*****
Xander Harris heard the basement door open from the kitchen and set down his dish towel. He ran down the stairs to greet his boyfriend at the door. Larry walked in from the cold and the two embraced, sharing a short kiss. As they broke apart, Larry sighed.
"Rough day?" Xander asked.
"Yeah, but at least the season will be over soon; then we can spend more time together. How about you? Good market day today?"
"Yeah. Well, first I lost a bunch of money, but then I made a double bunch of money." Xander grinned.
It wasn't until the end of their freshman year that Xander came out of the closet and agreed to go on a date with Larry. When Larry was drafted by the NY Giants, the pair moved out to New York. Once Xander realized how much he actually enjoyed working with numbers and money, he got a nice posh job on Wall Street, because he was shockingly good at what he did. They bought a nice little house on Long Island and lived the suburban dream. They had even managed to arrange things so that they could take part of the train ride in together in the mornings.
"C'mon, you can tell me all about your crappy day while we eat. I actually cooked!" After Larry feigned a look of shock at the idea of his boyfriend cooking, Xander playfully shoved the football player up the stairs. As they ate their spaghetti dinner, they discussed the day's happenings. The Giants had made the playoffs, which was good, even though it meant Larry was being worked to death during practice. But Xander sensed that Larry wasn't telling him everything.
"Lar, what's wrong? You're not telling me something." Larry sighed, suddenly finding his plate of spaghetti extremely interesting.
"Well, the truth is, people are starting to say that I'm not good enough. If we don't win the Super Bowl this year, I don't think I'll have a job next season." Larry said. He looked up. "Xan, I don't know what I'll do if I can't play football anymore. It's all I know!"
Xander could see the tears forming in Larry's eyes as he struggle to blink them away. Xander quietly set down his napkin, got up, and sat down on the couch next to Larry, shutting off the tv with the remote. Xander took Larry's hands in his and made the larger man look him in the eye.
"Larry, you'll do exactly what we decided you'd do if this ever happened. You'll put your college education into use and become a high school gym teacher." Xander put one arm around Larry's back and rested his head on his lover's shoulder. "Just remember, I love you no matter what. I don't care if you're a football player, a gym teacher or a janitor! I will always love you, unconditionally, until the end of time." Xander wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, leaning in to kiss away his tears. Larry raised his head to meet Xander's mouth, catching him in a kiss.
"What did I ever do to deserve as awesome a guy as you?" Xander blushed. Suddenly, Larry remembered Xander's attitude when he'd arrived home. "Hey, wonderful guy, what were you so nervous and excited about when I got home tonight?" Larry asked.
"Well, I have something really important to ask you." Xander pulled out a brown pill bottle and showed Larry the label. "During our freshman year at UC Sunnydale, a doctor put me on Paxil, because I was having a really hard time coping with life. I was depressed all the time, and sometimes I thought about killing myself. They gave me a ninety day supply about three months before we started going out. It ran out the day of our first date, and I was supposed to go pick up the refill the next day. But I never went. You filled me, Larry. I don't need anyone or anything else, as long as I have you."
Xander handed the bottle to Larry. "Open it," he commanded. Larry opened the bottle to find a gold ring studded with diamonds and pieces of rose quartz. "Larry, you complete me. Will you marry me?" Larry just looked at the ring in his hand for a moment or two until his face broke into a huge grin. He slipped the ring onto his left hand and locked eyes with his fianc�.
"Of course I'll marry you!" The two leaned in to share a sweet kiss. The kiss deepened into a full make-out session, until they had to break for oxygen. Xander glanced out the window and noticed that it had started to snow.
"Look, it's snowing." Larry stood up and pulled Xander to his feet.
"Come on." He grabbed two pairs of gloves and their jackets and pulled Xander outside. It was almost completely dark outside, except for the light from a couple street lamps. The snow was falling quickly and the cool air was completely still. The two stood in the dead silence, just watching the snow dance under the streetlights.
"Excuse me sir," Larry said, bowing, "May I have this dance?" Xander pretended to curtsey, and then took the hand offered him.
"Why, of course, kind sir." They wrapped their arms around each other and danced slowly beneath the falling snow. Xander lay his head on Larry's shoulder, and the taller man pulled him closer.
"I love you," Larry whispered.
"It's perfect," Xander breathed.
"Life is perfect," Larry answered. And it was.
+end+