Day 1 - Decorations
Robbe was decorating the flat for Halloween, with some help from his boyfriend. His Mum had given them two massive boxes filled to the brim with decorations they could use, and basically given the two of them complete freedom to dress up the entire place however they wanted, while she was at work. To be honest, Robbe had no clue why on earth she would trust them to do it sensibly on their own, but they did vow to at least make it look presentable, so it would be their funeral to go back on that promise.
There were mini skeletons and plastic pumpkins, flickering orange fairy lights and fake bats to stick on the walls. They had both been grabbing handfuls of fake cobwebs and stringing them along the windows and pinning them to the ceiling. Practically using it as new sets of curtains on every wall in the flat. If there was any doubt what holiday was round the corner, after seeing the décor, Robbe was sure nobody would be saying Christmas.
Many a time, Sander had placed his hands on the smaller boyâs waist, lifting him up with ease so Robbe could place the decorations higher and more strategically. It did take them a few times to get it right, Robbe wobbling sometimes uncontrollably and Sanderâs arms sometimes giving way. In the end they managed to get into a rhythm though, and he could lift Robbe up high with no troubles.
When they were getting to the bottom of the boxes, Sander let out a disgusted sound, recoiling quicker than anyone had ever seen him move.
âWhatâs wrong?â Robbe asked, genuinely concerned as to why his boyfriend seemed so frightened.
âSpiders.â He replied, his tone showing just how disgusted he was.
The brunette walked over and peered in, expecting to see a little spider scuttling around in there that had found solace in the untouched decorations sat in a cupboard for about a year. Instead, there was a pile of rubber arachnids, lying there harmlessly, merely waiting to be intertwined with the cobwebs they had strung out.
Letting out a laugh, Robbe reached in and grasped a few in his hand, jokingly waving them in Sanderâs face and expecting him to laugh along too. He had thought the whole thing was just the older boy kidding around. In all the time Robbe had known him, he had never once brought up a fear of spiders. But Sander immediately took a step back, looking repulsed by the mere thought of coming into contact with it.
âAre you scared of spiders, San?â He asked, no judgment in his voice.
To his surprise, Sander shook his head.
âNope, they donât scare me at all. They are a bit creepy looking⊠But no⊠No, they donât scare me.â
âOh, really? Iâm a little scared by them. They are quite creepy, what with their beady eyes and needle-like legs⊠Kind of reminds me of that hand in Coraline. Donât take this the wrong way, but I find it a little hard to believe you arenât the least bit scared by them.â
Sander continued to stand by his word, claiming he was not the least bit scared. Robbe had no idea why he was so intent on making him believe he didnât find them scary, considering his reaction to a clearly fake version of them. Whatever it was, Robbe just let him have it, shrugging it off.
âOk, ok, I believe you.â He said, piling up the spiders in his arms and walking out of the room, âIâm gonna hang these up and we can go chill, ok?â
âSounds good.â
He sounded he had already dropped the subject, like he thought Robbe had too, but it was far from over for the younger of the two. If he thought Robbe was going to let it go that easily, boy was he naĂŻve. There was no way in hell he was going to forget something like that when the perfect opportunity to uncover the truth was quite literally right underneath his nose.
Robbe started plotting immediately, and Sander was none the wiser. He had to admit, being an evil mastermind did feel like a fun career path all of a sudden. Maybe that was just his Halloween spirit talking, though.
***
When they eventually finished making the flat appropriately festive for the Halloween season. Sander flopped down on the sofa, trying to drag his boyfriend down with him for a kiss.
Robbe merely giggled, wriggling out of his hold. He didnât let go that easily, catching his boyfriendâs hand in his own and leaning forwards to press a kiss on the back of it. Even a feather light touch like that was enough to make butterflies swarm in Robbeâs stomach⊠It was even enough to abandon all his plans. Well, almost.
âIâm gonna go and make some coffee. Want some?â
âYeah, that would be great, thanks.â
âNo problem!â
Making his way out to the kitchen, Robbe kept glancing back over his shoulder to make sure Sander had not caught on to any of his plans. He, thankfully, stayed staring at the tv, watching whatever programme was on.
He turned on the coffee machine to create some noise, so that his boyfriend wouldnât gain any suspicion from the lack of racket coming from the room. After that, he grabbed one of the rubber spiders that had been left at the bottom of one of the decoration boxes, clutching it tightly in his hand and trying to stifle his giggles at the thought of what was about to happen.
Robbeâs footsteps were light when he creeped back through to the living room, so as to not alert Sander of his presence. He crawled along the floor, a mad grin pinned on his face as he neared the sofa where the blonde boy was sat, getting himself in the perfect position to hit his target.
Mere seconds later, Robbe had tossed the spider, making it land on Sanderâs lap. He thought he would have to wait a while for Sander to notice, but the reaction was instantaneous. He jumped up, brushing it off him with panicked movements, screaming in a way I had never heard before â high-pitched and girlish.
From then on, Robbe could not contain his laughter, jumping up from the floor and letting the cackles ring out for Sander to hear.
He looked at the brunette in disdain, realising what he had done.
âAww, were you a little scared, baby?â Robbe teased; voice still laced with glee.
Sander pointed at him, starting to walk in his direction, âYou arenât going to get away with this.â
âHey⊠Letâs talk about thisâŠâ
âNope, Iâd rather do this.â
Sander lurched forwards before Robbe had the chance to run away, capturing the smaller boy in his arms and practically tossing him back onto the sofa like a rag doll (though not hard enough that it would have hurt him). His hands ran all along Robbeâs sides, tickling him until he was a writhing mess underneath Sander, not capable of making any coherent sounds other than desperate squeals.
âSander â st â stoooop!â
He slowed his movements, looking down at Robbe with a smirk.
âAre you sorry?â
He considered that for a second, âNope.â
But when Sander went to put his hands back on him again, about to resume his previous actions, Robbe grabbed his wrists and giggled.
âNo! No, Iâm sorry, Iâm sorry, I wonât do it again.â
âThatâs what I thought.â He replied smugly, leaning down, and pressing a light kiss on Robbeâs forehead.
The younger boy sat up, in turn pressing a kiss on his cheek. Well, it was more just pressing his smile against him, but he didnât think Sander minded.
âYou know⊠You could have just told me you were scared of spiders.â
âIâm not!â
He scoffed, âSander.â
âOk fine, maybe a little. Itâs just embarrassing!â
âItâs nothing to be embarrassed of, baby.â Robbe told him sincerely, âItâs a normal thing that a lot of people feel⊠Iâm scared, arenât I?â
He chuckled a little, âYeah, but youâre tiny, to you they must seem like giants.â
He hit Sander lightly in the arm, making an affronted noise that only made him laugh harder than before.
âMeanie.â Robbe grumbled.
âIâm sorry, I didnât mean it, Robin. I do appreciate what youâre saying. Thank you.â
âYouâre welcome. You donât ever have to be embarrassed with me, ok?â
âYeah, ok.â Sander slung his arm around him, bringing him into his side in a hug, âLove you.â
âLove you tooâŠâ he mumbled, squeezing him tight, âSpider boy.â
âRobbe!â