Chapter 157 Two Chests

The house was a literal square, and in the center of it all was a garden sanctuary that had a river running through it with a bridge. There was patio furniture that was grown and would conform to the shape of anyone that sat in them.

"This place is really interesting, and I love the garden in the center, but will we be able to keep this when we go underground?" Victoria asked as we walked over the bridge.

There was a path after it that led to a spiral door that opened up to the bedroom I had made. It was nothing special, but there was lots of room for clothing in all the dressers and two closets.

I set Victoria down, and she walked around, looking over everything until her eyes fell on her chest. This was the one that she had been keeping a secret from me, but there was a second chest beside it.

"What is this other chest?" Victoria asked, and I laughed.

"I think it has things of the same nature as your box. This is the box that I bought to keep all the things that you made for me over the years," I explained, and Victoria whirled on me.

"No, you did not! There is no way that you could have anything in there!" Victoria exclaimed, and I grinned.

"Come, let's sit down, and I will show you mine if you show me yours," I teased as I grabbed my chest and walked over to the bed.

Victoria was still standing with a shocked look on her face, and I couldn't blame her.

These things had not been easy to get a hold of. I had to dig through more garbage than I am comfortable admitting to in order to get most of the items Victoria had made for me.

Slowly, Victoria picked up her box and came over to sit beside me. She put her hands over her own box and looked at me. I could tell what she wanted, and I rolled my eyes.

"Are you really going to make me go first? You only just found out about my box, but I have known about yours the entire time!" I laughed and then smirked. "Well, maybe I don't know your box that well, but I am eager to be acquainted!"

Best

Victoria scowled and then shoved me.

"Don't be such a pervert! That can wait now that you sprung this on me!" Victoria growled.

"Sure, but show me what is in the box," I chuckled.

"What? No! You go first! You are the one with the suspicious box! I never gave you anything, so I don't know what you have in there!" Victoria declared.

"Well, that much is true, but it doesn't mean that you didn't make things for me. You just forgot to give them to me or thought the garbage would like them more than I would!" I laughed, and Victoria's face turned bright red.

"Wait! How? I... Damn those girls!" Victoria cursed, and I put one arm around her, pulling her close to kiss her cheek.

"You should be thankful for the girls. Now we get to share some fun memories!" I laughed, flipping the latch of my box and opening it up.

Victoria put her hands to her mouth and then buried her face in my shoulder.

"Why would you go so far for someone like me that was so much trouble to you?" Victoria asked in a muffled voice.

"Because I care about you, and you were sick. You tried so hard on these things, but you never gave them to me. Melody and Katie were always on the case and told me about the things that you made for me. Didn't you think it was strange that I started making things for you after you started to make them for me?" I asked, and Victoria looked up at me and shook her head.

"No, I guess not. I was always so worried about you making fun of me or trying to compare my things to yours," Victoria said, looking down at the box and picking up the first thing that was on top.

"That was the broomstick you made for me when I was convinced that I was going to become a Quidditch player! You told me that I would never get anywhere without one!" I laughed, and Victoria nodded.

"Yes, and then you made me a Hufflepuff pin you sewed, and I tossed it out because I thought you were making fun of me. Then I went back after to get it because it was really nice, and I really liked it," Victoria said as she slowly opened her own chest.

"Hey! There is the bracelet that I gave you with the black onyx in it! That was in grade nine in your Emo/Witch phase! I worked a long time and was pissed when you slapped it out of my hand! Luckily the girls told me that you went back to get it!" I said with a grin, and Victoria looked away.

"I wore it when I was at home for almost three years straight after you gave it to me," Victoria said shyly, and I laughed.

"Yes, I remember that Melody used to bug you about it a lot!" I laughed.

"How do you know all these things?! What was the point of me keeping this all secret if you already knew it all?!" Victoria exclaimed, turning to me.

"Because you weren't ready to admit to yourself that you liked me. I wasn't going to force you to like me, and telling you that I knew would have only made things worse at the time. Things are different now, but we both have all the old memories. You might not think they were great, but I will always treasure them, just like I will always treasure you," I said and kissed Victoria.

"I guess that you really are as good as I thought you were pretending to be after all. I can now see that the way I acted before was stupid, but I am happy you stayed with me to this point," Victoria said after we broke apart.