Riku had recently started a new job working on Sora's campus at the library. Cataloguing and organizing, it was tedious and mind numbing, but Riku found its rhythmic mediocrity therapeutic. Not being much of a people person it kept him out of the customer service line. Outside of breaking up the occasional necking in the math section and helping someone find the odd book here and there, there wasn't really a lot of interpersonal interaction and that's just the way Riku liked it.
His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled his return cart to the side to check the message
'Hey, we still on for brunch tomorrow?' – Kairi. Riku smiled to himself before shooting back a simple affirmative. The day dragged on at a snail's pace before Riku finally got to go to lunch. He stopped by the common area to find Sora studying his textbook, concentration causing his brow to furrow intensely. Riku smiled watching his boyfriend before approaching, appreciating the way Sora worried his lower lip in frustration, scribbling notes in a notebook.
"Hey." He said as he took a seat placing his lunch bag on the table and fishing out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a salad. Sora looked up from the book, leaning his head back with a sigh.
"Why is algebra?" He said with a groan. Riku chuckled.
"Aw, are the mean numbers making your pretty little brain hurt?" He reached over and affectionately ruffled the brunette's wild spikes.
"Hmph, yes, make them go away." He whined, pouting aggressively, and giving Riku puppy dog eyes before closing the book and stacking his notebook on top.
"So, how's work going?" He inquired, snagging a carrot stick from his own lunch bag.
"Slow at best. Thankfully, I haven't had to break up any rendezvous today. Did have to spend half an hour helping someone figure out where to find Pride and Prejudice though. Someone put it on the wrong shelf and it somehow ended up in the philosophy section." He bit into his sandwich.
"Maybe it wasn't an accident. Maybe it was a statement. Like someone was trying to draw a parallel about the controversial manner of Lizzie during the time period." Sora mused giving a smug half smile.
"And maybe you've been spending too much time in the women's science department." Riku shot back with his own smug smile.
"Hey, those women are onto something, the patriarchy really is a bastard you know. According to toxic masculinity one of us needs to be the bottom and since you're the one with the skincare routine it serves to reason that it would be you." He uttered out with a huff.
"Yeah, yeah, because I actually care about my hygiene, I must be flaming gay. It has nothing to do with the fact that I'm taking it in the backdoor on the regular." Sora turned bright red.
"Riku! We are in PUBLIC, young man!" He playfully smacked Riku on the shoulder, eliciting a bright laugh from Riku.
This. This is what Riku loved so much about their relationship. The easy playfulness, the mutual respect they have for each other, the way they just always seem to be in tune. He wouldn't trade this for the world. They continued to chat over Sora's classes and subjects while Riku ate before he had to return to work. They exchanged a brief kiss before Riku walked back to the library. No matter how dull or frustrating his day was spending time with Sora always seemed to recharge his batteries.
The rest of his day passed without interest or frustration and soon enough it was time for Riku to clock out and go home. He grabbed his backpack and waved to the head librarian before heading out. Sometime in the afternoon it had started to rain and Riku was thankful he finally had his own car.
After Sora's accident he wasn't able to be anywhere near the driver seat of a car for months without having a panic attack. It only stood to reason that Riku finally get his own car, and with that he slowly introduced Sora back into the driver seat. Now they each had their own cars and Sora was comfortable driving once again.
He ran to his silver Nissan rogue and slid into the driver's seat, shaking the moisture out of his hair, turning the car on. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out and opened the message.
'Club tonight so I'll be home around 6. Don't wait up for me for dinner.' – Sora. The message was accented with a kissy face emoji. Riku slid his phone back into his pocket and pulled his car out of the parking lot and headed for the mall. He had an errand to run before heading home anyways so Sora being busy was perfect.
He pulled into the mall parking lot, grateful that the rain had at least let up. Riku found the jewelry store easy enough and perused the cases looking for something in particular. Finally an attendant approached Riku, a plump woman in her 40's with a kind smile and a twinkle in her eye.
"Can I help you find anything?" She asked politely. Riku glanced up suddenly very nervous.
"Uh, yes." He fumbled in his jacket pocket for his phone, his hands shaking.
"I saw something on your website and hoped you were carrying it in store." He showed a picture to the attendant of a beautiful, yet simple, band with beveled edges and a keyhole carved into it set with a small diamond on either side. The woman's face lit up.
"Ah! Yes, from our key to your heart line! A wonderful choice! We actually just discontinued that line so it's on sale right now! Did you have a particular size you were looking for?" She asked, leading Riku over to a case along the wall next to the registers. Riku sputtered slightly, what the hell was Sora's ring size.
"Um, a little smaller than mine, could we size me and see? It's for a friend. What's your resizing policy if it's not the right size?" He asked, blushing for some odd reason. Jeez, why was he suddenly so nervous? He'd been planning this for months!
"Of course! Here we go!" She pulled out a set of rings all labeled with numbers before continuing.
"And we have a very generous resizing policy. If the ring doesn't fit we can do a straight across exchange for the right size or if we don't have that size available anymore since it is a discontinued line it would be a $50 charge to size down and $75 to size up." She explained as Riku tried on a few different bands until he found the right size for himself. After guessing that Sora was about a size 8, he paid for his parcel. The woman was so cheerful Riku could tell she was certainly in this business because she genuinely loved love and the magic of new engagements. Riku was surprised at how much paperwork was involved in buying an engagement ring and put an insurance policy on it for safe measure.
"Thank you so much, and congratulations. I hope the special lady loves it." Riku smiled and didn't bother to correct her. She had tied to bag up with a lovely lavender bow and he wandered back out to his car in a haze. He had been planning this for months, but he was suddenly violently aware of how real it was. Tomorrow, if everything went according to plan, he would be engaged to the love of his life.
A strangled, nervous laugh escaped his throat. Pulling his phone out of his pocket he sent a quick text message to Kairi.
'Hey, I have a huge favor to ask.' He snapped a picture of the ring and sent it and the message. Within seconds Kairi was calling him.
"OH MY GOD IT'S HAPPENING!" She squealed with delight.
"Oh, it's happening, but I need your help." He smiled mischievously.