Devil's House

88 Keys

A few days later, it was hard to keep a straight face as Chester drove. Mike was next to him in the passenger seat, rambling off everything he was going to get from Mel's. From the sound of his voice, you would think Mike Shinoda hadn't eaten in a week. Of course Chester knew that wasn't true. He'd made them eggs, bacon, and silver dollar pancakes earlier in the day for breakfast before they packed a few more things around the apartment. Moving day was a little over a week away, and neither of them wanted to wait until the last minute. Amir and Noah had already volunteered to help with the move, but the packing of clothes and art supplies and personal belongings, all of that would need to be done before anything left the apartment for the new house.

Chester smiled instantly. He was ready for Ryan and Jason to be official California residents again, and overly ready to be in their new house. He was excited to fill up his new closet and get the kitchen arranged. After his and Mike's impromptu picnic date the other night on the back patio of the new house, Chester was even more excited. Chinese food and egg rolls had turned into kissing with champagne by the pool, and ended with a quick, but romantic romp on the blanket and pillows they'd brought along. Chester couldn't remember if they'd ever had sex outside before that wasn't under the direction of YRS, but he was pretty sure that was a no.

Or it was. Now we can check that off our list, he decided with a smirk just as Mike announced that he wanted to get an appetizer at Mel's before they ordered their customary bacon cheeseburgers. "I can't believe you're this hungry," Chester laughed as he looked at the time. It was almost one o'clock and he knew that was a little late for Mike's stomach. And we're going to be even later, but that's okay. He's going to be so excited when we get to the music store. Chester rolled his lips together, trying not to grin so wide. His husband had no idea they weren't headed straight to Mel's.

"I'm always hungry, Ches. And I'm so ready to be in the house," Mike rambled, changing the subject away from lunch as his stomach rumbled. "I still can't believe we're buying a house. A whole house. I can't wait to paint, even just repainting the walls in our bedroom. Most people would probably think that was boring, just painting everything one color like that, but I love all the details around the trim and the corners and the ceiling. I love making those straight lines everywhere and then just filling in the rest, it's mindless, and sometimes mindless is good."

Mike looked away from Chester and out the passenger window, watching the streets go by. He hadn't been paying attention as they drove, so when he looked around, it took a minute to get his bearings. "Ches, I think we missed our turn," he said, twisting around to look over his shoulder. "Right? I wasn't looking where you were going, but this doesn't feel right."

"Oh," Chester said innocently, "didn't I tell you? We have to make a quick stop first. Then we'll head over and eat." He only glanced Mike's way. Thankfully they only had one more block to go, any further and Chester's surprise might not happen. "There's something we need to get for the new house and I thought we'd hurry and do that before we eat."

"Chesss, I'm starving," Mike whined, his frown deepening when he looked over to see Chester trying not to laugh. "That's not fair, telling me we were going to eat and going somewhere else. What do you know that we need already? We haven't even moved in yet."

"I just know," Chester replied cheekily as he made the next turn and then pulled into the small parking lot. Mike was staring at him, not where they'd landed, and that made Chester smile. He'd managed to keep his husband in the dark clear up until the right moment. "This is something I know you've wanted for a long time, and I want you to have one." He pointed out the front windshield at the store in front of them with the big red sign that read Pierre's Fine Pianos. "And at the new house, we'll finally have space for one."