# Adjustments

Author: DarkSoulsSauron
Tags: ninetales, pokemon

Eli
sat in his dingy apartment, sweat dripping down his brow. It was
stiflingly humid, and no breeze flew in to cool Eli, despite the
temptation offered by an open window. He actually panted as he
swirled paints about his canvas. It was almost two weeks into
September and it still felt like July, even if the leaves were
falling around the tiny and quiet town of Cavalier. 
Eli
dropped his brush back onto his pallet as he heard someone knock at
the door. He slipped off his stool and stepped over to the door. He
opened it up to see Soren standing at the threshold, his arm
perpetually reaching back to scratch the back of his head. Eli stood
on tip-toes to kiss him. "You're home early. How was work? Sorry
about the door. I really need to get another key." 
"Don't
worry about it. It's no big deal," said a smiling Soren as Eli led
him into the tiny apartment. "Work was ok. It was boring actually.
Nothing needed fixing, so all the people at IT just sort of sat
around. Harold just sent us home." Soren dropped his backpack
hesitantly on the couch, and then weaved his way through the
cluttered living area to the kitchen. "I'm actually kinda hungry.
Do you mind if I cook dinner early?""I
didn't eat much for lunch. Go for it." Eli picked up the backpack
and put it in the room they most recently started to share. It had
been two weeks but Soren still didn't feel at home here. It was like
they were meeting each other for the first time at school. But
it really wasn't that far of a step from crashing at Eli's apartment
every other night to living there full time. The only difference
now was that Soren wasn't paying rent for that town home. It was true
that Eli's little place was smaller and a bit more pricey, but
Soren's house was... sketchy, and that was putting it lightly. Eli
didn't blame Soren for not wanting to sleep there whenever he could.
It shouldn't take much longer for him to adjust. 
Eli
returned to the living area and looked around, enjoying what he saw.
The tiny apartment only had three rooms: the bedroom, the minute
bathroom, and the living area. The living area itself was split
between the kitchen area, the space that hosted the musty, ancient
couch and staticy TV, and the so-called studio, which dominated most
of it. But the minimalistic furnishings weren't what made him happy.
It was the fact that Soren was in the kitchen, busy with a homemade
mac n cheese recipe, and also that his studio was filled with
completed paintings, ready for his third auction. 
Eli
was ahead of schedule on preparing for his third auction, and his
name had been flying around and into a lot of important ears as of
late. He was optimistic, but cautiously so. The second auction had
been even better than the first, but both Eli and Soren had agreed
that it would be best to see if Eli could keep this successful streak
going before making any big purchases. He had broken down and bought
one big thing. He really needed a new bed. His old one was creaky and
hard, and it really was too short for two foxes taller than six feet
to be sharing. 
Dinner
was ready exceptionally fast, and Eli sat down to eat, anticipating
whatever culinary miracles Soren had whipped up today. The
salty-savory flavors of five cheeses, bacon, and some leftover
meatballs were divine. Eli couldn't get over how good a cook Soren
was. It felt bizarre to be eating such good food consistently. Not
too long ago he had been living off of hot pockets, and he even
managed to burn those half the time. Eli had gained at least five
pounds since he started dating Soren, but then again, that was
probably a good thing. A few months ago, if someone had looked at
him, they would have been able to see his ribs clearly through his
fur. 
"So
nothing else happened at work," asked Eli as he finished a mouthful
of delicious pasta. "You just sat around all day?" 
Soren
smiled. "No actually, I forgot to show you." He quickly trotted
off to their bedroom and came back with his backpack. "I got these
at the lab." Soren reached in and pulled out a dozen plexiglass
boxes and put them on the tiny table in stacks of three. 
"What
are these," asked Eli as he picked one up and delicately turned it
in his hand.Soren
smiled even wider. "You can vacuum seal these boxes." Soren
waited a beat as Eli's face lit up with comprehension. "You can
store the leaves in here without having to laminate them." 
Eli
clapped his hands. "This is fantastic! Now I can showcase them in
their original shape!" 
Soren
reached in deeper in pulled out some velvet pads and tiny pins. "You
don't mind poking a hole in them? Otherwise they'll fly around the
box when I vacuum seal the box."Eli
nodded excitedly. "Thanks, Soren. I've got some that you could take
in tomorrow. Is that ok?" 
"Yeah,"
said Soren. "Harold gave me the OK. Vacuum cases like these are
hardly high profile or dangerous. Do you mind if I practice for a bit
after we clean up?"Eli
got up and kissed Soren on the cheek. "Of course. You know I love
it when you play for me." The two foxes worked quickly through the
dishes. Eli went back to his final painting and Soren pulled the old
maple violin gingerly out of its case. 
Eli
closed his eyes for a moment and bobbed his head to the music as
Soren began to accompany a song from the Legend of Zelda soundtracks.
Soren's timing was flawless and his notes blended into the recording
so that it felt like the whole orchestra was playing with Soren in
their cluttered apartment. Some days Soren was so funny about music.
He just played along with songs rather than trying to alter or
rearrange them. Some songs, according to Soren, were just perfect,
and attempting to alter them was "blasphemy." For an atheist,
Soren could get so spiritual about music. 
Eli
returned to his final painting. He looked down at the leaf he was
using as a reference. It was green and brown, curled and wavy as it
dried, and littered with minute holes. Looking down from above, Eli
tried to turn the leaf into a rolling, hilly landscape. He spent
about thirty minutes playing with his paints, but he took the canvas
off with a grumble. This one wasn't right. Eli worked for more than
an hour on the next one. But it still wasn't right. He swore audibly
as Soren finished his piece. 
Soren
got up and turn off the music. He walked over to Eli and hugged him
from behind. "What's up, sweetie?"Eli
growled, partially in frustration and partially in pleasure. They
were both such cuddle whores, but his irritation with the painting
was all consuming. "I can't get the perspective right. And please
don't tell me it's good. It's completely awful." 
Soren
gave a light squeeze. "It does look
good," said Soren, but he raised his voice and spoke quickly to cut
Eli off. "But I know that this isn't what you are looking for. I
can tell it's a leaf. But save those canvases. You could re-purpose
them. You use green a lot." 
Eli
nodded. "Thanks, Soren. I've been working on this one all day."
he gestured to five different canvases laid on the reject pile. "I
finished my other stuff but this one keeps hanging me up." 
Soren
examined the leaf. "Could you try adjusting your perspective?" 
Eli
shook his head. "I've been doing that all day. This one seems the
most promising." 
Soren
nodded, "Hrmm... have you tried using more than one leaf?" 
Eli
lit up. "No. But that's so obvious!" 
Soren
went to the card table that housed all the unused leaves that Eli
gathered from around Cavalier. Snooping around the pile, he picked
out a few and also retrieved a few of the tiny pins he bought to
secure the leaves. He passed Eli a round and slender red-purple leaf,
two leaves of differing shades of orange, and a tall, wide yellow
leaf. Pinning the new leaves together, he lined it up with a brown
peak of the rolling leaf Eli was trying to paint. Adjusting the
lineup and playing with the perspective, Soren arranged the leaves
vertically to make a brilliant leaf sunset. 
Eli
clapped his hands. "This almost works... I just need to find the
right colors!" He dashed back to the little card table, looking for
leaves that would match his needs. He frantically sifted through the
leaves, searching for the leaf that would complete the set. "No...
I don't think it is here..." He checked his watch. "We've got
about an hour of light left... Can you help me find some more?" 
Soren
nodded. "What are you looking for?" 
"I
need a leaf that is partially dried. It needs to cleanly transition
from dead brown to orange.""Let's
go then," said Soren eagerly. He fished two flashlights out of the
junk drawer as well as some baggies. The two dashed outside. There
was a park nearby, and there were plenty of leaves. Splitting off
from each other, they began to scour the ground, looking for that
perfect leaf. Eli seemed to be finding nothing but reds and yellows.
Eli bagged a few of the ones he found for later, but his priority was
to find that perfect leaf that could get him the color transition he
was looking for. 
The
sun was now below the horizon, and soon the light would be gone
completely. Soren came back to Eli every few minutes, handfuls of
leaves in his hands, but neither of them could find the right one.
Their crappy old flashlights weren't doing them any good, and after
half an hour of stumbling around in the almost-darkness, Eli gave up.

"Let's
just go, Soren," said Eli, a frown of irritation on his face. "I'll
just have to look while you're at work tomorrow." 
"Alright,"
said Soren. He offered his hand to Eli. "Do you wanna take the long
way home?" 
"I
don't see why not," said Eli, unable to resist a smile. The two
dawdled their way home, walking around the exterior of the park. The
two turned a corner on the path that led towards the tiny playground
and was also the best route back to their apartment. "I'm just
frustrated right now. I have a vision in my head, but it'll just have
to sit pretty until I get the things I need. I hope I don't lose it."

Soren
actually smiled a bit. "I found something that might make you feel
better." Soren pointed towards a pile of leaves. But it wasn't an
ordinary pile of leaves. It was a massive pile, the result of
who knows how many kids piling leaves as high as they could reach.
But the pile was immaculate, sitting in a perfect heap, as though the
children had built the masterpiece but were called home before they
could destroy it themselves. The pile sat there; an aura of
unfulfilled sadness permeated the park. 
"Race
you," said Eli. The two sprinted down the path, running full pelt
towards the monstrous pile, two flashes of color in the darkened
park. Eli got there first, leaping into the air and turning so that
he would land in the pile back first. There was a rustley crash as
leaves cascaded around him. Soren wasn't far behind. Soren jumped
high and landed on top of his boyfriend with a light thump. The
two clutched each other, giggling like little kids.Eli
gave a little growl as he felt Soren's lips brush against his neck,
again and again. Both gave a sigh as Soren continued, kissing his way
up to Eli's slim muzzle. Soren kissed him, once, twice, and- "Soren,
stop," said Eli, abruptly breaking away.Soren
looked confused. "What's wrong?' 
Eli
sat up, frantically patting down Soren's shirt. "I just saw it! The
perfect one! It fell down your collar." Eli ran his hands around
Soren's torso, taking great care not to pat too hard in case he
crushed the leaf. "Dammit, I can't find it." Without warning, Eli
pulled open the button down shirt Soren was wearing. He ran his hands
across Soren's body, probing for a stem that may have gotten tangled
in the silver fur. 
"Oh,"
growled Soren, a teasing tone to his voice, "at least take me out
to dinner first." 
Eli
ignored the jibe and continued to search Soren. "Found it," he
cried in delight. "It's beautiful." Eli held the flashlight to
his prize to show Soren. The color transition was flawless. "Thanks
for the help, sweetie." He kissed Soren on the muzzle. 
Soren
got up and began to button his shirt up again. "Well let's not fool
around here. Let's get home so you can finish." Soren offered a
hand to Eli, and he took it. 
"Did
I ever tell you you're the best boyfriend ever," asked Eli as he
pulled Soren into a one-armed hug and kissed his cheek."I
think you just did," said Soren, his blush visible even by the
inconsistent light of their flashlights. "Thank you, Eli. You're
too nice to me." 

Eli
grabbed Soren's hand and began to lead them back home. "No, I'm
just being honest." 

Source: https://sofurry.com/view/590824