#that will forever be Kai and Cara lol

[prplpnk]

Yarn that Binds

Merekai/Caraenyl

Merekai had quite the surprise when Caraenyl moved in.

Genre: Fluff ‘n’ Stuff

Rating: T (Language, Death Mention)

Word Count: 1293

Merekai belongs to the awesome @farseerdri -- based on the Day 4 prompt from @downwithwritersblock list: How many sweaters do you even need?

Yarn that Binds

 “You can’t keep them all!”

“I made them! They’re like my children!”

Merekai held back is growl of frustration as his short, red-haired, too-cute-for-his-own-good boyfriend held a pile of his hand-knitted sweaters close to his chest. Those sweaters were a drop in the bucket compared to the full collection, which was scattered about Merekai’s suddenly very small bedroom in no less than twenty large storage bins.

He ran a hand through his black hair, trying is best not to shout and keep his more bestial side at bay. Caraenyl didn’t deserve that, no matter how stubborn he was being in the moment.

Merekai had left his boyfriend for an hour, telling him to thin his collection so it could fit in the house they now shared. After the time passed, however, Caraenyl had merely removed most of the projects from the first bin and placed them into the “keep” pile, and left the “donate” bin completely empty.

The house had been built by Merekai himself, many years ago for the family he’d had then, and by no means would anyone consider it small. Merekai was a fairly large individual, standing well over six feet tall and with a broad build to match, he made sure he’d be comfortable in his own house.

He never realized his boyfriend was a pack rat when it came to his knitting projects. Not that they weren’t good; Caraenyl’s knitted garments were better quality than most from major retailers, and he could pump them out pretty fast, too. But this wasn’t a storage facility. Sure, a few bins Merekai could accept and see the use for, but the hoard that Caraenyl had? It needed to be trimmed down; he didn’t want the walls of the house to become lined with bins, causing not only a fire hazard but an avalanche threat as well. How embarrassing would it be to be smothered to death by a mountain of sweaters?

“Even parents know when it’s time to let their children leave the nest, Cara,” the taller man tried, keeping his tone soft.

Caraenyl only shook his head and held onto the sweaters tighter. “But these don’t need to leave, Kai! Please, I’ll keep them out of the way, I promise!”

“Where?” Merekai asked, his frustration starting to leak into his voice. “The musty basement? Stuffy attic? Dump money into a random storage shed five miles away you’ll only visit to stuff more of your projects into? You want to keep all this,” he swung his arms around, indicating the entire collection, “just to have it rot?!”

The movement was slight, but Merekai very easily caught it; Caraenyl’s bottom lip twitched and the taller man saw the sheen of unshed tears within his boyfriend’s large, dark golden eyes.

Merekai sighed, his irritation immediately cooled at the sight of his boyfriend. This means so much to him….

He kneeled before the bed, where Caraenyl sat with his legs crossed, knowing he could be intimidating without trying. Now at least he was at eye-level with the redhead. “Is there… more to it?”

Caraenyl looked away for a few moments, sniffing and taking a couple deep breaths. Merekai waited patiently as his boyfriend composed himself.

“My uhm… my dad,” the redhead began softly, “he loved that I knitted. Growing up, I didn’t get along that great with my siblings, so I picked up knitting. Made everyone in the family sweaters and socks and gloves and hats… but no one really liked them. Except for Dad.” Caraenyl smiled a little. “Every holiday or birthday, Dad looked forward to opening my present the most. He loved every sweater and hat and socks… my siblings hated that, but I was glad I could make him happy.” The smile slid from his lips and he nuzzled into the sweaters. “And… then Dad got sick. He was in the hospital for over a year and a nursing home until his death…. He passed away a few days before his birthday. He never saw the final sweater I-” The redhead choked on a sob and Merekai immediately placed himself on the bed and wrapped his arms around Caraenyl to hold him close.

Death was never easy to deal with, Merekai knew that all too well.

Caraenyl cried for a minute or two before looking up at Merekai, a slight blush on his freckled cheeks. “Sorry,” he muttered.

Merekai shook his head. “Don’t be.” He gently wiped the tears away with his thumb and gave his boyfriend a reassuring smile, but after hearing that, the taller man had an idea why Caraenyl couldn’t let his projects go. “So you keep all these things around… because you want to give them to your dad?”

Dark golden eyes widened as they gazed up at Merekai, surprise flashing within. Caraenyl then looked away, his brow furrowed and expression intense for a few minutes.

“Shit.”

Caraenyl never swore out of the blue like that and hearing the innocent-looking redhead curse almost made Merekai laugh. The redhead just said bad words so cutely, he couldn’t help it sometimes. Merekai did hold back in this instance, however, and he gently rubbed Caraenyl’s back.

“I didn’t know your father,” Merekai stated, keeping his tone soft, “but do you think he’d want you to keep these projects around? They brought such happiness to him; I think he’d want you to share that with others, don’t you?”

The redhead’s smile was small, but still reached his eyes. “Thank you Kai, but….” He glanced around the room before landing upon Merekai with large, dark golden eyes. “All of it? Right now?”

That face… that pleading tone…. Fuck.

Merekai sighed, most definitely not in defeat, in relief. Yeah, relief that his boyfriend was finally listening to him and that puppy-face had nothing to do with it. Nothing.

“Well… how about this,” the taller man suggested, “why not give some away on your stream?” Caraenyl had been able to make a living strictly on knitting through streaming his progress while he worked. It was moderately successful, at least enough for him to live off of and pay for more yarn, and he’d built a decent community of it. “And maybe put some of the more intricate pieces up for charity auction? I guess I can deal with the bins for a little while as you thin it out.”

Caraenyl’s smile brightened considerably. He dropped the sweaters still in his grasp to instead wrap his arms around Merekai’s neck in a grateful hug and gave him a quick kiss. “Thank you Kai!”

Merekai could only smile in return; there was the bubbly Caraenyl he loved. He helped his boyfriend move the bins into the redhead’s computer room and promised to help when he’d do the giveaways and auctions. As Merekai went downstairs to start supper, he absolutely did not think that Caraenyl had him wrapped around his finger.

Not at all, even as Merekai smiled; like it was a bad thing.

[ray-ray-writings]

Q&A - First off the most important question of all,,, Can you hula hoop? And secondly any songs that you can scream your broken heart to with passion? I’ve ran through my entire playlist this week I need more sad/screamy songs in my queue,, also and of course another question that must be asked, are you doing okay? Staying healthy? Drinking water? Please stay safe we all love youuu! - 🎻

Really great questions here! First: Not really. I can go for maybe three seconds and then it falls. That being said, I can spin them around my arms really well and for a long time lol. 

Second: I have so many because they hit me in the feels. Driver’s License, Olivia Rodrigo. Bad Habit, Ben Platt. Better, Ben Platt. Broadway, Here I Come, George Slazar & Joe Iconis. Burn, Hamilton. Cancer, Twenty One Pilots. Closure, ROZE. Good for You, Dear Evan Hansen. Haunted, Taylor Swift. Impossible, Shontelle. If Only, Descendants. In Case You Don’t Live Forever, Ben Platt. In the Bedroom Down the Hall, Dear Evan Hansen. Not My Father’s Son, Kinky Boots. Things We Used to Share, Thomas Sanders. On the Borderline, Thomas Sanders. Requiem, Dear Evan Hansen. She Used to Be Mine, Waitress, Stone Cold, Demi Lovato. Torn, Natalie Imbruglia. Unsteady X Ambassadors. What About Us, Pink. Words Fail, Dear Evan Hansen. Heather, Conan Gray. Literally any and all Lewis Capaldi songs. The Wall in My Head, Everybody’s Talking about Jamie. Ghost of You, Five Seconds of Summer. Moral of the Story, Ashe. Here, Alessia Cara. Chosen Last, Sara Kays. Falling, Harry Styles. Arcade, Duncan Laurence. Mr. Loverman, Ricky Montgomery. My Heart Is Buried In Venice, Ricky Montgomery. Unsaid Emily, Julie and the Phantoms. She, Dodie. Good Kid, the Lightning Thief Musical. Tree on the Hill, the Lightning thief musical. Last Day of Summer, the Lightning thief musical. Trainwreck, James Arthur. 

A lot of these are from musicals, but they’re bangers nontheless. I hope you give some a listen, if you do let me know what you think!!

Third: I am doing okay! I went home from college for the weekend and I had a really nice time seeing my family! I am healthy and I am drinking water… When I remember and when I don’t add Lemonade powder to it… Moving on. School’s a little stressful which is why I have started posting imagines every other day instead of everyday. It will probably stay that way for a while and I really hope no one gets too upset over that. 

I love you guys too! Thank you so much 🎻 for the question!!!!