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“What? What’s that look for?” Jay asks as he sits down. He’s watching Ben intensely, studying his smiling face, and the blush that’s starting to creep up onto his cheeks. It’s something that Jay’s never seen before, not like this anyway, not this bright and blooming and that throws Jay off, because he’s almost certain he’s seen everything when it comes to Ben, they’ve known each other that long.
Ben can’t take his eyes off of Callum, his smile beaming, his face all soft and doe eyed. It’s almost infectious, and Jay finds himself smiling too. Ben doesn’t even skip a beat when he finally speaks, his fixation on Callum not faltering for even that of a second. “I’m going to marry that man, Jay.” He’s so confident in his words. He knows that Callum is his future, he knows that his future is with Callum. His smile is still unrelenting, and his words slowly start to process in Jay’s mind, though he stays silent and watches as it all unfolds before him. He’s never seen Ben like this before, and for a while, not all that long ago, he never thought he would see Ben like this - ever. He wasn’t alone in that thinking as well, because that was Ben’s mantra too, until Callum came into his life and made Ben see in colour once again.
Callum looks back at Ben, oblivious to the words his boyfriend has only just spoken about their future life together. He’s got a gentle smile on his face, one that grows when he sees Ben looking back at him. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the beginning of their relationship, when Callum would often find Ben looking at him with a lustful look on his face, and Callum would turn shy. They communicate silently, just by sharing looks, and it’s wonderful to watch.
If it’s at all possible, Ben’s smile grows as he sees Callum looking back at him. He grows shy somehow, endearingly, and tears his eye contact away from Callum, looking down at his lap slowly, where he huffs out a soft chuckle of disbelief and smiles wildly. In that split second, he sees it all. He sees his future, he sees it all happy and warm and long. He sees Callum standing right beside him, a family, in name and all. He sees them together, their friends and family all watching them, he sees Kathy with tears in her eyes as she hugs her new son, he sees Callum’s hand with a ring on his finger, and Ben with one on his too. There was a time, not long ago, that Ben would roll his eyes at the mere mention of settling down, or finding Mr. Right. He would scoff anytime someone even tried to mention a marriage, and would argue that he’s never been around a stable marriage long enough to want one himself. But now he wants all of that and more, because of Callum.
Ben sneaks a look back up at Jay, and notices that he’s got a proud look on his face.
Jay looks as though he’s about to speak, but Callum walks back over to their table with three pint glasses. Ben shushes Jay abruptly and moves himself over so that Callum can sit down next to him.
Callum takes the hint, as he puts the glasses on the table carefully, though there’s a slight overspill onto his hands. He sits down, right next to Ben, though it’s apparently not close enough for Ben, who shuffles even closer to Callum, letting their thighs touch completely, from their knees and up. Callum turns to look at Ben, and notices that Ben’s already looking directly at Callum, a bright and beaming smile unrelenting on his face. There’s a blush across his cheeks and he looks so happy, completely full of joy. It unnerves Callum slightly, seeing Ben this happy. It’s not unwelcome at all, in fact he loves seeing Ben happy, he just...wasn’t expecting it. For months, all he’s thought about is how angry Ben is going to be when he eventually finds out the truth, and now it’s out there, Ben knows, and his anger - though it was more irritation - lasted for thirty seconds, and now he can’t stop smiling.
There’s a look between Ben and Jay, a knowing look of excitement, and it just exacerbates Callum’s confusion of the whole situation when he sees it.
They all drink together, laughing and talking and Ben talks about how Lexi wants them to audition for a talent show, being the diva that she is. Ben’s got his hand on Callum’s thigh throughout it all, warm and wide and it’s a protective touch. Callum loves it, he loves and adores that Ben wants to touch him in public, that he’s happy enough to show Callum off. Callum loves that he’s okay with it, that after all these years he doesn’t have to hide who he is anymore.
“You look happy, anyway. Both of you” Jay chuckles out, draining the last of his pint. “It’s nice to see.”
Ben leans into Callum’s body slightly, letting his temple rest against Callum’s shoulder. It hurts slightly, a dull ache against his head and he knows a headache will probably start later in the day because of it, but right now he doesn’t have it in him to care one bit, because Callum’s warm and lovely.
There’s a skip of Callum’s heart and he turns his face, leaning down slightly to press a kiss to Ben’s head.
“On that note, I need to get back to work.” Jay says, standing up. “Cheers for the pint Callum, I’ll buy you one next time I see you.” And then he’s gone.
“Reckon we should go back home yet?” Callum whispers out, not really wanting to break up the peace that has fallen between them.
Ben nods softly. “Walk the long way?” He asks, standing up and holding his hand out for Callum to take.
“Course.” Callum chuckles. “Lead the way.”
Ben holds onto Callum’s left hand, their fingers linking together perfectly. There’s a cold air surrounding them, but they’re warm so they don’t care about anything else. They take the long way home, stepping in time to a forgotten beat together. It’s silent between them, with no need to speak really. One thing is for certain though, Ben’s running his thumb over Callum’s ring finger the whole way home, dreaming of the future.
Their future.