants of tears stuck to his lashes caught the candlelight and turned everything starry in his vision. The smile on his face was firmly stuck on. They were going to move in together and live like a family. The animals were practically already their children. The house with a yard still seemed like such a dreamlike fairytale thing, and yet with the floorplans in his hands, he could already see where their things would go.

He smiled up at Willem again, and suddenly remembered that he had also prepared something for tonight. Kiku passed the wrapped book across the table. Inside was a comic book. More specifically, a comic book detailing the various aspects of their life together that he enjoyed. There were few words, but plenty of images to get the point across.

"This seems like nothing much after your news, but...I thought you might like something like this."

[oranje_windmill]

He could see the wheels in the other man's head turning, could guess he was already picking where their things would go. Wondered if the plan would match the ones he himself had made. He took the wrapped package from the other man, unwrapped it with care.

And stopped, breath catching his throat as he registered the images before him.

"Kiku," he said softly, tracing the images of the small book in his lap.

[mystiklsushi]

"Its just...about day to day things. There's no real story behind it. But I do hope you like it anyway."

He tugged at the hem of his sleeve, smoothing imaginary wrinkles.

"There may be a sequel. If you want. Something with a higher rating."

[oranje_windmill]

He flipped through the pages, looking at the images of them together and happy. He felt warmth bubble up in his chest at the implied meaning of the gift; that he made Kiku happy and was a wanted part of his life. It was probably the most personal gift anybody had ever given him, a clear sign that he was wanted.

And besides all of that, the art was lovely, all soft, simple lines and warm colors.

"It's wonderful," he said softly. "Thank you,"

His smile turned to a soft smirk as he looked up.

"A sequel would be wonderful. I'm sure I can provide you with some inspiration if you need it."

[mystiklsushi]

"I'd like that. I'll try my best to do you justice."

He beamed.

"I'll have a lot of opportunity for getting good references in the near future, huh?"

[oranje_windmill]

Willem's smirk took on a bit of a wolfish edge.

"I will get naked with you as many times as you need, in all the positions and places you can think of."

Warmth bubbled up in him again as he remembered that with the new house they'd have many new places.

[mystiklsushi]

"I'll work to commit every part of it to memory," he answered a bit coyly, reaching across the table for his lover's hands.

At the same time, he brushed his ankle up the inside of Willem's calf.

[oranje_windmill]

He took the hands that reached for him, setting the book to the side where it wouldn't get bent or torn. He stroked his thumb over Kiku's wrist, felt a warm tingle in his stomach at the foot on his leg.

"Keep that up and we won't finish dinner," he said softly, although he made no move to let go of Kiku's hands or dislodge the man's foot.

[mystiklsushi]

"I picked things that will be fine to sit for a while...but if you'd rather we build the mood a bit more over dinner, we can arrange that, too." He roved his foot a bit higher. It would be fun to see how much they could eat at this pace. How long their patience would last. He ran his tongue over his lips in anticipation.