Minis

Shane was not a morning person. Never had been, probably never would be. He liked to roll over and see the sun creeping over the cusp of the hill at noon, just before it shone in his eyes, and he'd snuggle into Ryland's back if he was still in bed and press a kiss to the nape of his neck and whisper a raspy "good morning," to his boyfriend. Sue him. He was old and liked the simpler things in life.

But today. Today was special. He'd been up since 7, drinking coffee and waiting for the mail to run, anxiously awaiting the last package in a series delivered for Andrew to keep Garrett's prying eyes out of them.

The newspaper hit the concrete with a jarring slap and he knew the mail was not far behind. He grinned, remembering the 8 or so boxes piled in the back of his and Ryland's closet, patiently waiting for the final piece of their set to be delivered, and it was coming today.

When Andrew had explained this insane plan to Shane and Ryland 6 weeks ago, the first thing he'd said was, "God you two were made for each other," followed by a snort and "please tell me there's at least one that has to do with Harry Potter," Andrew giggled and shrugged, but added a Hufflepuff figurine to his cart on Etsy.

What Shane hadn't had the foresight to acknowledge was just where exactly Andrew was going to store all of these when they started coming in. Naturally, Shane was the bearer of fantastic news and hid them carefully, away from any chaos or Garrett eyes and he was quite proud of himself for keeping it a secret this long.

But now the last one was on its way up the mountain, close enough that he was already opening his messages, ready to text Andrew. He jumped for joy as he saw the delivery truck pulling up to the cusp of the driveway, couldn't contain himself and met the delivery worker half-way down the hill. He signed for the box and added an autograph for the man's daughter and skipped back down the hill, slamming the door behind him and calling Ryland's name.

Shane opened the box and smiled, sending a text to Andrew immediately.

Shane
It's here.

Andrew siwicki🎥:
it's here? already?

Shane
it's here. he's gonna love it.

Ryland climbed down the stairs groggily and grinned at the package in Shane's hand. "It's here?"

"Yeah, it's here. He's going to set it up and ask him tonight," Shane replied, pressing a gentle kiss to Ryland's forehead and offering him a cup of coffee.

"I can't believe he's gonna ask Garrett to marry him," Ryland whispered.

"I know. Do you remember when they got together?"

•••

{a year and a half earlier}

Garrett plopped beside Andrew on the couch, computer in one hand and a bottle of Malibu in the other. Andrew raised an eyebrow but didn't say a word when he saw Garrett's drink choice, only held out his own glass demanding a sip.

Garrett poured Andrew a good serving and then poured his own glass. He sipped as his computer booted up and tapped nervously on the wine glass he was sipping the rum out of.

"Any particular reason we're drinking at 3 in the afternoon or do you not want to talk about it?" Andrew breached, glancing up from his own editing long enough to see Garrett pause mid-sip.

"I need to finish this glass before you start asking questions, Andrew."

Raising his hands in surrender, Andrew waited patiently until Garrett had poured two more glasses. He glanced over at Garrett. He'd been staring at the same frame for 45 minutes, almost as if he was willing it to edit itself.