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Pelican Town’s new residents have made a nice life for themselves on their farm, and they’ve made quite a bit of progress, too. Not only on their farming skills and the community center, but also on their relationships with the villagers. Gift giving is a common way to show appreciation, and boy have the new farmers been giving gifts. Wyatt gives plenty of the villagers birthday gifts, Cora quickly won Sebastian’s affections (and his hand in marriage), and Kai…
Kai is after Elliott’s heart.
I mean, they’ve already been dating for a little while, but there’s only so many times Kai can take his hand brushing against Elliott’s before he starts longing for some more meaningful contact. Plus, despite Elliott’s flowery language and poetry, they’ve never truly talked about, well, love.
No need to rush, though. They have all the time in the world to get to that, Kai concludes. But, despite that conclusion, he can’t help but be nervous that maybe Elliott doesn’t feel the same.
One autumn morning, Kai gets a letter from Elliott asking if they can meet at the beach. He reads the letter with a soft smile, tucking it away as he heads past Wyatt and Cora on the farm.
“What’s got you smiling like that?” Cora teases Kai, elbowing him playfully as she walks past to get to the barn.
“Uh-”
“Kai! Don’t forget to meet up at the community center this afternoon!” Wyatt calls out from the massive plot of farmland he’s watering.
“Yeah, of course.”
Kai takes his chance to make his escape, rushing off to the beach. He stops before he gets to the bridge, taking a moment to catch his breath and check that everything is in place. Once he deems himself sufficiently ready, he makes his way to the docks.
He sees Elliott looking out at a rowboat. Wait, is that new? Kai thinks before turning his attention to Elliott, who has turned to wave at Kai.
“Hey!”
“Hello there,” Kai smiles at Elliott, going to stand at his side. Their fingers brush together, but neither man acknowledges it.
Elliott clears his throat. “Look,” he nods towards the rowboat. “I fixed up that old rowboat that’s been sitting by my house. Pretty nice, huh?” His eyes soften as he turns back to Kai.
“Kai… Would you do me the honor of joining me for her maiden voyage?”
“Of course.”
Finally, Elliott takes Kai’s hands in his own, and Kai swears he doesn’t know how to breathe as Elliot helps him step down into the rowboat. Elliott lets their hands mingle together for a moment longer until he lets go to row the paddles.
Kai’s brain is mush as he watches Elliott across from him steer the rowboat out into the ocean with ease. They sit in comfortable silence, just basking in each other’s presence until they’re out in the open water. Then, Elliott begins to speak.
“So,” he puts the paddles down. “My book’s been out for a while now… It’s not a best seller or anything, but it’s been getting some good reviews from the critics.” A blush spreads across his cheeks. “And I really couldn’t have finished it without your moral support.”
“Of course you would have,” Kai smiles and leans back on his hands. “You always had it in you.”
Elliott chuckles and taps Kai’s shoe with his own. “You’re right, that’s not true at all. I would have finished it either way.” He tilts his head and studies Kai. “But, I am grateful that you believed in me… in my vision. And well…”
He cuts himself off and looks off to the side, embarrassed.
“Um, Kai? How do I say this…”
Kai sits up straight, waiting patiently for Elliott to gather his thoughts.
“Well,” Elliott continues, “We’ve been friends for a while now… But I’m… I’m not sure if I feel that way about you anymore.”
Suddenly Kai’s heart drops to his stomach. What…?
The distress must have been visible, because Elliott quickly reaches forward and grabs Kai’s hands. “No! I’m not saying I want to cut all ties with you! In fact, quite the opposite!”
Kai breathes a sigh of relief and squeezes Elliott’s hands to signal he’s still listening. “Well, what are you saying then, Elliott?”
Elliott squeezes Kai’s hands back. “Let’s see, how do I put this…?” He looks at Kai for a moment, and for a split second Kai swears he glanced at his lips. “For once,” he lowers his voice to a mutter, leaning in until their faces are inches apart. “I’m at a loss for words…”
And then he closes the distance between their lips, softly pressing his own against Kai’s.
His brain is short circuiting, but it only takes a second for Kai to kiss Elliott back. This, this is what he’s been waiting for. The kiss is soft and slow, but it means everything to him. All those months of waiting have led to this moment, Kai feels as though his heart could burst.
After a moment, Elliott pulls back, brushing Kai’s hair behind his ear. “Kai? You’re trembling…”
Kai’s brain comes back down to Earth and he calms himself, chuckling. “I didn’t realize. Don’t worry, I’m very happy.”
“Good. I was worried you might not feel this way about another man,” Elliott leans in and kisses Kai’s cheek. “We’d better head back before the southern wind picks up.”
Kai nods, grinning from ear to ear. “Of course.”
Grabbing the paddles, Elliot starts rowing the boat back towards the shore. “Look at the valley from here… it finally looks like ‘Home’.”