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Mew paced back and forth in the condo waiting. He scanned the room once again to make sure everything was just so. He then went to the kitchen and checked to see if everything was ready for dinner. He opened the oven door to see if the turkey was keeping warm in the cooling oven.
Lastly he went to the table and fiddled with the Christmas cracker that he had placed in the middle of each of the plates. He wasn't sure if Gulf would like the crackers because of the noise it made. He was thinking of removing them when he heard a key in the door.
A grin spread across his face as he crossed the room to the front door. Gulf raced inside and flung his body onto Mew, giving him a big kiss on the lips. "Merry Christmas, Tee-Rak", he grinned as his eyes twinkled, "though it's really Boxing Day". He then kissed Mew again.
Mew laughed with pure joy. "Are you tired Tua-eng", he asked as he helped Gulf take off his jacket. They had both decided to dress causally so they were comfortable on their special night. Gulf had brought in a bag full of gifts which he sat by the tree. "Fine, Tee-rak", Gulf smiled.
"Dinner is ready so go wash up", Mew said as he started bringing dishes to the table. Gulf nodded and went to the sink to wash his hands. Finally everything was ready and they both sat down. They ate, talked, giggled and laughed. They also got tipsy.
After the meal, Mew pointed to the crackers. "I wanted to try these", he shyly said, "but they made a loud popping sound". Gylf lazily smiled, "sure, Tee-rak... whatever makes you happy. How do you open it"? Mew excitedly picked up the one from his plate.
"It's easy. We just both pull on both ends at the same time", he said. Gulf grabbed one end and Mew the other and both men gave a tug. With a loud, quick 'pop', the container broke. Gulf's eyes widen in surprised for a moment then they started to twinkle. "Aow", he grinned, "there's stuff in them". His mouth rounded in surprise at the items that had come flying out and now laid over the table. There was a game die, a folded piece of paper, a little plastic magnifying glass, a tiny note pad and a little pencil. Gulf picked up a brightly folded tissue.
"What's this", he wondered. Mew took it and unfolded it to reveal a paper crown. "Oh, can I wear it", Gulf asked? Mew placed it gently on Gulf's head and Gulf jumped up and ran to the mirror to look. He gleefully raced back to the table to pick the one up from his plate. "Let's do mine next".
He laughed this time when the cracker made the loud 'pop'. More cheap toys fell out. Gulf picked up another folded piece of paper and opened it. Reading aloud he asked, "What do you get when a vampire and a snowman cross paths"? He turned the paper over and said, "frostbite".
"Cheesy", he groaned. Mew laughed and Gulf snorted in delight. He picked up the other folded piece of paper and opened it. "What do you get if you cross Santa with a duck?", Gulf quirked his eyebrows and turned it over. "A Christmas Cracker".
Gulf and Mew stared at each other for a moment then burst into laughter. Gulf dug through the new 'treasures' to find the other paper crown and opened it up and placed it on Mew's head at a jaunty angle. Mew placed a kiss on Gulf's lips and whispered, "Merry Christmas, Tua-eng".
Gulf plopped himself on to Mew's lap and leaned down and kissed Mew back. "Tee-rak, Happy Boxing Day... I missed you yesterday", he leaned in and kissed Mew again. After awhile, they decided to moved over to the sofa next to the tree. They cuddled and kissed some more.
As they sat there, Gulf pointed out that the crackers were fun. " There's more", Mew replied quickly. "Aow", why didn't you say so", Gulf rebuked. Mew walked over and brought a box back. He placed the box next to himself and handed one to Gulf to grab hold of. 'Pop', 'pop', 'pop'.
One cracker after another cracker broke open, full of bad jokes, cheap tokens and candies. After each cracker, Gulf would laugh and squeal as if he had discovered precious jewels. This was followed by kisses given and kisses received. Both of them were enjoying themselves immensely.
Gulf carefully stacked 10 paper crowns and piled a collection of items to save and take home. He told Mew that he was going to give them to his family and friends. Mew stared at Gulf as he talked. He licked his lips and said quietly, "there's one more..." "Yes", Gulf replied and turned to Mew expectantly.
Mew handed Gulf a cracker which was wrapped differenly. It was in shiny black paper that had white hearts and silver dots on it. The men pulled the cracker and there was a loud pop followed by something flying through the air to land on the floor and start rolling away. They watched in shock as the item rolled under the tree. Gulf whispered questioningly, "Tee-rak... was that... a ring"? His heart missed a beat and he felt as if his breath was snatched away. He turned to Mew who was staring at Gulf nervously. "Umm...", Mew squeaked before clearing his throat, "yes". Gulf turned and dived for the tree. "Gulf", M yelped.
He could only see two long legs sticking out from under the tree. Gulf was almost throwing presents out of the way as he searched. Suddenly Mew laughed as he relaxed his tense muscles. He knew what answer Gulf was going to give. He had always known. He wasn't sure why he had gotten nervous.
He calmly went to the kitchen to get a flashlight and then got down on his hands and knees to help Gulf search. They found it still upright right at the back, near the wall. Gulf slithered back out from under the tree. He dropped the ring in Mew's hand then rushed over to the mirror.
Gulf tried to calm his racing heart as he brushed and straighten his hair. He tugged at his clothes as he told himself that there was nothing to get silly about. They had talked about marriage repeatedly... they had made life plans. He knew that it was still in the future.
Which was why he was so surprised at the moment. He wiped his hands on the back of his jeans and took a deep breath. This was really happening. He turned and slowly walked towards Mew with a shy smile spreading across his face. "Let's try that again", he whispered, "ok"?
Mew suddenly looked nervous again. He gripped his hands together and started to play with his thumb ring. They just stared at each other as silence descended. Gulf cleared his throat and said, "you were going to...". "Will you marry me?", Mew rushed out. Gulf's eyes rounded on surprise.
A huge grin appeared on his face and he started shaking his head quickly, making his hair bounce every which way. Mew let out a giggle in relief as he felt his heart melting at the sight. He didn't wait for a 'yes' and just said, "I love you". 'I love you too, Tee-rak", Gulf replied.