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Warning: Contains Boy's Love.

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Ba-bump.

Aubrey sighed blissfully in Gabriel’s relaxed arms.

Ba-bump.

How soothing, the feel of Gabriel’s heart beat. The feel of it against his body, the only barrier being their bare bodies. It’s gentle sound. It calmed Aubrey to hear it thump quietly when he rested his head on Gabriel’s chest.

Ba-bump.

This was how he wanted things to be. This was how he wanted things to feel. Happiness was always less than a second away in Gabriel’s arms. It was a safe haven, one that only Aubrey knew the secret entrance to. Just as Gabriel was the only one who knew the secret entrance to his.

Aubrey closed his eyes. He felt the most tranquil that he’d felt in a long time. When he opened them again, he gazed up lovingly at his sleeping lover, who looked as serene as Aubrey felt at that exact moment. He slowly pushed himself up a little and brushed tender kiss on Gabriel’s cheek. How he had ever thought that Gabriel had honestly been caught up in some illicit affair baffled him now—how could he have truly believed that? This was the man that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He was going to need to spare a lot more trust than before. Gabriel had never lied to him before—he was much too honest. He was incapable of deceit.

Aubrey let himself lay back down on the bed, resting his head back down on Gabriel’s sleeping chest. His heart ached at the thought of how much he truly loved Gabriel…as angry as he had been when Christian had warned him that something may have been going on, he had felt more crushed than furious. He had never realized what a relief it was when it had been confirmed that Gabriel was merely just a victim of unwanted attention. It was as if some painful, strangling hold on his heart had been released and he had been allowed to breathe again.

I don’t want to lose you. He thought sadly. You’re my everything. My all…I think I’d die if you just suddenly stopped loving me.

You’re so much more than just a lover. You’re my best friend, too. You’re my family. My soul mate. I can feel it—I know it. When we’re not in the same room, I feel an emptiness I’ve never felt before. But when you walk in through that door and smile at me—that feeling is totally consumed by a different, better feeling. I feel whole again. And when I look into your eyes, I know that you feel the same.

His eyes slowly began to close, his breathing evening out. Before he gave himself into sleep’s endless abyss, he entwined his fingers with Gabriel’s hand closest to him.

I love you, Gabriel.


~+~+~+~+~+~+~


“Oh my! It’s already snowing outside!”

“What? No way!” Gabriel rushed towards one of the large windows of the Café, gazing in awe at the cloudy sky alongside Lorelei. “Wow…it really is.” His grin widened. He wished he could run outside and go catch snowflakes on his tongue, or build a snowman or something…but unfortunately, he still had another few hours to work that day. “Lucky Aubrey,” he groaned with envy, “…his shift is already over.”

“He doesn’t strike me as the type to randomly run out and play in snow.” Lorelei mused, hands pressed against the glass.

“You’d be surprised.” Gabriel smirked, “Aubrey is always full of surprises. For all we know, he could be out building a snowman or a snow-fort as we speak!”

Lorelei chuckled, shaking his head. “What ever you say, Gabriel.” He glanced back over his shoulder. “Hmm…maybe we should pay more attention to the impatient customers than the snow…”

“Huh?” Gabriel looked over his shoulder and instantly blushed with embarrassment at the sight of a few displeased and unamused customers at their booths and tables, hungry and still awaiting someone to take their order. “Eh heh…coming, people, coming!”

Lorelei smiled when Gabriel rushed off back to work. He was glad that things had worked themselves out. He hadn’t liked the odd tension that had loomed over them just yesterday…it had been unpleasant and unwanted. But now that all misunderstandings were cleared, Gabriel and Aubrey certainly seemed much more upbeat about life in general. And he just knew deep down that all of the rough patches down their road of life together had been smoothed out.

He sashayed his way back to the kitchen where he worked, pausing only momentarily to wink and breathily coo a “Hello, Dommie” to his lover, who worked patiently off on his stage, writing new lyrics and songs for his performance later that same night.

Yes, everything had fallen into place.


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The neighborhood hadn’t changed at all. Which wasn’t too much of a surprise. The same clean-cut green grass. The same perfectly parked cars and well-kept houses. Everything to do with its appearance was top-notch, as usual. As he drove past all of the houses and with each one he past a memory replayed itself. The very first girl he had ever kissed lived in a house off to the right…his ex-best friend used to live just down the road (before he, apparently, joined the army shortly after high school).

He stopped the car in front of one of the houses. It was large and expensive looking, though at the same time it looked cozy and welcoming. It had the atmosphere of a home, not just a house where people lived. Nothing had changed here, yet Aubrey knew that he himself had changed.

When the ignition was turned off, Aubrey realized that he had stopped breathing and that his heart was racing.

He finally noticed the grey, neutral sky overhead—and the tiny white snowflakes that fell listlessly onto the ground. He smiled nervously. It seemed…fitting. The last time he had been here was little over a year and a half ago…

The last time he had been home, he had stormed out of there in what had been the worst blizzard Aubrey had ever seen in his life.

An unwanted lump growing in his throat. Perhaps history would repeat itself today?

Heaving a deep breath, he stepped out of the car and made his way up to the front door of the house that he had once called home.

Before he could reach the front door, his eye caught a swift movement off to the side—so quick and tiny, that the average person probably wouldn’t have noticed a thing. But what with already being tense and uneasy with being back in the old neighborhood, it was almost as if he became ultra-sensitive to every little thing.

The front door swung open, and the bright and confused eyes of a girl peered up at Aubrey with a startled welcoming. Aubrey stared back. A thousand things to say flashed through his mind. But not one of them seemed appropriate or decent enough to say to her.

“Aubrey…?” She broke the silence. A small smile tugged at his lips; he nodded sadly. The girl instantly beamed as she bolted out of the house, arms flung foreword, reaching for him. “Aubrey!”

Before he even knew what was happening the girl had thrown herself against him, throwing every ounce of her weight into the flying hug. Time still existed and passed with its natural languid pace—but Aubrey felt numb to every second of it. He stared down at the girl blankly, eyes blinking furiously. His younger sister buried her face into his stomach, arms wrapped tightly around him as if to silently say “I’m never letting you go again. You’re never storming out of here again!”

His defenses fell, useless against her, and he pulled her tightly against him, silently agreeing to her mute demands.

“I missed you…” His sister whispered against him, her voice low and heavy. Abruptly she raised her head, her eyebrows furrowed defensively. “How could you just leave? Do you have any idea how much that upset Mom?”

Aubrey inwardly sighed; mentally waving good-bye to the sentimental moment that had come and gone without warning. This was the Amanda that he remembered…she was still too much like Mom. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

Amanda pouted. “You’d better not! It’s hard enough having one stubborn idiot in the family. We don’t need two!” Before Aubrey could respond (and ultimately try to prove her wrong), she raised her head and turned her glare up at the sky. “It’s cold out here. C’mon!” She grabbed Aubrey’s hand and began yanking him towards the front door, which suddenly seemed a little less welcoming now that he was so much more close to it. “I’ll make us some coffee and we can catch up! God knows it’s been a while!”

Aubrey submitted, knowing that it was useless to try and change her mind.

One thing bugged him though. Since when did she drink coffee?


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Gabriel raked his fingers through his hair, carefully inspecting himself in the large wall-mirrors in the staff’s changing room. Most of the make-up had come off, which was good. Men tended to get weird looks for wearing sparkled eye shadow and mascara out on the street.

He sighed in content. Another day, another dollar. The last he had checked, it was somewhere around eight PM and it still hadn’t stopped snowing. Luckily he had prepared for such weather. Aubrey had said that he needed the car today for an errand or two, so Gabriel was stuck walking home tonight. Not that he minded—he liked walks and he liked snow. Far as he was concerned, it was win-win.

Grabbing his mahogany messenger bag and his matching scarf, he shouted a good-bye to the other co-workers working and began his walk home. Along his walk home, he wondered vaguely what kind of errands Aubrey had to run. Christmas was steadily approaching…present shopping, maybe? Gabriel grinned mischievously to himself. Maybe if he got home before Aubrey, he could catch him in the act of trying to sneak presents into their apartment.

…Another thought occurred to him. What was he going to get Aubrey?

Gabriel groaned. He was horrible at making decisions. He could when he had time to think about things…but usually he took so long that Aubrey would end up having to make the decision for him instead—which Gabriel didn’t mind at all. Made his life easier. But he couldn’t exactly go up to Aubrey, look him straight in the eye, and say, “Hi, what do you want for Christmas? Be absolutely specific! Actually, lets go right now. You go pick it out and I’ll pay for it.”

Not very romantic sounding at all. Aubrey was his lover for crying out loud! They had been together for about a year now—he should honestly know Aubrey well enough by now to be able to confidently get him something and be sure that Aubrey would like it.

A fierce determination filled his heart. Well then, he’d just have to come up with something totally awesome for a Christmas gift for Aubrey all by himself! And he’d do a damn good job of it too!

Now…what should he get Aubrey?

“Ugh. I hate making decisions. I'm always so bad at them.”

And there he was, right back at square one.

He wasn’t anywhere closer to coming up with a magnificent idea by the time he got home. He shoved what little ideas he had away in a corner of his busy mind (Christmas wasn’t for another month anyway) as he greeted Aubrey in their apartment—or rather, the empty apartment where Aubrey should’ve been. All that was there to greet him was a message on their answering machine—Aubrey telling him that he’d be late coming home that night and to have dinner without him and to not wait up.

“Huh. Maybe it’s a huge Christmas gift…” He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. It was now half past eight. “…Guess I’m watching Dr. Phil reruns alone tonight.”


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“—And that’s why there’s no tree out in the backyard anymore.”

Aubrey stared at his sister, stuck somewhere between bemusement and confusion. “Fascinating.” He retorted, knowing very well that the tree out back was still out there. He glanced at his wristwatch. The large hand just about touched the ten now. “Say, Amanda…shouldn’t Mom and Dad be home by now?”

Amanda huffed indignantly; looking disgruntled by the mention of them. “How should I know?”

“Well…you still live here. I kind of figured you’d know.”

“I think they had some sort of outing. I don’t know, I wasn’t listening when they told me the details.”

Aubrey shook his head. “Zoning out again?”

Amanda smirked. “And how?” She tapped her fist against her head, “what I’ve got goin’ on in here is much more interesting in comparison. By far!”

“That habit is going to come and bite you in the ass someday, you know that right? You really need to learn to pay attention and listen.”

Amanda snorted skeptically. “Oh, like you did when you were my age? If I recall, I think I learned this from you, Aubrey.” Her smirk grew in length and devilishness. “Or did you forget what a rebel you used to be in your own adolescence?”

“…No.” Aubrey’s resolve crumbled within mere seconds. “No, I didn’t.” He recalled all of the times that he had been forced to sit down at the same kitchen table he currently sat at, with two determined and stressed adults standing at the other end of the table. Lecture after lecture after lecture.

“What are you going to do with your life, Aubrey?”

“Have you chosen a university yet? The applications are due soon and if you don’t send them in you might not get in. And then what?”

“Have you chosen your career yet? You need to chose a future now.”

He remembered how he'd slip into his dream world. Shutting out the hideous noise of the real world and replacing it with the heavenly melody he heard privately within his own mind. All his parents ever tried to do was force him into the direction they wanted him to go in. Go to the best university possible—find a girl, settle down, and give them their desired grandchildren. Evidence that they'd been the perfect parents. They had never actually voiced these wants, but Aubrey knew they existed. And at first he accepted their somewhat gentle nudges towards this direction—but after a while, he had come to realize that he didn’t want to go to a university under their terms. He wanted to go when he felt ready, when he was sure what he wanted to do. He didn’t want to meet some random girl right on schedule, carry her to the altar and get her pregnant. None of that seemed appealing at all—especially right after high school.

He didn’t want his life planned out for him.

So that led to domestic tension for what had been Aubrey’s last year in high school. And to be honest, he didn’t remember a day of it. He had rejected reality completely; ignoring everything that he was told was important to him. He still hung out with his friends as usual—but he had come to resent them when he realized just how superficial they really were.

He began to resent his own existence as well…after all; maybe his parents were right? What was he doing with his life? Maybe the only way he could live somewhat happily was the path they had chosen for him…

Then that night had come…and a single game of Seven Minutes in Heaven had changed the entire perspective he had of what he had interpreted as his unwanted reality. He had thought that kissing another male would have felt just as disgusting and expected of him as kissing a girl would. He thought that this was just another part of reality that he could almost sleep through—awake, yet not there. But when Gabriel’s lips touched him and his hands found his body and held him tightly, it was as if Aubrey had been given a jolt and had been brought back to life. It had brought his consciousness back to reality…and he had liked it.

Unfortunately, and as hard as accepting himself was, this was a different reality that conflicted with his parent’s ideals.

“You’re joking. Please tell me you’re joking, Aubrey.”

“ I won’t have a…a faggot living under this roof!”

“Honey, he’s just joking. Aubrey, please, honey…sweetie—you’re joking, right?!”

How appropriate…that when the true him finally surfaced from under both his dream world and his parents false reality, that they didn’t like it. How even more appropriate that when he finally told them the truth, that all had been there to great him was the bitter, biting chill of a blizzard when he was kicked out of what he once thought was his home.

“Aubrey? You ok?”

Aubrey snapped out of his thoughts, realizing that a good few minutes had passed in silence. “Oh…yes…sorry?”

“You look a little pale. You alright?”

Aubrey shook his head. He felt a little chill on the inside yet he was certain that he was also burning up. “Yeah…yeah, I’m fine. Just reminiscing a bit.”

Amanda said nothing. She stared curiously at her older brother. She looked over his shoulder at the clock on the wall and huffed at the time. “If you want to leave before they get back, now would be the time.” She looked back at her brother, who looked oddly calm even though his face had lost almost all colour. “Or are you planning to stay and brave another storm?”

Aubrey heaved a deep breath, calming his jumping insides. “I’m staying. There’s something I want to say them and I think now would be the best time.”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “So dramatic, Aubrey.” She took a large sip of her coffee. “Well, this should be interesting. Let’s hope that the neighbors don’t call the cops on us for a domestic disturbance like last time.”


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Nearly a half-hour later, the front door swung open. When it opened, it closed any opportunities Aubrey might have hoped to have as an escape without being seen. His clammy hands squeezed the coffee cup tightly; maybe this was just a bad idea…

“Mom! Dad!” Amanda jumped from her seat at the table and flew for the door. She disappeared from Aubrey’s sight, but he could hear her bolt for the front door, most likely flying into another hug with their mother. “Mom, Dad, guess whose here!”

“I don’t know, sweet-heart.” The calm, normally patient voice of their mother answered. “It’s late and I’m tired. Who’s here?”

“Come see, come see!”

“Amanda, what are you still doing up?” The gruff voice of their stern father asked, sounding less than amused at his energetic daughter.

“Just come see!”

Aubrey bit his lower lip. It was now or never. And that statement only became all too real and true when he saw his parents come around the corner and paused at the doorway when their eyes fell on him, completely dead-locked.

Aubrey rose from his seat, eyes fixed on the people who used to call his loving family. “Mom. Dad.” He greeted formally, not sure whether his greeting was cruel or justified.

“…A-Aubrey?” The mother breathed shakily, moving hesitantly towards her son. A sharp, sudden movement from her husband halted her when she looked down and realized with dismay that his arm had shot out, ceasing her movement.

“What are you doing here?” The father demanded. “I thought I made our feelings quite clear.”

“You did.” Aubrey replied lowly, wishing that he had forgotten their last argument when his father had looked at him the same way. “I just wanted to talk to you about something important…”

“Is it that you’re sorry and that you’ve come to your senses?” The father asked, looking down at his son with smug, condescending sneer.

Aubrey’s body tensed. He didn’t need to ask what that referred to. “No.” Rather, I had hoped that you had come to your senses…He thought bitterly.

“Then I suggest you march your disgusting faggot-ass out of this house this instant before I call the cops on you.”

“Daddy!” Amanda snapped, glaring murderous daggers at their father. He raised his hand, silently demanding her to be silent as he glared back down at her. She ignored him. “Daddy, you’re being unfair!”

“Honey,” The mother pleaded almost weakly, “Please be reasonable. What if he leaves and we never see him again?”

“Good riddance. He’s not wanted here, anyway.”

“But—” The mother trembled with sadness, on the verge of fury, “But he’s your son! Your flesh and blood! Must you be so irrational and unjust?”

“The same could be said to him.” The father retorted stubbornly.

Aubrey frowned at all of them, speaking about him as if he wasn’t even there. He cleared his throat loudly, temporarily interrupting all of them. “I’m not here to discuss my sexuality.” Aubrey snapped, his voice even but sharp. “I’m not here to apologize for being who I am, or to make excuses for it and to try and redeem myself. I shouldn't have to. I am who I am. I can’t change that and neither can you.” He watched his father silently seethe, almost like a volcano preparing itself for an eruption. Aubrey could almost feel the dangerous heat that smoldered in his father’s eyes as they burned into his. “I’m here to tell you…that I’ve met someone.”

“Get out...” The father hissed lowly.

“We’ve been together for a year now—”

“Get. Out.”

“Honey, please—”

“We’re living together, and we work together too—and we make each other happy—”

“I said get out!”

“Daddy…!”

“And I’m going to ask him to marry me. I’ve already bought a ring—”

“ENOUGH!” The father exploded. His face and ears were beet red and his breath came in uneven, heavy heaves. He pointed a finger towards the front door and snarled, “I want you to get out! Don’t you and that fairy-boy ever come near here, ever. Is. That. CLEAR?”

“He’s not a fairy-boy!” Aubrey snapped back, glad that Gabriel wasn’t anywhere near there to witness this outburst. “You don’t even know him!”

“I don’t need to know him! They’re all the same! Skinny little fags with outrageous hair, piercing’s everywhere, carrying a fucking whip and wearing damn stiletto’s—”

“He’s more the man than you could ever hope to be!” Aubrey shouted; catching out of the corner of his eye his mother and sister trembling off to the side, completely helpless to stop this out-right verbal war. He felt a pang of guilt for fighting with his father in front of them, but he wasn’t about to let the bastard talk badly about his lover in front of him. “He loves me, for me. He respects me and accepts me for whom I am. He doesn’t put unrealistic expectations on me. He’s always there for me, whenever I need him.” Aubrey felt a sharp sting behind his eyes, but he ignored it. “He’s so much more to me than a lover…he’s like family. He's like a part of me—and when I’m with him…I feel whole. I feel happy.”

In a regular, family-orientated movie, the father would’ve admitted his unjust stubbornness; his unwillingness to realize that his ways weren’t always the ways of others. But this wasn’t a family movie, so the father reacted just as Aubrey expected him to act. He exploded into profanity. Of cursing him and his damned existence, just like their last argument. It all became a nightmarish blur as one insult and one justification for why Aubrey should be punished was blurred into the next, smudges of rejection and intolerance.

Without another word, Aubrey stormed out the front door, ignoring the tears outlining his eyes. How stupid he had been, thinking that maybe after a year the stubborn bastard would finally accept him for whom he was. He would never change; he could see that now.

When he reached his car, he looked up towards the sky, the cold air bothered his hot and tearing eyes. He half-expected another blizzard to show up and mock him on his long drive home. But instead, it seemed as though the gentle snowfall had slowed down.

Before he could open the car door to get in, he heard Amanda shouting his name from the house. Confused, he looked back at her with a mixture of fear and confusion. Had their father finally lost it and struck something—or someone—in his blind rage? He prepared himself for the guilt that would come, knowing that he had been the one to make him so angry in the first place…

…But instead Amanda came running at him with a pad of paper and a pen.

“I want your number. And your email.” She commanded. “I don’t care what Dad says—I want to meet this lover of yours.” She forced the paper and pen into his hands. “Mom too. She may not express it as much as she should but she really misses you…and I’m sure she’d love to meet the guy too.”

Aubrey blinked quietly for a moment, staring down at his fiercely-determined sister. “Are you serious?”

“Of course silly.” Amanda smiled, watching as Aubrey mutely wrote his number and email down on the pad of paper. “And you’d better invite us to the wedding, too! Or else I’ll come and stalk you on your honeymoon.”

Aubrey nearly gaped at her. How in the world was he supposed to comprehend that?

Amanda snatched the pad of paper and pen from Aubrey and looked over the information. Seemingly satisfied, she gave him a quick hug and a wave good-bye before she went back in the house, quickly calling out that they would call him as soon as they could.

On the slow drive home, Aubrey couldn’t help but feel a little sad but also a little relieved. The trip back home hadn’t been a complete waste after all. While the thought of his father filled him with an intense bitterness, the fact that his mother had come around and she, along with Amanda, wanted to meet his lover filled him with hope.

The soft snow continued to fall gently down.


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He never was much of a heavy-sleeper. When the front door to their apartment opened, however quietly it was done, Gabriel was awoken. He groaned and slowly sat up, frowning a little. His neck felt a little stiff…that was the last time he was ever going to sleep on the couch watching TV talk shows.

It finally registered to him that Aubrey was home when he heard his lover’s usual unobtrusive walk.

“Welcome home, love,” Gabriel smiled, getting up from the couch to go meet him.

“Hi Gab—“ Aubrey paused, cocking an eyebrow at his lover’s disheveled appearance. “…Did you fall asleep on the couch again?”

“Eh heh…maybe. Not my fault though. Today’s topic was boring.”

“Oh?” Aubrey replied in amusement, though his eyes avoided Gabriel’s. “What was today’s topic?”

“I don’t know. I was sleeping.” Gabriel reminded Aubrey, grinning as his lover laughed at the silliness. “So…how were the errands? You got home awfully late.”

“It was…fine.” Aubrey responded, unsure of the exact word he should use to describe his trip home. He hadn’t told Gabriel that he was going to see his family. Well, he inwardly sighed, if there was ever a time to talk to Gabriel about ‘family’ and ‘commitment’…it was probably now. “Gabriel,” he asked a little uneasily, “can we go into the living room. We need to talk.”

Gabriel lost his smile. “…About what?”

“Nothing bad.” Aubrey reassured. “There’s just something I want to talk about.”

“…O-Okay.” Gabriel answered; his nerves were alive with furious dread. He followed Aubrey into the living room, his heart going a mile a minute. Did something happen? Had he done something wrong? He sat down when Aubrey sat down and mentally prepared himself for anything.

“Gabriel…I’m going to be honest.”

Oh God here it comes! Gabriel mentally flinched.

“I was visiting my family the whole time today.”

…Oh? Gabriel released the breath he had held in. He was still a little tense though. Aubrey never talked about his family. Had something really bad happened?

“I had to go talk to them about something. Unfortunately, we didn’t really talk about it. But I tried.” Aubrey snorted suddenly, smiling a little. “You know the stereotype of the fanatically religious and stubborn Catholic who condemn homosexuality with a passion?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I think that may have started because of my father. He’s like…the very epitome of the stubbornly religious.” Aubrey shook his head, still smiling. The smile was sad, and even a little bitter. “I told my family about you—I wanted them to meet you.”

“…But?”

“Well, my father wouldn’t hear of it. But my younger sister wants to meet you—and hopefully my mother will too.” The smile suddenly seemed a little less bitter. Aubrey took Gabriel’s hands into his, rubbing his thumb over the knuckles gently. “Of course, only if you want to.”

“Yes! Of course I do.” Gabriel grinned devilishly. “You can meet my Aunt and sister too. They’ve been dying to meet you, actually.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. But you’re always so busy, what with work and university—and me,” Gabriel slipped in bluntly, flushing a little at the thought. He chuckled when Aubrey flushed a little too. “Honestly, they want to. And don’t worry—they’re like, extreme liberalists. They practically live for the rainbow and pink triangle.”

“…That’s almost as scary as my family…”

“Probably.” Gabriel out right laughed. “I swear, my Aunt begged me to let her throw a huge party when she found out I’m bisexual. A party!”

“Did you?”

“Hell no. I was gonna, but she mentioned something about strippers…and I swear, the last thing you want to see with your family are naked girls and boys. Besides, I was seventeen. Wasn't even legal.”

Aubrey laughed a little. He couldn’t really imagine that situation in his family. However odd it sounded, he was glad and a little envious that Gabriel had such an accepting family. “That’s great Gabriel…I’d love to meet your family. Maybe over the Christmas holidays?” Aubrey’s smile widened when Gabriel nodded, assuring him that he’d make the arrangements.

A moment of silence passed, and he knew that it was time. Aubrey cleared his throat nervously, his hold on Gabriel’s hands tightening a little. “Gabriel…there was something else that I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Aubrey swallowed the lump forming in his throat. His body felt a little rigid, reluctant to move. But he reminded himself of how much he loved Gabriel—and how much he loved him…and he knew. He just knew. He got up from his seat, removing only one hand from Gabriel’s hands to dig deep within his pocket. All the while, Gabriel watched him with wide eyes, unable to interpret what exactly was going on. His heart raced, knowing that this was huge, but his mind was still behind on comprehending it.

The next thing he knew, Aubrey was on one knee…and in his hands was a little, leather box.

Gabriel’s breath caught in his throat.

Aubrey inhaled slowly and opened the tiny box, revealing a gleaming silver ring.

“…Oh my…” Gabriel breathed, his mind only now catching up with the situation. A ring. It was a ring!

“Gabriel…” Aubrey started but paused, still hesitating. He took another deep breath and kept his eyes steady on his lovers. “Gabriel…we’ve been together for a long time. And during that whole time, no matter what the obstacles were, we’ve endured. You have no idea how happy you’ve made me and how much I need you in my life. You complete me. And, I want to make it official. I want to make it so that the world knows that I am yours, and you are mine. I love you, Gabriel,” he took another huge intake of air, “Gabriel…will you marry me?”

“Oh my God.” Gabriel breathed, in awe. “Oh…oh, Aubrey…!” His heart fluttered, along with his stomach. Just about half of those who got married got divorced. Oh, what if that happened to them? What if this was a bad idea? He never wanted to hurt Aubrey, ever! But he didn’t want to make a mistake either…

He looked deeply into those eyes. And suddenly that didn’t seem to matter. He was horrible at making decisions—but that was for everyday things. When he looked into those loving, passionate blue eyes, he knew. He knew that this would work. He had never loved anyone as much as he loved Aubrey, and he knew that his lover felt the same.

“So? Will you marry me?”

“Oh, Aubrey.” Gabriel gasped again. He flung himself into Aubrey’s arms, so hard that Aubrey almost fell onto his back. He clung to his lover, his body bursting with love and happiness. “Yes. Yes of course I will!” He pulled back a little in the embrace enough to capture Aubrey’s lips in an impassioned kiss that stole their breath away. “Yes.” He murmured against Aubrey’s lips, and continued to whisper as he smothered his lover with kisses all over. “Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.”

Aubrey sighed contently, covering his lover in kisses as well. He pulled back and took Gabriel’s left hand. He slipped the ring onto his ring finger and watched as his lover blushed and smiled at the shining ring. Aubrey pulled Gabriel back into an embrace and smiled against the crook of Gabriel’s neck. He could feel his lover’s heart beat…it felt so good, so intimate. “This is heaven.” He whispered euphorically. He was too happy to care about anything else but being there, in Gabriel’s arms—his future husband.

“Yeah.” Gabriel agreed, planting another kiss on Aubrey’s forehead. “This is heaven.”


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The End