Hi there my lovelies!
Thank you for your continuing interest in this little tale, it warms my heart to see you visiting, liking and reviewing. If someone is interested in betaing this story, drop me a line, I'd appreciate it very much and it would definitely help me with faster updates (win win for all.) ^_^
Enjoy!
No warnings.
The morning sun shines through the window and Charles sneezes, which makes him wake up. He sits up and looks down at Erik who is still in the land of dreams, looking very peaceful. The last weeks have been hectic for them, and Erik insisted on doing the heavy lifting, leaving Charles to plan and direct where he wants the furniture and everything else to go. Which led to them more or less falling into bed each evening, Erik often asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
But now the new house is furnished and the plans for the wedding are coming along nicely. Ruth has shown her wedding gown to Charles (it's absolutely stunning) and introduced him to the seamstress who made the gown. Ms. Salvatore is a petite and efficient young woman who excels at her profession. Charles has discussed different options for his own wedding garments with her and he's really looking forward to seeing the finished work.
Today is the day they move into their new home, and Charles is giddy with excitement. He contemplates getting up and making breakfast for a moment, but Erik looks so nice and inviting...
So he carefully scoots down and places feather-light kisses on Erik's forehead and eyelids and trails them downward to his mouth. Erik's mouth curling upwards in a smile is the only warning he gets before he is tackled and flipped, Erik looming over him and grinning like a shark who found an exceptionally tasty prey.
Erik is pinning his wrists to the bed, too, and Charles' mouth goes dry with how much he wants his mate. His desperation must have shown on his face, because Erik's expression softens and he leans down with a tender kiss, whispering "Relax, Liebling, I'll take good care of you".
And he does, too, leaving Charles warm and pliant and feeling completely happy and loved.
They get up later than usual, but neither of them minds. After breakfast they pack up their belongings and load them on the wagon Mr Summers has loaned them. His eldest son Alex is there to help as well. Charles is amazed how quickly Alex and Erik disassemble the bed and the few cabinets they have. He takes care to wrap their dishes carefully and to make sure their food is securely packed as well. After the long weeks of planning and painting and furnishing, the move itself is nearly anticlimatic, done before lunchtime.
Charles is standing in their new kitchen, admiring the polished pans and pots lined up and the marvellous Aga hearth. He's contemplating what to make for their lunch, when there's a knock on the door and Ms Darkholme ("call me Raven") steps through, carrying a casserole.
She beams at Charles and sets down the dish on the counter, engulfing him in a hug. "Congratulations, Charles! Everything went well with the move, I take it?"
Charles nods and smiles at her when she steps back to admire the pristine and very well appointed kitchen. Raven is one of their new neighbors, she came to introduce herself to Charles when they began working on the house (of course, Erik already knew her). She lives next door with Ms Adler who is very regal and mysterious and a little scary in Charles' opinion, though neither Raven nor Erik seem bothered by her.
"I thought you'd probably have your hands full today, so I brought you Irene's famous lamb casserole."
"Thank you, I appreciate it. Will you convey my sincerest regards to Ms Adler?"
Raven laughs at him. "Sure will, hon. Though you know she already told you to call her Irene, right?"
Charles blushes a little. "I'll try.'' Then he claps his hands, continuing much more cheerfully, "Would you like to see the grounds? The gardens are coming along nicely."
"Oh, yes! Have you planned what crops you want yet?"
Charles beams as he begins to detail the elaborate plans he made for their garden and fields. The land is very well maintained and the soil is rich so he has no doubt they'll be able to bring in a splendid harvest. Charles feels deep and warm satisfaction at the fact that his training and all the books he studied on agriculture will make a real difference to them. In the tiny garden next to the hut had been little enough room for vegetables, let alone anything else. Now they will have whole fields of different grain, herbs, flowers and to top it off there's already a small orchard of fruit trees. Erik has admitted that he was very relieved when Charles began detailing his plans for the grounds, shyly at first, but becoming increasingly enthusiastic at Erik's obvious delight and pride in his mate.
"And here I thought you were just looking for an opportunity to stock the house with sofas and armchairs to launge around in all day", Erik had teased gently with a kiss to Charles' nose.
"Oh no", Charles had replied, a mischievous sparkle in his eye. "I plan on being a very strict overseer of the staff, constantly popping up for inspections when no one expects me."
"The staff, huh? And just how many were you planning to hire?"
"Not much, just around 30 or 40 or so - Erik, no, stop tickling!" Charles had shrieked with laughter. He had conceded his Alpha's superiority shortly thereafter.
Later, when they lay in bed, limbs tangled and loose Charles had told him of his actual and far more reasonable plans. Erik was full of praise for his brilliant mate. Charles was a little startled by Erik's heartfelt adoration at first (as he always is) but he has learned that Erik means what he says so any praise from him is well and truly earned.
And now his careful plans are coming along very nicely, which is a great joy to Charles.
On their way to the fields Charles and Raven stop by Erik's workshop, where the Alpha is busy arranging his tools. He looks up when they enter and smiles fondly at his mate.
Raven, who has known Erik's face as a stony mask for years, can't help but feeling amazed at how much good Charles has done him. She's not sure Charles is aware of the extent of his good influence.
Erik draws Charles close for a hug and a kiss, before extending his hand to Raven.
"Hello neighbour. How nice of you to drop by. Charles is showing you the grounds?"
Raven smiles as she shakes his hand. "Yes, we were going to see the gardens and such. Charles tells me he already has plans what to bring out."
Erik flashes a shark like grin at his mate. "Oh, he has plans, alright. With the amount of spreadsheets and timetables we have we could renovate half the house."
Charles shrugs unrepentantly. "When we have been gifted with such a wonderful opportunity the least we should do is planning carefully and having a proper business plan."
Erik kisses his temple with a laugh. "Go on with you, my little entrepreneur. I'll call you when lunch is ready."
"Oh, Ms Ad-, um, Irene sent us her lamb casserole, you'll just need to reheat it."
Erik smiles warmly at Raven. "Thank you, and thanks to Irene, of course. That's really thoughtful of her."
Raven waves him off. "We're so happy to have you near us, and Irene always cooks enough to share."
After Erik gives his mate another kiss they're off to see the gardens and Charles maps out his plans with animated gestures. Raven is fascinated by this young man who captured Erik's heart. She is looking forward very much to having them as neighbours.
It's their first night in the new house and Charles is not quite relaxed next to Erik. The Alpha tries to calm his mate by tucking him near and rubbing a soothing hand up and down his flank, and it works somewhat.
After a long while, Charles whispers "Erik?"
"Yes, Liebling?"
"Can I ask you something?"
Erik gathers Charles in his arms, because he sounds quite unsure of himself. "Of course, honey."
Charles swallows and when he goes on his voice is barely above a whisper. "Could we... could we keep the ... um ... discipline ... out of the bedroom?"
Erik hugs him and presses a kiss to his hair. "We can definitely do that. Did you have another room in mind?"
Charles relaxes against him and some of his usual humor comes back. "Well, in an ideal scenario we wouldn't need any room at all..."
Erik chuckles. "And in the extremely unlikely case we should need a room after all?"
He feels Charles smile against him. "The little ante-room next to this?"
"All right, that sounds good. Thank you for talking to me."
Charles presses a kiss to the underside of Erik's jaw. "Thanks for being understanding." Then he sighs contentedly and burrows deeper into the arms of his Alpha, who rumbles approvingly.
This, Charles thinks as he drifts of to sleep, is a really good start for living here.
Thank you for stopping by. Have a nice day! Km who reviewed some time ago: Thank you! I'm glad you're having fun with the story, I'm definitely having fun writing it.
All comments are as always much appreciated.
