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Ryan watched William pace across the room. He sat down, tapped his fingers against one bony knee and then got up again.
"You’re giving me whiplash, Bills," Ryan said, "you okay?"
"Fine," Bill said, sitting down again, on a different chair.
"Did something happen at the academy?" he asked, turning back to the mirror, "I knew I shouldn’t have left early-"
"No, no," Bill said, getting up again, "everything’s fine."
Ryan had a hard time believing him, but he figured whatever it was, wheedling it out of William could wait till he came back from his date.
Jon took him to a fancy restaurant and they walked around town afterwards. Jon was acting strange, but Ryan figured he was feeling the same melancholy Ryan himself felt; for a different country, a different time, what felt like an age ago.
He intertwined his fingers in Jon’s and pulled him closer as they walked. "We should get some pomegranates when they come back in season."
Jon grinned. "Yeah," he said and put his free hand in his pocket, "come on, there's a place I want you to see." He used their interlocked hands and led Ryan back to the car.
"If you're going to try and show me the backseat of your car I’m leaving you," Ryan said, but unable to keep a straight face, "just so you know."
"You've already seen the backseat of my car," Jon said, smirking.
"I don’t think i saw a lot of it that time," Ryan mused, "I was a bit busy."
"Maybe I can give you a tour later," Jon said, unlocking the doors as they finally approached the car, "this place is different."
Ryan raised an eyebrow but didn’t reply, just slid into the passenger seat and closed the door behind him.
They drove for a long while, Ryan lost track of time watching as the city buildings became suburban houses, and then even those became sparse and disappeared.
Jon finally stopped on the side of the road. This particular stretch didn’t look any different than the last few miles. When Jon got out though, Ryan followed, and when they stopped to sit on a bench overlooking the water, Ryan saw the view. The Seattle skyline and it’s reflection in the water, and the melancholy from earlier came back and wrapped it’s hands around his heart.
"Jon," he said, "what’s going on?"
He turned to look at Jon and found a little velvet box in Jon’s hand.
"Jon?" he said again and looked up to meet Jon’s eyes.
"Ryan," Jon said, he opened his mouth again and then stopped and smiled, "I had everything I was gonna say planned, and now I can’t remember any of it."
"Jon," Ryan said again. It felt like his mind had shut down.
"I want to be with you," Jon said, "I want to be yours, if you'll have me, I want to wake up with you every morning, and fall asleep with you every night, I want to grow old with you, I want forever with you," he opened the box to reveal a thin gold ring, "marry me Ryan Ross, share forever with me."
Ryan couldn’t breathe, couldn’t seem to get his brain moving. "I-" he started and that was enough, and things came rushing back with one resounding word. "Yes," he said, and smiled, "yes, yes, yes."
"Yes?" Jon said, grinning back.
"Yes!" Ryan said, as Jon took out the ring and slipped it on to Ryan’s finger, "I want to wear white at the wedding."
Jon outright laughed. "You can wear whatever you want, we can have the biggest cake, the biggest wedding if that’s what you want."
Ryan shook his head. "I just want you to be there."
"And to wear white," Jon said.
“That's all," Ryan said, unable to stop smiling.
"I think we can manage that," Jon said.
Ryan looked at the ring and back at Jon. "Forever, huh?" he said, quietly.
"Maybe until you're 65, then I might have to reassess."
"Shut up, I love you," he said. It always surprised him how much he meant that, how it never seemed to fade over time.
"I love you too," Jon said, and pulled Ryan close for a kiss.