"Phew!" 

Splashing water on his face to try and cool it, Ash closed his eyes, doing his best to keep himself from overheating. He was used to sweating in the kitchen back at the resort, but their new place definitely had some ventilation issues that would need addressing! 

Thankfully, they were just doing a test run right now with some of the local folks they'd met over the last month, so they weren't even doing half their menu today. 

Shaking the droplets of water from the tips of his bangs, Ash tugged a clean towel from his belt and wiped his face off, then grinned into the mirror at the handsome devil looking back at him. 

I look like I just tanned in the sun for ten hours straight. 

Even Ashy was uncomfortable with the temperature beneath his skin. 

Go ahead and take a break, we've got things covered here, Ru said to him through their bond, which was now stronger than ever. 

He even heard a determined caw from Rucrow right after Ru had finished speaking, making him chuckle quietly as he washed his hands, then stepped out of the staff bathroom. 

At that very moment he felt a faint vibration in his back pocket, making him tug his phone out and lift it to his ear. 

"Hello?" 

"Hello Ash, I was just calling you back to confirm our appointment at 404 Error Drive at four o'clock," their realtor said. 

Oh right! 

They'd gotten so busy that he'd nearly forgotten the time! 

"Yes, we'll be there! Thanks for the reminder!" 

He hung up a few moments later, then hurried back into the warm kitchen to find his love standing over one of their stoves tending to two pans of simmering sauces, just waiting for the noodles to be ready to add, then serve. 

He's become such a good cook in just a month with simple instruction. 

Instead of interrupting him, Ash stepped up to the dishwashing sink and took care of the twenty or so items that needed tended to while their dishwasher took his lunch break... he wasn't good at taking breaks. At least, not if his love was still working.   

"Ready to go?" 

Hearing Ru's voice right behind him, Ash gladly rinsed off his hands, then turned around with a big grin. 

"Yes!" 

After checking on things and making sure that there wouldn't be any issues to finish up service, they headed out, walking down the street to the hotel they were staying at. 

Wisely, they took showers separately, not needing to risk being late to look at the house they'd been wanting to see all week. His Ru was also always extremely punctual, so he'd probably drag him there naked if he had to in order to be on time. 

He made sure to go first, since he was fine just doing the bare minimum, then got dressed and dried his hair before getting together everything he knew his love would need to get ready comfortably. 

Ru's crow had been given more and more leniency as it continued to keep its cool about how perfect Ru had to look. So, after about forty minutes they were ready to go, giving them just enough time to make it to the viewing with a few minutes to spare. 

He'd decided to drive since he already knew that Ru would be looking at the neighborhood and surrounding areas. They wanted to make sure that it would be a safe place because, in the past few days, they'd begun floating the idea of adoption around between them. 

Of course, there were a lot of things that needed to be done before they even considered visiting one of the local places to begin the process, but the idea of building their family was definitely something they were both considering equally. 

So, by the time they pulled up to the house and stepped out, Ash could already tell from the look on Ru's face that he was impressed with the area. He, himself, actually glanced around as he was driving, too. It was very clean and there were children playing outside everywhere you looked. 

It would be a great place to raise a kid or two. 

They both stepped forward as the realtor walked over and offered her hand. After shaking and exchanging a few pleasantries, they followed her up to the beautiful brick home and stepped inside. 

His heart began to hammer in his chest as he took in the open area they'd walked into. 

Such a big living room. 

It was connected to a large kitchen and dining area, leaving no full walls to obscure vision. 

I could keep an eye on things even when cooking. 

Looking to his right, he saw a small hallway that lead to two bedrooms, one of which Ru and the realtor were currently standing in. Right outside its door was a full bathroom.  

Two kids... maybe siblings?

Giving his head a shake to try and dispel the thoughts he really shouldn't be having just yet, Ash wandered farther into the house until he stepped into a master bedroom on the opposite side. 

A massive window was situated at the far end and Ash could totally see where a king-sized bed would fit right in front of it with deep red blankets and lots of pillows tossed about. 

Nudging the image from his mind, he walked forward and immediately noticed a massive walk in closet to his left. 

My baby will be very happy! 

They could easily fill the space with a few small dressers for their jewels, too. Maybe even add a display area, too! He'd sold a good chunk of his valuables to take out the loan they needed for the restaurant, so he didn't have too much now. At least, not until they began making a good profit at their business. 

Even with their truncated test menu, they were still doing pretty well and building regulars that were eager to see what else they could come up with that was both healthy and delicious, as well as attracting new people everyday. 

Turning from the closet, Ash walked into the large bathroom and coughed out a little ring of smoke. Ashy quite liked the double mirrors. He was about to send Ru a thought to come check out the master bedroom when he heard his footsteps enter the room behind him. 

Grinning over his shoulder, Ash watched as his love's eyes lit up at the sight of the massive window, then the huge closet. The realtor didn't seem to need to say anything as Ru looked over the area, then walked over to take Ash's hand as he walked into the bathroom. 

Rucrow is preening right now. He can't wait to get out and in front of those mirrors, Ru thought to him, making Ash smile wider as his eyes squinted a little. 

Ashy was excited, too, and he's not normally one to spend much time in front of a mirror.

"Let's go see the backyard?" Ru suggested after a solid minute looking around the bathroom, checking things and seemingly doing what Ash had. Envisioning them there, living their life in this place. 

They followed the woman out the back door and onto a large light brown deck that looked like it had just been given a fresh coat of paint. Beyond it stretched a large, mostly-shaded yard that had plenty of mature fruit trees spaced out for optimal production. 

I don't think we could have chosen a better house if we tried. 

He sensed Ru agreeing with him as he looked up at all the gorgeous foliage in awe. 

When his fiancé finally turned to look at him, he knew exactly what was on his mind without needing to read it this time. 

"We'll take it. Full price." 

They wouldn't play the bidding game and risk losing such a gem, especially since he'd looked at it on several of the realtor sites and it got a ton of saves after only having been posted for a week. 

They weren't going to let it slip through their fingers. 

"Alright! I'll make the call and get everything set up. I'll let you guys know what they say as soon as I get a response," the realtor said as she led them back off the property. 

They both nodded and thanked her for her time, then hopped back into their car and looked at each other, silent for a full minute before their faces broke out into giddy grins! 

"There's so much space!" Ru finally said as he stared up at the house they knew they had to get! 

Ash nodded as he eyed one of the larger mango trees he could see in the side yard. 

"Could you imagine how much fruit we could harvest? If we could get enough at one time we could have specials with fresh food from our own yard!" Ash said excitedly.

Ru nodded his agreement as they happily chatted all the way back to their hotel. 

They'd originally intended to return to the restaurant, but after a brief call and reassurance that everything was going perfectly fine and they could finally take a half day off, they decided to just kick up their feet and order take-out. 

That night was probably one of the best he could remember so far. There was one round of sex, then another shower since Ru didn't like being sweaty in bed, then a lot of cuddling with the agreement that once their food got there Ru would be allowed to eat without being interrupted... too often. 

In the end they put on a familiar movie as background noise as they looked up information on how adoption worked in the state, as well as different venues they could use for their wedding. 

By the time they'd decided on calling about a certain venue, along with an adoption agency, Ru was just about asleep in his arms. Ash was still quite a wake, but he made sure to keep quiet as he listened to the last few parts of the movie, though his eyes were completely focused on the resting man in his arms. 

Even as the finale of the film began and the music got more exciting, Ash completely ignored it in favor of using the music to commemorate his own ending as a cook at his mom's resort, and to celebrate his new beginning as a restaurant owner with his partner, fiancé, and soon to be husband, in their new life together. 

Smiling to himself, Ash nuzzled his face gently into his Ru's soft hair, unable to help but give him a gentle squeeze as he slept peacefully against him. 

I love you. So, so much. 

-End (Yes, there will be a big epilogue :D)