All Is Well At the Supermarket - Cal and Alson

Here's my boys again. I don't know where the ideas come from... just random inklings. This ones cute. Cal is such a softy now. I'm having a hard time keeping him the a*****e.

My forearms hung heavily over the hard plastic rail of the shopping cart. Bleak white floors shone back at me. Aisles upon aisles tried to sell me their products. I sighed heavily, ignoring the ache in my feet. I'd been up all day. ALL DAY. On my feet, preparing a gallery installation in town. I was tired. I was cranky...

Well I suppose I'm always cranky, but especially today. It had been a busy week, what it with the installation and Alson and I moving into our own apartment. Yep. We were all growed up, having just enough money to get our own place. I had been living with him for three and a half years now, and figured getting an apartment wouldn't be such a bad idea. It was a cheap, cheap place but nice enough to decorate to feel like home.

But what does this all have to do with me being at the grocery store? Alson wanted me to come and get food with him. For us. He said, quote, “This is one of the most significant moments in our relationship and you want to sit on the couch and watch Dr. G?” His expression had been one of incredulity and disappointment.

He just didn't understand the appeal of real autopsy photos and unexplained illnesses that made people die mysteriously within minutes. But who was I to judge?

It wasn't that I didn't want to spend the evening with him. I did. I just wanted it to be comfy on the couch, watching television and eating the last of the ramen we had. But noooo.

It was lucky for Alsie that I was too tired to protest very much when he wanted me to come out. A snap of a kiss on my cheek woke me from my stupor.

“Almost done.” Alson said cheerily, adjusting his condom hat. I wasn't sure what the proper term for those hats were, but that's what they looked like and Alson had about six of them. They were the hats the guys with mounds of dreads have to keep their mess in, just without the dreads in Alson's case. They looked cute on him. He reached out and grabbed a bag of rice. “Shrimp! I want shrimp and then we can go!” He bounced off and I followed slowly with the cart. I kept forgetting to ask where his boundless amounts of energy come from. Sometimes I thought he was on speed. Seriously.

Paying for the groceries, driving home, and unloading them was all kind of a blur. Too bad I was barely going to remember one of the most important moments in out relationship. I flopped down on the couch, on my stomach, taking up the whole thing.

“Cali move overrr. I'm tired.” Alson nudged me in the stomach, a pathetic endeavor to move me over.

“You're tired?” I narrowed my eyes, then rolled on my back so he could feel the full force of my gaze. “I am tired. I've been on my feet all day.”

“Oh yeah, the installation...” he said quietly. I could tell he felt a little bad, so I squeezed the crook of his arm for the breifest moment. One of our quirks, a signal only Alson and I knew about. It's okay. He rose up, lifted my feet, and dropped them in his lap.

“You don't have to...” I started, and Alson began massaging my feet. It felt so good I couldn't be bothered to stop him. We were quiet for a while. No tv, no radio, no cell phones going off. Just the quiet shuffle of fabric whenever Alson adjusted, getting a different angle.

It was a new sensation, relaxing like this in our own place and not the dorms. It had always been school rules and regulations. No noise after ten pm, no rearranging furniture, etc,. But now, we had more freedom than we had ever had in our lives. It felt right. Peaceful. And I was getting way to emotional about all this. I get that way when I'm drowsy. Not to mention the whole Alson turning me into a softy thing. I used to be such an a*****e. Kind of missed it, really.

“I love you, Calitan.” Alson said quietly, still concentrating on the foot massage. Maybe I didn't miss it that much...

“I love you too, Alson.”

I propped myself up on my elbows in time to see the smile play across Alson's lips. His hat was gone now, and he had kind of a tired look in his eyes. My boy was sleepy. Finally.

“The speed wearing off?” I asked, leaning forward to take him into my arms. I pulled Alson down with me so we were both laying on the couch.

“Yeah, your prozac wearing off? Having a mood swing, Cuddles?” He grinned his most adorable grin and adjusted to get more comfortable.

Cuddles was my most recent, most ironic nickname. Alson came up with a new one every couple of months. After the fair he kept calling me Unicorn for god knows how long, and before that it was Sunshine. Ugh.

“I better go pop another one.” I joked, wrapping my arm around his waist. Okay. I had my moments of being lovey. But I can never remember later what's going through my mind at moments like these...

Oh yeah. The smell of Alson's honey-spice shampoo. That usually did the job.

I closed my eyes, the days frustrations and aches and fatigues kind of fading away for a little bit. A hand pushed my hair back, out of my face. And again, this time with fingernails gently scraping my scalp. Oh it felt so good...

I think I fell asleep, because when my eyes reopened Alson was walking around in his boxers and a loose t-shirt.

“Hey I was just about to wake you up. Ready for bed?”

“Mmphmff.” I replied, sitting up, rubbing my neck. Sleeping on the couch, even if just for a little bit, sucked.

I went through the motions, brushing my teeth, changing into comfortable clothes. My cuddly mood was gone, though. All I could think about was sleeping. Long, dark, warm sleep.

And sleep I did, of course, with Alson's arm around my waist and his hand in mine. I slept good.  

Reviews

[Rocki-san]

awwwwww :3 I especially like the "Cuddles" nickname