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March 7th, 2026
Jay wakes up before Matt does, which is rare. He’d roll over to face him, but that’d probably wake him up. No, today he must slip out of the house as quietly as possible. Today is the day he gets the ring. Today is the day that they take their relationship one step further.
He slips out from Matt’s warm embrace, and quickly puts a pillow there. He looks at Matt’s face, and there’s no sign that he’s noticed Jay is gone. He’s in deep sleep, unbothered by anything. Completely at peace with the world, content to hold what he thinks is Jay until he wakes.
Jay tiptoes out of their room. The door is slightly ajar, and he’s able to open it without the joints squeaking. He walks down the stairs as quietly as he can, but of course one creaks. He glances behind him to see if Matt wakes up. When he’s absolutely sure the coast is clear, he continues downstairs.
Jared’s already up waiting for him. He’s eating breakfast, one of those sugary cereals that Jay can’t get enough of. Chocolate and marshmallows and general unhealthy shit, the kind that his mother would never allow. Getting the ring can wait, he needs to satisfy his sweet tooth. He gets his big cereal bowl, and pours the rest of the box and milk into it. Jared looks annoyed.
“Where were you hiding this?!”
“In my room. Where you aren’t allowed.”
“I would’ve found it eventually!”
“No you wouldn’t.”
Jay eats as fast as he can. He slurps down the sweet chocolatey milk when he’s finished. The milk gets in his beard, and he licks it up with a smile. Jared’s already at the door, impatiently waiting for Jay. The moment Jay opens the door, he hears footsteps upstairs. Maybe it’s just Luca going to the bathroom?
“Bird?! Where are you?!” Matt says while walking down the stairs. “Oh, there you are!”
Oh well.
“Just heading out! Don’t worry, Jared is going with me.”
“Where exactly? Wait, is this a cover for you leaving?!“
“No, Matt. I’m just going out shopping. I’ll be back before you know it!”
“Oh. Alright. Wait, don’t leave yet!”
Matt walks downstairs dramatically, and gives Jay a kiss. It’ll be their last one before Jay gets the ring.
“For good luck!”
“You’re acting like I’m going to war!”
“No I’m not, because then I’d be like ‘oh my brave and beautiful Bird! Please come back in one piece!’ Then I’d stare wistfully at your picture in my necklace! Then when I learn that you died, I throw the necklace into the sea! But I’ll never forget you!”
“That’s cool. Anyway, see you later.” Jay walks out the door. “You’re more of a Jack, to be honest.”
“No, you’re Jack!”
The moment Jay closed the door, Matt instantly went into plan mode. He was hiding something from Matt, and he had to figure out what it was. Maybe he and Luca could trail the two! No, they’d be found out immediately. Unless…
Matt ran upstairs to wake up Luca.
—
Jay wished that Matt was with him.
Toronto was just more fun to explore alongside him. Matt would always stop to stare into stores they’ve never seen. He’d make a joke about someone’s clothes, or pretend that they were in a movie. Usually it was Singing in the Rain.
But there was another reason, and that was the voice in his head. Whenever Matt was out of his sight, it would whisper he’s dead over and over again. It was usually just an annoyance. He’s not dead, he’s downstairs, or out getting stuff for plans, or in the bathroom.
Today though, it was an actual problem. It was serving him horrible visions of Matt dying. Matt was at the power box, the fake noose had failed, he got shot at the bank, he died from being run over by the car, and on and on. The worst one was Jay holding a dying Matt in his arms, comforting him. Through tears, he promised Matt that they’d meet in the next life. Matt died with a smile on his face.
He told the voice to shut up, and combatted the visions with happy memories. It sort of worked, but he could tell the voice was still there. Jared could tell something was off, so he walked a bit closer to him. He gave Jay a warm and friendly smile, and he felt a little better.
“Something wrong? Regretting this already?”
“No! Just thinking about stupid shit.”
“Come on, you can tell me! I’ll never tell anyone else.”
“I really don’t want to talk about it.”
Jared understood, and they didn’t talk for the rest of the trip. It wasn’t much longer anyway. The jewelry shop was a nice little place. They made custom stuff, which was extremely expensive. Jay paid for it out of pocket, just in case Matt discovered a strange transaction before he got the ring.
Jay stopped at the door. His whole life with Matt flashed before his eyes. Every plan, every fight, every time they watched a movie, every time they slept together, every single thing. It was all leading up to today. He had butterflies in his stomach, something he hadn’t felt in many years.
He took a deep breath, and walked in. The amount of butterflies only increased. He wanted this to be over with already, he wanted to go back home. He wanted to be with Matt, who would hold him. A beautiful ring would be around his finger, and they’d plan their wedding together. But that would only happen when he got the ring.
He walked up to the counter, and the man working there asked what he needed. Jay tried to speak, but he was too afraid to. Jared spoke for him, and Jay briefly felt embarrassed. He’s an adult, he shouldn’t be getting stupid butterflies in his stomach! He felt like a stupid kid again, and maybe he would feel like a stupid kid again forever. Maybe he should learn how to be an adult.
“Here’s your ring buddy.”
Jay stopped caring about that stupid shit the moment Jared gave him the box. He opened it up, and saw the beautiful ring. It was made of silver, and there was a diamond adorning it. It was shaped like Matt’s hat, and it sparkled like a star in the night sky. He felt all warm inside, and all the butterflies flew away. Or maybe they got burnt up.
He put it back in the box, and they walked out the door. Outside, there was a news crew. One had dirty blonde hair, and the other had a beard. They both had sunglasses on, and seemed to take interest in Jay.
“Ah, a new person to interview!” the blonde man said. His gruff voice was hard to place, but Jay felt like he had heard it before. “I’m Reginald Barclay, and I’m interviewing Torontoians for a special news report.”
“Oh, awesome! What do you wanna know about me?”
“Oh great…” Jared said.
“Well, just your life!” He spotted the ring box. “And you can talk about whatever that is!”
“I’m Jay McCarrol, and I’m in Nirvanna the Band! We’ve been trying to get a show at the Rivoli for years! I’m on piano, and my boyfriend Matt is on vox! This is a ring for him! I’m gonna propose to him when I get home!”
“Oh, well good for you!” Reginald said. “Well, I best be off now! Hundreds of people to interview you know!”
“Ok! Come on Jared, let’s go!”
“You go on ahead. I wanna talk to this guy.”
Jay went on his way, and Jared turned to Matt and Luca. Matt looked like he regretted this whole plan.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“I was just curious!”
“He roped me into this.”
“Great. Just great.” Jared shook his head. “Now it’s no longer a surprise, and now he thinks that this’ll go up somewhere! Did you even think about this plan?! Why’d you choose a Star Trek character’s name?!“
“HEY! GIVE THAT BACK!” Jay yelled.
They looked down the street to see Jay running after someone. That guy had stolen the ring! Jared sighed, and ran after him. He heard Matt and Luca running behind him. He was still in character, rambling about this being a big scoop. They eventually all found themselves in an alleyway. There were two other guys. One looked like Jesse Pinkman, while the other was buff. Not as buff as Matt though.
“Oh great Dave, you got followed again!”
“That’s because he stole my ring! Give it back to me!”
“It’s ours now! We’re gonna sell it to someone else, and make lots of money. It’s a thriving business!”
“JUST GIVE IT BACK!”
“The only way you get this back is if you beat me up!”
Jay angrily took the bait, and got one punch in. Then he was pinned to the wall, and the buff guy treated him like a living punching bag. A couple to his face and a few to his chest. Plus a kick in the balls for good measure. He was gearing up to give Jay a huge punch, when Matt ran up and hit him in the head.
The man fell to the ground. He wasn’t knocked out, just disoriented. But that was enough to scare Dave and the other guy, who let go of Jay. He fell to the ground, but Matt was able to catch him. Matt held Jay in his arms and carefully inspected him. He’d definitely be bruised for a while, and his nose was broken.
“Thank you…” Jay said before falling unconscious.
Matt instantly got up, and started running to the hospital. Luca ran after him, shedding the stupid disguise. Jared stayed behind, and took the ring back from Dave. Dave didn’t try and take it again.
“Dude, that news reporter is strong as fuck!”
“Yeah. He sure is.”
Jared walked to the hospital, pissed that one of Matt’s stupid disguises had worked on someone else.
—
Jay awoke in a hospital bed. He knew this place well, though more often than not it was Matt who was lying here. His nose felt funny, so he touched it and discovered a splint. He looked around the room, and found Matt next to him. He was sleeping in a chair, and held Jay’s hand in his lap.
“Hey, Matt.”
“Oh! You’re up!” He gently held Jay’s face. “Jared told me what happened. You sure did take a beating back there.”
“I really thought I had them. Guess I’m out of practice.”
“Just leave the fighting to me, Birdie!” Matt said with a glowing smile. “Oh yeah, Jared gave me this! He said that only you could open it!”
Matt dug in his pockets, and took out the ring box. He gave it to Jay, eager to see what was inside. Jay sat up in bed, and opened it. The ring sparkled and shined, but Matt’s eyes sparkled more.
“Matt Johnson, will you marry me?”
“Yes! Of course I would, Jaybird!”
Matt crawled on the bed and gave Jay a big kiss. It was wonderful and beautiful. An act of pure love. Matt was about to kiss Jay’s many bruises, when the doctor came back. After kicking Matt out of the room, he told Jay that nothing else was broken. He was free to go home.
He put his clothes back on in the bathroom, and looked at himself. Bruises bloomed all over his face and chest, and his bottom lip was broken. He had an awful black eye, and some broken skin. This wasn't the worst beating he’d received, but it was still pretty bad. He remembered the bar fights he used to partake in, and how he’d often come back to the apartment covered in blood. Other times, he would wake up in the hospital, and his whole body would ache.
But there was one constant. Matt was always by his side. He’d clean Jay up and wash his clothes while he sulked upstairs. He’d dutifully wait next to him while he slept in the hospital. Jay wondered if Matt wanted to kiss his bruised and battered skin back then too. It would’ve made him feel better. Maybe he should go get beaten up more often? No, that was a terrible idea.
He got a few stares as they went home, but most people just ignored them. Matt was rambling about how awesome their wedding would be and how it would be the best wedding of all time. They’d plan it together, and it would be perfect and beautiful, just like him. But that could wait for another day. Today, they just wanted to hang out together.
They walked up the steps of their home, only to be greeted by an excited Luca.
“Jay, you’re famous!!!”
“What?!”
Luca brought them up to the editing room. There was a YouTube video with Jay in it! He was being interviewed by some guy! They’re totally gonna get a show at the Rivoli! Jared facepalmed, and pushed to two out of the room. He could be heard yelling at Luca from behind the locked door. Jay was confused, but Matt distracted him with a kiss.
For the rest of the day, they watched Lord of the Rings. Whenever Gollum went “my precious,” Matt imitated him and held the ring in his hand. Jay suspected that was partly the reason why he wanted to watch these movies. He didn’t mind though, because he always loved watching them. Mostly because of the score, which he loved to play on the piano.
After the credits rolled on Return of the King, they went to bed. Matt gently kissed Jay’s bruises, and he held him extra close. He treated Jay like he was made of glass, and he could shatter at any moment. Jay didn’t mind, because he felt safe and loved.
“We gotta find that guy that saved you. He’s the reason why you aren’t dead!”
“Yeah. He was so brave and strong. Handsome too.”
“Even more than me?”
“Definetly not. You’re the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.”
“You too, Bird. You too. Now get some sleep. We’re gonna be sooo busy.”
They both promptly fell asleep, and dreamt that they were Hobbits.