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The kitchen was warm in the lowlight, the usually more stark lines of it softened by the glow. It had been the main draw of the apartment, when Lawrence had been viewing different places- neither him nor Alison had had much time to cook, with how busy their respective careers had been, but he had wanted to change that. He had changed that. His therapist had been a huge fan of cooking as a hobby for him- had thought that something with a tangible end product would be good for him. He had hated to admit it, but they were right.
He tilted the glass in his hand, pouring wine into it and then smiling to himself when he heard footsteps behind him.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
Lawrence rolled his eyes, his laugh catching a little on a snort as he slid the bottle back into the fridge and let the glass click against the shelf a little bit. “You saw me two seconds ago.”
“Longest two seconds of my life .”
Adam reached over and plucked the glass out of his hands, taking a sip. They didn’t drink often, a mix between a general lack of interest and the risk of interaction with the various medications they were taking, but it was a special occasion. An anniversary- their third, now. Three years of this thing they had found themselves in. He had never been happier.
Lawrence had fallen into the trap, for the want of a better word, of trying to impress Adam for their first anniversary. He had gone all out on a date that neither of them had really enjoyed. They had had fun together, of course, but it hadn’t been them . Then last year, Diana had struck them all down with a cold that had left Adam bedridden for the best part of that week, so their second anniversary had been a wash too. It had bothered him greatly at the time, but he had eventually let it go.
Third time seemed to be the charm, though.
“What did you think of that recipe?” Lawrence hummed as Adam’s hand slid to rest on his waist, warm even through his shirt. “It was a new one, but I thought you’d like it.”
Adam smiled. “It was perfect, Lar. Worth the effort, for sure.”
He had spent most of the day cooking it, while Adam had wrapped up a couple of work things- building his portfolio mostly, and the good weather for the first time all week had necessitated a photo trip for him. Not that Lawrence minded, of course- Adam usually just distracted him anyways. It was always good to see Adam do the things he loved too. He couldn’t wait to see the prints, when they were developed.
“I’m glad.”
The little radio- an old model, the audio quality riddled with crackling and fuzz, that Adam had insisted on saving from Lawrence’s parents house when his sister had started to clear the place out- filled the silence and softened the edges of it. He had said that it was charming, vintage. Just like you , he had joked. It reminded Lawrence of a childhood spent listening to music as his mother peeled potatoes, watching her make the dinner as he worked on his homework.
“Oh, I love this song.” Adam remarked as the gentle strings spiralled into a recognisable vocal line. Lawrence did too- Dean Martin had always been one of his favourites. Seeing his music taste rub off on Adam was intensely gratifying- his cheeks warmed at the sound of the man humming along to it.
He turned as if to leave, and in a moment of impulse Lawrence reached out to hold his wrist, pulling him back to face him. Adam tilted his head, expression curious, and then rolled his eyes as he let Lawrence take the glass of wine off him and place it down on the counter. He tugged him closer, resting his other hand on the curve of Adam’s hip as the song played on.
“I’m not much of a slow dancer, you know.”
“Me neither.” Lawrence agreed easily, and quickly illustrated that point when he stepped on Adam’s foot after a few seconds. The man just laughed though, and laced their fingers together as they swayed.
It was funny- for someone who spent so much time looking at Adam, there were moments when the light caught him just right and he took Lawrence’s breath away all over again. His hair was longer now, long overdue a cut, and it curled cutely around his ears where it had air-dried. There was a lot about Adam that was softer now; since the trap, since Lawrence had been wheeled into a hospital room and seen a man who was little more than bones and anger lying there, Adam had blossomed . Good living suited him, and it showed in the softness of his stomach, the only slightly patchy facial hair that testosterone had given him. He looked healthy, happy . Lawrence wasn’t sure he would ever stop marvelling at it.
“Staring.”
Lawrence blinked, and then reddened at the quirk of Adam’s smile. He had been caught, he knew, but instead of trying to defend himself he just leaned down to kiss the smile away. There was no defence- Lawrence just loved him.
Everybody finds somebody someplace
There's no telling where love may appear
“Something in my heart keeps saying,” Lawrence’s voice wasn’t the strongest, always slightly off key, but he watched Adam’s smile brighten as he sang, pressing closer into his arms. He would do anything to keep him smiling- of all the things he had ever devoted himself to, Adam’s happiness was by far one of the most rewarding.
“My someplace is here.” Adam finished for him, before leaning up to press their mouths together again, fingers catching in his hair to keep him close. As if there was anywhere Lawrence would rather be than right where he was.
Their feet collided again, and Lawrence huffed in annoyance. Adam’s thumb smoothed over the corner of his mouth, and he stepped back until they found an easy rhythm again. They wouldn’t win any ballroom awards, but it worked.
“Sorry.”
“Shut up.” Adam hummed along to the end of the song, and his thumb followed a wrinkle on Lawrence’s cheek. Smile lines- Lawrence had never thought that he would be the type of man who had smile lines , but there they were. “You look handsome. Did you buy a new suit for this?”
“I had needed one anyway.”
“Sure, sure.” Adam grinned, a slight edge to it that made Lawrence’s chest warm. “You just wanted to dress up for me.”
“Is that a crime?”
“God, no.” Adam’s hand dropped to his waist again, fingers hooking into the empty belt loop there and pulling him closer. “It looks nice.”
“You clean up pretty well too.” He had, too, in a well fitting navy sweater and new jeans. It had been an adjustment for him at the start Lawrence knew, incorporating what he had called “dad outfits” into his wardrobe. Not a total shift- Lawrence would have hated for Adam to lose his own personal style in an attempt to fit in anywhere. Still, the new clothes looked good on him.
“Yeah, well. I have a rich boyfriend, so.”
Lawrence laughed. “Oh yeah?”
“Mmhm.” Adam neatly turned them around, and Lawrence could picture it clearly- them dancing at their own wedding, the floor empty except for them with all of their loved ones watching on. Adam bright and sharp in a suit, his face flushed from happiness as they moved together. His husband .
His thoughts went to the ring catalogues buried at the bottom of his filing cabinet at work, and he let Adam lead them both through half of another song before he got distracted by the dessert they had waiting for them still.
“I should probably get the dishes-”
“Lawrence.” Adam snorted, batting his hands away from where he was plating the dessert up. “I’ll do them tomorrow- you spent all day cooking.”
Lawrence supposed that he had a point.
They sat at the table again, making idle conversation over the tiramisu Lawrence had made. Adam’s GED exam was coming up, and they had been planning for some sort of holiday after it to celebrate. Lawrence found himself looking forward to it greatly- Alison had already suggested that they bring Diana with them, take her somewhere warm and sunny and relax a little bit. It was amazing, how much a life could change in such a short amount of time- how much happier someone could be because of it. Lawrence’s feelings towards the trap had shifted and changed many times in the years since, but one thing hadn’t wavered- he was eternally grateful for Adam.
“We should go to Europe.” Adam hummed, fork slicing neatly through the coffee soaked lady-fingers. “You wanted to.”
“Do you want to?”
“With you?” Adam snorted, and then took a bite, swallowing before he continued. “You could take me to some shitty motel in the middle of nowhere and I would swoon.”
“That’s definitely how you get murdered.”
“I think we’ve established that you couldn’t murder me.” Adam hummed softly. “This is really fucking good, Lar. You’ve outdone yourself.”
Lawrence reddened slightly at the praise. “I just followed the recipe.”
“You could give me a million recipes, and I couldn’t make this.”
Once they had finished and gotten all of the dishes piled up for the next day, they fell easily onto the couch, some silly rom-com playing on the screen as Adam crawled onto Lawrence’s chest with a yawn. He was too warm, the suit pants digging into him just a little, but he ignored that in favour of holding Adam closer.
“Happy Anniversary, babe.” His breath smelled like coffee, and Lawrence kissed him soundly until he felt him melt into it. The man would be asleep in a matter of minutes, he knew, but he didn’t mind. There were much worse fates to have than to be trapped under the love of his life, snoring gently into his neck.
“I love you, Adam.”
Adam nudged at his throat with his nose, pressing a soft kiss there. “Sap. Love you too.”
Lawrence’s hand smoothed up his back, and he curled the man closer as he let the sound of the movie catch his attention. He wondered what they would be doing a year from now, ten years from now. How they would spend wedding anniversaries, Adam’s milestone birthdays. He couldn’t wait for them to come, but also hoped it would last forever. He didn’t think any amount of time spent with Adam would ever be enough for him, didn’t think he would ever get tired of this.
Smiling, he rested his chin on Adam’s head as he felt his breathing even out against him. He couldn’t wait to put that to the test.