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Remnants of a different life floated just out of Dennis’ reach as he awoke. The images, while brief, were of he and Mac, and even though they looked the same, he knew something about them was different.
The walls of the apartment were similar, Mac’s smile was just as warm and bright, but he’d also been wearing a uniform in the dream, as though he were an emergency worker of some sort. It was oddly bittersweet, Dennis thought as he opened his eyes and took in the stillness of the room.
There was also a boy, a teenager present, and Dennis couldn’t help but wonder if –
“Hey sleepyhead,” Mac’s voice met his ears, and Dennis looked over at him, a small smile already forming along his lips at the sight of the man laying on his side facing him. He cupped Dennis’ cheek, thumb brushing slow, lazy strokes across his stubbly skin. “Must’ve been a nice dream.”
“And why do you say that? Have you been watching me?” Dennis asked, resting his palm atop Mac’s.
“Maybe,” the other man admitted, eyes twinkling as he leaned forward and kissed him.
Dennis hummed then interlaced their fingers together, slotting his between Mac’s before he brought the man’s knuckles to his lips and peppered them with light kisses.
“Was it a sex dream?” Mac waggled his eyebrows as he climbed on top of Dennis, bare knees bracketing his chest.
Dennis’ head tipped back as he laughed, Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as Mac shifted their hands so that they rested to the sides of Dennis’ head. He interwove his fingers between Dennis’ then continued to plant featherlight kisses along his skin. “No, not a sex dream,” he replied, a little moan emanating from his throat as Mac recaptured his mouth. “It was…weird. You were like a paramedic or something.”
“A paramedic?” Mac repeated. “Jesus, can you imagine? I would be so good at it,” he added seriously, and Dennis chuckled in response. “What? I would totally save tons of people’s lives. It would be awesome!”
“Sure,” Dennis joked, fully knowing there was no universe that existed where Mac would willingly (or have the ability to) save people’s lives.
“I would be,” he reiterated, then started kissing Dennis again, sweetly and softly as he placed tiny, tender pecks along his throat. “What were you?” he asked once he circled back around to Dennis’ lips.
Dennis’ brow narrowed. “I’m not sure. We did have two cats though, and a teenager,” he added the last part lowly, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
Mac was silent before he arched an eyebrow. “Brian?”
Dennis shrugged then released Mac’s hands before he draped them over his shoulders. “Maybe.”
“Did we still live here?” Mac nodded upwards, and the smile returned to Dennis’ visage.
“I think so. I mean, it was decorated a little differently but essentially, yeah, I think it was.” He cradled Mac’s cheek, and Mac closed his eyes, leaning into the soft touch.
“Well, since I don’t want you to think I forgot what today is, how about you join me in the kitchen? There’s a surprise waiting for you.” He closed the gap between them once more, kissing Dennis with lips that had no right being so soft. (He never once saw Mac put on lip balm or Chapstick of any kind so Dennis concluded he was being sneaky about it; lips just weren’t naturally that smooth without some kind of assistance.)
“A surprise?” Dennis grinned as they parted. “Color me intrigued.”
“What color is that closest too?” Mac asked with genuine curiosity, and Dennis petted the top of his head, a sympathetic frown tugging down the corners of his mouth.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, then yelped as one second, he was laying on the bed, and the next, Mac had swooped him into his arms. “You’re really trying to earn all the points today, huh?” he quipped as a sly grin took up residence on Mac’s smooth features.
“Every. Single. One,” Mac replied, punctuating each word with a kiss. “Happy anniversary,” he murmured in Dennis’ ear once he set him down in front of the kitchen table then wrapped his arms around his waist.
Dennis’ eyes widened as his gaze drifted from the bouquet of two dozen blue roses that sat in the center of the table, to the small platter of pancakes and apple slices (still no peels even though Dennis now knew that was where all the nutrients were), to a small black box that sat next to what was obviously a card in an envelope. “Oh, wow, you did go all out, didn’t you?”
He'd expected some cheesy set up as that was usually the norm for Mac (the man having stated numerous times that he lacked finesse), but this was actually quite sweet.
“Also, there’s a hot steaming bath afterwards with your name on it, followed by a massage, then a face peel, and then we’re going to go to that makeup store at the mall and you can pick out whatever you want,” Mac murmured proudly in his ear, and tears sprang to Dennis’ eyes.
He bit his bottom lip to stifle its trembling but couldn’t hide the involuntary sniffle which immediately earned Mac’s attention.
“You okay?” Mac asked, swiftly turning Dennis around so that they were facing each other, and Dennis nodded but his cheeks were soon damp. “Oh, Den, what’s wrong?” he asked as he pulled Dennis into his arms, one hand cradling the back of his head as he rocked them back and forth.
“It’s nothing,” Dennis whimpered, voice breaking when he spoke. He buried his head deeper into Mac’s shoulder, and the other man held him that much tighter.
“Did I do something wrong?” Mac’s tone was laced with concern and insecurity. “I – I can get you red roses, I just thought –”
Dennis pulled away, head shaking as he did so. “No, no,” he cut his husband off as he patted his shoulder. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I just – I wasn’t expecting it to be so perfect.”
Mac was quiet for a moment, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. “That – That made you sad?”
“I’m not,” Dennis sniffled again and swiped at his eyes. “I’m not sad, I just – I’m really happy,” he insisted but Mac still appeared bewildered.
“I didn’t mean to make you cry though.” He sounded dejected and glum, so Dennis hurriedly put a smile on his face as he splayed his palms over Mac’s cheeks.
“You made me really happy, and sometimes when I’m really happy, I just – I can’t help it,” he muttered as he flapped a hand at his face, and Mac swiftly pulled him back into his strong embrace.
“I just wanted to show you how much I love you,” Mac said. “How special you are to me.”
“Thanks, Mac,” he mumbled and ran his fingers underneath his nose before he withdrew then kissed the other man. “It’s beautiful.”
The dopey grin Mac had been wearing when Dennis awoke returned, eyes sparkling once more as he slid his arm underneath his shoulder blades then picked Dennis back up and escorted him to the ensuite bathroom. “I know you like to do your morning routine, so I’ll go make you a cup of coffee then when you’re done, take you back in there.” He winked at him, then swiftly disappeared, ensuring to close the door behind him, and Dennis glanced down at the gold band that had encased his ring finger for the last two years, still not used to the fact that he and Mac were together let alone married.
He took his time, brushing his teeth, washing his face and shaving among other things before he finished. The second he opened the door to exit the room, Mac was right there, lifting him into his arms then taking him back into the kitchen with a wide smile on his face.
First, he deposited Dennis onto a chair, then sat down next to him but not too close so Dennis could have his space. As he sipped at his coffee, they shared apple slices and pancakes, Mac feeding him tiny bites in between taking his own. They’d rotated closer and closer to one another, and by the end of their meal, Dennis’ legs were draped over Mac’s underneath the table, one of Mac’s palms massaging his thighs.
Dennis picked up the roses and sniffed them, then ran a few of the petals between his fingers. “These are gorgeous,” he remarked, and Mac beamed.
“Not as gorgeous as you though,” he stated, and Dennis tried but failed to stop the bashful grin that lit up his face.
“You gonna do this all day?” he surmised, cocking an eyebrow, and Mac shrugged.
“Probably. I just want to make sure you know is all,” he reasoned, and Dennis set the roses down then reached across the table for Mac’s free hand, sandwiching it between his own.
“Well, now, I do enjoy being convinced of things,” Dennis teased, and Mac pulled him onto his lap then wrapped his arms around his waist.
“We’ve got all day,” Mac spoke the words against his lips in between kisses. “I even locked the door in case someone tries to barge in.”
“Oh, nice touch,” Dennis praised him then chuckled. Fuck, how in the world had they ended up like this? Oh, that was right, decades’ worth of idiocy mixed with repression until it finally erupted one day with a single kiss – that was how. Well, it may have been a little more complicated than that, but not much, really.
“Open them,” Mac whispered against the shell of his ear as he set the black box and card on top of his thighs.
“If you insist,” Dennis muttered as he picked the white envelope up, then stopped when he had it open half-way. “What would you do if I didn’t get you anything?” he asked, lifting a brow marred with suspicion.
“Nothing because I already saw the box in the closet, so I’d know you were lying,” Mac replied, and Dennis rolled his eyes teasingly.
“You didn’t open it, did you?” Dennis questioned him as he paused his thumb’s movements again.
“No,” Mac shook his head, and Dennis narrowed one eye. “I swear, I didn’t. I wanted to, and I even picked it up and shook it, but I didn’t open it.”
Dennis’ gaze peered around the room before it landed back on Mac, and he nodded. “Okay, I believe you,” he murmured then removed the card that he soon found had two tickets to a nearby day spa along with a message that said I love you beary much and two cartoon bears kissing. Dennis grinned then leaned forward, doing his best impersonation of the illustration on the card. “You know just what I need, don’t you?”
“Always have,” Mac murmured, fingers sliding up through the back of his curls and tugging him forward.
“You have, haven’t you?” Dennis noted, and his heart fluttered when he saw how Mac’s eyes glistened every time they met his. He cupped his chin then granted him another chaste peck before he undid the bow on the box.
“Do you like it?” Mac asked, and Dennis’ vision began to grow watery for the second time that morning.
It wasn’t an expensive piece of jewelry (even though Dennis didn’t really wear jewelry, he wouldn’t have minded), but a simple (clearly) handmade bracelet featuring Dennis’ favorite color green along with eight letter beads strung along the cotton in the middle – M+D 4EVER.
“I love it,” he replied, and held his wrist out so Mac could put it on him.
“I know it’s not a diamond but I figured anytime you get mad at me, you’ll see it and then remember how much you actually love me,” his husband explained, and Dennis couldn’t help but chuckle. The way Mac’s mind worked was truly remarkable, in a sense. Dennis stared at him for a moment, allowing himself to let it sink in that he was happy, actually happy and that it was okay to be as such. They weren’t perfect, they still hated each other at times, but at the end of the day, there wasn’t anyone else Dennis wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
“You want to share that bath with me?” he asked once he’d exchanged a round of slow, gentle kisses with the other man.
“Really?” Mac asked, twinkling eyes round and hopeful.
“Yeah, it’s been a while since we’ve done that,” Dennis shrugged then pressed his lips fervently against Mac’s. “Oh, okay,” he chuckled as Mac lifted him once again, and within minutes, they were both soaking in the warm bath Mac had set for them, Dennis nestled in between his thighs, back against Mac’s chest.
They stayed in there for a while, murmuring back and forth as the candles Dennis had lit flickered in their holders. A soft touch here, and a chaste kiss there; it was absolutely divine. As was the massage that followed that led exactly where Dennis had thought it would.
Afterwards, they lay there, tucked into one another’s side, dozing until Dennis got up, not wanting to make Mac wait any longer. He removed the gift box from his side of the closet, then laid back down and set it in between them.
“Happy anniversary, Mac,” he said, and Mac kissed him before he even gave the gift a second glance, thumb hooked underneath his chin. He grinned when he saw the excitement flare in Mac’s eyes as he sat up then slid the top off the rectangular shaped box.
“Wait a second…hold on a minute. Are these really what I think they are?” Mac asked, and Dennis tucked his bottom lip between his teeth before he nodded. “Oh my God! Dennis! This is amazing!” he gushed as he held up two front row tickets to the wrestling event that would be taking place in the city soon, with Mac’s favorite wrestler poised for the main event. He hurriedly leaned forward and kissed him again and again until they were making out like teenagers.
Instead of going out, they decided to stay in and spend the rest of the night lounging together on the couch, binge watching TV and nibbling on spicy beef, chicken and rice from the new Korean place on 3rd.
They did their nightly routine together as usual, Dennis applying his moisturizers and creams while Mac daydreamed about the possibilities of who would take who out at the wrestling match, even emulating some of the moves he imagined they would do.
Once Dennis was finished ensuring that every inch of skin was lathered in the expensive age defying serum he’d recently purchased, they laid down in the bed they’d shared for the last few years, exchanging one last round of curiosities before they fell asleep, hand in hand.
Two years down, and Dennis hoped as unconsciousness closed in, many, many more to go.