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Keith and Hunk are coming up to their five-year wedding anniversary, and Keith wants to do something special. Really special. They’ve been together for much longer than that, but five years married is still important.
(Keith doesn’t want to admit that they’ve nearly been together longer than they haven’t, because that makes him feel really, really old.)
Every anniversary previous, Hunk has always taken the reigns. He loves to cook, and he loves to entertain, so usually they have a nice romantic dinner at home. This is their first anniversary since they had the twins though, and Keith desperately wants to get out.
He loves his baby girls, he really does, but they can and will, drive him insane. They just have so much energy! They aren’t even one yet, but he knows he will spend the rest of his life chasing them. And, Hunk has been stressed about some new classes he’s teaching, so Keith doubts he has even thought about their anniversary.
But Keith will not let this one fall through the cracks. They will enjoy it.
And Keith has the perfect idea.
See, Keith and Hunk have been dating since they were fourteen. Back before Keith had really figured out who he was. And Hunk has always had a dream of going on a food tour of the States. He has had the entire trip planned out since he was twelve, each destination meticulously marked on the map. He had every menu he could find and had highlighted the ones he had to try.
The plan was to take a gap year before college, but life happened and now they’re here, with ten-month-old twins and jobs and bills and pets and all that fun stuff. Hunk hasn’t talked about his Ultimate Food Tour in a long, long time, but Keith is sure the map is buried in their attic somewhere.
So, one afternoon when Hunk takes the kids out to the park, when Keith is supposed to be doing grading for his classes, Keith goes up to the attic. The cats shadow his every move as always.
“Christ,” Keith says when he climbs up the ladder. They have a lot more stuff then he realised. He groans and begins searching.
All the most recent boxes are filled with baby stuff that they didn’t have the heart to throw away, behind that are boxes from when they moved out of their apartment, then boxes from when they moved out of the apartment before that, their dorms and when they moved out of home. Keith will admit, they’re both extremely sentimental. They should probably get through this stuff though, it’s ridiculous.
Keith pushes as many boxes to the side as he can, as he makes his way to the stuff from their dorms. That’s the last time he remembers seeing the map, so he guesses he’ll start there.
He finds the map, eventually. It’s more faded and worn then he remembered, but the thing is fifteen years old now. The creases are thin and will likely tear if he’s not careful. He carries it down to the kitchen.
Little twelve-year-old Hunk’s handwriting is so sweet, and he had been so thorough with his planning, meticulously noting each stop. Keith knows that they can’t take the next year off work to do this road trip, but they can maybe complete a part of it. Their anniversary is in June, and they have the next two months off. Even if they just took a week and drove around doing this Food Tour, Keith would be happy. He needs to figure out the specifics of the trip; whether they’ll bring the twins with them; who would look after Kosmo and the cats; where they would stay and how much it would all cost, but Keith was confident it would all work out.
Keith can’t keep a secret to save his life, so he tells Hunk of his plans a month ahead and together they work out the logistics. Hunk has tears in his eyes as he kisses Keith’s face repeatedly. He had nearly forgotten about his Ultimate Food Tour, putting it on the backburner until they had retired. It had to be modified slightly, since they have kids now, but Hunk is ecstatic. Keith wonders if they’re crazy for going on a weeklong road trip with Kennedy and Charlie, who are only ten months old. The trip is packed with things to do, and places to see. Keith hopes they’ll enjoy it.
Shiro comes over to pick up Kosmo, Red and Yellow and their supplies. Without them, the house seems strangely quiet. Keith and Hunk made sure to tire the girls out today, so they can put them to bed a bit earlier. Kennedy demands extra cuddles before bed, and what Kennedy gets Charlie wants, but they manage to lull them asleep.
They wake up at 6:30 the next morning in a flurry of activity. The girls get their bottles, and they jam everything into the car. By 7:15, they’re on the road. Their first stop is the next city over, where there are some excellent restaurants and cafes they haven’t tried out yet.
“Should we put on some music to keep the babies occupied?” Keith asks, already pulling up his Disney playlist on his phone. The girls love Disney, and they are starting to dance to it now that they have a bit more mobility.
“Put on The Lion King,” Hunk says. There isn’t too much traffic yet as they join the main road between the cities, which Keith is thankful for. He has no patience for traffic.
Although none of them can speak a word of Zulu, they all try to sing along to the opening song. The girls babble in tune (sort of) and Keith can’t help videoing it. He feels like they’re growing up too fast.
“We should take them to see the new one,” Hunk says, pulling Keith from his thoughts. He twists back around to face the right way. Hunk puts one hand on Keith’s thigh, steering with the other.
“I don’t know, I’m kind of scared to go. What if it’s so bad that it ruins the original?” Keith asks.
Hunk laughs, and Charlie mimics him, sending Kennedy into a fit of giggles. Keith can’t help but join in with the infectious laughter. Soon, they’ve forgotten their reason for laughing.
They cycle through music from different Disney songs, including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and Moana. Soon enough, the girls get bored and turn to trying to reach each other through their car seats. They pull over and Keith sits in between them to keep them distracted and from hurting themselves or each other. He is armed with their favourite rattle toys and a book.
They make it to the city at nine thirty, just in time for breakfast. Their car seats snap into their stroller. Kennedy and Charlie are all too happy to be free, looking at all the people around them and pointing at things. They haven’t said their first words yet, but Keith knows it’ll be soon. He has his phone with him at all times, and he wants to catch those moments.
They decide to go to a lesser known café that serves fresh breakfast foods and coffee. Keith asks Hunk to order for him, since he often finds menus overwhelming. They only have one highchair available at the moment, so Keith puts Charlie in it while they wait for Hunk to finish ordering. Charlie is a wriggly little monkey, always on the go, and she will get out of his hands if he holds onto her. Kennedy is a safer bet, so she sits on his lap instead. No doubt Charlie will be freed from her constraints once they finish eating.
“Are you hungry, girls?” Hunk asks as he comes over to them. He has a tray with two coffees and some cutlery on it. They talk to the girls as much as they can, even if Keith feels self-conscious about doing it in public. Charlie claps her hands, smiling widely. They take after Hunk for their appetites, Keith has yet to find a food they don’t like.
They have some pots of baby food with them (homemade of course because Hunk isn’t going to let his baby girls eat just any food.) They feed them, or more accurately, the girls try to feed themselves while they wait for their own food. They get more food on their clothes and faces than in their mouths, but they look so proud of themselves that Keith leaves them be. It’s nothing a few baby wipes can’t clean up anyway.
Hunk goes into a rant about what he had ordered. Keith and Hunk almost always split their meals, so they can taste more things between them. Even though Keith is a picky eater, he loves listening to Hunk talk about food. He is so passionate about it, and Keith trusts his judgement. Seeing Hunk’s smile is worth it.
Hunk got them two breakfast rolls, which were divine, and they head out after finishing their coffees (also divine). There is a zoo about an hour away, that they’ve been meaning to bring the twins to see. Keith’s excited because they have a huge enclosure for their hippos, and a baby was born not too long ago. The girls sleep for the whole journey there.
They load the girls into their stroller. They’re almost too big for their car seats now. They’ve been holding out buying new ones though, since they have to buy two of everything and it gets expensive. They still aren’t sure if they should buy two separate ones or stick to one stroller that can take the twins, like they have now.
Hunk pushes them through the crowds. Keith is always a bit anxious when he has the twins in public, always overly aware of how much space they take up, but Hunk has no problems. Sometimes it amazes Keith that Hunk can be so anxious over some things but have no problems with others. He guesses he is the same, but opposite. Maybe it’s why they get on so well.
A couple of people coo over how cute Kennedy and Charlie are, which always makes pride bloom in Keith’s chest. Yes, his baby girls are adorable, thank you very much.
The girls adore all the animals, cooing and laughing. They point things out to Hunk and Keith and reach out to try to touch the animals. Keith makes a note that they should take them to a petting zoo at some point.
They stop for lunch around noon, at the zoo’s restaurant. It’s loud and filled with other families. Keith lets Hunk order for them again. Thankfully, this time they have two highchairs, so Keith doesn’t feel like he’s favouring either Charlie or Kennedy.
“Food’ll be here in a bit,” Hunk says as he sits down. He presses a kiss to Keith’s head as he passes. Keith holds his hand out to him. Hunk grasps it and squeezes three times. I love you.
Keith smiles. “You know, I was worried that this trip would be too much, with the babies and how much we have planned, but if today was any indication, I think it is going to be amazing.”
“It’s all down to you, sweetheart. Best anniversary present ever.”