7 Days

monday

A slow, lazy yawn escaped Vic’s mouth as he cracked his eyes open and rolled over onto his back. The morning, or mid morning according to the alarm clock on the nightstand next to him, sun was streaming in through the curtains, which he supposed they had forgotten to shut the night before. It was fine though. Vic loved waking up like this. His lips turned up at the corners in a lazy smile as he closed his eyes again, not really intending on going back to sleep but just enjoying the calm of the morning.

They snapped open again as soon as he realized that it was Monday and he should have been at work about two hours ago. A light chuckle comes from beside him, and he looks over to see Kellin, his boyfriend, lying on his side. The younger man has himself propped up on his elbow, and he’s grinning down at Vic in a way that gives him away.

“Did you turn off my alarm?” He asks the boy next to him, one eyebrow raised. Vic had been late to work so many times in the last six months alone, most of the time it had something to do with the boy laying beside him, that he was sure he’d be fired if he were late one more time (or this time).

He watched as Kellin looked away, pursing his lips and pretending to mull it over, before looking back down at Vic with that same, mischievous smile.

“Yupp.” He nodded twice before he leaned down and pressed a kiss to his boyfriend’s lips. It was a short, sweet kind of kiss, but Kellin’s lips lingered over Vic’s after they had departed. “I also called you in sick.” And there was that smile again. Kellin had many different smiles, and he used them according to how he was feeling, but that had to be one of Vic’s favorites. It made his insides tingle, and it flooded his stomach with butterflies.

Vic raised his eyebrow again. He knew it wasn’t good to skip work, and he would probably regret it later when he was sick and didn’t have a sick day to spend at home because he had used it to spend with Kellin, but he was already at least two hours late, and Kellin had already called him in sick. When Kellin threw the blanket off himself and climbed on top of Vic, one leg on either side of his thighs, and leaned down to press another kiss to his mouth (this one far from short and sweet) he just gave up caring all together. He had a gorgeous boy that he loved very much who obviously wanted him at home (for reasons that were becoming clearer and clearer as seconds passed) and that was okay with him for the moment because honestly, he would rather be at home with him too.

tuesday

Not going into work yesterday had been pretty nice, Vic had enjoyed his extended weekend a lot but today he had had to go back in and he didn’t enjoy that as much. That morning he had woken up Kellin bright and early with him because he hated waking up alone and the younger man was acting like everything was okay, but he knew he would be paying for it at some point. It was rare that he did something he knew Kellin didn’t like without paying for it somehow.

Tonight though, their friend Jaime had invited them, along with a few other people, over to his house for a midweek get together. Jaime was a music producer, which meant he didn’t operate on normal hours and could spare a few hours of sleep. Vic had a normal, nine to five job though, so he didn’t usually attend Jaime’s midweek get togethers. When he did though, it was usually because Kellin had managed to convince him, because he kept whatever hours he wanted when it came to work since he owned a clothing company and could pretty much show up whenever he wanted.

It was a warm summer night in San Diego, so they were all out in the backyard, lounging around and drinking by the pool. It was a pretty nice way to spend a Tuesday evening, and Vic was having a lot of fun. They were talking about high school, laughing at old memories that had been forgotten, only brought to the front of their minds with each other’s company and a little bit of alcohol.

Vic barely noticed Kellin, as the younger boy had disappeared inside a while ago with Justin, and he didn’t really give it much thought when he stood behind Vic, one arm around his shoulders, and the other digging around in his back pocket. This was pretty normal Kellin behavior, and Vic had gotten used to it a long time ago, so he continued his conversation with his friends, which was currently centered around bad fashion choices and haircuts.

“What are you doing?” He finally had to ask after a few minutes of Kellin digging around in all his pockets. He knew Kellin was probably looking for something, that would be the logical answer to his behavior, but you never knew with Kellin so it was always good to ask. He received no answer however, as his boyfriend pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and now Vic was really curious. “Kellin,” he warned, “what are you doing?” By now all their friends attention was on them, and Vic could practically taste the fight that was coming. It was a bad taste.

The older man was poised in his chair, ready to jump up and stop whatever Kellin was about to do. It didn’t take him very long to decipher what exactly that was though, as Kellin moved towards the moderately sized pool in their friend’s backyard. He sprung from his chair and ran towards Kellin, and Kellin began moving faster towards the edge of the pool. Vic reached him just as the phone slipped from Kellin’s fingers, falling fast into the water. He was already going fast though, and failed to stop completely before he reached Kellin, sending them both following his phone into the pool. When he resurfaced, pushing his wet, long brown hair out of his eyes, the first thing he saw was his boyfriend. The younger man was smirking over at him, as if he knew exactly what was going to happen the whole time.

“Oops.” Contrary to the regret the word should have shown, the tone he said it with showed none at all. It made him sound accomplished if anything.

That night, Vic drove both himself and Kellin back to their home (because he wouldn’t wish Kellin on his worst enemy let alone leave him with a friend), wet, cold, and very angry.

wednesday

It was Wednesday now, a day after the pool incident, and Vic was sitting at his desk, very distracted. He hated fighting with Kellin, because despite how annoying he could be, he still loved him and he knew Kellin loved him. So why did they spend so much time at each other’s throats?

After they had gotten back home the night previous, Vic had stormed inside, Kellin following him, and tried his hardest to ignore the younger man as he got ready for a quick shower before bed. Kellin had made it obvious very early, that he wasn’t going to allow that, however. He began acting as if nothing had happened, which had made Vic even angrier than he would have been if Kellin had started yelling at him. So of course he started yelling at Kellin about how he couldn’t just take his phone and throw it in a pool. Kellin had retaliated by saying Vic hadn’t been paying any attention to him all night, to which the older man responded by calling him a diva. That hadn’t made Kellin too happy, and they had both gone to bed angry at each other, resulting in them waking up angry at each other.

At one point, they had tried making a rule that they would never go to bed angry at each other because it always put them both in a horrible mood the next day. Of course, it really hadn’t taken them that long to break that rule. Vic was stubborn, but Kellin was more stubborn so together they were practically unmovable, especially when it comes to who’s wrong and right.

So Vic went through work that day in a zombie like state. He tried his best to stay focused, but his mind kept drifting back to Kellin. When the clock struck five, he was up out of his desk faster than lightening, eager to get back home. A fight like this couldn’t last long, or that’s what he thought. There really wasn’t any reason they should be fighting (other than the fact Vic was mad that Kellin had thrown his phone in the pool). Maybe that was just wishful thinking though, because as he mentioned before, Kellin was stubborn and he didn’t really care if he had a good reason or not.

His uncertainties were confirmed to be true when he came home and saw Kellin sitting on the couch. The younger man made no move to acknowledge Vic as he walked in the door, or when he kicked off his shoes and made his way into the living room to join him on the couch. They sat in an uncomfortable silence, the only noise present was the soft humming of the refrigerator in the next room, and the television, which was turned to some documentary about something Vic couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to. After a few minutes of this, Vic sighed, turning to face Kellin, who was still looking at the TV intently, but it was made apparent from his body language that his attention wasn’t at all focused on it.

“Kellin.” Vic spoke, trying his best to sound somewhat assertive, because he knew it was the only way he was going to get Kellin to pay attention to what he had to say. After a few minutes of waiting for a response from his boyfriend, and failing to receive one, he spoke again, louder this time. “Kellin, I’m sorry.” He still didn’t think he had anything to be sorry about, but being the less stubborn of the two he knew it was the only way he was going to get Kellin to talk to him again anytime soon.

He was right though; Kellin turned to look at him and Vic smiled inside just a little bit at his accomplishment.

“Really?” the younger man asked, scooting a bit closer. Vic nodded, smiling a bit. “I’m sorry for throwing your phone in the pool.” That was all Vic really needed to hear to be satisfied, because getting Kellin to apologize for anything really was a big achievement.

Closing the space between them, Vic pressed his lips to Kellin’s as both his hands went up to each side of his face.

“You know, you’re all I thought about today.” Kellin definitely knew how to play Vic, but Vic knew how to play Kellin too and after the day he had had all he wanted to do was sit around with Kellin and maybe have some couch sex. Touching Kellin was his main goal though.

He felt Kellin smile against his lips, and he smiled back as Kellin initiated the next kiss. His hands moved to Vic’s hips and pulled him down on top of him as he laid back on the couch, the exact same thought on his mind.

thursday

It hadn’t even been a full 24 hours since Vic had apologized to Kellin and Kellin to him, and they were already fighting again. Vic had found out that Kellin spent over 600 dollars on a new leather jacket, and charged it on his credit card. Kellin hadn’t told Vic this though, oh no, he had had to find out the hard way.

Just a few hours earlier, Vic had decided to take Kellin out for dinner, because between work, spending time with their friends, and fighting they hadn’t had much time to themselves all week. It was a really nice dinner, at a pretty upscale restaurant in downtown San Diego, and they had both had a great time. Until Vic tried to use his credit card to pay the bill and the waiter came back to tell him it had been declined. He hardly ever used his credit card, so it didn’t make sense to him at all until Kellin told him what he had used it to purchase.

Vic hadn’t had any cash on him, and the restaurant didn’t accept checks so the card was his only option and in the end Kellin ended up paying for the meal that Vic had originally planned to be his treat. That really only made him angrier, and by the time they got back to the car he was fuming. The whole ride home was silent, but as soon as their front door closed, he let it all out. Yelling at Kellin only ever made the situation worse, but he couldn’t help it; the younger man just made him so angry sometimes.

“What the hell Kellin?” Vic threw his car keys on the table by the door, but of course they missed and landed on the floor by the hall closet instead. He couldn’t really bring himself to care though, all his attention was directed towards his boyfriend for the moment. “Why would you do that? How could you have spent over 600 dollars on a jacket, used my credit card for it, and then not tell me?” It really didn’t bother him that Kellin had spent so much on something he really didn’t need, Kellin was a grown man and could spend his money however he pleased. It did bother him that he had used Vic’s card without his permission to buy it, and then failed to tell him, however.

“I didn’t think you’d notice before I could put the money back into the account.” Kellin sighed, rubbing his hands over his face.

“Why didn’t you use your card?” Although Kellin hadn’t yelled at all yet, Vic still felt the need to. Things probably would have turned out better if he hadn’t though.

“Because I reached my limit on it and they wouldn’t take anything besides a card!” Now Kellin’s voice was starting to get louder.

“You could have asked me first Kellin! It’s not like I could ever say no to you!” Vic knew if Kellin had explained things then he would have gladly gave him his card to use and then this all would have been avoided.

“I didn’t think you would let me use it.” Kellin shrugged his shoulders, voice lower this time.

“Whatever Kellin,” Vic shook his head as he headed upstairs to their bedroom, shutting and locking the door behind him. Kellin could sleep on the couch, because Vic didn’t want to be anywhere near him at the moment.

friday

Friday meant that they were all back at Jaime’s house, lounging by the pool and drinking, like they usually were. It was almost routine by now, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t something Vic looked forward to every week. Tonight he just wasn’t able to enjoy himself though. Kellin was there, after all they were his friends too, and Vic hadn’t spoken to him since last night. Kellin had slept in the guest room after Vic had locked them out of his room and this morning Vic was out the door before Kellin was even awake. That wasn’t what was bothering the older man though. No, what was bothering him was the way he kept going around and blatantly flirting with anyone he could find.

Vic was sitting on the patio, watching him as he moved from a very uncomfortable looking Tony, to Jaime, and he narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend. He knew Jaime would play along, this had happened several times before and Jaime always flirted back. Vic knew he didn’t do it to hurt him, but it still got on his nerves. How could it not?

His jaw clenched as he watched his boyfriend run a hand along Jaime’s arm, and he swore he felt steam come shooting out of his ears as Jaime placed a hand on his lower back. That was it for Vic. He didn’t want to sit here and watch this. But then again that’s why Kellin did it, he liked getting on Vic’s nerves when they weren’t on good terms with each other, and he knew exactly how to do it.

What he did next was childish, yes, but he really couldn’t bring himself to care at the moment, because his boyfriend was flirting with someone who wasn’t him, and he didn’t like that one bit. Vic stood up from his chair, slamming his cup down on a nearby table before storming over to where Kellin and Jaime were standing. The shorter of the two looked over at him as he made his way over, wearing a smirk on his face.

“Hey Vi-” before he could finish what he was going to say, Vic shoved him backwards, into the pool they had both fallen into earlier in the week. This time though, Vic didn’t go with him. He didn’t even stick around to hear whatever Kellin was sure to say. The kid was never shy about expressing his opinion.

Vic heard Kellin shout something about him being an asshole as he made his way back through the crowd of people who had now turned their attention to the scene that had unfolded in front of them. Some eyes turned to follow Vic as he stalked into the mostly empty house. He passed by his brother, Mike, who had no idea what had just happened but knew something did from the look on the older Fuentes’s face. He tried talking to him, but Vic ignored him and continued on his way to the front of the house, and out to his car. He knew Mike wouldn’t take it personally. Fights with Kellin weren’t exactly new, and he knew his little brother would know he needed space as soon as he found out that’s what this was all about.

Vic went home, stripped down to his boxers, and climbed into bed. He couldn’t sleep though, he never could after a fight with Kellin, so instead he just laid there, staring up at the ceiling until the early hours of the morning, at which point he heard a car pull up into the driveway, and the front door slam. He knew it was Kellin, although he didn’t come to their room, or upstairs at all as far as Vic could tell, so he assumed he slept on the couch.

saturday

Vic hadn’t seen Kellin all day, which kind of worried him. He had woken up around eight that morning and his boyfriend was already gone, and on a Saturday that was concerning. It was early afternoon now, around one-thirty Vic guessed. For the last fifteen or so minutes he had been in the bathtub, because this week had been stressful for him and he felt like a bubble bath was needed. This was the worst possible week his relationship could have chosen to be up and down, but he was going to make it work.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed the car pull up outside, or the front door open and shut. He did notice, however, the bathroom door open. His eyes shot open, and his head snapped to the door. He was definitely a little surprised to see Kellin standing there; the younger man didn’t look angry at all like he expected, if anything he looked sorry. That brought up some suspicion with Vic, because this had only happened a few times in the course of their relationship, and only after Kellin had gone out and done something stupid.

Vic sat up a little more in the tub, and he was sure he looked pretty confused, but Kellin just smiled at him and began taking his shirt off. Whether he was mad at him or not, Vic had to take a moment to stare at his boyfriend as he finished stripping, because he was fucking beautiful.

He stayed quiet as Kellin climbed into the bathtub with him, afraid he would say something stupid and ruin whatever was going on right now. Vic moved his legs to the side so Kellin could sit between them, and when the younger man was settled back against his chest he wrapped his arms around his middle, leaning forward a bit to kiss his temple. You would think based off how often they fought that they enjoyed it, but Vic hated it. He hated thinking that this could be the last time they fought, the last time they made up, and the last time he got to call Kellin his. He hated being in an unstable relationship, where any day could be the last he got to spend with the man he loved more than anything; and yeah, they had been together for five years now and so far their fights hadn’t ended up that way, but who was to say that the next one wouldn’t? He was always relieved when they made up, because even though he knew they were going to fight again, he was also getting the opportunity to fight with Kellin again, and that brought the opportunity to make up and be happy with him again too.

Once Kellin was back in his arms, Vic felt he could relax again. He leaned back against the back of the tub and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the water and the silence that surrounded them.

“I’m sorry.” Kellin spoke softly, turning around in Vic’s arms to look at him. Of course, Vic would always forgive him. They had been through too much already for him not to forgive him over something as stupid as a maxed out credit card. Instead of telling Kellin he was forgiven, he leaned forward, conveying the message with a kiss.

sunday

Making up with Kellin yesterday made everything fall into place, and tonight he was taking his boyfriend out to dinner. It was actually a dinner he had had planned out for a few weeks now, and due to the events that had transpired this week he didn’t know if it was going to happen, but now that it was he was both overjoyed and incredibly nervous.

They were late, of course, because Kellin was fretting over his hair, which in Vic’s opinion always looked perfect, but there was no convincing Kellin. So Vic, who was a little frustrated but tried not to let it show because tonight was supposed to be nice, had to speed all the way to the restaurant. It was a very nice (and by nice he meant expensive) establishment, and there was no way he would have been able to get a reservation without the help of Jaime, who apparently knew the owners. He doubted they would let him keep it if they were late though, so as soon as they parked he was hurrying his boyfriend out of the car and across the street to the restaurant. They made it just in time, luckily.

A big part of the restaurant’s appeal was that it was on the top two floors of a tall skyscraper in downtown San Diego, and no matter where you were sitting you were going to get an amazing view of the city. Vic thought they were lucky to just get a reservation at all (and apparently Kellin did too because since they had entered the building he hadn’t stopped asking how he did it), so imagine his surprise when the hostess led them up to the top floor, and out onto the terrace, which he was sure Jaime had something to do with.

It was a lot more secluded than the inside of the restaurant, there were a lot fewer tables and they were spread out. There was also a lot of potted plants, small palm trees and tropical looking flowers mostly, for added privacy. They were seated at a table close to the side of the terrace, it was perfect. A trellis covered the entire terrace, and above them twinkle lights were hanging down, providing a dim atmosphere as it was the only lighting other than the city lights around them, and the small white candle situated on the middle of the table on top of a small bed of rose petals. Vic was starting to understand why the restaurant was so expensive.

Once they were seated, the hostess disappeared, replaced almost immediately by a waiter who offered them the wine menu, and Vic accepted it, looking over (or pretending to really) the long list. Wine wasn’t exactly his drink of choice, so he didn’t really know what he was doing, and despite the price he ordered a bottle of champagne, because it was a special occasion. The waiter nodded, handing them both regular menus to look over while he got the champagne. After he returned, pouring them each a glass before taking their orders and leaving the bottle, Vic turned his full attention back on his boyfriend, really looking him over for the first time that night.

Kellin could wear a garbage bag and Vic would still think he was the most gorgeous person on this earth. But tonight, he was wearing a simple suit, black slacks, white shirt with the top button undone, and a jacket that matched the pants, although that had been shed and draped over the back of the chair, and the arms of his dress shirt had been pushed up to the middle of his forearm, exposing a few tattoos. His black hair was framing his face perfectly, and if Vic hadn’t spent the last four years being late to things because Kellin was busy fixing his hair he would have thought it was effortless.

“What?” Kellin asked after he caught his boyfriend staring at him. Vic simply smiled, biting his lip a bit.
“Nothing,” he shook his head. Kellin looked at him suspiciously for a few moments before shaking it off and going back to talking about whatever it was he was talking about before.

As the meal progressed, Vic grew more and more nervous. But after the waiter came to clear their plates from the main course of the meal was when he felt his hands start to shake a little, and his breathing was kind of uneven. He was trying his best not to let it show though, because then Kellin would know something was up and wouldn’t be surprised at all. That was a lot easier said than done, however, because with the exception of his brother there was no one who knew Vic as well as Kellin did.

The waiter brought out the desert menu, smiling subtly at Vic as he handed Kellin the menu, and Vic swore his breathing stopped all together. This was it.

He watched intently as Kellin opened the menu and froze, and Vic knew exactly why. It wasn’t actually a desert menu, or it was, it was just modified. On the inside, instead of a list of sweet treats, four words were printed in a fancy scrawl.

Vic fumbled around with the small, square object that had taken up residence in his pocket, quickly retrieving it before opening it and holding it up above the table so when Kellin looked up from the menu, he saw the small silver band sitting in the velvet box, glinting beautifully under the lights overhead.

“Kellin,” he began once the younger man had looked up, the question of whether or not this was real clear in his eyes, “will you marry me?” After he finished asking the question that had been on his mind all night, he got up from his chair and went around to the other side of the table and got down on one knee, because if he was going to do this he was going to do it right, and held up the ring box in front of his boyfriend.

He didn’t even have time to question whether Kellin was going to say yes or not, or worry about him changing his mind about wanting to be with him, because before he knew it the younger boy was nodding, wiping at his cheeks which were now wet with a few tears.

Vic had never seen Kellin speechless. He was always so cocky, and he never held anything back. This was a whole new side to him and Vic loved it, although he loved cocky Kellin too. He couldn’t help the smile that overtook his whole face as he slipped the ring onto Kellin’s finger.
“Yes,” The younger man finally choked out after the ring was on the ring finger of his left hand. Vic stood up, bringing Kellin with him, wrapping his arms tightly around his waist and kissing him.

“I love you so much.” He smiled after the kiss had broken, pushing a stray piece of hair out of Kellin’s eyes.

“I love you too.” The other man nodded, a smile similar to his own on his face, before he crashed his lips back onto his new fiancés.