Archive of Our Own ^beta

It had been three years since Sunny had told the truth of what happened to Mari to his friends. Although it had taken a lot of healing, and a lot of things changed, eventually he and Basil were forgiven and their friend group was as back to normal as possible. Although some things would never be the same, he was sure that that was okay, and that was necessary to move on.

Not all things that changed were for the worse, however, in fact most were not. Friendships had been rekindled, and they were slowly starting to get better as he’d always hoped they would. Though Sunny knew it would take a lot of time, and a lot of effort, he was certain that he would be okay in the future. That everything would work out. One of the most noticeably different things was how his relationship with Kel had changed. It wasn’t that they’d stop talking, or anything like that, it was that they’d gotten romantically involved almost two years ago.

Three years ago, after he got out of the hospital, Sunny decided that moving out of Faraway after all that had happened might not be the best idea for him at the time. Sunny’s mother agreed, but their house had already been sold. Very generously, Polly offered for Sunny to be able to live at Basil’s parents house with him. Everything went mostly well, repairing his friendships with his friends, even with occasional fights and even if it took quite a lot of time to mend. Kel eventually asked Sunny to go out with him, and they’d been together since. After that he would stay over at his house every now and then, too.

Sunny’s mother was still not all that involved with his life, which made him sad, but he’d gotten used to it after all this time.

Although Basil would be staying in that house, Sunny was more-than-expected to move out now. He was nineteen years old (which still seemed crazy to him, he’d grown up much faster than he’d had the chance to adjust to after leaving the house for the first time in four years when he was sixteen) and he’d likely already overstayed his welcome, even if Basil said he didn’t mind.

That was why he and Kel were sitting in Basil’s living room browsing Craigslist for houses to rent. It was new to the both of them, mostly, as they’d been trying for a couple weeks now. They were desperately trying to find something close by, but they both knew for a fact that nothing was currently available in Faraway. So they would have to look elsewhere. They decided that was okay, though! Maybe now that things had gotten better, moving out of this tiny, barely-known town could be good for them. Like a new beginning!

Sunny sat with his laptop placed in his lap (as you’d expect from the name of the object), and the two of them had been looking through listings for what felt like an hour now. This was going to be a lot more difficult than they had thought it would be. He wasn’t sure how he ever thought this would be easy. Sunny hoped they wouldn’t have to stay up too late this time. He came across a nice looking one bedroom house.

“What about this one?” Sunny asked, looking over to Kel and turning the laptop a little so he could see. Kel looked it over for a moment, examining the listing. He thought about it for a few seconds.

“I think that’s one a little too far from here, don’t you think?” Kel replied, turning the laptop back to Sunny and showing him the location by tapping on it with his finger.

“Oh, yeah, jeez. I didn’t see that,” Sunny agreed, hitting the back button to begin scrolling again. Right now, one of their biggest issues was that they didn’t have a crazy amount of money. They did both have jobs, but they weren’t the best paying. Sunny often sold random artwork here and there along with still working part time at Gino’s Pizza, and Kel worked the register at Othermart since he was good at talking to people. They weren’t the most interesting jobs in the world, but they definitely sufficed! Money is money, after all. Sunny had always wanted to do art anyway, even if it wasn’t the most successful at the moment. A couple hundred extra bucks every month really did help.

The main point was, the jobs they had here were one of the reasons going too far away wouldn’t be an option. They didn’t want to be more than an hour away from Faraway, which was inconvenient since only a few towns fell into that criteria. Those towns weren’t all that big either, but they were at least large enough to where people would be offering houses to rent. Sunny just wished everything wasn’t so damn expensive.

Basil walked into the main room of the house, presumably out of his bedroom, and went to the fridge, opening it and searching the inside. “Are you two having any luck?” He asked them, while he grabbed a couple of things from the fridge that Sunny didn’t bother to look at.

“Nope,” Kel said with a sigh, “Everything is either too expensive or too far away, so far. But we’re trying our best!”

Basil nodded, although he didn’t look over to them as he was preparing something on the counter. Sunny realized it was a salad, after he decided to draw his gaze away from the laptop for a moment. As expected from him, Sunny thought. “That’s a shame. I’m sure you’ll find something, though!” Basil encouraged the two, still staying focused on his current project.

“I know we will!” Kel exclaimed, confidently throwing his hands up in the air. Sunny wished he could be that optimistic right now. He was still endlessly scrolling through overpriced rent ads.

“That’s the spirit!” Basil smiled. Sunny wondered if he was just trying to encourage Sunny to get out of his house, finally, jokingly at least. He laughed silently. That would be funny. Yay, now you can finally let me live alone! He imagined in Basil’s voice. It was silly. He knew Basil wasn’t like that. Kel playfully poked him as if to ask what was so funny, and Sunny shook his head. The joke was stupid, he realized. So he was going to keep it to himself.

Sunny found another listing, one that looked actually pretty decent! It seemed within their price range, thankfully, and was only about a forty minute drive away. It was two thousand per month, an amount of money he thought that’d be manageable, and they’d still have enough leftover for things like groceries.

The house was pretty nice, one bedroom, one bath, with a kitchen and living room of course, which was basically all they needed, since it was just going to be the two of them. Because they’d saved up for a while they’d be able to buy some furniture, even if it was basic. It was painted light gray, which wasn’t the best color, but it was fine. “Hey, Kel. Look at this.” He turned the laptop to face his boyfriend again, and Kel examined it.

“Woah, Sunny! This is perfect!” Kel said excitedly, “Do they allow pets?”

“I’ll look,” Sunny said. He’d almost forgotten to check for that. Of course the two of them were taking Hector with them. Kel couldn’t live without that dog, and he was getting pretty old now. He found within the description the words can have up to two pets. Score! “Yep.” Sunny pointed to the description so Kel could see.

Kel smiled approvingly. “Do you think we could apply for this one?”

“Of course,” Sunny answered, “As far as I can tell we meet all the requirements.”

“That’s great, guys!” Basil chimed in happily. Kel nodded excitedly even though Basil wasn’t looking at him. It made Sunny giggle a little.

“Are you gonna send ‘em and e-mail, Sunshine?” Kel asked, giving his boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek. Sunny smiled.

“Already on it.”

“What are you gonna write?”

“Our employment, some stuff about us, why we want to live there, Hector. Stuff like that.”

Kel chuckled. “Great! I’ll leave that to you since you’ve always been better at that kinda stuff.” Sunny nodded in reply.

“Mind if I see?” Basil asked, now more interested. Sunny just turned the laptop so he could look. Basil looked through the different pictures. “So pretty!” He said, “I love the little backyard. That’ll be great for Hector, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, for sure!” Kel agreed, “It’ll be a lot easier to let him outside that way then having then having to take him for walks all time. My house doesn’t have a backyard. Plus I’m sure he’d love to run around out there!” Kel was seemingly thinking of things while he said them rather than think it all the way through first, which was typical. Sunny liked his ramblings.

Basil nodded, before going back to the counter, putting his finished salad in a bowl and going to sit at the dining table. “Most houses in Faraway don’t. I only know of a few.”

“Just hope we’re accepted this time,” Sunny sighed, trying to hope for the best. This was certainly not the first house they’d applied for. He’d lost track already.

“Mhm!” Kel hummed, before replying, “Wanna stay over at my place tonight, Sunny? I’m sure my parents won’t mind. That way we can see if we get a reply together first thing in the morning!”

Sunny nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

“I think that’s a great idea, you guys!” Basil added, “Make sure to let me know if you get any good news!”

“Of course, Basil! We couldn’t leave you out of this after letting Sunny stay here for so long,” Kel smiled wide, ruffling his boyfriend’s hair, and the boy in question sighed fondly.

“I really appreciate it, Basil,” Sunny added, “I don’t know where’d I’d be if it wasn’t for you right now. Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Sunny! It’s the least I could do,” Basil replied, in between taking bites of his freshly made salad. “Do you want some of this? I think I made too much.” His last sentence ended with a chuckle.

“I’m okay, thanks, though,” Sunny said, and Kel nodded to express that he felt the same.

“Alright! More for me later then, heh.”

Sunny closed the laptop after he’d finished typing up the e-mail, and began to pack it up in his bag. Kel waited for him patiently, as he usually did. It wasn’t long before the two of them were ready to head over to Kel’s house.

“I’ll see you later!” Basil smiled at them when they were about to head out the door.

“Bye, Basil!” Kel smiled, and Sunny just waved. Kel opened the door, and they headed up the sidewalk towards Kel’s house. It was already dark out. Sunny didn’t realize how late it was. Huh.

Kel immediately grabbed his hand and held it, which Sunny didn’t mind at all. He intertwined their fingers, which seemed to make Kel smile wider when Sunny didn’t even know that was possible. Kel always found a way, Sunny noticed. He loved that about him.

“I’m really excited,” Kel said in a tone that made it sound like a confession, leaning over and whispering the words to him.

“Me too,” Sunny agreed, “This is a really big step for us, isn’t it?”

Kel looked up at the sky thoughtfully. “Yeah, it really is. We’ve come this far, I’m sure we can make it through anything now, yeah?”

Sunny just nodded, and the rest of their walk home continued in silence. It was truly a peaceful silence, though. He always appreciated those types of moments, and he hoped that Kel did, too. He sure seemed like he did, at least.

When they arrived at Kel’s house, they were greeted by Kel’s mother. “Hello, Sunny!” She said, waving politely. “What brings you here?”

“Staying over tonight. Is that okay?”

“Of course, dear! You’re always welcome here,” She smiled, before walking back into the kitchen where she’d come from.

The two of them headed upstairs and into Kel and Hero’s room (although it was only Kel’s room at the moment due to Hero’s med-schooling situation), and Sunny placed his bag down on the floor after he’d gotten the laptop and placed it on the charger, plugging it in on top of Kel’s boombox, which for whatever reason he’d thrown out his bedside table so he could put it in that spot. Kel took in a deep breath as he flopped down onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. A few moments later, Sunny sat on the edge of it behind him. “What time is it?” Kel asked. He sounded tired. Sunny looked at the clock.

“Almost eleven o’clock.”

“Jeez, really? I could have sworn I came over way earlier. I guess I wasn’t paying that much attention to the time.”

Sunny nodded. He hadn’t really put much thought into what time it was. He was more focused on getting things done, at the moment. He yawned.

“Sleepy?” Kel asked, looking over to him. Sunny nodded again. “Wanna get some rest?”

“Mhm,” Sunny hummed, looking down towards Kel. He was smiling at him.

“Want to get some comfier clothes on?”

“Already comfy.”

 “C’mere, then, silly,” Kel offered, holding one of his arms out of the way to give him room. Sunny gladly accepted, flopping down beside him. He wrapped his arm around Kel, cuddling up to him and using his chest as a pillow. Kel kissed the top of his head the best that he could in the position they were in.

“G’night, Sunshine. I love you,” He said softly.

“Night, Kel. I love you, too.” Sunny could already feel himself dozing off.

“Sweet dreams.”

✵

The next morning, Sunny woke up right where he'd fallen asleep; Kel was still passed out. He felt the slow rise and fall of his chest, and his ungodly snoring. Thankfully, Sunny had gotten used to that a long time before. Sunny smiled, although it was barely visible. “Hey, Kel,” Sunny whispered, gently poking him, “Wake up. We can check the e-mail now.”

Kel stirred, slowly opening his eyes. “...Huh?” He sounded groggy since he’d been sleeping.

“The e-mail,” Sunny repeated, a little louder this time, but still using a quiet tone.

Suddenly, Kel’s eyes shot open. “Oh, yeah!” He remembered, “You wanna get the laptop?”

Sunny nodded, slowly getting up from where he’d been cuddled up to Kel, a little sad to lose the warmth. But that was okay, because getting the laptop was a whole lot more important at the moment, at least presumably so (he could always cuddle with Kel later). Kel sat up, and Sunny brought it over after unplugging it, sitting it in his lap after he’d sat down next to Kel once more. He opened, it quickly made his way to the e-mail application, checking for something new.

“We got a reply!” Kel shouted with excitement, pointing at the new e-mail notification.

“That’s a good sign,” Sunny smiled, “And, as much as I love hearing you excited, you should try to keep your voice down so you don’t wake up your sister.”

“Oh, right,” Kel laughed as quietly as he could manage. Sunny opened the e-mail. It read:

Hello, Mr. Suzuki! I read your e-mail, and I think you could potentially be a good fit for the house I have for rent. Would you like to schedule a time where you and your partner could come and have a look at it? I hope to hear back from you soon!

Jon Robertson

“We did it, Sunny!” Kel exclaimed, wrapping one of his arms around Sunny and pulling him close to him out of sheer joy.

“Well, it’s further than we’ve gotten before.”

“And that’s amazing!”

“It is.”

“Are you gonna reply?!”

“Of course,” Sunny said, and began to type again once Kel let him free. Sunny was a fast typer, so it was only a minute or so afterwards that he was finished.

“I’m so proud of us, Sunny,” Kel said lovingly, and Sunny leaned his head up against his side.

“I am, too,” He replied, closing his one good eye as he relaxed himself.

All he could do from here was hope that it would all work out in the end. Even if it didn’t, he was sure they would be alright. They always figured something out, didn’t they?

✵

Kel was ecstatic! So far, everything had gone well. Although it had taken a few weeks to find someone willing to rent to him and Sunny, they’d done it! Sunny had arranged for the two of them to go look at the house today at three p.m., and Kel was currently driving the two of them there (Sunny could drive, but Kel did more often when he could because of Sunny’s eye, plus he didn’t have his own car anyway). If all went well, they’d hopefully be moving in there soon, and finally out of Faraway. Kel did wish they could have stayed, honestly, but there weren’t any houses for rent there or even for sale. He was okay with that, though! As long as he was with Sunny, right?

“Kel,” Sunny said, looking over at him rather than out the window at the road like he’d been doing a few moments prior. Kel could see him out of the corner of his eye.

“What’s up?” Kel asked him simply as he made a left turn on the street. They had been driving about half an hour there, so they would arrive soon if all went well.

“I’m really gonna miss Faraway,” Sunny sighed, and he tapped his foot on the floorboard of the truck repetitively. Which was something he did often, Kel had noticed, and it didn’t have a particular emotion tied to it. Sometimes he did it when excited, anxious, or even if he was just bored. Kel wondered if Sunny noticed little things like that, too.

“Aw, Sunny! I will too, but it’ll be alright! We’ll still be going there all the time for work, and we aren’t too far away so we can go and visit whenever we want!” Kel assured, and he would have looked at Sunny comfortingly if it wasn’t for the more important task at hand: keeping his eyes on the road.

“Yeah, I know. It’ll just be weird not living there. Since my family moved in when I was super young I don’t really ever remember not being in Faraway,” Sunny explained with a soft sigh, as he rested his head on one of his hands.

“I get it, Sunny,” Kel replied, “I’ve been there since I was born. It’ll be a really big change, but I think it’ll be a good one! We’ll figure it out together!”

“Mhm,” Sunny hummed, with a small yawn. Sunny always seemed to be a little tired, no matter how much he slept. “I hope so.”

“We’re getting pretty close to the house,” Kel said, before asking, “How do you like these neighborhoods?”

Sunny looked out the window again, focusing for a few moments. They were in the suburbs, and a lot of the houses looked the same, even if not exactly. Most of the front yards were decorated with flowers or plants. “They’re nice. Just different.”

Kel laughed a little. “Yeah, I know. Nothing’s quite like Faraway, huh?” Sunny just nodded in response. A few minutes passed in silence, and Kel didn’t mind.

“Hey, Sunny, look!” He spoke up again, pointing out the window as they pulled up. “We’re here!”

Sunny looked up from where he’d been staring out the window. “I like it.”

Kel grinned. “I’m glad, Sunny. Now we just gotta hope we actually get to live there, yeah?” Sunny nodded, and the two of them got out of the truck after they’d parked. Kel took the lead, and Sunny followed close behind him. Typically, Sunny had some difficulty talking to others, so Kel expected he might have to do more of the talking. That was no issue to him, though! Kel loved talking, most of the time anyway.

He knocked on the door three times, and he would have continued afterward hadn’t Sunny put one of his hands on his arm when he tried to keep knocking. Knocking for minutes on end had always been a bad habit of his, Hero would say, but he disagreed. That was what got Sunny to get out of his house, wasn’t it? Although Sunny definitely would get most of the credit for that, and he certainly deserved it, he still felt he helped in a way. That made him really happy!

After a few moments, the door opened, and the two of them were greeted by the sight of a middle-aged man, presumably Jon Roberston. He looked about how Kel expected, he was pretty sure. He seemed like a good potential landlord. His hair was partially gray, and neatly brushed. He had a nice pair of glasses, and Kel wondered if they were actually needed or just for show to make him look more professional. If it was the section option, Kel thought that it worked, at least in part. He wore a dark gray dress shirt with darker gray pants, and a red tie.

His smile seemed at least partially genuine under the whole I need you to give me money so I’m going to act like the nicest person in the world thing. Kel didn’t understand how some people put on a face like that. Kel had always had trouble not expressing what he was thinking. If he was happy, he was happy. If he was sad, he was sad. Although he used to try and act happier around his family since being upset made his mother upset, it only worked out maybe forty percent of the time. Usually, he’d just do something to take his mind off things so he could actually be happy, you know? A few seconds later he silently scolded himself for getting distracted.

“Hello,” Said the man in a polite tone, “I assume you are Mr. Suzuki and Mr. Rodríguez?”

“Yeah, that’s us!” Kel confirmed, and Sunny just nodded.

“I’m so glad you could make it. Why don’t you both come on in?” He offered, standing back and opening the door to make room for the two of them.

“Of course,” Sunny said, it made Kel smile a little more at the fact that he’d already spoken up. With new people, Sunny rarely spoke when not required of him; nodding was much more common. Sunny had been making quite a bit of progress with his confidence the past few years, Kel noticed. He was proud of him. The two of them stepped inside, and Kel looked around at the mostly-empty house. Sunny wasn’t smiling, but Kel saw his eye light up with interest.

“There’s not any furniture in the living room or bedroom, but the kitchen and bathroom are fully done!” Robertson told them, leading the two of them to the kitchen. “Although it is not brand new, I can assure you both that everything runs smoothly! Why don’t you two take a look?”

The countertops were newly painted white with light gray tops, along with the cabinets. The walls were colored a darker gray, and although a little bland Kel thought it did look nice. Sunny had a lot of paintings, and Kel wondered if they’d put them all on the walls in the different rooms. He hoped so; Kel had always liked Sunny’s artwork. The kitchen wasn’t huge, but it definitely would work, and there was enough counter space for cooking to run smoothly. Plus, it came with a digital clock, which Kel thought was neat. Sunny and Kel certainly weren’t the best cooks in the world, but Kel had picked up a few things from his brother over the years. “Super pretty!” Kel said after a few moments, looking around at the oven, fridge, and sink. They were pretty much completely clean besides a few specks of dirt here and there. Kel didn’t mind that; he hadn’t expected spotless from a two thousand per month house. Sunny didn’t seem bothered from what he could tell, either.

“I know, isn’t it?” Said Robertson, before leading them to another room through a cased opening, which was completely empty other than a window that you could see the street from. “This is typically made to be the main living space area, but of course you could use it for whatever you’d like!” He explained to the two of them. Kel thought that it was a little funny that the front door led to the kitchen rather than the living room. He wondered, was that one of the things that made the house cheaper? He wasn’t sure how all that worked.

“I like it so far,” Sunny said, and Kel happily nodded to agree. Mr. Robertson led them around the rest of the house, showing them the bathroom, which Kel thought was pretty well made, and the bedroom which was a decent size. Kel wondered in which corner he and Sunny would put their bed in. Kel had to refrain from giggling, if he was being honest. Even if it was silly, the idea of him and Sunny sharing a house still made him so indescribably excited, even after they’d been talking about it for quite a while now. It was different since it was so close to actually happening now.

Afterwards, they were taken to the backyard, which you could get through via a door in the kitchen. And, crazily enough, it already had a pet door installed! Kel wondered what type of pet the previous owner of the house had. Maybe a dog, like Hector?

“As you can see, the backyard is a pretty decent size!” Robertson told them, “You mentioned in your e-mail that you had a dog, is that correct? Since the fence is rather tall and sturdy, you won’t have to worry about him jumping over it!”

“Yep!” Kel replied, “This is perfect!”

Sunny tapped on Kel’s arm gently, and Kel looked over at him. Before Kel could ask what was up, Sunny said “Maybe we could put a picnic table out here.”

Mr. Robertson answered for him, “I think that’d be a lovely addition!” Kel wondered if he actually thought so or not, or if that was just another thing that landlords say. “So, do you two think this place would be the right fit for you?” Before answering, Kel looked at Sunny, who nodded in his direction.

“Definitely!” Kel answered for the both of them with enthusiasm, giving Robertson a smile.

“Alright, that’s great to hear! You can take some time to think it over more if you need to, however, if you would like to look over the necessary contracts you could get in this house as soon as tomorrow!”

Kel’s eyes lit up, that was a whole lot sooner than he had originally expected to be able to get in the house, and as far as he knew the sooner they got in there the better it would be. From what he’d been told, Sunny was really trying to get out of Basil’s house as soon as he possibly could since he’d felt really bad about staying there without paying any sort of rent to him. However, Kel knew that Basil didn’t mind at all, and had actually denied any offer for payment from Sunny. But sadly, he knew that wouldn’t erase his boyfriend’s worry or guilt.

“We could do that,” Sunny said, before looking back to Kel again, “Is that okay with you?”

“Yeah, for sure!”

Mr. Robertson seemed more than satisfied with that, so all three of them went inside to talk about payment arrangements, the needed paperwork, and some other typical rules for being able to live there. The lease was signed!!

✵

It was the next day, and Kel was so happy yet so nervous at the same time. He’d always imagined moving out of his parents house when he was a kid, but it felt like a thing of the far future, something he wouldn’t have to worry about for a long time. That time was now, and his childhood had gone by more quickly than he once expected it to. He was more than happy to be able to start life almost new with Sunny, he was overjoyed in fact, but that didn’t take away any worries he had. He knew his parents would let him stay back at his house if he’d ever get kicked out or something, but still. He had confidence that everything with Sunny would work out, and that living together would be good for the both of them. It was just about impossible not to have even the slightest of worries at times, though. Still, for now, Kel did his best to stay optimistic, so optimistic he was.

At the moment, Kel was packing a few boxes of his things that he wanted to take with him. There were things that he had to leave behind, and although it was sad, it felt like a really big step for him. He decided he would leave some of his old figurines for Sally, but he did take some of his favorites with him to keep. He would put his basketball hoop in the backyard, since that seemed like the most fitting place, along with his boombox…but he wasn’t sure where that was going to go just yet. He laughed a little as he took his only award off the wall, the participation award for the hotdog eating contest, and packed it up in one of the boxes. Useless, sure, but Kel still found it funny. A nice, silly memory.

He knew that Sunny was currently over at Basil’s, packing up the few things that he still had with him. He had a couple boxes from when he was originally supposed to be moving that, as far as he knew, had been sitting on a shelf somewhere unopened. There was one for his old books, and another for his old toys. Kel wondered if he would decide to keep those or not. He also knew Sunny had his art supplies and the paintings that he’d decided to keep, along with a few other random things in his room (he was allowed to stay in Basil’s grandmother’s old room while he was there).

Kel was realizing neither of them had as many personal possessions as they may have thought they did. That was okay, though! The two of them would be going shopping for furniture after they’d finished packing. Which Kel was about to be done doing, he realized, as he put the award in the box. Finished! His parents helped him carry the boxes and other things to his copper-colored truck, which he thanked them for. He took Hector on his leash and brought him to sit in the truck. They said their goodbyes through hugs and tears, and although Kel was usually looked at as the less successful of his siblings, they were still very proud of him. Hearing those words for the first time in years, I’m proud of you, made Kel feel a whole lot better.

He drove over to Basil’s, which he typically wouldn’t have done since they were within a very short walking distance, however he needed his truck there so they could pack up whatever Sunny had decided he would take with him. After parking, Kel enthusiastically hopped out of the front seat (he almost forgot to close the door but ended up turning around to do so after he’d already taken a few steps). Hector was wagging his tail, balancing his front paws on the door as he watched Kel, already waiting for him to return. He ran up to the door, which he knocked on a few more times than he probably should have. He was greeted by Sunny who opened the door for him, and gave a small smile, which was more than Sunny usually had even when he was happy, the moment he saw Kel.

“Hi, Kel.”

“Hey, Sunny!” Kel beamed, “Are ya finished packing yet?”

Sunny nodded. “Mhm. Just finished maybe five minutes ago. You?”

“Yep! Just got done so I came over here. You ready to put your boxes in the truck?”

Sunny nodded again, and opened the door farther so Kel could come in.

“Hello, Kel!” Basil said, who was sitting on the couch at the moment.

“Hey, Basil!” Kel greeted as he walked by him, following Sunny into his bedroom to get the boxes. When they got in there, Kel noticed there were fewer than he’d expected, only three regular sized ones, and one large one.

Sunny pointed to the smaller boxes, and said, “Old stuff and clothes,” then the bigger one. “That one is art stuff.”

“Oh, okay! Are you taking your old stuff with you?”

“Yep,” Sunny answered, “I just don’t have a whole lot of clothes.”

“Alright, let’s get these packed up then, shall we?”

“We shall,” Sunny smiled, going and picking up one of the smaller ones, Kel doing the same. The last small box was taken by Sunny afterwards, and Kel grabbed the bigger box since he didn’t have any trouble carrying things like that. After they’d just put the last of the things in the backseat of the truck, Basil had walked out the door towards them.

“I’m gonna miss having you guys around all the time,” Basil said softly, “Make sure to come and visit, okay?”

“Yeah,” Kel agreed, “And of course we will! We aren’t that far away either, so you can totally come by sometime if you’d like to!”

Sunny followed up what he said with “Mhm. And we still have to come here for work, so we could hangout soon, if you want.”

Basil smiled. “Yeah, alright!” He seemed a bit happier now, “I’ll see you guys soon then! Don’t be a stranger, heh!”

“Group hug now!” Kel declared, grabbing both of the shorter boys and pulling them close. Basil giggled a little and returned it, and Sunny just kind of accepted his fate stuck between them. Kel saw that he was smiling, though.

After they were free of the hug, the three of them kind of just looked at each other for a few moments. This really was a huge thing for all of them, a huge thing that they never were fully aware how or when it would happen for a long time. They’d been working towards it for a while now, and they’d finally done it.

“Thank you for letting me stay here, Basil,” Sunny said.

“Of course.”

“We’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. See you guys.” Kel could have sworn he saw a tear in Basil’s eye.

And that was that. There wasn’t much more for them to say, so the two of them got into the truck, with Kel in the driver’s seat. Kel turned the key in the ignition to start up the vehicle, and Basil waved goodbye as they began to drive off. Kel took a deep breath to relax himself the best he could. Sunny watched out the window as Basil’s house got farther and farther away from them, but not before greeting Hector with some head pats first, of course.

Kel really wished that Mari was here to see how far they’d all gotten…but he didn’t want to think about that right now. He hoped that she’d be proud of them.

“To the furniture store!” Kel shouted with excitement, resisting the urge to throw his hands up in the air since he needed to keep his hands on the wheel. Hector barked with excitement.

Sunny smiled, and as if he read Kel’s mind did his boyfriend’s signature hands in the air gesture. It made Kel laugh a little. “I love you so much, Sunny. You know that?”

“...I love you more,” Sunny said with a slightly mischievous grin.

“Oh!” Kel chuckled, “We’re gonna play that game, huh? Well then, I love you more, sunshine.”

…The rest of the car ride was spent trying to debate who loved who more. It went on so long that eventually they had to agree to disagree. Kel was smiling like an idiot; he loved those types of silly, pointless conversations. He hoped that Sunny did, too.

✵

The furniture store had been quite the adventure (Don’t worry, Hector was okay, he had the air conditioner on!), Kel thought. They had needed help from a lot of the workers in order to get things into the truck, in a timely manner at least. For now, they’d only picked up the basics, including a bed frame and mattress, some comforter, a couch, a table with two chairs, and a bookshelf to put things on. Sure, the house would be bland for now, but that was okay! The longer they lived there, the more they could upgrade right? Oh, and Kel almost forgot! They’d gotten a foldable picnic table just like Sunny had wanted. Kel was glad to see how happy he had been about that.

Now they had just arrived back at home at around six-thirty, and there was a lot of setting up and unpacking to do. Kel finally pulled into the driveway, the both of them were rather tired from the outing. Kel took his keys out of the ignition, putting them in the pocket of his sweatpants, before stretching his arms. “We’re here…!” He said mid yawn, which made his voice sound all funny. Sunny giggled a little.

“Want me to bring Hector inside?” Sunny offered, looking over at Kel, who had currently been thinking about what to bring in first. “You could start bringing in the boxes, and I’ll come and help after Hector’s in. Then we can get the bigger stuff?”

Kel smiled. “Sounds good to me!” He grabbed the dog leash that’d been left on the dashboard and handed it over. “Here, Sunny, take this.” Sunny nodded his thanks as he hooked it up to Hector’s collar, which was a struggle since Hector had gotten all excited after seeing the leash. Sunny laughed a little, muttering at him to calm down but it was to no avail. A few moments later, Sunny opened the door, to which Kel spoke up.

“Love you, Sunny!”

“Love you, too, Kel,” Sunny said as he helped the shiba inu out of the truck since it was pretty tall, and took the keys to the house so he could take him inside. Kel hopped out as well, opening one of the back doors and grabbed one of the smaller boxes. Before he even got to the front door, Sunny had reappeared in the front, dogless. “He’s sniffing around,” Sunny smiled.

“Hope he likes it!” Kel said, trying to look at Sunny past the tall box he was carrying, although he could barely see him. Kel assumed Sunny nodded in agreement, but he wouldn’t be able to tell you for sure. It took around ten minutes or so to get all the boxes into the house, so now it was time to bring the big things in. Kel was already silently preparing himself for doing some heavy lifting. He sighed, it had already been quite difficult trying to do that when the furniture store employees, so he could already see that just him and Sunny would probably have some trouble with. “What do you think we should grab first, Sunny?”

“Chairs? Easy,” Sunny suggested simply, pointing to them in back of the truck.

“Great idea!” Kel agreed, opening up the tailgate so they could get to them. Kel climbed up and grabbed one of the two chairs, thankfully they weren’t too heavy, and he looked down at Sunny who was standing there.

“Think you can grab one?” Sunny nodded, doing the same as he’d done while Kel was getting down with his chair and bringing it into the house. Soon after, Kel went back outside to grab the little, light wooden table they’d gotten.

Okay, now it was actually time for the difficult stuff.

“This is gonna be annoying,” said Sunny.

“Hm. Maybe we could call Aubrey? She’s good at carrying things, I think.”

“I don’t think she’s gonna want to drive over half an hour just to help us lift things.”

“We could pay her, maybe?”

“We don’t have any extra money right now.”

“Oh. Right.” Kel wasn’t sure how he’d forgotten about that. Well, it was an idea at least, right? “Let’s be optimistic! We can do this, Sunny! We’re strong, right?”

“ You’re strong,” Sunny corrected. “And I don’t think that even you could lift a couch.”

“It’s a little couch!”

“Still a couch.”

“After we get it out of the truck maybe we could drag it?”

Sunny laughed softly. “That’ll scrape up the floor, Kel.”

“Damn, I didn’t think about that! Why are you always right?” Kel dramatically lifted a hand, who had also begun to laugh at his own mistake. Sunny shrugged and shook his head.

“We should have bought a dolly,” Sunny sighed, “That would have made this way easier. But it’s too late now, since the money left is for dinner.”

“If you just get something for you we should have enough, I think?” Kel suggested.

Sunny frowned. “No way. I’m not gonna let you go without,” Sunny said gently, tapping him in the arm. “I can go ask the neighbors if they have one we can borrow.”

Kel took his hand for a moment. “Nah, it’s okay! I’m sure we can get it figured out.”

Sunny went back to smiling, and grabbed Kel’s other hand with his free one. “Hm, okay. I love you.”

Kel kissed him quickly, before saying “I love you, too.” The two of them stood there with each other for a moment, before Kel finally released his hands. “Ready for the most horrible workout of your life?”

Sunny laughed a little, but he seemed more nervous than anything else. “Probably not.”

“Well, it’s time to find out!” Kel declared, throwing his hands up in the air, but he could tell Sunny wasn’t as confident. Although Kel was sure they’d be able to get everything inside, he wasn’t sure how well he’d be able to work tomorrow when he knew his arms would feel like noodles. Oh well, Kel sighed.

Bed frame was first on the list! That actually turned out to be incredibly easily done since it was able to be taken apart for quick travel. Kel was glad that he realized that. Nice! They decided to set it up before they continued. They had a bit of trouble at first, until Sunny realized that there was a manual. That could have been done way quicker if Kel had found that out at the same time he’d figured out that you could take it apart.

Next was the mattress. It wasn’t actually all that heavy, it turned out. They almost dropped it once or twice, but they still did okay! Perfect.

The foldable picnic table and matching chairs were incredibly light, so that was no issue at all. Kel was almost glad they didn’t have enough money to spend on a real one, in a way.

The two of them had a little bit of trouble getting the bookshelf out of the truck, but it was smooth sailing from there!

After that, they ended up putting all the comforter on the bed so they could delay the inevitable. The couch. After the bed was nicely made, they realized they had no other choice at the moment.

“Okay, Sunny, watch out!” Kel called from the cargo bed of the truck, “I really don’t want to drop a couch on you, and I don’t know how else to get this out of here.”

“Let me help,” Sunny said, climbing up with him.

Kel laughed. “Yeah, actually, that’s a better idea. And probably safer,” Kel agreed, and the two of them made the effort to push the couch out of the truck. Probably not the best idea, but what other option was there? Well, there probably was one, but neither of them could think of it. The sound of the couch hitting the pavement hurt Kel’s ears. Sunny easily jumped down afterward, and Kel let out a deep exhale from the exertion of the previous effort, but joined him on the ground. “Is the couch damaged at all?” Kel asked.

Sunny had kneeled down to investigate. “The legs are a little scratched, but other than that it’s okay,” He said after a few moments, holding up his arm to give Kel a thumbs up.

“Success!” Kel said with excitement.

Sunny laughed as he stood back up. “Not yet.”

“Well, partial success then?”

“Hm. That works,” Sunny agreed, going to the other side of the couch. He closed his eye, like he was preparing all of his strength, Kel thought. At least, that’s what it looked like to him. So he assumed it was that. Kel went to his side as well. Now, the two of them were in position to lift the couch…

“You ready, Sunny?” Kel asked, although he wasn’t even sure how ready he was himself.

“Yep,” Sunny simply said in return.

“Count of three?” Kel suggested.

“Sure.”

Kel counted for both of them. “One…two…three!”

On three, both of them did their best to lift the couch. Thankfully, it wasn’t as heavy as Kel thought it was. However, Sunny looked like he was really struggling.

“You alright, Sunny?” Kel made sure, because a dropped couch could be pretty detrimental in this position. Kel didn’t want either of them having to go to the hospital for a broken foot. Sunny nodded quickly, but didn’t reply. After a few moments, they began to make their way towards the house, and Kel decided to walk backwards so Sunny didn’t have to.

Then, Kel’s heart dropped. “Sunny. Is the door open?”

Sunny looked like he could barely speak, his eye almost squinted all the way closed from effort. That made Kel nervous, but thankfully Sunny nodded a few moments later.

“Hector’s…in…bedroom.” What a relief, Kel thought. That could have been a whole lot worse. Hector getting loose or not being able to get into the house after all of that would have both been terrible options, of course, so Kel was thankful that Sunny had thought ahead.

A few minutes later, their minimal setup had been completed. Although the house being fully furnished was something they would likely not achieve for some time to come, Kel was happy with what they'd done nonetheless. Both Sunny and Kel were now laying in bed, and they were tired as all hell.

“What a day,” Kel sighed, and you could hear the hint of a yawn in his voice.

“Mhm,” Sunny just hummed a reply.

“What time is it?”

“Seven-thirty, I think.”

“Aw, I can’t sleep now! I have work tomorrow…”

Sunny nodded, getting out of bed without saying a word. Kel was a little confused at first, wondering what he was doing, but that immediately changed the moment the lights flicked on. He tried to readjust his eyes to the harsh and sudden change of lighting. Kel chuckled softly. “Okay, yeah, that definitely works.” Sunny smiled at his accomplishment, and joined him back in bed.

That definitely works! Was now a funny thing to say since Kel was waking up in his and Sunny’s bed at four in the morning, according to a clock on the wall (this house had quite a few of those, which Kel found rather convenient; he wondered why the landlord felt the need to not give them a microwave, but a hundred thousand clocks instead. Well, he was overexaggerating, but still).

“Shit!” Kel exclaimed under his breath. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep more than that. He would have moved to get up, but he quickly realized that the current situation made that an impossibility. Just like he had slept the other night, Sunny had fallen asleep cuddled up to him, and his arm was wrapped around him. So, any major movement was a no-go. Kel wondered what he might have been dreaming about, since Sunny always had vivid dreams, as far as he’d been told. Sunny almost reminded him of a sleeping cat.

And speaking of sleeping animals, Hector was curled up at the end of their bed since they hadn’t unpacked his yet. They hadn’t unpacked anything, for that matter. If Sunny woke up before he had to leave for work, maybe they could start on that.

Kel was happy that the three of them were like a little family now. He smiled and closed his eyes; even if he couldn’t sleep anymore, he could still relax for a while. He would absolutely marry Sunny, if he asked him to. That sent his mind down a rabbit hole of imaginations for a considerably long amount of time…

Thirty minutes went by in what felt like seconds. Kel would typically be bored out of his mind when there was nothing to do, or no way to move around, but this was different. Just lying there with Sunny and Hector was more than enough for him; it was so comfortingly peaceful. When it was around four-thirty-six, Sunny finally stirred from where he’d been sleeping, his eye slowly fluttering open to look up at Kel.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” Kel said softly as Sunny slowly woke up, who was yawning and moving a few strands of hair out of the way of his own face.

“Good morning..” Sunny said, which came out as more of a second yawn, as he stretched his arms the best that he could with the current position that he was in. After a few moments of the two of them laying there, Sunny looked at the window for a moment and said, “It’s still dark outside.”

“Yeah,” Kel replied, “It’s not even five yet.”

“So much for staying awake last night,” Sunny remarked, but he didn’t seem all that bothered by it, which made Kel laugh a little.

“Want me to help unpack some stuff before I have to go to work?” Kel offered.

“Not yet,” Sunny shook his head, putting his arm back around Kel. Kel didn’t answer; he just smiled wider. He could definitely get used to waking up like this every day. He held back a laugh as he thought about it’d be like waking up with two suns. You know, because of Sunny’s name, and the actual sun…Kel realized that it was a bad pun, but he still found it funny.

After twenty-or-so minutes more of lying in bed, the two of them were up and opening up the boxes. Unpacking was mostly a breeze, since most of the random items they had brought along with them ended up on the bookshelf. A few of Sunny’s paintings were hung on the wall, too, as Kel had hoped. One of them was a cat looking out a window on a rainy day, which was Kel’s favorite. Or at least he thought it was, picking a favorite was difficult since he liked them all. Hector was more than excited when Kel unpacked his food bowl.

Kel noticed that Sunny had stopped unpacking for a moment, just staring at a framed photograph in his hand. He looked a little sad. Kel walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “You okay, Sunny?”

Sunny didn’t answer with words, just pointing the photo at Kel so he could see it. It was a picture of Sunny and Mari. Kel understood immediately. “Do you want to take a break?” Sunny shook his head. “Want me to help you find a place to put that, then?”

That time Sunny nodded, and Kel could see his grip on the picture frame tightened a little. Kel took hold of his hand, the one that wasn’t holding the photo. Kel thought for a moment as he looked around where it could go, however, Sunny decided rather quickly.

“There,” He said, pointing to the bookshelf, right beside where Kel had put a picture of Sunny and himself. Kel nodded, and Sunny let go of his hand to grab something else out of the box. It was a sculpture of a lily of the valley flower. Basil had given all of them a sculpture of the flowers he’d assigned to them when they were kids for Christmas one year; Sunny’s tulip and Kel’s cactus already sat near the photo on the shelf. Sunny walked over and placed the two of them on the shelf, staring for a moment before looking back at Kel. Kel offered his arms out for a hug, and Sunny accepted right away. Sunny had always said that Kel’s hugs made him feel better, so, of course, Kel was glad to help him.

“Are you going to be okay, Sunny?” Kel asked, his voice rather quiet, since he knew it was more difficult for him to calm down when things were too loud.

“Mhm,” Sunny hummed, and there were a few moments of silence before he said, “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Sunny. So much.”

“...Thank you,” Sunny said softly, closing his eye.

“For what?”

“I don’t know. Just for…everything. For this.”

Kel smiled lovingly, and pulled Sunny a little closer. He kissed him gently on the forehead. Everything will be alright. “Of course, Sunshine.”

✵

Sunny had a problem. It had been a few days now since he and Kel moved into their house, and of course, everything with that was going rather great. That wasn’t the issue, not even in the slightest. Sunny’s real problem was that he and Kel’s two year anniversary was rapidly approaching, it was in four days, in fact, and he had not the slightest idea of what to get Kel as a gift. It wasn’t that Sunny didn’t know what Kel liked, Kel was very open about that kind of thing. Although, Kel seemed to like everything! Sunny really wanted the gift he would get for him to be special, but that was just about impossible when almost every single thing in the world would make Kel absolutely ecstatic. He wanted the gift to be perfect, not just acceptable, or mediocre. Two years was a long time, after all!

Kel was currently at work, thankfully, so Sunny wouldn’t have to explain to him why he was panicking (who seemed a little nervous as well, since he’d practically ran out the door when going that morning). It wasn’t like he could say ‘Hey Kel, I have no idea what to get you!’, since he wanted it to be a surprise. Kel usually loved surprises, he’d noted. He also liked things that were sentimental, so the amount of money put it into thankfully wouldn’t matter (he was a bit low on cash at the moment, usually he wouldn’t mind having to spend a bit). They’d already arranged spending their anniversary day at home, so Sunny wasn’t going to be able to use taking him to dinner as a gift again. It was soon that Sunny realized that getting some help might be a good idea. But help from who? Hero would know, probably, but he was in school at the moment. And he didn’t want to bother Basil after everything that had gone on. Oh, Aubrey! She might have ideas? He took out his phone, and quickly dialed her number. She answered after a few rings.

“Hello? Who is this?” She asked, and she sounded rather tired, like she just woke up or s[omething.

“Don’t you have caller id on?” Sunny asked, a little confused, not yet answering the question.

“Oh, hi, Sunny,” Aubrey said; she must have recognized his voice. “And yeah, I just couldn’t be bothered to look. What’s up?”

“Could you help me with something?”

“Depends on what it is.”

“Well, my and Kel’s anniversary is in a few days and-”

Aubrey quickly interrupted. “You don’t know what to get him, do you?”

“Yeah. that," Sunny admitted, though he hadn't expected Aubrey to guess it before he even got the chance to say anything.

Aubrey sighed. “Sunny, I think that’s something you gotta decide. It won’t be as special otherwise, ya know?”

Sunny sighed, too. “Yeah…I just don’t have any ideas.”

“Kel will like anything you give him.”

“That’s the problem.”

“Sunny, that is the opposite of a problem,” Aubrey argued, “He’ll be happy no matter what.”

“I want it to be special, though…”

“Then just give him something sentimental, I dunno,” Aubrey replied, before saying, “Hope you figure it out!”

He could already tell by the tone in her voice that she was going to make that the end of the conversation, which she did, hanging up the phone a second afterward. Sunny sighed. Well, that was pointless. Aubrey was a good friend and all, but she wasn’t the best with things like that. Sunny wasn’t even sure why he’d tried. He already thought about something sentimental! But, that didn’t mean he knew just exactly what he was supposed to get. What if- what if he wasn’t able to get something in time?!

No, calm down, Sunny told himself. It would be fine! He could do this, right? He had to, or else…or else Kel would be sad, and he didn’t want that at all (somewhere in the back of his mind that Kel likely wouldn’t be disappointed, more happy to spend time with him than anything else, but his panic would not listen to reason). He also would feel horrible. Maybe, if he just relaxed a while and thought, he’d find an answer.

Sunny made himself a sandwich, which was nice, and it did calm him down a bit. However, it definitely didn’t help him get any close to having the perfect present. Maybe he wasn’t relaxed enough? Sunny exhaled heavily. Painting was relaxing, right? He could do that.

Painting turned out to be a lot more distracting than helpful. This was made clear the moment Kel walked through the door and he was still painting. Whoops.

“Hi, Sunny!” Kel shouted with excitement the moment he walked in, closing the door behind him. Sunny looked over and waved.

“Hey, Kel,” He greeted, to which Kel’s eyes lit up the moment he saw that Sunny had been painting something. He ran over to him to see what it was; Sunny had just been painting some forest scenery, pictured at dusk.

“Woah, Sunny! That’s super pretty! I’ve always loved your paintings, heh,” Kel praised, and Sunny smiled in return.

“Thank you.” It made him happy that Kel liked his paintings.

Kel liked his paintings. Kel liked his paintings!

That was perfect! Sunny would paint something for Kel! The perfect gift! Sunny did his best not to show all of the excitement he was currently experiencing; that would be suspicious, wouldn’t it? Either way, success! It would be difficult to paint something without Kel seeing it at first, since he always wanted to look at what he was working on, but as long as he only spent time painting when he knew for a fact that Kel was still working, it would be fine! The only problem was, Sunny had to work in two days. He didn’t the day before, at least, but would that be enough time? Maybe he could work on it when Kel was asleep, since in three days neither of them had to work…

“Sunny? Earth to Sunny?” Kel called, waving his hand in front of his boyfriend’s face, to which Sunny realized he must have been spacing out. That had always been a problem he had. Well, a problem to others, anyway. Kel didn’t seem to mind all that much outside of being a little concerned.

“Sorry. Just thinking,” Sunny said. It wasn’t like he could just tell Kel about how he’d just now thought of an anniversary present. Sunny could only assume that he’d thought of something way earlier, hadn’t he?

“Is there something on your mind, Sunshine?” Kel asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. Oh, now Kel thought there was something wrong! That was not what he’d intended at all!

“I’m okay, Kel. Don’t worry,” Sunny smiled at him, putting one of his hands on Kel’s. Kel smiled in return.

“Just making sure!” Kel beamed, “I’m gonna make dinner, if you wanna help?”

Sunny smiled wider, more genuine this time. “Sure.”

✵

Any time spent with Kel was nice for Sunny (Yes, even having to lift a couch. That was painful) so, of course, spending time cooking something for the two of them to eat made him a lot happier. That was actually relaxing, he thought, and he was glad that living like this really made it so they could spend more time together. At this point, he honestly could not imagine life not leading in this direction. Living with Kel felt like peace, how things were meant to be. Of course, it was impossible for things to be perfect all the time, he knew, but it would still be better. He remembered a time back when he thought better was unreachable; an impossibility. But it wasn’t like that anymore. Sunny wondered if Kel knew just how much he’d helped him.

The meal he and Kel had ended up with was simple, just some macaroni and cheese, but Sunny still thought it was nice. Food really does taste better when you make it yourself, doesn’t it?

The next day was nice, actually. He was able to paint like he’d wanted to! The night before, right before he fell asleep, he brainstormed ideas for what he could paint. It took him a bit, Sunny was sure that he might have lied there for an hour (some may call this overkill but Sunny was assured that it was necessary; he wanted it to be as good as it possibly could be) and he ended up deciding to just paint the two of them, and Hector. It was something personal, something he thought Kel would really appreciate.

He also made sure to watch the time, because the idea of Kel walking in while he was creating it was not a pleasant one. That would ruin his entire plan! Thankfully, it was finished before he got home, so there would be no problems with that. At first, he wasn’t exactly sure where he was meant to put it in the meantime, but he decided to simply hide it under the bed. As far as Sunny knew, there would be no reason for him to look under there as far as he was aware.

The next day Kel dropped him off for work, and it was just as boring as usual. He didn’t really mind working, necessarily, it was just the same thing every time: do a pizza delivery and hope he’d deciphered the owner’s horrible handwriting properly. He’d gotten better over the years, and he rarely had a slip up, but he had to admit he still messed up every now and then. At least it was poorly written addresses now rather than poorly written descriptions. It was a little better. He was glad he could help out with money, at least, since he’d feel bad if Kel had to do everything. That was what made working feel worth it, you know?

Their anniversary was tomorrow, he thought, when he woke up the next morning. He wasn’t exactly sure what Kel had planned for them, he kept telling him that it’d be a surprise. Kel was usually on the receiving end of things like that, so Sunny had to admit he was pretty excited about that. Kel had trouble not telling him things most of the time, so he had his hopes high. Even if it wasn’t anything all that exciting, he’d still be happy. For him, just spending time was enough for their special day, their celebration of two years.

Wow, it’d really been that long! It felt like so long ago and so recent at the same time, when he thought about it. Sunny was just getting out of bed now, and walked towards the door to the kitchen, since Kel was making breakfast there. Pancakes and eggs, if he’d remembered correctly? It was hard to be certain when he’d been half asleep at the time. It made Sunny happy that Kel had found a new enjoyment in making food after his brother had decided against pursuing that.

When Sunny walked through the door, he realized his memory had proved him right. The food smelt great, and Sunny was glad to take a seat at their table, rubbing the last bit of sleep from his eyes.

“Good morning, Sunshine!” Kel greeted with a smile, only breaking eye contact with the pan for a few seconds so he could stay focused. He was currently watching a pancake, waiting for the perfect time to flip it, presumably. Hector was near his feet, wagging his tail with excitement in some hope that he’d be given the food Kel was cooking, however, Sunny knew this was a pointless attempt on his part. Poor guy.

“Morning,” Sunny smiled, and although he was glad it was more than obvious how tired he was. Even with the recommended amount of sleep (or even more sometimes) he never felt well rested right when he woke up. The amount of sleeping he’d done within a certain four years had made him all the more prone to involuntary naps when he was home. Kel napped a lot, too, but the difference was that he actually wanted to. “Looks tasty,” Sunny added.

“You bet!” Kel chirped, “It’s about to be done in just a second, too.” Kel lifted the pancake from the pan with a spatula, putting it on a large plate on a stack of other pancakes, which also had four over-easy eggs on it. He placed the larger plate on top of two smaller ones, in order to make it easier to carry, and brought them to the table. He put the large plate down in the middle, and placed the little plates on either side of the table where the chairs were. Kel split the food between the two of them, and Sunny was more than happy to dig in. He hoped the rest of their day would be this bright.

✵

It was four days before their 2 year anniversary, and Kel was currently driving off from his house. He’d called off of work, unbeknownst to Sunny, and was on his way to town. Of course, Kel hated lying, but this had to be a surprise. If there was any way Sunny found out what he was doing it could ruin his plan! And no, he wasn’t doing anything bad, nor suspicious, but he was planning something. Something would be an understatement, perhaps, since what he was planning was a proposal. What would be a better anniversary gift than that?

Kel had thought about this a lot; it’d been on his mind for the past year or so, but he just wasn’t sure if he and Sunny were ready for that. Now, however, they were living together, and that was a really big step. They’d been together two years minus four days, and they’d known each other a whole lot longer. Kel couldn’t imagine spending his life with anyone else, and he imagined Sunny felt the same way. He’d said that once or twice, hadn’t he?

Thankfully, there was a jewelry store nearby, just about ten minutes away from home; he was just pulling into the parking lot now. If Kel was being honest, he hadn’t thought too much on what he was going to get, so was hoping they’d have something nice. Or, preferably, something more than nice. He stepped out of the car, and stood in front of the store. This was a huge thing, he wasn’t meant to rush it, he knew, but he was supposed to be ready in four days! Although it would be easy to have the physical part ready, hopefully, mental preparation was a whole other story! Although he’d thought about this, he’d thought about it a lot, actually doing it was a whole different story!

Kel took a deep breath. He just had to calm down, and walk into the store. He’d be able to pick a ring that Sunny would like, wouldn’t he? That was super important, right? Maybe not the most important, but it was definitely a huge part. What if he picked one that was bad by accident? Would that influence Sunny’s answer? Well, no, probably not, Kel realized, but you can never be too careful! He still wanted it to be nice..! Wasn’t it better to be safe rather than sorry?

Help! He needed help, this was difficult. Maybe if he had help there’d be no way he could mess this up. Who could help? He thought for a moment. Oh, his brother! He immediately pulled out his phone and dialed, realizing half way through the ringing that he was probably in class right now. Whoops. Hero picked up.

“Hey, Kel. What’s up?” Hero greeted, and he didn’t sound bothered so Kel was relieved.

“Did I interrupt your class?” Kel asked; he wasn’t going to request Hero to come all the way over here if he had school right now.

“Nope, don’t worry. I have the day off today,” Hero reassured. Okay, that was a nice coincidence. Was the world going to be in his favor today? Kel sure hoped so. “Is there anything that you need?”

Kel thought for a moment on what to say. “Uh, yeah… So, how much convincing would it take for you to drive over here?”

Hero took a moment to respond, but it was only a couple of seconds. Kel could imagine him tilting his head and tapping his cheek as he thought over his answer. “Hm, not much. Is something wrong?”

“Well, no…but also yes? Like, there’s nothing bad, but I kinda need your help with something,” Kel said, although he realized that explanation wasn’t all that good in retrospect. Kel felt it would be too much to reveal over a simple phone call.

“Not gonna tell me ‘til I get there?” Hero guessed, with a slight chuckle.

“Yeah,” Kel laughed in return, “It’d be easier to explain here. Are you sure you want to come down though? I don’t want to make you drive an hour for nothing.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t mind at all. Where do you want me to meet you?” Hero asked, and Kel was grateful that he wasn’t bothered. Which was typical, of course; Hero usually never minded doing things for others, but there’s often times where he isn’t able to because of school. Kel understands that, though.

“Out front of The Diamond Wing?”

Hero paused for a second, seemingly a little confused. “The jewelry store?”

Kel laughed, almost a little nervous, or embarrassed. “Yep, that’s the one.”

“Okay, I’ll see you soon then!”

“See ya!”

Afterwards, he hung up the phone. Okay, so now he just had to wait. He would have considered going and having something to eat, but Kel felt bad at the idea of going around town after he’d told Sunny he was going to work. To Kel, going to get a ring and saying you were working is acceptable, but just hanging out was not. So, he waited. Kel was certain that it was the most boring hour of his life. He knew Hero was on his way, and that gave him something to look forward to, at least. Still, he wished he wasn’t so damn far away. It would be so much easier if it was just, maybe, a five minute trip or something.

Kel was ecstatic when Hero’s car pulled into the parking lot, so much so that he jumped right up from where he’d been sitting and ran over to him. His savior! Now he didn’t have to make this life-changing choice alone! “Hey, Hero!”

“Hey, Kel!” Hero said, although the window of his SUV was still rolled up so he could just barely hear what he was saying. Hero put his car in park and removed the keys, opening the door and getting out. Kel waited patiently as closed the door behind him, dusting off his clothes afterward. “So, you finally gonna tell me what you need help with?”

“Yeah…don’t freak out, okay?”

Hero raised an eyebrow. “Depends on what you’re about to say.”

Okay, now Kel was a little more nervous. He rubbed the back of his head with one of his hands, trying to think of how to perfectly say this. However, it just ended up being plain and simple. “I’m going to propose to Sunny.”

Hero went from mild confusion to pure excitement within a matter of seconds. “Really, Kel? That’s wonderful!” He placed a hand on his shoulder, and used the other to wipe a nonexistent tear from his own eye, speaking overdramatically, “They grow up so fast! Buying a house together…and now getting engaged!”

Kel swatted his brother’s hand away. “Hero, we didn’t buy the house, we’re renting it! And I don’t know if we’re getting engaged yet, since I haven’t even bought the ring!” Kel pointed to the jewelry store behind them. “Also, I’ve been ‘grown up’ for two years. I’m nineteen!”

“Still, though! I’m really proud of you, Kelsey,” Hero said with a smile.

Kel smiled, and laughed, too, jokingly rolling his eyes. “Thanks, bro. So…the reason I made you come all this way is because…I kinda need help deciding what ring to get,” Before Hero could talk, Kel quickly added, “And yeah, I know I gotta make the final choice! I was just hoping I could get your, I dunno, advice?”

Hero nodded. “I’d be glad to help. Lead the way.”

Kel nodded as well in return, before turning to head into the store, and his brother followed not too far behind. The bell on the door jingled as they stepped in (which Kel was rather fond of); the store was bigger than he’d expected. “That…is a lot of options,” Kel stated, glancing around.

“It’s not as bad as you think,” Hero said, “A lot of the stuff in here isn’t even rings. There’s a lot of necklaces, bracelets, that kind of stuff.”

Kel took a deep breath. “Yeah, I know. This is just so…overwhelming, you know?”

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Hero checked, looking over at Kel. Although he was excited that Kel was going to do this, he knew that, of course, Hero would still want him to be prepared. Rushing things was never the right idea.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’ve thought about it for a while, it just makes me nervous, thinking of what the outcome could end up being.”

“I get it,” Hero said, “I’m sure you’re ready. And I bet Sunny will think so, too.” He went back to looking aimlessly at the store for a moment. “Is there anything in particular you have in mind?”

“Well, I was thinking of something with silver, since that’s Sunny’s favorite. Other than that, I don’t know yet,” Kel explained, as the two of them headed over to the ring section. He didn’t know if he should hope for many options or for few. When they arrived, he learned there were many. He quickly came to the conclusion that that was better, it was better to have too many options that not enough, right? When they got there, Kel examined the many different rings, trying to look for something Sunny would find nice. At least he could already cross out ones with golden bands.

“See anything that catches your eye?” Hero asked, also taking a look.

“No, not yet…” Kel sighed. But, they technically had all day! So he wasn’t too worried…he just had to hope that there would be the perfect ring here. This was the only jewelry store in town. There were a few plain silver bands, which Kel decided were a little too simple. Things with huge gemstones, on the other hand, were a bit too extravagant. So, he needed something in the middle. “Not too simple…not too fancy,” He said, mostly to himself, but Hero still heard; he nodded in return as he continued his search.

“How about this one?” Hero spoke up, after a few minutes or so. He was pointing at one of the rings behind the glass. Kel looked over to examine it. It looked like two thinner bands put together as one, and it had a blue sapphire gem. Kel thought for a moment.

“Nah, I don’t think so,” Kel replied, “It’s pretty and all, but I don’t think blue is a good color choice.” Hero nodded, and kept looking.

Kel then came across one, which he studied with his eyes. Hero asked, “Find something you like?” It was a band, with patterns of clovers engraved into it.

“I like it, but I don’t know if I wanna go for that one. I think I’m gonna look for some other options first.”

“Alright,” Hero said simply, and they both returned to looking. The process was tedious, but Kel didn’t mind. They were looking for about ten minutes or so, going over different options, and seeing if they were good enough. They looked at quite a few each, but none seemed quite right. However, that was only until Kel spotted a different ring; one that he had not seen prior.

It was silver, as expected, and engraved all around it were small, red ruby gems. Kel thought it was perfect. Sunny had always liked the color red. He was sure that Sunny would love it. “Hey, Hero, look.” He said, pointing to it through the glass. Hero looked over, and smiled.

“That’s really pretty. Do you think that’s the one?” He asked, looking over to Kel after a few moments of looking it over.

Kel nodded. “Absolutely. I think- I think it’s perfect!” He exclaimed, and he genuinely meant it. He hoped it would be the right choice; in his heart he knew that it was. Hero chuckled softly at his brother’s excitement, but his expression still showed pride in him.

Kel had saved up enough money, thankfully, from working the past few days. So, without even checking further for the slim chance of something better, Kel bought the ring he’d found, which was placed in a little black box for safe keeping (and then eventual reveal). He and Hero walked out of the store, and towards their vehicles, to which the two of them stopped when they were near Hero’s car.

“Thanks for your help, Hero,” Kel said, right before Hero was about to open the door.

“Of course! That’s what older brothers are for, right?” Hero grinned, and Kel smiled, too.

Kel laughed. “Yeah, I guess so!” He paused for a moment, before continuing, “I just really hope this works out…”

“I’m sure it will! Sunny really loves you, you know,” Hero assured, placing and a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Good luck, Kel. Make sure to tell me what happens, alright?”

“Alright,” Kel replied, “And I will. Thanks again for coming all this way,” Kel said, as Hero moved away from him to open the driver’s seat door to his car, and sat inside. The two of them said their goodbyes, and Kel got into his truck. He placed the ring box on the dashboard, and quickly realized that he would have to sit there for a while. Sunny thought he was working still, and he would think that for another few hours. Well, that was okay, Kel decided, since he still had a few other things to do before he was done. He had to get food that he would make for the two of them at the grocery store, and maybe he could get a nice looking table cloth for their boring dinner table. He’d already explained to Sunny that he had something planned, so hopefully whatever Sunny had in mind wouldn’t clash with what he was doing. He tried to ignore the panic inducing idea of Sunny wanting to go out and get something, and spotting Kel’s truck.

He took in a deep breath, before releasing it slowly. Everything would be alright, he thought.

✵

Today was the day of Kel and Sunny’s anniversary. Kel had just woken up in their bed, and Sunny was still fast asleep next to him. Perfect, Kel thought, so he could set a few things up before Sunny was awake. He slowly creeped out of the bed, making sure to be too fast or too loud, and, thankfully, Sunny was a very heavy sleeper, so keeping him asleep was not all that difficult. When he closed the bedroom door behind him, he threw his hands up in the air silently as a celebration of his success. It was time to prepare!

After feeding Hector, Kel got to work. There wasn’t all that much to do, thankfully, but Kel still did his best. He had gotten a tablecloth like he’d hoped to! It was patterned with tulips of all different colors, which he specifically picked since white tulips were Sunny’s ‘assigned’ flower. He began to make breakfast, something he loved to do. He’d decided on french toast, since Sunny was usually rather happy with that! Although, Sunny never seemed unhappy with his cooking, which he appreciated.

Not too long later, the setup was complete! The table was set and breakfast was made, still kept warm on the pan, but Sunny was still fast asleep in their bed. So now Kel was alone with his thoughts.

And being alone with his thoughts inevitably led to thinking about the rapidly approaching proposal. He was certain he was ready, that they were ready, but that didn’t make opening a ring box in front of Sunny’s face easy! Not in the slightest! Though he doubted it, there was always a chance that no would be the answer, or that he was flattered but it wasn’t time for that yet, or maybe by some chance he’d just flat out hate the idea so much that he’d break up with him-

Okay, Kel knew that was an exaggeration. Completely unlikely. So he pushed that worry out of his mind for the time being. Though, that didn’t make the others go away. Kel ended up deciding to just get back in bed until Sunny was ready to wake up. Kel thought he’d need that relaxation if he ever wanted the courage to do what he had been planning. Everything would be okay, he decided, since it had to be. It’d worked out nicely so far…

Kel realized he’d accidentally woken Sunny up whilst trying to get into the bed, as he slowly opened his eye to look up at his boyfriend. Or, hopefully-soon-to-be-fiancé. Kel refrained from giggling with excitement. “Good morning, Sunshine,” He smiled, and Sunny sleepily smiled back at him.

“Good morning, Kel…happy anniversary,” He said, and although it did sound genuine it was very much clear in his tone of voice how tired he was.

“Happy anniversary, Sunny! Do you wanna get some more sleep before eating breakfast?” Whoops! Eating breakfast was also meant to be a surprise. Well, not eating breakfast, but the fact that Kel had already made it. Suddenly Kel became terrified with the idea of actually blurting out that he was going to propose. Kel was terrible at keeping a secret, especially from Sunny…

Sunny thought for a moment. “Hm, no. I love the breakfast you make,” he said, taking a moment to stretch his arms. He wrapped his arms around Kel for a hug, since he was sitting on the edge of the bed, and the two stayed there for a few moments before getting up. Kel smiled wide, grabbing Sunny by the hand and led him into the kitchen, excited for him to see the minimal but delicate setup he had ended up with.

Sunny’s eye lit up at the sight of the nice tablecloth, and the flowers in the vase he’d put on top of it. It wasn’t anything crazy; Kel wished he could have done more. Still, he was glad that Sunny seemed to like it enough. Kel showed Sunny to his seat, before going to the stove to get them both of them a generous helping of french toast, and added syrup on top (Kel liked his with about three times more syrup than Sunny, of course). He brought the two plates to the table, setting one down for Sunny. The silverware was already placed there.

“Thank you, Kel,” Sunny said, “I love it.” He had a small smile on his face.

“Of course, Sunny!” Kel grinned. “And I love you.”

Sunny let out a single huff of laughter. “I love you, too.” He took a bite of the french toast after picking up the fork, and by the look on his face he seemed rather satisfied with the taste. Kel was more than glad to dig in, too. “When we made mac and cheese a few days back, I thought to myself that food tastes better when you make it yourself. But I think it was just because you helped. Maybe food is just good when you make it.”

Kel giggled. “Aw, thank you, Sunny! But make sure to give yourself some credit, too! You’re awesome at cooking!”

“Depends on what your definition of awesome is…but thank you.”

“You make the best toast I’ve ever eaten.”

Sunny laughed rather loudly, compared to usual at least. “Kel, I don’t make toast. I just put bread in a toaster.”

Kel insisted, “Well, it tastes better when you do it!”

“That doesn’t make any sense, but I’ll take the compliment.”

✵

After eating, and after the dishes were put in the sink, the two of them stood together in the kitchen. Sunny spoke up first, “So, you seemed really excited for what you had planned…what is it?” His head tilted just the slightest with curiosity.

Kel giggled nervously, rubbing the back of his head with one of his hands. Don’t ask me that! “It’s, um, a surprise!” He said, “I can’t show you til later!”

Sunny raised an eyebrow, but nodded nonetheless; he seemed intrigued. “I have something to give you, then,” He told him, already walking into the bedroom before Kel had a chance to react. “Wait there!” Sunny said as he opened the door and closed it behind him, “and close your eyes until I say to open them.”

“Okay!” Kel said back, doing as told, though only barely able to. What could Sunny possibly be doing in there? Or getting to give him, like he said? Kel loved gifts! Especially from Sunny, even though Sunny always said he was bad at picking gifts. He didn’t agree with that one, personally…

He heard the door open, and had to refrain from immediately opening his eyes. He waited until, based on sound, Sunny presumably walked up to him, and placed a single hand on his shoulder. “Okay, you can open ‘em now.” Kel was more than glad to abide by that request.

When he opened them and saw what Sunny was holding, he smiled wider than even he knew possible. In a moment he stared in awe at what Sunny had painted. It was him, Sunny, and Hector: absolutely beautiful! Kel didn’t even know art could be that realistic! Well, he did, but seeing that Sunny had done that was amazing! And that painting was for him!!

“Do you like it?” Sunny asked, likely since Kel had just been staring.

“It’s perfect, Sunny!! I love it so, so, so much!” He beamed, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Kel immediately brought Sunny into another hug, and the latter had to move the painting out of the way of Kel’s almost-a-tackle hug.

“Kel…!” Sunny coughed, “Air!”

Kel quickly let go, face turning from ecstatic to guiltily worried in an instant. “Are you okay, Sunny? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…uh, well I did, but not to the point where you couldn’t breathe.”

Sunny laughed weakly. “Yeah, I’m alright. It’s okay. Glad you liked the painting that much.”

“Oh, of course I do! It’s the best thing I’ve ever seen, ever! Where should we put it? Maybe in our room, or in the kitchen, or in the living room, or-”

“How about next to the bookshelf?” Sunny suggested, over Kel’s nonsense rambling.

“That’s a great idea! I could put it on the wall, after I hammer a nail there. If you want you could go in the bathroom and run the water in the shower so you don’t have to listen, or sit in the backyard. I know you hate that sound, hah.”

Sunny smiled. “Yeah, sure.”

✵

Sometime after the painting was hung, an undetermined amount of hours, Kel and Sunny were cooking dinner together. In the past, they had already done it a few times before, but, after moving, it had become one of their favorite activities. Kel enjoyed it particularly, and it was something he found extra relaxing! Well, besides when he would accidentally burn himself, at least. As usual, Hector was sitting near the counter hoping to get any accidental dropped scraps. Typically he wouldn’t have been given any, but Kel kept dropping crumbs on the floor.

Since Kel had picked out dinner yesterday, he decided to get steak! Sunny was happy when he found that out. Of course he had to pick Sunny’s favorite food. Not that Kel’s favorite food would really work for dinner, since that was oranges…or maybe pizza? Well, pizza would work. But he didn’t know how to make that. And delivery seemed like a strange thing to get for an at home anniversary dinner. Both of them were currently cooking a steak, but rather than cooking themself their own they were both making one for the other to have. Kel just thought that that was a neat idea, and Sunny ended up agreeing.

Though, Kel was having trouble focusing on the task at hand. It was getting unnerving close to when he would be pulling a ring box out of his pocket; it was already there, honestly rather uncomfortable. Thankfully Sunny hadn’t noticed since he usually had a bunch of random things in his pockets anyway, like his phone, wallet, change, and keys. Still, it was certainly out of place. He planned to propose right after dinner…which would likely be in less than twenty minutes since both of them had just completed cooking.

“You alright, Kel. You look nervous. Did you burn the steak?” Sunny asked, putting a hand on Kel’s shoulder and breaking him out of his thoughts. Kel flinched, a bit startled since he hadn’t expected that.

Kel nodded, quickly and almost frantically saying “I’m fine! I didn’t burn it for once, heh!” He was pretty sure it was obvious that he wasn’t calm. He didn’t burn the steak, right? He looked down at it on the plate he had put it on. Okay, he actually didn’t burn it. That was rare. Kel wasn’t all that good at cooking steak, but he thought he did a pretty good job this time around. Then, he looked over at Sunny’s. “Oh, wow, that looks great! Are you sure you want the one I made? ‘Cause you can have yours if you want it more.”

Sunny nodded. “I’m sure. You can have the one I made,” he said, taking the plate and handing it to Kel, before grabbing the other. Kel was more than happy to take it, and the two sat at the table together. Kel’s heart felt like it would beat right out of his chest. Sunny looked perfectly calm but he was the exact opposite.

He was certain there was no turning back now! He’d already bought the ring, and planned this whole thing out, and he knew it would be difficult, but this was almost terrifying! Actually proposing to Sunny?? Sure, he’d daydreamed about it plenty of times but that did not make this any easier. He tried to think happy thoughts of them getting married leading from this moment to make himself feel better…

Kel looked at Sunny for a moment. Jeez, he was so pretty. He loved him so much. Sunny looked up, noticing that Kel was rather clearly staring, and he giggled a little. “I love you, Kel.”

“I-I love you too, Sunny!” He said, louder than he meant to. Kel was already finished eating and Sunny was just about to be. Kel was trying to stop himself from hyperventilating. Kel rarely panicked like this, why now?! No, he knew why, but still, it was extremely unhelpful!

Once Sunny had finished, he said “I’ll put the dishes in the sink,” with a small, and stood up. Quickly, Kel stood up, too.

“Hey, wait!” He said, before Sunny could grab his plate. Sunny looked up at him.

“Hm?” He stopped, waiting for Kel to continue. Well, shit, now or never, right?!

“Um, can I ask you a question?” Great going, Kel. What a thing to lead with! He scolded himself internally. Kel got out of his chair completely.

“Yeah, go ahead,” Sunny replied simply.

“Sunny…I love you so much, and I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anybody else… ” Kel took a deep breath. “I’ve…thought about this for a while. So, I wanted to ask you…” Sunny’s eye widened; he didn’t interrupt him. Kel fumbled for the ring box in his pocket as he got down on one knee. He didn’t dare look away from Sunny for even a moment when he opened that box to reveal the shiny new ring. Sunny put his hands over his mouth the moment he saw it. “Will you marry me?”

Sunny took a moment to even move, before he put out his hand. “Yes, Kel, of course I will.” 

Kel was pretty sure he was crying, he was that overjoyed. Trying to be as precise as possible, he put the ring on Sunny’s finger. He knew he wasn’t dreaming but it absolutely felt like one. Kel was smiling wide, and Sunny was too; Kel wasn’t sure if he’d ever even seen Sunny smile like that. Kel didn’t think he had ever been happier in his entire life.

After the ring was on, Kel stood up. Sunny kissed him then hugged him, and Kel wouldn’t let go. “I love you,” Kel said, almost a whisper into his ear.

“I love you, too,” Sunny said in turn.

Kel hugged him tighter, with a single joyous laugh. “You have no idea how happy I am right now…”

“Actually, I think I might have an idea...” Sunny replied, before adding, “My gift was barely anything compared to this.”

Kel separated the hug, but still took both of Sunny’s hands in his. “No, don’t say that! I loved the painting. Besides, saying ‘yes’ was a perfect gift, anyway.” Sunny just stared into Kel’s eyes for a moment…

Hector, more than happy to ruin the moment, barked at Kel, jumping up and putting his front paws on his legs. Both Kel and Sunny laughed, the former reaching out his hand to pet him, the other still holding Sunny’s. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll get you your dinner in just a sec’ bud.” Kel turned back to Sunny for a moment, kissing him a second time.

Again, Sunny said, “I love you.”

“I love you, too, my sunshine.”