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“Andrew, I think you need to calm down,” Neil said as he watched Andrew put the car in park and open the door to step out into the parking lot.
“I am perfectly calm.”
Neil rolled his eyes but followed Andrew into the 24 hour convenience store. It was currently four in the morning, but the part-time worker at the one open cash nodded to them as they entered. She was probably used to their odd hours by now. Still, normally it was Neil’s breakdowns that brought them here, not Andrew’s.
Ok, to anyone other than Neil, Andrew wouldn’t appear to be acting differently from his usual self, but after fifteen years of being together Neil liked to think he knew better. Andrew revealed how wound up he was with subtle, barely-there movements. Earlier tonight, he had lit and extinguished three cigarettes before stuffing the whole pack in his pocket. For the past hour before driving here, Andrew had laid in bed tapping his finger against the mattress, despite being the kind of person who rarely fidgetted.
The most obvious tell though, was the way he perused the various aisles now, as if he couldn’t decide what to buy. Andrew was never indecisive. Even when he didn’t care about his options, he always chose something at random just for the sake of choosing anything.
Neil sighed. He knew why Andrew was antsy, hell, Neil was strung like a wire too. But there was nothing they could do about the situation other than wait for a response.
Deciding to leave Andrew to his devices for the time being, Neil walked to the small produce section to stock up on fruit. Might as well since he was here.
Three plastic bags of peaches, pears, and various berries later, Neil found Andrew in the ice cream aisle with a cartload of containers.
“Oh, honey, no.”
Andrew looked up and, upon seeing Neil’s horrified expression, held eye contact while he tossed another tub into the shopping cart.
“Andrew, that’s way too much ice cream,” Neil tried.
“There is no such thing.”
“You can’t seriously buy all that. It won’t all fit in the freezer,” Neil reasoned.
“We’ll put some in Helga’s.”
Helga was their eighty year old neighbour. She was a sweetheart, and always fed the cats while they took trips. She would without a doubt lend them freezer space.
“Andrew. I love you, but isn’t 32 tubs of ice cream a little...extreme? Even for you?”
“No.”
Neil picked up one of said tubs and read the flavour.
“God, this is pineapple sorbet. You hate pineapples! And sorbet!”
Finally, Andrew stopped rummaging through the freezer and let the door slam shut. He leveled Neil with his most impressive Blank Stare of Indifference TM . Too bad it never had any affect on Neil. Fearlessly, Neil started to return the ungodly amount of ice cream to their shelves.
“I actually hate you right now. I’m considering making you my official arch-nemesis. I might make t-shirts. And badges,” Andrew grumbled.
“And I’m sure they’ll look great. Hand me those ones at the bottom?”
Andrew glared, but handed Neil the tubs.
“Look, I know what this is about,” Neil began. “You’re nervous about the adoption. I get it, I am too. We’ve waited years, and now we’re so close to being approved. It’s torture waiting for a call that can decide the course of our future.”
Neil put the last of the ice cream away, but left two tubs in the cart to take home. He reached out to take hold of Andrew’s hand, which was just as cold as his own. He brought it to his lips and kissed Andrew’s knuckles gently.
“I know you’re scared,” Neil whispered, “but whatever happens, we’ll handle it together. We won’t give up on those kids. We know they deserve a good home, and we know that home is with us. We’ll fight for them. I promise.”
For the first time in days, Andrew seemed to breathe easy. The tension left his shoulders, the haze left his eyes, and he was finally calm.
“I really do hate you,” Andrew said, even as he kissed Neil’s hand in gratitude.
“You know I stopped believing that a long time ago.”
Andrew made a thoughtful sound, then tugged Neil towards the check out.
“8000%, idiot.”