It was a quiet night. Since the world had fallen apart there were plenty of those; there were no clubs to go to, no movie theaters or concerts, no television to watch after the day's work even, so it was quiet. Alexandria did have power, so they could have watched television or movies that were on dvd if they wanted, and they could listen to cds or records when they chose to do so, but many nights were spent with other people instead of filling the time with wasted pursuits.
With all of the free time that he had acquired, Eric had begun reading all of the books that he had never gotten around to reading before. The person who had set up the houses for display had included libraries of classic novels set into the built-ins, probably to make the houses feel classy. Those had been supplemented by popular fiction he had found on early recruiting runs. There was one trip that had them almost clearing the stock from a small campus bookstore. Aaron did a lot of reading as well, but he didn't have the same time that Eric did for it.
When Aaron was home from a recruiting run he didn't want to waste their time together by reading. They didn't always have the most interesting conversations, though they did talk a lot and still had the most open communication that Eric had ever had in his life. Date nights were certainly different after the world fell apart, but they did manage to find ways to enjoy time spent together. Dancing was one of the things that they still did, even if it was usually in their living room, and their musical choices were limited to what they had been able to collect while out on runs.
There was something vaguely cheesy about listening to love songs from rock bands of the 1980's, while Aaron's head rested against his shoulder and they swayed together in front of the couch. He felt as though he had fallen into an alternative version of a John Hughes movie and he wasn't sure which one of them was supposed to be Molly Ringwald. He had the right hair color, but Aaron was following his lead as they danced. That thought put an interesting image into his head, and he had to smile.
"You're thinking about something interesting, I can tell." Aaron leaned back slightly to look at him. "You're breathing always changes when you get an idea you want to share."
Eric ran his hand up Aaron's back, lightly, "Nothing important. Just this music making me think of old movies." He frowned for a moment, "I guess all movies are old movies now. It's so strange to think that there are no new books being published, or movies being produced, no new television shows or albums of music being recorded. At least not for the masses like they used to be made."
"Maybe one day there will be all of that again." Aaron leaned in again, tightening their embrace as he kissed the corner of Eric's lips. "I was just thinking that the lyrics to this song, as old as it might be, are still valid. 'Nothing's gonna change my love for you.' I agree."
"That's sweet, and I agree also, but using lyrics is still a cheat on anniversary cards." He laughed when Aaron pouted.
"You're never going to let me forget that, are you? I was desperate and couldn't think of a better phrase. It was still from the heart."
"I know," he leaned in for another kiss, "I'll let it go, one day." Eric grinned and Aaron shook his head, "I will, I just think it's funny now. It's okay though, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to practice writing love letters when you're out on runs."
Aaron laughed too, "I'm sure. It might not be such a bad idea though." He leaned his head against Eric's shoulder as the next song started, "Maybe I'll find better things to write."