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       #Post#: 1501--------------------------------------------------
       The matchmakers- Kenji/Reuben 
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 18, 2026, 4:20 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Reuben's day had gone rather well. He'd managed to get his
       daughter ready, fed and dressed and dropped her off at the day
       care on time and got to work a bit early for a change. Work had
       been exciting and he'd actually gotten to meet with Adan
       finally. The man was more than impressive with how much he knew,
       and Reuben felt excited about working with him.
       He'd taken a break at lunch to spend it with his daughter,
       pleased to hear how much fun she was having with her new friend.
       He dropped her back off and went back to work, feeling like he'd
       made the right choice moving to the oasis.
       He finished work and headed off to collect Rae, only to find out
       his daughter had disappeared.
       "What do you mean she's not here?" He asked, worry surging as
       panic started to set in. "How long has she been missing? Do you
       even know? Oh gods," Reuben swore tugging at his hair, trying to
       think of where his daughter might have taken off to.
       -----
       It was another long day. The list of random things that needed
       fixing was always growing, not that Kenji minded all that much.
       He needed the work if he was going to raise Mei all on his own.
       It had been a little over a year now that his wife had been
       killed. Mei had seemed rather resilient in bouncing back over
       the past year, even making a friend in the daycare Kenji dropped
       her off to nearly every day.
       It was finally time to go pick up his little girl so he stopped
       in at the care center only to hear a man seeming to have issues
       with getting his kid back, only for him to get the news that his
       daughter was also missing. "How the hell do you lose two
       kids??!" He half yelled in frustration. "Do you have any idea
       where she could have gone?" He questioned as worry seeped in at
       the thought that his little girl had maybe been taken.
       ---
       It had been far easier to get away from the daycare works than
       Mei had ever thought possible. She was nervously clinging to her
       friend's arm as the pair made their way to the meadow that the
       pair had suspected they would find the unicorn everyone had been
       talking about. "Are you sure this is a good idea? What if we get
       lost?" Mei couldn't help but worry out loud. The child had
       always been a strict rule follower so this was all new to her.
       -----
       Reuben was pulled out of freaked out thoughts hearing another
       parent yelling about his kid getting lost as well. He was led
       over by the worker he'd been talking to, getting a good look at
       how worried the man was.
       "We're really sorry, we had a couple kids get into an accident
       and we got distracted trying to calm them down. We didn't even
       realize they were missing until right now. We can alert the
       scouts and everyone to start looking straight away. They
       couldn't have gotten that far," the fae worker tried to reassure
       the two men.
       Reuben tried racking his brain on where Rae might have gone. She
       was a bit too headstrong, but it had been months since she'd
       last acted out like this.
       "Mae was talking about the pixie village the past week, and
       asking to see it. It's possible she dragged your Mei along with
       her," Reuben recalled and shot a look up at the other man.
       Rae had become rather enamored with her best friend, so he'd
       heard the girl's name constantly.
       ----
       Rae patted Mei lightly on the hand, shooting her friend a
       reassuring look.
       "Of course it's a good idea. You wanna see the unicorn don't
       you? It's not that much further. We'll be fine Mei, I've been
       dropping rocks, we kin follow them back,"
       Though Rae's feet were getting sour, she kept walking.  As long
       as she saw a unicorn, it would be all worth it.
       ----
       "You are just now realizing our daughters are missing?? This is
       ridiculous! I thought this place was supposed to be safe?!"
       Kenji found himself half yelling before the other father
       mentioned the name of Mei's little friend she had been talking
       about and say something about a pixie village.
       "Be a good first place to look... do you know where this place
       is supposed to be?" He questioned, a slight look of hope in his
       eyes. He would find his daughter, hell or high water. Once he
       knew what direction he needed to go, he headed out towards the
       pixie village.
       ---
       "Well.... yeah of course I want to see a unicorn! I hope you are
       right, I don't want to get in trouble..." Mei responded as the
       pair continued on through the thickening forest. They walked
       until little Mei couldn't feel her feet anymore. "Can we take a
       break before my feet fall off?" She questioned.
       ----
       While Reuben was freaking out himself, he knew yelling wasn't
       going to help any. He had the feeling the other father wouldn't
       stop yelling until he knew his daughter was safe.
       "Sir, it is safe. We'll find your daughter." The worker tried to
       reassure Kenji.
       She looked rather relieved when Reuben spoke up and took the
       focus off of her.
       "Yeah I know where it is, let's go. Please keep looking other
       places as well," Reuben told the workers. He wasn't 100 percent
       sure that was where the girls had ended up.
       Reuben led the way, as the news spread around the community
       about the missing kids.
       "Rae! Rae! Are you here? Raelee! Daddy's not mad," Reuben called
       out as the got closer to the pixie village.
       His calls brought the pixies out to ask what was going on. When
       the pixies told the two men the girls weren't there and hadn't
       seen them, Reuben's panic and fear rose.
       "Maybe they wanted to find the unicorn!" One of the pixies
       chirped.
       Reuben's eyes rounded and he let out a groan. "Oh no. That's
       where they must have gone. How far was the place where the
       unicorn was spotted?"
       Several pixies volunteered to guide them to the meadow, but they
       were quite a ways behind the two small girls, and the sun was
       starting to go down.
       -----
       "If we hurry we'll be okay," Rae replied, not realizing just how
       unfriendly the forest could be to two small girls.
       Rae glanced around and pulled Mei to a fallen tree and helped
       her friend sit. "We can rest, but just for a little bit. Want a
       cookie? I saved mine from snack time," she said pulling two
       crumbling cookies from her dress pocket to offer to Mei.
       ----
       The pair of fathers called out for their girls. "Mei, come on
       honey, it's time to go home!" He called out into the seemingly
       empty woods he had followed Reuben into. It seemed they had
       attracted the attention of the pixies that informed them that
       the girls hadn't been seen, but they managed to get a new lead
       with several of the fae offering to show the men the way.
       The closer the sun got to the horizon, the more worried Kenji
       got.
       ---
       When the pair finally came to a stop to rest, Rae offered up a
       snack for the pair of them. Cookies saved from snack time that
       morning. "Ohhh yes! Thank you Rae!" She said, gladly accepting
       the offered lint covered crumbly cookie and began to munch
       without a second thought.
       "Do you think the Unicorn is as pretty as everyone says? I heard
       someone saying if you ride a unicorn you get a wish!" Mei
       chimed, quite content with her cookie and friend, even if it was
       starting to get dark. It didn't take long for Mei to finish her
       cookie, standing and dusting herself off feeling refreshed for
       their journey.
       All bravery the little half fae had shown, evaporated when she
       heard a strange growling from behind some bushes. Mei clung to
       Raelee with wide scared eyes. "What is that??" She whispered.
       -----
       The pixies seemed to sense the fathers' urgency, quickly leading
       the way to the meadow. Reuben was breathing hard as he ran to
       keep up, a sudden wave of fear catching a hold of him.
       One of the pixies suddenly halted the other's bringing everyone
       to an abrupt stop.
       "Why'd you stop? We have to find the girls!" Reuben said in
       frustration.
       "There's bad magic here, something evil. Zero, go get the
       warriors, now!" Ordered a fierce looking pixie warrior. "Come,
       we must hurry!"
       Reuben felt his heart fall, and doubled his pace chasing after
       the pixies.
       ----
       Rae nibbled slowly on her cookie, her eyes catching the growing
       shadows around them. She had a sudden bad feeling fill her, but
       kept her face brave.
       "You're welcome. I bet it is! Probably even prettier," Rae
       replied.  She finished her cookie, thinking of what she'd wish
       for. Maybe for her and Mei to be real sisters. That was what she
       really wanted.
       Rae froze at the sound, and moved Mei behind her. "I I don't
       know," she stammered out, fear filling her. "Climb over the log,
       hurry!" She whispered, wanting to put some distance between Mei
       and the thing growling from the bushes.
       Her head jerked hearing her Dad calling out her name. "Daddy
       we're over here!" She yelled, hoping her strong daddy would get
       there in time to save her.
       Her eyes widened at the strange scaled like leopard creature
       that came crawling from the bushes, growling much louder,
       moments away from pouncing.
       ------
       Hearing what the pixies had to say when everyone came to a
       sudden hault had Kenji's heart sink to his feet. He ran after
       the pixies when the party continued on calling for Mei all the
       way.
       When he heard the voices of the girls not too far off, scared
       and calling out for them, had Kenji running as hard as he could.
       ---
       When Mei laid eyes on the monster that was coming after them,
       she scrambled to climb the log before trying to pull Rae up
       behind her.
       "Daddy!" Mei cried out as tears began to run down her face. It
       was as the massive leopard creature was about to pounce that
       Kenji and Reuben came running into the small area the girls were
       in. Without even thinking, he grabed his hammer from off of his
       tool belt and managed to pelt the beast in the face with it.
       "Get outa here!" He yelled at the thing as the Pixies came
       rushing in to aid in protecting the girls.
       ----
       Reuben pushed through the pain his body was experiencing, his
       daughter's yell giving him an extra burst of energy. Reuben
       skidded to a stop, grabbing his daughter and Mei, using his body
       as a shield.
       The creature was stunned from the hammer to the face, giving the
       pixies the moment they needed to attack it furiously, trying to
       drive it away from the two men and their children.
       A few minutes later, a cloud of pixies descended joining in on
       the attack. One of the warriors activated a growing charm and
       cut the creature in half, finally ending the things life.
       Reuben slowly turned, wincing at the grisly sight and spoke
       softly to the two girls. "You're safe now, it can't hurt you.
       Just keep your eyes closed,"
       The full sized pixie knelt to examine the creature, poking at it
       with a stick. "Very nasty dark magic at work, take your kids
       home. We'll report this and take care of the mess. Keep your
       kids close, and tell the others to stay out of the forest. There
       may be more,"
       ----
       The frightened little Mei hid her face in Reuben's  shirt,
       sobbing with fright as Kenji stood in front of the three
       protectively as the pixies drove the beast away from them. Some
       even using magic to grow in side and kill the monster.
       Kenji sucked in a breath he hadn't even realized he had been
       holding when it was finally safe again. "Thank you so much for
       your help," he told the pixies as he walked forward to grab his
       trusty hammer and put it back in it's place on his tool belt.
       He then walked over to Reuben and their daughters. "Hey Mei,
       Daddy is here," he cooed as he carefully took his frightened
       child from the man. Comforting her as she clung to him for dear
       life.
       "Please don't ever scare me like that again," he told her softly
       as he stroked her hair comfortingly. "Let's get back then, time
       for dinner anyways. We will tell whoever we can to stay out of
       the forest" He said as he began to head back the way they had
       come into the forest.
       It was when they were finally out of the forest that Mei finally
       stopped sobbing and pulled her face away from his shirt as she
       cleaned her face with her sleeves.
       "You okay sister?" Kenji questioned, finally able to feel a
       little more relaxed now that they were out of the forest and his
       daughter was in his arms. When the men got to a spot where they
       would part ways, Kenji turned to Reuben. "Would you want to come
       over for dinner? With such an experience... I doubt the girls
       want to be apart...." He suggested getting a look of excitement
       out of Mei.
       "Really daddy? Oh can you Rae Rae's dad? Pllllleeeeaaassseee?"
       She questioned. It wasn't often Mei trusted strangers like this,
       so it made him even more interested in befriending the man,
       especially after seeing him dive in to save their daughters like
       he had.
       ---++
       Rae clenched her dad and Mei's hand, keeping her eyes closed,
       trembling from fear at the sound the creature made as it fought
       and then died.
       Reuben turned, reaching up to loosen Raelee's hand from her
       friend's, watching as the other man comforted Mei.
       "I'm sorry Daddy, it's..it's all my fault!" Rae cried into his
       chest softly.
       "Oh my little sunshine, no one blames you. You didn't know there
       were dangerous things, calm down sweetie. I love your brave
       spirit, just don't let it lead you off again, okay? We need to
       work on your patience a bit more,"
       Rae held onto Reuben as he slowly followed the other father back
       to the safety of the village. He was feeling quite worn out and
       thinking of feeding his daughter cinnamon toast when he heard
       the other man's question.
       Raelee perked up, finally coming out of her fright. "Yes Daddy,
       please can we spend the night together? Neither of us ever had a
       sleepover before!"
       Reuben let out a laugh and tweaked Raelee's nose before shooting
       a look at Mei's father. "Dinner yes, sleepover her dad and I
       will have to talk about, okay? I realize we don't know each
       other's names. I'm Reuben Stillwater,"
       -----
       The laugh that Reuben let out was quite charming and brought a
       smile to Kenji's lips. He was quite pleased to hear the man
       agree to come over to his house for dinner and began to lead the
       way to his small home. It  wasn't large, but the two bedroom
       house was plenty big enough for them.
       "I'm Kenji Seacrest. Nice to put a name to 'Raelee's dad'," he
       found himself teasing. It was rather unlike the usual serious
       man, but something about Reuben brought his guard down. "Make
       yourself at home, just have to warm dinner up." He told his
       guests. The moment Mei's feet hit the floor, she grabbed
       Raelee's hand and pulled the girl along excitedly. "YOU CAN SEE
       MY ROOM! You can sleep in my bed and our daddies can share a
       bed. It will be like we are real sisters!!" Mei chattered out
       excitedly as the door closed and the girls started to play in
       the room.
       ---
       Once the girls were settled, Kenji got to work on getting dinner
       ready. It was leftover stew from the night before. It wasn't
       much work to get the stew warming before he leaned on the
       counter to look at the other man. "Girls seem pretty convinced
       this is a sleep over..." He said, chuckling to himself. He
       couldn't help the blush on his cheeks thinking about his
       daughters words of sharing a bed with the handsome man.
       ----
       Reuben followed, chuckling at Kenji's teasing. "Same to you. So,
       you're Japanese then?" He asked curiously, gazing around the
       other man's home.
       Reuben released Raelee, letting her slide down his side and to
       the floor. She was beaming widely and following Mei eagerly,
       giggling a bit at what her friend was saying.
       "Hope your dad doesn't mind snoring, cause mine is loud!" Raelee
       almost cackled leaving her father blushing darkly.
       "Yeah, so need help with anything?" He asked watching Kenji and
       trying to get comfortable. Though the image of being in Kenji's
       bed and arms was giving him very odd feelings.
       "Well...I suppose we could let them have one. I could go grab a
       sleeping bag or use your couch. I'm pretty sure at some point
       Rae will be having a nightmare from seeing that thing," Reuben
       said with a slight shiver. Hell he probably would be having
       nightmares himself.
       ----
       "I do speak Japanese," Kenji confirmed before a grin crossed his
       lips at the man's offer to help. "Just relax, I got dinner. I
       don't mind sharing my bed... though I am a bit of a cuddler...
       so you may prefer the couch anyways..."  He found himself
       saying, turning around to pretend to fuss over the stew to try
       and hide how much he was blushing. He mentally scolded himself,
       trying to get ahold of how flustered he felt.
       -----
       Reuben shifted his feet, finally moving to sit and watch as
       Kenji had directed. "Are you teaching Mei Japanese? I've heard
       Raelee trying to repeat what she's heard when she thinks I'm
       busy."
       Reuben tapped his fingers on the tabletop nervously, flushing at
       the thought of being cuddled. Maybe he was just in need of some
       physical affection. It had been a long time since he'd been held
       or embraced by another adult.
       "To be completely honest, I'd probably sleep better if I had
       someone to cuddle with. And Rae was exaggerating my snoring. I
       only get loud when I'm congested and have to breath through my
       mouth,"
       ----
       "I have been teaching since she was a baby. She can speak it
       pretty fluently." Kenji said before a chuckle left him at the
       man's mention of not snoring so loud. "I guess we will see when
       we go to sleep tonight," he teased. "Not that snoring really
       bothers me," he added as he stirred the food, taking a taste to
       see if it had warmed yet.
       "How long have you been living in the oasis? We only moved here
       a few months ago." He questioned, wanting to get to know the man
       better.
       -----
       "I'll have to find Raelee and myself a teacher. She's been
       pretty adamant about learning it herself." Reuben mentioned, not
       feeling right about asking Kenji outright to use what little
       free time he had to be a teacher.
       Reubens face got darker at the teasing tone and the prospect of
       sleeping next to Kenji. Thankfully the man changed the subject.
       "We've been here close to a year now, about 11 months. It's been
       safe up until now. Speaking of, I should probably tell Adan what
       that pixie guy said. He'd want to know. Plus if there's
       something or someone behind that creature, it'll need to be
       dealt with soon,"
       ----
       "Maybe when I have some free time I could help you two learn the
       language..." Kenji suggested as he moved away from the stew to
       let it warm more. A frown and nod came from him when Reuben
       mentioned talking to Adan about what they had seen in the
       forest.
       "Yes, that is a good idea... don't know if it would be the best
       idea to wait until morning..." He said with a sigh. If someone
       else wandered into the forest, they could get hurt or even
       killed.
       -----
       "that would be nice, maybe I can do something in return. Maybe
       cook dinner for you and Mei?"
       Reuben knew Kenji was right about the news needing to get to
       Adan sooner than later.
       "I should probably go now, it wouldn't take long. I'm going to
       check in on Rae and go do that. You don't mind watching her, do
       you?"
       ----
       "Sounds like a good exchange to me, I got the girls, by the time
       you get back the food should be ready." Kenji said with a grin.
       Once Reuben was gone, he focused on getting dinner finished. He
       toasted some bread to dip into the stew and by the time the man
       had returned, Kenji had everything set out and ready to eat on
       the kitchen table.
       He knocked on the girls bedroom door before opening it up. "Hey
       girls, having fun?" He questioned seeing the girls playing some
       complex game that he knew he would never understand even if he
       asked. "Dinner is ready, let's go eat," he told the pair. Mei
       hoped to her feet from her place on the floor and urged Rae to
       follow her out of the room and into the kitchen to sit down. Mei
       talking the whole way. "We are having so much fun! I wish we
       could live together forever!" Mei told her dad, getting a laugh
       out of him as he got the girls seated and eating as he waited
       for Reuben to return. He didn't want the man to eat alone, so he
       would wait to eat himself.
       ------
       "That would be great. Thanks, I'll be back as soon as I can,"
       Reuben replied.
       After a short check in on Rae and telling her he'd be back, he
       headed off to find Adan. Luckily it was easy to get in to talk
       to him. Though he did feel a bit nervous with the imposing Snow
       being present as well.
       "Thanks for letting us know, we'll take care of the matter. Are
       the girls okay?" Adan asked, looking concerned
       "They didn't get hurt, but I'm sure there will be some
       nightmares," Reuben sighed. "I should get back though. If you
       don't mind updating me on what you find out I'd appreciate it."
       Reuben headed back, making a stop at his own place to grab
       pajamas and other items he and Rae would need for their
       sleepover.
       With his arms full, he had to use his foot to kick on Kenji's
       door. "Hey Kenji, can you get the door please?" He called out.
       ----
       Hearing the kick to the door had Kenji get to his feet and open
       the door for Reuben to let the man inside, taking whatever items
       he could to help ease the man's load. "Trying to move in
       already?" He found himself teasing. Something about the man
       brought out his more playful side.
       "Welcome back Mr. Raelee's dad!" Mei chimed happily as she ate
       her dinner, sitting as close as possible to Raelee without being
       on top of the girl. It brought a smile to Kenji's lips seeing
       the girls were so close.
       "Let's get this put away. Then I will make us both bowls of
       stew, I'm sure you are hungry." He said as he put the items on
       his bed before going to make more bowls of food with bread
       before cleaning up after the girls as the pair hurried back off
       to go back to playing.
       "Can I get you something to drink? I don't have much but I think
       I may have some whiskey if you wanted a glass to take the edge
       off the day." He suggested as he took off his tool belt and put
       it away before fixing drinks for the both of them and taking a
       seat to eat with the man.
       -----
       Reuben felt his face heat up and was sure he was red faced at
       the other's teasing.
       "Not just yet," he replied, laughing a bit. "I would wait to be
       invited," he added, handing over one of his bundles.
       "Thanks Mei," Reuben smiled, happy to see the girl was past her
       shyness. He saw Raelee lean in to whisper something to the other
       girl and smiled. The two did seem to get along like siblings
       would.
       "Good idea, that's my stuff, in that one,"
       Reuben carried in Raelee's bundle, opening it to lay out her
       night gown and favorite stuffed animal, a fuzzy otter that was
       well worn and partially bare. He found the bathroom and set out
       her brush and toothbrush where she could find them.
       He was more than ready to relax a bit and enjoy dinner with
       Kenji while the two girls played. He sat down with a soft groan.
       "Whiskey sounds great," he replied. "I'm not much of a drinker,
       so I'm kind of a lightweight,"
       Reuben started to eat, making small sounds of enjoyment at the
       taste. "You're a pretty good cook,"
       #Post#: 1502--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The matchmakers- Kenji/Reuben 
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 18, 2026, 4:26 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       "Lightweight isnt exactly a bad thing. Means you dont have to
       drink nearly as much to get where you want to be at.... and
       thanks, glad you like it." Kenji said with a smile as he sipped
       his glass of whiskey.
       "So, what do you do for work around here?" He found himself
       questioning, wanting to know more about the dark haired man who
       was pulling his interest. Kenji had never even really considered
       that he might like men until now with all these strange
       feelings.
       -----
       "I guess so, though it's easier to be taken advantage of,"
       Reuben replied, recalling a few times in the past he'd been
       used.
       He dove back into the stew, eating every bite and then cleaning
       the bowl with his toasted bread.
       He took a sip of whiskey before answering Kenji's question.
       "I work in the library, partly as curator for the items that
       come in and the new books that arrive. Also other library tasks.
       I'm one of those guys that geek out over history and knowledge,"
       he added.
       "Raelee says you have magic hands and tools that fix things, so
       I'm guessing you're sort of a jack of trades or handy man?"
       Reuben guessed, without any sort of judgement.
       He took another sip of the whiskey, feeling it burn a bit. "I'm
       going to have to introduce you to hard cider. Much smoother,"
       -----
       Hearing that Reuben worked in the library had Kenji's eyebrows
       rise in surprise, even more so to hear that Raelee claimed he
       had magic hands.
       "That's a pretty good assessment. I guess a handyman would be
       the best description but I can do just about any odd job you can
       think of. If it can be fixed, I can probably fix it." He said as
       he finished his own food and started to clean up after he
       finished his whiskey.
       "You will have to, can make it a date," he teased as he got the
       water going to wash the dishes in the sink and get the kitchen
       cleaned up.
       -----
       "Rae certainly has an interesting way with words," Reuben said
       with a smile. "Well now that I know, I'll call you when I need
       something fixed," he couldn't help but flirt, the whiskey having
       loosened him up a bit more.
       "A date sounds like fun," Reuben said thoughtfully and got up to
       help Kenji with cleaning.
       By the time they were done it was time to start Rae's bedtime
       routine.
       "I'm thinking a warm bath might calm those girls before going to
       bed. I can cover the bedtime story once they're ready to be
       tucked in,"
       ----
       Soon it was time to get the girls ready for bed and Kenji
       couldn't help his grin at how Reuben talked about a warm bath
       for the kids before bed.
       "Sounds good to me. I'll get the bath ready for them, you go
       give them a heads up that it's bath time?" He suggested before
       heading into the bathroom and got the warm water ready for the
       two.
       Bath time was one of Mei's favorite times of day and the moment
       she heard it was bathtime she was quick to drop what she was
       doing to rush into the bathroom. Her clothes in a pile on the
       floor within moments before she was in the water. "Rae Rae!
       Hurry up! We can pretend to be mermaids!" She called to her
       friend.
       ----
       Reuben nodded, flushing a little and headed into the room. "Time
       to clean up and get ready for a bath you two,"
       Raelee brightened, picking up and moving toys back in their
       places and then hurried after her friend. "Coming Mei Mei. You
       can be the mermaid, I'll be the adventuring lady pirate," Rae
       replied as she wiggled out of her own clothes and joined her
       friend in the water.
       "make sure to wash your face, underarms and neck." Reuben
       reminded his daughter. He didn't usually wash her hair every
       night.
       "Okay Daddy, what's your mermaid name Mei? I'm one eyed Peg,
       Arrr matey!"
       Reuben chuckled stepping out of the bathroom and leaving them to
       their game.
       -----
       "Ohhhh that's a cool idea!!! I will be Bubbles! Queen mermaid of
       the sea! All shall bow before me!" Mei said as the girls began
       their game in the water.
       While the girls played while getting clean, Kenji supervised the
       pair to make sure they actually cleaned up and didn't get his
       whole bathroom soaked in water. Soon, the water began to cool
       and he rushed the kids out of the water and dried them off
       before helping the pair to get dressed.
       "You two get in bed and Mr. Reuben will read you a bedtime
       story," he told the girls who were way to excited about the
       prospect. Mei dragging Rae to her bed so they could get settled
       before negotiating for more than one book to be read to them.
       Having the other man taking care of bedtime, Kenji went about
       tidying up the small house before he changed into a pair of
       sleep pants and laid out in his bed to wait for Reuben to join
       it. He tried not to think too much about how he was going to be
       cuddled up to the man all night.
       ----
       By the time bath time was over, Reuben's wasn't quite as buzzed
       and was ready with a storybook. It wasn't all that surprising
       that the girls worked together in getting two stories out of
       him.
       He sat at the end of the bed, reading both  and watching the
       girls fight falling asleep during the last one. He moved to tuck
       them in, smiling as they snuggled close to one another and gave
       Rae a kiss on her forehead.
       "Mei too daddy," she insisted with a sleepy yawn.
       Reuben smiled and leaned over to give Mei a kiss on her
       forehead. "Sleep well girls," he murmured and then slowly left,
       leaving the door slightly ajar.
       Reuben's eyes couldn't help but look over Kenji when he came
       into the other man's room. He slowly undressed, folding up his
       clothes and setting them out of the way. He grabbed his Pajama
       pants and pulled them on and then pulled on a sleeve less night
       shirt and joined Kenji on the bed, his body now quite flushed.
       "Didn't realize I'd have a captive audience," he said softly,
       wondering how the night might go.
       Reuben had never felt this level of attraction to a man before
       and it was all so new.
       ----+
       #Post#: 1503--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The matchmakers- Kenji/Reuben 
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 18, 2026, 4:39 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Hearing Reuben and the girls in the room brought a smile to
       Kenji's lips. He closed his eyes as he relaxed to the sound,
       reminding him of a time when he wasn't doing all this on his
       own.
       His eyes opened again to see Reuben come in and begin to get
       undressed. It brought a dark blush to his cheeks, unable to pull
       his eyes away from the man. When the man finally redressed and
       got into the bed, the comment of being a captive audience had
       him chuckling.
       "Well, can't say I didn't enjoy the show," he found himself
       admitting, unable to figure out why he was feeling the desire to
       be close to the man. He gave into the feeling, pulling Reuben
       into his arms and snuggled him close. "Hope this isn't too
       much... its... been a long time since I've had someone in my
       bed..." He admitted a little shyly.
       ---
       Kenji's confession of enjoying what he'd seen had a strange
       thrill shoot through Reuben. He didn't have tine to process it
       or the jumble of sensations and confusing emotions that rushed
       him when Kenji pulled him closer and hugged him close.
       Reuben's eyes closed and took a moment to calm himself with a
       deep breath in and exhaled out. "It's been awhile for me too.
       Honestly Kenji, I do feel an attraction for you, and you're the
       first man I've ever felt that for."
       Reuben shifted, moving his head onto Kenji's chest and moved his
       free arm over the man's waist.
       -----
       The feeling of Reuben, tense against him as the man took a
       calming breath had Kenji worried but those concerns were quickly
       cast away at Reuben's confession to feeling an attraction as the
       guy finally relaxed against him. The man's head on his chest and
       hand on his waist had his heart pounding in his chest.
       "I've never felt this way about another man before either...
       didn't... didn't even realize I might even like men until this
       afternoon... there... is something... special about you..." He
       admitted, using his hand to tilt Reuben's face to look at him in
       the eyes before he kissed him deeply. He couldn't resist the
       desire knowing the man was feeling similarly.
       -----
       Reuben could feel Kenji's rapid heart beat and for a moment he
       worried if they might be rushing too much.
       Hearing the other man's words was a relief. If it had been a one
       sided attraction, it would have made things awkward.
       The rough callused hand touching and tilting his face had Reuben
       sucking in a breath as he stared into Kenji's bright blue eyes.
       A small moan came from him as their lips met and Reuben
       practically melted from sheer bliss. It took a few seconds
       before he pressed in, actively participating and groaning
       happily. He'd never felt so alive or turned on from one kiss
       before.
       ----
       At first, Kenji was worried he had been mistaken in kissing the
       man when Reuben didn't kiss back right away, but the moment he
       felt the man against him yield into the kiss, he felt a jolt of
       need run through him like he had never experienced before. His
       deceased wife never even had this kind of effect on him.
       The kiss deepened as Kenji let his hand roam down to grope
       Reuben's ass, hoping he wasn't overwhelming the guy but he had
       never wanted someone so badly before.
       -----
       Reuben let out a slightly louder sound at the hand that  slide
       down and groped his ass. While he hadn't thought things would
       get this hot and heavy quite so fast, there was no denying the
       way his body was reacting. He was already hard and craving more.
       Reuben pulled back to catch a breath and slid himself on top of
       Kenji, straddling the man's waist, and pulled his shirt off,
       tossing it to the side.
       "Let's just see where things go. We can stop if it gets to be
       too much," he said breathing a bit heavily.
       -----
       When Reuben pulled back,Kenji hadn't expected to be straddled
       and blushed very dark as the man stripped off his shirt before
       suggesting they saw where thing went. "I suppose... fooling
       around a little wouldn't hurt anything..." He found himself
       saying ad his hands ran over Reuben's bare chest.
       His hands reached up and pulled the man back into a deep needy
       kiss as his body reacted to the man on top of him. A thrill
       going through him at not knowing how far they might go.
       -----
       Reuben was pretty sure fooling around would be turning into
       quite a bit more. "True," he agreed, soft sounds coming from him
       as Kenji's hands ran over his chest. "that feels really good,"
       he groaned out.
       He followed the pull, locking his lips with Kenji more moans  of
       pleasure muffled between them. Reuben's hands slowly stroking up
       the other's sides and between their chests, tweaking and grazing
       Kenji's nipples.
       ---
       A moan escaped Kenji feeling Reuben's hands traveling up his
       body to play with his nipples. The more kisses their shared, and
       the more their hands roamed the more Kenji wanted. His whole
       body felt like a ball of nervous needy energy. He had never
       wanted anyone this much. His lips went to the man's neck as he
       kissed and nibbled at it, even licking at Reuben's neck to tease
       the guy.
       One of Kenji's hands moved down to tug at the man's pajama
       pants, stroking the hardening member under the cloth. "Getting
       hard for me?" He found himself teasing, being not better
       himself. He couldn't remember the last time he was this turned
       on.
       ---
       Reuben's body felt feverish from how hot and turned on he was.
       The more they touched, kissed and teased one another, the needy
       feeling grew even more intensely.
       A deep groan escaped Reuben when Kenji's hand stroked over his
       aroused member. "can't you tell? I can feel yours," he teased
       back, grinding himself over Kenji's cr.otch.
       "We're going to need some sort of lubricant, or it's gonna
       hurt,"
       -----
       A needy groan feel from Kenji when Reuben ground himself against
       his needy member. His face heated up even more at Reuben's
       suggestion that they needed some form of lube.
       "I... have some lotion that could work..." He suggested as he
       moved to grab it out of the side table. "What do you think?" He
       questioned, unsure of who would be the more dominate out of the
       two of them. He wasn't sure how any of this would work but he
       knew his body was craving Reuben's attention.
       -----
       "hmm," Reuben eyed the lotion and set it back. "I'm not sure
       that's going to work. I'll just have to get you nice and wet. So
       lots of spit and saliva,"
       He pulled Kenji's hands off of him and slide down, taking his
       pants and then Kenji's off.
       He moved Kenji's legs apart and then took his member in his hand
       and began slowly licking and sucking on it, getting it as wet as
       he could.
       He knew some of what might need to be done from reading, but
       this was his first hands on experience. "I'm going to need you
       to stretch me first," he said glancing up at Kenji and then
       moved to lay on his stomach next to him.
       -----
       Hearing the lotion wouldn't work had Kenji putting it back in
       the drawer blushing dark at the idea of getting wet enough for
       what would come after that. His whole body tensed as Reuben
       pulled first his own pants off and then Kenji's. A hot moan
       escaped him when he felt the man take his member into his mouth
       and began to get him good and wet.
       The idea was firmly planted in his mind of taking Reuben when
       the man requested to be *stretched* before laying down next to
       him.
       Kenji didn't need to be told twice as he got behind the man and
       spread the guys cheeks wide before pressing his tongue into the
       virgin hole. Slowly, he worked in wet fingers to stretch his new
       bedfellows ass for a long while, until Reuben was begging to be
       fu.cked.
       It was only then that Kenji pulled the man's hips up before he
       slowly pressed inside with a hot moan.
       "Holy shit you are tight!" He gasped, pushing himself in fully
       as his hands ran up Reuben's backs.
       ----
       Reuben shivered, feeling Kenji spreading his ass cheeks and let
       out a hot moan as the man's tongue entered him. It felt odd yet
       amazing all at once. As Kenji continued stretching him, Reuben
       had to cover his mouth to muffle the sounds that came out of
       them.
       "Please, please just fu.ck me," he finally pleaded, panting and
       feeling even needier than ever.
       The sensation of being slowly impaled and stretched out had him
       groaning deeply, his body trembling and hands gripping the
       blankets under him.
       "I feel tight cause you're fu.cking huge, no surprise there,"
       Reuben gasped out. Still he wasn't going to let it end here. The
       experience could only get better.
       "Just..give me a few minutes and let's try it slow,"
       ---
       A chuckle escaped Kenji as Reuben accused him of being huge.
       "Okay, let me know when you are ready for me to move," he purred
       as his hands rubbed the man's back to try and relax his muscles.
       The moment he had the go-ahead, Kenji began to slowly move his
       hips, carefully thrusting in and out, not wanting to hurt the
       man. He hand to put a hand over his own mouth to keep from
       moaning out too loud as he began to claim his new lover.
       ----
       Kenji's massaging hands helped relax Reuben and calm him down.
       He might have fallen asleep from the man's gentle touch if he
       hadn't wanted more.
       "I'm ready," he said softly, moaning almost instantly as the
       Kenji's shaft began moving and building the thrills shooting
       through his body.
       "Ah yes, you feel so good," he moaned out. "Next time it's my
       turn to take you,"
       ----
       Hearing that Reuben wanted to have a turn doing this next time
       had Kenji shiver before his pace slowly picked up. "Hmmm long as
       you are gentle..." He agreed as he slowly began to build speed,
       getting deeper into his lover.
       He could feel himself getting closer and closer with each thrust
       and it was near impossible to keep control of himself. He even
       started getting a little rough as he felt like he might c.um.
       He decided he wanted to see Reuben's face, so he pulled out and
       turned the man over to pin his legs back before shoving himself
       back inside to resume claiming the man and kissed him deeply,
       moaning into the man's mouth as his hand worked on Reuben's
       needy member with his hand, wanting them both to c.um together.
       ----+
       "Can do that," Reuben got out between pleased moans as Kenji's
       pace built up. He'd always been a gentle lover to his wife, but
       wondered if it might be different with a man.
       The faster Kenji moved, the harder it was for Reuben to muffle
       his cries and moans. He was bitting down on the blanket when he
       felt Kenji pulling out. The sudden loss confused him until he
       was flipped over and was being filled with Kenji's thick shaft
       once more.
       "F-fu.ck!" he got out before his mouth was covered and the
       fu.cking and touching brought him to his first climax and hot
       c.um shooting out over his lover's hand and Reuben's chest.
       ----
       Feeling Reuben tighten around him and seeing the man cover
       himself in his own seed had Kenji spilling hard inside of the
       man with a hot trembling moan before he laid on top of the man,
       fully exhausted. "That... was fantastic..." He said softly as he
       kissed at Reuben's neck and hand hands slowly roamed the man's
       body.
       He shared one last kiss with the man before slowly pulling out
       and getting a towel to clean them both off. He pulled his Pajama
       pants back on before tossing his lover's clothes at the guys
       face. "There you go, don't want the kids seeing us in the buff."
       He teased before he crawled back into bed and let out a relaxed
       sigh. He hadn't felt this good in far too long.
       Thoughts played in his mind of what this meant. Were they
       officially a couple? Was this guy his boyfriend now? Or was this
       just a one night stand? The thought of the last option brought a
       pain to his heart, realizing he wanted the man for more than
       just one passionate night.
       #Post#: 1504--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The matchmakers- Kenji/Reuben 
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 18, 2026, 4:59 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Reuben was in agreement with Kenji, though words were impossible
       at the moment. He nodded, letting out a happy sigh. His body was
       trembling and he was processing the feelings and emotions
       rushing through him.
       He laid there slowly recovering and enjoyed the man's touch as
       he was cleaned up. His pants hit him in the face getting a groan
       out of him.
       "Yeah best to not traumatize them," he agreed and slowly tugged
       his pants back on.
       "What are you thinking about?" He murmured, moving to snuggle up
       against Kenji, nuzzling his neck. "Maybe what this means for
       us?"
       There were times when he couldn't help but pick up on what
       others were thinking.
       ----
       Feeling Reuben snuggled up against him before practically
       guessing his thoughts had Kenji chuckle a little.
       "Yeah... something like that... wanting this to be more than a
       one time thing... but I also don't want to rush this... more
       than it already has been..." He said as his arms wrapped around
       the man as his eyes closed.
       Having Reuben snuggled up to him like this had him remembering a
       time when his wife was in Reuben's place. He had to shake his
       mind away from the loss and focus on his new lover. "Would... it
       be too much to... call you my boyfriend?" He asked, opening his
       eyes to look at the man.
       ----
       Reuben gently stroked his fingers over Kenji's chest while he
       listened to the man talking.
       "I know, I feel like that too. We  rushed a bit into the sex
       part, but at least we know we've got the chemistry," Reuben said
       softly.
       Reuben had missed having someone to hold and talk to in the
       middle of the night. Kenji might not be soft like his lost wife,
       but he found the man's touch calming and comforting. He was
       certain in time, he'd be falling in love with Kenji.
       Reuben's leaned his head back to look at Kenji, a surprised look
       on his face at the question. His heart beat spiked and he
       smiled. "I'd like that. Very much," he added and moved to kiss
       Kenji deeply.
       They kissed for quite awhile before finally pulling away and
       falling asleep in each other's embrace.
       Reuben was woken rather early the next morning by giggles and
       two girls badly trying to whisper. "Looks like our wish worked
       Mei! We'll be sisters in no time!"
       -+---
       A wide grin crossed Kenji's lips as Reuben agreed to be his
       boyfriend, sealing the agreement with a kiss. The pair enjoyed
       each other's lips before finally parting and falling asleep a
       tangled mess in each other's arms.
       The nights sleep that Kenji got in the arms of Reuben was far
       better and deeper than he had ever slept, even his wife didn't
       lull him to sleep quite like this.
       When morning finally came, the sound of giggles and loud
       whispering woke him up as he felt Reuben stirring next to him.
       Being as sleepy as he was, Kenji spoke his native tongue near
       exclusively when he woke in the mornings.
       *"I'll be up in a minute... go brush your teeth..."* he grumbled
       in Japanese getting a fresh giggle out of Mei.
       "Daddy said to brush our teeth. Come on! Then we can have
       breakfast!" She said as she pulled Raelee along with her to go
       and do what her dad had said.
       Once the girls were out of the room, Kenji pulled Reuben into a
       deep kiss. *"morning"* he purred, not registering that the man
       likely didn't understand him.
       ----
       Reuben blinked at the brightness and chuckled at what Raelee had
       said. Hearing the other language confused him for a moment until
       Mei translated it for Raelee and pulled her off to the bathroom.
       Reuben let out a moan, melting under Kenji's lips. He blinked at
       the Japanese word and tried to repeat it back, laughing at his
       terrible attempt.
       "Do you normally speak Japanese in the morning?" He teased as he
       slowly peeled himself away and got up to pull on his clothes
       he'd worn the day before.
       "I have the day off, if you'd like I could take Mei and watch
       her," he offered. "Raelee has the whole day planned out. I'm
       sure she'd love to spend it with Mei too,"
       -----
       A slight look of confusion colored Kenji's features at Reuben's
       attempt to repeat the word back, rather horribly, getting a
       laugh out of him when Reuben questioned if he often spoke
       Japanese in the morning. "Yeah, takes more effort to speak
       English," Kenji confirmed as he yawned and stretched out as his
       lover got out of the bed.
       "That would take a massive weight off my mind, I don't know if I
       could leave Mei with the caretakers today after what happened
       yesterday... I have a lot of work to do today... so it would
       actually help me a lot if you kept her til after dinner... if
       it's not too much trouble..." He asked as he slowly forced
       himself out of bed and pulled on fresh clothes before heading
       into the kitchen to get breakfast ready for the girls and his
       new boyfriend.
       Little Mei was already patiently waiting for her father to make
       them breakfast as she chattered away with Raelee as they sat. "I
       don't know if daddy would let me go with you all day... maybe if
       we both beg he will let me instead of being *all* by myself at
       the play place!" Mei complained with a slight pout.
       +++--
       "That makes sense," Reuben said thoughtfully and ran his fingers
       through his hair trying to comb it out a bit.
       "I can understand that. I'm happy to take care of Mei as long as
       you need. I can even save you some dinner if you'd like." Reuben
       offered, watching as Kenji got dressed.
       "Is there anything I can help with?" He asked when they got to
       the kitchen.
       He stopped behind Raelee and fixed her lopsided hair bow and he
       shot a look at Kenji. "Can I tell Mei, or do you want to Kenji?'
       Raelee brightened, her big eyes going between her dad and Mei's
       dad. "Are ya getting married?!" She asked super excitedly,
       letting out a small joyful squeal. "We saw you two snuggling in
       bed!"
       Reuben's face went a bit pink and exchanged a sheepish look with
       Kenji. "Uh no. But we will be seeing each other more often,"
       ---+
       "That would be great, won't have to worry about getting food on
       the way home." Kenji commented before he was getting the
       breakfast ready for everyone. "You will be hanging out with
       Raelee and Mr. Reuben today, all day," he added before Raelee
       asked if they were getting married. Kenji's cheeks turned so red
       he was glad he wasn't facing the other.
       "No marriages right now anyways..." He added with a chuckle as
       he set the food out for the girls before offering Reuben a plate
       of food before serving himself. "Think we might be having more
       sleep overs since you two have had such a good time though," He
       said, trying to change the subject. Just the idea of being
       married to Reuben had him blushing like crazy.
       -----
       Reuben was more than happy to make Kenji's day easier and tried
       to think of what he could make to impress the man.
       Raelee let out a happy exclamation at the good news. "Yippee!
       Today's gonna be the bestest ever!"
       Reuben felt his face get a bit darker hearing Kenji's comment.
       Did that mean the man had thought of them being together as
       husbands?
       "Thank you, this looks great," Reuben said accepting the plate.
       He waited until Kenji was seated before digging in.
       Raelee was nearly busting out of the seams of her dress,
       chattering away about all the fun they'd have together.
       "Daddy let me plan the whole day! We're gonna go pick flowers
       and make crowns an necklaces out of them. Have a tea party and
       dress up. Even have fancy cookies and sandwiches!"
       Reuben couldn't help but lean over and kiss Kenji on the cheek.
       "If you need to get going, I can clean up before we head out,"
       he offered.
       "Ooh my daddy kissed your daddy Mei!"
       Reuben blushed bright red.
       ----
       Hearing the joy in the two girls voices as they excitedly talked
       about what they would do today brought a smile to his lips as he
       sat to eat with them.
       "That sounds like soooo much fun! I *love* tea parties!!!" Mei
       squealed as they continued to get more and more excited.
       The blush returned to Kenji's cheeks when Reuben kissed his
       cheek, much to the delight of their daughters as Rae would quick
       to comment on it, making Kenji blush even harder.
       "That would be a big help, I really appreciate it...." He said
       as he shook his head at the young girls.
       "Maybe, we could have a wedding at the teaparty! So we can
       practice when our daddies get married!" Mei declared. It had
       Kenji laughing as he listened to the girls get carried away.
       When he finished his breakfast, Kenji dumped his dishes in the
       sink before walking over to Reuben and giving the man a proper
       kiss. "Good luck with those two," he said with a smirk before he
       gave Mei a hug and kiss to the forehead. "Don't forget Rae Rae!"
       Mei demanded getting a chuckle out of the man as he gave the
       other child his affections before heading out to work for the
       day.
       -----
       "I'm glad to be able to help," Reuben replied hoping his face
       might go back to normal soon enough.
       "Ohh great idea! We can practice being flower girls too!" Raelee
       proposed excitedly.
       Reuben had the feeling the two girls would continue talking
       about weddings until one actually happened. He sighed softly as
       he finished off his food.
       He wasn't expecting Kenji to kiss him in the lips, though he
       very much enjoyed it. "Thanks but I'm sure it'll be a good day,"
       he said smiling, his face still rather flushed. "Have a good day
       at work,"
       Raelee looked quite happy at the affection, hugging Kenji back
       and waving. "Work smart Mei Mei's daddy!"
       Once they were alone, Reuben gathered up the rest of the dishes
       and put them in the sink.
       "All right ladies, why don't you go pack up Rae's things and
       play for a little bit while I clean up in here? Oh, brush your
       teeth first," he added.
       "Okay Daddy!" Rae chirped and hurried off with Mei.
       Reuben got the dishes and kitchen cleaned and wiped down rather
       quickly and went to look in on the girls. Once they'd cleaned up
       Mei's room, he took the girls over to his house which wasn't all
       that far thankfully.
       Raelee's fun day of activities went by rather quickly. The tea
       party being the major highlight of the girls time together. They
       were adorable with their continued wedding planning throughout
       the entire day, suggesting all sorts of things he and Kenji
       should do. Even making them rings out of flowers.
       He'd had the forethought to put a a roast in the oven while
       they'd been having their tea party, and by dinnertime it was
       ready.  All he had left was to toss a salad together and get the
       girls to wash up.
       "Ooh it smells so yummy daddy!" Rae said skipping in with Mei
       and pulled out a chair for her friend before climbing into her
       own.
       Reuben set plates in front of them and put the roast back in to
       keep it warm. Then sat down to eat salad with the girls,
       watching them enjoy their rice and gravy and roast beef.
       It was starting to get dark outside and he got up to turn the
       light on at his front porch.  He hoped that Kenji would be able
       to find his place easily. He'd given the man his address but
       couldn't help but worry that Kenji might have gotten turned
       around.
       -----
       After leaving the house, Kenji's workday started. He had started
       by making a house call he couldn't get to the previous day, that
       ended up taking most of the morning as, every time he got the
       pipes working, a new leak would spring up. By the time he got to
       the stables to fix some fencing, he was already soaked and
       tired. Thankfully, being so busy came with the perk that the day
       went by quickly.
       It was well past dark when he finally finished and headed back
       to his house, remembering that the trio would probably not be
       there and had to navigate the streets to find Reuben's place. It
       was just before bedtime that he finally showed up, tired and
       filthy to knock on the door, hoping that it was the right house
       this time.
       While Mei enjoyed her day with her best friend, by the time
       bedtime rolled around, she was missing her dad. She practically
       rushed the door when the knock finally came and threw the door
       open seeing her very filthy father.
       "Daddy!" She cheered happily trying to go for a hug.
       "Woah woah woah, I am so dirty! You are going to get all filthy
       like me! God knows what I have all on me..." He complained but
       still scooped her into his arms when he realized she wasn't
       going to let him get by without at least a hug. "Let me grab
       some food and a shower and then we can head home..." He
       suggested, getting a pout from the girl.
       "I want to stay the night here thouggghhh" She complained,
       getting a sigh out of Kenji as he looked over at his boyfriend.
       ------
       Reuben kept the girls occupied as it got darker, worrying a bit
       about Kenji. The knock brought a wave of relief through him. He
       wasn't quite fast enough to get to the door first, and smiled at
       Mei's happy greeting.
       Seeing Kenji dirty and half soaking wet was quite a shock. "Dirt
       can always be washed off," he reassured Kenji.
       It wasn't much of a surprise to hear Mei's whine about wanting
       to stay over for the night. Both Rae and her had been trying to
       convince him to have another sleepover while he'd been reading
       to them.
       "I don't mind if you both stay over tonight." Reuben said
       softly, rather liking the idea. "Raelee, why don't you go find a
       nightgown for Mei to wear and I'll get her one of our extra
       toothbrushes,"
       "Yah! Sleep overs with Mei are fun! Come on sister!" Rae said
       grabbing Mei's hand and hurried off to her room.
       Reuben grinned. "Those two are entirely too cute. Leave your
       boots on the porch, and then strip off those dirty clothes, I'll
       grab you a blanket," Reuben said firmly.
       Reuben left to put out the toothbrush and grabbed a blanket from
       the closet, wrapping it around Kenji when he returned.
       "Looks like you had a very busy and rough day," he said, and
       then have Kenji a deep kiss. "Do you want food or a hot shower
       first?"
       -----
       A tired smile crossed Kenji's lips at Reuben's words, glad the
       man didn't mind them staying the night. Mei was a bouncing ball
       of energy at the news and rushed off with Rae to get changed and
       ready for bed.
       The moment the girls were gone, it seemed Reuben had become a
       little more commanding, demanding quite firmly what he wanted
       Kenji to do. The handyman made no argument as he pulled his
       boots off and left them on the porch before closing the door
       behind himself and stripped out of his wet dirty clothes.
       His lover came back just in time to wrap the blanket around the
       now naked man. The deep kiss that followed Reuben's comment
       about how Kenji's day went had the man moaning softly into it.
       "It was a busy rough day... a shower first to get all the yuck
       off me..." He decided quite easily. He didn't exactly want to be
       sitting around the place in only a blanket after all.
       ----
       "It's a good thing I have two bathrooms, follow me," Reuben
       replied and led the way to his bedroom and the small bathroom in
       the back.
       "Take your time, I'll get the girls down and set some clean
       clothes out on my bed for you." Reuben said once he was sure
       there were clean towels for Kenji.
       Seeing how tired Kenji looked, Reuben had the feeling that all
       they'd be doing was sleeping in his bed. Not that he minded.
       They would have plenty of time for fun other nights.
       He set out   clean underwear, pants,and a shirt for Kenji and
       went to check on the two girls. Rae and Mei were already in bed,
       whispering and giggling.
       "All right, time to settle. You've had stories, so good night
       kisses and hugs, and then sleeping."
       "What about Mei's daddy?" Raelee asked after they'd gotten hugs
       and kisses and Reuben was tucking them in.
       "He'll be in a bit later. He's still cleaning up," Reuben
       explained and turned on her nightlight before heading out.
       Reuben collected the dirty wet clothes from the floor and threw
       them in his washer and turned it on. Then washed his hands up
       and plated up dinner for both of them.
       -----
       A chuckle escaped Kenji as Reuben spoke about it being a good
       thing he had two bathrooms. "Yeah, good thing," he agreed as he
       followed his lover into the available bathroom stashed away in
       the man's bedroom. "You are the best," he found himself praising
       when his boyfriend mentioned putting the girls to bed and would
       get some clean clothes. He hadn't ever felt quite so spoiled and
       he was liking it more and more.
       The shower took Kenji a while to get through as he scrubbed off
       the muck of the day before finally just standing under the hot
       water to relax a little. He came out of the shower after about a
       half hour and dried off before he pulled the clean clothes on.
       Finally leaving the room and going to check on the girls who
       were fast asleep at this point. Kenji then made his way to the
       kitchen to the amazing smell of roasted meat.
       "This smells soooo good," he praised as he took a seat at the
       plate waiting for him, he could barely contain himself as he dug
       in, practically moaning at just how good the food was. "Holy
       fu.ck, you sure you just work at the library?" He questioned
       before shoveling another bite into his mouth.
       ----
       Reuben glanced up, smiling at Kenji's praise his cheeks going a
       bit pink. "I know, it made it really hard to wait so I could eat
       with you," Reuben admitted, stuffing a big bite of the meat into
       his mouth and letting out a pleased moan.
       After a few bites he got up to pour glasses of hard cider  and
       brought them over.
       "There are some really good cookbooks at the library," Reuben
       said with a chuckle. "It took me awhile to get the hang of
       cooking. I used to just throw sh.it together and call it a
       casserole," he admitted. "Rae wasn't a big fan. Think she lived
       off of fruit and cinnamon toast for a week until I got into
       actual cooking,"
       Once they'd both had enough,  Reuben cleaned up the kitchen and
       then pulled Kenji's clothes out and hung them up to dry. "They
       should be dry by morning. Ready for bed then?" He asked as he
       headed to his bedroom to change.
       -----
       "Sweet of you to wait for me," Kenji commented with a grin as
       the pair ate their dinner, Reuben even getting them some hard
       cider as the meal progressed. "Ah, yeah, I learned to cook a few
       basic things when my wife was still around... but I'm no chef.
       Least Mei has been a trooper with the learning curve." He said
       as the two continued to chat and drink until they both had their
       fill.
       He sleepily watched as his boyfriend went about cleaning up and
       getting Kenji's clothes out of the washer to dry.
       "You are going to spoil me, yeah, I'm ready to lay down." He
       teased before agreeing to go to bed and got to his feet,
       following his lover into the bedroom. He managed to catch Reuben
       as the man was just finishing taking his clothes off, and came
       up behind him and wrapped his arms around the man from behind
       and kissed his exposed neck. "Why do you have to tempt me like
       this?" He mused teasingly.
       -----
       "I didn't want you to eat alone," Reuben admitted.
       He made a thoughtful sound as Kenji mentioned he only knew a few
       basic meals. "maybe one day we can cook together," he suggested.
       Reuben could see how sleepy Kenji was and chuckled when the man
       said he was spoiling him. "Hey, I like spoiling those I care
       about."
       He hadn't quite expected Kenji to make a move on him with how
       tired the man was. He let out a soft groan, leaning back against
       Kenji and running his hands over Kenji's arms. "So just changing
       into pajamas is enough to seduce you now?" He couldn't help but
       tease.
       "How early is your day tomorrow? I don't want to wear you out
       too much tonight,"
       --+++
       "I know, it's wild, seeing you half naked, just... too sexy for
       your own good..." Kenji teased back against his lover's throat.
       "I'll be heading out after breakfast in the morning, but
       hopefully it isn't as long of a day tomorrow... do you work
       tomorrow?" He questioned as his hands slowly roamed the man's
       bare chest.
       "Might try and take a day off here soon... but every time I
       think I could use one, someone major seems to break... might
       take Mei with me while I work tomorrow if you can't keep her..."
       He said, giving his boyfriend a little nip.
       "If we both manage a day off... maybe we could have an actual
       date," he suggested, his hands traveling lower to slip into
       Reuben's pants, groping the man gently as he pressed his own
       needy hard on against the man's ass.
       -----
       Reuben couldn't help but groan at Kenji's teasing. He was
       already aching for the man and craving more.
       "I work a half day tomorrow, I  usually take Rae with me.
       There's a lady there that loves watching and spoiling her when
       she gets a chance. If you want, we could meet you at noon, have
       a picnic and I can take Mei for the afternoon," Reuben offered.
       A part of Reuben wondered how long it might take before they
       decided to move in together. Having one place would make things
       easier.
       "A date would be nice. Though, we may have to find a good
       babysitter."
       Reuben's eyes closed and another hot moan escaped him. "I
       suppose I wouldn't mind if you fu.cked me again tonight. I'll
       need much more time to get you ready,"
       ----
       "Think I can make that work tomorrow, Mei would be thrilled to
       meet up halfway through the day..... we will have to shop around
       for a good babysitter for the girls...." Kenji mused as a smirk
       crossed his lips.
       Reuben's heated words of wanted to be fucked again had Kenji
       shiver with want as he dragged his lover over to the bed before
       helping the man out of his clothes. He then got between the
       man's legs to stroke and suck on his member while he got that
       tight ass ready for him.
       #Post#: 1505--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The matchmakers- Kenji/Reuben 
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 18, 2026, 5:05 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       "Yeah, Rae will too. I can ask around at work for suggestions."
       Reuben was more than ready when Kenji dragged him over to his
       bed and they pulled each other's clothes off.
       He collapsed back on the bed groaning and gasping as Kenji
       pleasured him. His hands moved to grip his lover's hair and roam
       over the man's neck.
       "Uh...oh yes, uh...fu.cking feels so good," he moaned out,
       enjoying everything Kenji was doing.
       "Let me get you nice and wet, then you can take me," he
       practically demanded when the fingers weren't enough.
       ----
       Every sound Kenji got out of Reuben made him harder and harder,
       the hands roaming his hair and shounders making him want to plow
       into the man more and more. A slightly surprised look came to
       Kenji's eyes hearing the near demanding tone his lover had. He
       didn't even question the man as he sat up to let his boyfriend
       have as much access as he wanted. "Fu.ck you are hot when you
       make demands like that..." He couldn't help but admit.
       ----
       Reuben wasn't really sure what came over him to be so demanding.
       At least Kenji seemed to like it.
       Reuben moved , adjusting Kenji for better access and began
       sucking and getting his lover nice and wet. "Sorry, can't seem
       to help myself, there, nice and wet,"
       He pushed Kenji down and straddled the man, sinking down slowly
       on Kenji's shaft moaning out in pleasure.
       "Maybe I should do the work this time," he sighed, his hands
       pressing Kenji into the bed as he moved  himself over his
       lover's co.ck.
       "Fu.ck, you feel so good inside me,"
       ----
       When Kenji didn't think Reuben could get any hotter, the man
       seemed on a mission to outdo himself as he practically
       manhandled him into position before getting his member nice and
       wet. Being pushed down on the bed as his boyfriend settled on
       top of him got a massive moan out of Kenji.
       He couldn't help as his hips bucked up into his lover as the man
       pressed him into the mattress while the guy rode him. "Oh God
       yes! Fu.ck you look so good ridding me like this," he moaned out
       hotly.
       -----
       "Damn am I lucky, getting a hot boyfriend like you," Reuben
       moaned out, very much loving the position and seeing the
       expressions on Kenji's face.
       When their moans got on the loud side, Reuben moved to kiss
       Kenji deeply. He could feel himself getting closer, but knew
       he'd need Kenji to take over to get him there. "Flip me and
       fu.ck me as hard as you want," he demanded, sounding more than a
       little desperate.
       -----
       Seeing his lover like this on top of him, even calling himself
       lucky and making Kenji blush. His hands settled on Reuben's hips
       as his thrusts got a little rougher.
       His eyes nearly went black with lust hearing his boyfriend
       demand such a thing. He was swift in flipping them over as
       instructed.
       "Yes sir," he purred darkly as he began to plow into Reuben as
       hard as he dared, he worried about hurting to man but the more
       his lover became unraveled underneath him, the harder he fu.cked
       the man.
       ------
       "Oh fu.ck yes!" Reuben groaned loudly, loving the friction and
       how deep Kenji got inside him. The roughness had him nearly
       seeing stars and digging his fingers into Kenji's back.
       "So...fu.cking close, oh God Kenji!" He cried out as he finally
       reached his release and exploded, cu.ming even harder than
       before.
       ------
       The sight of Reuben calling out his name as his nails dug into
       his back as his lover made a mess all over himself just from
       being fu.cked had Kenji absolutely lose it. He savagely thrusted
       into his boyfriend as the man tightened around him, soon filling
       the man with his own intense climax.
       Kenji finally came to a stop, panting hard as he looked down at
       Reuben, hardly able to hold himself up after that kind of
       exertion. He wasn't all that surprised when he couldn't hold
       himself up anymore, and collapsed on top of his lover, soon
       softly snoring as he passed out, unable to keep himself awake
       any longer.
       ----
       Reuben's body was overwhelmed and over stimulated in the
       aftermath of their intense mating. He lay there panting, holding
       Kenji's passed out body as he slowly recovered.
       It took every bit of his will power to move Kenji onto his back
       and detach himself. With a groan he slid out of bed and cleaned
       himself up and then Kenji. After he'd gotten their pajamas pants
       on, wrestling Kenji's on he finally collapsed back on the bed
       and curled up into his boyfriend's arms falling instantly
       asleep.
       Morning came far to early, along with two gleeful giggling girls
       crawling into the bed to wake them.
       "Daddy wake up! It's breakfast time!! Can we have blueberry
       pancakes? Please?!"
       Reuben let out a soft moan and pulled Raelee down to tickle her
       until she was a giggling mess.
       "Yeah, I can make those, go brush your teeth and start on your
       hair. Mei might need to borrow one of your dresses," he added
       remembering that the girl would need something to clean to wear.
       "Come on Mei, I got the perfect dress for you!" Rae exclaimed
       grabbing the other's hand and led her friend out.
       Reuben stretched and threw on some clothes quickly, shooting an
       admiring look at Kenji as he dressed. "You want bacon with your
       pancakes?" He asked.
       -----
       #Post#: 1506--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The matchmakers- Kenji/Reuben 
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 18, 2026, 5:11 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Life settled into a new sense of normalcy. Nearly every night,
       Kenji and Mei would either sleep over at Reuben's house or the
       man would be at Kenji's when he got home. The pair hadn't
       actually spent a night away from each other, so when Kenji and
       Reuben each stayed in their own place the previous night, much
       to Mei and Rae's complaints, it felt almost wrong to wake up
       without his lover in bed next to him.
       They had only been together for a few months now, so Kenji was
       struggling with the idea of it being far too soon to move in
       together, but how he felt last night and that morning without
       Reuben, he knew it was something he would have to talk to his
       boyfriend about. Mei was in a funk not having Raelee there to
       hype her up during breakfast. She silently ate her oatmeal as
       Kenji rushed to get ready for work.
       While he still didn't entirely trust the daycare at this point,
       it wasn't like he could take Mei with him to work every day and
       draped his daughter off before heading off to work. By the time
       the afternoon rolled around, Kenji was at the Library repairing
       some shelves. He hadn't seen Reuben, much to his disappointment,
       but given the massive size of the place and that Reuben worked
       in a particular section, it wasn't unexpected. He chastised
       himself for missing his boyfriend this much and began to wonder
       if maybe he was in love with the guy. He hadn't even felt this
       way towards Mei's mother, and married that woman.
       -----
       Reuben's head still ached from the whining protests and near
       tantrums that Raelee had been having during the sort break
       they'd had from Mei and Kenji. While he felt off from being away
       from his boyfriend, it had taken every ounce of his patience to
       not snap at Rae that morning. After dragging her feet through
       every task, they'd ended up late at the daycare tent.
       Watching her and Mei's happy and tear filled reunion, brought
       Reuben to a startling realization. He was missing Kenji just as
       much and he had fallen deeply in love with the man.
       Reuben reported to work, apologizing for being late and dove
       into tagging and cataloging a new box of artifacts that had
       arrived.
       "That handyman sure is hot, I wonder if he's got a boyfriend,"
       Nessa's teasing comment brought Reuben's head back to the world
       around him.
       "Handyman? Is Kenji working here today?" He asked with surprise.
       Nessa, one of the few winged hawk women grinned, giving him a
       knowing look. He'd told her about him and Kenji's being
       boyfriends a few weeks prior.
       "He's on the second level fixing those broken shelves,"
       Reuben finished with the last item in the box then cleaned up
       his space. "I'm going to take a short break and go say hello,"
       he decided and hurried off.
       It wasn't difficult to find Kenji, the sounds of the man working
       were easy to follow.
       "Kenji," he breathed out taking in the man's form as he worked.
       "Could I entice you to take a break? I think...there's something
       we need to talk about,"
       -----
       It was easy to get lost in the work of fixing shelves,
       especially when they were being difficult. Kenji was pulled out
       of his internal frustrations of fixing the same shelf for the
       fourth time that morning when he heard Reuben saying his name,
       asking if the man could be enticed into taking a break. The
       handyman turned his head to give Reuben a wide smile having
       missed the man in their shirt time apart.
       "I suppose a break wouldn't be a bad idea." He mused, though the
       man saying they needed to talk put an achey twist in his gut
       that maybe the man was going to break up with him. He slowly
       made his way down the ladder. "You wanting to grab something to
       eat? Or just find a secluded place to talk?" He questioned,
       trying to not let his worries take over his mind.
       -----
       "I promise I won't take up too much of your time," Reuben said
       feeling his heart beat flutter a bit, knowing this was a big
       thing to talk about.
       "We could eat together later if you'd like. Come on, I've got a
       place we can talk," he said taking Kenji's hand and leading him
       to a small supply closet nearby.
       He used his staff key to unlock it and closed the door behind
       them. "I missed you so damn much," was the first thing that came
       out and then he was pushing Kenji against a wall and kissing him
       deeply and passionately.
       It was several long moments later when he finally pulled back,
       panting a bit as he caught his breath. "I can't do that again, I
       can't go a night or day without being with you. I love you
       Kenji. And I want to talk about moving in, or finding a new
       place for us."
       -----
       A chuckle left Kenji at Reuben's promise to not take up too much
       of his time, gladly letting his lover head him to a closet for
       them to have some privacy. "Alright" he agreed as his boyfriend
       unlocked to door before closing them inside.
       Hearing Reuben say how much he missed him before feeling himself
       pushed against the wall as the man's lips crashed into his own
       had a look of surprise on his face as relief filled him knowing
       this wasn't going to be a bad conversation. He was content with
       kissing the man back and enjoying the affection for the several
       moments the pair devoured each other's lips.
       What Reuben said next had an even more shocked expression on
       Kenji's face before his lips broke into a massive grin hearing
       the man seeming to reflect his own feelings. He cupped Reuben's
       face in his hands as he kissed the man again.
       "I love you too... more than I think I've ever loved anyone....
       your place is a little bigger... so we could move in there and
       see how we like it, decide if we need a new place after that?"
       He suggested as he wrapped the man in his arms, holding him
       close as he kissed Reuben's jaw and neck, unable to resist with
       how he felt in that moment.
       ----
       Seeing the initial shocked expression had Reuben worrying he
       might be rushing Kenji too much. The huge grin that appeared
       afterwards brought a rush of relief. Reuben moaned softly under
       Kenji's kiss, moving his hands to Kenji's hips.
       A deep blush settled on his face as Kenji returned his own
       declaration of love. "Yeah, we can do that. Do you want to start
       moving over right away?" He asked, letting out soft moans at the
       kisses placed on his jaw and neck. "You got time for a quickie?"
       ----
       "Yeah, we can start moving as soon as possible, I'm sure the
       girls will lose their minds over us all moving in together...."
       Kenji answered, already feeling his body react to the moan he
       got out of Reuben. A soft chuckle escaping him as Reuben asked
       if he had time for a 'quickie'. "I can make time," he assured as
       his hands slipped under Reuben's shirt.
       It didn't take much to help his lover pull the shirt off before
       he started to work on the man's belt to get his pants off as
       well. "How did I get so lucky to have such a sexy boyfriend?" He
       questioned as he littered his lover's neck and chest with kisses
       before teasing Reuben's nipples with his tongue.
       -----
       "oh they definitely will," Reuben agreed. "Raelee wasn't happy
       one bit having to be away from Mei. We can get started tomorrow,
       I have a half day,"
       Reuben let out a soft groan feeling Kenji's hands sliding under
       his shirt and he unbuttoned it quickly and tore it off.
       "Mmm...I'm just as lucky," he murmured back pulling Kenji's
       shirt up and off, and felt up his boyfriend's sculpted body. The
       hands on his belt had him bucking forwards slightly as eagerness
       filled him.
       His head fell back at the teasing lips and tongue on his body,
       another moan escaping him as his nipples were teased.
       "God Kenji, I want you inside me," he groaned out.
       #Post#: 1507--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The matchmakers- Kenji/Reuben 
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 18, 2026, 5:31 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       "Mei didn't react very well to being apart either.... didnt talk
       to me last night or this morning..." Kenji said with a chuckle
       as he lifted his arms to aid his boyfriend in removing the
       stained and sweaty workshirt he had been wearing.
       A smirk crossed Kenji's lips hearing Reuben confess wanting him
       inside. It brought a thrill up his spine at the idea of making
       love to his boyfriend where the man worked. "Get me wet and bend
       over if you want me inside you my love," he suggested as he
       trailed back up to Reuben's lips, kissing his lover deeply. He
       loved the way the man's hands felt on his body.
       -----
       It wasn't all that surprising to hear both the girls had been
       out of sorts. If anything, they should have expected it. The
       girls loved each other and he was pretty sure they'd be back to
       plotting and planning his and Kenji's wedding straight away.
       "Maybe...I should make a cake for dessert, so we can celebrate
       with them later," Reuben said thoughtfully.
       Reuben reached for Kenji's belt, undoing it as Kenji kissed him
       and worked his boyfriend's pants and underwear down.
       He pulled back after a few moments and slide down, pausing to
       place kisses down Kenji's abs, hip and thighs before taking the
       man's co.ck in his mouth.
       He got the Kenji nice and wet before pulling away and moving to
       bend over a small table, and turning to watch Kenji draw closer.
       -----
       "Cake sounds nice," Kenji agreed as Reuben removed the barrier
       between his throbbing member, and his boyfriend's lips. Groans
       escaped him as the man kissed down his chest before that hot
       mouth was around his cock, getting him nice and wet. It earned
       sever deep moans from Kenji, forcing him to cover his mouth with
       his hand so he wouldn't he too loud.
       Seeing Reuben bend over the table for him had Kenji *dying* to
       be inside the man. He got down on his knees once behind his
       lover to shove his tongue  deep inside the man to get him wet
       enough to enjoy himself. He would wait until he boyfriend
       demanded to be fu.cked. He loved the bossy side of his lover.
       ----
       Reuben let out a hot moan before he could cover his mouth. He
       quickly did so as more moans and groans escapes as Kenji
       stretched out his ass and got him wet.
       He was trembling by the time he finally demanded in a very husky
       turned in voice, "fu.ck me Kenji, and fu.ck me hard,"
       -----
       A shiver ran through Kenji hearing Reuben's demanding tone in
       that sexy needy voice. Without a word he pulled away and got to
       his feet before lining himself up and pushing deep into his
       boyfriend with a deep moan.
       "God you are tight," he practically growled before his hips
       began to thrust forward, bucking into the man, unable to control
       himself. He was soon plowing into the man, letting his hands
       grasp Reuben's hips as he got rougher and rougher.
       -----
       "oh fu.ck," Reuben cried out, his hand barely muffling it as
       Kenji filled him completely with one thrust. Every thrust drove
       him forwards and the table squeaked loudly from the force.
       Reuben gripped the table with his free hand, loving and enjoying
       the roughness of Kenji's thrusts.
       It didn't take much before he was cu.ming long and hard, his
       body tightening and heating up. "Fu.ck Kenji, feels so good,"
       -----
       The sounds Reuben made as he took Kenji's co.ck was music to the
       handyman's ears. Feeling his boyfriend tighten around him had
       Kenji climaxing and filling his lover with his seed. "Fuu.uck
       you are tight!" He moaned out as his hips slowly stilled.
       Peppering Reuben's back with kisses.
       "I love you so much...." He purred softly as he caressed his
       lover's body.
       -----
       Reuben lay sprawled over the table softly moaning as Kenji kept
       moving inside him. The soft kisses making his body tingling and
       sighing happily.
       "Love you too babe," he murmured back, his eyes closing at the
       man's callused hands running over his body.
       "Tonight I'll rock your world," he added, thinking of how he
       wanted to play with Kenji. "Want me to pick Mei up when I get
       Rae? Or do you want to surprise her?" He asked.
       While he had to get back to work, he wanted to enjoy the moment
       with Kenji. "We may have to do these quickies more often,"
       ----
       A blush crossed Kenji's cheeks as Reuben mentioned rocking *his*
       world tonight. "We... might want to get something to lube you
       up... you... are pretty big...." He commented, nervous at the
       idea of finally having Reuben inside of him. Still, he wasn't
       quite ready to pull away as he listened to his lover talk.
       A smirk crossing his lips. "Think it would be more fun for us if
       we let them think they will be apart again tonight, and we can
       surprise them." He suggested with a chuckle. "We definitely do
       need to do this more often..." He agreed as he slowly pulled
       out. "I wonder if anyone heard your sexy moans," he teased as he
       worked on getting redressed.
       ----
       "I..I got something that should work," Reuben murmured feeling
       his face heat up a bit.
       He'd finally gotten up enough courage to seek out Einar and ask
       about what would work best. Out of all the men, he felt he could
       trust Einar the most. The guy had been able to give him several
       suggestions and pointers without making it too awkward.
       Reuben kind of felt like it was a little mean playing with the
       girls that way, but did like the idea of surprising them.
       "Well..I'm behind surprising them, but Rae may guess what's
       going on. She's pretty smart."
       Reuben let out a groan as Kenji pulled away and felt his face
       heat up at the teasing. "I did kind of fail at muffling them, so
       probably everyone within ten feet,"
       Reuben slowly moved up and pulled his underwear and pants up,
       buckling his belt and grabbed his shirt from the floor. It was a
       bit wrinkled once he'd gotten it back on.
       "How messed up is my hair?" He asked trying to fix it with his
       fingers.
       -----
       A chuckle left Kenji at the mention of Raelee being smart.
       "That's true, the girls are smart and we are *not* very sneaky,"
       he said as he got himself redressed, his blush nice and dark at
       the idea of having the dominating man being the one to take him.
       Once he had his clothes straightened back out he turned to look
       at his lover, smirking as he looked him up and down as the man
       fussed with his dark hair. "Mmmm pretty messy," he mused before
       walking over and pulling his boyfriend into a deep kiss before
       pulling back and fixing the man's hair as best he could.
       ----
       "might be better to buy a cake," Reuben said thoughtfully,
       knowing a box would be easier to hide. If he baked, Raelee would
       know something special was about to happen. "We haven't really
       tried being sneaky," he said chuckling.
       Reuben frowned hearing his hair was messy. "Of course it is," he
       griped then groaned at the deep kiss. He pressed in more,
       running a hand down Kenji's back.
       "Thanks babe, see you later. So..dinner at 6:30 then?"
       He stole another kiss after they'd decided a time and headed out
       of the supply closet first and headed back to his work space.
       Thankfully the day went by quickly, and he used one of his
       breaks to pick up a cake so not to tip off Raelee. The walk home
       from the daycare was a bit tough with Rae begging for another
       sleepover with Mei.
       "I'll have to talk to Kenji about it. Can you play for a bit
       while I make dinner? Or you can help,"
       Raelee sighed, a mopy look on her face. "I'll go read," she
       muttered and slowly walked off.
       Reuben felt his heart ache seeing his daughter so unhappy. He
       busied himself making dinner, deciding to make one of the girls'
       favorites.
       ----
       "6:30 sounds like a plan, I'll try and get home a little early
       to pack up some essentials from my place to hide in your room
       til we tell them," Kenji suggested.
       Once decided, Reuben stole one last kiss before they parted
       ways. He wished they didn't have to go back to work, but with
       his excitement for the coming evening. The day went by much
       faster than Kenji had planned, but when 5 rolled around, he
       hurried home to get a few suitcases packed up before dropping
       them off at Reuben's house to hide them.
       Once done, it was already going on 6, so he hurried off to go
       pick up Mei, who was refusing to speak to him still. It got a
       chuckle out of him as he brought her home so they could get
       cleaned up for dinner. Her mood didn't brighten until he told
       the girl they would be having dinner with Raelee and her dad.
       The little girl's rush had the pair there nearly 10 minutes
       early, Kenji having to try and hold her off a little longer but
       failing. Mei knocked on the door quickly, practically bouncing
       as she waited.
       -----
       The sound of the knock on the door had Reuben glancing at the
       clock, a bit surprised that Kenji and Mei were early. "Raelee
       could you please get the door?" He called out.
       The sullen girl let out a sigh and set her book down and stomped
       over to the door. She opened it, surprise and delight filling
       her face at the sight of Mei and Kenji standing there.
       "Mei! You're here!" She squealed happily and threw her arms
       around her friend hugging her happily. "Kenji-daddy thank you
       for bringing Mei! I missed you both so much!" Raelee added,
       shooting a massive smile up at him. She let go of Mei long
       enough to hug the man's legs, then pulled Mei into another long
       hug.
       "Are you staying after dinner too?"
       Reuben pulled the pans off the stove top and turned off the
       heat, smiling at the exchange.
       "Raelee why don't you and Mei get washed up. Dinners about
       ready,"
       The girls headed off chatting animatedly leaving the men alone.
       Reuben plated up the food, setting it out on the table. Pan
       seared pork chops, sauteed garlic green beans, and cheesy
       potatoes.
       "I have some sparkling juice for the girls, and some hard cider
       for us if you don't mind getting those out," he said to Kenji as
       he went to grab the glasses. "Thinking after dinner we should
       tell them the big news,"
       -----
       A wide smile stretched across Kenji's lips when he saw how happy
       Raelee was to see Mei. A slightly surprised expression coming to
       him when the child hugged his legs, before going back to hugging
       Mei. It made his heart feel a kind of warm he didn't expect to
       feel towards a child that wasn't Mei. He had found he loved the
       child as if she were his own. He patted her head gently before
       the pair were off chatting away as they ran off.
       Kenji sat at the counter as he watched Reuben finish up with
       cooking. "Sounds good to me, I'm excited to tell them... pretty
       sure they have been planning our wedding since before the two of
       us even met. Thinking, it might be a good idea for you and Mei
       and me and Raelee to have some one on one time, what do you
       think?" He questioned, deciding he wanted a deeper bond with the
       girl, especially if she would eventually be his step daughter.
       ----
       Reuben nodded, smiling a bit at Kenji's bringing up the girls'
       planning their wedding. "Oh I'm sure they were. Think it might
       be why they went off looking for the unicorn."
       Reuben poured out the drinks, thinking about Kenji's idea of
       them having one on one time with each other's girls. Recalling
       how Raelee had called his boyfriend Kenji-daddy made him think
       of making that become a reality.
       "That's a good idea. Rae has mentioned she'd like to see what
       you do for work. Maybe tomorrow we could exchange the girls? I
       can get Rae when I get off at 2,"
       Once he'd gotten everything out, he called the two girls to the
       table. Dinner went well, the girls managing to eat enough even
       with all their chattering.
       "So Raelee, Mei, Kenji and I have something we wanted to tell
       you," Reuben said, reaching to take Kenji's hand and under the
       table.
       ----
       "You are probably right," Kenji mused at the mention of the
       event that had caused the pair to meet. He grinned wide when
       Reuben mentioned switching kids for the day.
       "That's a good idea, I'm sure she would love to learn how to
       use a hammer," he said as he grabbed the drinks out of the
       cooler and gave everyone their respective drinks before sitting
       down.
       Mei came practically skipping in to her seat when called in for
       dinner, so pleased with being at Raelee's home. Dinner was
       entertaining as the two girls managed to not choke and still eat
       and talk at the same time. When dinner was over, Reuben opened
       the floor for their big announcement, only for Mei to let out an
       excited squeal as she had already decided what the news was.
       "You and Chichioya are getting married?!?!" She, using the
       Japanese word for father, guessed before looking at Raelee to
       pull the girl into a tight hug. "We will finally be for real
       sisters!!" She squeaked merrily. Kenji's eyes widened as his
       cheeks turned very red at what his daughter had to say, he
       didn't know how to tell them they were only moving in together.
       He could only look to Reuben with a look of not knowing what to
       do.
       ----
       Reuben realized a bit late where Mei and Raelee's thoughts would
       go at his words. Seeing their daughters  so happy, and embracing
       and joyful about being sisters, why were they just moving in
       together?
       He loved Kenji and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with
       him.
       "Well these two are just a bit too quick for me, Kenji." Reuben
       said with a bit of a chuckle and then stood up and knelt down
       holding Kenji's hand. "Kenji, will you marry me?"
       Raelee let out a rather loud squeal of delight, bouncing around
       happily in her seat.
       "Say yes!"
       -----
       Seeing how Raelee and Mei reacted, and then Reuben even kneeling
       down and taking his hand, even properly asking Kenji to marry
       him had the handyman blushing harder than he ever thought
       possible. His heart was pounding as the two girls lost their
       minds as they squealed telling him to say yes.
       He was in so much shock that it took him several moments to
       finally find his voice again. "Yes, of course I'll marry
       you...." He agreed before pulling his new fiancé into a deep,
       passionate kiss. "I love you..." He purred softly.
       "We are ganna have a wedding!" Mei squeaked cheerfully as she
       stood up in her chair to dance in place, too happy to stay
       sitting down.
       -----
       A part of Reuben wished he had a ring ready, but with the work
       that Kenji did, wasn't sure if a ring was the way to go.
       Hearing Kenji's yes brought a huge smile on Reuben's face. The
       pull in and deep kiss had him moaning and wrapping his arms
       around the man he loved.
       "And I love you," he replied his face shining with the happiness
       and joy he felt inside.
       Reuben leaned against Kenji, turning to chuckle at Mei's talk
       about a wedding.
       "We can help plan our daddies wedding!" Rae excitedly exclaimed,
       dancing a bit on her own chair.
       "You can definitely help, and of course be our flower girls,"
       Reuben suggested. "But first, let's celebrate with some cake!"
       The girls were even more excited finding out they'd all be
       moving in together before the wedding. With the excitement and
       sugar, it took a little longer than normal to get the girls down
       for bed.
       Reuben finally got the chance to drag Kenji off to his bedroom
       and pulled his fiance down on top of him.
       "So...I was wondering, do you want to have rings? Or maybe a
       tattoo instead? I know a ring in your line of work could catch
       on things and cause accidents. What do you think?" Reuben asked,
       running his hands down Kenji's back.
       -----
       #Post#: 1508--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The matchmakers- Kenji/Reuben 
   DIR By: Minyaagar
       Date: February 18, 2026, 5:40 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       "I love you too..." Kenji said as Reuben leaned against him as
       he held the man in his arms, smiling quite wide as he leaned his
       head against his fiance's as he watched the two girls burst with
       more joy than he ever thought possible. Even more so when Kenji
       pulled the suitcase out and informed the girls they would be
       moving in.
       After cake, it took ages to get the kids settled enough for bed.
       Falling asleep all snuggled up. The moment the girls were down,
       Reuben pulled Kenji into the bedroom to land on the bed. A fresh
       blush crossed Kenji's cheeks at the mention of if he wanted
       rings or tattoos. It made his eyes go a little sad and soft.
       He had a tattoo on his forearm as a symbol of his marriage to
       his decease wife. "I wouldn't mind a tattoo.... I have one on my
       forearm from... when I was previously married.... I don't...
       think we ever talked about my late wife.... I could put
       something like a ring tattoo for us?" He suggested as he looked,
       first at his tattoo of a fae insignia, to his hand that had yet
       to be tattooed.
       "You make a lot of good points about the dangers of a ring..."
       He added before kissing the man to try not to taint this happy
       moment with sad memories of the past.
       -----
       Reuben had noticed the tattoo and what it represented. He hadn't
       brought it up, not wanting to make Kenji talk about his loss
       until he was ready.
       "We can do matching tattoos, maybe on the same hand, or finger.
       Though those can be painful I've heard." Reuben said softly,
       seeing the sad look in his fiance's eyes.
       His hands roamed lower, and he moaned into the kiss. He felt
       blessed to have found such an incredible man to spend the rest
       of his life with.
       "Well...I do worry about that sort of stuff," Reuben said after
       the kiss ended.
       He let his hands explore Kenji more, groping and squeezing the
       man's ass. "You feeling up to more amorous activities? I've been
       thinking of having you all day,"
       -----
       A blush crossed Kenji's cheeks feeling Reuben squeeze his ass.
       "Been thinking about you all day too... didn't expect to be
       celebrating our engagement... seems like a pretty special time
       for you to finally have your way with me..." He mused, almost
       shyly as his blush intensified.
       ----
       "I was thinking the same thing," Reuben murmured and  nuzzled
       the side of Kenji's face. "If at any point you want me to stop,
       just let me know," he added.
       Reuben slide his hands up and then inside Kenji's pants, cupping
       and squeezing the man's ass some more.
       "Time for these clothes to disappear," he murmured, stealing a
       kiss before sliding his hands out and flipping Kenji onto his
       back.
       Amidst hot kisses, and nips to Kenji's neck and jaw, Reuben
       stripped his fiance completely naked. "You are so gorgeous
       babe," he murmured running his hands over his lover's body.
       He moved back to remove his own clothes and pulled out a jar of
       body oil he'd gotten from the market. He moved down to use his
       mouth and tongue to pleasure Kenji's co.ck, and then teased his
       lover's hole.
       He covered a finger in the oil and slowly worked it inside
       taking great care to not overwhelm the man.
       "How are you feeling, do you like it so far?" He asked moving to
       get a good look at Kenji.
       ----
       Feeling Reuben nuzzle up against his face claiming he was
       thinking the same think had Kenji blushing and bitting his
       bottom lip as groans escaped him as his love moved his hands to
       squeeze his ass before saying the clothes needed to be gone
       before kissing the man and moving to pin Kenji onto his back.
       Being pinned he felt helpless as Reuben moved down his neck,
       teasing it with kisses and nips that earned new groans from him
       as his fiancé swiftly worked on stripping the handyman before
       admiring the view. The look in Reuben's eyes combined with that
       complement had the blush traveling down to his shoulders. The
       nerves relaxed a little as he watched his love discard his own
       clothes before feeling his heart start to race as Reuben pulled
       out a jar of oil.
       The nervous man wasn't given much time to fret over what was
       coming next as his lover took Kenji's needy di.ck into his mouth
       to begin teasing and pleasuring him. A gasp escaped between the
       moans feeling Reuben's tongue invade the unused hole before he
       felt a slick finger press inside. His eyes closed as he tried to
       get used to the strange invading feeling until his body started
       to accept it as he groaned when Reuben questioned if he liked
       it. "I I don't know... it feels weird... ah!" He let out a
       deeper groan feeling the man's finger press into what felt like
       the perfect spot nearly making Kenji see stars.
       ----
       "it will start feeling really good after a little bit," Reuben
       replied leaning in to press kisses on his fiance's abdomen.
       He slowly started moving his finger in and out, hitting that
       spot each time. He oiled up more fingers and slowly added them,
       stretching out Kenji's body even more.
       He kissed and nibbled over Kenji's body even more, waiting for
       the man to beg for more.
       -----
       More groans escaped Kenji as Reuben worked on preparing the
       handyman's body. He was starting to grow used to the feeling
       when the man added even more fingers getting fresh gasps and
       groans out of the man. His back arched as he squirmed at the
       intense sensation corsing through him. "Ah! Reuben!" He gasped
       out as his hips bucked back to get the man in deeper as his body
       finally decided it liked this feeling.
       "Please, more, I'm ready," he admitted finally with a dark
       blush, his eyes full of want and need. "I need you inside me,"
       he purred as his desire for his fiancé grew more and more.
       ----
       "you make such sexy sounds, I can't wait to hear more" Reuben
       purred, loving the sounds and seeing his love's reactions.
       A thrill ran through Reuben when Kenji asked for more.
       His fingers pulled out and moved to press and slowly slide into
       Kenji. Reuben moaned, moving to slide his hands into Kenji's
       hands pining them above the man's head. He bent down to claim a
       deep kiss, then a second, and another until he slowly moved his
       hips, thrusting in and out of Kenji's ass.
       "God you feel so good," Reuben murmured moving his head to mark
       Kenji's neck with a love bite.
       ------
       Feeling the fingers pull away had Kenji's body tense with
       anticipation as he felt Reuben press against his hole with that
       massive member that the handyman wasn't sure was going to fit. A
       hot gasp and pained groan left him as the huge thing slid deep
       inside him, stretching him far more than he had expected he
       could.
       Kenji panted as he stared into Reuben's eyes as the man pinned
       his hands above his head against the sheets before kissing him
       deeply over and over as Kenji's body adjusted to his lover's
       size. His back arched against the man's as he felt him start to
       move, praising how good he felt. With what his fiancé was doing
       to him, claiming him like this while leaving little marks on his
       neck his body finally relaxed into the sensations going through
       him, "you are even bigger than I imagined inside of me... fu.ck!
       Reuben, I love you," he moaned out as gave into the lustful need
       he felt.
       -----
       Seeing Kenji laying there in a submissive position taking every
       inch of him was quite an intoxicating sight. He moved his hips
       slowly thrusting into Kenji letting out moans at how tight and
       hot his man felt.
       "You feel pretty damn good taking every inch of me. I told you
       I'd fit. Love you my Kenji,' Reuben groaned and released the
       man's hands to take his face and kiss him deeply as he continued
       making love to him.
       Their slow joining would continue on into the night, Reuben
       managing to keep a rather slow and steady pace not wanting to
       overwhelm Kenji just yet. That could always come later.
       After bringing them both to a blissful climax and filling Kenji,
       he slowly pulled out and gathered his love in his arms.
       "I love you, and I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives
       together," Reuben said softly kissing Kenji lovingly with a
       great deal of passion.
       It wasn't long after that he fell  asleep holding the man in his
       arms.
       The morning began much like others had, with the sound of
       giggling girls crawling into their bed.
       "Our daddies look cute sleeping together don't they Mei?" Raelee
       asked bouncing on the bed a bit.
       Reuben couldn't help but smile as his eyes opened. "Rae you can
       make toast if you're hungry. Give your daddies a few more
       minutes in bed,"
       "Okay! But if you're still here after the toast is gone we'll be
       back!" Rae chirped and scrambled off the bed. "Come on Mei, we
       can make cinnamon toast, that's the best thing ever!"
       After the girls had left, Reuben kissed Kenji on the lips. "How
       do you feel this morning? A little sore maybe?"
       ----
       Every slow methodical thrust brought a swirl of pleasure and
       pain coursing through Kenji as Reuben claimed his body. Hot
       cries of pleasure tinged with pain sang from the handyman as his
       fiancé claimed him like this late into the night, making love to
       him in a way he never expected to enjoy as much as he was.
       Filling Reuben's hot seed inside of him had Kenji spilling hard
       between them, cu.mming harder than ever before.
       A fresh groan escaped him as his lover finally pulled away
       before holding the man close. "I love you too," he said in
       agreement as he kissed Reuben back falling asleep in his arms.
       He didn't wake again until he heard little voices and giggles
       before bouncing on the bed.
       "They dooooo, don't they look *so* in love!" Mei mused before
       giggling like mad. A blush colored his cheeks hearing Reuben
       call them both Daddies before the two girls ran off in a mess of
       giggles.
       A pleased moan escaped Kenji when Reuben gave him such a loving
       kiss and couldn't help but chuckle a little. "More than a little
       sore... just going to have to work at getting used to your
       size... might take a lot of practice," he couldn't himself
       suggesting flirtatiously, making his blush deepen at his own
       words.
       ----
       Reuben quite enjoyed seeing Kenji blushing. He was sure to see
       many more.
       Reuben made a soft thoughtful sound at Kenji's suggesting he'd
       need more practice getting used to Reuben. He moved a leg
       between Kenji's and trailed a hand up his fiance's neck.
       "Oh we will. Maybe not this morning though. We have just enough
       time to shower though,"
       Reuben pushed himself up and gave his man a hand up and led him
       into the bathroom. After a quick shower Reuben dried off and got
       dressed.
       "How soon would you want to get married? You know the girl's are
       going to start in in that soon enough," he said with a chuckle.
       -----
       The blush on Kenji's face darkened when he felt Reuben's leg
       push between his own as the man's hand trailed up to the
       handyman's neck. His fiance's words getting a shiver out of him.
       "Think I'm a bit to try again so soon anyways," he said with a
       chuckle as his lover pulled away before helping him to his feet
       and dragging him to the shower.
       The pair, soon clean, were dressed, well, mostly. Being as sore
       as he was, Kenji was trailing behind a little as he finished
       putting his clothes on as Reuben asked about how soon he wanted
       to get married. "Well, I don't know. I would say I don't want to
       rush things, but I'm pretty sure the girls have everything
       already planned," he teased. "Maybe next spring?" He suggested
       once he was fully dressed. "Do a nice little something on the
       beach?" He added.
       -----
       Reuben could barely take his eyes off of Kenji as his lover
       slowly got dressed. He moved in to fix the collar of the man's
       shirt as he listened to Kenji's reply.
       "I'm sure they do," he chuckled. Spring sounds like a good time
       to me. Though..maybe we can figure out a tattoo we both can get.
       I feel it would be more practical than a ring that could catch
       when you're working with your tools. Though...maybe an earring
       could work too. I think you'd look really sexy with a pierced
       ear." Reuben flirted a bit.
       "A beach wedding would be nice," he agreed and then stole a
       quick kiss before pulling Kenji out into the kitchen.
       He was quite pleased to find the two girls talking quietly over
       their toast, their heads close together.
       "How about some eggs and bacon to go with your toast?" Reuben
       asked cheerfully as he pulled stuff to cook and set it near the
       stove.
       "So I can drop the girls off on my way to the museum, and I have
       an early day so I can grab them after. Any requests for dinner,
       Kenji?"
       *****************************************************
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