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"Eugene…" Shelton could barely stop his tears. "I can't keep this…"
"What's the point of an engagement ring if you're not going to keep it?"
Sledge was kneeling in front of him, his signet ring in hand. Snafu was paralysed. He couldn't just say no to marrying the love of his life - but still, it wouldn't happen. No matter how much they both wanted it, they would never get married. And Snafu would never make a promise he couldn't keep.
"Merriell…" Eugene begged him, his voice almost breaking.
"You know we can't."
"But if we could…?"
Shelton looked away. He couldn't bear seeing his partner cry. Especially not if he were to be the cause of it. He shut his eyes, trying to hold back the tears. The feeling of Eugene's hand gently squeezing his wrist broke him. He slipped off the flimsy bed, curling up around himself on the cold floor of their barrack room.
"I would," he sobbed. "Even if we never could."
Sledge silently picked him up, holding him close against his chest. Merriell could feel his shaky breathing and the teardrops falling onto the crown of his head. He stilled almost immediately.
"Gene?" He cupped his partner's cheek, heart breaking when he felt how wet with tears it was. "Please, angel, don't cry…"
"I just… Fuck." Eugene hid his flushed face in his hands. "I just love you so much."
Merriell could only pull him into a hug, letting Eugene cling to his chest and cry everything out.
"I'm sorry," he whispered against his partner's soft, auburn hair.
"'s okay," Gene sniffled. "Would be pointless to do it anyway."
The defeat in his voice was something Shelton could never stand. He couldn't fathom how someone like Eugene - his Gene, that sweet boy from Mobile, Alabama, who loved birdwatching and collected seashells to send home to his mother - could go through so much unwarranted pain. He could take it all on himself if that meant Eugene would be happy.
"Don't say that, angel. We'll figure something out." Merriell pressed a gentle kiss to Eugene's temple. "I'll get us married even if it lands me in jail."
"What good would I have of a jailed husband?" Sledge deadpanned, smiling weakly against the crook of Snafu's neck.
"I ain't exactly a homemaker, Gene."
"We'll figure something out."
Merriell pulled away, heart jumping to his throat when he saw his partner's face. Eugene looked miserable - his flushed cheeks were still wet with tears, hair falling into red-rimmed eyes. He leaned into the touch when Shelton cupped his face.
"Eugene?" Merriell’s voice was soft. "You wanna take another go at it?"
He smiled when Sledge nodded, wiping his tears away. They were both on the floor at that point, legs tangled together. Eugene was about to propose to him with his own signet ring on the cold floor of a barrack in Peking, and Merriell wouldn't have it any other way.
"Merriell Shelton," Eugene said, his hazel eyes meeting Snafu's. "Will you marry me?"
"...I will." He held out his hand, trying to stop himself from shaking.
Eugene's ring was cool against his finger, the inside of the band smoothed by wear. It fit perfectly.
He never took it off, not even for a second. Eugene's ring was either on his finger or on a chain around his neck, but it was always with him. Merriell would never make a promise he couldn't keep.