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 Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2023 8:47 pm
Absolutely smitten, Orien was still smiling as he was lead to the oven, and while Kaelan pulled out the--
“Oh--”
Oh no, it was so cute, and Kaelan was so cute with how enthusiastic he was.
“Oh, it’s perfect, Kay,” he did laugh, but only because he was so proud of Kaelan for his creativity. “It’s perfect. I’m going to feel bad eating it. You really outdid yourself. You’re so good at this. I bet you’d be a great professional cook if you wanted,” he praised, sounding nothing but sincere, because he was proud of Kaelan.
“Thank you. You’ve done so much today. I’m definitely going to have to make up for it somehow.”
Was he teasing? A little. Kaelan already promised tonight.
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Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2023 7:13 am
Kaelan laughed again when Orien did; he didn’t feel embarrassed about this, and he knew Orien wasn’t laughing at him. Kaelan felt silly, but not in the way that he was criticizing himself or letting his heart fill with self-hate or doubt or regret.
Even if this was silly or childish, he had fun–and Orien looked like he had fun! Oh, but he was so full of it.
“I could not be a professional cook, I feel like a professional cook would criticize our green bean-pizza combo.” He loved how good Orien was to him. He was so sweet and supportive and–oh, Kaelan even loved how cheeky he was.
“I know what you have in mind to make it up to me,” he huffed, but his smile reached his eyes and he squeezed Orien’s hand. “You’ll have to eat extra vegetables, I want you strong and healthy.”
For more than just tonight, of course. He wanted this for the rest of their lives.
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Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2023 6:06 am
“That’s not true at all!” Orien laughed again, and this time he tugged at Kaelan’s hand so he could pull him closer -- although he was careful about not making him knock anything off the stove or getting burned or anything like that! No, he wanted to wrap an arm around him and hold him close and press kisses on his face.
“You could be anything you want to be. I really, truly believe that, Kay. If you want to become a professional cook, I would support you. Just as I support you going to school for--”
He suddenly stopped. What was Kaelan going to school for…? He felt like he knew… but he wasn’t sure any more. Did he want to be a teacher…? That made the most sense, but it was like his mind had turned up the volume too high, except it was all static.
But worse than that… he knew he hesitated. He knew Kaelan heard his hesitation. And just like that, he was certain he’d ruined their really, really good afternoon.
Orien pulled back from the embrace so he could lower his head in shame. “You want to be a teacher,” he said, but even then it didn’t sound as confident as he would have liked.
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Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2023 7:41 pm
“I do!” Kaelan said, with every bit the enthusiasm he’d had before. The pizza could be forgotten on the stove, it wasn’t as important right now. He discarded the oven mitts so he could place a hand on both sides of Orien’s face and lift it to him.
He’d heard the hesitation, and even if he hadn’t, Orien’s response would have given him right to worry.
But, he smiled, and it still reached his eyes.
“And it’s all thanks to you that I get the chance to.” Well, and Jett, but he might not even know Jett if he hadn’t had Orien to take care of him.
“You’ve always supported me. And even when I was going to give up on myself, you made me believe in myself. Every day I wake up and know how lucky I am to have you, Orien. And thanks to you, there’s so many other things I get to do. I don’t know if I want to be a professional cook, but. Oh, maybe I’ll write a book about budget friendly recipes. I chose my nutrition elective so I could try and get better at picking good foods for us.”
He held Orien’s face gently, and brushed his thumbs over his cheeks. “I love you. You make me so happy, Orien. Your support means the world to me. And I want to support you, too. Now and forever, whatever you want to do. I’ll have your back. Through everything. We’re a team. There’s no me without you.”
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2023 1:25 pm
Kaelan’s enthusiasm pulled Orien from the darkness he felt himself slipping into. Kaelan’s hands brought him comfort and grounded him from losing himself in his thoughts. How was it that Orien had gotten so lucky to have Kaelan in his life? He didn’t think he’d actually done anything deserving of Kaelan’s love and devotion, but he wanted it. And in many ways, he needed it in order to even survive.
How he’d managed to survive without Kaelan for nearly a year, he had no idea. How he’d managed to collect enough to rent an apartment -- ah… well, he did know. But he’d been desperate. And then he’d been tricked. And then he’d been manipulated. If it hadn’t been for Kaelan agreeing to stay with him, Orien didn’t know what his fate would have been.
“I love you, too,” Orien said quietly, but although he was still shaken by his momentary lapse in memory, he smiled back at his boyfriend. His hands found Kaelan’s waist and he pulled him closer.
“Yeah. We’re a team,” he agreed. “There’s no me without you, either. Thank you, Kay. For not giving up on me. And I think you’ll be a wonderful teacher. You should definitely write a book. You could pair it with a novel. Do adventurers trying to cook with what they can find,” he half teased, but it wasn’t any secret that he liked fantasy.
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Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2023 2:59 pm
“Oh,” Kaelan gasped. “Do you think so? I would read that book.” He didn’t know if he was talented enough to write a full book, or if anyone would read it. Orien would, though. That was enough for him. “I’ll put it in my notebook of ideas.”
He had plenty of pages filled out, but he mostly collected ideas or wrote short stories or started something but hadn’t yet finished it. He’d relied a lot on reading or telling stories to give himself some outlet. It was a dream he didn’t have the faith to reach for. He wanted stability first, and then he could think about the other things.
Making sure they had a safe place to stay, and food, and savings–those were more important right now. But, Kaelan wasn’t going to give up on anything else, not right now. They had too much in front of them.
Too much to try, too much to enjoy!
He didn’t release Orien’s face until he was sure he wasn’t going to sink into his thoughts, and pressed as close as Orien would let him.
“I could never give up on you, Orien. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
When he finally lowered his hands, it was only so he could wrap them around Orien’s shoulders and hug him. “I really, really don’t know who I would be without you. But I bet I wouldn’t like who I turned into if I didn’t have you in my life.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2023 6:02 pm
With Kaelan’s arms around him, Orien lifted his a bit higher so he could hug him and hold him tight. He pressed kisses against the side of his face and rubbed his back and just… let himself relax.
There was always more pent up frustration and stress than he realized, but holding Kaelan like this fixed it right away.
He didn’t know what to say, and he was certain if he did say something then he would get choked up about it. Kaelan was the most important anything in his life. He lived for him. Because he didn’t want Kaelan to wonder what his life would be like without him.
Orien knew he couldn’t control everything, but if he could try to fix things with himself, make it easier on Kaelan, then that was something, right?
“We should eat before it gets too cold,” he said, although he still choked a little on the words. He would absolutely prove how much he loved Kaelan later that night. “Thank you. For dinner. For everything.”
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Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2023 6:37 pm
Kaelan knew Orien well enough that he caught the hitch in his breath, the tremble in his voice. He knew Orien was always doing his best to put on a brave face and hide his insecurities or ‘weaknesses’. Kaelan didn’t think he was weak. Just human. And, his favorite one, at that.
“We’ll eat soon,” he promised, and tucked himself into Orien’s neck. He rubbed his back gently but wasn’t willing to loosen his hug.
“Just a minute more of holding you first, please. I just want to recharge real fast.”
Maybe it was for him, maybe it was for Orien. It didn’t matter, they might as well have been one in the same. If he could give Orien a moment’s reprieve from all the hardships of the world, of course he was going to do his best.
“And after dinner, let me give you a massage. I want to make sure you’re not working too hard.”
He could guess what could come after that, so he waited to suggest taking a bath together, too.
Kaelan doubted Orien would argue, especially if it meant he was going to get pampered. Kaelan wanted to give him a good night, though. It was only fair, since Kaelan had already had such a good day; now it was Orien’s turn.
Even if they just had silly pizza and green beans to get them started.
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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2023 6:21 am
Orien let out a small bark of a laugh, but smiled nonetheless as he held Kaelan.
“You were the one working hard today. You could have rested but instead you did all this. Shouldn’t I be the one giving you a massage?” he hummed as he pressed kisses against the side of Kaelan’s face.
“You’re so good to me. And you’re so creative. I’m really proud of you. You’ll have a lot of fun decorating classrooms, I bet!”
Because Kaelan wanted to be a teacher…. He knew that… His mind just felt like it was swiss cheese sometimes.
“I’ll hold you for as long as you want. I’m yours, forever.” Or at least as long as his health held out. And it had nothing to do with pizza and green beans for dinner.
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Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2023 5:23 pm
Kaelan hummed in disagreement, because he was not the one who actually went to work. He squeezed Orien close and smiled softly. “You say the sweetest things. Thank you.”
Today had been a good day but it didn’t mean that his mood couldn’t still be elevated. He felt like he was walking on clouds, and he hoped that things would stay like this for a long time. He hoped Orien got to feel like this. It was with great reluctance that he finally drew away–they had food to eat, after all!–but he looked at Orien with absolute adoration.
“I’ll rest when you rest. So, tonight. And I want you to hold me all night.”
He didn’t really make demands, but he figured Orien would probably like to hear how much he liked–needed–that closeness. They slept tangled together every night, so it wasn’t like he was asking for anything they wouldn’t both enjoy.
“Maybe when it’s time to decorate my classroom, you can help me, too. There’s still a long way to go. But I’m really happy I’ll have you with me.”
Now and forever, it was their promise.
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