#yah!posting

[leiflitter]

[leiflitter]

this is exactly how they met, actually, Felix's memory is flawless.

[leiflitter]

Good choice Ollie 10/10 self control right there

[leiflitter]

Good news, my art knowledge wasn't stored in my wisdom teeth after all! Time to enjoy that height difference 🤤

[leiflitter]

More YAH!Ramblings~

Felix is absolutely a hobby-hopping liability, especially now he has nobody to shepherd him into "appropriate" passtimes (like golf, why is it always golf?), has too much free time, and doesn't have a small army of people tidying up after him... And he's incredibly susceptible to various Youtube rabbitholes.

He's baking organic dog treats that Baz distrusts, leaving the kitchen in a state. He's going to have a fishtank, but by the time the very large and expensive tank arrives Felix has moved along to something else. Ooh, he's going to landscape the garden but digging's quite hard work, actually, so maybe not. Maybe pottery? By the time he can make a wonky bowl he's gone off the idea of having a kiln, but an outdoor pizza oven seems great, and he can make his own dough...! But it's just such a hassle to make a fire and the pizza oven has been colonised by spiders anyway, so it's time for an indoor activity...

Oliver watches this cycle from a safe distance, having banned Felix's projects (they're always called projects) from his home office, occasionally putting Felix's abandoned impulse buys on the local buy-nothing facebook page. With permission, of course, but Felix never minds. He's very busy making things out of resin now, and he can always buy another of the whatever-it-was Ollie wants out of the way if he remembers what it was for... And this resin stuff is too complicated, but maybe he can get a camera that uses film and develop his own photos instead. It's all chemicals, right?

Or maybe he'll brew his own beer, or take up the tuba, or—

[leiflitter]

Poking my head outta my sleepy boy burrow to deposit some Cattonquick before retreating back inside~

[leiflitter]

The first Valentine's day after Felix and Oliver get together is a Sunday, and they wake up to the sound of rain tapping at the windows.

They walk Basil together, holding hands and huddling in their raincoats— Ollie's is black, Felix's is rubber duckie yellow, as is Basil's— but the rain creeps in anyway, dampening their hair and sneaking into their shoes. Felix leaves his clothes in one of his obligatory hallway piles, and Oliver gathers them up to shove in the washing machine while Felix sorts out Baz's breakfast and puts the kettle on. He leans on the counter in his boxers and t-shirt, watching as Ollie makes them both a mug of coffee. It's more for the warmth than anything else, and Oliver's wet clothes end up in the washing machine before he joins Felix on the sofa.

They drink in companiable quiet, elbow to elbow, and settle in for a quiet day. Oliver reads. Felix has a nap, using Oliver's thigh as a pillow. Baz snuggles up in the triangular space left by Felix's bent legs, snoring quietly. Ollie manages to extricate himself without waking either of them to make sandwiches for lunch, making a mental note to pick up more bread after work tomorrow as he does.

The afternoon is more of the same. Felix and Baz play a game where Felix hides treats and— while Felix is distracted— Basil steals Felix's socks from the wash basket. Ollie pretends to read but can't help laughing at the puppy's proud walk as he prances into the room with his prizes. Felix has to bribe Baz to get his socks back.

Felix takes the evening walk before they cook dinner together. Pasta, nothing fancy, but the wine they have with it is far more expensive than anything Ollie would have bought if left to his own devices. They have a little too much— but only a little, because Oliver has work tomorrow— and while things get a little handsy it's interrupted by a cold wet nose being jammed against Oliver's arm.

They go to bed. Ollie's alarm is set.

The next afternoon Oliver rushes home from work, clutching a bouquet of flowers. It's a bit battered and wilting badly, but it was the nicest one he could find. He barely manages to get the price label off as he wheels his bike into the hall, hiding it behind his back as he follows the sound of Basil yapping to the living room. Felix looks up apologetically from the floor, surrounded by crumpled printer paper. Baz darts in, snatching another sheet of paper from Felix's hand. It has a wonky heart drawn on it in blue ballpoint pen, and as Ollie looks around he sees similar attempts on the other pieces of paper, along with what is very clearly Basil slobber.

"Sorry, Olls, I was trying to... Well, I know it's too little too late, but..."

"S'alright, Felix." Oliver produces his shabby bouquet, offering it to Felix. One of the flowers sheds a petal. Another one dangles limply over the crinkly cellophane wrapping. "Happy late Valentine's day. Sorry it's a bit shit."

Felix looks at the bedraggled flowers before getting to his feet. He takes them from Oliver with far more care than necessary, before grinning. "They aren't shit. Thank you, Oliver. I don't think anyone's ever bought me flowers before."

Oliver doesn't have a vase, but they don't need one. Instead the few flowers with a bit of life left in them end up between the pages of one of Ollie's big books... Then framed and hung on the wall in their bedroom.

They never get any better at remembering Valentine's day, but why would they? Their tradition is far better.

[leiflitter]

In Tribute to My #1 Cattonquick Anthem