"Ah, wait, were you not ready?" Ashe laughed, holding the phone camera up, his boyfriend with one hand on the IKEA cart's blue handle and the other on his phone.
"I was checking the list," said Dedue, holding up his phone. "Hello, Instagram. We have a list."
"Exciting stuff, I know," said Ashe, getting ahead of the cart and walking backwards, camera on Dedue. "Why're we going to IKEA, Dedue?"
"Because we're moving into our apartment this weekend so we need furniture." Dedue stopped in front of one of the large metal bins of plastic stacking tupperware, marked as on sale. He held up one of the green ones. "For leftovers?"
"Throw them in!" said Ashe.
"Didn't you post about moving in on Twitter already?" asked Dedue, pushing the cart through the first few showrooms. Ashe stopped in front of one of the kitchens, holding up one of the baskets and inspecting it, his phone camera focused on getting a good view of the fake kitchen.
"Yeah, but we didn't put it on our channel yet." He gave a panoramic view of the little facade of the living room. "Don't worry, everyone, our kitchen's going to be way nicer than my old one! No more videos with weird background lighting and ugly countertops! Oh, Dedue," he said, panning back to his boyfriend, "what do you think of this cutting board?" He held it out.
"I like the stain." He tilted his head. "Is it the right size for doing more chopping heavy recipes though? We might need a bigger one."
"A maybe on the cutting board," said Ashe, putting it back on the display. "We should come to IKEA on weekday mornings more often. It's empty in here," he said, shaking his head as they passed to the next show apartment. Dedue sat down on this apartment's couch, a convertible sofa with a navy blue canvas cover and some orange pillows.
"Is it comfy?" asked Ashe, who had been poking at the TV stand.
"Hm," said Dedue. "I think it's too deep or low. But I like the pillows."
refriedsteph commented: i have that couch! 3"Oh!" said Ashe. "Nice! I hope you like it! Dedue, one of our followers has that couch." Ashe sat down on it beside him. "Oh, yeah, it is really lower than I expected it to be. We're almost to the big couch area, though!"
"We were on the fence about the convertible sofas," said Dedue, "but now I don't think it's a good idea. They're not as comfortable, and more expensive."
"I mean, that's true," said Ashe, pondersome, "but what about when we have guests?"
"It's a two bedroom apartment, we can set up a guest futon in the studio," suggested Dedue.
"Ooh," said Ashe. "That's a good idea. I keep forgetting the studio."
m1ntheart commented: futon time futon time futon time .a commented: my fiance and i did that w our guest room study too lol"What about the kitchen in this one?" Ashe stood up and walked through it, and Dedue stopped from a distance, surveying it.
"I like the apron sink." Dedue crossed his arms while Ashe opened the cabinets. "The organizers in the overhead look nice."
"Will they have enough room for everything, though?" Ashe was standing on his tiptoes and holding up the camera. "I don't know if the dividers would fit."
"We can come back next week," said Dedue. "I'll put it on the maybe list."
"Good idea. Oh, I'm grabbing the French press." He put it in the cart.
commented: the iconic ikea french pressThey continued through towards the ocean of sofas, the most intense of their destinations for the day.
"Alright," said Ashe, switching the camera to portrait mode, his silver hair bright in the fluorescent store lights, "so me and Dedue have been talking about the Couch for, like, a few weeks. He's really, really picky. So we're going to be testing all the couches. I want one that's comfortable, I don't really care if it's stylish or not! But Dedue wants things to match too. So," he said, "when Dedue gives the couch two thumbs up, it's the one. We're gonna be getting it delivered on Sunday or Monday, hopefully, if we can find one we agree on."
skye_lite commented: i can't believe we're going to watch them break up on instagram live. RipAshe laughed. "I hope not, Skye!"
"Hm?" said Dedue, looking over at Ashe's phone from the cart. He snorted a laugh. "Ashe, I'm not that picky."
"Well, good, because," he said, switching his camera back to the forward-facing camera, "we're here! Couch time!" Ashe sat down on the closest one, a cherry red classic style couch. "Dedue. What do you think?"
"I thought we were going for gray and blue and green." Dedue raised an eyebrow. "I don't mind the shape, though." He sat down. "No, this isn't comfortable. I'm sinking."
"It's squishy!" said Ashe, standing and offering Dedue a hand up.
"No, it's quicksand disguised as a couch."
haearandrabbit commented: The soft v. hard couch debate. I'm with dedue! Hard sofas all the way! Good luck!"Ahhh," said Ashe, pointing to one of the other ones. "Dedue, do you like that one?" It was white, and panelled, and it had precious little of the deceptive squish to it. Ashe sat down and immediately decided he hated it.
"Not much," said Dedue, shaking his head. "It's...not comfortable. At all." He smiled, and glanced at Ashe, who was still holding the camera towards Dedue. "Maybe Felix would like it."
"Pft, oh my god," said Ashe. "Felix, if you're watching this stream, this is the….Delaktig? I'm pronouncing that wrong."
commented: ALKSJFAL;KJSF OH MY GODDDDThey tried six more sofas. Ashe even sat on a velvet one, just to humor Dedue, who "didn't mind" the look of them- but both of them found that they hated the velvet, Dedue didn't like the puffy, soft couches Ashe favored, and Ashe wasn't fond of Dedue's more modern, stylistic sensibilities, which he did not want to sit in to play games on the couch and edit videos. This seemed like an impassable monument of an obstacle between the two of them in the venture- until, that was, they saw the Soderhamn.
"Do you like that one?" Ashe pointed to the teal couch, sensible and square and modern- but not completely bereft of cushioning. He sat down on it. "Dedue."
Dedue sat down on the sofa. It was low and deep, but it wasn't overly soft. There was spring to it, and the shape would fit the modern look that he was attempting to cohesively assemble as well as he could in an IKEA with his boyfriend. He glanced at Ashe, ignoring the camera, and pulled out his own phone, checking off the sofa from the list.
"How many thumbs up?" asked Ashe, a grin on his face. Dedue set down his phone and held up two thumbs.
"As long as we get the teal," said Dedue. "I'll get the picture of the tags."
commented: YESSSSS i love it! cant wait to come over!"Annette commented!" Ashe held his phone out and switched to the front facing camera, with both him and Dedue on the screen. "As soon as everything's unpacked we're throwing a housewarming party, Annette, and you're first on our list of invites. What else are we getting, Dedue?"
"A dining room table and chairs, some kitchen organization stuff, our entire bedroom-"
m1nthead commented: OOOO bothedoe commented: nice coriiiiiii.i commented: you guys really are moving in together huh"And we have to get rugs," said Ashe. "Oh, and lamps and bookshelves. I was honestly just thinking we didn't need armchairs and I could just bring my beanbag chairs from college, but I think we'll leave those in the studio. Thankfully, I think we're going to have an easy enough time with chairs."
"Because we don't actually sit in the chairs much." Dedue glanced over to Ashe.
"Right! So really it's more about them looking alright. Oh!" Ashe got ahead of Dedue, a shaky camera on the armchairs ahead of them. "It's the...Havsten. Dedue! It's on sale!" Ashe sat down. "It's nice!"
"I like it," said Dedue. "The white?"
"Yeah," said Ashe, and Dedue took a picture of the tag. "I think it'll brighten it up in there. Ohhh," he said, walking into one of the showroom apartments. "Look at the way they did the hallway."
"Our entryway isn't like that," said Dedue, looking at the bookshelf. "But I like the shelves and the console for the TV." They were a bright, crisp white.
"Closed shelves? You can't see anything," said Ashe hesitantly.
"It's where we can put the Wii."
If the camera couldn't capture Ashe's smile from the other side of the phone, it could certainly capture the noise he made.
commented: DEDUUUUUUUUUUUE OH MY GODDDD mercie_meohmy commented: i can't wait for the next mariokart night with you guys! hhhhhhhharrison commented: no shame in owning a wii, play radiant dawn"You're always invited, Mercedes! Also, Dedue, do we have Radiant Dawn at your place?"
"I have it on the eShop," he said with a shrug.
hhhhhhhharrison commented: LIVESTREAM LIVESTREAM LIVESTREAM"Sorry, sorry, no livestream!" Ashe laughed.
"We have a cooking channel," said Dedue, only slightly bemused, "not a Twitch."
"Also, both of us take a million years to play games. I think we'd bore you to death!" said Ashe. "Oh, I'll grab that tag. Wait." He froze, holding the paper tag for the Beste in his hand. "Dedue, you've got to look at the kitchen. They have a recipe board. That would be perfect."
"It would," said Dedue, squinting at it. "They're using magnets..I think I saw that in one of the bins. I'll go get it. Watch the cart."
"Yeah, I'll be here!" Ashe sat down on the couch, streaming a slow pan of the little apartment. "Well, everyone, we've been in the IKEA for an hour. Dedue and I basically have our living room together, which is going to be a mess to put together, since neither of us really have much furniture because...well, college and your early twenties will do that to you and between starting our channel and moving in together, we haven't had much in the way of time. I don't think I've ever built a couch before! But I'm excited to try, right?"
commented: if you need help you can always call me and lys! sammie.j4de commented: there's a lot of online tutorials for IKEA stuff i fall down that youtube hole all the time wafflehouser0mance commented: please livestream you putting together ikea. I have to see this"I might take you up on that, Annette! But I think it'll take too long to stream. Besides, it would be pretty boring, right? I really can't wait to shoot videos in the new kitchen, though! Moving has messed with our release schedule a little, but I've been editing our video for Friday, so that should be out on time. Who knows? Maybe we'll have apartment pictures up by then!"
"Hm?" Dedue walked up behind him, holding the kit for the Sodergarn board. "I found it."
"Nice!" Ashe enthused. "I was just talking about the channel."
"Oh," said Dedue. "Next week's video is going to be-"
"Shhh," said Ashe. "Leave some surprises!"
cimmanonstik commented: OH? CONTINUE!"Alright. Next, what's on the list?" Ashe turned the camera around to face the both of them standing in front of the cart.
"We have to buy a bed, a dresser, and nightstands." Dedue put his phone in his pocket and slumped over the cart. "The french press is growing on me."
"Oh man," said Ashe, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I have no idea what I wanted for the bedroom. I was honestly just fine with grabbing whatever popped out to me first and then a blue bedspread, but I think you have a more...put together mental picture, right?"
"Somewhat," shrugged Dedue. "Blue is a good start."
"Alright! Onward!" They pushed through the storage space, which their apartment didn't have much in the way of, and neither of them had much use for, to the bedding, trying to mince what they wanted. Ashe agreed to blue and green and white, and Dedue was trying to decide whether they wanted more modern blinds, or curtains, while Ashe was just happy they were getting a real dresser instead of him keeping his things in plastic tote drawers, which the commenters thought was very funny.
"I mostly wear T-shirts," admitted Ashe, "so it doesn't really matter much if they're a little wrinkly outside of work!"
"At least you fold things," said Dedue. "You would not believe my college roommate."
"I remember," said Ashe with a laugh. "I visited once, and then never again, because he didn't ever clean."
"Ah," said Dedue. "Oh, I recall now. College seems like it was a long time ago," said Dedue, shaking his head.
"Well," shrugged Ashe, "it pretty much- oh! Look at that bedspread!" He zoomed the camera in and out on it. "I love it. Dedue. I love it."
"You know, I like it too." Dedue grabbed it out of the bin and put it in the cart. "It's very...nautical. Alp...draba?"
"Alpdraba," said Ashe. "Who names these, anyways?"
"It's Swedish," said Dedue.
"I wonder if it makes more sense in Swedish then," said Ashe.
"The headboard goes with it really well." Dedue stopped the cart, and Ashe turned around to face him, camera on his boyfriend. "Ashe, I think it's exactly what I've been picturing. But what do you think?"
"Do you love it?" asked Ashe. Dedue held two thumbs up. "Then I'm grabbing the tag." He held it to the camera. "Wait, it's a Delaktig? Like that couch? Weird how things work out." He held up the tag. "And it didn't even take half as long as we thought this part would!"
redmini commented: Congrats on the apartment!"We still have to pick a mattress and nightstands and a dresser-"
"Yeah, but we got the bed out of the way, mostly! Look on the bright side!" Ashe said, pushing the cart towards the mattresses. "How are we going to pick?" He turned the camera around to pan around the IKEA mattress section- and Dedue flopped backwards onto one of the mattresses, prompting a loud laugh from Ashe.
"Dedue!" laughed Ashe.
"I'm testing them." Dedue stood back up and flopped backwards into the next mattress. "This one is firmer. Ashe, try it."
Ashe turned around the camera to front facing, and flopped down alongside Dedue, the sunlight on both of them. "This one's alright, actually. But, I think after all this walking around, I would think anything's comfortable!"
"We should stop for coffee after this." Dedue stretched his arm, and Ashe nodded.
"That sounds like a good idea," said Ashe. "I'll cut the stream for that, okay?"
"Probably a good idea," said Dedue. "I like this mattress."
"Me too," agreed Ashe. "Grabbing the tag," he said, sitting upright and turning the camera around. "After this I think all there is before we get coffee is the kid's section. And we're definitely not looking there," Ashe joked, though they'd had that conversation behind closed doors. "I'm going to save my battery and cut it off here, guys. It's been a great time! Dedue," said Ashe, waving at the camera, "any last words?"
"Thank you all," said Dedue with a smile. "Don't forget that Friday we're going to be posting a new video. It's the last one filmed in my apartment. It's a little bittersweet."
"Dedue, no hints," said Ashe, nudging him.
"Ah," said Dedue, winking at the camera, to which Ashe contained a laugh. "Well, I guess that's all I have to say then."
"Alright. Hope you all liked it!" Ashe stopped the stream, and chucked his phone into his hoodie pocket. "I'm glad that one's over."
"Why did you stream it if you weren't enjoying yourself?" asked Dedue.
"I do," said Ashe. "I like streaming, I mean, it's how I got into cooking videos! But...sometimes I guess I get ahead of myself. It's easy to be outgoing when you're just talking to your phone! But I think that reminded me a little of how reserved I can be." He shrugged and pushed the cart as they entered the technicolor-bright kids and nursery section. He would be lying if he said it wasn't on his mind that one day, he and Dedue might adopt- but it was distant in the future, not something for today's thoughts.
"You could take a break if you wanted to," said Dedue. "I'm sure they would understand."
"Yeah! I know," agreed Ashe, the cafe now in sight. "I've thought about it, just going back to regular video posting and putting the instagram on hold. But maybe I'll think about it next week. That's how long I've got posts scheduled, at least. I'll grab coffee and some almond cake, on me, okay?" He laid a hand on Dedue's shoulder, and Dedue bent down slightly for Ashe to kiss his cheek.
"I'll find us a seat," agreed Dedue.
There was one open beside the wide windows that looked over Highway 494. He was having an easy time processing and accepting that, in two days, he and Ashe would live in the same place. They'd worked it out financially, and both of them were relatively stable. Dedue had recently been brought onboard with an education position with the St. Paul municipal park services (his degree in environmental anthropology was a serious help in that department), and Ashe, who had a degree in chemistry and minored in biology, was, when he wasn't working on videos, had picked up a job as a pharmacist. The both of them had been together since Dedue's senior year of college, and Ashe graduated a year later- but that was four years ago now, and they were only now living together. Dedue didn't mind. He liked to be patient. He would wait, he enjoy the moment while he had it, and if things worked when they worked, then that was the way it was.
Even so, four years was a long time to be partners, and he was genuinely wondering when they'd move to the next step in their relationship. He'd overheard Ashe on the phone with Annette once talking about thoughts on the matter- he'd pretended he hadn't, but he knew Ashe was thinking about proposing. But the entire business of having a channel together had made him hesitant to say a thing. He liked the fun things. He liked joking around at IKEA with his boyfriend, and he liked making videos where he talked about slicing vegetables and using sourdough starter and fresh herbs properly. However, the notion of their more personal business being made into a spectacle on the internet for viewers instead of something personal made him- uneasy. That was the word. Perhaps they would be able to silently pull it off, and he was sure that would be Ashe's preference too. But the fear that it would become public, through some post on each of their personal, private pages or through their friends, still lived in him. Nonetheless, that wasn't a good reason to-
"I'm back," said Ashe, setting down the coffee cups and plate of almond cake on the table. "The first bite's yours."
"Thank you," said Dedue, taking the tiny piece at the tip, leaving frosting for Ashe, but making sure he got a few almonds. It was...frozen cake. Dense, moist, but the flavor was fine. They could probably bake better- but part of the fun of this was that they didn't need to do the baking.
Ashe took a bite of his own, and glanced out the window thoughtfully.
"What are you thinking about?" asked Dedue, who knew that expression well.
"Oh! Well, next is the kitchen and garden stuff, and I was just thinking about what we might want to do with the balcony. I know I said an herb garden, but you know how to do container garden stuff, and maybe fresh tomatoes and things would be nice. What do you think?"
"I think perhaps we shouldn't get in over our heads, since it's still early spring. It might be too cold still for most of these plants." A stray silver hair floated out of Dedue's ponytail and he pushed it behind his ear.
"That's true, but we can keep them inside for a while." Ashe took another bite of cake. "Is something on your mind other than houseware stuff?"
Dedue paused, considering how to phrase things for a moment. How could he make what he wanted to know come across effectively? It wasn't that he doubted Ashe, or himself, but there was still doubt.
"Ashe…" He paused, as Ashe looked at him with those wide mint eyes, patiently waiting for him to finish the thought. "You do want us to live together, don't you?" Implicitly, he hoped it came across that it wasn't just because it was easier for them to produce together or that it was financially safer to live together- that Ashe, even though he'd stayed over at Dedue's apartment and vice versa countless times, actually wanted to live with him.
"Of course!" said Ashe, tilting his head. "I mean, we came to this decision together, and we've both had months to think about it. If you're asking if I love you-" Ashe paused. "I do. Absolutely. Of course I want to live with you, Dedue."
"You're sure?" Dedue raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"One hundred percent. I was even thinking about us getting a cat. I mean, that's assuming you want a cat-"
"A cat?" Dedue nodded, eating the last bite of cake. "Absolutely. I told you we had a cat when I was a kid, didn't I?"
"No!" Ashe laughed, then took a sip of coffee. "I didn't know!"
"We did. My sister tried to teach her to walk like a dog." Dedue snorted, and Ashe beamed.
"We could get a cat. A rescue, maybe. But we'll have to look at cat beds and things now too...We should probably get moving again." He downed the last of his coffee.
"Then let's get to it. I'll get the cups," said Dedue, picking up the tray as Ashe grabbed the cart.
"Watch out, gardening and kitchenware department!" said Ashe with a grin.
"Dedue?" Ashe called from the front of their new apartment. They'd spent two days sitting in folding chairs after moving in, and today, their furniture was supposed to be delivered. Dedue was just getting dressed after a shower- apparently the delivery service was running ahead of schedule. He put on his sweater and, with an elastic around his wrist, opened the bathroom door.
"Hm?" he asked, still focused primarily on his hair. He turned around, and nearly dropped his elastic. The two delivery men had left almost their entire living room covered in flatpacked IKEA boxes, and were still coming.
"I think we might've gotten a little carried away."