He dressed and went with her down to the kitchen, and when she asked, he closed his eyes and let her lead him. He didn't understand because so much of his life was spent in this kitchen. He let her lead him anyway, and then she finally told him he could open his eyes.
He was in a completely new room, one that had not existed here before. And it was nothing short of spectacular. It was a home office done in breathtaking southwestern decor. It had a one of a kind live edge desk with a leather chair. A serape rug was on the floor, and on the far wall was an antique native american buckskin dress that was certainly of museum quality. Large floor to ceiling windows had, instead of curtains, some of Kate's magnificent stained glass panels hanging like valences, in southwestern geometric patterns and colors, and the sun cast beautiful colors all across the room when it shone through the glass. A full length sofa graced one wall, and a fabulous Pendleton blanket rested on the back of it. And deep, leather club chairs sat in front of the kiva fireplace. It wasn't lost on Angus that Brian was aware of how often, Angus only got a couple hours of sleep and was back to work. Now, he perhaps could get a bit more sleep if he simply sacked out on the sofa here. He could punch down that huge bowl of dough for cinnamon rolls, put the tea and coffee on and go back to sleep for another hour. Someone had actually given his lack of sleep thought. Native American pottery sat on shelves in the corners of the room, and in all the artwork on the walls, positioned as the main focus point, was his diploma.
"How in the world..." he began, astounded. He was astounded at the room itself. A home office--for him--for all the managing duties he had, tasks that he willingly took on in whatever space he could find. Sometimes he was at the work table in the kitchen, sometimes he pulled a stool up to the counter, sometimes he worked in Brian's office, and sometimes he spread his work all over his bed in his room. Now he had a proper office, and all his ledgers, notebooks, files, and all the rest of it, were in one place, all properly organized. The room looked peaceful and inspiring, and he just stood and looked. It had Brian's style all over it. Brian had had a very strong hand in creating this space, but somehow she had found his diploma and had made it the central focus point. He didn't know how she had even found it but she was proud of it enough to put it on display for anyone who entered the room. As it was, for anyone who came in here, they couldn't help but see it.
The message it sent was such a sharp dichotomy from the message his own parents continuously sent. Over and over his entire life, they had sent him the message that he was a disappointment just by being born. He had never been welcome to even be in their presence. And here, this family would think of doing something like this just for him. He had his bedroom upstairs right along with the bedrooms that Brian and Khaat and Abbey had--with the rest of the family. He was never, ever set aside as "just the help." He was, perhaps, Brian's best friend, and Brian had never treated him as anything other than a brother. Robert and Kate had always treated him as a very loved son. And now he had Ru, and in every way that mattered, she was a wife to him, a wife who loved him dearly. And they had thought enough of him to create a special space for him right next to the kitchen, where he already spent so much of his time, and gave him an office that unquestionably had cost Brian thousands and thousands of galleons. No one had ever done anything like this for him.
"How did you even find this old thing?" he said, taking the framed diploma in his hands. "You know, I went to culinary school just because I never wanted to disappoint Brian and his family. I just wanted to cook good food. I didn't do it to ever run a restaurant or anything like that. I just didn't want to really stink in the kitchen. So, I finished the program, didn't really even tell Brian on graduation day that I was graduating. I just collected my diploma and brought it back and tucked it away and pretty much forgot about it. What was important to me, I guess, was that I had the skills to do my job. And, for the most part, I don't suck in the kitchen. But seeing it framed and hung on the wall? That's something I never expected to see. Thank you." He put it back on the wall where she had taken it from.
"Would you look at this space?" he stood looking it over. There was so much thought put into this. They thought about his duties, his routine, his hours, and they had designed this space with the sole thought of making his life easier and better. "I'm not going to have to try to remember where I left my stuff anymore," he teased.
by 
