“I’m so excited for you,” Oscar said, smiling against his cheek.
Who would have known a year before that he’d be kissing his boyfriend in front of Lina and Grandma and an entire friend group he hadn’t yet met? But he was. Because time was a funny thing, and Oscar had learned from a very young age not to let it slip from his grasp.
“Carpe Diem,” Robin Williams had said in hisDead Poets Societyspeech, and Oscar meant to. He was just waiting for Lucas to see his message. Until then, he swung Aaron in his arms and let their friends ask him about the course and the college for which he’d be commuting nearly an hour back and forth every day for twice the duration of a normal course so he could do it for a reduced rate.
Eventually, theSpace Invaderstheme began to play. Oscar left Aaron with a kiss on the cheek and answered the call, bringing his laptop to the small table that sat between the armchair and the couch, facing them.
“We’re thrilled to hear the news!” Philip said, clapping at the camera as he caught sight of Aaron.
“Thanks, Phil,” Aaron said, offering a smile.
They’d hit it off instantly, which wasn’t such a surprise. Oscar knew Lucas was looking athim, this friend he’d found lurking on a gaming server a few years before. Now Lucas and his husband were on a video call with Oscar’s new friends, with his family, and their infant daughter was in Lucas’s arms, which looked like they’d been built to hold her.
“Well,” Oscar said, clearing his throat. “We do have something more to say.”
Tobe perked up like a cat, Marta’s eyes widening. Grandma simply smiled.
“We’re getting married.” It fell out of Aaron’s mouth like warm apple pie filling, sweet and full and satisfying, settling in Oscar’s stomach and tightening a knot. Aaron was happy. He wanted this. He wanted this as much as Oscar did. As he lifted his hand and waved his fingers, Marta and Anna began to scream.
“Fuck me!” Tobe said, shaking their head. “Fuckme. Fuck. Fuckme.”
“Fucking hell, Iwillif you stop saying that!” Marta replied, casting them a glare.
Tobe froze, mouth going slack. Their eyes found Marta, landing on her smirking mouth, cheeks going as bright a pink as their hair, but Marta didn’t elaborate, responding with a simple smirk before turning her attention back to Oscar and Aaron, her hand slipping sneakily into Tobe’s on their touching thighs.
“I knew that was Oscar’s ring when I saw it on Aaron’s finger,” Grandma said.
Tobe frowned, glancing between Grandma and Oscar, trying to do the math.
“My father’s name was Oscar,” Oscar explained, squeezing Aaron a little closer.
“He always said one day it would be Spike’s,” Grandma said, turning to their friends before settling on him again. “Heprobably thought you’d be the one wearing it. Your father always knew. I have no doubt about it.”
“Yeah. I know,” Oscar replied. “He always did.”
A chatter of excitement had fallen on the group. Oscar had expected at least one of them to say that this was quick. But Tobe had already put themself in charge of the music for their wedding, spitting out song names that Riley was quickly typing into their Notes app after reluctantly letting go of Luigi.
“So…” Joe said, mouth twisting into a smirk. “Given the only he/hims in this room other than me are the grooms, does that automatically make me the best man?”
“Excuseus!” Lucas said through the screen.
“You’re not technically in the room, Luke,” Philip said, rolling his eyes.
“I am going to be Spike’s best man, long distance.” Lucas grinned, flashing Oscar a wink.
“We’re broke, guys,” Aaron said. “It’ll probably be a courthouse ceremony with some very sappy vows, a stack of pancakes and several cups of coffee, and then Tobe can DJ to their heart’s content here, in our apartment.”
“You could always wait until the winter, save up for a small party!” Tobe suggested.
“We…” Oscar found Aaron’s eyes as he leaned over his shoulder, waited for his nod. “We want to do it on the anniversary of our surgeries. Our lives changed that day. I want to remember it forever.”
“We will,” Aaron said.
Oscar and Aaron shut the door on the last of their friends to leave. Joe and Anna had stayed behind to help them clean up alittle. Aaron had gone to the kitchen with them, to thank them again for how readily they’d welcomed him into their apartment the previous year and how grateful he was for them.
During this time, Lucas had asked Oscar to have a word. Philip had taken Maddie to her crib, and it was just the two of them again.
“Please put the laptop on mute if you intend to poop,” Lucas had said as Oscar had sat down on the closed toilet in the bathroom.
