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Sam checked the ring box for the fifteenth time.
Still there.
He couldn't believe he was doing this.
Yes, Sebastian and him have known each other forever.
Yes, Sebastian was his best friend.
And also yes, he knew not only was Seb gay and liked him back.
The only issue was, they were not even dating!
Sam looked back down at the ring.
He snapped the box shut and shoved it back beneath a stack of comic books on his desk.
The room was perfect.
The string lights glowed warmly around the ceiling.
His guitar leaned against the wall next to the drum kit.
The old couch had been pushed closer to the window.
Everything felt familiar.
Comfortable.
He could do this.
He made sure the room felt like the kind of place where important things could happen.
Like the kind of place where he wanted to ask Sebastian to spend the rest of his life with him.
A knock sounded at the window.
Sam jumped three feet into the air and almost screamed bloody murder.
"What the—"
Another knock.
He spun toward the glass.
Sebastian sat astride his motorcycle outside.
A helmet tucked beneath one arm.
Looking entirely too pleased with himself.
Sam opened the window.
"Seb?"
"Come on."
"What?"
"Get your jacket."
Sam blinked.
"I can't."
"You can."
"No, I really can't."
"Why?"
Because when I invited you, I was planning to propose to you.
"Why don't you come inside?"
Sebastian raised an eyebrow.
"I want to take you somewhere tonight."
Something in his expression made Sam's stomach flip.
"Sebastian."
"Samson."
"You're being weird."
"You're one to talk."
That was concerning.
Before Sam could think of another reason to get Sebastian inside, the man held up a second helmet.
"Come on."
Against all reason, Sam found himself smiling.
"Fine, but afterwards we are coming right back here."
---
Twenty minutes later, they were climbing the familiar path to the overlook.
The spot where Sebastian had first brought him years ago when he had discovered it.
In the distance he could see the city lights.
The valley stretched out behind them in shadows.
Sebastian stopped at a safe distance.
For once, he looked nervous.
Sam's heart immediately started racing.
"Oh no."
Sebastian frowned.
"What?"
"You're nervous."
"I'm not nervous."
"You're doing the thing."
"What thing?"
"The thing where you pretend not to be nervous."
Sebastian rolled his eyes.
Unfortunately, Sam was right.
He knew every expression his best friend would ever make.
Sam stepped closer.
"Hey, it's just us. What's got you worked up this much?"
Sebastian looked at him.
The moonlight caught in his hair.
Made his eyes look softer somehow.
God.
How was he still this gone after all these years?
"What's up?" Sam asked quietly.
Sebastian stared at him for another second.
Then reached into his jacket pocket.
Sam froze.
Sebastian froze.
A tiny box sat in his hand.
For one long, terrible moment neither of them spoke.
Then Sam's brain completely stopped functioning.
Because that was a ring box.
Sebastian was holding a ring box.
Sebastian.
His Sebastian.
His best friend, Sebastian!
The one he'd spent years being in love with.
The one he'd been planning to propose to despite the fact that they had somehow skipped every normal step in a relationship.
Neither of them moved.
Finally, Sebastian cleared his throat.
"Okay."
Sam nodded immediately.
"Okay."
Sebastian blinked.
"I haven't actually said anything yet."
"Right."
"Sam."
"Sorry."
He was not sorry.
His heart was trying to claw its way out of his chest.
Sebastian looked down at the box in his hand.
Then back at him.
Then sighed.
"You know, I had a plan."
That finally cut through Sam's panic.
"A plan?"
"Yeah."
"A proposal plan?"
"...Maybe."
Sam made a strangled noise.
Sebastian closed his eyes.
"Please stop making that sound."
"You just told me you had a proposal plan."
"...well… yeah, I guess I just said that."
"You stole my proposal!"
Sebastian's face immediately turned red.
Neither of them spoke.
Sebastian frowned. “Wait…”
"What?"
"Your proposal?”
“Did I say that?”
"You were going to propose."
Sam felt his face heat. "Yes."
Something clicked behind Sebastian's eyes.
“Your room.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
"Samson."
"Yes?"
The question came out much smaller than he'd intended.
Something softened in Sebastian's expression.
Immediately.
Completely.
"We're both idiots."
Sam laughed.
"Yeah."
Sebastian shook his head.
"No, seriously."
The ring box was still sitting in his hand.
Unopened and almost forgotten.
"We skipped dating."
"We did."
"We skipped our first kiss."
"We definitely skipped kisses."
"We skipped figuring out whether we liked each other."
Sam snorted.
"To be fair, everybody else figured that one out years ago."
A reluctant smile tugged at Sebastian's mouth.
"Apparently."
For a moment neither of them spoke.
The wind rustled through the trees around them.
In the distance, the lights of the city twinkled in the darkness.
Sam looked at the man in front of him.
Sebastian was the person who showed up whenever he needed someone.
He was the person who had spent years sitting beside him during band practice, movie nights, rainy afternoons, and countless aimless conversations that somehow never felt aimless at all.
He was his best friend and his favorite person.
Somewhere along the way, the line between friends and partners had disappeared.
They'd never crossed it.
It had simply stopped existing.
A soft laugh escaped him.
Sebastian gave him a weird look. "What?"
Sam smiled.
"I think we're really bad at this."
Sebastian raised an eyebrow.
"At what?"
"Dating."
That earned an actual laugh.
Quiet.
Warm.
And a hundred percent dangerous to Sam's heartbeat.
"Probably."
"I mean, normal people don't propose before the first date."
"Normal people also don't spend a couple of decades orbiting each other before doing something about it."
"Fair point."
Sebastian looked down at the ring box.
Then back up at him.
The nervousness was still there.
But underneath it was something steadier.
Something certain.
"Sam."
The smile slipped from Sam's face immediately at the quiet tone.
"I don't care what we call this."
Sebastian gestured vaguely between them.
"Dating. Marriage. Whatever."
Sam's chest tightened.
"I just know you're already the person I want to come home to."
For a second, everything went quiet.
The world faded into the background.
Leaving only them.
Sebastian swallowed.
Then held out the ring box.
"Samson."
Sam immediately felt his eyes sting.
"Yeah?"
A small smile appeared.
The soft one.
The one reserved entirely for him.
"Wanna skip straight to forever with me?"
Sam didn't even let him finish opening the box.
He threw his arms around him.
The force nearly knocked them both off balance.
Sebastian laughed.
A startled sound against his shoulder.
"Is that a yes?"
Sam buried his face in his jacket.
"Obviously it's yes, you idiot."
Sebastian laughed against his shoulder.
For a moment neither of them moved.
Then Sam pulled back just enough to look at him.
"Can I?"
Sebastian looked confused. "Can you what?"
Sam felt his face heat. "Can I kiss you?"
Sebastian's expression softened immediately.
"You really need to ask?"
"Probably."
A smile tugged at Sebastian's mouth.
•••The End•••