“I heard Gabriel call Joel ‘Little Red’ one time when we were over there. I have no idea why that stuck in my head, but it did. Made me think of Little Red Riding Hood, and then I thought of a forest, and here we are.”
Donny painted a long stroke of white along the side of the canvas. “I love the way your mind works sometimes, but I hate how talented you are.”
“Hate?” Roland laughed, checking Donny out of the way with his hip.
“You’re brilliant.”
“And burdened,” Roland added on, tapping the end of the brush against his temple.
“You manage.”
“I manage.”
And that was the reality of their relationship and of Roland himself— with his medication, and with his therapist, he managed. Some days were better than others, but every day was another chance for a new memory with Donny, and he treasured those.
And Donny loved him. Whether it was for it, or because of it, or in spite of it, Donny hadn’t balked when Roland had asked for another chance, even though he should have. He poured himself back out for Roland in the purest and most beautiful way, and even on bad days, Roland tried to never take that for granted.
He was very much his own work in progress.
“I think it’s nearly there,” Donny observed, and for a fleeting moment, Roland was afraid he’d verbalized his thoughts. He blinked at the canvas and looked at Donny, who’d taken a step back and was looking at the painting.
“You’re right. I think it just needs a little…” Roland trailed off, swiping his brush through some blue and blending out the sky into the top edge of the canvas. He stepped back and crossed his arms, accidentally hitting himself in the chin with the brush.
“You got a little something,” Donny chuckled, gesturing toward his face
Roland raised his hand and wiped at the swipe of blue paint on his chin, then smeared it across Donny’s cheek. Donny feigned shock and rubbed at the place on his cheek where Roland had touched, but it only served to smear it.
The blue he’d used on the sky was the same blue he’d made after his first encounter with Donny, and he’d never seen it this close to Donny’s eyes before. But he was finally able to confirm it was a perfect match, just as it’d always been.
Epilogue
“Canyou believe it’s been almost two years?” Roland wrapped his arms around Donny’s waist and rested his chin on his shoulder. Donny turned his head to the side and puckered his lips for a kiss, so Roland kissed him.
“It’s been a long two years,” Donny sounded reflective, and Roland pinched him in the side. “Hey! It has! You’re a lot of work, buddy,” he teased. “Thishas been a lot of work.” He gestured to the building in front of them.
“I told you I was work.”
“I told you I don’t mind the work.” Donny turned and rested his ear against Roland’s chest. He hummed a happy sound and smiled.
“Better you than me.” Roland chuckled and kissed the top of Donny’s head. He stroked a hand down Donny’s spine, grazing across his ass, then digging into his back pocket and pulling out a set of keys.
“Oh, I see. You’re only using me for my access to our very own studio space.” Donny pushed Roland away and pretended to pout. Roland smiled and nodded, then slipped the key into the front door.
They’d decided, what seemed like a lifetime ago, Roland was going to sell the penthouse and they’d find a place closer to downtown that had a work/live situation. It would give Roland more room to paint, and also allow them a separate space that they could utilize for public use. Many nights were spent over half-full takeout containers, discussing floor plans and utilization, and decoration—until one day this had practically fallen into their laps.
Over one of their standing lunch dates with Gabriel, Joel and Athena, Gabriel told them he’d heard about a space right in the heart of the arts district that had suddenly come up for sale, and then handed Roland a business card. They’d called after lunch and set up an appointment to go see it, and it was better than they’d anticipated. The space checked every box they had, so they made an offer before they went home, and three weeks later, closed on the space.
Now, here they were, holding hands and standing in the public use area of their new home.
“I think you should teach,” Donny said. “I know we talked about it, but I really think you should.”
“I’m not sure I’m cut out for it.”
“You taught me.” Donny laughed and pulled Roland farther into the room.
“There was a very good reward involved with teaching you though.” Roland squeezed his ass, and Donny jumped and swatted him.
“Whatever. Just open the door.” Donny pointed at the locked door tucked into the corner of the room which led upstairs to their private loft.
