Grimm was so used to Spain that when he came to the United States, he nearly had a heart attack from how different the customs were. The food that they ate, the things they wore- Girls had shorts and pants that had writing on the butt, what the hell was up with that? What grossed him out a little, though, was the fact that adults still drank /milk/. Milk was for babies where he came from. The only thing people in his country used milk for was cereal and things like that- they never just purely drank it. He still wasn't used to all of these different things even after he'd been there for a few months. And as he sat in the library reading about the history of the US, he just shook his head in astonishment at what he was learning.
Whenever he was bored, Kynareth liked to walk down the road to the library on the corner. Ever since he moved to the neighborhood, he found it to be one of his favourite spots and soon the ladies that worked there knew him quite well. He'd come by to help sometimes when they got new books, or when returned books needed to be put away. He would sometimes walk the isles and thumb the spine of a few before picking one at random and sitting down to read. Over the course of the years that he's been here, he's made quite a dent in the inventory, even skimming through the ones that didn't hold much interest to him. Today he heard they were getting some new ones, paranormal thrillers. It wasn't his favourite genre, but it sometimes made for a pleasant read. By random, he pulled out 'Night in the Garden of Good and Evil' before making himself comfortable lounging on the sofa by the window. There were only ever a few people here, and today it seemed more dead than usual. Besides himself and the stationed worker at the check-out desk, there was a mom and her daughter in the children's section, a teen on the computers, and a man around his age frowning into a history book. History wasn't his strong point at all, especially American history, but he was curious as to why that would be his choice. He certainly didn't look pleased while reading it. College student, maybe? He debated on trying to strike up a conversation, the man certainly held a rather unique appearance and he was sure he hadn't seen him before here. If he was indeed working on a project, he probably didn't want to be bothered... Kyn licked his lips and frowned, looking back down onto the page he was on.
Grimm had put the book away that he was reading, sifting through some other stuff before going online for a while. He threw up his hands, standing up and huffing. The smallest things intrigued him and confused him. Looking around, he noticed a brunette man about his age sitting at a table and reading. He decided that since he was pretty much brain-dead for the day, he would go and sit next to him and maybe try and make a friend, as stupid as that sounded. He pulled the chair out next to the man and sat down, looking at him almost expectantly. "Question," He spoke. "Is it normal to tip waiters and waitresses here?" He was incredibly distressed over this. In Spain it was generally considered /rude/ to do that. And to pile your dishes on top of each other after finishing. But apparently that was considered 'good manners' here? "I'm Grimm, by the way."
Kyn looked up, surprised to see the guy from earlier sitting beside him with a curious look on his face. The question caught him a little off guard, and he set his book down for a few moments. "Uh," he nervously scratched the back of his head. "Normal? I believe it is the law to. Since they make such low pay." His head cocked a bit, picking up an accent different than his own. "Why do you ask?" Wow, were his eyes really purple? They didn't look like it from a distance, but closer they definitely looked purple.
"I'm from Spain and in Spain we do /not/ tip them. It's generally rude to." He swiped a hand over his face. "You drink milk, girls have words on their butts, you tip your waiters... I could go on a rant about how weird it is here." He sighed and leaned back in his seat. "What's your name?" The man had some seriously green eyes, and Grimm didn't dare take his own away from them.
Kyn actually snorted at that, dipping his head to brush his hair back. "Yes, very different indeed." He looked back up. "Kynareth Fanacasecul, pleasure to meet you." He held his hand out a bit, though it was a bit awkward in their position. "When did you move here?"
Grimm shook it, slightly embarrassed that his fingers were so bony while Kynareth's were so soft and... well, not bony. "Kynareth... Fanacasecul?" It sounded odd with his accent and it was difficult for him to say, but it was a fun name. "I'm studying abroad. Got here a few months ago. I'm here for about a year, so... 9 months left, about." He nodded. "You don't sound like you're from America either, though. Where are /you/ from?"
Kyn smiled and crossed his arms on the table, leaning on them. "That sounds like fun, I heard Spain is a very culturally rich place." He tilted his head a bit, wondering what the man's hair colour was before it was that eye-catching aqua. "I am originally from Iceland, actually. My family needed a change of scenery after my father died, so we came here at my sister's insistence." He pursed his lips in thought, inquiring "What are you studying?"
"Just... the history of this place." Grimm shrugged. "Not the library, but America in general. I'm starting to wish I'd chosen to go to Japan or something. They don't seem to be as greedy." He laughed quietly. "And I've always wanted to go to Tokyo." He looked Kyn's upper half up and down. "I've never been to Iceland. Never really thought twice about it, actually." He admitted.
Kyn laughed, leaning back in the chair. "It is a whole lot of nothing, I assure you. Unless you are one for scenery and small towns, I would not suggest it. It is quite a beautiful place, though. A little lonely. I was born near Siglufjörður, in the mountains." He tilted his head up, smiling a bit. "Japan though, I hear it is mostly big cities and new technology and lots of people. The opposite of my home."
"I'm not even going to try and pronounce that, oh my god!" He grinned. "I could sneeze and probably get it right. But yeah, I'd always heart it was kind of a whole lot of nothing up there. I've always been one for new things, though, and Japan has a lot of that." He leaned back in the chair, tipping it a little. "My mom wants to go there too. She's been all over the place, though. It's insane." He shook his head with that grin still plastered to his face.
The brunette laughed along with him, nodding sympathetically. "It is a tough language, I know. But I probably could not pronounce anything in Spanish either. It was hard enough learning English, and I still cannot quite understand it." He watched Grimm's action, warning him to be careful not to fall over or the librarians would hound him. "Kai, my sister, she loves traveling as well. I think you two would get along well." He shrugged, tapping the table absently.
"I actually hardly know any Spanish," Grimm admitted. "I barely know the basics. But I still got the accent, somehow." He rolled his eyes. "I know a few curse words every now and then, but my favorite thing to do is to- when something pisses me off or surprises me, I'll shout 'Fregadero!' and all these Americans will give me apprehensive or disgusted looks because they think I've said a really bad word in whatever language it is I speak, when in reality I've just said 'kitchen sink'." He smirked, leaning forward again. "Sacapuntas is another one I like to use for an insult. It just means pencil sharpener, though." He shrugged. "Your sister sounds nice, though. Anyone who likes traveling would be great."
Kyn laughed at that, shaking his head and agreeing. "That is something I always hear from people who find out I was born in another country. They always say 'Say something in Icelandic, then!' or 'Teach me how to swear.' It is bothersome a bit, mostly when they do not believe me even after I have told them." He shrugged, though, glancing over a Grimm again with a sort of amused look. "I think traveling would be lovely, but I do not travel well at all. Vehicles, on the ground, in the water or in the sky, unnerve me to no end." He smiled a bit apologetically. "I bet if she ever met you, she would beg you to take her to Spain with you." He chuckled at the thought."
"Oh, isn't that the worst?" Grimm nodded. "I mean, come on- the accent isn't enough for you? You can tell when an accent is genuine and when it's not." He shook his head, listening to Kyn talk more. Then he smiled. "And I'd probably take her. If that was alright with her family, of course. I've always wanted a little sister. I had a brother, but he passed away a couple years ago. But I've always thought that having a sister would be an... interesting experience." He chuckled.
"A sister?" Kyn blinked up a him in momentary confusion, then he laughed and shook his head. "Oh, I suppose, if you would not mind her relentlessly flirting with you. She does not really even look like me at all, sorry." He teased lightly, fiddling with the bookmark in his page. "A brother, though? I am sorry. It is never easy losing a family member." He briefly thought about inquiring further, but figured he was intruding in personal information.
"She'd flirt with me, huh?" Grimm smirked. "Nah, not this skinny guy. I'm not flirting material. Would she still flirt with me if she knew I wasn't into girls?" He laughed again, sighing a little. "As for my brother, though, yeah. It was rough. Especially on my mom. But we're fine, so."
Kyn looked like he didn't know what to do with that information about Grimm not being into girls, so he moved on from that. He just nodded and patted the man's shoulder in understanding. A quick glance at the clock told him he was getting passed curfew and he jumped up, snatching his somewhat read book and walking over to the check out desk. "I have to get back home or my mom will send a search party." He explained over his shoulder and the woman behind the desk scanned the barcode of the book. "19 and I still have my mother breathing down my neck." He laughed, shaking his head in disbelief at himself.
"Well, uh, hey-" He bounded over to him. "Talking to you was fun and I don't really have any friends here, so... Do you wanna meet up here again tomorrow or something?" He asked, scratching the back of his neck. "You seem nice." He looked at Kyn hopefully, maybe a little more desperate for a friend than he'd realized.
Kyn turned and beamed at him. "Yeah, of course!" He picked up the book and cradled it against his side, shuffling his feet. "I shall see you tomorrow, then. Goodbye, Grimm." He gave the man a one-armed hug and made for the door, waving.
Grimm didn't even have time to react to the hug before Kyn was leaving, waving at him. Grimm just smiled and waved after, absolutely ecstatic that he'd managed to talk to someone who was really nice and not to mention cute too. He went back to his apartment that night happy and feeling restless because of it, collapsing on his bed and not knowing what to do with himself. He was surprised that he was hardly able to contain himself- he hardly ever acted like this.
The first thing Kyn did upon arriving home was call out for his sister and mom and tell them about his encounter at the library. His mother good naturedly told him not to get any ideas, but he only smiled and shook his head. Upon waking up the next day, he grabbed something quick to drink and left for the library, getting there not long after it opened at 9. He grabbed another book at random, A Dance in Fire, andsat downto read while he waited.
Grimm and Kyn met a lot at the library after that, always planning to meet up on the days they weren't busy. Kyn knew a little bit more about the American culture than Grimm did, and he helped Grimm study, although it usually ended up with one or both of them getting stomach aches from laughing too much and too hard. After a few weeks of seeing each other at the library, Grimm finally mustered up the courage to meet him again with the intention of asking him out.
When he got to the library that day, he sat down at the table he found Kyn at and smiled, looking over his shoulder to see what he was reading this time. "Hey, can I ask you something?" He asked, leaning his cheek on his hand.
Kyn glanced up from his page in The Marigold Tragedy, and looked over at Grimm with a bemused expression. "Yes, what do you need?" He said with a small smile, placing the book on the table, cover up. "If it is about the book, say nothing, it is nothing like the title implies." He joked, leaning back in his chair.
Grimm chuckled a bit, waving his hand. "No, no, it's not about the book." He tapped his fingers on the table, staring at them for a moment and swallowing. He looked back up at Kyn. "Well, look... I don't really know what exactly you're into, but I thought I might as well give it a shot because you seem pretty open-minded anyway." He paused. "I was just wondering if you'd like to go out with me some time? On a date, that is." He smiled, albeit it was a bit nervously.
"A date?" Kyn echoed thoughtfully. "I have never been asked to a date before... sure, okay." He replied with a bright smile, folding his hands together on the table top. "Where? And what time would be alright? I am pretty much free, aside from the early weekday hours because I recently had to get a part time job- you remember me saying that, yes? Well, whenever then." He babbled a bit then shut up, just nodding and beaming.
Grimm had to take a moment to process the fact that Kyn had said yes. He blinked a few times and stared at the man with a deadpan expression, then suddenly seemed to realize that he'd actually accepted his proposal that they go on a date. "Um," Grimm said intelligently, his face heating up a bit at the fact that he didn't know what to say. "There's supposed to be that little carnival in town in a couple days. We could go there. I know you probably wouldn't like the rides, but they have games and food and we should go on the Ferris Wheel." He hoped it sounded like a good idea to the other man.
"Ferris wheel and carnival you say? I think I must accept, then." He grinned, leaning to rest his chin on his hand. "I think I went to a small one back home when I was younger. I cannot remember much, but there was music and dancing and brightly coloured costumes- they have that here as well, yes? And in Spain?"
"Yeah," Grimm nodded with a smile. "Oh, god, in Spain we go all out. Seriously, we have festivals all the friggin' time. It's great." He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back. "It's hard as fuck for me to understand anything in them, though, because again- It's all Spanish." He shrugged, chuckling lightly.
"It sounds nice." Kyn agreed, looking up at him. "Must be hard to get to sleep, though, if you lived anywhere near them. But to have a festival going on quite often... you must not have been bored either." He grinned at the thought, thinking it an interesting change from the frequent silence and solitude he grew up with.
"I, ah..." Grimm scratched the back of his neck and grinned in what seemed like embarrassment. "Yeah. One time when I was bored, I knew there was a little festival going on in town so I went out to it. They have these girls that get dressed up in colorful dresses and stuff, and then they go out onto this stage that's set up there. There are girls dressed like that who dance all over the friggin' place during the festivals, but they had girls on stage, too. So anyway, one time one of the girls got sick right before their little show, and I had seen those shows enough times to learn how to do their dances. So I went back and offered to take her place, and she gave me her dress and I put a little makeup on and put my hair up and I was able to pass myself off as a woman for the time. It was fun as hell, though, and sometimes I just really like wearing dresses. That's probably a little weird." He shook his head.
"Not at all!" Kyn laughed and shook his head. "When I was younger, my sister always complained about not having an older sister instead of a brother, so I would let her dress me up and do whatever she liked. It was fun, really, until she started trying to get me to grow out my hair and wear a bra." he laughed again. "She said 'You already look like a girl, why not be one?' Of course, she did not quite understand anatomy and biological differences. It was cute though, and I got to make her happy for a little while. Then she grew up, and my mother spoils her rotten." He sighed, tapping his foot against the leg of the chair. "But I do not think I would mind seeing you in a dress. It would be cute." He smiled.
Grimm laughed after Kyn finished talking. "I'm flattered you'd think I'd be cute." He grinned and leaned forward. "But you-" he pointed at him, "-you would be quite attractive as a girl. And that's coming from a gay guy." He laughed again, scooting his chair back. "But I do have to go, I came down here today so I could ask you out. I'm supposed to be at a job interview soon. Tattoo artist." He winked. "I'll see you in a couple days?"
"Of course." Kyn chirped happily, rising with his book in his hand. "Farewell for now, then." He leaned over to give the man a quick hug and light brush of lips against his cheek, then those and went for the door, grinning all the while. He wondered how his mother would react to the fact he had a date now. Boyfriend, technically? Would he be considered his boyfriend /after/ they had gone on the date? He thought about this on the way home, deciding to ask about it later.
Grimm's face heated up even further at the feel of Kyn's lips just barely brushing over his cheek. Was this guy a tease? No, he couldn't be, he didn't seem like one. Even so, he really liked him and he didn't want to fuck things up with him.
On the day of the carnival, Grimm showed up the front of the library that he said they'd meet at (obviously) and waited for Kyn. He brought whatever money he had on him at the moment so they could get food and tickets for the Ferris Wheel.
Kyn met him on the day of the carnival with an eager smile and a small bag slung over his shoulder. Given that it was his first date and taking into account the location of the place, he stressed a little over his clothes. In the end, he ended up wearing faded jeans and a light blue wife beater, seeing as it was supposed to be a little on the hot side that day. He tugged Grimm onward with excited babbling and gestures. Of course he grabbed some money he saved up from his job just in case, the bag was for whatever they may need it for and he remembered to grab some water before he left. When the carnival came into sight, Kyn smiled and pointed, gripping Grimm's hand with his other one.
Grimm was happy that at least /this/ was close enough to walk to. "I've never seen so many damn cars before in my life." He told Kyn as they walked. "Everyone usually walks everywhere in Spain. And the roads that are for cars area only big enough for one car." He shook his head. "Maybe that's why people are generally skinnier there. You see a lot of bigger people here. They use cars a lot more to get short distances when they could be walking." He shrugged and shook out his hair when it blew into his face from the slight breeze.
Kyn shrugged nonchalantly at the statement. "It could be so. I like to walk everywhere, you get to see more and it is more relaxing. Cars are quite frightening, really." He glanced around the small group of people heading for the entrance, and looked up to try and get a better look at some of the rides. "These cannot be safe." He said incredulously.
"They're safe, don't worry," Grimm assured him with an excited smile. "But they will make you kinda dizzy and sick to your stomach, especially if you go on them too much." He warned. "So if you wanna stick to the games and just the Ferris Wheel, that's fine." He pointed toward the big wheel. "Being at the top is the best part of it. Sometimes you don't get to it, though." Once they were at the entrance, he paid for both his and Kyn's tickets for rides and games before heading in.
"I think I shall try," Kyn decided with a little nervous glance to something dubbed 'Hurricane'. Aside from the rides, there were more people all crammed together here then he ever remembered seeing. It was exciting, if not a little intimidating. "Were there this many people at the festivals you went to?" He gave a look of intrigue at the games, trying to figure out how they operated by watching other people do it.
"Oooh yeah," Grimm nodded with wide eyes. "Maybe even more. Spanish people take their festivals very seriously." He laughed and wondered briefly if he was allowed to maybe sling his arm over Kyn's shoulders or do /something/ like that, but it was their first date and he didn't really know the basics. He'd never really gone on a date before, but he had had a boyfriend before. He just never took him out on a first date- or any dates for that matter. "What do you want to do first?" He asked.
"Uh, hmm..." Kyn looked around for something to catch his interest. His eyes landed on a game with balloons pinned to a board and people throwing darts at them. "Why not that?" He didn't have the best throwing arm, nor was he terribly accurate, but it looked fun.
"Aha!" Grimm beamed. "A game all about aim and strength. I can do that." He talked as they walked to it, "I used to go to the shooting range back home all the time. I love guns and arrows and things like that in general. Weapons, I guess. But guns especially. My aim has gotten pretty good over the years." He was proud of that, but he didn't want to brag and he felt like he was so he quickly shut up about it. He gave the man at the booth one of his tickets when it came to be their turn.
"I think there was a game that had guns somewhere over there." Kyn gestured off to the left. He gave the man at the booth one of his tickets as well and was handed the darts. None of his throws got a hit, some downright didn't even hit the board, but he stepped back to let Grimm try with an eager grin.
Grimm got most of the shots, but ended up missing a few. At first he thought he was subconsciously doing it so Kyn wouldn't feel bad or something, but then he realized that was stupid and he shouldn't treat the man like that and just went all out. He did a lot better with his second half of darts and ended up winning a prize. He didn't know what he'd do with one, since he didn't care for stuffed animals in the least. But hey, he figured that even though he'd seen too many movies and TV shows where this exact thing is done, he could give his prize to Kyn. He looked around, trying to remember if Kyn had ever mentioned the fact that he had a favorite animal. Cats? No. Dogs? Nope. Something with an F... Foxes! That's what it was. He was surprised to actually see a big fox plushie and he pointed to it, having the man at the booth hand it to him before he thanked him and turned around with a bashful grin. "I don't really like stuffed animals, but here." He held it out to him. "You can have it. But I can carry it if you want."
Kyn's eyes lit up in delight at the offering and he took it with a sort of gentleness. "It is so fluffy and cute!" He squeaked, holding it up and grinning. He then quickly tucked it under his arm to lean in and trap the man in a massive hug. "Thank you so much, Grimm! I love it!" He gave another coo at the thing and released the man from the hug. "I hope it does not get dirty at all or lost with all of these people around." He said with a slightly worried expression. He was then determined to return the gesture and (try) to get something for Grimm that would be something he wanted as well.
"I'm glad you like it," Grimm laughed. "And I'll make sure it doesn't get lost. And if it gets a little dirty, I'm pretty sure it's machine washable." He tugged him over to that game that had the fake guns, this time refusing to take a prize when he won since he didn't want Kyn carrying anything else. There weren't any quality stuffed animals in that game anyway.
They had been to a few of the games, most of which Kyn failed spectacularly at but he did manage to get something little or two. It was getting to be around afternoon when they called it quits on the games and Kyn decided to buy food for them, since Grimm paid for the tickets. He wasn't really used to fast food at all, growing up on homecooked meals instead, so he was a little dainty with his food choices. He told Grimm to get whatever he wanted, though, and to meet him at a certain table.
Grimm simply bought a couple elephant ears, sharing his with Kyn. When the sky started turning pink and orange - which was Grimm's favorite time of day - he pointed to the Ferris Wheel. "We should probably go on it before it closes." He got up and went to one of the food stands and asked the workers there what time it closed and he came back to the table with a grin. "Good news. The fest doesn't actually close until real late tonight, some time after dark. And they're setting off fireworks when it gets dark. Wanna stay for them? We can go on the Ferris Wheel and then get down and watch them."
"Fireworks?" Kyn inquired, thinking. "I do not believe I have ever seen them before." He confessed, but then nodded and smiled broadly. "But they are quite beautiful I hear, and the sky looks clear so we should be able to see them pretty well." A quick glace at the sky told him they had some time to kill. "Shall we try any other of the rides in the meantime?" He asked.
Grimm nodded. There was a small rollercoaster that didn't look like it was too big on the height factor, but rather on the twists and turns factor. After gaining Kyn's consent, they decided to give it a try and Grimm had a blast on it, obviously. He couldn't say the same for Kyn yet, however. "That was... fun," Grimm practically giggled. "But it made my stomach feel a little weird. Are you okay?"
Kyn blinked, dazed but smiling. "Yes, it was quite enjoyable. A little worrisome with the spins and such, but a new experience all the same." He briefly looked a bit taken aback when he glanced over at the ride once more, but took Grimm's hand with one of his own, and with the other, squeezed the fox plush. "We can go on the Ferris wheel now, yes?"
Grimm immediately grinned wider when Kyn grasped his hand, telling him that, yes, it was okay to go on the Ferris Wheel now. He heard that the fireworks would start around nine, and it was already ten to it. So he pulled Kyn to it, lacing his fingers through the man's in the process. There wasn't a very long line and they ended up getting in rather quickly. "I just hope that if the fireworks start while we're still on, they don't start if we're on the bottom. That'd suck." He said as it started to move.
Kyn hummed his agreement. They probably wouldn't be able to see much from down below, but the top should provide a perfect view of the sky as well as the rest of the carnival. As the ride started going, Kyn took to leaning over the edge and looking down to see what he could see. Unlike most people, he loved heights and they didn't frighten him at all. He had left the buckle off so he could move around freely, gripping the edge of the box thing they were in and pointing out things below.
Grimm hated heights, but with stuff like this he was okay. It was flying and things of that nature that scared him. So he left the buckle off, leaning over the edges as well. They went around a couple times before he could tell that the Ferris Wheel was coming to a stop, and sure enough- they were at the top of it. "Awesome!" He grinned as it stopped with them being the absolute top car.
Kyn perked up as they stopped, looking around. "How long shall it stay this way?" He asked, sitting back down to rest his chin on his hands and glancing up, seeing if they were starting the show already. Not quite yet, but they were preparing for it. "I hope we shall remain here while the fireworks go off." He grinned.
"They usually stay here for a pretty decent amount of time." Grimm nodded. "And I have no idea when they'll-"
"Ladies and gentlemen," a man's voice echoed through the park, "the fireworks will be starting up any minute now, as a warning. Enjoy." Grimm almost laughed at the mediocre announcement. "I guess that settles that." Grimm said.
It wasn't a moment later that the first firework was set off in the sky, not being very loud at all, but exploding in a cascade of purple and green.
The first didn't bother him that much noise wise, nor did the second or third. The lights were sure pretty to look at though, and they lit up the place like sun bursts. It was only when a few were launched off at once, two of which were rather large, and they all together made a fierce thunder-like book that had Kyn shrinking back in his seat with a death grip on the side of the box.
Grimm almost didn't notice for a moment that Kyn was scared witless, but he looked down with a grin to see the man. "Kyn?" He furrowed his brow, turning towards the man. "Hey, what's wrong?" When another firework went off that was just as loud as the previous, Kyn flinched again and sank down further. Grimm made an "o" shape with his mouth in realization and tried to think of any way to comfort him. He eventually settled for going down to Kyn's level and scooping up his hand and brushing his knuckles with his thumb, trying to get Kyn to calm down. "Kyn, it's alright, they're just loud noises, okay? Pretty lights, loud noises. You're okay." He set a hand on top of Kyn's head and ruffled his hair a little.
After a few more bangs and suppressed shudders on Kyn's part, he finally seemed to relax a bit more and started trying to enjoy the sight instead of flinch away from it. The bursts seemed to lull every now and again so Kyn sat up more and leaned foreword and grin over at Grimm. He seemed to be more intent on the show, so Kyn shuffled his feet for a few moments in thought. It seemed the show was going to end soon, so he sat up, turned to face the man next to him and pressed their lips together in a slightly awkward but meaningful kiss.
Grimm /certainly/ wasn't expecting Kyn to do that. There was a moment of hesitation where he thought that maybe he should pull away because- well, he really wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because he doubted himself? Yes, that was it. He doubted he'd be able to hold a steady relationship with him, and then there was the fact that he was leaving in eight months. But he pushed that away for now because the most attractive and nicest man he'd ever met was kissing him and he wanted and needed to kiss back. It was still a first kiss, though, so he simply lifted a hand to run it through Kyn's hair once, fixing the angle they were at so it wasn't so awkward and smiling against the kiss. "I never thought I'd have anything close to a Hollywood-worthy kiss." He chuckled.
"Neither did I." Kyn admitted, pulling back with a look of content confusion. "Is it okay to do that on the first date? Or do you have to wait?" he frowned and tugged at a curl of hair. "I am afraid I am unfamiliar with any... guidelines there may be to this." He gave a despaired sigh and sank back into his seat as the ride stuttered to a start again.
"Well, in some cases, maybe." Grimm shrugged with a smile, sinking back with him and giving him a bit of a teasing look. "But not this one. Trust me. I've been wanting to kiss you since the day I met you." He shook his head. "And I am too. To the whole 'real date' thing, anyway." He grimaced at the memory of Daniel and then lifted an arm to hook it around Kyn's shoulders.
"Well, we can learn then, yes?" Kyn smiled and leaned into him. As they got off the ferris wheel box at the end of the ride, he snatched up the fox and followed Grimm out of the carnival. All the way back to the library, Kyn was humming a bit with a large smile and occasionally rambled off whatever came to mind- mostly about the event. "It is a shame they do not come here more than once a year." He said sadly, but shrugged. "There are plenty of other things to do though, yes? We can find something."
It was rather easy for them to find things to do over the next few months, actually. Grimm got Kyn to try rollerskating, which they both failed at miserably. There were movie dates, dinner dates, ice cream dates (Grimm was pretty sure those were Kyn's favorites- and the movies), and a whole bunch of other things. But as the months went by, Grimm found himself getting more and more sick to his stomach at the reminder that he was going to be leaving soon and Kyn wouldn't be with him. About a month before he was supposed to depart for Spain, Grimm had Kyn up in his apartment and they had nothing interesting to do, really, so Grimm sat Kyn down on his bed and sighed. "I have a question for you," he stated. "...You know I'm leaving in a few weeks, yeah?" Another moment of silence. "I want to do something with you, just in case I don't ever get to again." It sounded a little stupid coming from him, but he was worried sick, here.
Kyn frowned a little at the statement, a reminder was the last thing he needed, but he nodded anyway. "What is it?" He really didn't want to go back to the boring days of just spending his time hunched up in some corner of the library over a book, or having to stay home with his mom and sister to do whatever they asked. He really, really liked being with Grimm. The last thing he wanted was for this to end.
Grimm didn't say anything for a moment, just swung his leg over so he was straddling the other man and looking down at him, hands resting on either side of Kyn's face. He pressed his lips to Kyn's briefly, then brushed his thumb over Kyn's cheekbone. "I'd like to make love to you, if that's alright." He smiled a little, going to kiss the corner of Kyn's mouth again.
Kyn blinked up at him with a look of incomprehension, then shock, and finally a blush settled on his face. "Me?" He stammered, circling his arms around Grimm's waist. "I.. are you sure?" It was something he had thought about a few times, but was too nervous to bring it up. Grimm had told him bits and pieces of what happened with Daniel, and it made him all the more meticulous not to screw up or push things too quickly.
"I'm sure," Grimm nodded, pulling away a little with a quirked eyebrow. "Why do you look so surprised?" He slipped his fingers through Kyn's hair and rubbed his shoulder a little with his other hand, seeing as the man felt slightly tense. He wondered what he could be so worried about that would make him question Grimm.
"I-" Kyn shook his head and looked down. "I just do not want to hurt you like Daniel, or regret anything you do with me." He pursed his lips at his lap then looked up, taking one of Grimm's hands in his own and pressing his lips to. "But if this is what you really want, then okay." He smiled.
Grimm furrowed his brow with a smile, shaking his head. "I hope you don't end up regretting anything you do with me. God, I hope you don't. And you're nothing like Daniel, okay? He was awful and controlling and rude. Are you any of those things? No." He leaned down and pressed his lips to Kyn's neck, hooking his arms down around his waist and slipping his fingers underneath his shirt. "You know I promise I'll be good to you."
Kyn made a little noise, straightening himself. "And I shall promise to do the same." he nodded, pulling the man closer to nuzzle his face against his chest. "How..." He gave a bit of a nervous chuckle, hugging Grimm closer to him as if to hide his embarrassment (and inexperience) "How do you want me?" He gave a quick glance to the bed.
Grimm tilted his head to nip at Kyn's ear, grinning when Kyn asked him what to do. "Just on your back." He murmured, leading Kyn to where he needed to be and hovering over him as he lay him on the bed. "You know this might hurt a little, right?" He knew Kyn was a virgin and was incredibly happy to be his first time, but at the same time it scared him a little because he knew he was going to hurt Kyn before it felt good.
Kyn just nodded and squirmed into a more comfortable position. "But I trust you." He smiled and pulled the man down on top of him for a kiss. "And it is supposed to a be a pleasurable experience, yes? So, as long as it is okay for you, then it is for me."
"Well, after a minute it will be," Grimm assured him. He slipped his hands underneath Kyn's shirt, kissing his jaw and pulling back a moment to lift his shirt over his head, and then doing the same with his own. "I'll be careful, though."
Kyn nodded once again and allowed the man to do as he wanted. He wasn't bashful about his body, finding no reason to be, until he remembered the little wings tattoo he had gotten on his back that not even his family knew about. Why had he gotten them? Well, they looked neat... and, well, he had money. They were small, though, just taking up his shoulder blades. He always thought it would be nice to have real wings, but this would have to do.
Grimm continued his assault of Kyn's neck and shoulder and collarbone, spending a significant amount of time in the crook between Kyn's neck and shoulder because the man seemed to really like it when Grimm kissed and bit there. As Kyn's arm lifted off the bed a little, though, Grimm caught a slight glimpse of coloring that wasn't exactly normal for human skin. "Hey, what's that?" He murmured. "Can I see?"
Kyn ducked his head and nodded, turning onto his stomach so Grimm could see. "It... was a while ago." He admitted. "And the man doing it was really nice, and he just... convinced me to get one. It looks really neat, though, right?" He grinned.
Grimm stared at the tattoos, a smile gracing his face and his fingers reaching out to trace them. "Wow," he chuckled. "They're kind of beautiful, Kyn." He was in a sort of trance just staring at Kyn's slight back muscles and shoulder blades and the tattoos that covered them. "How come you never told me about these?" He bent down and pressed his forehead to Kyn's back.
Kyn sank further into the mattress with a little pleased rumble in his throat. "I sort of forgot about them. My mom does not approve of this kind of stuff, and I wanted to keep them secret, so I never told anyone." He nuzzled the pillow with his face and gave a muffled sigh. "And I never thought I would be doing this with anyone, and I cannot swim either, so no reason for me to remove my shirt at all."
"Oh," Grimm nodded, "Well, they're amazing. And I'm glad I get to see them." He lifted his head and placed a few kisses on the tattoos before telling Kyn to roll over one more time. Once he was facing upright again, Grimm let his hand travel down to the waistline of Kyn's pants and he slipped his fingers underneath his pants, rubbing slowly.
Kyn gave a little gasp and rolled his hips up against Grimm's palm. The friction eventually got the better of him and he quickly batted the man's hand away so he could shuck off his pants and toss them. That done, he leaned up to wrap his arms around Grimm's neck and pull him into a kiss, sliding his tongue along his lower lip. "You..." he shook his head and dragged one of his hands down to mirror the action Grimm had done to him.
Grimm made a noise in the back of his throat and ground downwards against Kyn's hand, simultaneously taking the man's cock into his hand. He stroked slowly, dragging this out some. His tongue dove into Kyn's mouth, pulling Kyn's tongue with his and moaning softly as he continued gyrating his hips down against Kyn's hand.
Eventually, Kyn just got frustrated with the slow, teasing movements and pushed himself back onto the bed, pulling Grimm down on top of him. "Though I never thought that we would actually do this, I..." He licked his lips then bit down on one. "Could you..." He rolled his hips again, giving Grimm a pleading expression. "Just... you are driving me insane." He pouted.
"I know, I'm sorry," Grimm chuckled teasingly, then sat up to remove his own trousers and giving a sigh of relief as he was freed from their confines. He hoped that Kyn wasn't too intimidated by his size, as cocky as that made him sound, but he knew he was big. "I'll give you what you want, don't worry." He reached over in his drawer and pulled out the bottle of lube he had for... reasons, and trailed some along his own cock.
"You... are better endowed than I." Kyn laughed a little, then shook his head at himself and his immaturity. "But that should not be a problem, right?" He leaned over and replaced Grimm's hand with his own. The... whatever was in the bottle was slippery, and it clicked in his head. "Oh." He laughed again. "I apologize, I am making this awkward, am I not?" He bumped his forehead against Grimm's shoulder. He kept up with the still somewhat hesitant hand gestures, though, hoping he was doing it right.
"Mmm, no, not at all," Grimm hummed, closing his eyes and holding back another breathy moan as Kyn's hand replaced his own. "You're new to this so - aha - I would expect you to be making remarks like that." He crawled over the man, bucking his hips into Kyn's hand and then reaching down to press a finger to Kyn's entrance, slipping it inside.
Kyn made a strangled noise, twisting his head to the side and giving Grimm's cock a tug. He shivered a little at the sensation, trying to dictate whether or not it was a good one and not really coming to a conclusion. Still, he gave the man's length a few quick jerks, only speeding up at the noise of approval.
Grimm inserted two other fingers after the first one adjusted, and he went to crooking those inside of Kyn and gauging his reactions, his other hand going to lazily stroke the man's cock as he did so to had to the sensation. "Tell me if you want me to stop doing anything and I will."
Kyn squirmed and made little whimpering noises, trying to get used to it. "No, no this is okay." He nodded, eyes squeezed shut briefly, then reopening. "Really. Are you...?" He gestured weakly to be man with an even darker blush, if that was even possible. He was always told if you blushed hard enough, you could bruise. He certainly hoped that wasn't true.
"I'm good," Grimm nodded. He removed his fingers after a few more moments, then adjusted himself so he was in front of Kyn's entrance. "Seriously. Tell me if you need me to stop." He leaned down and kissed Kyn's neck before pushing in slightly, going slow and trying to pace himself.
The brunette nodded in confirmation and looped his arms around Grimm's neck. It was pretty painful at first, making him close his eyes and bite his lip to ignore the feeling. After a few moments of waiting and some awkward squirming, he gave the okay for Grimm to start moving and wrapped his legs up around his waist, settling on his hips.
Grimm had a hand down at Kyn's hip, gripping it gently as the other hand pressed down on the bed near Kyn's head. He moved slowly, only speeding up a little when Kyn said it was okay. It was gradual and incredibly hard for Grimm to go so slow, but he managed to do it. He was thankful when he was allowed to move faster, thrusting his hips to meet Kyn's and keeping his eyes on the other man's.
Kyn gave all sorts of gasps and moans as the other man started to increase his pace. It took everything he had to maintain the somehow very intimate eye-contact Grimm was currently staring him down with. He swore that he was blushing from the tips of his ears to his toes. Eventually, he just reached up and pressed their lips together once more, all teeth and tongue and passion. It still hurt a little, but the pleasure was quickly overwhelming it, causing him to give a short gasp and a shudder at a particularly rough thrust.
Whatever he'd just done to Kyn to make him gasp like that, he wanted to do it again. So with a swipe of his tongue across Kyn's own, he angled his hips to try and hit that spot inside of him. He wanted to speak, but he knew that if he tried, whatever came out would only be a mess of curses and moans. He allowed a few of those to slip continually at last, his hand reaching down to pump Kyn's length.
Kyn gave a little wail as Grimm hit something that sent a jolt through his whole body and caused him to bury his face into the man's neck. /This is an apartment/ he hissed to himself /keep your voice down./ Despite his best efforts to muffle whatever noise was coming from his throat, he couldn't, and in fact they only got louder. His teeth met Grimm's shoulder as they scraped across his collar bone, trailing up his neck back to the corner of his mouth where he gave an ill-ly coordinated kiss.
"You don't need to try to be quiet, let the other people complain," Grimm panted into Kyn's mouth, increasing his pace even more. He knew the man was close, and he knew that him whispering dirty phrases into his ear wasn't going to help him delay. It was only a matter of moments before Grimm was releasing into Kyn with a sharp gasp and a shout of his name.
The dirty words didn't help at all with Kyn trying to restrain himself. As Grimm hit his release, he did as well with a shout that was meant to be the man's name but was just loud incoherence. He ended up slumping back onto the bed, eyes fluttered shut and chest heaving. "Oh, gods above, Grimm..." He mumbled, looking up at him with a lazy smile.
Grimm gave a breathless smile in return, his arms still holding him above Kyn. They shook and trembled, however, and he had to lower himself to set his head on Kyn's chest before rolling off and next to him, head still turned in his direction. "Did I live up to any expectations you had?" He chuckled.
"Expectations?" Kyn laughed breathily. "I think any I had were, ah... 'blown out of the water'?" He grinned and turned onto his side to cuddle up against the other man. "You are indeed very, very amazing. What of I, hm?" His grin turned sly, looking up at Grimm through long lashes.
"Incredible," Grimm murmured as he pressed his lips to the man's forehead. "I really didn't think anything could be that amazing." He dragged his fingers up Kyn's arm, then dragging them down again. He wanted to tell Kyn that he wanted to find some way to keep them together even after he left, but he didn't want to ruin this moment at all.
"As I did not." Kyn agreed, burying his nose into Grimm's collar and taking a deep breath. "Not at all. Thank you." He wasn't going to get all clingy. He wasn't going to grab hold of the man's arm and ask him to stay. That would be... terribly selfish of him. He had somewhere else to be, and Kyn could wait, couldn't he? "Is it alright if I stay here just for the night? I am sure my family would understand."
"Mhm," Grimm nodded, burrowing in closer to Kyn. "Your parents are nice. I'm gonna miss them." He smiled a little, sighing. God, he wanted so badly to tell his mother that he was going to stay here in America and be with Kyn. But she needed him and she refused to come to America.
"Yeah." Kyn blinked, pursing his lips with a soft sigh. "We shall miss you as well." He struggled to say much else, scrunching up his nose with distaste at the idea. "But for now, let us just relax here, yes?" His eyes closed, willing the fact that Grimm was going to leave to be gone from his mind momentarily.
"Yeah." Grimm said as well. He simply focused on Kyn's breath against his skin and closed his eyes, knowing that he was going to end up falling asleep for at least a few hours. He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and thought for a moment. He was pretty sure he and Kyn had refrained from saying a certain phrase to each other since Grimm would be leaving eventually, but at this point, it would kill Grimm if he didn't tell Kyn.
He took a deep breath, still wondering if this was a bad idea or not and spoke, "It doesn't matter to me that I'm leaving soon anymore when it comes to the fact that I really need to tell you this, okay? I love you more than my own life at this point, and if I don't make that clear I'll probably regret it forever."
Kyn pulled away a little only to look up at him more clearly. "You really mean it?" He blinked and smiled then, throwing his arms around Grimm's neck and trapping him in a tight hug. "I love you as well, more than I ever thought possible. And even if you leave, I still shall. I hope you will remember that." He settled himself against Grimm's chest again, reveling the feel of it.
"...I will. I swear." He sifted his fingers through the brown locks of Kyn's hair and smiled back. He let himself drift after that, sleeping well as he always did when he napped with Kyn.
Kyn had to wake up early the next morning for work, something he had totally forgotten about when asking to stay over. Halfway to walking to the door, he stopped, looked back to the bedroom, then headed for the phone to call in sick and start on breakfast. Grimm's kitchen was fairly small and didn't have much stocked food-wise, but there were the basics. Bacon, eggs, toast (which was made into french toast of course) and tea for himself (he pretty much bullied Grimm into buying some for whenever he was over). He knew the man often didn't eat in the morning, but why not? It was spending time with him that he wouldn't have very much of any more.
Grimm woke up an hour or so after Kyn, messy-haired and sleepy-eyed. He debated on whether or not he actually wanted to get out of bed, and that debate went on for a good 15 minutes before he finally groaned and pulled himself out and into the kitchen where Kyn was sitting. "Mm, morning," Grimm murmured, leaning down to kiss Kyn's cheek and avoiding breathing morning breath into his face at the same time. He sat in the chair across from him and reached over to take a bite of Kyn's french toast before sitting back and smiling. "Sleep well, yeah?"
"Of course." Kyn nodded and smiled, twirling a fork into the eggs. Though the bacon smelled nice, he was a vegetarian in the aspect that meat made him sick to his stomach. Usually any other 'animal' product was fine though. So, he stuck to the bread and eggs. "Except for, ah..." He rubbed his hip a little with pursed lips. "It sort of... hurts a bit."
Grimm's shoulders shook with silent laughter. "Yeah, it'll do that. You get used to it after a while, though, y'know?" He had often been a bottom for Daniel, more than he was a top. He knew the pain Kyn was talking about all too well. "I'm sorry, though. Next time I'll try and be a little more gentle."
Kyn just laughed and shook his head. "There is no need, I understand that it would happen." He pushed his plate away and walked over to Grimm, looping his arms loosely around the man's shoulders and resting his forehead on his arm. "And the toast is burnt, is it not? I know, I cannot cook very well." He sighed and smiled, giving him a tight squeeze and a kiss on the cheek before letting go and retreating to his tea. "Maybe with practice." He said, mostly to himself.
Their days were spent similar to that, just enjoying each others' presences and Grimm made sure to spend a few more nights with Kyn "in bed." When the time came for Grimm to leave, though, he sat in the airport waiting for his section to be called, carry-on bag in hand and looking rather, well, grim. He and Kyn had said their goodbyes the night before, and also that morning when Grimm woke up. And god, he'd never experienced anything so painful. When he heard his section called, he stood and dragged himself over to the line of people waiting to board with their passports in hand. He made it to the front rather quickly, holding his passport out for the lady to examine.
It took Kyn months of begging his mom, arguing, persuading, and he was just about to give up when on the /day Grimm was leaving/, she finally agreed to let him go. Within minutes he was throwing together whatever was deemed important, clothes and whatever else into a bag, and shoving aside his phobia of moving vehicles to flag down a taxi. He made sure to give both his mom and his sister huge hugs and promises to come back before going, just hoping he didn't miss the flight. The passport wasn't an issue, he had needed one when moving away from Iceland, and had it shoved in his sweater pocket to pull out in a hurry. He had just enough money to pay for a ticket at the desk upon arrival, just as last calls were being made to board. Though a little exhausted from the flurry of events this morning, he perked up instantly when spotting Grimm's rather hard to miss hair and reached foreword to snatch his hand. "Hey," he puffed, a little out of breath from literally sprinting across the airport, "sorry, I was a little late."
Grimm didn't move when he felt a person grasp his hand, his breath catching in his throat because he /knew/ that voice. It took him a moment to gather his senses and he spun around, an incredulous grin gracing his face. He moved over to let more people go past them so he could trap Kyn in a bear hug. "You- What? You're coming? How the hell did you convince your mom to let you come?" He pulled back, grinning widely.
"I guess she just got tired of my asking and did not want to deal with the moping that would invariably follow." Kyn laughed and returned the fierce hug. "Hopefully I did not forget anything important." He shrugged with an oh-well expression, readjusting his haphazardly packed bag. His mom had absolutely refused to let him out of the house without taking his emergency medication. Ever since he was little and born with a naturally weak immune system, he had to take medication to keep himself relatively healthy. He hadn't needed it for years, but moving seemed to take a toll on his health while his body adjusted to a new location. After a few days he should be fine again. There was still, however, the plane.
"Makes sense," Grimm chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you complained so much." He kissed the man's forehead. "I know you said you hated traveling, but... I'll make sure you're okay. Alright?" He smiled and grasped Kyn's hand in his own. "Come on, we should get on before they leave without us."
"Yeah." Kyn nodded, towing the bag over his shoulder and allowing himself to be led onto the aircraft. The ride was.. tense, and mostly consisted of Kyn getting freaked out, crawling onto Grimm's lap and mumbling into his shoulder about getting someone to cover all of the windows. He practically fled the thing when they landed, not grabbing his bag in his haste to leave and feeling guilty when Grimm had to lug it off with his own stuff. Though being in a new place fascinated him, he was immediately a little intimidated by all the swiftly spoken Spanish, feeling like he did when first coming to America. Vowing to try and learn the language for the both of them, he tottered dutifully after Grimm as they exited the airport.
"Slender!" Grimm looked up as he heard his name called, a light blush settling over his face. He'd made a point not to tell Kyn his real name was Slender- it honestly embarrassed him. It was a weird name and he could never understand why his parents would call him that. He found his mom's waving hand, white hair and all. "Mom, how many times have I told you to call me /Grimm/?" He moaned in frustration upon walking up to her. He smiled anyway, pulling her in for a tight hug. His mother shook her head and hugged him in return before pulling back and kissing both sides of Grimm's face, then noticing the brunette standing behind him. "Is this Kynareth?" She beamed. "I didn't know you'd be coming with him! It's so nice to meet you!" She repeated the kissing action with him. "I'm Arabella Huntsback."
Kyn was a bit taken aback by the sudden display of affection, but at the introduction, he relaxed a bit. "Ah, yes, that is I. Pleasure to meet you as well." He beamed, not really sure if he should offer his hand after that and deciding against it. "You called him 'Slender', though." He pointed out, head tilted in confusion.
"Yes, Slender," Arabella nodded with a furrowed brow. She turned to Grimm with an astonished expression. "Slender! You never told your /boyfriend/ your real name? Slender Calhorn Huntsback is his full name, sweetie." She told Kyn. "Calhorn being my last name before I married his father." She didn't seem put off by mentioning Grimm's father one bit, but Grimm gave the slightest twitch.
"I only didn't tell you it because it's a weird name and it embarrasses the shit out of me. I mean, mom, there's a god damn game called Slender. I told someone my name was Slender once and they started calling me Slenderman." He gave her an exasperated look, to which she rolled her eyes.
"Oh, hush, you can blame my family's history of odd names for that." She laughed.
"Griiiim." Kyn whined, grabbing his arm. "All this time I have been calling you by a nickname? Slender cannot be worse than Kynareth! /I/ can barely pronounce it!" He pouted, staring up at him. "Kynareth Mahfaeraak Fanacasecul- what kind of name is that?" He sighed heavily, leaning against the man's side. "I like your name. Slender." He nodded to himself and poked Grimm's belly. "I wish I had known. I did not know there was even a game."
"Your name is cool, though!" Grimm protested. "It takes a few times to get it right, but once you do it sounds awesome." He repeated the name just the way Kyn had said it and sighed. "But whatever. I'm sorry I didn't tell you." He rolled his eyes playfully and laughed.
"See? He likes your name! I like your name! What more do you want?" Arabella sassed.
"/A normal name/."
"Oh, right, because 'Grimm' is as normal as names get."
"Touche."
Kyn pulled himself up to a standing-straight position, looked Grimm dead in the eye and said "Frank. What if your name was Frank? Or Billy?" He pressed. "There are much worse things out there, and yours is unique. Or, if you were in my position, you could have gotten stuck with Björgmundur. Or Eyjafjallajökull. Náttmörður!" He grabbed the man's shoulders. "Skarphéðinsson." He shook his head, letting Grimm go. "I just... like your name."
"Okay, okay, I get it!" Grimm laughed. "Fine, I'll be better about my name." He shook his head and hook his arm around Kyn's waist, pulling him to his side. "So, Madre, what've we got planned for today?"
"It sounds odd when you call me Madre." Arabella grimaced. "The Spanish language is so /weird/. Anyway, I'm not sure. So far all I know is that we're heading home and I would assume that Kynareth is staying with us so I need to make sure the spare room is all- Well, then again, he could just sleep in your room with you, Grimm. Your bed is big enough and as long as you two don't make a lot of noise-"
"Don't you /dare/ finish that sentence." Grimm interrupted and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "But yeah. Okay. I do college from home, by the way." Grimm told Kyn. "I mean, I still have some classes I need to go to, but most of it is stuff I can do at home online." He shrugged.
Kyn made a humming sound of acknowledgement, wondering what he was going to do while Grimm was away. Explore? Not get lost/killed/kidnapped? Preferably. Learn the language. He nodded to himself and turned to Arabella. "How far away is your home from here? I do not wish to sound impolite, but I wish to be as far away from..." he glanced over his shoulder at the hanger, "/that/ as possible."
"It's about a ten minute drive." Arabella said. "Why? Scared of flying? Slender's afraid of heights."
"Jesus fucking Christ, mom, why don't you just go ahead and tell him every embarrassing aspect about me?" The man groaned.
"Okay. One time when Grimm was little, there was this girl-"
"MOM."
"Sorry, sorry."
The brunette glanced between the two with an amused expression. "Well, now I am curious." He sighed, disheartened. "You never tell me anything about your childhood." He said with a light accusing tone toward Grimm. "Oh, well, then. I do not mind. Let us escape the crowd while the doors are still visible." He shook his head at himself and picked up his bag with another unnerved glance at the crowd.
Grimm nodded, lacing his fingers through Kyn's and following his mom to the car in the parking lot. "You boys are lucky, I just went shopping.'' Arabella mused. "Lots of food at the house."
"Thank god, I'm freaking starved." Grimm shoved all of his bags into the trunk of the car, sliding into the backseat with Kyn cuddling in next to him.
"Spanish cuisine!" Kyn crowed, getting as close to Grimm as physically possible with a seatbelt on as the car started moving. "I have never had any completely authentic spanish food. Thai, though, yes. It is very odd and peanut-y." He continued to babble like this to stop thinking about anytime the car gave a lurch or bump or anything really.
"We may not be very, well, Spanish, but we can find some authentic Spanish food for you." Arabella shrugged. "A lot of what I buy is normal stuff that you can find almost anywhere. Snack foods."
"Neither of us eat very much." Grimm informed him. "But we still do keep enough food in the house." He chuckled.
Kyn just smiled as easily as he could manage. "That is alright. I hope I shall find some way to repay your kindness. Though I have to find a new job- at least, for now." He pursed his lips thoughtfully, recalling the frantic call he made into work about how he won't be showing up anymore without a very good explanation.
"You really don't need to repay me, honey." Arabella shook her head. "You've already helped my baby and that's all I care about." She turned to pull into the driveway of their house. It wasn't too big, just a one floor home with three bedrooms, a family room, and a couple bathrooms. Arabella pulled into the garage, getting out of the car and going to grab a few of Grimm's bags.
Kyn scurried out as well, bag swinging loosely from his shoulder as he took in the sight of their house. "It is very quaint looking." He smiled, glancing back over at them. "And a nice location too! I am envious." He laughed a little to himself, waiting for them to go inside so he could poke his head around the house. He loved all sorts of housing layouts, it was an odd interest of his, but he tried not to seem like an over eager child on a camping trip and patiently waited until everything was put away.
"Slender, I forget, where did you say Kynareth was from again?" Arabella asked as she dragged the last suitcase in.
"Iceland," Grimm said, going into the kitchen and searching the fridge for something, finding nothing he wanted there and then returning to the living room where Kyn was looking around.
"The big bedroom through the hall to the left there is my mom's, and the one right across from it is mine. And yours." He grinned, moving to wrap his arms around Kyn from behind.
"Right across?" Kyn leaned back with a sly little smile. "Challenge accepted." He laughed and shook his head at himself, tilting back to press his lips against the curve of Grimm's jaw. "But really, your house is very nice. Quite a change from your apartment. Or my house, the little glorified shed." He sighed happily, looking around. "I do hope I do not impose too much."
"No, you're not, trust me," Grimm assured him, reaching up to rake his fingers through the man's hair. "We've got more than enough room and my mom likes you, so." He chuckled. "Then again, she likes everybody. Except for Daniel. She hated him so much it was funny."
"He was a bad person!" Arabella said from the kitchen. "He was rude and condescending and- and-" she made a snorting sound. "I gotta clean something." She threw some already clean dishes into the sink and scrubbed them down. "I do like Kyn. You're nice and you treat Slender well." She nodded.
"I do not see why anyone should otherwise." Kyn pointed out with a frown, settling back against Grimm's chest. "Oh, I almost forgot!" He jerked upright, slipping from the man's arms and jogging to the room where his bag had been haphazardly thrown. He dug around a bit, producing a little white bottle and walked back to the kitchen. "I really would not like to become overly acquainted with your bathroom tomorrow, and for about a week after." He said, downing two of the large blue pills with a glass of water. "Or the nearest floor." He chuckled, capping the bottle to toss it back in his bag.
Grimm's brow furrowed, leaning on the counter. "Are you okay?" He asked. "You're sick or something again?"
"Do you get sick a lot?" Arabella cast him a concerned look. "That's worrying."
"Not as often anymore, but I did a lot when I was younger. I had some... problems with my immune system. My body was not as strong as it should have been, so I was taking a lot of medicine so I would not get sick. I have not needed it in a while, but a new country and all..." Kyn shrugged, rubbing his arm. "I do not wish to take a chance. It was... bad, leaving Iceland. Especially from a more isolated place to the city."
"Oh, honey, why did you come here if you knew you might get so sick?" Grimm's mother blinked after saying that, shaking her head. "Right. Slender." She turned back to the dishes.
"Well," Grimm sighed, "at least you've got meds for it. You'll be okay, right?"
"Yes, of course." Kyn nodded and smiled. "It is nothing to worry about, okay?" He leaned over to kiss the man and pull him over to the great room. "So what about showing me around, then, hm? After you get some food, of course. Long trip." He then proceeded to tug him back to the kitchen.
"Augh, sorry, bad manners," Grimm laughed, going to shuffle through the cabinets in the kitchen. He eventually just pulled out some oreos and Galacian bread that his mom must have gotten from a restaurant nearby. "I did like the food in America," he said to his mom. "I know we buy things like oreos and whatnot here, but they have even more things like that over there. Fattening, but they're pretty good." He grinned.
"Don't make a habit of eating fatty foods, sweetheart." She chuckled. "Then again, you could eat a horse and I don't think you'd gain a pound. You never do." She shrugged.
"Alright," Grimm said, shoving a piece of bread in his mouth and turning back to Grimm. "You already saw the laundry room and the kitchen obviously and the great room, but you still haven't seen the bedrooms." He pulled the man down the hallway to the right as they turned out of the kitchen, stopping to open the door to what he said was the spare bedroom. It was rather plain, a bed and a few dressers and a window. The bathroom was straight across from there, next to his mom's room. He showed him his own room, then. Red walls and a darker red carpet that was soft on the toes, a bed with black and white blankets and a nightstand next to it with a speaker on it. There was a dresser along the wall to their right as they stood in the doorway, and it was covered in papers and books. "It's... a little dark, but it looks really nice when you turn the lights on over there." There were two tall lamps that loomed over the sides of his bed, and when they turned on, they gave the red walls and floor a really calming, mellow feel for the room.
Kyn looked around the gloom with a look of interest until the lights flicked on. He gave a large smile, then, taking in the look and feel of the room. "It is very nice. Simple. But nice." He peered at the book covers littering the dresser for familiar titles, and caught sight of the speaker on the night stand. He wandered all around the room, nodding his approval before finally sitting down on the bed and motioning Grimm over. "I love it. You have very nice tastes, you know. Alas, my envy grows." He said with a woe-ing tone, leaning his chin on Grimm's shoulder as he sat down, clasping their hands together and lacing their fingers.
"I did miss this place," Grimm nodded, brushing his thumb over Kyn's knuckles. "Thank you. I do so hope your envy does not outweigh your intense love for me." He spoke in an accent similar to Kyn's, probably trying to imitate it and not getting it quite right. It was difficult for him not to let his Spanish accent slip in there anywhere.
Kyn stuck out his tongue and laughed, pulling him in for a kiss. "No, no it does not, you have nothing to worry about. Because I love you ever-so-much, you know." He sat back and grinned, crossing his legs and putting his chin on his hand.
"Well, good." Grimm snickered, leaning back and pulling Kyn with him. "I would hope so." The rest of the day was spent unpacking, cuddling, and catching up with Arabella and then near the evening when it started getting dark, they went for walk in the town nearby since it was Grimm's favorite time of day to go there.
Since then, Kyn was able to settle nicely into the area, working mostly on how to interact with people. Whenever Grimm was out, he'd taken to wandering and trying to get to know the area better, and mainly looking for a place to work. Since Grimm was looking at houses, though, he decided he's better wait until they chose an area. He still kept in contact with his mom and sister, letting them know that yes, he was fine, and no, Grimm is not a bad person he just sort of gives off the vibe every now and again, and a little arguing but generally just checking up. He'd taken to running off to parks and uncivilized areas away from town whenever he was bored, and only had gotten lost twice. The past months had been great, in his opinion, and he really was glad he came here. That was, until he ended up spending half a day leaning against the smooth edge of the bathtub, too sick to drag himself out or stand at all. It came and went every other week or so, regardless of whether or not he took any medication. It was starting to concern him, maybe they had stopped working? He decided not to inform his hosts, figuring it to pass eventually and since it wasn't even that frequent, all together not worrying about it.
Grimm hadn't noticed much of it since whenever Kyn got sick, he was usually working or studying or house hunting. Then again, he spent most of his time looking for houses /with/ Kyn because he knew Kyn was going to come with him to the new house rather than stay with Arabella. But nonetheless, Grimm rarely saw Kyn feel sick, and he often just passed it off as Kyn's immune system not being as strong as it should.
After half a year or so, Grimm had a smile on his face and a ring box in the pocket of his leather jacket as he and Kyn walked to the little park they'd discovered that they liked to call their own since no one else ever came to it as far as they knew. It was right by a small lake, and they normally went down early morning or early evening, or sometimes even purely at night.
Once they arrived there in the early evening that night, they did their usual thing and headed over to the picnic tables by the lake. Normally they would talk about what kind of house they wanted and if they wanted pets and whatnot, but this time it began with Grimm turning to Kyn and saying, "I've got something important I need to ask you."
Kyn looked up from his casual observation of the lake surface, over to where Grimm sat with a curious expression. "Yes? Have you found some place you liked, then?" He scooted closer, expecting the man to take out some sort of magazine or printing with information on it for him to look at.
"Aha, no," Grimm chuckled, running a hand through his hair a bit nervously. He lowered that hand to his pocket, fingering the small box. "I know we're still looking for a place and all and I still have to finish college, but... I didn't expect to meet anyone while I was in America. I thought I'd be by myself the whole year. And then I forced myself to ask you all those questions about the customs there and you didn't think I was freaky looking or weird. You actually became the best part of my life and I'm incredibly grateful for that and I never thought I could love anyone as much as I love you." He pulled the box out, took a deep breath, and opened it, revealing the simple silver ring with the emerald in the center. "I wanted to ask you, Kynareth," he smiled, "if you'd like to spend quite possibly the rest of your life with me."
Kyn stared down at the little box in question, blinking and lips parted in half-realization. Whatever he wanted to say he couldn't quite manage, so he just lunged over and trapped Grimm in a tight hug around the waist, nearly knocking said box out of the man's hand in the process. "Forever, huh?" He smiled, nuzzling his face into Grimm's shirt, giving another squeeze. "Yeah, I think that I would like that." He pulled back to look the man in the eye. "I really, really would." He repeated and pressed their lips together, hands still wound tightly in the material of Grimm's shirt.
Grimm's eyes widened at the hug and fumbled to catch the box when it was almost knocked out of his hand. An incredulous smile graced his face and he quickly returned the embrace. "Really?" He chuckled breathily. "That- Thank god. I didn't really think you'd say no but then there was just that little part of me that doubted you'd say yes." He gave a muffled "mmpfh" noise as Kyn's lips pressed to his and practically melted for some reason at the action, arms looping around Kyn's neck.
"Then that little part of you should be sorely disappointed, for I am not leaving anytime soon unless you ask me to." Kyn replied with a smile. He pulled back a little to examine the ring a bit more, giggling and giddy at the sight of it. "You put it.. here?" He slipped it on his pointer finger, chewing on the inside of his lip in an attempt to smother the ridiculous expression on his face.
"Close," Grimm chuckled, pulling it off of Kyn's pointer finger and putting it on his, well, ring finger. "That one. But I guess it doesn't really matter, you can wear it wherever you want. Putting it on that finger just kind of tells other people that you're taken." He grinned. "Which'll be nice. That guy at the check out counter at the store down the street always seems to be practically throwing himself at you." He shook his head.
"Ah," Kyn stared down at it, "the one who dyes his hair silver-y and looks a bit like you?" He chuckled a bit, remembering his first encounter with the guy and mistaking him for Grimm. "Well, he should back off then, now." He nodded and resumed his earlier position of hugging the man, relaxing in a slump against his body. "I suppose we are not going to look at houses then, hm? Oh! Did you tell your mother?" He looked up.
"Yeah, I did," Grimm nodded. "I think I might have given her a heart attack with the news, but she's happy. She's /really/ happy." He leaned against Kyn as well. "As for houses, we'll keep looking, obviously. We're probably going to have to have a really small wedding, though, if we're gonna buy a house too." He sighed. "Oh, well, I'm fine with a small wedding. Are you?"
Kyn nodded. "I do not even know that many people, so..." He shrugged and leaned his head on Grimm's shoulder. "I never even thought I would ever have have a wedding, or be married or... or anything, really. So whatever we do is okay, just knowing that it has happened and that we are together, that is enough." He declared with a grin.
They were like that for some time after the proposal, planning the wedding which really wasn't that hard and looking for houses. Arabella helped as much as she could, and at one point tried to force Grimm to get a haircut from her hairdresser, Rin Tahoe, only to find that Grimm absolutely refused to get more than an inch cut off.
But then, only two or three months after Grimm's proposal, he found himself yelling at his mom to call an ambulance for the unconscious Kyn in his arms who had collapsed out of nowhere and wouldn't wake up. It all seemed to move in slow motion in Grimm's mind- the ambulance showing up, him climbing his way in with Kyn and telling his mom to meet them there later, then Kyn being rolled into the hospital with Grimm looking as helpless as ever.
The excitement of being married and buying their own house left Kyn giddy and eager to start his own life with Grimm, in Spain of all places. The weird nausea that he was experiencing seemed to get worse and more frequent. Often times he'd end up going to bed early complaining of migraines or dizziness. He was starting to wonder if he should maybe tell them after all. That was, until he blacked out in the middle of a conversation with Grimm and woke up staring at the ceiling in what he was pretty sure was the hospital. He could hear murmuring from beyond the door, and the sound of feet marching up and down the hall. 'Geez,' he sat up, ruffling his hair with his hand, 'what on earth am I doing here? I feel fine.' He sighed, letting his hand fall into his lap. Aside from the constant headache. That never seemed to go away.
Grimm was the first to notice he was awake, speed-walking over to his side and looking him up and down. "Damn it, Kyn, what the hell was that?" He said with a furrowed brow, hands on both sides of Kyn's face as he looked for any visible head injuries he might have missed earlier. "Were you /trying/ to give me a fucking heart attack?" He took a shaky breath and then combed his fingers once through Kyn's hair, letting them flop back to his sides after that. "Are you okay?"
"For now." Kyn affirmed, leaning back against the side of the bed. "Just, not for a while. It has been very odd, and I was not sure if I should mention it at all. I apologize." He frowned, staring at the thin blanket that had been draped over his lap. "They did not say anything, did they? I am sure I just need new medication or something. No need to worry." He smiled then, leaning his weight on his hands.
"You've got to tell people about these kinds of things," Grimm rubbed his forehead, closing his eyes for the moment and pulling a chair up next to the bed. "And they haven't said anything yet, no, you haven't been here that long. They did say that they need to run some routine scanning and checks on you, though." He felt sick to his stomach with worry, considering the doctors felt uneasy about this enough to feel that they should run tests on him.
"I have not been to the hospital in some time, it is not surprising." Kyn tried to say with a light hearted tone, if only to soothe Grimm's worries a bit. "A scan, though? It is a good thing I was asleep, they kind of scare me." He chuckled, scooting to the edge of the bed where Grimm was and resting on his elbows. "Hopefully it does not take long, my apologies for worrying you."
Grimm looked at Kyn for a moment with a creased brow before he smiled as surrender, shaking his head and bringing Kyn in for a brief kiss. "Whatever. Just... don't do it again, okay?" He brushed his thumb over Kyn's cheek and then dropped his hands to the other man's knees. "I hope everything's okay."
Kyn nodded as well, rubbing his thumb over Grimm's knuckles. The door opened and a soft featured middle aged man walked in, clipboard in hand. He explained to them what kind of tests they were running and showed the results of the scans. "You look fine, except, there's here." He pointed to one of the papers and the base of Kyn's head. "We might have picked something up. We'll have to do one more thing just to be sure." It turns out that 'one more thing' was a needle in his spine while he was curled up on the bed and gripping Grimm's hand for dear life because he and needles didn't get along well. A few more hours of waiting and the doctor returned to say that it was something called Central Nervous System Lymphoma. Malignant, advanced and inoperable. That, and he only had another couple of months to live. He went on to say that even though it was too late to be treated, they could try and slow it down at least a little. "Aside from that," the doctor, Worth, was it? continued, "the only thing we can do is make you comfortable. You have my deepest apologies." With that, he turned to leave so he could give them some time to talk in private.
Grimm was stuck in some sort of frozen stupor, only registering things like "a couple months to live" and "inoperable." It was a concept his mind was having trouble comprehending, his stomach churning as he stared at Kyn with an expression stuck between being horrified and confused. "I- Inoperable?" His voice cracked. "You- No. No. He's gotta be wrong. Maybe I can get them to take a second look. They must have missed something." He couldn't move, though. His body wasn't cooperating.
Kyn blinked back at him, mirrored expression of confusion and dismay. "I- but it was never that bad. It was not too hindering or anything. If it was life threatening, surely you would feel it?" He frowned, ducking his head. "I never thought... I should have mentioned it." He drew his knees up, settling his hands on top on them, and his chin on that.
"You couldn't have known it was this bad," He shook his head, standing up and sliding onto the bed next to Kyn and enveloping the man in his arms. "I just... God damn it, do you have to stay in here until then?" They wouldn't get married if they did that, and Kyn... Kyn would leave with unfinished business. "I don't know what to do. This isn't fair."
Kyn shook his head, saying he didn't know either, and wrapped his arms in turn around the man. "I just... want to go home. With you. They can drag me back if it gets worse but for now, I wish to leave." His expression tried to adapt to a bit more cheery one. "Well, we can do whatever we wish when we get back, right? The house.. it is still a bit unlived in, so we can decorate it and garnish it with all sorts of things, right?" He cracked a smile. "It will be fun."
"Mhm," Grimm forced a smile as well, his hands patting down Kyn's wrinkled shirt. "It's gonna be okay." He kissed the man's neck, pulling away. "So how do we-"
"Slender? Kyn?" Arabella poked her head in, brow furrowed and voice quiet. "The doctors said that you can come home. But if anything happens that worries us more than we already are, we need to bring him back."
The brunette nodded, pulling himself out of the bed and bringing Grimm along with him. "Hey, hey, carry me!" He grinned, making grabby hand gestures at the man. He could walk just fine, of course, but he loved being picked up and figured it could lighten the mood a bit.
Grimm just smiled in amusement, pretending like he wasn't going to for a moment before swooping down and grabbing the man into his arms bridal style. "Or do you want piggy back?" He grinned down at Kyn in his arms.
"No, this is fine." Kyn laughed and swung his arms around Grimm's neck and looked to the door. "Now, onwards!" He kept his legs tucked in so they didn't smack anything on the way down. A few of the people they passed in the halls gave them odd looks, but he didn't mind at all, really. Or the fact that after this they'd be driving home in Arabella's car. He decided to concentrate on making Grimm happy for the time being, and keeping his mind off the news they'd received. It was terrible and sudden, yes, but he had time still and planned to use it wisely.
The time /was/ used wisely. They got comfortable with their house after finishing it, and Kyn was able to spend a good couple weeks in it. But then there came the time when Kyn had to be put back in the hospital, his body weak and in need of support. Grimm knew they didn't have long left, a week at most, maybe.
So now he sat at Kyn's bed with him, fingers laced with the sick man's and a tired expression on his face. "Hey." He said after a while of silence. "Do you remember how you mentioned that I never told you anything about my childhood?" He smiled a little. "I've got a few stories I wanna tell you."
Kyn had put up a bit of a fight about going back to the hospital, generally complaining loudly about how boring it was or burying himself under the blankets on the bed and refusing to come out. He couldn't put up much of a fight any longer, he had gotten too weak and too frail to do so. Eventually allowing himself to be taken, he mostly just pouted on the bed and pointed out whatever was happening outside to whomever was in the room, usually Grimm. Today, though, he was just reclined on the bed staring lazily over at the man, keeping his too-pale hand laced with Grimm's own. The statement, though, he perked up a bit at. "Yeah? Do tell." He smiled, pushing himself up a little to listen better.
"Okay," Grimm thought for a moment, moving his other hand to cover Kyn's hand almost completely. "There was this phase that I went through like a lot of kids do where I had imaginary friends, right? They were called Nakaru and Nazari. Nakaru was kind of the grim reaper, and I think that's why I started wanting to be called Grimm. But yeah. And Nazari was this dog-type animal that was really skinny and had red skin and long black hair but no fur, and he had yellow eyes and no pupils. Nakaru just had black hair and red eyes and the cloak that the grim reaper is usually portrayed as wearing." He kept smiling, enjoying talking about them for the first time in 20 years. "They were my best friends. Nazari was always a little more aggressive and rude than Nakaru, and Nakaru usually had to scold him for being that way. I'm pretty sure they were brothers or something. But they made me feel better when I was upset and they helped me figure things out and... I dunno, I guess I just really loved them. But it got to the point where I'd be talking to them in public and it seemed like I was so sucked into it, and my mom was afraid I'd become schizophrenic or whatever. I kind of gradually let them go. And I think my mom was actually kind of sad about that, because they liked her and I told her about them all the time and I think she kinda liked them too. I /know/ they would have liked you." He grinned.
Kyn smiled back and propped his head on his knees. "I would have been honored to know them." He replied, thinking about Grimm talking to the two and trying to visualize them in his head. "They sound a little frightening, yet... nice. Sweet almost. With making casual jests at each other, you know?" He leaned back, trying to remember if he had something to share as well. He had mostly already told about his childhood, as boring as it was. Eventually he just shook his head, smiling again. "I thank you for sharing that with me. I think it would have been nice if we had met at a younger age. I could meet them, for one. And you could have met my old baby sitter, Bruniik! He was a mountain of a man, but really a big teddy bear. He took in all sorts of animals that needed homes."
"He sounds awesome," Grimm chuckled. He sat back in his seat, brow furrowed. "I don't think I ever told you about my father, did I?" He let out a long breath. "I haven't told you about a lot of stuff. Damn." He looked at Kyn apologetically. "Sorry for not telling you so much."
"I understand if you do not wish to tell, it is not really my business to know." Kyn pointed out, slumping back against the pillows once more and turning onto his side, facing Grimm. "And you have been putting up with me these past few weeks, so do you should not feel obliged, you know." He curled into the pillow, nuzzling his face into the somewhat soft material and closing his eyes.
"No, but... The thing is, me and my mom never talk about it. Sometimes she'll mention him in casual conversation, but she never actually talks about what he /did/. So it'd be nice to actually talk to someone about it, y'know?" He smiled weakly with a shrug. "It's not a very happy story obviously, but... still." Another deep breath. "I was seven, I was sleeping, and he came and woke me up and said that he had to go on a trip. He told me where he was going but it didn't register, and then he told me not to tell my mom and that he'd try and be back as soon as possible. God, Kyn, he looked like he was going to cry. And I sat there nodding and not even understanding what was going on because I was practically half asleep, but I can remember specifically that he looked like he was gonna cry. So he said goodbye to me and told me to tell my mom that he loved her and my brother the same thing. I don't have any idea why he didn't wake Calik up too, but I try not to think about that too much. Then he left, and I kind of sat there wondering what had just happened. It took me a few minutes, but then I think I started crying. We waited for fucking ever for him to come back and he didn't, and I think that's what made my brother kill himself. He and my dad were best friends and he couldn't take it." Grimm swiped at his eyes, shoulders shaking a little. "God, I don't think I've ever told /anyone/ that story."
Kyn gradually pushed himself up again during the story, brow furrowing a little with concern. Toward the end of it, he pushed himself off the bed and stumbled over to where Grimm sat. He awkwardly hovered there a moment before finally just straddling the man and throwing his arms around Grimm's neck. "I am sorry you and your brother had to go through that, truly. When my father died, my sister was greatly upset as well. She did not understand things like death when she was younger, and she was determined to stay strong for my mom, you know?" He pressed his lips to Grimm's cheek. "Perhaps... you shall see him again someday, hm? He could very well still be out there." He suggested with a hopeful look.
Grimm lifted his head, a bit of a desperate look on his face as he reached up to brush both of his hands through Kyn's hair repeatedly. "But I want you to be here when he does." He croaked. "I want him to meet you and I want him to see how far I've come." He smiled through the tears that threatened to fall. "I just want everything to be okay, Kyn. And it's not." He shook his head. "Jesus fucking- This is ridiculous. I shouldn't be making you upset."
The brunette just shook his head, rubbing little circle with his fingers on Grimm's shoulders. "I am upset, but only because I am breaking my promise to you. I promised I would never hurt you, or make you upset, yet..." He shrugged with a little half smile. "I have, and I apologize." He sagged foreword, head falling onto Grimm's shoulder and arms falling to his waist.
"No, you... It's not even your fault, Kyn. You didn't choose to have this." Grimm turned his head so his face was buried in Kyn's hair. He hummed into his hair, eventually singing softly, "Oh, the waves roll low, and the waves roll high and so it goes, under the bright, blue, endless sky... The waves try to measure the days that we treasure... wave hello, and wave goodbye." He sang a little more after laying Kyn back down, songs that he remembered Kyn saying he liked a lot.
Kyn smiled and hummed along, albeit a little tiredly, curling back into bed. If there was one thing that he didn't like about this, it was being bedridden. It made him restless and bored, but he very well couldn't stand on his own much anymore. However, it meant he got to hear Grimm sing to him, and he was never going to pass up an opportunity to hear that. Eventually, though, tiredness got the better of him, and he was lulled into sleep by Grimm's voice once more.
Grimm often did that when he knew Kyn was too tired, which was frequently. The next few days after that Grimm hardly ate- even less than he already did. He hardly slept, too. His mom had trouble sleeping as well and called him early in the morning sometimes just to talk, but Grimm was so tired and out of energy that he was starting to wonder if he should be in the hospital just as Kyn was.
Near the end of that week, Grimm had Kyn's hands in his and he pulled the chair up to the side of the bed again, laying his head next to the man's on the pillow and pressing soft kisses to his nose, cheeks, forehead, and lips every now and then as he sang. He hadn't cried since that one time earlier in the week when he'd been telling Kyn those stories and he wasn't about to start crying now. He'd been holding it in all this week and he could hold it in a little longer.
"I will love you," Grimm sang quietly, "until my dying day..." he stopped and spoke this time. "I promise I will."
Kyn gave a soft little exhale, looking up at Grimm with half open eyes. Regardless to whether or not the last sentence was directed at him or it was part of the song, he murmured "As shall I." quietly, almost inaudibly. He was once again tracing his fingertips across the man's prominent knuckles and pursed his lips a little in thought. As Grimm fell silent, he gave the man a smile and weak, reassuring squeeze on his hand. "There was an old saying I heard once." He said thoughtfully, tilting his head back with a little sigh. "'It is only by fate that any life ends, and only by chance that it is mine, not yours.' Pretty dark, is it not?" He chuckled a little to himself. "I think my grandfather said it too me once. I cannot really remember him at all though. Just.. just those words." He turned half on his side, tilting his head up briefly to press his lips to Grimm's cheek. "I know it is getting a little late... but could you sing to me a while longer?"
"I'll sing until they kick me out," Grimm smiled, continuing to sing for the time being. He still peppered Kyn's face and hands with kisses. And when Kyn was half asleep and the doctor came in and informed him that visiting hours were over, he leaned down and made sure that Kyn knew he loved him more than anything he could ever love and it would always remain that way, and then the aqua-haired man chuckled, telling his fiance that he would have taken Grimm's last name at the wedding and he knew it. And he said to him, "Kynareth Huntsback. I like the sound of that."
"As do I." Kyn smiled up at him and gave a little half muffled yawn. Though he knew there wasn't much necessity to saying it, not when he was sure he knew the answer anyway, but he still asked "You will be back tomorrow, right?" He released his grip on Grimm's hand with a frown but shook off the expression when he looked back up at the man. "Maybe we can have a little make-shift wedding in here! Heh, small indeed." He curled back onto his side and let his eyes fall closed a few more seconds than he meant to. "Well... I love you, come back soon, okay?"
"I love you too," Grimm smiled. "I promise I'll be back tomorrow. Bright and early." He kissed him one more time on the forehead before forcing himself to exit the room, giving one last "goodnight" to him as he closed the door. He walked out in a bit of a daze, not sure why he felt different tonight than he had all the other nights. And it wasn't a good different either. He went home and called his mother, telling her goodnight and that Kyn said hello. He still couldn't fall asleep until around 1 in the morning, his hands gripping the pillow he was using. He woke up with a start to the phone ringing an hour later and he stumbled out of bed, picking it up and answering with a slurred "Hello?"
Not even a few minutes later, he was hanging up the phone numbly and walking to get in his car, turning up his music as loud as he could possibly stand it and then driving to the hospital. As he pulled into the driveway, he sat there for a moment and stared at his hands in his lap, taking a moment to suddenly scream and yell and shout until his throat was raw and he was panting against the steering wheel. He was reassured and comforted a bit by the fact that his mother and sister were coming up to Spain after receiving the same call that Grimm did. And as he stood over Kyn's covered, motionless body, he wondered how his own mother would feel if she were to lose another son.
