As days passed, there came a time when Alastair was woken up by a pillow to the face.
"What the hell!" cried out Alastair as he flew upward and swatted the pillow away. "James, what the hell are you playing at?!"
"You needed to wake up," James said simply with a grin.
"Really? A simple word or a small shake of the body couldn't do?" growled out Alastair.
"Naw, had to get you up quickly. It's a special day after all," James said with a grin as he wrapped his arms around Alastair's body. "A really special day."
"I'm afraid."
"Don't be," James said playfully. "It's our tenth anniversary."
Alastair frowned, thoughtful for a moment before muttering, "Now I feel bad because I honestly can't remember the day we first got together."
Expecting maybe a bit of disappointment, Alastair was surprised when the other laughed and jumped up, replying, "Neither do I! I just know this is the right month and time of month so that's good enough. We've never been together around this time until now so I figured, from now on, we could make this our official anniversary day."
"Cheesy, but why not. Something tells me you've had this planned for a while," Alastair said with a roll of his eyes.
"Of course! So, first thing's first, breakfast."
"Of course," Alastair repeated with a sigh as he got out of bed and followed the practically skipping man to the kitchen.
As he did so, a part of him just couldn't believe it had been ten years. The fact that he had known James for longer than that was even more astounding. And then in a way it was not. It also felt like the opposite, that ten years was to short and that he'd known James all his life. Both trains of thought were odd yet comforting in their own right and the fact that they had both been able to be together for ten years, especially with their occupation brought to light, it certainly was something to celebrate.
Suddenly the idea of being able to just do whatever with James for an entire day seemed like the perfect plan and Alastair quickly decided to stick with the laid back sleepwear unless James dragged him somewhere out today.
"So," Alastair said as he walked into the kitchen where James was already running around, "ten years huh? Did you ever think we'd last this long?"
"I didn't think we'd ever get together for the longest time," James replied.
"You do realize it only took two years for us to actually push forward and get together, right?"
"Seriously? Then those two years felt like goddamn decades," responded James as he started up the stove and the oven. "I'm just glad we it sooner rather than later."
Nodding, Alastair said, "Now that I can definitely agree with but, before you continue cooking, please explain to me exactly how many people you're cooking for."
"Just us silly."
"Well it looks like you're going to feed a small army," replied Alastair with a small snort.
"But this way we have leftovers for tonight."
"Something happening tonight?"
"Sort of. If you really want me to tell you what I've got planned, I will, but I'd honestly like to keep it a secret if you don't mind."
"I don't for the moment though hopefully by tonight I'm not regretting that decision," Alastair said with a laugh. "Now, do you want help with that or can I just sit back and watch."
"Don't you dare! Get your lazy ass over here or all sick 'Sut on you!"
Alastair glanced over to the cat who had slinked in without his notice. It just took one look before he quickly replied, "Understood. I am most certainly helping you out."
James laughed as he watched Alastair hurry over and start grabbing things as 'Sut followed him and moved in between his legs, nearly tripping him.
"I thought you said you wouldn't sick her on me!"
"I don't tell her what to do. Besides, she was just loving on you."
"Yeah, and hoping I'd fall to my death."
"I swear Alastair, one of these days you're going to really connect with 'Sut and then you'll never want her to leave."
"Don't hold your breath," muttered Alastair.
They continued to make breakfast, definitely making way to much for just one meal, and ate while basically being the laziest they had been in…well forever.
Since James had been living with Alastair, the place had really begun to look lived in and not like something out of an interior design magazine. Books, CDs, movies, pictures, and mementos lay about the place, some in an orderly spot while others had been dropped in some place, waiting for someone to notice and put it up.
In the living room, the furniture had finally been properly broken in, no longer pristine and perfect. Creases had been left here and there and there were marks on the floor where items had been dragged around and rearranged.
Perhaps to someone else, the change to the place would have irritated them, and though it didn't irritate, for a while, Alastair had been unsure of it. He'd never been privy to such a welcoming environment, something that could be specifically categorized as his and James' space. Now he was overjoyed with it and it gave him a reason to leave work when able to, instead of working over time.
Even the parts that ruined a surface or scratched off paint had become important as it held it's own story.
Now they lay out on the couch, marathoning the Harry Potter movies, something that had become a great love of both of them. The sixth one was coming out soon and James was adamant about seeing it only after refreshing their memories on the rest. When that was done, they skipped eating and went straight to the original productions of the Narnia Series. For Alastair it was a bit to cheesy and childish but they certainly did have a special charm that he hadn't found to any other series.
By the time they were done with all of those, it was much to late to go anywhere and Alastair assumed that meant James had thrown away whatever plans he had had. However, as the credits started to roll, he pulled Alastair up and said, "Alright, we're going to leave in a bit. Make sure you dress for outside."
"Okay," Alastair muttered, confused but deciding to go along with it.
After getting dressed, James took the driver's side of Alastair's car and began to drive, still without giving away what was going on. Alastair tried to figure out where they were going by what roads they took but all he could make clear was that they were heading outside of the city.
Alastair was even more confused when they went off the main roads.
"I know you said you wanted it to be a surprise but where exactly are we going?" asked Alastair.
"What? Afraid I'm going to murder you and bury you in the woods?" James said with a cheeky grin.
"We both know I'd beat you in a fight and therefore, would be unable to murder me. But honestly, where are we headed?"
"Just hold on a bit longer. We're almost there."
Despite the burning curiosity, Alastair remained silent for the rest of the time until finally they passed what looked like an empty farm land. Surprisingly, James stopped.
"Where are we?"
"A farm…well it use to be a farm. The guy who lived here passed away and didn't have anyone to pass everything on to. It's owned by the government for the moment, waiting for someone to buy it."
Alastair followed James as the other got out of the car and hopped the fence as well. Still confused, he asked, "But how did you even find this place? And why are we here?"
"I just looked basically. Needed somewhere we could properly see. And as cheesy as it may sound, we're here because of this," James replied.
Lightning fast, he grabbed Alastair and pulled him to the ground with a rather loud thud. Letting out a light groan, Alastair muttered, "We did come here so you could murder me and bury me in some woods."
"No you ass, we came for this," James replied and pointed upwards.
Alastair followed his line of sight and finally realized what he was talking about. Thanks to the lack of light pollution and the few clouds, Alastair noticed the stars. He knew he'd been in areas where they were much more visible but he'd never actually had the chance to just stare.
Silence washed over the two men as Alastair simply traced some of the constellations he knew, the milky way, and any other knowledge he had. However, James eventually spoke up and whispered, "I hope this is alright."
"Why are we whispering?"
"I don't know. Feels like we're breaking up the flow of things if we talk to loudly."
"I suppose I understand that."
"Yeah, so is it alright?" whispered James.
"Of course it is. It's wonderful," Alastair replied back, in the same hushed tones.
"Good, I wanted to do something special but couldn't think of any place you'd like to go."
"Anywhere is fine as long as you're there. Though compared to a museum or some store or exhibit, this is much more enjoyable."
"I'm glad I got it right then," James said with a smile as he turned and kissed Alastair before looking back up at the sky. Once more they lapsed into silence until James then added, "See that star right there? I don't care if it has a name. I'm naming it after you."
A small smile formed on Alastair's lips. "James?"
"Yeah Alastair?"
"That's a planet."
"Fuck. Guess the mood of romance is broken," James replied with a laugh that was most certainly upsetting the flowing sounds of nature.
"I think it's still pretty romantic. Either way, I always thought Mars was a crap name. Alastair is much better."
James laughed again. "So you can tell the difference between planets and stars? Didn't know you were an astronomer."
"I'm not," Alastair replied with a small chuckle. "I just know some things. Want me to teach you?"
"Why not," James said with a grin, moving in closer as he listened to Alastair describe the celestial bodies over them.
AN: So Tuesday I go back to school so expect longer time between chapters. Nevertheless, I hope this chapter satisfies you until the next one. Also, this took place in 2009 for those wondering so we've got six more years to go!