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 Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 1:15 pm
It was finally happening. They were moving.
That in and of itself seemed like an almost unreal thing, like it was something happening to someone else, and all these boxes they were carrying up a flight of stairs were just boxes that belonged to someone else and he and Hitch were just helping them move in.
But they weren't, and it wasn't. This was their life, after so long of saving and planning and meticulously budgeting and here they were, at long last.
It wasn't a very big place, but it didn't need to be. The townhouse was older and made of brick, with a dark front door that needed a bit of paint touchup, as well as new windows for the ones on the second floor that had been rusted shut. But the interior was clean and open and renovated within the last year or so, all glossy hardwood floors and new light fixtures and two bedrooms.
And a surprise for Hitch, which Rhys hadn't quite shown him yet, because he hadn't let Hitch into the kitchen since they'd bought the townhouse.
"Is that the last of them?" he asked now, wiping sweat from his brow as he set a box of kitchen utensils down in the living room. "Fritz brought over the lamp for in here yesterday, so we at least have lights now."
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 2:01 pm
’Unreal’ was what it was, but it felt like it wasn’t enough to truly describe what this was. Hitch really thought somewhere down the line something was going to happen. Like, they’d look at him and realize he didn’t belong in a place like this. They’d read the application wrong. Or there would be a freak accident, like a fire or a tornado that would just wipe out this tiny beautiful place and leave nothing else. Or maybe the same would happen to his bank, and then goodbye money, because that’s would have ******** figured.
But nothing had happened. And now they were standing here and he was supposed to believe that everything was theirs. Size was relative; to a man that’d spent his entire life in and out of shitty rathole apartments with hazed windows and asbestos (probably), this might as well have been a mansion.
Was he going to cry or something? - maybe? He felt a prickle but he wasn’t sure what to do with it, because if he was crying about it then it must be real and he wasn’t really sure yet. “Huh?” He almost didn’t seem to hear Rhys at first. But then he did, and he smiled, although it was that dazed kind of smile. “Yeah, I - I think so?”
Then, it was too easy to add a little more cheekily, “Heh. If we were in a pinch, Celsus could just ********’ stand here an’ we’d be set - no, ******** that, then we’d never heard the end of him.” Not his best, but he was all ******** jittery. Thanks god they both smoked, he’d need one soon.
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 2:52 pm
It had taken several months after they'd initially purchased the place to actually get things set up and ready to go, half because the paperwork had been extensive and complicated (and had resulted in lots of late night sessions with a lot of alcohol to accompany them) and even then it had taken a while for the cleaning and the previous owners to move out. After that, they had had to move boxes and furniture and bins (not that they'd had much of any of that), get the electricity turned on, had Jarias and Fritz accompany them to carry s**t inside, and then, after a long, long time of confusion, sleeping in their previous tiny, shitty apartment, it was finally coming true.
Rhys glanced over at Hitch, caught the smile, and bit his lip, hiding a smile of his own. He shuffled across the box strewn floor and came to stand in front of his husband (that was something he was never going to truly get used to, even now, years later), and slid arms around Hitch's waist to look down at him.
"We're never going to hear the end of it, anyway," he said. "Especially not since he got us a bed for our housewarming gift."
It was a king-sized, four poster thing up in the main bedroom. Fritz's reasoning behind it had been that he couldn't stand to see "that bloody mattress on the bloody floor" every time he'd come by to visit, and therefore, he had rectified the situation.
They hadn't even slept in it yet. Rhys couldn't actually recall the last time either he or Hitch had slept in a bed, for that matter. He was trying not to be too excited about this prospect, but that, along with the surprise he had in the kitchen, was making him a little jittery.
"Are you ready for your present?" he asked, leaning into Hitch.
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 3:35 pm
Funny how all that s**t had been so stressful in the moment, but here and now, it felt like he could have just as well dreamed the whole damn thing up. Like he’d blinked and somehow here they were, even if logically he knew that wasn’t how it’d gone down at all. At least he had something familiar to ground him. Hitch smiled up at him with a low, rough laugh, pressing a hand to his husband’s chest and curling his fingers there, trying desperately hard to swallow the voice that even now told him he had no right to any of this. He really was trying, for Rhys’ sake; he was trying really hard to be better. “Oh god, ********, yeah - “ Hitch had never come out and said he’d never slept in a new bed before. He was glad he didn’t have to. “Eh, if he keeps on too much, I’ll just ********’ start in on what we use the bed for[/], “ and then he laughed even harder, savoring the comforting touch of his husband as he leaned in - and leaned up to whisper in his ear, “If the present’s you, can’t wait to see that wrap job.”
Even if he was blushing and fidgeting in his own way he did when anyone ever got him anything, because that’s just how Hirch was.
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 4:09 pm
There was a part of him that secretly loved the side of Hitch that got emotional over things, mostly because Rhys himself consistently got emotional over things. So really, together, they made a ridiculously emotional couple, which Fritz would never let them hear the end of but that was beside the point.
Rhys felt his cheeks redden, because in spite of a year of marriage, there were some things that would never change. "You can't tell him that," he protested, blushing furiously as Hitch leaned in, lips against his ear. He felt a shiver run down his spine, in spite of everything, and pressed a kiss to Hitch's cheek in return. It was all he was going to do right now, because if he started to kiss Hitch for real, he'd never stop.
"You can u-unwrap me later," he managed, still blushing, then hastily slid around behind Hitch, reaching up to cover his eyes. "Now, walk forward, please."
The kitchen was offset from the living room and next to a tiny dining area that was just big enough for a table for a couple of people. Rhys kept his hands over Hitch's face until they were in the kitchen doorway, and only then did he feel his heart give a little leap of uncertainty and nerves.
"Okay," he said, and pulled his hands away.
Inside the kitchen were all new, stainless steel appliances, carefully and meticulously hand picked from months of Rhys researching secretly for the best materials that an aspiring chef would want. Not that Hitch had ever expressly said he wanted to be a chef, and maybe he didn't; but Rhys had had enough of his cooking and seen him happily whistling away in the kitchen enough times that he knew what he liked.
He fidgeted a little, and then said, a little anxiously, "What do you think? Fritz helped me in-install them for you, so we wouldn't have to hire anyone, and, um, we got a few of them from discount places, but they're all new."
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 4:54 pm
The fact that he could still feel this way after they’d been together this long - making Rhys blush, feeling something like a spark shoot through him at that press of soft lips to his cheek - yeah, that they were still this way and Rhys hadn’t ever gotten fed up with him or - he was just so grateful that they could still be like this after everything. Corruption and purification, debt and marriage, and still here they were and it was okay. Fear was a hard thing to shake, natural and bred into him, years in the making and hard to iron out. It was good enough that he could go longer and longer without that fear taking hold again, sometimes even for days or maybe weeks. This would last. This was lasting. They were here and here they wold stay. “Then tell him not to make me, “ he teased, but held his hands up in defeat, grinning and totally accidentally rubbing up against his Rhys in a way that was mildly inappropriate at best with a low laugh. “Whatever you say babe~ “ Of course then he was being led to a surprise that he was trying so hard just to accept because Rhys was excited to give it to him and he wasn’t going to say he shouldn’t have even if it was true and he was going to be good and - His jaw dropped. Then closed. Then dropped again. And thankfully Rhys cut him off before he could voice any worry, dead on lips, and the shock was just so intense. “Ain’t... seen a kitchen like this, “ he finally breathed out, taking a step forward with wide, disbelieving eyes. His rough fingertips came to rest against the cool metal of it. “Ain’t seen a fridge this big, I ... “ Then he turned back, unaware he wa tearing up. He was kind of grinning, his face scrunched up a little, and he kind of laughed in a way that was almost but not quite a sob. “I could hide a ********’ body in here. - TWO bodies!” (Totally normal thing to say. Wow.)
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 5:26 pm
He had been admittedly a little worried that things would grow stagnant between them; that somehow, irrationally, Hitch would tire of him or that things wouldn't be the same after they were married. But instead, while things were still sometimes a struggle, everything had worked somehow. He was still here. Hitch still loved him (and was still endlessly and repeatedly capable of making him blush like a fire hydrant with even the smallest comment), and they were still together.
Rhys was a little flustered by the time they got to the kitchen, because that little move Hitch had pulled was distracting and thrilling, but he really, really wanted to show him all of the things they'd done. He stood behind his husband, feeling unreasonably shy and a little anxious, wondering if he'd done too much, or maybe too little, or maybe picked out the wrong things.
His eyes followed Hitch as he moved through the kitchen, an awestruck look on his face, hands grazing aluminum fixtures and metallic appliances. The kitchen itself wasn't massive, but it was enormous in comparison to what they'd had before, and it was with all the space to move comfortably around in.
"It has a pull out freezer drawer, too," said Rhys, taking several steps forward and hastily pulling out the bottom of the refrigerator. "See? It's easier to store things here than above your head. A-at least, that's what I was told when I was looking at things," he added, biting his lower lip. "I haven't gone grocery shopping yet, I thought we could, you know...do that together."
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Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 9:43 pm
Hitch was just dumbstruck, but it was probably in the best way; he gave another choked kind of laugh, gesturing around eye level for him. “Biggest fridge we ever had, me an’ her... shitty white thing.” She’d stick whatever half-acceptable s**t he pulled in school there to try and brighten it up. The magnets had been big and thick and gaudy against the eggshell colored surface. “Groaned all night like a ********’ youma. Smelled like ********’ fish.” It sounded super pathetic out loud; he hadn’t really meant for it to. Just - it made a good comparison point and so he’d just started talking and - “We can buy s**t. We can buy groceries an’ it won’t ********’ kill us an’ - you got me a KITCHEN - “ and he choked a little, laughing but with hot eyes. He fumbled for his husband’s hand. “S - sorry, just - I just thought - I don’t know how the ******** we’re here, I - I thought I’d never - “ He’d honestly just spent years expecting things would never get better. He’d work jobs he hated and never do anything else and that would be the rest of his life, just struggling to have a place to call home at all. And then one day he’d just die and maybe one or two people would give a s**t when they roasted him down to shards of bone. And now he even had a kitchen.
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 4:57 am
He slid the drawer of the freezer shut and straightened again as Hitch groped for his hand, Rhys' fingers tangling with his, using the connection to pad closer to him. He squeezed Hitch's hand once, then let go in order to wind arms around his husband's neck, puling him in closer, resting his head atop of Hitch's, nosing into his hair.
"We can buy groceries," he said, and his throat caught, made him shake a little, because Hitch's happiness was such an integral, important part of his life that it felt painfully real and painfully connected to watch him lose his composure. "We can buy groceries, and you can cook me dinner - " Because some things never changed, and Rhys was still terrible with a spatula. " - and we can sit on our couch and sleep in our bed, and maybe, you know, if you wanted...a-anything more than that..."
Rhys fumbled with the words, blush growing deep on his cheeks. He was allergic to cats, but there was the possibility of fish or a dog or birds or a pet or something if Hitch wanted, or maybe if he wanted something other than that, something more...lasting...
He couldn't quite put the words into play. They hadn't talked about that yet, not really, and he wasn't sure now was the time. Rhys sucked in a wavering breath and pressed a kiss to the top of Hitch's head, then leaned back in order to look him in the face.
"Are you happy?" he asked, worrying at his lower lip. "Is this what you wanted?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2018 9:29 pm
For the record, he so didn’t condone being short enough that Rhys could hold him like that - that being said, even if he would never admit it, sometimes it was kind of nice to be engulfed in the warmth and comfort that was his husband. He wrapped his arms around the redhead and nuzzled against his neck, peppering a wet kiss there and sniffling messily, vaguely annoyed at himself for being so emotional all the damn time and knowing full well it wasn’t going to stop any time soon. “Y - yeah, plenty more in that bed, hah - “ and he gave another little snorting sob of thick amusement. Pets, he’d considered. Family... He had Rhys and he had Fritz and that was plenty in his world. He’d never considered more. Bar maybe a stupid over affectionate dog or something. Then he found himself meeting Rhys’ eyes, and for all the tears there and the mess clinging to his face, his grin was sincere - if a little fragile in a way that was hard to place. “You kiddin’? This is so much more than I ever ********’ wanted - like, in a good way, I - “ His cheeks burned to his ears. He fidgeted. “I dreamed big. But dreams ain’t reality, an’ I just - I knew that, y’know?” They’d been an escape before, those photos in the travel books. Fantasies. Not anything he ever thought he’d have, and nothing at all like this. “Kinda wonder if I’m dreamin’ now. I know I’m not, but I’m - “ He sighed, both too enthralled and overwhelemed by this and exasperated with his attempts to explain how he was feeling without sounding pathetic. Instead he leaned up to kiss his husband, lingering to whisper a ‘thank you’ against his lips. “You always go to so much ********’ trouble for me...”
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 5:07 am
Rhys had always been more frustrated with the matter of his own height than Hitch's; he didn't like to be the taller one, and felt that the universe had sort of decided to throw that one on them just for kicks - but right now it felt worth it, because he could have Hitch in his arms, Hitch's own arm around his waist, pulling him in.
That grin on his husband's face made his heart stutter. Rhys lifted his hands and pressed them against either side of Hitch's face, thumbs smoothing across his cheeks, wiping away some of the dampness there. The flush on them matched the one on his own, bright red and hot, because they were both two flustered idiots who couldn't help themselves.
The happiness felt warm and bright and a little fragile. This was what they'd worked for. This was what they both needed, what they had built together.
"I wondered that too," Rhys admitted softly. "I thought it was too good to be true, because...because I d-didn't know if I - if we - were allowed to be this happy at all, because..."
He trailed off, knowing Hitch would understand the rest of what he hadn't said. Hitch's lips came up against his, and Rhys leaned into the kiss with a relieved sigh, his own eyes feeling damp, hands still holding his face. He pulled back enough to rest his forehead against Hitch's, hiccuping a small breath.
"It's not trouble if it's you," said Rhys, in a slightly wobbly voice. He kissed Hitch again, the overlong sleeves of his shirt covering most of his palms and going almost to his fingertips, fabric against warm skin. "I love you, Logan. You know that."
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 11:34 am
Those hands on him were soothing, and he was just so - it was literally so ******** cliché to say s**t like 'so happy he could burst', but it was really kind of like that. He wasn't made to be this happy. Things weren't supposed to be okay, much less good but here they were. Rhys would never know how much of a relief it was when he just reflected Hitch's feelings back at him; it made him feel a little less crazy, a little less stupid. It was such a ******** relief to be with someone that just got it. Hell, that was what had really dragged them together in the first place, wasn't it? The kiss was a taste of paradise, or in this case, like the period closing off the paragraph of a new chapter. He kissed back, hard, eager, and rough, and he found himself wishing it again - just for the moment to last, to go on forever. He couldn't handle another massive dip on this ride, not like when Rhys had been - but he wasn't now. He was home, and he wasn't going anywhere. "We can go get the biggest, stupidest ********' dog on the goddamn planet - " and he was laughing, "An' I can make that stupid dog fresh ********' meals, an' I can make us a goddamn turkey while we watch the lame a** parade on Thanksgivin', an' - they really can't take it back now, right? Like, ********' sealed deal? Want it back, give a big ol' ******** you get outta my house? - s**t, I can tell ******** to get outta my house - " He was peppering Rhys with all kinds of kisses and laughs during all this, still emotional, still - it was just a lot for both of them, but at least he was excited, right?
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2018 4:51 pm
Rhys let out a small sound against Hitch's lips, the rough kiss making something thrill inside of him, his fingers grasping at Hitch's face, mouth opening instinctively under the onslaught of passion and adoration. He clung to him, kissed him back, and almost lost his balance, his bad leg giving a small twinge of protest, but he didn't care.
"Do you want a dog, then?" Rhys asked with a watery laugh, hiccuping a little as he drew back slightly - though he couldn't go far like this, hands still cupping Hitch's face, Hitch's own arms still around him. "Do you want a big dog? Like one of those - those, um...big fluffy ones that slobber a lot and get all over the place and do nothing but love you?"
Hitch was still kissing him, lips against his flushed cheeks, his chin, his jaw - clearly anywhere that he could reach. Rhys swayed a little, leaning more fully against his husband, because he knew he could take the weight, knew that Hitch would be able to carry him.
He shook his head, hair whipping against his cheeks.
"No," he said, biting his lip, but it was out of amusement this time. "No, they can't take it back. It's all ours. Everything in here is ours now."
Rhys's hands pressed against Hitch's wet cheeks, the too long sleeves up over his thumbs and catching on some of the rings on his fingers - one of which was a familiar, curving snake and the other, a black wedding band on his left ring finger.
"Everything is ours," he repeated, and kissed Hitch, long and almost desperate, matching his peppered kisses with ones of his own. "We did it. We got here."
He was half laughing, half crying. "We did it. After everything, we got here."
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Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2018 9:29 am
Even if Rhys didn’t care, Hitch did; his arm wrapped a little more securely around his husband’s waist, added support without drawing any kind of attention to it at ******** yeah. Stupidest, fluffiest, clumsiest, sweetest ********’ mutt they got, “ he declared with a laugh. “I mean, or ********, least we COULD, right??” He’d had a pet once. Back when he was a kid. A really stupid, small kid. It was a goldfish from a carnival. It’d loved for about a day or two. He’d refused to believe it, holding onto the damn poor thing to “nurse it back to health” until the rot had set in and he couldn’t bear to look at it anymore. Yeah. Pet wasn’t the worst idea. If they could, why not? Then, the smile on his face was bright as anything, and he laughed again, pressing one of his hands over Rhys’ own to keep it there, sighing in a deep, contented way, trying to shake off the burden of fear he’d carried so long. “Ours.” And then he kissed his husband, deeper now. “Mine.” And then, he went on to do more than just kiss him - because this was their home now, and he had a kitchen to break in. kuropeco Either a wrap or a jump here yas???
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Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2018 4:16 pm
Needless to say, the kitchen was broken in very, very nicely.
At some point in time, however, they had moved from their very lovely kitchen to the bedroom upstairs, with their brand new bed all set up, even if nothing else really was. Boxes and bins sat haphazardly every which way, and the connecting bathroom had most of their toothbrushes and shampoo necessities littered about without actually being put away.
But there would be time for that later. Right now, Rhys was more focused on the fact that for the first time in years, they weren't going to have to sleep on a mattress on the floor. He had never minded this, because living with the man he loved had overshadowed any need or desire for anything fancy or anything more than what they had, but he knew - even if Hitch never said - that Hitch wanted something more for them.
And now they had it. It was theirs, thanks to Fritz, and it was covered with a myriad of fluffy pillows, a light, airy comforter, and a multicolored, old quilt that had sat in Rhys' closet for a few months before he'd remembered that it even existed.
Rhys rolled over now, bad leg throbbing just a little bit, stretching out a cross Hitch, bare skin a little flushed. He rested his chin on his husband's chest and looked up at him, eyes full of pleasure and love, and let out a small breath, snuggling closer. The warmth and gentleness of the moment was making him feel sleepy and relaxed and pleasantly worn out, but...
Rhys slid his fingers along Hitch's upper arm, biting his lower lip.
"Can I ask you something?" he asked, after a moment.
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