SomeWhere On... (BXB)

...Canon Street (A Vignette) - April

Gavin's staring me down while I swallow the lump in my throat. My mouth feels dry and I don't really give a shit.

It probably doesn't help that I've been staring at this envelope for, like, an hour.

"Just open the fuckin' thing," Gavin sighs, reaching out for it.

I grab it. "This is from the government. It could be important."

"I know," he says, groaning. "I'm gonna open it if you're not gonna."

"I'm waiting for Murph to come on!"

"You mean Pup?"

I can actually feel my blood running cold. "What?"

"God, you're gross," Gavin says. "'nd loud."

I go to my room.

Murph signs on a minute later. "Hi," he beams. His dimples make me happy. "I got something to tell you."

"I got something to show you," I grin, holding up the envelope.

Murph gasps. Or neighs. I'm not totally sure anymore. His fists bounce in the air in front of him. "Is it from – "

I nod. "Want me to open it?"

"Yeah I do!"

Glancing it over doesn't tell me anything at first. And then I read the word "Approved" and I jump in my chair. Or hop. Could be both. "We're approved!"

He squeals. And this time, I know he squeals. "What does that mean?" he asks, staring me down like even he's not sure. And if he's not sure, I'm fucked.

I mean, I don't know what it means. So I swallow and ask, "Wh – what did you wanna tell me?"

He blinks and then shakes his head. "Oh! I was gonna tell you that our online tracker thing said we're approved last week." Murph waves his hands in front of his face. "I've been swamped with work and I've forgotten to tell you for, like...a week."

...HOW IS HE ABLE TO SUCK THE EXCITEMENT OUT OF SOMETHING SO GODDAMN FAST???

I don't care. "We're approved," I whisper. It doesn't feel real. "Wh...what does that mean now?"

"Medical, interview, and then more waiting while they process us."

I book it with him on call. Everything's booked up until June, so I book it all then. There's, like, nausea in my chest and I can't not have him talking to me while I do this.

He books my flight. Murph's not allowed to come see me because he works like there's no tomorrow. So he insists on paying for my flight. "Okay, you're all set," Murph says, doing one big dramatic button push and then smiling at me. "Flight's all set for mid-July." I'm about to ask why when he adds, "I want to make sure you get your passport back, Tommy."

It's still so far away. "...Thanks, Pup."

"Tommy?"

"Hm?"

"Three months."

I sigh. It's this relieved, happy thing and I can barely stand it. "Three months, Pup."

Three months. Three fucking months until I get to see him. And I don't haveta leave him again. I'll be with him. No more bad WiFi. No more conflicting schedules. No more trying to sync movie players together with a fucking countdown. No more waiting and wondering when we'll see each other next. He'll come back from work and I'll be there.

Murph sniffs. He can't stop himself from smiling. "Three months," he says, chuckling. Dimples.

I nod. "Mhm." I can't stop grinning.

And we don't say anything.

Because what else is there to say?