Chase's POV

"Welcome to my home, little lamb," Diego says, ushering me into his house. He has an open floor plan, and from our place at his door, I can see his spacious kitchen, living room and dining room.

Navy blue, grey and white adorn his living space. From the walls to the furniture, everything is beautifully coordinated in those colours. The brownish grey, laminated wood floors, interrupted only by a fluffy, light grey rug in the living room, spreads out before us. Large windows, letting in the orange cast of the setting sun, can be seen in every direction.

"Are you hungry? Or thirsty? Are you sleepy? Do you-"

I giggle and peck Diego's cheek, interrupting his rambling. "I'm not a great cook but I make the best mac and cheese," I say, peeking up at my slightly flustered boyfriend.

A warm smile spreads across his face. "You'll cook for me!"

I giggle again and nod. From the time we were teenagers, Jesse was cooking for our entire family. Then when we moved in together he continued that practice and he would cook for me.

In recent years, I've started helping him out more in the kitchen and can now cook about half of the dishes he can, though not as well. The only dish that I can make better than Jesse is surprisingly mac and cheese.

"I'll see if I have all the ingredients," Diego says, grinning at me before pressing a soft kiss to my cheek.

"I actually brought the ingredients," I mumble, stooping to open my little carry-on. I pull out a tiny cooler which contains the cheese, lettuce and chicken breast, along with a grocery bag filled with the other ingredients.

Diego's arms suddenly wrap around me, pulling me backwards. My back is against his chest and his arms around my waist, while he props his head on my shoulder. He places a tender kiss there, before whispering, "I love you so much, Chase."

I twist a little in his arms to gaze into his cocoa bean coloured eyes. "I love you too, DiDi," I reply in a whisper before giving him a soft kiss on the lips. He smiles in response, squeezing me closer to his body. I turn back around and lean against his chest, gently playing with his fingers on my stomach.

We sit like this, on the cool floor, for a few more minutes before I twist around once again in Diego's arms. "Should I cook for you now?" I ask in a soft voice and he smiles and nods in response.

Diego helps me carry everything to the kitchen and after declining his offer to help several times, I start to cook. "Why do you only have one change of clothes?" Diego inquires as I put the macaroni in the pot to boil.

My eyebrows knit together. "I'm only staying over tonight."

"Yes but you have no pyjamas," he retorts and I giggle before turning around.

Perched on the countertop opposite me, Diego raises his eyebrows. I saunter over to him and stand between his legs, a huge smile plastered on my face. His hand drifts up to caress my cheek. "Was a certain little lamb going to sleep naked?" He asks.

A tiny giggle escapes me and I shake my head before leaning forward and burying it in Diego's chest. "No, but I thought maybe I could sleep in your clothes," I mumble against his neck.

The faint smell of manly musk and mocha that defines Diego's smell lingered on the shirt he lent me when we went to his island. That night, his smell comforted me, guiding me into a land of sweet dreams. The only other times I've slept like that since the incident were when Diego slept over at my house.

However, the reason I want to sleep in his clothes is because I've always wanted to sleep in a boyfriend's clothes. Of my previous boyfriends, Mike was the closest I've been to any of them, but he never let me wear his clothes.

Before my thoughts can linger on Mike, Diego's melodic chuckle rings through the air. "Seeing you in my clothes is definitely something I would love!"

I giggle, placing a light kiss on his neck before wriggling out of his arms to continue cooking. My boyfriend watches me while I cook, telling me about the latest project he's working on at work.

Once I'm finished making the mac and cheese, I make the caesar salad and put the chicken breasts into the pan.

"Do you want a quick tour while the chicken cooks?" Diego questions, holding out his hand to me. A smile spreads across my face and I immediately intertwine our fingers.

After grabbing the M&M soft toy which I'll be adding to his growing collection, we head off on our tour. "This is the plushie room." He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly and peeks at me from the corner of his eye.

Now it's my turn to coo at how adorably nervous my six foot tall, muscular man looks. "DiDi! You're so cute!" I release his hand and squish his cheeks together. "My cute angelfish, don't be nervous." Diego chuckles and nods. He takes a deep breath and opens the door.

Shelves of colourful soft toys fill an entire side of one of the walls. The types of plushies range from Pokemon, penguins and pandas to cucumbers and cacti. Numerous plants are scattered along the edges of a large window which encompasses another wall, and facing the plushies, against another wall, is a long cream sofa. The huge, milk white rice and orange salmon of a salmon Nigiri sushi soft toy sit in front of the sofa, acting as a footrest.

The final wall is filled with framed photos of his family. I recognize some of the photos from the way he has described certain events to me.

My face lights up as I stare around the room in wonder. I trace my fingers along the plushies as I walk the edge of the room, with Diego watching my every move. "This is beautiful, DiDi!" I exclaim, spinning around to face him.

"You think so?" He murmurs, giving me an incredulous look. I giggle and bob my head up and down. "I usually come here if I miss my family or to meditate," he says, gesturing to the yoga mats in the corner.

The M&M plushie is placed between a Jigglypuff and Mickey Mouse on a shelf in the centre before we move to the next room. He shows me his indoor gym and bathroom before we get to his bedroom.

His room is decorated in light grey and white with an ivory coloured study desk in the right corner. A large flat screen television faces the round bed, which is topped with at least ten pillows of different shapes and sizes. Diego puts my carry-on in the corner of his room, next to another plant before we head back to the kitchen so that I can check on the chicken.

"Chase?" Diego says tentatively while I'm taking the chicken out of the pan. I hum a response and he continues. "Have you always lived in the same house as Jesse?"

"Yes, we went to different universities but we still roomed together," I reply absentmindedly, focusing on plating the food.

There is a brief moment of silence before Diego's voice sounds again. "So in the future, you'd want to live near him?"

"When we were younger, we always joked that we'd buy a massive house and I'd live upstairs with my boyfriend and he'd live downstairs with his." I giggle at the memory. "It would be really nice to live near him."

Sooner or later, I know that Jesse will move in with Bryan and I'll either be living on my own or maybe, by then, I'll be moving in with Diego. My heart skips a beat at that thought as it dawns on me that living with Diego is something I would definitely want to do in the future.

I think a part of me would always wish that Jesse lived nearby but as long as I can meet up with him regularly, it should be alright. "But it's okay if I don't."

Diego hums a response, and noticing that I'm finished plating the food, helps me take the plates and juice to the table. "This looks incredible!" Diego exclaims and I beam at his praise.

My gaze is intense as I bore holes into my boyfriend's face. It feels like my heart is in my chest; the fork seems to move at a snail's pace as it heads towards his mouth. I bite the inside of my cheek; I really hope he'll like it! The fork finally enters his mouth and his eyes widen. "This is so delicious, little lamb!"

"Really?" I mumble but a bright smile adorns my face. Diego enthusiastically bobs his head up and down and shovels more food into his mouth. He coos and sings me praises the entire meal, giving me periodical soft kisses.

After we're finished washing the dishes, we head to Diego's room. "You can wear anything in my closet to sleep in."

"Even your suit," I tease, sticking my tongue out at him.

"If you wish," he replies with a chuckle. He blows me a kiss and leaves me to shower and get changed.

His walk-in closet is vast and has anything from overalls to suits. They're all neatly organised by type and colour. I pick out a dark green hoodie and giggle when I see that it comes to my mid thighs. Deciding to only wear my red boxer briefs under it, I exit the closet.

Diego, who went to shower in the other bathroom, isn't back yet so I sit in the middle of the bed and message Jesse about how meeting Bryan's parents went. When he tells me about what happened, I nearly die from second hand embarrassment.

The bedroom door opens a few minutes later and Diego walks in wearing a plain white T-shirt and white sweatpants, still towel drying his hair. His eyes widen and he breaks into a huge smile when his gaze lands on me. He inches closer to me, eyes locked on mine. "You look really hot," he whispers seconds before his lips connect with mine. It's a gentle kiss and he pulls away before it gets heated.

He pecks my lips one more time and he disappears into the bathroom for a few seconds to hang up the towel, before diving into the bed.

I bounce a little on the bed at his actions and giggle. He makes himself comfortable lying on his back and then opens his arms. I readily snuggle into his chest and he squeezes me close to his body.

"Thank you for today, Chase." His voice is like a pained but beautiful song, full of emotion, love and hope. I pivot to face him and his eyes are glistening with tears. My hand instinctively reaches out to stroke his cheek and he smiles.

"There are no words to express how much I appreciate everything you've done for me, especially today. I don't think I've ever had someone take such good care of me. So it means the world to me that you spent the day with me." He presses a firm kiss to my forehead and when he pulls away a lone tear runs down his cheek. "Chase, I love you with all my heart, all my soul; with my entire being."

I capture his teardrop and wipe it away before placing feather light kisses on his eyes, nose and finally lips. "I love you with everything in me, DiDi and I will always take care of you." A few more tears fall and I repeat my previous actions, telling him how much I love him until Diego is laughing and tear free. 

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