Archive of Our Own

Smii7y took a deep breath. “Matt? Can I… talk to you?”

Matt looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah! Of course, what’s up?”

Smii7y’s heart was pounding. He was shaking. His body heat was skyrocketing and he was drenched in sweat.

Matt was his best friend; they had been friends since high school and hadn’t left each other’s side since. Realistically, he knew that the other wouldn’t react negatively, or be upset, but he couldn’t help feeling afraid—it came naturally.

“So… You know John?”

Matt rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m pretty sure I know who John is,” he replied sarcastically.

He just had to spit it out and get it over with.

“We’re dating,” he blurted out.

Matt was silent. He didn’t say anything for a while before bursting out into laughter.

Confused, Smii7y just stared at him, watching as he wheezed and coughed like he had just heard the best joke ever. Smii7y awkwardly blinked, glancing around nervously. He couldn’t tell what to think of that reaction.

“What kind of bet did you lose?”

“What?” he questioned.

“Obviously, you lost a bet and he told you to say that.” Matt was still giggling as he spoke. “Ohh, that’s funny, hah!”

“I’m serious…” he mumbled, genuinely astounded that the other didn’t believe him. “I’m… We’re literally dating—… I love him. He loves me. We’ve been dating for a while now!” As soon as Smii7y smiled, Matt laughed again, exclaiming that he ’knew it’. He groaned, hating how he couldn’t wipe this stupid grin off of his own face.

He wasn’t even lying! He was just smiling because he couldn’t believe that Matt thought he was lying—and because he was still incredibly nervous about telling Matt. He was smiling because of how fucking unbelievable this situation was.

“No! I swear—…” he tried defending himself but Matt cut him off.

“Oh, bullshit! You don’t have to keep trying!” Matt joked, making another playful comment before walking off.

Was coming out going to be this hard with the rest of his friends…?

Not because they don’t support him, but because they don’t fucking believe him!

He laughed. There was no way, right?

***

“Oh come on! Puffer?!” he whined.

Puffer continued cackling as Smii7y desperately tried to get him to listen.

“We literally are! I fucking swear! John and I are dating!”

Puffer just laughed harder, doubling over. Eventually, he calmed down and explained, “Oh, come on! Everyone knows you’re just pretending for the bit, we all know how far you two will go for a joke.” Smii7y was in disbelief.

His friends actually didn’t believe he and John were dating.

***

His reaction was very different to John’s.

Smii7y was panicking, confused, and in mild distress.

On the other hand, John thought it was the funniest shit ever.

“Smii7y! Think about it,” he stated enthusiastically. “We can mess with them so much! We can basically do whatever we want and then just say ‘we told you we were dating’!”

“Yeah, but—…” Smii7y paused. Messing with their friends did seem entertaining. “Well… Yeah, okay, fair. That sounds fun, to be honest.”

John grinned. “Now you’re speaking my language.”

Smii7y giggled, realizing just how much shit they could pull now that they wouldn’t have been able to before. “Don’t go fake proposing to me, though. I will cry.”

John giggled and rolled his eyes, promising that he wouldn’t.

He muttered, “I still can’t believe they don’t think we’re a possible pair.”

“Maybe it’s cause you’re way too good for me.” John winked.

Smii7y eyed him and scoffed, elbowing him gently. He shook his head. “Don’t say that, dickhead.” He smiled slightly and rolled his eyes at John’s stupidity.

The other hummed simply. “We’re gonna have to actually let them know that it’s not a joke, though.”

“How? I’ve tried literally everything!”

“We’ll think about that later. Right now, we have a group of people to mess with.”

***

Smii7y and John had been as physically close as possible the whole time the group was watching a movie, cuddling up, playing with each other’s hair. At this point, they had already told everyone about their relationship and, unsurprisingly, no one believed them.

They thought no-one was really paying much attention to them until someone spoke up.

“You guys are very close,” Grizzy pointed out, snickering.

John smirked. “Yeah, we’re dating.”

Grizzy just shrugged it off.

Smii7y could sense the dissatisfaction from John. He could tell that the other wanted to go further, get everyone’s attention. He rolled his eyes.
Eventually, the movie ended and everyone started messing about, engaging in their own conversations. Smii7y hummed questioningly as John tapped his shoulder. “Wanna bake something?” he asked, gesturing over to the open kitchen.

Smii7y raised an eyebrow at him. “Bake something?” John nodded enthusiastically, eyeing him and waiting for his answer. “Sure…” he replied hesitantly, trying to figure out if he was planning on doing something.

John turned to the group and asked, “Yo, is anyone gonna need to cook soon? Smii7y and I wanna bake something.”

“Kitchen’s all yours!”

“Great.” Grinning from ear to ear, John grabbed Smii7y’s hand and pulled him along.

The kitchen was fairly far from the living room, but they could still see their friends, so they could hear them whispering as they left. A part of him pushed away the thought that it could be about him and John, another part of him pulled it in like a blackhole.

“So, Chef John, what will we be making today?” he joked, smiling at the other.

“Lemon crinkle cookies.” He grinned.

Smii7y eyed at him, wondering if he was supposed to know what those were. “Which are?”

“Fucking delicious.”

Smii7y chuckled under his breath and rolled his eyes. “Sure, whatever you want, man.”

Smiling, John got out all of the ingredients and sprawled them out on the counter before pulling up a recipe on his phone. He told Smii7y everything to do while he just sat there watching like a pretty piece of decoration.

After a while—and at least a few spillages of flour and sugar—they managed to have something that didn’t look revolting to put in the oven.

“Okay!” John brushed his hands together, like he actually contributed to the cookies and it wasn’t just Smii7y doing all the work. “Now we cook it for 14 to 16 minutes!”

Smii7y nodded and picked up his phone, scrolling randomly to try and find something to distract his mind with. He felt John hug him from behind loosely and giggled. From his peripheral vision, he knew they were being stared at, but he couldn’t care less. In fact, it just put a wider grin on his face, barely knowing what could be rushing through their friends’ minds right now.

Leaning in, John pressed a light kiss to his neck, nuzzling his face into him. Smii7y ignored him for the most part, until John bit down on his skin.

Swallowing down a yelp, Smii7y froze, feeling his cheeks redden up so much he felt like he was going to explode. When John sunk his teeth down a bit harder, he finally managed to stand up straighter and lightly shoved the other off without bringing too much attention to them.

Turning to face John, Smii7y whisper-shouted, “Our friends are literally staring at us!”

“Exactly.”

He scoffed. “You’re an asshole.”

John simply smiled. He shifted a bit closer. Smii7y could feel his warm breath on his lips. Grinding his teeth together, he flickered his eyes to John’s eyes, his fucking mischievous gaze told Smii7y everything he needed to know.

Snapping his head away, he mumbled, “Fuck off!” He was not about to kiss John in public; they both knew that.

“That was kinda gay dude,” Droid called from the other side of the room.

“Thanks, Sherlock!” John yelled back sarcastically.

Escaping from the other, Smii7y slipped away and stayed on the other side of the counter. “Are the cookies done yet?” he asked to change the subject.

John glanced at the clock briefly before holding up two fingers at Smii7y, who nodded enthusiastically.

Looking over to their friends, he noticed Matt staring at them. They made eye-contact. Smii7y could see something in his eyes, something that looked way too similar to suspicion.

If he had to guess, Matt was probably going to find out that they weren’t lying first. Even if he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, he had known Smii7y for a while know. He knew him best. Nervously, he smiled back at the other, who quickly darted his eyes away, like he wasn’t meant to be seen.

“Done!” John exclaimed, taking the cookies out of the oven.

Rushing over, Smii7y glanced at them.

They looked, not only edible, but fucking amazing. His eyes lit up and he giggled like a little child. “Yes!” he cheered. “They don’t look like shit!”

John rolled his eyes. “See! Never doubt my baking abilities.”

“I did all the work?!”

“Sure.” John booped his nose. “Whatever you say.”

They let the cookies cool down for a bit before John picked one up and held it up to Smii7y.

“Say ‘ahh’.”

“I’m not doing—…” John shoved the cookie in his mouth. All of Smii7y's complaints were muffled. Grabbing it, he bit a part of it off and stared at John in annoyance. “You didn’t have to shove—… Damn, they’re actually good.” He took another bite.

“Told you!” He smiled.

John was such an idiot—and Smii7y meant that in the most affectionate way possible. He giggled, finishing his cookie. John stood beside him and whispered in his ear, “I bet five bucks Matt finds out first, he’s been staring at us for most of the time.”

Smii7y scoffed and muttered back, “Can I also bet on him? He’s absolutely going to find out first.”

John rolled his eyes and walked away, putting away all the bowls and equipment they used.

***

“This is why I never play UNO,” Smii7y moaned, his head in his hands as people screamed over him.

Pezzy had just played a plus four on Puffer, who played a plus four on Grizzy, who was sobbing in despair. If their neighbors could hear their yelling—which they definitely could—they would think someone was mourning the loss of all of their children, pets, family, and possessions.

“Nope! Fuck this shit! I’m out this bitch!” Grizzy exclaimed before leaving the room.

Puffer continued cackling as he chased after the other, weeping out weak apologies. Whining about how he needed to sleep for a whole week, Pezzy stumbled out of the room, followed by an irritated Matt.

Smii7y glanced over at the only other person left: John.

“I hate card games,” Smii7y muttered playfully.

“Don’t blame ya.”

Sighing and stretching his arms out, Smii7y leaned back, resting on John’s shoulder. “Wanna play a game together? Not for a video or anything—just for fun.” He looked up at John with puppy eyes.

Someone entered the room.

Smii7y nearly pulled away quickly, wanting to pretend that he was just changing positions before he realized that he really didn’t have to. Their relationship was public and open, well, as open as they could be with no-one believing them. He stayed in his spot.

He suggested, “Like, Rounds maybe? Or something more like… Mario Party?”

John chuckled softly. “Fine. We can play some Mario Party, but I’m absolutely beating your ass.”

“Whatever you say.” Smii7y poked the other’s side. Tilting his head up slightly, he noticed Pezzy gawking at them and Smii7y nearly burst out laughing when the other awkwardly scurried away, noticing he had been spotted.

John snickered, realizing what happened. “This is crazy, I love it.”

Smii7y agreed light-heartedly, getting up and dragging John to pick up the gaming controllers.

***

“Please?” John begged, dragging out his speech.

Smii7y crossed his arms. “No, John.”

“Please?”

Rolling his eyes, Smii7y chuckled under his breath and sighed. John was trying to get him to join their friends in one of those photo booth things. Smii7y was tired and he looked disheveled, so he wasn’t exactly the keenest to take pictures, but John looked like a kicked puppy, so he agreed.

“Fine! You owe me.”

Grizzy and Droid cheered.

John grinned. “Blowjob,” he joked.

Smii7y snickered, following the others into the box. Luckily, it was big enough to not crush him, but it was still a fairly tight fit.

He, somehow, ended up beside John, who had a very devious smirk plastered over his face.

The group took a few photos—some stupid, some serious. He had seen it all: middle-fingers, meme recreations, dumb faces, pretend-slapping, everything.

Correction: almost everything.

Puffer announced, “Okay! One more picture! Make it a good one!”

Everyone did their own poses, random shit.

Except John.

Who hooked his hand around Smii7y’s waist.

And—right before the picture clicked—pulled him straight in.

Connecting their lips.

Smii7y was so shocked that he just froze, eyes wide. His face was flushed and he was flustered as fuck. John placed a gentle hand on his cheek. Melting into the warm embrace, Smii7y let his eyes flutter shut. God, was he glad that they were in the back corner.

The moment ended as soon as it started as John parted and acted as if he never even looked Smii7y’s way.

Smii7y blinked.

It took a few tries to wipe the smile off of his face. They both waited eagerly around the machine as it printed out the pictures. He watched as it spewed out the images.

The third last picture.

The second last picture.

The last—…

The last picture?

The last picture was fucking distorted.

In his peripheral vision, Smii7y could see John frown and pout angrily. He almost giggled.

“Aw, man!” Pezzy complained. “Whatever, it’s fine.”

“You guys wanna go get ice cream?” Droid suggested.

“Hell yeah, dude!” Puffer exclaimed, already leading the way.

John groaned as he followed, looking like a toddler throwing a tantrum. He muttered under his breath, “Stupid fucking machine…” Smii7y laughed quietly. “That was gonna be the best one, dude!” he whined.

Nodding along, Smii7y listened to him as he ranted. “Whatever you say, man.”

“You know what I just realized?” John asked as the others bought some ice-cream for themselves.

“What?”

“It’s almost Christmas.”

Smii7y raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, yeah. Give it three days and everyone’s gonna be screaming All I Want For Christmas Is You.” He was confused, wondering if he was missing something.

“Exactly. A few of the others are gonna come visit too. You know what that means?”

Smii7y sighed but couldn’t wipe the grin off his face. “More people to mess with?” he questioned.

“Bingo, baby.”

Smii7y chuckled under his breath. “Such a dork,” he muttered.

Leaning closer to his face, John tapped his nose lightly. “If anyone’s a dork here, it’s you.” Smii7y giggled and lightly shoved the other away, telling him to shut up. “When are the others even arriving?”

“If I remember correctly, tomorrow?”

John grinned.

This was going to be a fun Christmas.

***

Anthony had been glancing between Smii7y and John the whole night, it was starting to concern Smii7y.

All their friends had arrived a few hours ago and were now filling up the living room. Byze, Droid, Scotty and Puffer were watching a movie or something. Pezzy and Rectrix were getting snacks. Tyler, Matt and Grizzy were playing poker and screaming so loud that he was surprised the neighbors haven’t knocked on the door yet.

Eventually, Anthony asked, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you guys are dating.” He laughed nervously.

Smii7y eyed John briefly. “Oh, we are!”

Anthony’s jaw dropped. “What?!” he squeaked out, his eyes wide. “No way!”

Rolling his eyes, Smii7y snickered. Another one added to the list of non-believers.

“How—… Since when?” Smii7y gawked at Anthony and he didn’t doubt that John was doing the same. “What? Am… I missing out on an inside joke, or something?”

“You believe us?” John questioned.

Anthony glanced at him. “Well, duh? If you tell me you’re dating, then you’re dating!”

“No-one else believes us.”

Anthony giggled and told them they were over-exaggerating before calling Puffer over. “Do you believe that they’re dating?” he questioned, pointing between Smii7y and John.

“Hah! Hell no! It’s obviously a bit!”

John grinned. “Told ya?”

Walking off, Puffer went to go continue with whatever he was doing as Anthony stared at them.

“I mean… I believe you? I can’t be the only one who does, right?” He waited for a response but got nothing. “Right?” he prompted again.

Smii7y shrugged. “Apparently.”

“Why does no-one believe you guys?!” Anthony exclaimed, genuinely curious.

Smii7y was surprised that Anthony genuinely believed them. It was nice though, having at least one person vouching for their relationship.

“No fucking clue. Probably think we’re just doing this to mess with them.”

Anthony nodded slowly, sipping his coffee before asking. “So… how long have you guys been… smoochin’?”

“Don’t call it that—…” Smii7y mumbled, chuckling under his breath.

“For almost three years now,” John replied, also seeming delighted with the fact that someone didn’t think they were lying.

“Woah.” He leaned in “Who confessed?”

Smii7y and John eyed him blankly.

John snorted. “Who do you think?” Gesturing to Smii7y, John added, “Do you think this man has the braveness to go up to anyone and ask them out?” Smii7y shoved John playfully, scoffing in embarrassment.

“Huh,” Anthony huffed out. “You guys are cute together. I guess I’m not that surprised you guys are a couple now that I think about it...” He looked between them. “You guys have an insane amount of chemistry.” Anthony chuckled, grinning at them sweetly.

Smii7y blinked. He could feel his cheeks heating up. He met John’s eyes and they stared at each other for a bit until Smii7y darted his gaze away, too flustered to continue to glare at the man.

“Yeah…” he mumbled, biting his tongue and swallowing down a small smile.

“I’m gonna go bully Scotty, have fun!” Anthony called out as he got up and left.

They were silent for a bit. John cleared his throat. “Damn, he believes us. Guess no-one wins the bet, aw fuck.” Smii7y giggled, slightly shifting towards John. “Honestly, I didn’t think anyone was gonna believe us based on everyone else’s opinion, but it’s nice to have at least someone who doesn’t immediately call bullshit.” Smii7y watched him silently, not saying a single word. John noticed fairly quickly. “You good?”

“I…” he whispered. “I just… love you so much.”

John blinked at him. Smii7y spotted the red on his cheeks darkening by the second. “Well, I sure fucking hope so, since we’ve been dating for a while now,” he joked.

Smii7y chuckled light-heartedly. He wanted John to say it back.

“Hey! Smii7y, John!” Droid called out. Snapping his head to the sound, Smii7y hummed in confusion. “Come here!” Getting up, they both stood where Droid gestured for them to. With a wide smirk, he commanded, “Look up.”

A few people started observing, curious with what was going on. Looking up, Smii7y heard John groan. “Really? People still use mistletoes?” Smii7y’s eyes widened as he stared at the mistletoe.

Droid snickered. “If you guys really do love each other, you would kiss.” The evil expression on his face lingered as he waited.

Smii7y nervously glanced at John. Kissing in front of their friends was way too scary. That’s something they both agreed on, something they would stand by for as long as they lived. It was different in pictures--like in the photo booth. It felt weird to just make-out in front of people. That was supposed to be a private way of showing affection, a little treat just for their eyes and their eyes alone.

“Uhh…” John muttered.

“Kiss, kiss, kiss!” Tyler chanted from across the room.

“We’re not kissing in front of you,” John reiterated. He heard Droid scoff.

Smii7y clenched his jaw. He was not giving up to peer pressure. He was not giving up to peer pressure.

“U-Uhm,” he stuttered anxiously.

“Kiss, kiss, kiss!”

As a last resort, Smii7y glanced at John. His eyes were full of no and pure no. He was slightly considering it, just to get everyone to shut up for a bit, but John’s expression removed any bit of hesitation. The discomfort radiating off of the other made Smii7y nervously snap his head down at the ground. “I… have to go… edit… a video! Sorry!” he squeaked out before sprinting out the room, not daring to look back. If their hesitation didn’t raise mild concern, his lame excuse definitely did. He hated how easy it was for his voice to become shaky when he got nervous. Groaning, he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms in frustration—not at the others, at himself. Well, slightly at the others… but that was besides the point!

John entered soon after. Politely, Smii7y shot him a smile. “One way to get us out of that situation,” John commented while rolling his eyes.

“Fucker, I panicked!” Smii7y retorted. John chuckled. “You’re such a dick.” He pouted playfully, shoving at the other’s shoulder. John gasped suddenly, causing Smii7y to jump. “What?! What happened?” he blurted out, panicking.

“I just remembered that Pezzy’s gonna be making a gingerbread house.”

Smii7y blinked at John, mentally face-palming. “…So?”

“I wanted to make it with him…” John whined, frowning. In disbelief, Smii7y sighed. “Can we go back?”

“I said I was editing! Who the fuck edits for like 5 minutes?”

“Whore, do you think they actually believe you were gonna edit? Fuck no!”

Smii7y was about to respond but he realized that he literally had no comeback. “Oh my god, fine!” he mumbled, giggling at John’s wide grin. Letting himself be dragged back into the room, he eyed the ground, avoiding everyone’s eyes. All he heard was giggles and whispers of I told you.

Eventually sitting down on the couch again, he pouted slightly. John elbowed him gently and he glanced up. “I hate you,” Smii7y muttered.

John rolled his eyes and whispered, “Just imagine their reactions when they finally do realize.” Smii7y hid his face, biting back the grin, trying to be mad at the other. “I can actively see you trying to stop smiling, you’re not exactly subtle.”

“Oh my god, shut up. It’s so hard to stay mad at you,” Smii7y groaned. John laughed.

Pezzy approached them, facing John. “Gingerbread house?” Grinning like a kid in a toy shop, John stood up and nodded eagerly, following Pezzy to the kitchen.

Deciding he had nothing better to do, Smii7y also went alongside them, curious to see how this would turn out. He sat on one of the stools in front of the two and observed.

“Okay.” Pezzy explained, “I managed to get two sets—don’t ask, you don’t wanna know—so that means that we can have our own separate ones!”

“Fuck yeah!” John cheered loudly.

Smii7y smiled. He loved John so much. In public, they seemed tease-y and usually didn’t really cling together, but, in private, they’d do all the weird couple shit: hugging, falling asleep on the sofa while watching something, park dates, holding hands, compliments, going out to restaurants, everything.

Well, okay, everything was a bit generous.

Smii7y isn’t sure that he can remember the last time John has said ‘I love you’. That worried him. Of course, he could see that John cared about him and liked him, but there was still that underlying anxiety.

Smii7y said it so often, but John wouldn’t ever reciprocate, always just replying with a smile, a giggle, maybe a snarky comment, nothing more.

He’s been wanting to talk to John but he has been more concerned with coming out to his friends that he had almost entirely forgotten about it.

He sighed silently.

Snapping him out of his thoughts, John giggled. Looking up, Smii7y watched as the man grinned at his completed gingerbread house.

Had Smii7y really zoned out for that long?

John ripped off a small bit of the chimney and offered it to Smii7y. “You… made that whole thing just to rip it apart and eat it?”

“Duh? Building it is fun, and then eating it is also fun.”

Smii7y rolled his eyes. John tried offering him a piece again. “Nah, ginger burns my mouth so much.”

Scoffing, John replied, “Pussy.” Smii7y snickered. He watched John eat a bit more gingerbread before putting it away.

Smii7y decided to go and rest since he had been around people all day and his social battery was not getting any better. Saying his goodbyes, he retreated to his room.

He wasn’t sure whether to be scared or excited for tomorrow, but he was down to find out.

***

Christmas Eve.

It was Christmas Eve.

He had spent many holidays with his friends—but rarely Christmas and Christmas Eve.

So far, someone had fallen off a step-ladder while putting extra decorations onto the tree and sprained their ankle, cookies had been burnt, someone had sobbed over losing their Duolingo streak, a big spider had scared someone and they threw a mug at it, and a window had been cracked.

It was only 11AM.

Puffer cleared his throat, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket while announcing, “Okay! So, the plans for today are: go ice-skating, build a snowman, walk around town, and get hot chocolate—Grizzy’s addition.” He looked up. “Everyone happy with that?”

No-one objected, so Puffer grinned and exclaimed, “Great! What should we start with?”

“Well, we could build a snowman!” Pezzy suggested.

Droid jumped in, “Ooo, and then walk around town!”

“To go ice-skating,” Matt continued.

“And then we can get hot chocolate after that to warm up,” Tyler added.

Rolling his eyes, Smii7y heard John mutter under his breath, “‘With the power of teamwork!’ ass planning.” Smii7y resisted the urge to cackle.

Everyone agreed with that idea and they were soon on their way after they did everything they needed. Deciding to build a snowman near their house, they picked out a fairly flat area.

They all began rolling balls of snow. A few people had given up and joined up with others to help. John ended up coming over and aiding Smii7y and he had a feeling that it was not because he had given up, but just to be around him. He appreciated it.

“How are you?” John asked out of the blue.

Confused, Smii7y eyed him. “Huh?”

“How are you feeling? Mood?” John reiterated slowly, probably trying to figure out if he had accidentally said something else instead.

Smii7y was quiet for a bit. “I’m… fine. How… are you?” he answered hesitantly. It wasn’t like John to make pointless small-talk. Was something wrong?

“I’m good.”

Anxiously, Smii7y bit his lip, awkwardly continuing rolling the ball of snow. “So…” He immediately regretted opening his mouth. He didn’t even know what he wanted to say and now John was staring at him expectantly. “Uhm… You—… You excited for Christmas?” he blurted out.

“…Uhm, yeah. I feel like… it’ll be... cool, I guess…”

Smii7y was puzzled. What the fuck was happening? Why was John acting so weird?

They were silent until they finished with their poorly made snowman. He turned to Droid and Matt’s one, suddenly realizing that maybe his and John’s was not the worst one. He had to snap his head away to bite back a wheeze. He heard John laugh aloud with no shame.

“Town?” Puffer questioned.

Nodding, they all started walking down the road.

Matt shuffled beside him as John went to go talk to the others. “Yo!”

“Oh, hey Matt! I feel like I’ve barely talked to you recently.” Smii7y chuckled nervously.

“Well we do see each other like at least a few times a week and we barely see the others so that seems fair,” Matt commented, shrugging. “I’m so excited to go ice-skating!” he squealed, spinning around on the spot.

Smii7y snickered. “You’re gonna wipe the floor with these fucks.”

“What can I say? Those many years of professional ice hockey weren’t for nothin’!” Matt stated proudly, putting his hands on his hips. Rolling his eyes, he giggled at the other. Matt cleared his throat and his tone got a tiny bit more serious. “So, wait, are you and John… genuinely… a thing?”

Smii7y blinked at him. “Uhm, yeah… We are.”

Matt hummed quietly. “I… Wow…” He paused for a moment. “That’s… I’m sorry, I’m so used to you guys being into each other as a joke and nothing—…” Matt froze. “Wait… does that mean all the time you guys were flirting with each other in videos… were real?”

Smii7y snorted and dragged Matt along to not draw attention to them by stopping. “Okay, come on now, be reasonable. It was played up.” He thought for a moment. “Mostly…” He bit his lip. “Some comments—tamer ones—were sometimes genuine… but that was rare.” Smii7y stared at Matt’s dropped jaw.

“Goddamn. I’m so oblivious…” he mumbled.

Smii7y giggled. “So you finally believe us?”

Matt sighed. “Yeah…” He looked like he was considering something, or maybe just processing all of this. “Did anything in your relationship change? When you started dating? Since you guys were already close friends before… When did you guys start dating anyway? Like—…”

“Three years ago. And nothing much changed except more couple shit, I guess, like more physical contact. And more saying—…” And more saying ‘I love you’.

“Saying what?”

“Nothing,” Smii7y chirped out hastily, trying to smile reassuringly. Matt stared at him with a worried expression on his face. “It’s fine.”

Nodding carefully, they continued walking in the peaceful cold of winter.

Smii7y admired the Christmas lights strung up across buildings. His eyes glistened whenever he saw those massive Christmas trees with pretty decorations and prop presents to look cool. The area was really pretty, especially because of the just right amount of snow: not too little to be pathetic, not too much to be drowning in it.

After a while more, Matt asked him, “What were you trying to say before you cut yourself off?”

Smii7y scoffed. “You’re still on that?”

“I’m curious!”

Smii7y held his breath slightly. He didn’t want to unload this on Matt, especially after just telling him that he and John were dating, but he also knew that Matt wouldn’t let it go.

He sighed. “It’s just… something I’ve been a bit concerned about…”

“What is it? What’s up?”

“Well, he has barely said ‘I love you’…” he muttered, embarrassed to be saying this out loud. He made sure to be as quiet as possible so John had no way of overhearing them.

Matt nodded. “Huh.” He asked, “You think that… he doesn’t actually love you?”

“Well, I don’t know. Not really, I guess I’d just like it if he said it sometimes…” he admitted shyly. Fidgeting with the end of his sleeves, he tried focusing on the scenery.

Focusing on the crunching snow beneath him, the stands of display reindeers with bright red noses, more Christmas trees, the fireworks in the sky.

“Have you tried talking to him about it?”

“Well, I’ve been wanting to, but I just keep getting distracted…”

Matt rolled his eyes. “Communicate! You gotta tell him this shit, man!”

Groaning, Smii7y put his hands over his face. “I know, I know! I’ll talk to him… tomorrow…”

“Smii7y…”

“I will! I swear! I’m not procrastinating! I’m just… I’ll do it tomorrow I swear.”

“If you say so,” Matt replied finally.

Smii7y barely noticed that they had been at the ice-skating place for a few minutes now. He hummed and followed the others inside. They all put on their skates before heading into the ice.

He was more used to hockey skates so he wasn’t really adjusted to figure skates, which made it a bit weird. It wasn’t harder per-say—figure skates have better balance—but it was definitely an odd feeling. He watched as some of his friends struggled slightly while others got the hang of it pretty fast.

Matt was already skating around like a free bird. It was funny seeing the skill difference between someone like Matt and someone like Anthony, who was clutching onto the sidebar and panicking.

Snickering, he rolled his eyes. Arms wrapped around him from behind. “Boo!”

He flinched and yelped loudly, glancing behind him. “John, you dick!” he blurted out, giggling. “Frickin’ hell…” He spun around to look John in the face.

“I nearly died while coming here to scare you, so worth it.” John smirked. Smii7y rolled his eyes, calling him a dumbass with a light shove while making sure to not make him fall.

John pushed him as well but with a bit more force. “Hey! Don’t push me that hard! I’ll fall,” he commented before steadying himself and placing his feet in a T-position.

“Fall for me?” John teased, winking like a dork. Smii7y stuck his tongue out at him playfully. “Wow, you’re so immature.”

He could hear John giggling as Smii7y defended, “You literally—… Okay, I’m not even gonna fight this.” Smiling, he laughed alongside him.

He was glad that the awkward tension between them seemed to cease, but he still had a feeling deep within him that something was weird.

“Wanna skate around?” John asked.

Smii7y nodded enthusiastically. “Don’t drag me down if you fall, please.” John said that he wouldn’t but the wide grin plastered over his face promised otherwise. Giggling, Smii7y skated around beside John as they talked and talked.

They were talking about the most random shit ever, it was really entertaining. So entertaining, that time felt like it flew twenty times faster. Eventually, John pleaded to take a small rest in the dark corner of the rink and Smii7y obliged.

“You tired?” Smii7y asked. “Or do you need to re-adjust your—…”

John grabbed a fistful of his collar, pulling him close and connecting their lips together. Confused and slightly startled by the sudden action, Smii7y squeaked into the kiss. As soon as he started it, John disconnected their lips. “Sorry. I’ve just been wanting to do that all day but haven’t been able to since these guys have been on our asses.”

Smii7y blinked, dazed.

John burst out laughing at him. “Jesus Christ, still flustered as ever, huh?”

Smii7y scoffed. “Fuck you!” Pushing him, Smii7y gasped as John stumbled, falling over and dragging him down with him.

“Ow,” John moaned as he sprawled out over the ground on his back in defeat.

Smii7y winced. “Bastard!” He hissed slightly as he pushed off of his leg—which was undoubtedly bruised—to get up. He ignored John as he pleaded to be helped up. “You pulled me down, fuckass!”

“I didn’t mean to! It was a reflex!” he shouted back, managing to get up on his own using the railing.

One of the workers skated over to them, making sure they were okay before leaving.

Embarrassed, Smii7y hid his face with his hands. “God, you’re the worst…”

“I’ll buy you a waffle.”

“I take it back, you’re amazing.”

***

Happily, Smii7y chewed on his waffle as Matt raised an eyebrow at him.

“John paying me back for making me fall.”

Matt snickered and laughed quietly.

All of them were currently sitting inside a cozy café and had already ordered their hot chocolate. He eavesdropped on Grizzy and Pezzy’s conversation, but it was nothing too interesting. Anthony sat beside Matt, jumping into their conversation, “Yo! What’s up?”

“Hey!” they greeted.

After a bit, John returned with his own hot chocolate and, unsurprisingly, slid into the seat next to Smii7y. Smii7y swore he saw Anthony smirk, but he honestly could have imagined it.

John silently sipped his drink.

“Good?” Smii7y asked, eyeing him.

“Hm?” He glanced at him. “Oh! Yeah, it’s good.” Smii7y smiled.

He eyed John. It felt like they were having a conversation with their eyes alone.

‘Why’d you ask me that?’ John would ask.

He would respond, ‘People are staring, I’m fucking with them.’

The corner of John’s lips lifted by a fraction. ‘I like your thinking.’

John shuffled a bit closer to him, loosely wrapping an arm around him. Smii7y held back a snicker at the stupidity of just how dumb this felt.

“That was so fake,” Matt commented, unimpressed. Smii7y was glad someone else shared his view.

“Yeah, well, you two,” Smii7y paused and gestured at Anthony and Matt, “are the only people who actually think we’re dating, so now we’re seeing just how far we can go before the others realize.”

John glared at him. “Two?” He stared at Matt. “You believe us now?”

Matt rolled his eyes and nodded.

“Damn. At this rate, the others will know by the end of tonight,” John joked.

Smii7y simply hummed and continued with his waffle, chiming out the rest of the world. To be fair, it was a pretty damn good waffle. It was those large waffles that have powdered sugar on them with a really sweet drizzle and—…

Puffer walked up to their table. “Are you guys okay with—… Why do you have his arm around him?” Puffer stared at John and Smii7y. After a bit of silence, John retracted his arm and shrugged. “Are you really still trying to convince us? After yesterday’s shit-show, I would have thought you guys would’ve laid off it.” Smii7y bit his lip nervously. He had almost forgotten about that.

“Anyway… Do you guys mind if we leave in five minutes or so? Scotty really needs to piss and there’s no bathroom in this café.”

“Sure!”

“Okay, thanks!” Puffer left without another word, throwing Smii7y and John one last glance.

Matt questioned, “Why didn’t you guys kiss yesterday? I mean, if you really are dating, why not?”

John and Smii7y shared a look.

Luckily, John explained, “I mean, kissing your partner in front of all your friends isn’t exactly the most appealing idea… I’d rather kill myself.” Smii7y nodded.

“Well, I don’t mind it as much… but John hates it, so I ain’t doing that,” Smii7y added.

Matt glanced between them before staring at Smii7y for an extra moment, which reminded him of the conversation they had while walking to the ice-rink. He darted his eyes down, pretending to be concentrated in finishing his waffle. He could see Matt eyeing him even after he looked away.

John gently tapped Smii7y’s ankle with his foot. Puzzled, Smii7y glanced at him. Anthony and Matt were still watching them curiously. “Tyler bought fireworks that he’s gonna use at midnight, you wanna set some off or nah?”

Smii7y thought for a bit. “Probably not… That shit’s scary. You?”

“Oh, fuck yeah.”

Smii7y snickered. “Of course you are,” he murmured under his breath. Glancing behind John, he noticed Scotty lightly banging his head on the table, whining something that he couldn’t make out. Rolling his eyes, he chuckled.

Anthony and Matt had already started indulging in their own conversation, which Smii7y was very glad for. Having an audience was stressful.

“Are you okay?” John muttered, catching Smii7y’s full attention. “You seem a bit… off.”

“Funny you say that. I had that exact same thought about you this morning.” Smii7y met the other’s eyes as he blinked.

“Oh.”

“I’m fine. It’s nothing,” Smii7y said after a bit of silence.

John raised an eyebrow at him. “Whenever someone says that, there’s always something. Come on, tell me.” Smii7y bit his lip. “Smii7y… please.”

He wasn’t ready to have this conversation in the middle of some café with his friends around them so he blurted out the first thing he could think of. “I’m… I’m scared of fireworks…”

John eyed him, staring for a bit before bursting out in laughter. Smii7y rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Really? You’ve been acting this strange… over that?”

“It’s embarrassing…” he whispered, trying to make this sound believable.

“Fucking dumbass. I’ll stay inside with you then, hm?” John suggested.

Smii7y shook his head quickly. “No, no. Don’t worry… you—… you can have your fun. I don’t wanna force you to stay with me.”

John frowned. “You’re not. I’m staying with you—end of story.”

“I’ll feel bad—…” John put a finger on Smii7y’s lips and told him to not say any more because he wasn’t going to listen. He sighed in defeat.

***

Smii7y breathed slowly, comfortably leaning into John’s chest and wrapping his arms around him. They heard muffled cheers and yells from outside, followed by the loud bangs of fireworks. Smii7y was embarrassed to admit that he did flinch at some of the louder bangs. He wasn’t scared of fireworks specifically, but he was scared of loud sounds, so it was close enough.

Carefully, John rested his hand in Smii7y’s hair. Melting into the touch, his eyes fluttered shut as he relaxed his entire body, dipping his head further down.

“I feel bad,” he whined out, his voice slurred as exhaustion pooled over him, “that you’re not out there, having fun…”

“Nothing’s better than being with you,” John commented, giggling shortly after that.

It was said as a simple tease, half-hearted, but it stuck with him. It stuck with Smii7y.

His cheeks flushed, heating up his entire face. He felt his heart pound in his chest, almost painfully. He ground his teeth together, trying his best to hold back the urge to squeeze John as tight as possible and let out all of his happy feelings onto him.

“I love you…”

John brushed a hand against his cheek. “I—…” John cut himself off.

Smii7y blinked, staying silent. He didn’t know what he expected, but it still hurt. He shoved his face deeper into John’s shirt so he wouldn’t be able to see the tears pricking in his eyes. He stopped himself from sniffing and letting out a sob.

He couldn’t tell if he would have preferred silence or a snark comment. But he sure as hell wouldn’t have chosen starting to say it and then just stopping.

“Bathroom,” he mumbled simply as he stood up and walked off. Entering the restroom, he sighed and leaned against the sink, shoving his face into his arms.

He sighed softly, glancing at his watch through blurry eyes.

12:06AM.

“Merry Christmas, Smii7y, you fucking idiot,” he whispered to himself, screwing his eyes shut and slowly sinking down onto the ground with a choked breath.

***

Smii7y ate his slice of toast in silence, scrolling on his phone. John was deep in a conversation with Grizzy, Tyler and Droid, happily talking and giggling.

Rolling his eyes, Smii7y forced himself to snap his eyes away and stop thinking about John. It was Christmas for god’s sake, he should be enjoying himself!

As if on cue with his thoughts, Puffer burst into the room. “Merry Christmas you ho-ho -hoes!” he exclaimed, full of energy.

Smii7y bit his lip. He just wanted some peace and quiet. Was that so hard?

The others began their own discussion, letting Smii7y sneak away into his room. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking about this as much as he was, but he couldn’t let go the fact that John fucking hesitated. It felt like that alone tore a pit in his stomach and it was only getting larger and larger the longer it was ignored and taped shut to be kept quiet. Sitting down on his bed, he sighed.

“Hey Smii7y!” Flinching, he glanced up and stared at John. ”You—… I looked over at you and you were gone… I just wanted to check on you. Everything okay?” he asked, sounding way too enthusiastic.

On the other hand, Smii7y was exhausted. He had barely slept. “Yeah… I’m fine,” he mumbled. John eyed him nervously, going quiet. He definitely knew that he was upset but probably didn’t know why. Smii7y didn’t dare to meet his eyes. He saw John part his lips again, about to speak. “I’m fine,” he snapped out.

John frowned.

“I—... I’m sorry—…” Smii7y quickly apologized, guilty. His emotions felt so messy and he hated it. He didn’t know how to express his feelings with words and it was torturous.

“N-No… It’s okay. Don’t, uhm, apologize.” John awkwardly darted his head down, digging his nails into his palm.

Smii7y couldn’t keep this inside him forever. “I…” But he could procrastinate it. “I’ll… tell you later. It’s nothing.”

“Are you sure? I wanna make sure that you’re okay…” John mumbled. He took a step towards Smii7y and hugged him tightly.

Smii7y nodded simply as John gently kissed the top of his head. “Okay… please tell me if something is bothering you.”

“Just… just leave, please.”

John looked shattered after that but left the room soon after.

Smii7y collapsed back on the bed and screwed his eyes shut. A thought infested his mind. What if John was… trying to break up with him?

The thought of that was enough to make him start tearing up.

***

Smii7y watched Anthony and Tyler, his eyes switching between them every five seconds. Who knew watching a staring contest would be so tense yet so boring? Even Smii7y felt uncomfortable just by looking at them stare into each other’s soul.

Someone screamed behind Anthony, making him yelp and spin around. Pezzy giggled as he hid behind a cackling Scotty.

“You bitch! I was winning that!” Anthony exclaimed. Tyler cheered and threw his arms up, spinning around in a circle.

Eventually, everyone dispersed and Tyler sat by Smii7y’s side, sipping some soda. “You wanna do a staring contest?”

“Fuck no.”

Tyler snickered. Scoffing, Smii7y snorted slightly. “So… is the rumor true?” He had a wide smirk on his face. “You and John?”

Smii7y wondered how many more times he would have to have this conversation. “Yup…” Tyler nodded carefully, evidently hesitant to believe him. “Most of them don’t believe us, I get it,” he explained. Tyler glared at him.

“I mean… it is a big change, a very crazy one…”

“Mhm…” Smii7y hummed. He really didn’t want to talk about John right now because that just reminded him of his inevitable task.

He hadn’t spoken to him since their interaction this morning which was—give or take—half an hour ago. Talking about John, Smii7y had no idea where the man was right now. A few of the others were missing, so he guessed that they were probably doing some dumb shit.

Smii7y sighed, nearly completely having forgotten that Tyler was beside him.

“You alright?” he asked.

Smii7y stayed silent, lazily slumping over the back of the sofa. “Yeah… Just some stupid shit.“

Tyler shrugged. “So, you looking forward to the Christmas dinner?”

“Yeah… guess so.” Smii7y was so out of it. He couldn’t keep this up. “Sorry, excuse me, I have to go.”

Rushing up to his feet, Smii7y exited the room, threw on his coat and shoes, and left the house. As cold as it was, the air was also refreshing. He could really benefit from a walk currently. Breathing in the cold winter air, he walked slowly. He continued until he found a bench, sitting down on it and crossing his legs.

So fucked.

He was so fucked.

This was supposed to be a nice Christmas with all of his friends!

Now it was turning into a shitty Christmas with his boyfriend.

Fuck’s sake.

He bit his lip, staring at his feet quietly. He was honestly debating if he should just book it and leave, lie that there was some family emergency back in Canada. Maybe he could pull off faking a funeral, nobody would question it since they would want to be respectful!

He shook his head. He wasn’t a liar. He wasn’t someone who looked for pathetic ways out to escape from mild issues of the love of his life, which he would adore spending every minute of every day with and do almost anything for him, not loving him anymore.

Smii7y sighed. That’s a theory he had been thinking about way too much: John not loving him anymore.

If he found out that it was true and not just him overthinking, he would probably…

He would…

He would…

He…

Smii7y groaned.

He doesn’t even know what he would do.

Smii7y had never thought that it could become a genuine serious idea that might be real. He hated having to consider it. He sniffed, rubbing at the wetness underneath his eyes. Bringing up his legs to his chest, he sighed, stuffing his face into his knees.

“Smii7y?”

He jumped so hard that, when flinching backwards, he slammed his hand against the backboard of the bench. He hissed quietly. “Ow—… Fuck,” he winced, clutching his hand gently.

“Shit—… Are you okay? I’m so sorry, I didn’t want to, uhm, scare you…” John mumbled, very embarrassed.

Smii7y glanced up at John, eyeing him silently. “Did you follow me here?” he questioned, slightly concerned and slightly irritated.

John’s cheeks heated up and his eyes widened. “W-Well… I—… Following is one way of putting it…” he stuttered weakly. “I… Yes. Yes, I fucking followed you here,” he admitted shamefully. Smii7y blinked at him. “I’m… worried about you. You’ve been acting weird and you’ve been dodging my questions and—…”

“Can I talk to you? Like, seriously talk?” Smii7y muttered.

John paused for a moment before nodding eagerly. “Yeah. Yeah, please. I… also need to talk to you…”

Smii7y felt a sickness twisting in his stomach and his mind was screaming to run off, but he knew he couldn’t. He took a deep breath to try and calm his racing heart. “You—… You go first.” He crossed his arms and bit his lip, trying to get himself ready for it.

John stared at him.

Offering him a hand, John smiled nervously. “Let’s walk and talk, yeah?”

Smii7y nodded, getting up on his own. He swallowed nervously, silently hoping that there weren’t visible tear streaks on his face. They started walking in a random direction.

“Three years, huh?” John started. “Wow, feels like it’s been so much longer.”

Smii7y clenched his hands into fists, his body shaking, already mourning. “Mhm…”

“I…” John whispered. “I’m gonna be completely transparent with you. I’m so scared about this whole conversation… It’s been all I could think about this past week. God, it’s been fucking eating away at me.”

Smii7y kept his eyes on the ground.

“And… I’m just… so glad that I got to meet you, and that I got to spend time with you. Seeing and hearing you just fills me with so much joy—you can’t even comprehend.”

Softening the blow, I see what you’re doing, John, Smii7y thought to himself.

“I’ve been wanting to do something for a while, ask this for a while. And, about a week ago, I wouldn’t even hesitate… but, recently, I don’t know. You—…” John went silent, thinking for a moment. “I… have a feeling that you might know what I wanted to say.”

Smii7y glanced up to meet John’s eyes for a split second before snapping his gaze back down to the snow.

“I… think that you somehow must’ve figured out in the past week and you… don’t like it. I think that you really hate the idea and—…”

John went quiet and stopped walking. Smii7y stopped soon after but couldn’t bare to turn around.

“I’m… I’m really sorry,” John mumbled. Smii7y thought that was his cue, so he was about to speak, but was soon cut off.

“You were—and still are—one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met in my pathetic ass fucking life. I feel like you single-handedly just became a little ray of sunshine, keeping me alive and happy. Everything about you is just so goddamn perfect and I hate how breathtaking you are. You really deserve someone so, so much better for you. I—… I don’t know what I was thinking when I thought that I would be good enough…”

Smii7y turned around hesitantly, confused on when he was going to break the bad news.

“I’m just so fucking sorry. This is so humiliating, oh my god. Just fucking take it away, you can keep it anyway—it doesn’t matter. I really wish you well, fuck, and I’m so sorry for even thinking I stood a chance. I love you so much—…” John blurted out, grabbing something from his pocket and gesturing it to Smii7y, snapping his teary face away.

Smii7y froze.

I love you so much.

He was overcome with so much euphoria and confusion overlapping each other that he thought me might pass out.

“W-What?” Smii7y stuttered, eyeing John’s hand and the small black box resting in his palm.

“The… The ring,” John squeaked out, his voice wobbly. John was crying.

Smii7y froze as he realized what was happening.

John wanting to ask him something.

A box.

A ring.

Oh my fucking god.

“You… You were planning on proposing to me?!” he exclaimed, utterly dumbfounded. Smii7y stared at John in disbelief, thinking that this all had to be a huge prank.

John eyed him. “You didn’t know?!” he shouted, panicking.

Smii7y’s jaw was dropped as he silently glanced between the ring and John.

John shook his head. “No—… Stop, please don’t toy with my feelings. Why were you acting so weird then?! And what did you need to tell me?!”

Smii7y had a lot of tears blurring his vision. “I thought you were gonna fucking break up with me! You barely said I love you so I thought that you just fell out of love!”

John gawked at him. “Fuck no!” He took a deep breath. “I just… I didn’t wanna make you uncomfortable by reciprocating because I thought you were just doing it because you felt forced!”

Smii7y was silent, processing all of this information. “S-So, you’re… not breaking up with me?”

“No!” John cried out, stunned.

Smii7y blinked. “I… I’m so confused.”

“You… Wait, so, you… still love me?”

“Yes!” Smii7y confirmed, still dazed.

Out of everything that he was expecting John to tell him, proposing wasn’t even on the list. He was so convinced that John didn’t love him anymore that he just accepted it as reality.

John put his hands over his face. “Oh my god. Oh my god, I ruined my own fucking proposal…” he whined, groaning. Smii7y burst out laughing. Embarrassed, John snatched back the box and timidly glanced up at Smii7y. “What the fuck is the social etiquette for this?! Do I propose again? Do I fucking kill myself?” John moaned, frantically pacing around now.

“John,” Smii7y giggled out.

“This is so humiliating!" John moaned, putting his hands over his head.

“John.”

“What, Smii7y?”

Smii7y took a step towards John, who eyed him anxiously. Rolling his eyes playfully, he placed a hand on the other’s cheek gently, leaning in a bit. Slowly, he pressed a kiss to John’s lips. They stayed like that for a while.

Coldness pricked at their skin. Snow dripped down onto their hair, making it glimmer and glow. A gentle breeze hugged them and shoved them closer together.

But it didn’t matter.

Nothing mattered.

Except for them.

“I love you,” John whispered against his mouth.

Smii7y’s stomach leapt with joy. He doesn’t think he will ever get tired of that phrase. “John?”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. I think I’d like to marry you.”

John huffed in amusement, smiling. “Thank fuck—here.” Pulling out the box, John handed it to Smii7y. “I’m not getting on my knees again, I’ve already fucked this up way too much.”

Smii7y scoffed. “You didn’t ruin it.” Grabbing the box, he hummed, opening it and glancing at the ring. “Aww, you remembered my favorite color.”

“Obviously.”

He stared at the ring. Honestly, he adored it.

The band was thin and a light gold. At the front, there was a large, mossy-green gem surrounded by smaller white crystals coated by the gold. It looked like something straight out of a fantasy movie—as if he was a prince or some shit. It was dumb, he knows, but he loves to think that John chose this because he treasures Smii7y.

He giggled to himself and slid it on his finger. He couldn’t wipe the grin off of his face.

“Oh, yeah,” John started. “Merry Christmas, hoe.”

Smii7y rolled his eyes. “Merry Christmas, asshole.”

***

Anthony was the first to notice, literally gawking at them as soon as he walked through the front door. “Am I overthinking this, or did you—…” He darted his eyes between Smii7y and John.

Smii7y snickered as John smiled simply. “What?” the other asked innocently.

A few people stared in confusion, trying to be subtle before giving up.

Anthony’s eyes were wide as he stood there with an expression like that of a proud father. “Holy shit!” he squealed out. “Oh my god!” A few people got bored and started ignoring them, until Anthony shouted, “You guys got engaged?!” which, unsurprisingly, caught everyone’s attention. Smii7y saw Matt gaping at them. He bit his lip anxiously, very aware of the eyes on them.

A few people laughed and scoffed, still in denial, and others looked to be genuinely considering it. “How are we meant to believe you?” someone called out.

Noticing John breathe in sharply, he glanced over at him confused. “‘Cause of this.” Even more puzzled, Smii7y was about to question what he was going to do but was cut off by John’s lips.

Holy shit.

Their friends literally screamed so loud it hurt his ears a bit.

John pulled off, seeming flustered and embarrassed. Smii7y whispered, “Y-You just… did that?” He was half-wondering if he was dreaming. “Why—… What just—…”

“We’re fucking engaged now. That’s so much more serious than just dating. I owe it to you.”

Smii7y wanted to chime in, wanting to say that he didn’t have to, but he caught a glimpse of John’s face: genuine joy and comfort. Smii7y blinked, dazed, before smiling widely.

***

“Can you say it again?” Smii7y mumbled, leaning against John as he ran his hand through his hair.

They were sitting in the same room as when they were hiding from the fireworks. It was refreshing with the new vibe.

“Hm?”

Smii7y breathed in deeply. He felt at peace: relaxed. Calmness that he had never known before was surging his body and he loved it. “That you love me.”

John giggled. “Have I really deprived you of it that much?”

Smii7y playfully shoved at him. “Yes!” he whined light-heartedly. “Dickhead.”

“Want me to buy you a waffle to make up for it?” he joked.

Smii7y snorted. He smiled, his whole body feeling warm and cozy. “Oh my god, you can’t keep buying me back with waffles! I hate you.” He giggled, snuggling up closer to John.

“Love you too.”