The man looked away from Riju’s unwavering gaze. “Fine.”
“Before we say yes, we want to see the entire building. We don’t want to sign anything and realize the basement is full of mold and rats.”
“Yeah.” Kit nodded. “The last thing we need is for kids to run out screaming because a rat’s taken up residence in a dollhouse.”
***
“I almost can’t believe it,” Riju said four days later as they stood in the building.
Kit almost couldn't either. They’d done the signing, received the key, and come to inspect the building more closely since Riju wanted to think about where things should go. It was in decent shape, and thankfully, the basement was free of mold and rats.
“We’re almost there.” Kit giggled as Riju picked him up and swung him around once before hugging him. “You didn’t think it would really happen, did you?”
Riju set him on his feet. “It didn’t seem like it would happen for a long time.” He gave Kit a quick kiss on the lips. “Let’s look in the back.”
Kit wanted to kiss him again, but he followed. Even though they’d been sleeping in the same bed for the past few weeks since a couple of times had turned into every night, things hadn’t gone further.
They’d been a bit stressed while looking for a new place to open up shop. Nothing had been quite right according to Riju. Too small, too big, not in a good location, or too rundown. Thelast one they’d looked at had been better, but Riju had wanted big windows up front, and its windows had been small and too high for children to get a good look.
The once-tavern was mostly perfect, and they’d be able to afford the rent and tax without a problem if things started slow since they’d sold a good deal of the sex toys back in The Edge. Riju had dropped prices to lure people in, and thanks to his thinking, they barely had anything left. As long as their new business did well, they’d be fine, and Kit was sure it would.
The previous owner had left a small barrel of ale on the kitchen work counter with a note to enjoy.
“I don’t like drinking,” said Riju. “It makes my head feel funny.”
“I’m not much into it either. I suppose we could keep it, and maybe we’ll find someone to give it to.”
The owner had lived in his tavern, and the living quarters weren’t pleasant smelling either since odors from downstairs had drifted up and stuck over the years. Kit and Riju went around to open the windows. A couple of ratty brooms had been left behind, so they set to sweeping.
Kit liked the bedroom upstairs with the privy next to it. Neither would need to go far in the night if it was needed. The basement had high windows, and it would make a good work area. When Kit had finished, he went into the main section. The room looked odd with most of the tables and chairs cleared out.
“We need to paint it,” Riju said as he swept dust into a pile he’d made near a dustpan. “If we air it out for a couple of days, that’ll help the smell. The walls have a few stains.” He paused to glare at a spot in a corner where it looked like an idiot had been stubbing his cigs out on the wall. “Paint will hide those burn marks too. We could do whitewash for our quarters, but I want something different for this room. My favorite color is red…”
Kit shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Riju paused to lean on the broom. “In my mind, it looks nice, but it’s not really a good color, is it? It might be a bit much on the eyes.”
“I went into a whorehouse one time, and the walls were red. It gave me a headache, and we don’t want it to look like a whorehouse.”
“Mm. I suppose we could do white too.”
“Or…How about blue like the sky, and on the ceiling, we can add clouds? If you were a kid, how would you feel walking into a room painted like the sky with clouds all over?”
Riju gazed at him before his face broke into a smile. “Like I’d walked into a toy wonderland.”
“Then let’s do it!” Kit boosted himself up to sit on the counter. “I’ll do the clouds.”
Riju’s smile dropped. “Are you sure you still want to do this?”
“If you don’t like blue with clouds, we can think of something else.”
“No, I mean, do you still want to work with me and-” Riju made a faint motion with his hand. “-do all of this?”
“Why does it feel like you’re trying to chase me off all of a sudden?”
Riju came over and leaned the broom on the long counter before he settled next to Kit. “I know we decided to be together, but just because I’m doing this, it doesn’t mean you have to be stuck in my business. Making toys is my dream.”
“But I’ve really enjoyed making stuff with you and learning these past months,” said Kit. “I didn’t have a dream to make toys, and I didn’t know it could be fun either. It simply wasn’t a thing I thought about before I met you.”
