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There was nothing different about this particular morning. Thorin had gotten up slightly too late, as always. He could hear Thranduil making coffee for both of them in the kitchen, as always. And he had merely grumbled while the other teased him about his morning hair, as always. It was, in fact, no different than almost every morning since he and Thranduil had decided to move in together.
The only unusual thing was that Thranduil had put his hair up and that he was wearing formal clothes instead of his usual plush pajamas engraved with his name that Thorin had gifted him for their fifth anniversary.
“What did you make yourself so pretty for?” He chuckled, back hugging his husband while he filled their two mugs with coffee. “Does one have to make oneself pretty for something? What if I want to be pretty all by myself, hmh?” Thranduil laughed, taking both mugs and setting them on their counter, ignoring Thorin still clinging to his back. “Just kidding,” he cut Thorin off before the other could make any kind of comment, “I have to go to work later today, some reporter wants an interview and pictures of our whole team...”
Thorin frowned. “You’ll be gone all day…?” He wasn’t sure why he was so surprised by this. After all, despite it being a Saturday, it wasn’t unusual for Thranduil to have to go to work real quick for a brief meeting or any kind of public appearance. Dating the CEO of a culture magazine had to have some disadvantages too, after all.
Sensing the drop in Thorin’s mood, his lover turned around in his embrace, gently kissing the other before he cupped his face. “I’ll make it up to you, meleth nin, I promise. I can take the entirety of next week off, maybe I can take you somewhere nice?” Thorin chuckled, it wasn’t unusual for Thranduil to try and overcompensate for the inconveniences his job brought to them.
“You know you can’t do that...and I can’t just not show up for a week because we decided to have a little trip together either.” Thranduil laughed, untangling himself from Thorin’s strong arms and taking a sip of his coffee. “Oh come on, I’m sure those students can learn maths on their own for a week, can’t they?” His laugh filled their apartment and Thorin felt his heart blossom the way it had all those years ago, especially on a very particular day.
It hadn’t always been easy for them, first struggling with their busy schedules, then the (sadly common) homophobia, over to both of them simply being extremely stubborn people. Yet somehow, they had managed to make it work. Find a way past hectic times, find a place for themselves, for each other. Thorin still remembered that one day he was sure he would never see Thranduil ever again. They had let their tempers take the reins once more, one of their ugliest fights in their, at the time, two year relationship. Neither of them could remember why they had been fighting in the first place, but both of them were sure the other one was at fault. Thorin had eventually kicked Thranduil out of his flat and rushed to work, obviously too upset to attend a lesson, let alone teach one.
Before he could let his anger out on the students, he had been sent to the roof to calm down by Balin, who insisted it was no problem to take over his lessons for this morning. Thorin had went to the school roof, sitting there for hours, thinking about his and Thranduil’s relationship and why they always ended up driving each other crazy. Despite their fights getting ugly and out of hand most of the times, Thorin always knew deep down that they would calm down and find their way to each other again. Both of them were equally stubborn (though Thorin would deny that, when asked directly), which lead to both of them usually crawling back to the other at more or less the same time. Even during their fights Thranduil managed to complete him in a way that no partner before had been able to do. In all those relationships, Thorin had felt the need to explain himself, to justify the way he acted, the way he was.
With Thranduil it was different. Thranduil understood. Thranduil could sense if Thorin was about to be upset before Thorin even knew it himself. Thranduil could read him like the back of his palm and it would make Thorin incredibly uncomfortable if he wasn’t able to read the other, too. Even in their fights they were one step ahead of the other, it was definitely one of the reasons why they got out of hand a lot of times.
It was there, alone on the university’s roof, that Thorin had realized: He could never let go of the other. Even if their fights never ended, even if all his friends would tell him to do so. Because after those fights came spring. Came countless nights in each other’s arms, meals shared under the light of the moon, secrets passed on in the morning hours, jokes that only the two of them understood.
Without a second thought he had dialed his lover’s number, ignoring his icy tone as he told him to come to the roof as soon as he could. He wasn’t sure how he would make Thranduil see why it was different this time, but he knew he had to. This was crucial for their future, Thorin felt, this was another milestone, a way for them to let go of these ridiculous fights.
Thorin smiled as he remembered how confused Thranduil had been that night, when he found Thorin on the roof, spilling his heart to him, apologizing, crying, trying to make him see. Of course, Thranduil had understood. He was the only one who could, after all. He had been thinking of apologizing to the other either way. They had spent hours up there, laughing, talking, crying again, together this time, holding each other close as the sun set and the temperature cooled down. He wasn’t sure Thranduil knew just how much that memory meant to him. That roof became one of their most used getaways. They even got married there as well, two years later, joking about all the tears and laughters they had shared up there.
Thranduil watched his husband curiously, wondering why Thorin had zoned out like that, a small smile on his lips. Just minutes beforehand, he had been sure Thorin would be mildly upset for the rest of the day, yet now he seemed content, at peace. Thranduil raised an eyebrow and was just about to ask him, when Thorin turned his head and smiled at him brightly.
“You don’t need to take the entire week off, just get to the roof today once you’re done, okay? Let's have dinner and stargaze like we used to do years ago...”
Thranduil took in his lover’s bright smile, the twinkle in his eyes, and quickly stole another kiss before it started to fade.
“Of course, I can do that….Thorin did I forget an anniversary or so? Is today a special day?”
“No, no… today couldn’t be more ordinary.” Thorin happily took a sip of coffee, looking down at the wedding ring glistening on his finger.
“I love you, that’s all.”