Their life had been a good one. They had done many things both together and separately. They were proud of the life they had lead, and did not regret a single thing, which is something a lot of people hoped to say when they were old, including their younger selves.
They were proud of their achievements and their fails. But if there was something that they both agreed on being their greatest achievement, it would be their boys. They had both grown up to be young, fine, gentlemen who made their father's incredibly proud.
While Evan and Otto had moved onto start their own lives in different states, Shane and Ryland still remained in the same house they bought forty years ago.
"I can't believe how far along we've come..." Shane whispered into Ryland's bare chest. They were sitting on the couch in their living room, with their feet up on the coffee table, staring into the fire that crackled in the small fireplace beneath the tv. Ryland had his arms wrapped around Shane's body as Shane cuddled into his side.
"I know. And I finally know what you mean when you would say life has gone by too quickly. It just doesn't feel like we're in our sixties, you know? It still feels like we're teenagers, ready to go down to the meadow to escape reality for however long we want. And don't get me wrong, I love everything that has happened in our lives, but sometimes I wish we could just go back to being in our twenties, when it was just me and you, driving around town in the middle of the night in our shitty little car, blasting our music way too loud, going over the speed limit, and not giving a shit about anything. I've just missed doing that lately. I miss running around the meadow, watching you dance to all the songs in your head, having picnics there, making daisy chains and just falling in love with you all over again whenever we went there. I just miss being a teenager. And I miss the meadow."
The flower meadow was destroyed a little over ten years ago and was replaced by a new housing estate. Both boys' hearts broke when they found out the news. They still went there as often as they could, even as they got older, so to find out that it had been ripped away from them all of a sudden broke their hearts. A place that held so many memories and secrets was thrown away just like that, with no remorse or sympathy.
Shane nodded, sinking his head deeper into Ryland's body, wanting to be as close as he physically could to the boy. "I miss it too." Shane whispered. "I just can't believe how old we are." He laughed quietly, causing the skin around his eyes to wrinkle. "Just a couple of old lovers." Ryland added, tightening his grip on Shane.
They stayed in that position for a little while longer, but had to move due to their muscles beginning to cramp up and their backs began to ache. That was one of the biggest downfalls of growing up; they couldn't cuddle like they used, well they could, kind of, but they certainly couldn't cuddle for as long as they use to.
But once they found a position that worked for them they stayed like that while they watched some of their favourite films from when they were children, such as Snow White and Bambi. And yes, even after all this time, Shane still shed a tear when the death scene in Bambi came on.
A lot had changed over their life time, but if there was one thing that had stayed the same, it would be their feelings toward each other.
"I love you so much, Ry." Shane said, lifting his head up off Ryland's chest to look up at him. Even after all these years, he's still in love with him more than ever. There had not been one day where he questioned his love for Ryland. Even through all the fights, the tears and the screaming, his love for his boy still remained.
There was nothing that could stop him from loving Ryland. No matter how much he hurt him, he would always be in love with him. And the same went for Ryland- nothing would ever stop him from loving his colourful boy. "And I love you too, baby boy. So, so much."
As the sun went down and the day turned in to night, they concluded their Disney marathon and headed up to bed. Ryland's arms wrapped loosely around Shane's body, embracing his warmth. They laid in bed talking about their past and what they might do in the up and coming years, till just past eight-thirty when Shane fell asleep with his arms around Ryland's waist and his head on his shoulder.
Ryland stayed awake for another hour or so, just thinking to himself about anything that came to mind- so mainly about Shane- before he finally caved into his body and fell asleep too.
