The Fragility of Hope (Mavi)

Epilogue

This is the cheesiest thing I've ever written.

I'm proud of it though. Hopefully you guys are too, because I can't seem to let go of this one <3 Which, btw, that's me saying "keep an eye out for the extremely short continuation I'll make of this because it caused me so much angst to write and I need to create something fluffy for once to cure it"

***

"You're literally so slow, Avi. Come on."

Avi rolled his eyes and grinned brightly, admiring the way Mitch's fingers felt when they were laced between his own as he led them through the winding streets of a city in Iceland that Avi couldn't even begin to pronounce.

"Hey! I don't have little spider legs like you, alright? Find your chill."

Mitch giggled loudly and tugged Avi closer. "Drag me."

"You're already dragging me. Like, literally. Let me walk."

Avi felt a little bad for leaving Scott and Alex behind to suffer the wrath of the paparazzi, but Mitch insisted that they made it to this dumb fence before they had to leave for the next city Avi couldn't pronounce. The married couple got left behind to answer annoying questions about the group's new platinum album, and their (multiple) Grammy nominations, and Mitch and Avi's gay and very public relationship, and their thoughts on ridiculous social issues that Mitch swears they just make up on the spot. It was mostly okay -- at least they were caught extremely close to the band's hotel, and the walk home would take them less than a minute.

They finally made it to their destination, but Mitch didn't let go of Avi's hand as they observed the beautiful view together in silence. He only tugged the bass closer as they stared at the horizon of a dazzling lake, watching the bright sunlight dance across the surface of the water gorgeously.

"Did you bring it, or did you forget it in our hotel room?" Mitch asked, whipping his head around to stare at Avi through his 8k golden aviators that Avi may or may not have bought for him on a whim (and so what if he wanted them for himself -- Mitch wanted them more, and he was in love, alright? Cut him some slack). Avi could only roll his eyes as he tugged the metal contraption out of his pocket, but revealed it in his open palm anyway.

"That would be such a bummer if I forgot it," he teased. "Can you even imagine? We'd have to walk a whole ten feet to buy another. Oh, the humanity."

His boyfriend slapped his arm playfully and Avi couldn't help but grin at him; and in turn, Mitch had to grin back. "Shut up! This is a real, serious, emotional event!"

Avi shrugged a shoulder and raised and eyebrow under his own matching sunglasses that Mitch may or may not have already bought for him the same day because he knew that Avi wanted them. "Yes. Very, very serious. The most serious." He forced his expression into his famous poker face and pointed to it. "See this face? Serious. Ace in the hole. Four straight. One chip - "

" - Avi, that's not how poker... Jesus, never mind. You don't care." Nothing could break Avi's poker face faster than a pout from Mitch, so that's exactly what Mitch did. But before he could kiss the expression off his face, his boyfriend turned dramatically and tugged Avi along behind him to the fence overlooking the beautiful lake. "Too bad they took down the one in Paris," he sighed thoughtfully. "Oh well. I like Iceland way better anyway."

Avi hummed in agreement and twisted the lock around in his hand. "Ready?"

"Mhmm," Mitch hummed, yanking it away from Avi to tug it around a link in the sturdy fence. "Together?"

He couldn't help but roll his eyes at his boyfriend's cheesiness, but placed his hand over his anyway. Together, they clamped the lock shut, and Avi felt a weird wave of something wash over him as soon as it did. Love, perhaps? Happiness? He didn't know.

Mitch handed him the tiny key that came with the lock and patted his bicep. "You throw it, my muscular jock."

A faint blush rose on his cheeks, as it always did whenever Mitch mentioned anything about how much he'd been working out, but he took the silver key and threw it as far as he possibly could into the lake anyway. It sunk down with a quiet sploosh, and they watched the water ripple away in silence.

Avi brought an arm up to rest around Mitch's shoulders as they gazed out into the afternoon sun, dancing across the still lake like billions of sparkling diamonds. His heart swelled with admiration as he tugged the boy of his dreams closer, and words escaped him.

So, he said the only thing he could in a situation like this.

"I love you," he murmured softly into his silky hair, before kissing it sweetly. "More than words could ever say."

Mitch turned to him with a bright smile and cupped his cheek. "I love you too," he whispered, taunting a kiss over his lips. "Thank you for being someone worth throwing my key for."

Then Avi kissed him.

He conjured all the passion and love and happiness and peacefulness that he could manage and poured it against his love's lips, and Mitch did the same in return. It made his head spin and his heart pound, but it all felt so perfect and right that his whole body hummed with electricity. It wasn't their first kiss, and not by a long shot. But it felt like something new -- like their love was actually just locked in place, and their key was actually sitting at the bottom of a massive lake in who-knows-where-ville.

When Mitch traced Avi's untrimmed beard with his perfect fingers, and Avi pulled the small of his back closer to himself, he decided that this was everything he'd ever wanted. Mitch, and happiness, and Mitch, and a voice that's lower and fuller than it's ever been, and Mitch, and the best friends he could ever ask for, and Mitch, because Mitch was worth more than all of those things combined and tripled.

They separated when their lungs gasped for air (which was a rather long time -- they were singers, after all), and Avi swore he could still feel Mitch's lips on his own. Mitch gave him another quick peck, but then looked down nervously to see where their chests met. "I just..." Mitch mumbled, biting his lip and blushing furiously. "I just... I don't know. I love you? Yeah. I love you. A lot."

Avi didn't need to respond. He just smiled and captured the love of his life's lips with his own one more time.

He knew, after all, that no one could love anything more than he loved Mitch.

And that's where hope had brought him.