If we lay here

It truly was a beautiful day. There were hardly any clouds in the sky, the sun was warm on their backs, and their bellies becoming full of the picnic lunch they'd brought with them. Rich and Michael lay in the grass in t-shirts, Michael's hoodie being used as something to rest their heads on, all rolled up in a deformed looking sausage. It was a perfect day for the boyfriends to enjoy, just watching the far away world go by as they lay toghether, close, holding hands. A 'stereotypical gay couple day' as Rich liked to call it, Michael's choice, evident from the fact that who else would have brought plastic cups with PacMan on them?

Just in short sleeved shirts like this, it was easy to see for the other the healing scars they possessed, Richs irregular blotches of burns and Michael's far neater and lighter raised marks. Two broken boys mending, bonding, just enjoying a day together, the shorter of the two's short curls all splayed out across their makeshift pillow and the taller stroking them with his free hand, laying on his side curled up to his boyfriend. They shared jokes no one else would understand, not even Jake or Jeremy, and talked about all sorts of other things.

"Okay okay but, what if we actually got a house together? Or got married?!" Michael asked, all smiles and excitement.
"Babe, I know this is over two years now and I love you to bits, but we're still in college," the freckled boy replied with a kiss to his cheek, "Might be a little too young yet, Mikey,".
"But wouldn't it be totally awesome? Like, sharing a flat... wouldn't that be something, then you wouldn't haven't put up with your dad..."
Rich thought about this. That was definitely true, being over 18 now surely meant he could do as he pleased? And sharing with his boyfriend would mean more of Michael's surprisingly good cooking rather than just skipping meals... Eventually, the boy nodded, "Yeah okay nerd, as soon as we get out of education and get jobs, sound good?"
The taller boy chuckled and nodded, "Whatever's good for you, love," he promised with a squeeze of his hand.

And so as soon as Rich had walked Michael home that evening, he had ever so carefully and quietly taken the laptop up to his room to avoid disturbing his passed out father and was on it. Searching and scanning all over the internet. It wouldn't be long till they finished college, maybe this would be good for both of them if he could find a few places thst might be affordable and suggest it to him. After hours long into the night of this, he'd eventually found himself looking throuh jewellery websites, wikihows on how to propose, how to dress, how to ask-... and he found himself getting excited at the prospect. But he'd have to wait until they were ready. But nonetheless, he was happy. He had a plan. It was going to be perfect. Hopefully.

A few months went by. Then another year together. Out of college, with classic student jobs, and Rich was still trying to pluck up the courage to ask about both things. It wasn't that he missed the squip at all, just- now he was back to that dork who never knew how to talk to people. But his Mikey seemed to love him unconditionally. Even when he went out to parties, the nerd would call or text and wish him a good time. Michael didnt do well at parties, and Rich appreciated that. The boy he loved was usually okay by himself-

However... now the boy lay alone in the grass, staring up at the sky. His nerd was gone. Dead. So young, and he'd never had the chance to ask either of those questions. But still, he wore that ring with pride, holding his hand up above his face so it glinted in the sun, admiring it, "Yknow, Mikey? You'd have looked so beautiful..." he mumbled with reference to their wedding, turning his head towards the grave stone on the deformed sausage pillow of his lovers beloved hoodie, "And I bet as soon as the ceremony was over you'd be right back to wearing this over your suit... I mean, would you have even wore a suit? Nah, black jeans and this all the way, am I right?" He chuckled to himself, the tears forming in his eyes at the thought. "I love you anyway, nerd...".

No voice returning the 'I love you too," in his lover's soft, sweet voice caused him to bury his face into the red hoodie to muffle his sobs. It hurt him that he hadn't been able to do something about this... he wasn't over it, he'd never be over it. There would always be a part of him that ached for his Michael.