Mark sighed as he turned the key to the apartment, kicking off his shoes and tossing his coat haphazardly on the table near the door. It had been a long day at work, but now he was home and he couldn’t have been happier.

“Jackson, I-”

His words were cut off by a loud yap of a bark, the blur of fur whizzing around the corner and jumping up at Mark with his tail wagging. Mark grinned, scratching the dog behind the ears and watching as his leg shook in pleasure.

He would never regret getting this dog. He always made it to the door before Jackson did.

“Did Jackson not feed you yet? Am I gonna have to feed you like I always do?” Mark asked in a teasing, childish voice, loud enough so that Jackson could hear him. His plan worked, Jackson popping his head around the corner with his brow quirked.

“I fed him already,” he replied, lips pursed and staring at Mark with narrowed eyes for a moment. It wasn’t until Mark stood up and smiled that Jackson grinned as well, waking over and pressing an easy kiss to Mark’s lips. “Welcome home, boyfriend,” he mumbled, nudging Mark’s nose with his own before turning and walking back to the kitchen. Mark just rolled his eyes.

“We’ve been together for years and you’re still calling me ‘boyfriend’,” he said, walking into the living room and watching as the puppy followed him. He sat down on the couch, the dog jumping up and curling next to him a moment later. Jackson just laughed as he shrugged, grabbing a couple of drinks and taking them into the living room.

“That’s because we’re still together,” he replied, handing one cup to Mark, “and you’re still my boyfriend.” Mark smiled, taking a sip from his cup as Jackson nudged the dog off the couch and took his spot next to Mark. “How was work?” he asked, leaning back against the arm of the couch and taking a gulp of his drink as well. Mark looked down, finger running along the rim of his glass before he sighed and set it down on the table. Instead he decided to lie on Jackson’s chest, resting comfortably between his legs as he took in a relaxed breath.

“Boring. It was work,” he replied, Jackson frowning only slightly as he watched Mark nuzzle his head against his chest. He sighed softly, fingers running through Mark’s hair before he settled on massaging his scalp.

“Well, I have some good news,” Jackson said, “as long as you like family dinners and eating a lot.”

“I like both of those things,” Mark responded with an easy smile, not even bothering to look up as Jackson continued.

“My parents invited us over next week. They said your parents were welcome to come, too, and we can bring this little .” Jackson gestured toward the puppy that was now gnawing on his own tail, laughing before reaching down and patting his head. Then he continued massaging Mark’s scalp, humming to himself. “So? You wanna go? I said I’d ask you first,” he finished, Mark taking in a deep breath and letting it go in a sigh.

“Sure. Sounds like a fun day,” he replied, laughing to himself as Jackson mussed his hair. Mark let out a sound of disapproval, still laughing before he sat up and fixed his hair. “Speaking of food…” he added, voice trailing off as he bit his lip and smiled expectantly at Jackson. Jackson just raised a brow and smiled softly, expression content as he met his eyes meet Mark’s.

“Did I make dinner?” he asked, finishing Mark’s question for him as Mark just nodded. Jackson chuckled to himself, looking off before he nodded. “Yes. I made dinner.”

The two ate, work and the day before this forgotten as they chatted about whatever they felt was relevant, their dog begging quietly by their feet as Mark snuck little pieces of meat under the table for him when Jackson wasn’t looking.

Dishes sat drying in the sink as the two settled back into the living room, both comfortable, Mark in sweatpants and Jackson only wearing boxers as they let the television play a show they were only barely paying attention to. Jackson sighed, head resting in Mark’s lap as his expression fell to one of relaxation, only a small smile on his lips as he absently played with Mark’s hand. He massaged it slightly, Mark glancing down and watching him in quiet interest. He let the silence remain for a few moments before he cocked his head, the show now completely forgotten as he watched the man in his lap.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked quietly, Jackson pausing his movement for only a second as he thought, then letting it continue.

“Us,” he replied easily. “You. Happiness. like that,” he added, smiling to himself as Mark watched him. Jackson looked at Mark’s hand for a moment, leaning over and pressing a kiss to his palm as Mark chuckled.

“Oh yeah?” Mark asked, Jackson unable to see the content smile on his lips when he answered.

“Yeah. I’ve been thinking about us lately,” he said, brows furrowing a bit as he kept playing with Mark’s hand. Mark just raised a brow, about to ask what it was Jackson had been thinking about when Jackson continued and answered it for him.  “About how much I love you, and how you love me, and we live together, and we’ve known each other our whole lives…” At that he trailed off, but Mark nudged him a bit and Jackson just sighed and continued. “We should just get married.”

Mark stared at Jackson for a long while, jaw dropping slightly as he looked on in silent shock. Eventually Jackson rolled over onto his back, looking up at Mark.

“Don’t tell me it’s never crossed your mind before,” he said, and Mark furrowed both brows but nodded anyway, eyes scanning the room before Jackson continued. “Let’s just do it. Let’s just go for it,” Jackson finished, Mark turning to look at him with pursed lips as he thought. Then he smirked.

“Yeah, I’ll marry you,” he started, Jackson opening his mouth to say something in excitement before Mark reached down and covered it, still grinning. “If you come up with a really romantic, creative way to propose. I’m talking really original, really special. I better be crying, that’s how good it has to be.” Mark saw Jackson’s expressions flatten and before he knew what had happened Jackson had sat up, reaching out to tickle him as Mark got up and laughed happily. Jackson chased him until he all but tackled him to the ground, Mark landing on his side with Jackson on top of him. “Until then, though, it’s always gonna be no. You got it?” he finished with a wink, Jackson grinning and nodding before leaning down to press a kiss to Mark’s lips. Mark relaxed into it, not even noticing that his hand had smoothed through Jackson’s hair until after the other man had pulled away. The wide grins had dropped to soft smiles, Jackson close enough to lean up and press his lips to Mark’s forehead.

“You got it, boyfriend,” he replied, Mark rolling his eyes and shaking his head. Jackson just sighed. “Fine. You got it, baby. Better?” he said, correcting himself with a happy grin as both he and Mark laughed, Mark nodding.

Years had gone by.

But nothing had changed except their ages.

After that night, Jackson didn’t bring up anything else about proposals, and Mark knew that Jackson had only been a bit serious. He was used to the other man joking about things that should have been more serious, and he was fine with that. It was how Jackson had always been, and it was one of the things that he loved most. Jackson could take the most serious situations and make Mark smile through them. It had kept Mark sane.

As they walked up to Jackson’s parents house, their dog straining at his leash to get inside, Mark just watched Jackson, fingers linked with his loosely. He knocked once, not even needing a second one as the door opened and Jackson’s mother opened it with a happy smile.

“Welcome home, you two!” she exclaimed happily, pulling Mark into a hug as Jackson stared at her.

“Why are you like this?” he asked her as she tilted her head slightly. “You always hug Mark first. You gave birth to me, Mom, why?” he continued, and she just laughed, immediately pulling Jackson into a tight hug.

“You know I love you, Jackson,” she said, Jackson nodding as the dog jumped onto his mother slightly. “And your dog is adorable. He’s housetrained, right?” she asked, Mark nodding in response as she let them all in. “Good. He can run around as much as he wants, then. Just keep him out of the bedrooms,” she added, Jackson unhooking his collar and watching as he immediately ran off to explore. Mark was about to say something to Jackson, to make a silly joke about the dog being as excitable as Jackson was, when he was pulled into another hug. This time he recognized it, though, and he smiled happily as he returned it.

“Hi, Mom,” he said, Jackson coming up behind her and hugging her at the same time. She just chuckled to herself, patting both of them on the shoulders as they pulled away.

“Hello to you two, too,” she replied, looking them over and patting Mark’s face. She didn’t say anything but Mark could see the happiness in her eyes and he grinned, looking to Jackson with just as happy a smile. Jackson didn’t see it but his mother did, and in that moment they didn’t need to have a conversation.

It was clear how happy they were.

“Hey, where’s Dad?” Jackson asked suddenly, glancing around in curiosity before his mother poked around the corner of the kitchen, shaking her head.

“They’re in the living room, but they’ve been arguing about sports all afternoon so I’d stay away,” she said, both Jackson and Mark laughing as they nodded. “I could use help in the kitchen, though. Mark, come help your mother and I cook,” she added, shooting Jackson a smile as Mark joined them both to help with dinner. Jackson slipped off, saying hello to both he and Mark’s fathers as he walked to his room.

Jackson had disappeared for so long that Mark assumed he’d fallen asleep, so he just continued cooking, both of the women he was cooking with teasing him about how much he’d grown up. Eventually everything was close to being finished, and finally Mark turned to see Jackson slip around the corner, rubbing his eye as he yawned.

“You did fall asleep, didn’t you?” he asked, and Jackson just smiled, shrugging as his mother immediately handed him dishes to set the table. Mark grinned, watching as Jackson balanced a few dishes in both hands, giving his mother a few confused looks before he widened his eyes and looked to Mark.

“Hey, I left my phone in my room. Can you grab it? I would but my mother is forcing me to do heavy labor,” he whined teasingly, laughing as his mother hit his shoulder and pointed at him in a clearly falsely threatening way. Mark just nodded, laughing as he rolled his eyes.

He’d missed times like this. It reminded him of when they were in high school, not even dating yet, not even knowing that they’d end up dating. Even younger than that, when they were too young to be trusted to do anything but set the table. He watched Jackson for another second before shaking his head, walking toward Jackson’s room as he chuckled to himself.

Mark walked in and turned to the bed, initially going to look for the phone but stopping in his tracks. There was a note on the bed, along with a lot of other little bits of paper, and Mark took a few steps toward the bed, only then seeing the fact that some of the things scattered around the bed were actually rose petals, and he belatedly noticed the bouquet sitting on the nightstand. Absently he reached down, picking up the balled up sheet of paper and opening it.

“What is this?” he asked to no one in particular, though his wide grin slowly fell to a look of both soft confusion and surprise.

Wanna get some food or something after class? Or just hang out? I’ll buy you a hat or something, it’ll be fun.

Sure. Buy me a hat.

Mark remembered that note. He remembered writing it. He remembered Jackson taking him out and buying him clothes. He remembered Jackson standing behind him in the mirror and telling him that he looked good. Mark chuckled, rolling his eyes as he opened up another one.

You gonna be okay?

Yeah, I’ll be fine. She didn’t even tell me, I found out this morning.

What a .

Mark couldn’t help but chuckle at the drawing he’d done of Mina, having forgotten it. He looked over the rest of the note, remembering the house party and everything that had happened since then. Just going through all of this, remembering everything that had happened, Mark’s cheeks were red.

He hadn’t even known that Jackson had kept all of these little notes.

Eventually he opened one that was longer than the rest, and Mark raised a brow. From the first line he couldn’t recognize it, and he let himself read it in silence, brows knit in confusion.

Mark.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately.

I’ve been thinking about us, and about how much you mean to me. I’ve been thinking about high school, about elementary school, about when we were little kids. I think I knew much earlier than I realized it, because thinking back on everything, there was never a day that I can remember where I didn’t really love you. Yeah, it changed, but times change everything. You were always there (except that one week), and every time I looked at you I could only see happiness. Every time I was with you, I only felt comfort and the want, the need, to never leave your side. Now I can have that every day of my life, because we live together, because we are together, and I never would have thought it could have happened. I love you, Mark. You made me realize and be completely okay with who I am, and I don’t think I’ll ever really be able to thank you for that enough.

Thank you for putting up with my dumb jokes.

Thank you for letting me hold your hand.

This room is the room where I kissed you the first time. This is where you made love to me for the first time, where we both first said we loved each other. You said you wanted romantic? Here it is. I tracked down all of the notes we passed to each other in high school, from me trying to set you up with Victoria to both of us telling each other how handsome we looked and how much we loved each other. All of them. Every note. They’re all here. It’s a little written journey, of change and discovery and love and all of that ‘silly stuff couples do’. Mark, I’m not very good at romance sometimes. I make jokes and it’s not serious, but I’m very serious right now.

Turn around.

Mark had been so enthralled in reading the notes, in reading through their past, that he hadn’t noticed Jackson slip in behind him to watch his reaction. But when Mark turned around he was near tears, and he swallowed deeply before looking at the bed.

“Y-you kept all these?” he asked, Jackson nodding silently in response as Mark’s face went red. “But why? Why keep dumb little notes we passed in class?” Jackson grinned, looking down and shrugging.

“I don’t know,” he replied, playing with the hem of his shirt. “I just figured I would need them someday. I wanted to keep something to remember us, all the way back when we thought we were just best friends.”

“We’re still best friends,” Mark interrupted, Jackson nodding as he turned his focus up to Mark.

“Good. Best friends still pass notes, right?” he asked, and Mark cocked his head, clear confusion written on his face. Jackson just laughed softly, glancing at the paper and nibbling his lip. “I still have one more note I have to give you. Flip the paper over,” he said, and Mark looked down, turning the paper over in his hands and immediately feeling his face go red.

There were only two words written on the back, in handwriting that he was used to, and Mark bit his lip as he smiled brightly.

Marry me?

Mark stared at the paper for a long time, though eventually he walked toward Jackson’s desk, setting the paper down as he scribbled something under the question. Then he balled up the paper, tossing it at Jackson as he stood and watched him catch it. As he opened it up, Mark blinked back the threat of tears and smiled.

“I have one more note for you, too,” he said just as Jackson finished opening the paper. Mark watched as Jackson’s expression changed from shock to a smile, and Jackson looked up at Mark a moment later, watching as Mark sniffed.

“How long did it take to find all of those?” Mark asked, gesturing to the notes on the bed but not looking away from Jackson. Jackson shrugged.

“Months,” he replied, Mark’s brows knitting together as he tilted his head.

“Months? But you only mentioned it a week ago,” Mark said, looking at Jackson in confusion. Jackson just nodded, looking down with slightly red cheeks.

“I know,” he admitted softly. “I just wanted to know that you’d say yes.”

At that Mark walked forward, almost immediately punching Jackson in the shoulder as he grinned. Jackson laughed, Mark letting his hand rest on the spot he’d punched before letting it slip up to rest on Jackson’s cheek.

“You ,” he said, still grinning. “… Did you ever think I would say no?”

When Mark leaned forward to press his lips to Jackson’s Jackson let the note he was still holding fall the floor, the quick scrawl of the word yes written underneath Jackson’s original question able to be seen. The kiss stayed slow, both of their lips working together as their eyes closed and Jackson leaned against the wall, his hands on Mark’s hips.

He didn’t say anything about the fact that both of their hearts were racing.

He didn’t say anything about the fact that he could feel the dampness of tears touching his cheeks.

He didn’t say anything about how happy he was at that moment.

When Mark pulled back though, Jackson let his eyes open slightly, a soft sense of worry painting his features as Mark looked him over. He let his thumb rub over Jackson’s cheek, staying close as Jackson frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Mark asked, and Jackson just shook his head.

“I just realized something,” he said, words more of a mumble than anything.

“What?” Mark asked again, and with that Jackson let his eyes meet Mark’s, hand moving to rest on the other man’s cheek as his frown turned into a soft smile.

“… I can’t call you ‘boyfriend’ anymore,” Jackson said after a gentle silence, Mark’s confused expression falling to one of slight shock once more. Jackson let his hand drop from Mark’s cheek as he reached down, hand in his pocket for only a second before he pulled out a ring. It wasn’t fancy; it was simple, gold, and something that was very much Mark. Mark stared at it, turning to look back at Jackson as he spoke again.

“Thank you, fiancé,” Jackson said softly, and Mark just stared at him with wide eyes.

He had never thought that hearing someone call him that would make him so happy.

Jackson didn’t even have a chance to react before he was pulled into a tight hug, Mark’s arms around his waist and head buried in the crook of his shoulder. Jackson smiled, his own arms wrapped around Mark as well before he pulled back, taking Mark’s hand in his own and slipping the ring on his finger. Mark tried to hide the little sob that he choked back but Jackson heard it and he smiled, Mark blushing and looking away a moment later. There was a long silence before Mark swallowed deeply, head dropping forward onto Jackson’s shoulder as he let Jackson sway them both slightly.

“… I love you, fiancé,” he said easily, though his words were muffled by Jackson’s shoulder.

They stood in silence for a while, both smiling but neither able to see it until Mark stood up and rested his forehead against Jackson’s eyes still closed.

“… Should we tell them now or…?” Jackson asked, gesturing out toward the kitchen, where his family no doubt still was. Mark thought for a moment, letting out a little sigh before he looked back up at Jackson with a smile.

“Close the door. I think I might need my fiancé’s help in the bedroom for a few minutes.”