Rhys was beating himself up about the decision he made while Kellen's Dad did a little inventory of what he had in the house. Kellen thought it would all be rotten, but he was wrong. Someone, probably the cafeteria team, made sure that everything was fresh in his apartment. Kellen was grateful for it.
Rhys was muttering to himself, annoyed at his behaviour, while Charlie followed Kellen's Dad like a shadow. Kellen's Mom began to clean up the mess left over from their take out 'lunch' and when Rhys snapped out of it and attempted to help, she hissed at him.
Rhys was taken aback, while Kellen felt his lips twitch. Okay, it was nice to have his family around. He wasn't just stewing in his emotions, he got to witness other people be on edge. That was a good change. Rhys' being on edge led to him being hissed at by Kellen's Mom.
"Why don't you tell me about all of these grand plans that you have for our future, Rhys? But actually tell me this time." Kellen said, gesturing with his chin for the man to join him on the couch. Rhys glanced between the people who he had willingly let into his home and his partner burrito before he sighed.
Defeated, he came over to Kellen's side and easily tucked the man against him. Kellen could practically hear his Mom's thoughts. He could feel how she was saying 'good…good…' in her brain. Kellen shook his head.
"Well, you know about how I want to take the wall down between the two units now." Rhys started, his cheeks a little flushed in embarrassment. Kellen nodded.
"Is that going to be okay for the building? Will it still be structurally sound?" Kellen asked and Rhys nodded.
"Just the walls, not the support beams. I'll have them put in a thick beam to make sure everything is structurally sound. It'll blend into the theme of the apartment, don't worry." Rhys said. Kellen got a little inkling of something in the back of his mind. While Rhys thought that he had spoken to Kellen about what he had planned, this sounded like a rather…thought out plan.
How long had Rhys thought about this? Kellen would have to ask him more questions to figure it out.
"You said something about more bedrooms?" Kellen asked and Rhys nodded.
"Yeah. Obviously, one of the bedrooms we have right now will be converted into a guest room, we have my office, and we'd technically have two kitchens. We don't need two kitchens, so we can convert one into another space for a bedroom. The closet in one of the bedrooms is also big enough to turn into a small bedroom or office if you wanted to go that route too. We have lots of options, plus the large living room area that can also be turned into a bedroom or something. You could even make it into a home gym if you wanted." Rhys suggested. He was speaking so quickly, like he was worried that Kellen would interrupt him and shut him down.
It was pretty sweet how nervous he was now that he was actually speaking to Kellen about this. He wasn't even worried that others were around. Kellen felt a soft sigh leave his lips.
"I'm not doing an at home gym. Get that hope out of your mind. I don't need it when I have an even better gym an elevator ride away." Rhys nodded at Kellen's words.
"Understood." He said, staying silent for all of three seconds before he spoke up again. "Any…thoughts about anything else I said?" He asked and Kellen couldn't help but chuckle.
"Hmm, well, I agree that we don't need two kitchens, but I can't remember how big your kitchen is in your apartment." Kellen told him. Rhys stiffened.
"I could…punch a hole in the wall now and you could have a look?" He offered and Kellen let out a laugh.
"Absolutely not." Kellen's Mom piped up from behind them, near the island of the kitchen. "I may be cleaning up right now, but I am not cleaning up after that." She scolded the older man. Rhys flushed.
"I would just use my powers to-"
"You are not allowed to use your powers more than necessary right now. Are you trying to kill me when we get the green light to guide you?" Kellen demanded and Rhys looked apologetic.
"Sorry. I just got…excited to talk about it." Rhys mumbled. That was it.
Kellen began his transformation. He sat up, out of Rhys' arms and began to struggle out of the blanket wrapped around him. It took a little bit, but eventually he was out of the blanket and in his normal clothes.
"Mom, Dad, we're just going to be next door a bit. We'll be back." Kellen said and watched as Rhys bolted to his feet. He hadn't moved the whole time that Kellen was struggling out of the blanket. He had looked…a little afraid honestly. That part hurt Kellen's heart. He didn't want him to be afraid. Maybe going through this would help him. "You do still have keys to your place, right?" Kellen asked him and Rhys nodded.
"It's a retinal scan to get in." Rhys said and Kellen blinked.
"That might be a problem for me." Kellen said, kind of joking, and Rhys winced.
"I'll change it tomorrow." He promised immediately, panic in his gaze. Kellen didn't need it to happen so quickly. There was no need for him to be so stressed. Kellen was just…trying to make a funny. Clearly it did not work.
"I'm not going to be freaking out because I can't get in tomorrow. It's okay. The Guild already has so much going on, one door lock is not going to kill us." Kellen spoke softly and Rhys nodded. Kellen watched as he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then nodded. When he opened his eyes, he looked a little apologetic.
"Sorry. I just…I've always wanted to have this conversation with you and now that it's happening…" He trailed off, looking a little green around the ears. Kellen smiled. He reached out, taking Rhys' hand in his good one and giving it a squeeze.
"Do you think I would balk at this now?" Kellen asked and Rhys stared at him.
"I'm afraid you're going to run away at any point, Kellen. I know you care about me, but…" Rhys swallowed thickly, closed his eyes again and took a few more deep breaths. He was holding onto Kellen's hand tightly and Kellen's chest ached.
He'd done this. He'd made this man more anxious than he already was. He felt terrible thinking about it that way.
"If you had sprung it on me when I was first trying to figure this all out, probably, but at this point?" Kellen spoke softly, giving them a modicum of intimacy as they had this conversation. "Rhys, I'm not going anywhere. Truly. The thought of leaving your side?" Kellen choked up, his eyes watering even at the thought. He squeezed Rhys' hand tightly. "It's not going to happen. I won't let it happen. Anyone who tries? They have no idea what's going to hit them." Kellen knew it sounded like a threat, because it was.
He hadn't forgotten that the E.A.G. was targeting him. He was going to destroy them for what they had almost done to his Dad, and what they thought they could do to him. They might even succeed in making Kellen the exact opposite of them. A person who believed in Guide supremacy. He wanted to show them up in everything.
He could even be a better terrorist than them.
Rhys let out a soft chuckle, leaning in and resting his forehead on Kellen's injured shoulder. That way he wasn't rubbing against the strap that was keeping Kellen's arm in a brace.
"You're so sexy when you're threatening people for my sake." Rhys muttered. Kellen blushed.
"That's not-we should go over to your place." Kellen muttered and Rhys turned his head, pressing a gentle kiss against Kellen's throat. Kellen shivered. When Rhys pulled back, his eyes were bright, but warm. He had a smile on his lips too.
"It's our place." Rhys told him and Kellen just nodded.
Kellen had to walk past his parents after they had just heard everything that had happened, but they didn't make fun of him. They were smirking, but of them, but Charlie just waved at them with a smile on his face. He actually seemed relieved to see them interacting the way that they were.
Rhys tugged them out into the hallway and over to his door. It only took him a few seconds to scan his eye and then they were in. Kellen had forgotten how big this place was since they tended to spend more of their time in Kellen's apartment. There was a huge difference between them.
For one, the kitchen was like, three times the size of the one at Kellen's place. Kellen wasn't actually sure if he remembered it being that big. Hmm. The living room was also twice the size of what Kellen remembered and unlike his place, there was space to set up a dining table with actual chairs. Rhys' office was to the right, where a bottom floor bathroom also was.
Rhys happily showed Kellen around the place, showing off the pantry and other things that would be important to Kellen. He also explained his plans for the place, watching Kellen's reactions like a hawk.
As time went on, Kellen realised that…this place would be better. It would make sense to just…knock a wall down and make the apartment their dream apartment. That was when Kellen began to get a little suspicious.
"Rhys." Kellen asked as they were standing in the bedroom that Kellen had only been in a few times. Rhys looked towards Kellen, his gaze sparkling since he could sense that he was winning Kellen over to his design plans.
"Yes?" He asked as he watched Kellen scan the bedroom. It wasn't even that much bigger than Kellen's, but it was bigger.
"How long have you been planning this? Were the walls between my apartment and your apartment intentionally made thinner?" Kellen asked and watched the man freeze up completely.
Kellen was actually a little impressed that he was behaving like this. He normally just…smooth-talked his way through things. It was clear that this was rather important to him. Kellen felt his lips curl up as he took a few steps, turned, and now he was in front of the other man. He stared into Rhys' gaze, the other man trying to avoid Kellen's.
"Rhys? Aren't you going to answer?" Kellen asked and watched as the man gulped. He raised a hand, covering his face.
"I don't want to get in trouble." He admitted softly and that was almost an answer in itself. Kellen chuckled.
"You won't get in trouble, I promise. I'm not upset, just curious." Kellen clarified and Rhys let out a shaky breath.
"...Both apartments on either side of mine have thinner walls. For expansion purposes." Rhys admitted and Kellen smiled. He leaned forward, kissing Rhys' cheek.
"Now, was that so hard to tell me the truth?" Kellen murmured, pulling back far enough so that he could stare into Rhys' slightly shocked gaze. Rhys' lips trembled as he exhaled shakily. It was clear that he wanted Kellen with every fiber of his being, and Kellen couldn't say he wasn't suffering from the same issue. This was going to be a hard healing process.