Sasha unlocked her front door and scooped up the post from the mat. She could hear her sisters singing along to Westlife in their room and a clatter from the kitchen that indicated that Toby was hard at work on her 'surprise' anniversary tea. Collecting the mail was not usually her job, she was the last person to get in of an evening and gathering up the letters from the doorway was supposed to be the job of whoever arrived home first, but Sasha decided to let it slide this one time and put them in their assigned place on the hall table to be read later. Tonight was supposed to be a special occasion and she wanted to be in a good mood for it.
Toby was making risotto, going by the delicious smell of butter, mushrooms and white wine, and a glance into the sitting room confirmed her suspicion that he had spent the last few hours cleaning the house with extreme thoroughness. They had officially been together for two years and Sasha had never expected to find a man so happy to follow her lead and who would never dream of standing in the way of her ambitions and career. Not to mention a man who worshipped her, loved her and treated her sisters as if they were his own. She certainly hadn't expected to find such a man working as a secretary in Shoreditch, but life could be strange and unexpected sometimes and she was really quite pleased about that.
She walked quietly up the stairs and past her sisters' room to the one that she shared with Toby and felt her heart melt when she saw the immaculate room and carefully made bed. There were rose petals scattered across the sheets and candles ready to be lit and Sasha felt her chest flutter because she had never entertained the thought that a person would want to do something so romantic for her.
She changed into a simple yet stylish dress, because if Toby was going to such effort then she wasn't about to let him down, and touched up her make-up before heading back toward the stairs but looked in on her sisters first. They had both come out of their shell in the last eighteen months and Sasha knew that their relationship as a family had improved dramatically since she had finished her degree and started at a small firm specialising in issues of equal rights in the workforce. She had Catherine Ashcroft to thank for that and one day she hoped to actually meet and thank the woman in person.
The girls were sitting on the floor between their beds sharing a pizza and belting 'You Raise Me Up!' and Sasha closed their door firmly so that she wouldn't have to listen to that song on repeat for the entire night.
Down in the dining room soft lounge music filtered gently through the stereo speakers and the only light was from the tall candles in the centre of the table. The flutter returned, only stronger, and Sasha turned on her heel and walked quickly back out into the front hallway to practice her breathing exercises before she started to lose her composure.
She did love Toby and in the last two years he had matured more than she would have thought possible. He always remembered to compliment her shoes and notice her accessories, and to keep the house tidy and make sure the girls finished their homework before the television went on. He tried very hard and he was a very good boyfriend but Sasha had a sudden, strange feeling that Toby was perhaps hinting at wanting something more. And Sasha needed a chance to analyse that before dealing with the emotions that Toby wore so openly that she often worried that the real world would one day crush his naivety entirely.
She picked up the day's post again, to give herself a distraction, and noticed that among the bills was a small, square envelope with a northern postmark. More than that, she noticed the flowing handwriting of Catherine Ashcroft which made her heart jolt in an entirely different way.
Sasha opened the envelope carefully and slid out the sand coloured card that was inside, holding her breath in anticipation of what she would read.
Dearest Sasha, Toby, Kayla and Alyssa
It is with great pleasure that Drs Catherine and Roger Ashcroft formally invite you to the joining of their son Mr Daniel Roger McFarlane Ashcroft to Mr T. Jones Pearce in Civil Partnership, to be held at the Hornsea Town Hall on January 1st, 2005 at 2 p.m.
Please join us for a simple ceremony followed by cocktails, music and good company. See the attached paper for a list of available accommodation in the area and please do not hesitate to contact us with any queries or additional requirements.
Yours in joy,
Catherine and Roger Ashcroft.
P.s. Daniel has requested no presents be given as he has - "More than enough sh*t to worry about without having to unwrap half a dozen unwanted toasters" which we have taken to mean that your attendance and support shall be gift enough.
Sasha let out a sniff, which was unexpected but probably warranted considering the love and sentiment that seemed to flow from the words on the simple card. They didn't see much of Dan and Jones and she hadn't heard anything to indicate an engagement before now but then again, considering how well they had hidden their relationship for the first half a dozen years, perhaps it wasn't so surprising. They were still very private people which was difficult considering Jones spent a good deal of time traveling between London and the continent as a guest DJ and was currently composing music for a French film that had been tipped as a stand out at next year's Cannes festival.
Dan was drawing his own share of the spot light with the publication of his first book, detailing the reality of living with mental illness and the social stigma attached to it. Sasha had read it in one sitting. She hadn't meant to but she had started it on a Sunday morning and hadn't been able to stop until she was done, which had been at around three o'clock the next morning, but she didn't regret it. Dan's writing was as acidic as ever in it's attack on society but was just as harsh in its obvious hatred for his own illness and weaknesses. It was painful to read through the thought processes which had led to some of Dan's more cringeworthy moments and heartbreaking to learn what it was like to live with and care for someone struggling with anxiety and insomnia, but it was enlightening as well and every event was punctuated with dry, dark humour that turned it from being just a piece of social commentary and into an addictive read. And number 19 on Waterstones bestsellers list for two solid months.
They were living more in the public eye than ever and it was no wonder that when they weren't busy with their work they disappeared back to the small house at Hornsea. It always made Claire tut when they did so, but Sasha knew that Claire would worry about her brother no matter what he did and his apparently antisocial behaviour was just a convenient channel for her concern.
When she did manage to convince Dan and Jones to come out to dinner Sasha and Harry spent a good part of the evening distracting Claire from her desire to make Dan engage 'properly' in conversation.
Sasha didn't believe there was anything to be concerned about because Dan had never been comfortable in social situations, but she also knew better than to try and convince Claire. As far as Sasha could see, Dan was actually coping better with the pressures of social interaction than he'd used to. The underlying anger at the world was gone, as was most of the paranoia, if the more relaxed slope of his shoulders was any indicator. Dan even tolerated Ned and Rufus's adoration in a way he'd never been able to before and whenever she saw him his hand was always linked tightly with Jones' and she felt certain that this required a great deal more self-confidence and energy than Claire gave her brother credit for.
And now he and Jones were getting married.
Sasha tapped the corner of the invitation against her lips as she mulled over the implications and possibilities of that statement but stopped and dropped the card to the table when Toby appeared in the doorway, his expression, as ever, a mix of apprehension and hope.
"Hi," he said, twisting a dish cloth absently in his hands. "Thought I heard you come in. You look amazing. I love those shoes, they match the bracelet I bought you for your birthday. And you're wearing it and all. Of course you are, you're, like, the goddess of style. Only more stylish... Dinner's ready. If you want to, you know, like... join me?"
Sasha walked forward and brought her hands up to Toby's cheeks, placing light, affectionate kisses to his lips before drawing him into a deeper, more passionate embrace. Toby kissed like he was caught between intense enthusiasm and fear that even when Sasha's tongue was in his mouth he had somehow misinterpreted her signals and was about to be told off. It was endearing and Sasha hugged him tight for as long as she dared before stepping back, sliding her hand into his, and allowing him to lead her into the dinning room which was now set for dinner. And on the table, sitting hopefully between Sasha's bowl of risotto and glass of wine, was a small, black, velvet covered ring box.
Sasha smiled and felt her heart flutter in her chest with such force that it was almost painful. Dan had written in his book about the struggle of coming to terms with being content and Sasha understood that feeling all too well but, as Toby squeezed her hand and led her to her chair, she made the decision not to struggle anymore. Contentment had found her and she was going to grab hold of it and never let it go.
"Babe! Oi Ned, come quick! The most wicked piece of snail mail just flew through your shoot!"
Ned hurried into the front room, grinning at Rufus and offering him a beer. Rufus gave him a kiss on the cheek in return and then handed over the letter that had made him so excited. Ned could see why he'd made a fuss. The letter was addressed to both of them for a start, which had never happened before, and their names were written in fancy cursive handwriting that was well posh.
Rufus pulled him over to sit on the sofa as he looked inside the envelope that Rufus had already opened and Ned felt himself get excited when he saw the invitation inside. He read through it, feeling the emotions start to bubble up from his stomach to his chest and throat like puke but, like, happy puke or something, and told himself that he really shouldn't cry because Rufus would totally take the piss if he did. He'd save his tears for the actual wedding because nobody would be able to tease him for crying at a wedding, right? And right now he was holding an invitation to the nuptials of Dan and DJ Jones.
"Can you believe it?" Rufus asked, pressed close to Ned's side, rereading the words along with him. "The Ashcroft Matriarch invited us to Dan's actual wedding."
"Yeah," Ned nodded. "But as, like, a couple."
Ned wasn't upset about this because, when it came down to it, he would love for people to assume he and Rufus were a totally loved up couple who wore, like, matching ties to dinner parties and shit, but Rufus probably wasn't as keen. They worked together, they did YouTube videos together, and they had a pretty big following on Facebook (and Ned had read all the stuff their fans had written about how they were a cute couple and totally had chemistry) but they didn't actually live together and their relationship was more like friends with benefits. Those benefits being epic snogging sessions and blow jobs that left them both breathless. Ned was a big fan of kissing, just generally, but he'd never imagined he would enjoy going down on a guy, or that he'd get off so much on watching another dude take his junk all the way down their throat. Finding out he was massively into cock, as long as it was Rufus's cock, was a bit of a mind blower but he was cool with it, and he hoped Rufus was cool with it too. They hadn't really discussed it much.
"That's... cool," Rufus said and Ned tried to act casual as he turned to face him, their bodies pressed pretty tightly to one another where the sofa had dipped and forced Rufus nearly into Ned's lap.
"Really! I mean," Ned stammered. "It's cool with me too if it's cool with you, and like, it's totally rad to be like, metro and defying the social stigmas attached to human sexuality by a narrow minded society, right?"
"What?" Rufus asked and Ned tried not to swoon too much at how adorable Rufus's confused face was.
"I, um, read it in a thing?" Ned suggested, kicking himself for being too eager and looking like a total nerd.
"Oh, right," Rufus nodded again, shuffling closer until their faces were so close Ned wasn't sure whether he was smelling his own beer breath or Rufus's. Not that he minded.
"Um..."
"Well I'm cool with that, what you said," Rufus told him, his eyes focused on Ned's lips in a really distracting way. "About being a couple and all. I reckon that'd be genius."
Rufus closed the gap between them, taking Ned's bottom lip between his two and sucking in the way that always made Ned's head spin and his cock jump to attention. He let his eyes slide shut and moaned into Rufus's mouth as he felt his best mate's hand creep up the inside of his shirt to tweak his nipple, pulling Rufus down on top of him and deepening the kiss until they were both panting and rutting against each other desperately.
Friends with benefits had been great, Ned thought, but boyfriends - having a boyfriend was fucking fantastic. And he never would have got here if it hadn't been for Dan. Dan was still, and always would be, the absolute king of cool.