Chapter Text
Before:
Robbie felt the warmth and solidity of Kelly beside him as they lay in bed. The smell of grass, lake water, and sunshine washed over him. He was too tired to move, to even open his eyes as he held Kelly tightly close to him. The rays of the sun shone through the window above them, lighting up the insides of his eyelids.
It was Sunday.
They had nowhere to be; they didn’t have work until Monday. They had Sunday Tradition, but that wasn’t until later that evening.
And they were going to soak up every second of the day that they had together.
“Mm,” he felt Kelly stir. “Morning,” Kelly muttered as he turned inwards, closer to Robbie’s chest.
“Hey,” Robbie muttered as he finally opened his eyes, looking down at Kelly who looked up at him, and oh, how he smiled; like the sun. Kelly’s smile brightened the room further, and it pierced into Robbie’s chest, causing his heart to quicken.
Kelly smirked at the change of sound, and Robbie blushed.
Kelly laughed. “How long is it going to take for you to get used to this?”
They had just started living together in the blue house, down the street from the Bennetts and their pack. They weren’t too far from home, but they were far enough away to have their own space. To just… be.
It was nice. Being here with Kelly. After years of looking for a place to belong, from going from pack to pack, Robbie felt like he had finally found a home. And that home was Kelly.
He was still getting used to waking up in the morning and seeing Kelly right there next to him.
“Oh, shut up. You know I’m not used to this…”
He thought back to how they had gotten to where they were now. To being them; Robbie and Kelly, a matching set. Just like their stone wolfs now sitting on the end table of their shared bed.
***
They were on a date.
Robbie had made Kelly laugh for the first time and since then, something had changed, causing his heart to flutter and his insides to stir with butterflies whenever Kelly was around. At one point, Kelly had overheard Robbie confessing to himself how he felt towards Kelly. And later, Kelly had kissed him and Robbie had kissed him back for the first time.
And then, Kelly had asked Robbie out on a date.
“So do you… do you want to like, go out? Like on a date? A date date, I mean.”
“Yes! I mean… yes? Sure? Yeah, that… that would be cool,” Robbie responded oh so smoothly, his cheeks flushing. “What did you have in mind?”
***
The movie theatre was practically empty; save for the few patrons who had the time to go see a movie on a weekday. It wasn’t a special movie or anything; it was pretty outdated in fact, given that there was only one movie theatre in town and it was pretty old, small, and rundown. So it was usually pretty late with playing major new motion pictures in their small city. Not that they minded any. It was just one of the few experiences of living in a small town.
The theatre was dark, and Robbie tried to get his heartbeat under control; he kept hearing it thudding loudly in his ears. Or maybe it was Kelly’s heart he was hearing… or both. At one point, their hands brushed and Robbie felt it; a spark - an exciting, electrifying spark that lasted for but a second, but it was there all the same.
They had instantly pulled back, then they glanced at each other, the blush on their faces illuminated by the flashing images on the screen, their smiles faint and shy.
When it ended and the credits started rolling, Robbie realized he couldn’t remember anything about the movie they had just watched. They stayed until the very end, afraid to move, afraid to disrupt the moment they were sharing, wanting time to stop just for them.
Afterward, they sat at the diner, in a booth across from each other.
“So, why didn’t you admit to me earlier that you liked me? Why did you wait until I overhead you talking to yourself?” Kelly asked, watching with interest at how pink Robbie’s cheeks were turning.
“To be honest, I… I thought you didn’t like me very much. Or feel you know that way about me. I never… I never sensed it from you.”
“I… that’s because, well. I should tell you.” Kelly took a deep breath and sighed. “I’m ace,” he stated, eyeing Robbie wearily for his reaction.
Robbie blinked once. Twice. Then blushed as he stuttered through his next sentence that came bursting out of his mouth before he could stop it, “Hi ace. I’m Robbie.” As soon as it was out there, he groaned and put his face in his hands. A beat passed and then laughter.
It was a beautiful, bell-like sound that rang out through the air as Kelly doubled over, clutching his hands to his stomach as he laughed. And laughed. Robbie blushed. He couldn’t believe he had just said that! Then he slowly started joining Robbie, and they laughed together, the sound of their laughter filling the sparse diner as they ignored the looks from the few patrons around them.
Eventually, they stopped. “Oh my god, Robbie. Of all the things to say-” Kelly wiped tears from the corners of his eyes. “No, no Robbie. Not like that. Christ. I meant…asexual.”
“Oh, shut up, I know. I’m sorry, ok? You just-you caught me off guard.” Robbie gave him a small, apologetic smile.
“It’s all right, I just. I wanted you to hear it from me. To explain it to you myself, I guess.”
Robbie nodded, “So… ace, huh?”
“Yeah, Robbie. Ace.”
Robbie nodded understandably, “I can live with that.”
“Yeah?” Kellie arched an eyebrow.
“Yeah.”
Since then, they had figured out their relationship more. What it looked like to them - what being mates meant to them. What worked for them and what didn’t. And they had moved in together, finally. Finally, Robbie was home.
***
It was dinnertime. Sunday tradition. Robbie had spent the day with Kelly lounging around the house. They spent some time reading, watching TV together, and playing games together. It was a lazy Sunday.
Now, they headed to the Bennett house, ready to help prepare for Sunday dinner. As soon as they walked in the door, there was the sight of Elizabeth Bennet dancing in the kitchen, humming along to Dinah Shore. She looked up and beamed at them both. “Hello, you two. Everyone’s outback. Would you like to help set the table? Supper is almost ready.”
They nodded and accepted the cutlery from her, the porch door swinging shut behind them. Immediately, they heard voices all toppling over each other and shouting at the scene, and a feeling of packpackpack washed over them.
“We need to go help get this Omega to that pack up in Washington,” Ox said in passing conversation.
“I’ll go,” Robbie offered, and Kelly looked at him.
“But what about Sunday tradition?”
“It won’t take long. It’s just up in Washington. It’ll be a quick trip. And I’ll be back before you know it.” he shrugged. “Let me do this,” he added, wanting to help in any way he could. Some part of him wanted to prove himself, prove that he belonged. That he was an asset to this pack, that he would help his family in any way he could.
Robbie left, driving away as Kelly stood behind and waved him off in his rearview mirror. But not before he had kissed him goodbye first. “You go and you come right back, okay? It won’t be Sunday tradition without you…”
Robbie nodded. “I’ll see you soon.”