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“You’re kidding, right?”
Nie Mingjue shades his eyes against the bright winter sun, then looks over at Jiang Cheng. His husband grins at him.
“Babe, it’s not that bad. The guidebook says to take it slow because the marble can be quite slippery.”
Mingjue groans.
“Come on! We can’t waste this beautiful day. The views are going to be worth it, I promise.”
“Why are you like this?” Mingjue isn’t whining. He is a forty eight year old man, with a mustache and a mortgage. Whining is beneath him.
“Don’t pout,” Jiang Cheng says, his expression softening. He steps aside to let a group of French tourists and their guide get past him to the ticket booth and slips an arm around Mingjue’s waist.
“Hey,” he says, leaning against Mingjue’s shoulder. “Remember the Tian Tan Buddha?”
“Ugh,” Mingjue groans again. “Thirty four degrees, ninety percent humidity, ancient aunties passing me left and right. Why are you bringing up my greatest humiliation?”
“You did just fine,” Jiang Cheng says. “And wasn’t it worth the sweat? And sure, the Acropolis is a lot higher, but at least today we have sun and a nice breeze. And fewer steps.” He kisses Mingjue’s cheek. “There are lots of places to rest on the way up, and take some selfies to send the kids.” He pauses and looks around. “And I don’t see a single auntie to show you up.”
“A-Cheng.”
Jiang Cheng’s expression turns serious.
“If you really don’t want to go, you can hang out at the Starbucks we passed. I’ll make a quick trip to the top, snap some photos, and then meet you there.” He hugs Mingjue tightly. “I’m sorry. I know history’s not really your thing, and I appreciate you letting me drag you to all these sites.”
Mingjue hugs Jiang Cheng in return. “No, I’m sorry. I’m being a baby.” He kisses Jiang Cheng, heedless of the group of giggling middle schoolers out on a field trip. “I may not be into the whole history thing like you are, but I like how much you like it.”
“But this is your vacation, too.”
“It’s really fine, my heart.”
“How about this? We’ll skip the museum today. I can come back tomorrow morning while you sleep in. After we look around and get a few photos of the Parthenon and the city, we’ll go back to the hotel and take a nap before dinner.”
Mingjue can’t help but kiss Jiang Cheng. “You know I’ll go anywhere with you. Let’s go.” He takes Jiang Cheng’s hand in his and kisses the back. “And on the way back to the hotel, we can get a really cheesy magnet and some postcards for Jingyi and Lily.”
“Yes, okay, and also, I know it’s silly, but you know those cheap metal laurel wreaths people sell all over the place? How cute would Lily look with one of those?”
“I saw some really cute embroidered dresses. And we could get Jingyi one of those decks of playing cards with cats on them.”
“I love it,” Jiang Cheng says as he leads Mingjue to the ticket booth. He pays before Mingjue can get his wallet out. “Shall we?”
“Like I said, I’ll go anywhere with you.”