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I wanna tell the fox how much I love him, and how much I care, but I’m not exactly the best with words.
Sky had thought about this for a few days. He realised how in love he was with his boyfriend. He smiled to himself. It’s still strange calling him that sometimes. He thought.
His phone dinged and he saw the notification was indeed from the fox. Hi babe. I missed u and wanted to see how you were <3.
Sky smiled and quickly unlocked his phone before opening up the app they used to talk on. He sent a quick reply: Hi! I missed talking to u too <3. The hedgehog sat down at his desk, quickly realising how he wanted to surprise his boyfriend – a letter. He knew he wasn’t the best at telling the fox these things when they talked, so this could be the way to get all of the thoughts and feelings out.
The boy looked around for a pen, which he quickly found, but noticed that he didn’t have any paper. Rolling his eyes, the boy got out of the chair and headed downstairs. “Mum! Do you have any of the paper that has the lines on it?” He called out while he walked down the steps.
“There is some in the dining room, sweetie!” His mum called out.
“Thanks!” The boy said, and once he was on the ground floor, his feet took him into the dining where he instantly saw some stacks of paper on the table that was in there. He headed over to it and quickly saw the lined paper, so he grabbed two sheets before he quickly headed back upstairs and into his room.
Once Sky had sat back down, the paper was placed on the desk and he then took his phone out from his pocket and placed it on the desk next to the paper. He looked at the pen and took off the lid before holding it in his left hand.
He then started to write…
30th July 2022
Jackie,
This will certainly be a surprise for you, I know, but I wanted to keep it like that. I also know that we’ve never done anyhting anything like this before, even when we were friends or even best friends, but I feel like I need to do this.
You know I’m not always the best at explaining how I feel. But it’s not all my fault, you know? Heh. It’s mostly because of you. All of the thoughts and feelings that I have, that is. Sometimes my anixety anxiety gets the better of me, and it stops me from saying what I want to say. I feel trapped in my own thoughts at times. I haven’t really told you about that. Mainly because I’m stubborn, I guess. I don’t want to be a bother, and I don’t want to pile on my problems to someone else, especially you.
But I’m going to try my best to include everything here.
Firstly, I want to mention how happy you make me. When you text, my heart skips a beat, because it tells me that you care. Even if you only send a heart. When I text you, I want to tell you how much a love you, over and over, until you get angry with me and don’t want me to say it anymore. I think about you all the time. When I’m asleep, also when we’re texting, and even when we’re not. You’re always on my mind, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want to tell everyone that I have a boyfriend and how much he means to me, but there is a problem with that.
My parents have no idea we’re dating, let alone that we can’t physically see each other. That scares me, honestly. I don’t want us to be forced to break up.
Secondly, there is just so much that I wish we could do, but because of the huge distance between us, we can’t. I’d love to cuddle all day. I’d love to kiss you for real. I want to hear your pet names for me when I’m with you. I’d love to feel your arms around me, either hugging me or to just hold me close. I’d even like to do more than that if you’d want to. I just want to do everything with you. I know we haven’t been together for long at all, but I know you’re the only person that I want.
I love you more than anything, and I want to do everything I can to prove it to you.
But, in my mind, I have some doubts, and I know I probably shouldn’t. But I can’t help it…
Do you feel the same way?
And have I made a mistake by sending this to you far too soon into our new relationship?
I hope this letter gets to you soon and I would like to hear what you think.
I love you,
Sky
Sky quickly scanned the page for any other spelling mistakes apart from the ones he had crossed out, but thankfully, there were no more – at least he couldn’t see any. The boy then put the lid back on his pen before placing it back down on the desk. Just then, he noticed something; he didn’t have an envelope, but worse – he had no idea where Jackson lived. The hedgehog groaned and threw his head back in frustration.
Looking over at his phone, he grabbed it, unlocked it, and quickly sent Jackson a message. Hey, babe. Um, this might seem like a weird question but what’s ur address? I can’t tell u why I need it, but I do <3.
While waiting for his boyfriend to get back to him, the hedgehog got up and headed back downstairs. “Mum! Where are the envelopes? I need one.”
“Just as you walk in the kitchen, on the side – next to the box with the cards in it!” His mum quickly responded.
“’Kay! Thanks!” The boy walked into the kitchen and turned his head before he noticed the envelopes. There were a few different colours to choose from: the standard white colour, some red ones and some light blue ones. Luckily, Sky did know that Jackson did like blue as one of his favourite colours, so he picked up one of those before running back upstairs.
Once he was back in his room, the hedgehog carefully folded the letter in half and he then gently put it in the envelope and then took off the plastic strip at the top before sealing it up.
He then checked his phone to see if the fox had replied to him, and after checking the app, Jackson provided his address, along with the message: Here it is, babe. Ur not gonna stalk me, r u? :p <3.
Sky blushed as he wrote Jackson’s name and the address onto the envelope before replying to the message. You live in California? Wow! But no, I won’t spy on you! <3.
The boy then took the envelope and went downstairs again to see his mum. “Mum, um, I need to post this letter, but, um, it needs to go to the USA.”
The older hedgehog tilted her head. “Why do you need to post a letter internationally?” She asked, confused. Sky had never wanted to do this before.
“It’s for someone I met ages ago. We’ve been talking online and stuff, and he’s my best friend, so I wanted to send a letter to him.” The boy said. “I’ll pay for everything, don’t worry. I can go back upstairs and get my debit card.”
“Have you actually seen this person? And have you spoken to him without texting?” His mum was only looking out for him.
This only caused the boy to groan. “Yes, mum, I have. Several times. Please just trust me. Let me do this. Please.”
“Fine. I trust you. You’re getting older now and you can make your own decisions, but you will also learn some consequences if it goes wrong.”
The boy grinned and fist pumped the air. “Yes! Thanks! I’ll go and get my debit card and then go and post it!” Sky did just that, he headed back upstairs and into his room, where he grabbed his debit card before he ran back down and then left the house and headed off to the nearest post office. Once there, he walked inside and spoke to one of the cash clerks, where he explained that he needed to send the letter to the USA. He was told about different ways to send the letter, and he picked the one he wanted. The hedgehog then paid for the stamp and then chose the delivery method before he handed the letter over. The fox took the envelope and put the appropriate stamp on it before putting it in a bag that was for international mail. He told Sky that it could take up to a week, but to get updates on the letter, he’d need to provide his mobile number. Sky obliged as he wanted to make sure Jackson got the surprise without any problems.
Once that was all done, he left, headed back home and waited for his boyfriend to get the surprise…
_________________________
Almost a week had passed. Both boys had tried to speak for as long as possible – their texting sessions would sometimes last hours at a time (Sky would even wake up earlier than normal), just because they didn’t want to leave each other all alone. Sky hadn’t yet heard about the letter reaching Jackson, and he started to get a little worried. What if it never arrived?
Sky had just gone into his room after having dinner with his parents when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He gasped and quickly took it out, unlocked it and noticed that he had been sent several different messages. Once he had opened the app in question, he saw it – Jackson’s paw holding his handwritten letter. He got it!
The fox had also sent a small message; This was the surprise, huh? Well, I’m really, really happy I waited for it. Sky, it's perfect. I read every word. I want to call tonight, and I want to talk about my response to it. I love you <3.
Sky felt his heart skip a beat. I should be able to call now. I love you too <3. He shut his bedroom door and then got comfortable on his bed. It took a few moments before a notification appeared on his screen asking him if he’d like to accept or decline a call from the fox. Of course, the boy accepted the call, and his face appeared in the corner, and the fox’s face was just there on the screen.
“Hi, there.” Jackson cooed, and to Sky, his voice was perfect.
“H-Hi!” Sky stammered. He cursed at himself. “Fuck. Sorry. I know we’ve heard each other when playing games, but this just feels different, I guess.”
The fox laughed. “It’s okay, babe. I was nervous to call as well, but, honestly, your letter made me feel better. I really didn’t expect this!” He glanced at the paper again before his eyes met Sky’s. “I mean, I thought it was a little strange that you asked for my address out of the blue, but I didn’t expect you to do anything bad with it! I’ve known you long enough to know that you aren’t that type of person.”
Sky blushed a little. “I wrote the letter and then realised that I didn’t know where you lived, so I couldn’t really send it without knowing. But I’m glad you just gave it to me without questioning me because I’m sure I would’ve either given you a massive hint or just told you what I was doing.” He then cleared his throat. “So, you wanted to talk about it? The letter, that is.”
Jackson nodded. “I do. I was going to reply with a letter, but I was in the same situation as you were. But then I thought about it, and calling was probably the better option. I know you’re probably nervous. I know I am.”
The hedgehog grinned. “I would’ve probably asked why you were asking for it, and stuff, but I still would’ve given it to you.”
“That’s good to know.” The fox said, smirking. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Sky smiled and sat back a little, his quills against the headboard. “So, um, I can’t wait to hear what you have to say.”
Jackie smiled at the letter again for a moment. “Well, before you worry about anything – nothing I’m going to say will be bad, I promise.” He saw the hedgehog nod on his phone screen. “I don’t want you to worry about the spelling mistakes that you made in the letter.”
Sky was quick to object. “But I wanted it to be perfect!” He pouted.
“It is! Those spelling mistakes mean nothing. It shows me that you were putting your heart into the letter, and even though they were only at the start, you kept on going.” Sky blushed at the praise before the fox continued. “I don’t… I don’t want you to feel like you have to explain anything to me. Heck, we’ve been friends longer than we’ve been together, and I don’t want you to feel like your anxiety will get in the way because it won’t. Nor will I ever see it as a problem because it isn’t. It’s a part of you – you might not see it that way, but I do – and whenever you’re feeling down, or worried about anything, no matter how big or how small you think it might be, I just want you to know that I’ll always be here for you.”
Sky looked down and played with his fingers. “You… you really mean that? It can happen a lot and I… I don’t want it to cause arguments or anything like that.”
Jackson’s soft and loving voice came through. “Babe, I promise. Nothing will ever make me mad at you.” He quickly glanced at the letter again and remembered what he was gonna talk about next. “I think about you just as much as you do, if not more. You’re always on my mind, and I don’t want that to go away.” He sighed happily. “Ever since we started dating, I’ve never been as happy, and I know that one day, I want us to do everything together one day, and hopefully that’ll be sooner rather than later.”
Sky looked back up at his phone screen and pressed one finger to it and noticed that Jackson pressed the same finger to his screen. “I know my parents don’t know about us, but if I got to see you, even for one day, and I could afford it, I’d get a plane ticket over to you. Again, I don’t know if that’s too soon, but it’s just how I feel.”
The fox smiled. “My family don’t know either and honestly, at least for now, I’d rather keep it that way.”
“I don’t know when I’ll tell mine about us.” The hedgehog whispered. “I mean, they know I’m gay, but they have no idea I’m in a relationship, and I’m worried about what they’ll say or do.”
“It’s okay. I’ll tell mine when I feel ready and you should too. There is no rush to that. We have no idea what will happen in the future, but I know one thing, I want to spend it with you.” Jackson replied. “Oh, and to answer the two questions at the end of your letter; I feel the same way and more, I just hope this has been enough to prove it, and I don’t believe you’ve made a mistake by sending this letter to me. I’ll keep it safe and when we can’t talk, for whatever reason, and I’m here, at home, I’ll either look at this again, or just remember it, because it’s the best letter I’ve ever had – because it came from you.”
The hedgehog smiled and then heard his mum calling for him. “I’ve gotta go. I love you so much, and I’ll talk to you in the morning my time.” He waved a little at the fox.
Jackson grinned. “I love you too, forever and ever. Speak to me whenever you can, I’ll always be here.”
Sky then ended the call and put his phone on his desk before he opened up his bedroom door and headed downstairs. “I’m coming!” He called out.
Sky knew that things were going to be okay. Jackie was the best boyfriend ever, and Sky would do anything to prove it. Neither boy knew about their future, but as long as they had each other then they could take it on. Together.