"End to the long days"

Tap. Tap tap. Tap. Nekane tapped his finger on the glass of the small fishbowl to his pet, Larry- the betta living in a massive aquarium he kept in his room- the equivalent of an absolute mansion for this tiny fish. Larry was his only real company most of the time so Nekane spoiled the little thing, even if it seemed entirely indifferent to his existence. He was waiting anxiously for Aster to get off work, helping his family at the lab. He knew it wasn't his favorite and he'd had an extra long day so he'd gone out of his way to make plans for him. They were going to go out to see a movie or something- something he'd seen a few times already since it was a good excuse to get out of the house, but he had plans tonight. Other plans- surprise plans. 

Tap. Tap. BZZZ

The sound of a buzzer penetrated his thoughts as his boyfriend rang his call-it-what-you-want doorbell. He walked over, answering it with a smile he looked down at him- had to, the guy was a good two foot shorter than him. "Evening, Aster." he said. Already his short partner was re-evaluating all of his plans because the first of the surprises, was that Nekane wasn't wearing a suit. He ALWAYS wore suits. "Feeling uh... casual?" he asked him quizzically as he raised a brow to his partners odd choice of attire. A tanktop and casual sweatpants. Not odd by most people's standards, but hell of a weird choice for him. "Yeah... I changed my mind about the movie, We can go another time. I'd rather stay in tonight." he walked away, motioning for Aster to follow. That was peculiar too. Nekane liked going out- he found exploring the town highly entertaining- or at least wandering the deserted casino in the dead of night, though it was packed right now there was enough distance they heard nothing of the noise a good dozen floors below them. 

"..Alright" was all Aster could manage, closing the door behind him as he walked in it clicked shut and he walked after his partner, dropping his lab coat over one of the chairs. "You feeling ok?" he tried a half-joke as Nekane walked to the kitchen. He had the feeling he was up to something but blast if he knew what. "I'm feeling fine." Nekane laughed at his worry "You being paranoid now?" there was a loving tease in his thick english accent, many hassled Nekane for being careful and cautious and he liked to return the favor in poking fun at others. 

Aster just scoffed a little as he followed him to the simple but neat kitchen area, where Nekane was standing with a bowl of salad, plates laid out behind him "I made dinner" he smiled, proud of himself. He was perfectly capable of cooking, but he usually didn't bother. He ate out at restaurants or had the chefs downstairs do most of his cooking for him 

Aster stared, momentarily frozen in place. "You. You made dinner?" he asked, tilting his head as he walked over, standing on the tips of his toes to check his boyfriend's forehead "You ok? Did you hit your head. Whats up?" he was probably joking. Nekane waved his hand away "No, no, nothing like that." he rolled his eyes in dismay. "I know you had a long day, I... Well." he rubbed the back of his head with one hand. "I'm not exactly a housewife but lots of people say home cooked meals are the best, right?" he flushed a bit, embarrassed at having to explain his gesture. 

Aster just smiled "Oh they are- but its just weird. Got me thinking I've entered a portal to another dimension in that lab or something..coming here to you dressed like a normal person- and with food to boot." He couldn't help but find it pretty funny. "I thought a nice night in would just be good after you worked so long..." Nekane responded. "A nice dinner... movies on the couch.." he trailed off.

"Ok that does sound nice." Aster admitted as he moved to study the food Nekane had made- just curious what he'd opted for. He helped him to bring the plates to the table. 

Their dinner went by without too much incident, they laughed about their days, Nekane shared stories of the people who got kicked out of the casino, Aster explained some complex chemical formula that blew up in his face. Nekane hadn't the foggiest what he was talking about but he smiled and nodded anyway. After their dessert, they moved to the couch to watch a movie instead Some cheesy comedy movie that was already on TV. It was easy enough for them to get comfy, Nekane laid back on the couch and Aster laid on his chest, being so small his weight hardly bothered him. 

"You know, I kinda like these nice quiet nights in." Aster commented, as the movie got started and once they were comfy cuddled up on the couch. "I could get used to them." Nekane smiled as he used his hands- having wiggled them free for a moment, to tie his long messy hair into a sloppy bun- just to keep it out of the way. Once it was situated he wrapped his arms over his partner's back again. "Do you?" he asked. Aster answered with a dreary nod. His long day was catching up with him.

"Well, what do you sayyy if we have... one good night in every week. Just us, casual clothes, and some regular ordered pizza-" Nekane offered, playfully fiddling with a few strands of Aster's hair. "What, not up for the cooking game again?" the other male responded. Nekane smiled at that "No... I only know how to cook a few things and I promise you will get tired of my cooking." he answered.

"I won't, I won't!" "Ok-Sometimes I'll cook." Nekane conceded to the pout starting to form on his boyfriend's face. He leaned up a bit to kiss his forehead lightly, just a light brush of contact, but it wiped the pout right off his face. "I'd like that..." Aster muttered. Nekane could only manage a smile in return "Ok. We'll do that then" he affirmed.

It wasn't long before his partner had entirely fallen asleep on his chest. He wouldn't say he was surprised- really he didn't mind. He must have been exhausted.