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”Hey, Jose?” Kevin looks up from the cup of coffee he’s stirring, waiting for the drink to cool down enough that he won’t burn his tongue. Jose finishes reading a passage of the book he’s in the middle of and puts a bookmark in place between the pages.
“Do tell?” he replies and takes a sip of his own drink, looking at Kevin over the rim of his mug.
“Have you ever thought about getting married?” Kevin asks nonchalantly, and Jose raises his brows, considering the question. He closes his novel and puts it down, replacing the book in his hands with the steaming cup of coffee as he thinks.
“I suppose not,” Jose finally concludes, and Kevin chews at his lip. Jose’s reading glasses fog up from the steam and his mouth scrunches up unhappily: he puts his cup down to take the glasses off, neatly placing them over the book. Jose got them fairly recently, and perhaps because he doesn’t need them for anything other than reading, Kevin sometimes catches him knocking them off his nose by accident- or other little things that show he’s not really used to having them yet. It’s another thing that reminds Kevin of just how long they have been together.
Kevin tries the coffee but it’s still just a bit too hot for him to drink. Sometimes Kevin thinks that Jose must have lost the feeling in his mouth to drink it straight from the coffee maker.
“I just got thinking, it could be nice,” he says and it’s true. It’s not like Kevin has ever been big on planning grandiose wedding scenarios either, like inviting a whole bunch of relatives and friends. He’d never really seen the need to go further than knowing Jose returned his feelings, and then they had naturally settled into living together after the fumbling start. But there was something nice about the idea of having the same last name and having a ring in his finger that reminded him that their feelings were still mutual, after all this time.
The coffee has finally cooled down enough that Kevin dares to drink it without the fear of burning his tongue. The drink tastes a comforting mixture of the coffee blend Kevin picked up from the store wanting to try something new, and the little amount of milk he likes in his drink. Jose likes his black- another reason why Kevin can’t wrap his head around how come Jose never seems to have to wait long to start drinking. But he’s discovered long ago that you don’t necessarily have to understand every single thing about a person to know that you love them with all your heart.
“You mean you want to get married?” Jose asks him and Kevin blinks, remembering he’d actually asked it out loud this time. He’d been thinking about tying the knot for some time but never brought it up until now.
“I mean, if you don’t like the idea, we don’t got to,” he says honestly, and Jose looks at his cup. Kevin wonders what he was looking to see there, when Jose looks up with the smallest of smiles again. “I don’t think I’d hate that idea,” he says, and they don’t talk about it for the rest of the breakfast. Jose goes back to reading and Kevin finishes his coffee, before they both get ready to go to work.
Jose is already home when Kevin tries the doorknob, surprised he didn’t need the key to get inside.
“I’m home,” he calls from the doorway, and the soft aroma of dinner welcomes him from the kitchen. Kevin leaves his shoes neatly by the entrance and hangs his coat before he goes to the kitchen. He catches Jose in front of the stove, cooking something on a frying pan. Kevin walks up to him and wraps his arms around Jose’s waist, pressing a chaste kiss on his neck. Jose welcomes him home by turning his head to return the kiss on his lips before he concentrates back on cooking.
“I thought it was my turn to cook today?” Kevin asks, while observing the process with his chin resting on Jose’s shoulder.
“I got home early so I thought I’d start,” Jose replies simply, “Did you wash your hands yet?”
Kevin unfolds his arms from around Jose’s middle and raises his hands up in surrender, “Nope, my bad, I’m going now.”
When he comes back, he starts working on the salad, and they work in comfortable silence until the dinner is ready and they sit down at the kitchen table. The food smells good, and Kevin makes sure to tell that to Jose, praising his cooking as they dig in. After they have eaten, Kevin loads the dishes into the dishwasher, while Jose handwashes the pans and kettles he used for cooking.
“It’s been a while, want to watch a movie?” Kevin suggests as they leave the kitchen, and Jose doesn’t go to get his book, but follows him to the cough in their living room instead.
“What did you have in mind?” Jose asks when Kevin starts up the streaming software, foregoing his wild west action movies in favor of finding something cheesy but nice enough he doesn’t think they’ll have to stop midway through- He asks for Jose’s opinion and when he accepts, Kevin presses play and puts his arm around Jose’s shoulders, leaning against the backrest of the couch.
The movie is romantic comedy, and Kevin is surprised how invested in it he ends up being, rooting for the main characters enthusiastically- Though each time Jose laughs at something happening on the screen, Kevin’s attention is inadvertently diverted from the movie to look at his partner lovingly: Kevin has never gotten bored of hearing Jose laugh, the rare sound making his stomach feel all warm and tingly even after all this time.
He combs his fingers though Jose’s hair lazily as they sit back and relax on the couch, Jose leaning his head against Kevin’s every now and then, or just resting his hand on Kevin’s thigh. It’s a nice way to spend the evening, and Kevin definitely enjoys the movie, even if Jose liking it definitely plays a major part into his opinion. When the credits start playing, Jose turns to look at Kevin with a contemplative expression on his face.
“Do you think it would feel different- to be married to each other?”
“Huh?” Kevin asks dumbly, caught off guard by the question. He takes time to process it, immediately unable to form an answer. “I- I dunno. I guess nothing would really change, but I sort of like the idea. Havin’ something physical tying us together, even if it’s just a tiny metal band.”
Jose studies his expression and then smiles that smug little grin of his, before he leans his back against Kevin’s chest and closes his eyes. The cowboy falls back against the armrest under their combined weight, moving around until they both snugly fit into each other’s shapes on the couch, warm and content in the embrace. Kevin kisses the top of Jose’s head, thinking about how happy he is to have him.
Kevin ends up forgetting the conversation about marriage as weeks pass, both of them busy with their jobs. Mundane days pass by, so similar to each other they almost feel like they are merging into one other, and Kevin finds himself excited beyond himself for their next vacation. It’s nothing terribly fancy, but it’s become a tradition for him and Jose to go out of the city for a few weeks every year, to relieve stress and just take time for themselves whenever life feels like it’s becoming too much or too little.
And in just a few more days, their short holiday is coming up: On multiple occasions in his excitement, Kevin has already started suggesting things that they could do during the week they’ll spend at their lodge, Jose having to remind him that they really won’t have time for a whole lot in just a week. Kevin always responds with a sheepish laugh and promises to shorten his list.
They rent a car and drive out of the city with the small vehicle packed full of their luggage, Jose behind the wheel as Kevin reads directions from the map. They could always use a navigation app, but there is something nostalgic in keeping to the same map they use every year, following the same roads and signposts to the cottage, and by now the map is there more for sentimental reasons anyway. Between them the cupholder has two steaming thermos mugs, in Jose’s his usual order of black coffee, whereas Kevin opted for hot chocolate for a change.
“Don’t you ever get tired of drinking that bitter stuff?” He asks when Jose reaches out to take a sip of his thermos, and his partner just laughs.
“You drink ‘this bitter stuff’ yourself,” Jose says as he places the cup back down to grip the wheel with both hands again. Kevin purses his lips and drinks from his own cup.
“Maybe, but at least I drink something else too- switch it up a little, you know?”
“Hmm. I’ve yet to try a single one of your other options that isn’t just plain sugar,” Jose teases and glances pointedly at Kevin’s cup of hot cocoa, causing the cowboy to pull it closer to himself defensively.
“Hey, not my fault you can’t appreciate variety,” he mutters and drinks from his mug again.
“I’m good, thank you for asking,” Jose says with an infuriatingly calm tone, and Kevin swears he would lean over the console to kiss him just to get a reaction out of the older man, but he’d rather get to the lodge in one piece. So instead he reaches to turn the car radio on, and the rest of the way they half heartedly bicker over Kevin wanting to listen to the radio and Jose preferring the silence. But after a while Kevin always gives in and turns the music off, because he knows Jose doesn’t like it, even if he refuses to admit it every time.
Kevin remembers though, ever since the one time Jose confessed to it during their first year together: Jose lost his temper at a bar’s background music during their date, and yielded to explain himself to a mildly confused Kevin, who at the time had had no idea of Jose’s dislike for music- Kevin played significantly less music around their shared flat afterwards, and even now when he does play some, it’s at modest volume out of consideration for his boyfriend. And Kevin doesn’t mind, not really, because anytime he plays his vinyls or strums a song or two on his mandolin, Jose still sits around and listens. Maybe he does if for his sake, but Kevin likes to think that maybe Jose isn’t as vehement in his dislike towards music as he used to be.
When they arrive at the cottage and park the car at the front, it’s already getting dark out. They carry their luggage inside, and Jose goes out to open the doors to the balcony to air out the space: It’s been another half a year since they last were here, so the air smells a little stagnant. Kevin finishes carrying their bags upstairs into the bedroom and makes sure that the car is locked before he drops into an armchair. Jose is tending to the small fire in the fireplace and Kevin watches as the flames grow, until it becomes a decent source of warmth.
The cottage has electricity, but the fireplace was one of the must haves that Kevin wanted out of the cabin: In his opinion it just gives the whole atmosphere a boost that artificial light and electric heating systems simply can’t achieve. Jose had eventually relented, and if Kevin knows how to read him at all, he could swear that Jose has taken a liking to it himself too, more than he admits. Kevin watches as the other man straightens up, putting the fireplace poker down by the other tools in their stand. Kevin smiles broadly and pats his lap when Jose turns around, just in time to catch his eager gesturing.
“C’mere, I’m too cold still,” Kevin complains, though they both know it’s hardly the real reason, even if it might be true. Jose sighs but comes over anyway, sitting sideways on Kevin’s thighs.
“Don’t start complaining that I weigh too much,” he murmurs but lets Kevin press soft kisses on his cheek before he stops the onslaught of affection with a finger to his lips.
“What?” Kevin whines when Jose doesn’t move his hand away but the way he smiles at Kevin is enough to show that it didn’t really bother him though. Kevin probably wouldn’t be wrong to think that Jose did it just to annoy him.
His partner doesn’t give him the time to complain though before removing his hand from Kevin’s lips to replace it with his mouth in a soft kiss.
“The drive here always feels longer than I remember,” he sighs when they part, and Kevin brings one hand up to gently rub at his shoulders.
“I can give you a massage if you feel like it?” he suggests, and Jose smiles gratefully before he gets up from his lap with a small peck to his nose in parting.
“I won’t say no since you offered so nicely,” Jose says, and gathers a couple of pillows and a blanket from the armrest to make himself comfortable at the foot of Kevin’s seat. They listen to the crackling of the fire and slowly feel the warmth start to spread throughout the structure, as Kevin gently works on the muscles of Jose’s neck and shoulders. He can’t resist pressing a kiss on the top of his head at one point, but Jose doesn’t complain, pliantly melting under his touch.
“Do you want to have a go?” Jose offers when Kevin is done, but the other just shakes his head. “Nah, thanks but I’m good. If anything, I want something to eat and then a warm bath! And we still need to get the blankets and stuff for the bed.” Kevin’s shoulders slump at the realization of what he just said: It’s not a load of work, but he would have loved to just be able to dive into the sheets.
They make a couple of sandwiches with the ingredients they brought with them and unpacked in the cupboards and refrigerator earlier, eating in content silence. Most of the lights haven’t been turned on, the idea of their strong glare unappealing in the late evening. The fireplace and a few candles bring enough light to get around comfortably, and besides, in Kevin’s opinion, it makes for a much better mood lighting. He finishes his late-night snack and wipes the crumbs from his mouth with his thumb, before downing the rest of the tea Jose had made them. Apparently, tea is the only warm drink beside coffee that Jose is willing to drink by his own accord, now that he’s mostly dropped alcohol.
It was tough at first- and Kevin would know because he was there to see it and give his support the best he could- but since at the beginning of their relationship Jose had been with a severe drinking problem, they’d seen it best to keep alcohol out of their diet for the most part, just to make it easier for Jose not to spiral back.
“Should we get the sheets out first or can I go ahead and take a shower?” Kevin asks as he sets his cup back down on the table. Jose finishes his tea at a much slower pace, still in the middle of his cup when Kevin speaks up.
“If we make the bed first, you won’t have to wait to get to sleep after the shower,” Jose replies nonchalantly, leaving the choice up to Kevin. Kevin grumbles, but he knows that Jose is right- his future self would just be pissed at himself if he skipped making the bed to go for the shower and then belatedly realize he can’t just fall into the sheets.
“Alright, alright, you got me. I’ll just put my dishes away and go dig out the sheets then.”
Jose hums once in acknowledgement, and Kevin loads his dishes into the dish washer, and goes to the stairs, leaving Jose to finish his cup in peace. Kevin has just gotten the blankets and pillows out on the bed and he’s in the middle of picking out the sheets when Jose enters the bedroom. Together it doesn’t take them long to make the bed, and Jose lets Kevin take the shower first. He doesn’t take terribly long to finish washing himself, considerate of Jose waiting for his turn, though the older man doesn’t look terribly inconvenienced from the wait: He seems absorbed to his novel, looking up from his book when Kevin exits the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist and hair damp from the shower.
Jose takes his glasses off and places them on the nightstand with the book, his gaze returning to appreciate Kevin’s toned body. Though neither of their jobs are physically straining, they still like to visit the gym together to keep in shape: Kevin thinks it’s definitely worth the effort when it makes Jose’s eyes drink in his body like this. He gives Jose a slanted grin and stops at the foot of the bed, looping his thumbs under the towel that clings to his hips dangerously low.
“What’s the matter, I thought you were going to take a shower too?” he teases, and Jose gets up, walking up to Kevin with heavy lidded eyes and lazy smile.
“Oh, I’m going. Just thought it was a shame we didn’t take one together,” Jose murmurs against Kevin’s lips, his hands wandering around his back to settle on Kevin’s ass.
“Wow, that’s real low. Why didn’t you say so before I showered?” the cowboy mumbles back even as he leans in to deepen the kiss, and Jose lets him. Kevin lets go of his hold when Jose taps his arm meaningfully. He pouts in protest but allows Jose to untangle himself and go take the shower, leaving Kevin to settle into bed by himself. He drops the towel around his ankles and gets dressed into a fresh pair of briefs before he sits at the edge of the bed to dry his hair.
He gets up to hang the towel to dry and then retreats under the sheets. He doesn’t intend to fall asleep yet but he must have drifted off anyway, because the next thing Kevin registers is Jose’s weight making the mattress dip slightly. He sighs sleepily and moves closer to Jose, draping an arm around his middle.
“Good night,” he murmurs and pecks Jose’s neck softly. Before drifting back to sleep, he distantly registers Jose’s low reply and feels his fingers entwine with his own.
They wake up leisurely and take their time to get dressed, Kevin going downstairs ahead of Jose to get the coffee brewing so it’s ready when he comes down. He sings along to a song playing on the radio under his breath as he makes breakfast, toes curling in his fuzzy socks as the chill seeps through from the cold floor boards. Kevin yelps when cold hands creep under his shirt, and he looks over his shoulder to give Jose an evil glare.
“How dare you! And I made us breakfast!” He complains, and perhaps Jose feels bad because he retracts his hands and goes for the coffee maker instead.
“Thank you,” the older man says as he pours himself a cup, and even if begrudgingly, Kevin considers him forgiven. He carries the plates of berries and toast to the table, digging out a bottle of syrup from the cupboard before he takes a seat. Kevin already has his cup of coffee, considerably less black than Jose’s, so he just gets to coating his toast with maple syrup and berries.
“Well if you didn’t get a little excited for the first cottage breakfast this morning,” Jose comments as he watches the table, one eyebrow lifted.
“Naw, just wanted something lil sweet, late comers have no vote in what’s served,” Kevin announces with pretense seriousness, but Jose’s good humored eyeroll and subtle smile reduces him into laughter. He finishes putting his French toast together and pushes the bottle of syrup and cup of berries over to Jose before he cuts into his breakfast. Kevin can’t help but let out a small moan as the crunchy toast and sugary toppings melt on his tongue, making him close his eyes happily for a moment. He hears Jose chuckle at his reaction, but they have been together too long for him to get flustered over it anymore. Good food deserves a reaction, and that’s his opinion on it- even if Jose disagrees that sugar doesn’t automatically make any food ‘good’.
They eat and Jose offers to put their dishes away since Kevin was the one to prepare breakfast, and the cowboy hardly finds the reason to protest. He says his own thanks and pushes his chair back, jogging upstairs to get his snuggly sweater. It’s chilly in the cabin, and what better excuse to get to wear his terrible sweaters that Jose only tolerates because he likes them so much. Kevin grabs the one he got for Jose two years ago for Christmas just to spite him, knowing he wouldn’t have the heart not to put it on if he took it downstairs since Kevin was wearing his own matching sweater.
He makes his way downstairs with Jose’s shirt over his arm, and finds his partner already consumed in his book. He hadn’t even noticed Jose bringing it downstairs, but then again, he hadn’t noticed Jose come downstairs in the first place.
“Got you something cozier to wear darlin’,” Kevin grins and throws the sweater at Jose, barely catching the look of surprise and the exasperation before the cloth lands on his face, falling down to his lap.
“Why, thank you,” Jose says with exactly the right amount of honey that he makes Kevin laugh innocently, but he does wear the shirt in the end. And it is pretty cute in its own way in Kevin’s opinion, even if Jose refuses to agree. But you can’t argue matters of taste, right?
Kevin throws himself onto the couch and lets Jose go back to reading, while he busies himself with his mental list of things he wants to do. The cottage does have electricity, but they both agreed not to get a television or computers here, since the whole purpose of the getaway was to, well, get away from all that. That’s why most of the things that Kevin came up with are outdoorsy activities, but if they dress warmly enough it will be fun, despite the cold starting to settle in this time of the year.
“What do you say we go take a walk before lunch? We could visit that bird watching tower, should be nice ‘round this time,” he considers out loud, and Jose glances up from his book. “And if you wanted, we could make a fire at that one campsite, roast marshmallows… Though I guess that’d be more of my thing,” He adds, his lips scrunching up thoughtfully.
“No, it sounds good. Let’s do that,” Jose says, and he smiles, a warm look in his eyes as he puts the book away. “Let me take this back to our room, I’ll be right back.”
Kevin doesn’t have time to protest before Jose gets up, and he blinks in surprise as his eyes follow his partner who disappears up the stairs to the second floor. He would have playfully complained that there was no need to take the book upstairs- who was going to touch it while both of them were outside- but moreover, Kevin hadn’t expected Jose to immediately put his novel down to indulge in his plans.
Kevin smiles sheepishly as he pushes himself up on the couch, still sitting there by the time he sees Jose walk down the stairs. Kevin watches as Jose heads down the hall, feeling a little childish as he starts grinning to himself, still lounging on the couch as he waits for his partner to inevitably start looking for him. Not too long passes before Jose walks back the way he came, glancing around in clear confusion. Kevin can see the moment Jose notices him, the unimpressed expression coming over his features unmistakable.
“What are you still doing there? I thought we were going,” He says, raising an unimpressed brow.
Kevin doesn’t respond, already half across the room to hurry past Jose before he actually gets pissed off. He does stop to press a kiss on the tip of the other’s nose as he passes him by, which earns him a fond huff from Jose.
Both layer themselves in warm clothes, the temperature outside having dropped low enough overnight to warrant for warm dressing. Kevin isn’t one to shy away from cold, but before he can step outside, Jose catches him by the sleeve and tugs him back.
“You’ll catch a cold,” Jose huffs, drawing a surprised yelp from the cowboy as he wraps a scarf around his neck, in the process covering half of Kevin’s face. The cowboy grins at him affectionately as he pulls the scarf down below his chin.
“You coulda just said you wanted me to kiss you-” he purrs, and seizing the opportunity catches Jose’s lips into a kiss. Kevin feels Jose smile against his lips, and it makes him smile even wider before he pulls away, happily dragging his partner outside after him.
Kevin drives them to the nearest hiking trail and lets Jose pick the radio channel while they drive. It’s not a long drive, but enough so that Kevin has time to grumble that he wants to pick the channel on the drive back- Jose never picks music over news channels or talk shows. When the car rolls to a stop at a snowy clearing, Kevin has forgotten all about his sulking; stepping out of the car, snow crunching under his boots and breath fogging up, Kevin stretches his hands above his head contentedly.
“I’m cold just looking at you,” Jose remarks from the other side of their car as he closes the passenger door.
“Don’t worry darling, once we get a move on, you’ll change your mind,” Kevin teases with a grin and starts to head for a signpost marking the start of the nature trail he looked up beforehand. He hears Jose’s footsteps start after him, and Kevin does turn to offer his hand for the other man, who laces their gloved fingers together. Even after all the years since they got together, feeling Jose’s hand in his makes him smile happily, and Kevin tugs their interlocked hands into the pocket of his jacket. An awfully sappy thing of him to do, and he half expects Jose to complain or roll his eyes, but the other man seems too preoccupied looking at their surroundings.
Kevin follows his example, and as they quietly fall into step with one another, he lets his eyes travel; over the trees- spruces, Kevin thinks- covered in heavy snow blankets; the path before them, laden with untouched crust of snow. Everything is white, with slivers of earthly green and brown peeking out between the surfaces covered in a heavy layer of snow. Sunlight reflects off of the snow-covered forest, making everything shimmer. It’s fortunate that there are few clouds sliding over the otherwise clear sky, lest they be left squinting to see a thing. As it stands, the weather is perfect for a stroll in the middle of nowhere. Kevin squeezes their connected hands affectionately, shoving his free hand into the other pocket of his coat with elated hum: “Huh, lucky! Nobody came here since it snowed last.”
It would have been pretty even if the path was outlined by footprints, but the lack of human touch gave the expanse of wilderness an enchanting finish. There was just something else about knowing they were the first people to pass by in a while- so much so that it was almost a shame to leave prints on the flawless snow finish of the trail. Kevin fills his lungs with the fresh air, almost unpleasant because of how cold it is- it stings a little on the way to his lungs but Kevin savors the feeling.
Kevin doesn’t really mind the cold, not as much as Jose, who he knows layers up even in slightly lower temperatures. Glancing at his date, the other man doesn’t seem perturbed by the chill, something that Kevin takes it as a victory; he knows Jose wouldn’t complain anyway, not after how long they both have been waiting for this week, but it’s nicer knowing that his boyfriend is genuinely enjoying himself too- Not just going along with Kevin’s whims to make him happy.
They end up spending hours on the trail, straying from the path to climb up to the bird observation tower. The trek up the long stretches of stairs proves out to be somewhat precarious and only slightly less life threatening: There is a sign that warns them off for the lack of maintenance on the stairs during winter, but Kevin insists that they climb up anyway- They do make it up to the top in one piece in the end, but not without almost slipping and falling down a flight of stairs a couple of times.
“I swear, you get the dumbest ideas,” Jose breathes out when they stand at the top, admiring the view. If it wasn’t pretty from the ground level, it’s breathtaking from so far above the ground: The opening with the bird observation tower is flanked by tall, ages old trees clothed in snow. The field of pristine white is completely unblemished, only occasional animal tracks cross the sea of snow where nothing else has touched upon it.
Kevin rustles through the small backpack he took with him from the lodge, until he finds the pair of small binoculars he was looking for. Excitedly, he puts them over his eyes and starts peering at the prints, though he knows he likely won’t be able to tell which animal left them.
“You had binoculars with you?” Jose asks with no small amount of amusement in his tone, but at Kevin’s excited beckoning he does take a closer look at the tracks through their magnifying lenses.
“Do you think an owl made that?” He asks, squinting at peculiar prints on the snow. Without the trees casting their shadows over the planes of snow, the blanket of white is so bright he has to shield his eyes with his hands. Jose points the binoculars to the direction Kevin is pointing at, and after a moment of adjusting the focus wheel, he makes an affirming sound.
“I think so. Do you want to take a closer look?” Jose asks, lowering the binoculars from his eyes to offer them to Kevin.
They spend a good while in the observation tower, looking at the tracks left by animals some of which they recognize, the others they don’t. Most of the time up there the couple just stands quietly next to each other, enjoying each other’s company. They don’t look at the time- They are in no hurry to go anywhere. Save for an occasional call of birds of prey, everything is silent. Gentle gusts of wind carry with them powder-like snow that drifts over the still white field like ripples over water- Nothing else moves.
Everything is so still that Kevin almost startles when Jose moves closer, removing his glove to comb through Kevin’s wind tousled hair. Kevin tilts his head to look at his partner, smiling, but another gust of wind blows his hair into his face and he just makes out Jose’s displeased frown before it gets in his eyes and he laughs. It’s cold and Jose puts his gloves back on, clearly weighing keeping his fingers intact more valuable over trying to sort out the cowboy’s locks- an estimate Kevin easily agrees with. He catches Jose’s gloved hand in his own before the other can lower it and places the fingers over his mouth in a display of kissing them charmingly.
It earns him an amiable huff of laughter, and Kevin grins triumphantly, before letting go of Jose’s hand.
“Aren’t you affectionate today,” Jose comments, but he doesn’t sound like he minds terribly- There might be a question there, but Kevin chooses to let it go unanswered, for now.
“Let’s get going, I still want to make it to the camp today,” he says instead, starting down the stairs.
In hindsight, it should have been obvious climbing the stairs up, but the descent is actually even trickier than going up, and it takes them almost twice as long to get down to the ground level. If Kevin lands on his behind just before reaching the ground and does so by sliding down the last four stairs, it’s not for lack of trying to stay on his feet.
Jose has the decency to not laugh when Kevin topples over, but with the smile he’s sporting when Kevin turns to look, rubbing his already bruising ass cheek, he could as well have been.
“Stop laughing,” Kevin complains, but takes Jose’s hand anyway when the other man offers it to help him up.
“I didn’t laugh,” Jose simply says with the sort of innocent smirk that Kevin knows by heart not to be one ounce of innocent.
“Ass,” he grumbles, wiping the snow from his pants. Jose pats his behind affectionately as he passes him by, starting on the tracks they came to arrive back on the nature trail.
Kevin is nursing a bruise from his embarrassing plunder and both of their socks are uncomfortably damp by the time they make it to the campsite: After wading through the over-knee height banks of snow to the bird observing tower and back, one is bound to find their shoes full of snow. And what snow they didn’t manage to shake out has long since melted, leaving them both with wet socks. They opt to pulling their shoes off when they get the fire going, and though it seems like a stupid idea at first in the freezing cold, the heat of the flames eventually proves to help tremendously.
“I think we might both get sick after this,” Kevin admits sheepishly as they sit next to the fire, tired and warming up after their long trekking through the snow.
“If that happens, we’ll just spend the rest of the week at the cabin,” Jose says, shrugging. Kevin scrunches his mouth up in complaint: “We both were looking forward to this week, it would suck to spend it in bed.”
Jose turns to give him a look , and Kevin knows he misspoke before his boyfriend opens his mouth.
“You wouldn’t really hate it now though, would you?” Jose says, and Kevin rolls his eyes but smiles honestly. “But on a more serious note, you know that it’s enough to me that we get to spend time together like this,” Jose continues.
Kevin doesn’t give him a reply, but the way he smiles looking at the fire, is a clear sign enough that he heard him.
“I heard that Demi and Vera are finally getting married,” Jose says after a long silence, and Kevin turns to look at him so quickly he almost loses his balance.
“What? Why didn’t she tell me??”
“It’s not official yet. She said they’ll send out the invitations closer to the actual date- Vera apparently wanted a summer wedding.”
A smile overtakes Kevin’s features as he turns back to look at the crackling flames, throwing in another log of wood to keep the fire going: “I’m happy for them, about time! I wonder who proposed,” he adds thoughtfully, smiling to himself as he tends to the campfire.
Jose hums in agreement and watches Kevin’s face and the strong shadows that contrast the glow of flames across his skin. “I am too, they suit each other well.”
“Kevin?” Jose speaks his partner’s name after some more time passes and Kevin looks up from his shoes he’s currently putting back on.
“Yeah?”
“Should we get married?” Jose asks, and Kevin pauses.
“You know, I thought I’d be the one asking first-” he finally admits with a chuckle and it’s not until then that Jose spots a small box that Kevin is fiddling with.
“I’m kind of bummed, actually. I got you a ring and all,” Kevin admits sheepishly, stilling his hands to look Jose in the eye. “But hey- Will you marry me, and the like?”
Jose blinks once in surprise, and then laughter bubbles up from his chest.
“I thought we already agreed on the sentiment?” he replies, but at Kevin’s frown he relents, smile softening, “Yes, Kevin. I will marry you.”
Kevin’s smile isn’t like thousand suns, nor do angels descend from the heavens to sing their praises when his future husband slips the ring on Jose’s left ring finger, but they are both happy.