Akaren and Mika's Apartment

[Gia Trakana]

Akaren Adnarim and Mikalis "Mika" Valeris live in a decent apartment buidling in a decent part of town. There is nothing special about their building or the area. There are some business near, but the area is largely residential, as it is cheaper than living closer to the business section of town. They live on the second floor, three apartments down from the stairwell, on the right hand side.

Once you walk in, you come to the living area. The living room is right there, which has a very open concept to the kitchen and dining room. The floors are a nice hardwood, but nothing too expensive. There is a large couch in the middle of the living room, which faces the door. In front of it is a rich, wooden table. On the left side of the couch is an end table which has a lamp on it. There are also a few couches, angled around so that all are able to see each other. The couch is black, and the end tables are a rich wood. The lamp shade is teal, however, and there are pillows scattered around to give pops of color - Mika's idea.

As it was mentioned previously, there is a open concept. There is a bar that separates the living room from the kitchen and dining room area. It is, of course, fully stocked. There are a few seats on the living room side, where you can have an informal meal or seat and drink with the the bartender. The kitchen is a decent sized, but nothing special, just like the rest of the apartment. Nothing in it is high end, much to Mika's dislike, but he will work on that, if the owners will allow him. The bar is a lighter colored wood, which matches the cabinets. The appliances are all black, which matches the handles of the cabinet's.

There is an island, though, which separates the kitchen from the dining room, which is the same color as the bar. The dining room sits right next to the kitchen, which again, they all flow right into each other. There is a decent-sized dining room table, which can seat several. There is no fancy chandelier here, nothing but the lighting that goes with the house. The table and chairs are all the same color wood that is in the living room. There is vase in the middle of the table, with varied color flowers to give the area more color. It lays on a rather nice piece of ivory cloth. The vase itself is a rich navy blue mixed with teal, which swirls along the vase giving it a very nice pattern.

If you go back out into the living room, and walk across. you see a window which overlooks the street below. Right next to it is a small hallway. The first door is a half bath, which is simply for guests. Then, past that, is the linen closet. At the end of the short hallway is a door, which leads the only bedroom in the apartment. Once you go in, you only see a large, black four poster bed, which of course, the couple would need - both being rather tall men. The comforter is red, which green, blue, black, and white throw pillows scattered on it. The sheets underneath are ivory, with teal trim. The pillowcases themselves are the same red as the comforter.

The floor is the same hardwood in the rest of the house. There are end tables on either side of the bed, with lamps and alarm clocks. If you look to the left, there is a door the adjoining bathroom. It has a nice, white tile floor. There is a double sink, with a large mirror. There are cabinets underneath the sink, which are in a rich wood. The counter is a beautiful granite. There is, of course, the toilet next to that. Past that is a large, walk-in shower, which the designers seemed to prefer over a tub and a shower or simply just a tub. It has white tile just like rest of the bathroom. The shower liner is white, but the shower curtain itself is a light tan color, dotted all around with colors of blue and green and red, giving it an artsy feel. This is matched in the soap and toothbrush dishes.

If you go back out into the bedroom, right next to the door of the bathroom is the closet. Not walk-in, but it is a decent sized. Across the way, there is another window. There are a couple of chairs - black to match the bed, with red cushions like the comforter - in front of it, and a small table made of a rich dark wood in between to set things such as books, or drinks. On the same wall as the bed, next the window, is a bookcase. On the opposite wall is a desk, which both men share as neither really needs one, but it's there if either of them does.

[Gia Trakana]

Mikalis had gotten off work, closed up the bar, and then walked straight to his parent’s house. As they had promised, they’d been up. The young man felt bad for keeping them up until the middle of the night, but both had promised that it was no trouble. They had both taken naps so that they would be up for whatever was important enough that their only child was coming over after work, which late since was the night bartender at the Old Man’s. The conversation was still running through his head as a shuddering breath escaped his lips. He had left his parents’ house, was now on his way to his apartment that he shared with his lover, Akaren. That had had been the whole reason that he had gone over there, and it had not gone the way the dark-haired young man had wanted. Of course, part of him had known this was how it would turn out, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

Mikalis had told both his of his parents to sit down. They both seemed rather confused, but he could tell that they both thought this must be really good news. They seemed happy, and excited. Mika had only seemed nervous. What were they going to say? How were they going to react? “Mom, Dad, there’s something that I need to tell you,” he told them. “I’ve… met someone.” They reacted with excitement, but the bartender held up his hand. “Let me finish, please. This isn’t easy. You see, I’ve met someone, but it’s not who you might think…” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew they sounded dumb. His parents were confused, and understandably so.

“Mom, Dad, I’m gay,” he told them flat out. The reaction was just stares. “I have met someone. He’s a few years older than me, his name is Akaren, we’re moving in tog-“

“Stop.” His father’s voice cut him off, a harsh tone in it. Mikalis became worried. “Stop this nonsense. This isn’t funny, son.”

“Why would I joke about something like this?” Mikalis asked. “I care about Akaren –“

“I will not have any of this discussion in my house.” His mother laid a hand on her husband’s arm, and for a moment, the young bartender thought that his mom would be the voice of reason. He knew that homosexuality wasn’t outwardly accepted, not yet, anyway, but… Surely, his parents would still accept him and love him for who he was?

Love him, yes, but maybe hoping for acceptance was going too far.

“Mikalis, honey, if you want to experiment, that’s fine, but you need to stop this,” his mother told him. “You need to find a nice girl to marry and carry on the family name.”

Mika felt he was being slapped in the face. “Experiment? This is not an experiment. I care about Akaren, and he cares about me. I don’t want to find ‘some nice girl’, all right? I found a nice man, who’s attractive, a soldier, who loves me for who I am-“

“Stop. I don’t want to hear any of this, and I will not be hearing of this… nonsense. You are our son, and you are not gay.”

The young man stood up. His parents had made their positions quite clear. “I am gay, but if that’s how you feel, then fine. You won’t hear it from me ever again.” With that, he got up and left.

Mikalis made the last turn onto his street, and shortly, was at his building. He walked in the door, up the stairs, and finally came to the apartment that he shared with Akaren. Sighing, he opened up the door, and walked in. There he was, sitting on the couch, listening to music, and sipping on a drink. He’d waited up for him, of course he had. The younger of the two had told the soldier that he’d be talking to his parents about them after work. “Hey, gorgeous,” he said, walking over the couch and sitting down next to him. “So, I talked to my parents…” The look in his eyes said it all. “They, uh… basically told him me that it was nonsense, and that I needed to stop this ‘experiment’ and find a nice girl.” He was clearly devastated and upset that the conversation had gone so poorly.

[Aura Adnarim]

Akaren had had a regular day at work. It had taken him seven years to obtain a position as a low-ranking officer, and he was pleased with himself for that. Of course it meant that sometimes he had to yell at people but hey sometimes you had to do what you had to in order to keep the younger men in line. What was the point in being in a job that you did not love? He loved being in the army just like his sister and brother, just thinking about his little sister made him a little sad because he did miss her. But of course he understood that what she did was in the best interest of Aurora Valley and the fact that it was at the request of her best friend, which is also the Lady that they all serve.

After work he declined his friends’ offers to go to the tavern, it was not because he wanted to avoid seeing Mikalis. He just felt like having a little bit of down time alone to be with his own thoughts, a part of him said that he was being selfish in thinking that he was the only one that missed his sister. She was so easy to talk to and did not ever pass judgment on him for anything, and if she knew that he was in love and living with another man that she would be happy for him. He was just sitting down on the couch having a drink, dinner was of course delicious even though it was just heated up but his lover had a knack for getting the spices just right when he cooked.

The sight of the brown haired bartender walking through the door was just the thing to make him smile, but when he saw the look on the younger man’s face he set down his glass and heard what he had to say. It was some of the worst news that he could expect and he was not sure what to do about it, without a second thought he leaned forward and kissed his lover hard on the lips before leaning back.

“Well your parents are completely crackbrained, you are absolutely wonderful and I love you the way that you are. And if they don’t want us in their lives then so be it, because I am not going anywhere.” Akaren could not help the words that were coming out of his mouth, but that was the way that he felt. What he really wanted to go and do was to knock some sense into Mikalis’s fathers head, but he was sure that his boyfriend would not like that very much once the anger burned off. His midnight blue eyes showed very little, but be sure that he would move heaven and anything else that stood in his way to make the younger man happy.

[Gia Trakana]

Mikalis heard the words coming from Akaren’s mouth and almost thought he was dreaming. Had he actually said that he loved him? He made himself not act like some love sick teenager, because the truth was, he had known how the soldier felt about him. He wasn’t a child, and he was far from stupid. That didn’t mean that the bartender couldn’t enjoy hearing it coming out of his lover’s mouth. The older man did everything that he could to make his younger lover happy. The dark-haired young man leaned over and kissed him deeply on the lips. After a couple seconds, he broke the kiss, albeit a bit sooner than he wanted, but he wasn’t ready to go to bed just yet.

Mika could not have kept the smile off his face if he’d wanted to. Of course, though, why would he? “They say I’m the smooth talker,” he said. He scooted a bit closer to him, and put one arm around Akaren’s shoulders. The other he laid on his chest. “So, you have a birthday tomorrow. What do you want to do for your birthday?” This was the first birthday for either of them since they’d been a couple. They’d never needed to celebrate together, but he wanted to do whatever he could to make his lover’s birthday as special as possible. Whatever he wanted, he’d do it. The best way to make sure that he got what he wanted was to ask. They both had to work tomorrow, after all. Akaren never got time off, seeing as how he was a solider, and the bartender had switched shifts with the opening bartender so he could spend the night with his lover. He wanted to make sure that he could do whatever he wanted.

“I can make something special for you, if you want, or we can do something,” Mika said. “Anything you want. You name it.” His mind went back to his parent’s and the conversation he’s shared, and he realized Akaren was right. He’d didn’t need them. They didn’t need them. He had a boyfriend who loved him, and made him feel special. That was all he needed. “By the way, you should invite your parent’s over for dinner on Sunday.” Sunday was his only day off, so that would be the best day to do something like this, since he always worked nights – seeing as how he was the nighttime bartender at Old Man’s. “I’ll make dinner and dessert, and try to make them like me. They’re being understanding, so it’s the least we can do. Also, invite your brother, too. What was his name again?” He knew that he’d been told, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember.

[Aura Adnarim]

Akaren could not help but to grin after Mikalis kissed him and got closer. He could not help putting his arm around the other man’s waist to keep him close; a little sad smile suddenly touched his lips for a moment. Of course his lover wanted to celebrate his birthday with him, but in a way it made him think of his sister because they shared a birthday and it would feel weird to not have her here. A part of him felt like not doing anything, but that would not be fair to his family or the man that he loved. Forcing the melancholy thought aside he beamed a smile at his better half.

“I am not smooth in the slightest, I am just being honest. As for my birthday I think that a quiet night at home with my Mika would be perfect.” The dark-haired man told his brown haired lover as he gently stroked the younger man’s face with his free hand. He would be content to just sit here for the rest of the night like this looking into the face of the person that meant the world to him. Lightly he brushed his lips against the perfect lips in front of him. “Maybe lamb for dinner with a cream cake would make it even better, that is if you feel like making it for me?”

The thought of having his parents coming over for the first time to their home was a nice idea. He was just glad that Mikalis did not want them to come over for his birthday. Just the thought of being with his family for his birthday this year would have been a depressing affair to attend, and his brother was off in Laknos right now. But he would be home for sure by Sunday; apart of him wondered if he had seen their sister. He just wished that she was safe and not putting her neck on the line for her mission, just the thought made him chuckle a little bit.

“My little brother Asoarin, some say that we could almost be twins in looks except for his eyes. He has icy blue eyes; I think it is possible that he may have been in one of your classes. And I think that it is a wonderful idea to have my parents over on Sunday. Don’t worry they are going to love you.” Akaren told the man in his arms, besides his parents had no choice but to accept things the way that they were. Or they would risk losing him and they did not want to lose another child.

[Gia Trakana]

Mika felt Akaren’s arm go around his waist as they kissed. He almost thought he saw a sad look on his lover’s face, but it was quickly replaced by a beaming smile as he talked about what he wanted to do for his birthday. He smiled back at him, for the night he proposed sounded quite nice. The two of them alone together, even if just for a night. It sounded very nice, indeed. “Sounds nice,” he said. He felt the other man’s lips brush against his, and felt the faint stirrings of desire even with so slight of a touch. “Of course, I’ll make it for you. It’s your birthday, so tomorrow should be all about you. Shame we both have to work, but bills don’t pay themselves, I suppose.” The dark-haired man shrugged. He could have asked for it off, but as a solider, the birthday boy wouldn’t able to have that privilege.

Mikalis smiled again as Akaren said he liked the idea of inviting his family over. To be honest, the younger man was nervous about the idea. It made him uncomfortable. He wanted his lover’s family to like him, because he knew his only family wouldn’t see things his way. They wanted things their way, and the dark-haired young man didn’t give a damn. He loved Akaren, and he didn’t blame on breaking up with him anytime soon, especially not because his close-minded parents believed that he needed to “come to his senses and get married”. The soldier loved him, and that was enough for him. Yes, that meant he was losing his parents, and his aunt and uncle, but hey… He had Akaren and Xialus.

“I’ll make something special for Sunday night for your family. I’m not sure what yet, maybe steak… I don’t know. What do they like?” He was already fretting, and the bartender had been about to go on when he realized that he was being silly. It was too early to worry about that now. Mikalis listened as Akaren reminded him about his younger brother’s name. “Asoarin…. Oh, yes, we did. We were in the same year,” he explained. “I used to sit with him at lunch. He was so shy, no one else.” A smile crossed the younger man’s face. “I used to think he was very good-looking.” His smile turned into a smirk. “Of course, that was before I became the man I am today, and of course, before I met you. Besides, you two may be similar in looks, but…” One of his hands was still resting on the soldier’s chest, and the younger man just moved it down slightly, not a lot, but just enough. “I think I prefer older men anyway.”