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 Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 11:01 pm
The box was hefty.
Bringing it to the car hadn't been difficult but as he made his way towards the shoddy apartment of the Kavinsky residence, each passing minute continued to add more weight to the slender hands gripping it from the bottom.
The paper had been neutral in color, a choice he'd made once he discovered Lowe's didn't actually offer gift wrapping (which was preposterous, if you asked him). Wrapping wise, it wasn't a half-bad job, if he said so himself.
Atop the box was a sealed card. He'd scoured through the Hallmark store in the strip mall where his law firm resided, digging through shelves upon shelves of cards for something that read as I like you but I don't want to overdo it because we're not together but we're also not just casual acquaintances anymore either. Clearly Hallmark was in need of amending their Other section to add such a theme.
The teenager who worked behind the counter halfheartedly asked if he needed any help after twenty minutes of digging through various cards and when he'd explained it was for his "Russian friend", she idly pointed towards the Foreign Language section and he'd nearly jumped for joy.
Sure as day, there was a single, lonely Russian card and despite the odd looking picture on the front, the gibberish on the cover and the inside looked distinctly Russian so Rob bought it without a second thought (or knowledge of what the gibberish even said).
Back at the office, he added his signature with a flourish of his pen to the card in question before sealing it closed.
So, with card on box in hands, he'd made the trek to the front door and did his best to balance the heavy object with one hand as the other moved out to gently rap on the doorbell-less door. (Go figure, god.)
And then, after readjusting the package in his arms, he... waited.
Well, waited and debated on whether or not he should have double checked the rearview mirror for the third time to ensure not a hair was out of place on his head, but there was no going back now.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 7:28 am
It had been a slow morning.
He'd had a job the night before that bled into the early hours of the next day, his birthday, and he'd struggled to rise at the time he typically did after he'd managed to drag himself to bed. (It had taken him even longer because, like was apparently tradition, Ellis had been waiting up for him so that they could share his birthday cupcake when he'd gotten in because they didn't know if there'd be time later.)
By the time he'd gotten up it had been late.
Well, late for him.
Coffee had been made, black, and downed almost immediately after it'd been brewed and he'd grabbed some toast on his way out. It was mundane, simple, but most importantly cheap. After checking on Mory, he'd headed off to the garage where he spent the rest of his day making okay money for changing oil and tires on various cars. It wasn't great but it was a decent job with a more stable income and he needed to make sure all his things were in order so that he could get proper permanent custody of his ward.
By the time he'd made it home and someone was knocking on his door, Kavinsky was sore and tire but fresh out of the shower. No one else was home and he didn't exactly have time to find clean pants so he did the most logical thing.
He answered the door in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist and water droplets still on his dark skin.
"Robbie?" He greeted with surprise, brows lifting. "What are you doing here?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 9:51 am
Oh dear God in heaven.
Fingers tightened themselves on the box as he started to feel the package slip from his grip, palms growing spontaneously clammy.
He'd fully expected to see the door swing open and one Mordred Pendragon-almost-Kavinsky greet him with a knowing smile. She'd been a force to be reckoned with when it came to shopping, but Robert Banks had been grateful for it and it wouldn't have come to any surprise to have her waiting in the figurative wings to see the gift be presented (and received) by her guardian from his "friend".
What he hadn't expected to see was Kavinsky himself answering the door, much less in a state of undress that left the older man suddenly feeling like the apartment hallway had spiked a good twenty degrees hotter.
Hearing the nickname, casual as it was, didn't help matters either.
"I w-wanted to, uh..."
The lawyer swallowed hard as he worked to both regain his sense of speech and keep his eyes focused on Kavinsky's. The trick was keeping his eyes at level and not letting them wander...down...across... exposed...skin....
Eyes squeezed together tightly as he found himself growing lightheaded. He'd look even more foolish if he managed to drop the heavy box, so the brunette desperately thrust it forward, stammering out a quick, "Happy Birthday" before allowing himself to exhale.
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Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2018 1:12 pm
He noticed the way Banks's hands tightened around the box and his mouth slid into more of smirk with one pale brow lifted. Kavinsky was, dare say it, amused, by the quickly reddening face of the lawyer, the stammering and the hasty shove of a present his way.
One that he did not accept because one had was keeping the towel up around his waist and the other had him propped up against the doorframe.
"How'd you find out?" He asked, sounding almost offended before he pushed off the door and stepped back to let the older man inside. "Sit." A gruff order and a hand waved towards the shitty second-hand couch in the cramped living room.
"M'gonna get dressed," he said without much room for Banks to interject before he disappeared down the hall and into the room he shared with Ellis.
When he reemerged he was in his classic v-neck and jeans. Despite the dampness of his hair, there was a beanie on his head and he plopped down next to Banks.
"You didn't need to get me anything."
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Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2018 9:21 pm
"I have my sources," he said cryptically, or at least tried to - it was hard to act calm and collected, especially considering his earlier word and package fumbling. He was a walking embarrassment and knew it; Kavinsky clearly did too, judging by the way his eyebrow rose.
Banks was left holding on to the heavy present, despite his attempts to shove it towards the half naked man. It seemed to grow heavier and heavier with each step he took so instead of scoffing at the order to sit down, the lawyer gratefully accepted the instructions and shuffled his way towards the old, worn down couch.
The present was set beside him, hands absentmindedly moving out to straighten out the already-straightened bow before finding their way to his lap and folding themselves together. Hazel eyes lifted up just in time to see a (thankfully) dressed Kavinsky reappear, though the image of his naked chest had burned itself into the older man's head by now.
At least he wore the stupid beanie - that kept things in perspective and allowed him to stare at something that was absolutely ridiculous, keeping his wandering thoughts in check.
God, that beanie was stupid.
"Course I did. That's what..." He frozen, unable to finish his sentence. Friends? Couples? What the ******** even were they? "...friends are for, right?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 11:47 am
It was a good thing that Kavinsky had already walked away, otherwise Banks would have been witness to a hefty eyeroll and an expression that clearly said I'm not impressed and you're not very clever. As it was, K returned and plopped himself on the worn, second-hand couch on the other side of the present.
Thick, calloused fingers slid over the smooth wrapping and toyed with the bow.
"You don't have to buy me s**t, you know that right?" Part of the ribbon was caught between the knuckle of his forefinger and his thumb. He knew that Banks did it because he didn't know what else to do, they were still navigating this more-than-friends-but-not-quite-lovers thing and the Russian didn't make himself easy to say, shop for.
He worked hard for everything he earned and was careful, with Ellis's help, to budget and shop thrifty.
Banks probably wanted to spoil someone, but people like K weren't used to getting spoiled.
"Thanks, though," he said, leaning across the present while reaching for the lawyer's face. It didn't take much to hook his finger beneath a chin and draw the older man's mouth towards his so he could steal a kiss.
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2018 8:14 am
He watched as the younger man made his way over to the couch, eyes drifting away and falling upon the gift wrap as K reiterated his earlier statement of presents not being necessary. This time, the comment was answered with a soft shrug - Rob knew very well that he didn't have to get Pietro Kavinsky anything but there was a desire to do so that festered in him significantly stronger than the obligatory notions he had when it came to remembering clients' birthdays or special events.
He couldn't explain it, himself, so he simply didn't bother trying.
The ribbon was being tugged on, which distracted him from the strong hand that seemingly appeared out of nowhere and tugged him forward. His breath was soon stolen away in the form of a rough kiss, the hands in his lap growing limp as his body seemed to melt in place, pooling atop the crappy cushions of the crappy, secondhand couch.
There was a momentary dazed expression across the lawyer's face when their lips parted ways, clammy palms soon rubbing themselves against the thin material of his dark slacks.
"It's...It's not a problem, really."
Inside the paper sat a box and within that box rested a handsome, large, brand new tool box. A few new tools already rested inside the shiny container, ones Rob could only assume the handyman already owned and - knowing Kavinsky - were well used to the point of replacement.
"If it's not your thing, I can dig up the receipt to have it returned."
The offer slipped out before he could stop himself, the receipt already securely tucked away in his front pocket - just in case. "I went out on a limb on what you might be able to use. Home improvements aren't exactly my specialty, after all."
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2018 9:23 am
After the kiss Kavinsky opened the gift because he couldn't very well let it sit for an extended period of time pretending it didn't exist when it very well did. He was careful, somehow managing to open the thing without tearing the paper and he spent several seconds simply staring at the toolbox and the contents within it.
His tools were largely inherited from his father, well loved and worn but resilient. It would be hard to give them up for something newer that still needed to learn the shape of his hand, but he couldn't deny that he needed them, he just couldn't find the money to purchase them while making sure that he had everything he needed to ensure that Mory and Ellis were taken care of.
"It's good," he said finally, in that curt sort of manner, with his expression closed off while he tried to sort through the things he was feeling.
Knowing that Banks's anxiety was probably sky rocketing the longer he stayed quiet, Kavinsky shifted, hands reaching to grab the older man's hips and drag him into his lap. "Let me thank you Robbie," he mumbled, a low and throaty thing when he kissed Banks again.
As far as birthdays went, he considered this a decent one.
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