A Mountain Visit

[OblivionWalker 361]

"You doing okay back there?" Slava asked, glancing back over his shoulder with a teasing expression currently on his face. He had invited River to come and visit him in Seattle, both to help with apartment hunting (which was easier with two individuals in his humble opinion) but also because he had just plain missed his boyfriend. They were going to be farther apart now, at least distance wise with River back with the Moscow Menace and himself a newly minted Seattle Bear. But they would adjust, as they always did, and Slava was doubly glad that he had invested in the little touch bracelets from the TikTok shop when he'd seen them. They had helped both of them over the course of last season and he was confident they would again in the future.

 

River made a face at him, and it was all Slava could do not to burst out laughing. His poor boyfriend had initially been excited about a hike at Mount Ranier but at the moment, River seemed anything but. "Not all of us are mountains!" he shot back and that was indeed true. Slava was very tall, and he slowed his walk to a mere shuffle, which earned him a light smack on the arm from River, but his boyfriend was laughing all the same and that was what Slava had been after.

 

It was just starting to become spring in the Pacific Northwest and while it was very different from anywhere else Slava had currently lived, he was enjoying it. He had already received some invitations to come and watch some of the other sports teams in the area and he was definitely leaning toward either baseball or soccer currently, but he hoped to come and support them all at some point, when he was able.

 

The sun was out and while cool, it felt nice after winter's chill in Warsaw and Slava exhaled the mountain air deeply. It felt good to be outdoors, to enjoy nature a little bit and as though sensing his thoughts, River nudged his arm lightly.

 

"What a surprise to see you out and about instead of reading another book!" he joked and while Slava pouted mightily at him for a moment, River had a point. Slava tended to retreat into his books quite often but there was another reason why he had wanted to come to somewhere a little more scenic.

 

"You've always managed to get me out of my ruts." he said simply, reaching out to catch River's hand in his own. "You've also always managed to be a beacon for me when things get a little dark or hard to me to see."

 

River was staring at him now, his mouth working like he wanted to form words but couldn't get what he wanted to say quite right. Slava went on, trying to ignore how dry his own mouth felt at the moment, but he wanted to get all of this right.

 

"From the time we were dorks in Juniors through to now, you've been one of the most important people in my life and now you're the most important, besides my family. I love you, River August Harrington and I had something I was wondering."

 

As he started to sink down onto his left knee and fished a small ring box from his pocket, he could see River's eyes starting to well up but his own were doing the same as he breathed out the most important question he would ever ask someone.

 

"Will you marry me?"

 

(word count: 592)

Spoiler

@kirbithan

 

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