Spencer

Rhett Abbott hasn’t really celebrated his birthday, growing up his parents clearly favored Perry and that was evident every day, including Rhett’s birthday. So even after he left home, he never really celebrated it. Until you came along. When you found out how his parents favored his brother, it took all the strength you had to not go over and give the Abbott’s a stern lecture.

Anyways, he thinks the day is gonna start the same as any other, but you’ve made it your personal mission to make sure he knows how much he’s loved and appreciated. Starting with breakfast in bed. Or at least you tried, Rhett gets up early and no matter how early you get up to get breakfast started, Rhett still gets up about halfway through cooking. You try to get him back in bed, after all, you can’t have breakfast in bed without being in bed. Rhett would comply and act surprised when you brought the food to him. You both would end up spending the morning in bed and laughing about anything and everything.

As for a gift for him. He’s be impossible to shop for. Every time you ask what he wants, he just says that he has everything he needs with you. But you notice a nice tool kit that Rhett was eyeing when you guys were out. You buy it on a day that he was busy to surprise him. You also get him a new Stetson, and he only wears it while bull riding, he calls it his lucky charm.

Bob Floyd originally spent his birthdays with a few friends and his family. It was always quiet, usually just a movie and his favorite food. But he loved it, and he wanted to share it with you. Family, movie, and food, the whole quiet shebang, but Navy doesn’t give birthdays off, and he can’t get the time off to fly home.

He’s quite content to spend his birthday with you at his place, which he does, right after he gets off work which took longer because Maverick asked him to stay back and he couldn’t get out of it. Mav didn’t really need him, but you had asked him to keep Bob a little longer so you and the Dagger Squad could decorate and finish cooking for him. You invited them to surprise Bob, also because they always go big for everyone’s birthday, and Bob was no exception.

We he finally shows up, he’s genuinely shocked to see everyone. After everyone has greeted him and wish him happy birthday, you finally get dinner set on the table. It’s his favorite childhood meal and you had made it exactly like his mom would (he didn’t know you called her to get the recipe) and at the end of night after gifts, cake and everyone leaving, you give him one final gift. Plane tickets to go visit his family on the next long weekend.

Miles Miller hasn't had a good birthday in a while. He used to just spend the day high because he didn't feel like celebrating himself after the pain he caused in life. Even after he got clean, he still didn't feel deserving of it, so he always kept it a secret from the few people he knew. The first time he confessed that to you, it almost made you want to cry. And you made it a personal mission to give him a great birthday.

Normally, you would want to go all out for him, but he wasn't used to that. So you decided to keep it lowkey. It starts with sleeping in, no work, no alarms, just the two of you holding each other until the sun is impossible to ignore. Next it’s breakfast from him favorite bakery. He does the same thing for every special occasion, he is a creature of habit after all.

For dinner, he wants to cook with you. You’d normally cook for him, it’s his birthday after all, he shouldn’t have to lift a finger. But he insists, says he loves when you two cook together. It’s one of his favorite things. And when you give him his gift, it’s a handmade scarf, he’d been teaching you to knit and he always loves handmade things. And when it’s cold enough to wear, he doesn’t take it off, and he loves when people ask where it got it he can take a minute to tell them how you made it for him.

Jordan Weaver is a simple man when it comes to him birthday. He just wants sex. And that’s it, just sex. He makes it abundantly clear. If he physically could, he would stay in bed with you for all 24 hours with you. And while that does sound pleasing, you both are adults and can’t spend every minute fucking.

All that being said, morning blowjob is the best way to start his day. And you already know he’s riding that high all day. You take him out for breakfast and he’s taking about how good it felt over pancakes, practically traumatizing the couple who could unfortunately over hear him. But to actually celebrate him, you and a few of his friends take him out to some new club that he’s been wanting to try.

As for his gift, he’s been begging to try some new kink he recently found out he had and what better way to try it than his birthday. So you buy yourself some new lingerie and promise him that tonight is the night. You also get him an actual gift, a new camera to film his life advice video you tell him, but of course said camera finds its way in your sexual escapades.

Bob Reynolds also hasn’t ever had a great birthday (dear Lewis Pullman, start playing characters with happy backstories pls) in fact he’s never had a surprise birthday party and you vow to throw him one yourself, expect somehow Alexei beats you too it. How the loud Russian super soldier got everything ready in the middle of the night so it would be a surprise for when Bob woke up is beyond you, but it made Bob happy so it was worth not taking his surprise party virginity.

Bob was originally a little worried about Sentry or Void making an impromptu appearance but with you by his side, the company was kept at bay. He spends the laughing and telling stories with everyone and just really enjoys the day. And while you try to cook for him, John ends up taking over and you don’t know if it was his ex wife who taught him how to cook but damn does he make a good chef.

When it comes to gifts, you get him a few books from his childhood. During your time in his void, you saw a few clearly loved books, assuming he read them to escape his parents. And he just continues to thank you for them. And those books become well loved into adulthood.

Calvin Evans is a simple man. All he wants for his birthday is to go to work, maybe solve a few complex chemistry issues he’s been having, and go home to his lovely partner. That’s it, that’s all he wants. He doesn’t do extravagance, he just wants to do what he does every day. So, that way he does.

Hell, his office doesn’t even know it’s his birthday. Obviously his bosses know, but he makes them promise not to tell anyone, so everyone else is oblivious. Just the way he likes it. But when he gets home, and it’s just you, him, and his favorite home-cooked meal, it’s everything he ever dreamed of. And he means that literally, he dreams of nice quiet nights with you everytime he falls asleep in is office.

Rhett Abbott would so careful about it. He constantly tries to do things for you. Everyday he’d say, “no need to get up baby, tell me what you need and I’ll get it for you.” And every day you’d remind him “The doctor said I have to get up every hour to move around. That’s all I’m doing.”

He’d have everything for you before you even knew you’d need it. Water? Filled on the bedside. Time to take blood thinners, he’s already grabbing the bottle to hand one to you. Pain getting to you, he’d already have the perfect dosage ready for you to take. And the second you need to get up, he has one hand on your back and the other out for you to use as a human hand rail.

He’s also pretty handy so he’d have already installed a shower bench and raised seats, anything to keep you from doing something that could cause further injury and to help you recover faster, he’d get it in before you even came home from the hospital.

Bob Floyd would be super meticulous about it. He makes sure the you do everything the doctor says. He’d have alarms set to make sure you get up and moving, and to make sure your not taking to much medication in to little time. But he’d also be so sweet about it. He’d keep pillows on his lap so he can massage your legs while you elevate, he’d keep the ice precariously pressed in a way the it helps the whole incision.

When it’s time for physical therapy, he’s listening to the therapist to make sure he knows everything he can do to help you do all the exercises on the non physical therapy days. I mean, that man has a list of very that can be beneficial to your recovery.

And if something happens to keep you homebound longer than the allotted time that the navy gives him off, he’ll use his sick days to stay home with you and help you recover.

Miles Miller would be super considerate. Always asking if you need anything. If you wince because of a little pain, he’s offering to get you ice and medicine. If you adjust, he’s offering to help you up.

When it comes to eating, he’s got it all planned out. He makes sure every meal has some kind of food that promotes healing faster. Protein to increase muscle healing, dairy to hep bone strength, omega 3 to prevent inflammation and if they is something that you shouldn’t eat during the recovery process, it won’t even be in the house.

He’d be a little nervous about pain killers in the house, he’s dealt with addiction, he knows how easy it is to get hooked and how hard it is to kick. You’d try to get rid of them so he isn’t tempted, but he’d have you keep them and encourage you to only take it as a last ditch effort if nothing else has helped with the pain, and he won’t even think about touching the bottle.

Todd Stevens would immediately have you stay with him. You’d try to argue that your place was better but he’d reminded you he KNA house has more room so it would be easier for you to get moving but also so he can keep an eye on you. He’d make sure he’d never have to leave your side.

He’d make sure you have everything you need. Keeping a mental note of which medications you’ve taken and make sure you wouldn’t miss a dose. He’d do anything to make you more comfortable, if you needed extra pillows, he’d make sure you got them. If your medication made you tired, he’d made sure the house what completely quiet.

You wouldn’t miss anything from school either, he’d have one of his fraternity brothers in each of your classes taking notes for when you finally healed. He makes sure every of your professors knows that you’re out of commission, to ensure none of them mark you absent.

Calvin Evans would make sure you have the best surgeon, the best physical and occupational therapist. Only the best for his partner. Hell he’d probably hire a temporary at home nurse just to make sure you always have someone with you at all times.

He’d make sure your job is still waiting for you when you were fully healed, and he’d keep you home until your doctor cleared you. His favorite phrase during the recovery process is “doctor’s orders.” You don’t want to get up because it hurts? Doctors orders. You try to bend down to pick up something, he stop you and tell you that isn’t wasn’t the doctor ordered.

It would get a little infuriating at times, but at the end of the day. You know he’s only doing it because he care about you, and you love him for it.

Bob Reynolds would be a lot like Miles. Constantly asking if you need something and immediately getting it for you. If you need an ice pack, he’s halfway to the fridge before you can even finish your sentence.

He also worries, like a lot. Anytime you experience some kind of symptom, no matter how normal it is, he’s calling a doctor. You could cough and he’d be on the phone trying to figure out if that’s normal after surgery. He spent a little too much time on webMD before you went in, and now he thinks everything means it went wrong.

He would also be doing everything in his power to make sure sentry or void doesn’t make an appearance. He doesn’t trust the sentry strength to not hurt you, and he just doesn’t trust the void at all.

Jordan Weaver would never admit that he wants to take care of you. He claims that since your friends with benefits, that you healing faster and properly means he can have sex sooner, but no amount of him complaining about not being able to get laid explains how he’s immediately handing you whatever you need.

When he helps you shower, he tells you it’s just so he can see you naked, but the way his hands gently massage soap on your skin says otherwise. He tell you that he’s only helping you get undressed because it’s the closest he can get but the way he carefully maneuvers your leg suggests that he really does care.

I'll be kind, if you'll be faithful. You be sweet and I'll be grateful. Cover me with kisses dear. Lighten up the atmosphere. Keep me warm inside our bed. I got dreams of you all through my head. Fortune teller said I'd be free. And that's the day you came to me

1) The day you met his squad

It was rare that Bob ever slept past 7 AM, years in the Navy had his internal clock set to always get up early. It was evident in small ways, the good morning texts he always sent first and your coffee being brewed the mornings after he stayed over. But today, as you watched the clock slowly tick closer to 9, Bob stayed asleep, his arms wrapped around you like you were the only thing keeping him tethered to this world, and as much as you’d love to stay tucked safely away in his arms, the day was booked full, starting with brunch at 11:00 with the Dagger Squad. It would be your first time meeting them and you so desperately wanted to make a good impression on the people who kept Bob safe in the sky.

You slowly peel Bob’s arm off yourself and quietly get out of bed as to afford him a few extra minutes of blissful rest while you make him his coffee. Despite being together for 6 months, you hadn’t spent too much time at his place, even so, you find yourself moving around Bob’s kitchen with ease. You make two mugs of coffee and carry them back to his bedroom, only to see him cuddling the pillow that you were just sleeping on. His normally perfectly styled hair has been disheveled from sleep. You can’t help but admire him for a second before moving to his side of the bed to wake him up. After placing the mugs down on the end table, you place your hand on his shoulder to shake him awake.

“Bob, baby. It’s time to get up, you said if we’re late, Hangman won’t let us hear the end of it.” You whisper in his ear after pressing a kiss to his temple. While you didn’t know Hangman, Bob has told you stories of his constant teasing and cocky attitude.

Bob rolls over to face you, eyes still closed and mumbles something that vaguely resembles screw bagman. You can’t help but softly laugh and kiss his forehead, “I know baby, but it’s still time to get up.”

“Not until you kiss me for real first,” He speaks clearly now but his eyes are still shut. You move to press your lips to his but move at the last second to peck the tip of his nose. Then another kiss, this time to his left check, then to his right. You press quick kisses to every inch of his pretty face except the one place he wants. He wraps his arms around your waist to pull down to him while rolling over to ensure that you’re trapped underneath him, “I’m not letting you up till you kiss me properly”

His blue eyes were open, still hazy with sleepiness as you cup his face and press your lips to his. Even though it was just a quick peck, it was enough to leave you wanting more, but you knew you couldn’t. “I gave you what you wanted, now come on and drink your coffee, we still need to get ready.”

“Or we can cancel, spend the day warm in bed, I can tell you all about the dream I had last night, which coincidentally started off exactly like we are now.” Bob grins and leans down to start leaving small kisses along your jaw line.

Your eyes flutter shut and you tilt your head to give him more access before snapping back to reality, “Bobby, we can’t. I’m meeting your friends for the first time. It’s important that we actually show up on time.”

Bob takes a quick look at his phone on the nightstand before turning his attention back to you, “it’s only 9:30, I can be quick.”

“Robert Floyd, you’ve never been quick in bed ever.” You reach over and grab his glasses, opening them up and sliding them on his face, “Besides, why be quick when we can wait till later and we can spend whole night recreating that dream running through your head.”

“Then what are we still doing in bed? We’ve got things to do.” Bob bounces up and reaches for the coffee that you made for him. “Though I do have to say, if you’re going to wake me by covering me in kiss, and with fantastic coffee, then you need to stay over more often.”

You laugh and reach for your own mug, “Maybe I will, Bobby.”

Despite the air conditioning circulating cold air through the building, it was still warm enough for you to sweat as you walked up to the table that the hostess was leading you to, or maybe it was the nerves that caused perspiration to form at the base of your neck. It didn’t matter either way, you could see the large group of naval pilots, and each step you took closer made you regret not taking Bob up on his early offer to cancel and stay in bed. Sensing your nervousness, Bob squeezed your hand, a sign to signal that he knew what you were feeling. He leans down to whisper in your ear, “It’s okay, they’ll love you. I promise.”

You squeezed his hand back but before you can verbally respond, a blonde man spots you both and shouts “Baby on Board has finally shown up.”

Bob takes a quick look at his watch, “We’re right on time.”

“Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable.” The blonde chuckles as a dark-haired woman walks up to you and Bob.

“Ignore him, he read that book one time, and now he won’t stop quoting it. Besides, he only got here about 30 seconds before you did.” She holds her hand out for a handshake, “I’m Phoenix, you must be the girlfriend that we keep hearing so much about.”

“The one and only, at least I hope I’m the only.” You shake her hand and throw a teasing glance at Bob.

“Trust me, Bob here, is physically incapable of cheating on you.” This time a man with a buzzcut chimes in, “last time a girl tried hitting on him, he screamed ‘I have a girlfriend’ so loud that all of San Diego heard it. It was honestly quite cute.”

Bob blushes and pulls out an empty chair for you to sit, “let’s sit and order before we start telling the embarrassing stories.”

You kiss his cheek as you sit, “thanks Bobby. Anyways, I’m really excited to meet you all. Bob has told me all about you guys.”

After introductions were made and food was ordered, the conversation flowed. Being with Bob’s squad came naturally, everyone treated you like they had known you for years. Making Star Trek jokes with Fanboy and holding your own against Hangman’s teasing came super easy to you, plus Bob’s hand in yours became a tether that kept you grounded.

“So, Bob hasn’t told us how you guys met.” Hangman asked to try and distract the group after his failed attempt to hit on the waitress.

“We met at the Halloween festival last October. I was working the face painting stand and Bob came over,” You smiled replaying the memory of him fumbling over his words when he first spoke to you, “when I asked him what he wanted, he immediately confessed that he didn’t think that far ahead, he just really wanted to talk me. I ended up giving him a shark and my number.”

“Wait a sec,” Rooster points at Bob, “you ditched us while we were going to the haunted house to go talk to a pretty girl. That is a flagrant violation of the bro code.”

Bob shrugged, “sorry, but after what the fortune teller said to me, I couldn’t help myself. Besides, if I wanted to listen to hangman scream at every jump scare, I’d watch The Conjuring with him.”

Everyone laughed, but you looked at Bob confused. “The fortune teller?”

“Fanboy made us all go see the fortune teller that was there, he was super interested in her but didn’t want to go alone. Anyways, she told me that I would meet someone who would show me what it meant to be free.” At this point, everyone had stopped talking to listen to Bob tell this story, but his eyes were locked on you. “I thought it was ridiculous, we fly jets for a living. We literally defy gravity every day, you can’t get freer than that. But when I walked outside, I saw you. You were painting a tiger on a kid, and the smile you had when he told you he loved it, it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I just had to talk to you, and it was the best decision of my life.”

Everyone is staring at Bob now and silence has over taken the group before Fanboy breaks it, “That was the most romantic thing I have ever heard, it has the making of a great rom com, someone needs to get Nancy Meyers on this asap.”

The squad laughs at Fanboy’s antics, but you lean in to whisper in Bobs ear, “I love you.”

Christmas Eve, 20 years ago

Snow compacted under your winter boots as you stomped away from your screaming parents. It was Christmas Eve, and they were having another fight, maybe it was about money, maybe it was about the move, whatever it was you didn’t care enough to stick around to find out. You didn’t know why your dad suddenly packed the family up just to move to the middle of bumfuck nowhere five months ago, but here you were, wandering the small boring town of Wabang, Wyoming while snow silently fell all around you. That was one good thing about this place, it was always silent, it gave ways to daydream the stories that you were sure you were going to write someday. Silence was all you needed to write, and this town gave you enough…

“Leave me alone.”

Maybe not silent enough.

The voice a young boy screeched for solitary, and before you knew it, your feet were carrying you towards the sound. The closer you got, the more you could see. The old run-down house and that faded for sale sign with a huge oak tree looming behind it, with three boys that were familiar from school. Trevor and Luke Tillerson stood across from Rhett Abbott who even though he was outnumbered, still stood his ground and refused to show weakness. Despite being new to town, you still knew about the Abbott and Tillerson rivalry. It was one of those things that the whole town knew and decided to ignore. This time though, you couldn’t ignore it, not when the older Tillerson put his hands on Rhett’s shoulders and shoved him into the tree. He grunted when his back and head slammed into the bark, and the Stetson he had perched on his brown locks fell to the snow-covered roots. It was then that you decided to make yourself known to the group with all the courage you could muster, you called out, “hey, he told you to leave him alone.”

All three boys turned to look at you as you walked closer to the conflict that you just interrupted. Trevor and Luke took a few steps towards you before one of them chuckled, “look at that, Abbott here needs the new girl to stand up for him.”

“No, what he needs is for you two to leave, so do it.” You crossed your arms over your chest to look and sound both older and braver than you actually were. Both brothers had a few inches on you, and they spent their time on a farm, so you knew they were stronger than you were.

“This doesn’t concern you, so you should run on back to your big city life and learn to mind your own business.” Trevor sneered as Luke stepped in front of him but still a few feet away from you.

At this point you were stuck between a rock and a hard place. You had already inserted yourself into their argument, and you couldn’t back away now, not without making it worse for Rhett. You glanced at Rhett who had sat in the snow with his hand pressed to the back of his skull, trying to put pressure on the bump that was no doubt forming there. “You can leave him alone, or I can tell everyone in town why mommy left daddy.” You didn’t know the reason for them splitting up, no one did, but it was another unspoken rule of town, whatever you do, don’t bring up the divorce.

The look on their faces told you why that rule was in place, Trevor’s jaw clenched and anger roared to life behind his eyes. Luke on the other hand was a bit more volatile; he rushed towards you, hurling expletives that you only heard from angry adults. The first thought that came to you was to swing, and before a second thought could pass, you did it. With a balled fist, your knuckles hit him square in nose. You heard a crack and with the pain blooming in your hand you thought it might be a finger until you see blood streaming from his nose. Luke tried to swing back but you rushed past to make your way towards Rhett and Trevor held him back to examine the damage done to his brother’s face. “You broke it, you broke my brother’s nose, we’re going to tell the sheriff.”

“Yeah, tell her, tell everyone how your brother got his ass kicked by a girl.” You knew your dad would ground for swearing but it didn’t matter much. You threw a look back before they started walking off mumbling about some lie to tell their dad to save Luke from the embarrassment of you being the one to cause that much damage. After a few more steps, you stood in front of a wide-eyed Rhett. Picking up his hat and brushing the snow off the brim, you hold a hand out and ask, “you okay?”

Rhett took your hand and pulled himself to eye level, his blue one staring at you before blurting out, “marry me?”

“Woah,” you laugh out a little confused by his sudden marriage proposal, “my mom and dad say only grownups can get married so maybe ask me in twenty years.”

“‘M sorry, musta hit my head a little too hard, don’t know why I asked that.” He mumbled softly.

Shaking your head, you hand him back his Stetson, “Nah, it’s okay, my mom was a nurse before we moved out here, and she says hurt heads are no joke. Maybe she can take a look.” You were sure that your parents’ fight would be over by now, and that each parent would be tucked away in their own corner of the house. Even if it wasn’t, a sure-fire way to end it was to show mom a kid in distress. She would always stop what she was doing to help a child who needed it.

“Okay, lead the way, new girl.” Rhett laughed, and that was it, that was the start of the greatest friendship anyone could have ever asked for.

Christmas Eve, 10 years ago

It had been ten years since you met Rhett, and you meant that exactly. 3650 to the day. Christmas Eve again, more snow covering the ground and here you were, shivering under the oak tree. Same house, just even more run down than it had been 10 years ago. That same for sale sign aged from the weather, the realtor in charge never cared much for the place, so it was never seen as a prospective buy for anyone. But it meant something to you, it was where you spent every important moment with Rhett after that first meeting. Birthdays and holidays always included hours of you and him sitting under the branches before you had to spend time with family. It was where you cried on his shoulder after a boy broke your heart, and it was where you would always meet up when you had important news to share, like today. When Rhett had gotten back to town after a family trip, he had called you immediately saying he had something super important to tell you, and you agreed to meet him here after mentioning you also had huge news.

“God, it’s freezin’ out here,” you heard Rhett speak from behind you and you turn to see him rubbing his gloved hands together trying to find a semblance of warmth, “I think we need to stop meeting out here when it’s freeze your ass off cold.”

“No can do, its tradition as the point.” You pull him into a hug that you didn’t want to let end. Despite his complaints of the cold, he still ran hot, and you could feel the warmth radiating off him through the layers of clothes.

Rhett laughed as he pulled away, eyes screwed shut in joy, and a smile that always caused heat to flood your cheeks. Every time you saw him like that, you were reminded of the simple fact that you loved Rhett. It was obvious to everyone, the same way that grass was obviously green and the sky was obviously blue. Obvious to everyone but him, to no fault of his own, it isn’t like you confessed your feelings to him. People always assumed you two were together, but Rhett was always the first to make it clear to everyone that he was just your best friend. It wasn’t a bad thing, being “just” his best friend was still important to you, you just couldn’t help the fantasies that would run rampant in your head when you thought about him. It was the only secret you kept from him, breaking the no secrets rule that the two of you made in your youth.

“So, you gonna tell me about your big news or should I go first,” Rhett’s voice pulled you from thoughts.

“Yeah, I almost forgot. Here, rock paper scissor to see who goes first.” You suggest. You both hold out your fist and bounce it three times before you throw out scissors and him paper. You can’t help but smile at him and pull out a sheet of folded up paper which you hand to him. “Okay, so you’re the first person to see this, not even my parents know.”

He slowly unfolded the sheet and read quietly, “congratulations, on your acceptance to…” he pauses before looking back at you, “you got in?!”

“I GOT IN!” You cheered and found yourself wrapping your arms around him again. It was always your dream to go to Columbia University to study creative writing and Rhett was always the first to encourage you and now you finally got to share the news with him, “I wanted to tell you immediately but you were gone and I didn’t want to do it over the phone so I waited to tell you first like I promised.”

Rhett knew this day would come, the day when you’d leave Wabang. In his world it was written in the stars, you’ve spent the last ten years studying, working to get the best grades and doing everything in your power to increase your chances of getting into your dream school, and Rhett would’ve done anything in his power to guarantee it no matter how much it would hurt him to see you leave. He lifted you effortlessly, your feet flailing as he spun you around, “Darlin’, I’m so proud of you, you’ve worked so hard for this,”

“Put me down, Rhett,” you laugh out and he complies. “Now it’s your turn, what’d you want to tell me?”

“Ya know that big rodeo down in Colorado? Pikes Peak or Bust,” he bites his lip before continuing, “They invited me down to compete.”

“RHETT, OH MY GOD. THAT’S AMAZING!” You cheer. You had seen Rhett compete in so many small-town rodeos, but to be invited to one that big was huge news. All the sweat, blood, and tears he had put into bull riding was finally coming to fruition. His hard work was finally paying off, and you couldn’t help the joy filled word vomit that came out. “You’ve been working and training for this since I’ve known you. Seriously, this is great, and you already know I’ll be there to cheer you on, I wouldn’t miss it for the world, doesn’t matter when it is, I’ll be there. God, I’m so proud of you and I love you…”

Before you can even comprehend your own confession, Rhett lips are on you. Your eyes flutter shut and warmth fills your body. You have never understood what people meant when they talked about fireworks until now. The way Rhett’s hand moved to cup you face sent sparks coursing though your veins and the way his mouth moves against yours makes it feel like the fourth of July, not Christmas Eve.

Rhett was the first to pull away. Both of you were breathing heavy, gray puffs with every exhale from the freezing temperatures and two more words leave your lip before you can stop yourself, “marry me?”

“Hold on there darlin’. Let me take you on a real date first.” Rhett chuckled and there it was. Another ten years miles stone, the move from a friendship to a relationship with Rhett.

Christmas Eve, Present day

Ten more years had passed since the first kiss you shared with Rhett, twenty since you first met him, and now here you were back in Wabang. You had promised Rhett that you would move back to the small town after college, it was home after all, no matter how much you hated it in those first few years. It was hard, being away from Rhett during the university years, only being about to see each other during summer or holiday breaks put a strain on the relationship, but you both always worked through it with promises to see each other again, and calendars counting down the days you could see him again. But then you moved back as soon as you graduated and focused on your writing career. You had started independently before getting picked up by a publisher in a neighboring city and launching your career into the stratosphere and Rhett had been with you through it and you with him. During every rodeo, you stood with his family, cheering him on till your vocal cords ached. You would patch him up after each fall and he’d kiss you like the first time after each win.

“Damn it, its sold!” Rhett’s shocked voice pulled you from your thoughts. In front of you was the house that you and Rhett shared all your most important moments, except this time, it wasn’t worn down. It looked how you imagined it did when it was first built. Standing tall and beautiful, bricks no longer cracked, shattered windows from rocks thrown were replaced, with a yard that was no longer over grown. You had known someone was fixing it up, it was the talk around town. A mystery to everyone about how the old broken-down home was finally being repaired. But that wasn’t the only difference, the for-sale sign was finally replaced with a new sold sign. That wasn’t talked about in town, it was so new that no one else, but the realtor and the buyer knew about it. It broke Rhett’s heart to see that sold sign. After your first anniversary together, he promised you that it would be the house the two of you grew old in. A promise he had repeated every time you were there.

“Rhett, what’s goin’ on?”

“Nothin’, lets just head back…” he started before you cut him off with a glare, “I had somethin’ important for you an’ I wanted to do it here like we always do, but it’s been sold.”

You shrug, “we can still do to here.”

“Darlin’, it’s trespassin’.”

“Look around Rhett, there’s no cars or anything around, so no one has moved it yet, we won’t get in no trouble, besides, it’s still tradition.” You grab his hand and pull him to the oak tree behind the newly improved house.

You hadn’t been to the oak in a while, not since you had told Rhett that your newest book had sold over a million copies and would be going on your first book tour, and that was three years ago. Since then, nothing big happened to require you to meet here, but no matter how long it had been, it still felt like no real time had passed at all. You found the carving that Rhett did right before you left for college. “RHETT + Y/N 4EVER” It was cheesy and you loved it and ran your fingers over it in adoration. You turn to Rhett to see if he remembers carving it but he’s not at eye level. Instead, he is down on one knee, holding a small velvet box with a small diamond ring inside.

“Darlin’, Twenty years ago, when we was nothing more than a couple of kids who had no idea what the future could hold, I asked you to marry me and you told me to wait twenty years. So here I am, all that time later, askin’ you. I love you, more than I could ever explain. Ever since you punched Luke, I’ve known you were the one for me. It’s just a simple fact, like how the grass is green, or the sky is blue. It’s simple, I love you. So, darlin’. Will you marry me?”  

You nodded with tears welling in your eyes before speaking. “Yes, Rhett. A million times yes.”

He slowly took the ring out of the box and slid it on your left ring finger. As he stood from the kneeling position, he wrapped his arms around your waist to pull you close to him. His smile was impossible wide, looking like he had just won a million dollars. Nothing could compare to the feeling he had now. No rodeo or bull riding championship could live up to this moment, the moment where his girl agreed to marry him. He reached a hand up to wipe a tear of joy that had fallen before he pressed his lips to yours. The fireworks you had felt during your first kiss felt like nothing more than sparklers during this kiss. It was pure, raw fiery passion. Words that you wanted to tell him died in the metaphorical flames that were so hot it could’ve melted the snow that had started falling from the sky.

“So,” Rhett mumbled against your lips before pulling away. “You think the new owners will let us keep our tradition?”

“I don’t think we need to worry to much about that.” You whispered to yourself so Rhett couldn’t hear you.

“Just wished she would’ve called me.” Rhett said which confused you.

“Who would’ve called you?”

Rhett sighed, “the realtor. She agreed to sell me this house at a discounted price so long as I fixed it up. But someone clearly beat me to buyin it”

“I bought it,” Rhett looked at you confused before you continued, “I saw that someone was fixing it. I didn’t know it was you, Rhett. But I thought that meant it was close to being sold, and I knew how much this place meant to you, to us. So, I went to the realtor, offered the original asking price, and paid up front. I signed the papers yesterday; she put the sign up before she left town this morning. I was going to tell you Christmas morning, but it seems tradition had other plans.”

“You bought it for us?” Rhett cupped your face in his hands, looking at you like you had personally hung the stars for him, “Marry me, darlin’.”