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Pete wakes one morning, colder than usual. He's used to Lucius wrapping himself around him like a scarf, clinging for dear life in the middle of the night, but he's not there. He blinks the sleep from his eyes and moves to sit up when he sees it, sitting next to him on Lucius’s pillow. An envelope with red ribbon laced around it, ‘open me’ in looping cursive written on the front.
Curiously, he pulls the ribbon off and does his best not to destroy the wonderfully crafted envelope. Inside is a postcard, a hand drawn picture of a bench at the dog park they frequent. Pete recognizes it well, especially with the large oak tree sitting beside it and the small dog pool directly behind. When he flips it over, it says: “come find me”.
When Pete arrives at the dog park, Lucius isn't there. He looks around in case he misses him hiding behind a tree or miserably late for his own hunt but he doesn't come. He hums as he circles the bench, trying to see if he was left anything.
He knows the significance, at least. This is where he met Lucius for the first time, here at this dog park.
”I'm sorry to bother you, but do you have a doggy bag?” A fresh faced brunette with the craziest side burns asks Pete, “I could have sworn I had some in my jacket.”
Good thing Pete always came to the park prepared. He smiles, and digs a bag out of his pocket, “no bother! I'm sure I could spare one.”
Lucius smiles and takes the bag he's given, fingers brushing lightly against Pete’s. He's soft, he notices, even the prosthetic on his finger. He fights the word vomit to ask what happened. Lucius hovers for a moment, and Pete has a sudden urge to keep him close.
“Which dog is yours?”
“The angry looking Pom.” He points to the small dog showing teeth at the bush beside her, clearly threatened. “Her name’s Pepper. Which one is yours?”
Pete probably should have been aware that this question would come up. Normally when you enter a dog park, you have a dog with you. Especially when he hands a handsome guy a doggy bag.
“Uh,” he laughs nervously, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a blue, tattered collar. “I just wanted to stop at the park one more time.”
Lucius didn't hesitate to bring a hand up to Pete’s arm, his lips turned down, “I'm really sorry to hear that. Some people might think this is weird but do you want to say a few words?”
Something comes over Pete, aside from the grief. He's not sure what it is about this man’s energy that makes him feel safe and far from judgment, but he feels confident that doing what he's asking would make him feel better.
“Well, at the risk of sounding weird back, do you…wanna come with me to his favorite spot? Might be nice…” to have someone with him. To feel supported. To smell Lucius’s comforting lavender aftershave.
Lucius shakes the doggy bag, “gimme a tic, and I'll be right there.”
Lucius stood with him the entire eulogy, and offered more support in the form of his phone number. Pete wasn't going to text him, not at first, but every time he looked at Parrot’s collar a feeling would come over him that told him he needed to. On one of his worst days, the best thing happened to him.
And now he was sending Pete on a hunt of some kind, without a second clue. He stands from the bench and walks towards the pool, Parrots old favorite haunt. A few dogs fight over a found stick as they splash and growl playfully. Just beyond them is where he sees it - a white envelope with red ribbon tied around it. He probably looks psychotic walking up to the fence it's tied around, but he pulls the envelope free and undoes the ribbon, careful to place it in his pocket so no dogs can snatch it up.
Pete’s hovering in front of the restaurant they went to on their first date. It's a tiny hole in the wall where if you blink, you might miss it but it steadily became one of their favorite haunts. The back of the picture said there was a reservation so he steps inside and warmly greets the woman behind the counter. She leads him to the booth they first sat in.
Apparently Lucius has thought of everything, because he isn't given a menu. Not that he would have needed it to begin with anyway, he got the same thing every single time.
Lucius tilts his head back in a laugh before bringing his glass to his lips. His third glass, making his cheeks nice and pink. Pete notices he's barely eaten his food.
“You don't like it?” He motions to Lucius's dish.
“Oh god, no, I love this place.” Lucius shakes his head, “I just…I'm enjoying my company more.” He shrugs, placing his hand on top of Pete’s. It's not that he doesn't believe him, but he still doesn't really touch the food in front of him and Pete starts to feel like he's the only one enjoying the act of eating.
He scoots his chair closer to Lucius, bringing his plate along with him. He twirls his fork around the saucy pasta on his plate in a small, bite sized bundle before bringing it up, “you wanna try it?”
Lucius eyes him in amusement and then looks to the fork in front of him. He's fighting his politeness now as his eyes connect with Pete’s one more time and his mouth opens to wrap around the fork. When he pulls away, he laughs with his mouth full, clasping his hand over his eyes briefly.
“It's good, isn't it?” Pete beams, watching Lucius chew the food he was given as he twirls the fork again.
Lucius nods, “mm, next time let’s pull a little Lady and the Tramp. You got a meatball handy?”
When dessert is delivered, he's given another envelope.
The third picture is easy, empty theater seats in neat rows leading to the screen in front of them. The screen is framed with red curtains and right in the middle is the title card: Rocky Horror Picture Show, and when he turns it over, it just says ‘D10 & D11’. When Pete gets to the theater, it says it's closed for a special event. He chews on his lip and considers calling Lucius, telling him he can't find the next clue, when an employee steps out.
“Are you Pete?” He nods, brows furrowing. His confusion doesn't let up when she smiles and ushers him inside, “we’ve been waiting for you.”
The smell of popcorn fills his nose as he follows the woman inside, warmth filling him. They used to see dollar movies when things were tight and this was the only place that offered them. When he saw Rocky Horror on the bill he begged Lucius to see it.
“Do you know what's going on?” He asks, though he feels like he knows the answer already.
“Yeah,” she nods, “you're here for a movie.” Like he's an idiot. She hands him a drink and a bucket of popcorn, “down the hall to your right.”
Nothing makes sense as he makes his way down the hall, the carpet sticky under his feet. He does as he's told, entering the theater on the right and finding seats D10 and D11, right in the middle of the theater. He looks around at all of the empty chairs and then back to the screen. He's getting nervous now, unsure what he's gotten himself into when the theater goes dark.
A silhouette enters as commercials start, a rumble of In Theaters Soon bursting eardrums. Lucius sits beside Pete, his hand already reaching for the popcorn.
“Lucius, what's go–”
“Shh,” he scolds, popping a few kernels into his mouth, “the movie is starting. Don't be rude.”
Pete can't concentrate on the movie. The songs are filtering right through his ears as he sneaks looks at Lucius. Even in the theater light, he can see just how handsome he is, dressed in his light, red suit coat with a black bow tie affixed to his neck.
In the middle of the movie, Lucius pushes up the arm rest and forces Pete into a snuggle. He's clearly not against it as he pulls him impossibly closer, tilting the popcorn bucket towards him for easier access. He feels at home, with Lucius wrapped in his arms, the scent of lavender swirling around them. There's no place he would rather be than right here, right now.
It almost hurts when the movie ends, if only because Lucius has to untangle himself. If Pete could fuse with him and become one, he might actually do it. When the credits start to roll, Lucius finally speaks.
“Hi,” he smiles, giving him a peck on the lips for an extra greeting.
“Hey.” Pete's trying to act cool, but with the haze of love lifting, he's scared he's missing something. He knows it's not their anniversary. It can't be his birthday, or Lucius’s.
“Pete!” Lucius yells, but his lips don't move. He's still smiling in Pete’s direction, “stop looking at me, and look at me.” His eyes snap to the screen in front of him, a giant video of Lucius playing. He waves to the camera and Pete has to fight the urge to wave back.
“I know this is fucking mental, but it's so much easier to get the words out when you're not staring at me with your big cow eyes. You're probably wondering what the fuck is happening right now. It's not your birthday, or our anniversary.” The Lucius next to him reaches into the popcorn bucket for another handful as Pete continues to eye the screen. “I had a lot of time to think while we had to be apart. To be honest, it sucked,” he laughed, fidgeting even on camera, “I thought about losing you, and never seeing you again, and wondering what my life would have been like if I hadn't asked you for a poop bag. Everything I've been through would have sucked so much worse without you here, and I knew that if I didn't find a way to keep you all to myself, then I would regret it for the rest of my life. So if you could, please, look back to me,” he points to the screen, almost completely lined up with the real Lucius next to him before the screen flickers to white.
And yeah, maybe Pete is already crying when he looks back to Lucius, who is now holding a black velvet box in his hand. He lifts the lid to show the black tungsten ring with wooden inlay.
“Marry me, please. If you don't, I know where you live, so.”
Pete only ignores the box to bring Lucius in, cupping his face in both of his hands. When their lips touch it feels like time stops, like the theater pulls away from them and leaves them bathed in warm light. Some decisions in life can be so hard to make, something to be agonized over, but not this one.
“Yes! Yeah,” he nods, wiping his eyes before holding out his hand. The ring fits perfectly, like a goddamn dream, as Lucius twists it over his knuckle. “I love you,” mumbles against Lucius’s lips. He only pulls back enough to let Lucius say back…
“I love you, too.”