Hunter pushed his way past the crowd, entering the huge ballroom with a gasp. The large space was adorned with ornaments and glittering lights. Piles of fake snow were placed over the corners and ice-like chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The low hum of house music vibrated across the floorboards and through the leather of Hunter’s shoes. His eyes traced the corners of the room, amazed by all the Christmas cheer Kellie managed to stuff into one room.
A hand slipped into his, interlocking their fingers.
“This place is beautiful,” River breathed. Hunter could barely hear the words over the music but he knew what River meant.Â
“You’re beautiful,” Hunter shot back with a cheesy grin. River rolled his eyes, pushing past Hunter to move deeper into the room. “Come on. You know I had to!”
Freshly irritated, River found their seats in record time. Josh wasn’t as much of a stickler for traditions, so his groomsmen were seated at separate tables. Instead of being crammed on the long table with a ton of Josh and Kellie’s relatives, Hunter was secured a seat next to River and Melodie.
The child was seven and well on her way to eight years old. This was one of the moments when Hunter noticed her age. She carefully picked up her name card before turning to Hunter excitedly.
“Look, it has my name on it!” she told him, handing the older man the gold-lined paper shaped like a christmas present. “Right there.”
Melodie Conyers was printed in a cursive font. Hunter was surprised they were still teaching kids how to read cursive. When Hunter looked at Melodie again, he noticed her hair. Single braid flowed down her back instead of the pompoms she usually asked for. She was also wearing lipstick for the event. While the application was a bit messy on the edges, its presence made Hunter nostalgic.
“That’s pretty cool,” he said instead. Because this seven year old would not understand how sad he was to watch her grow up.
Luckily, he was going to be there while she did it. With Christmas coming up, Hunter was dealing with a new parental challenge. Although she talked constantly, Melodie rarely asked for things. Which made Christmas shopping a nightmare.
Not to mention figuring out what to say when she asks “Why did Santa give me 3 presents instead of 1?” Currently, his explanation was very good behavior.
A few hours later, the reception was in full swing. Half of the songs were 90s hits that came out before Hunter was born but they still made him dance. It was River who pulled him away from the dancefloor, citing sore feet as the reason. When they sat down, River admitted that he just didn’t want to see Hunter’s ‘sprinkler’ anymore.
Panting, they flopped back into their chairs, holding hands below the table, out of view. Hunter was content to sit with his little family: him, River, and Melodie.
The same Melodie who he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Where’s Melodie?” Hunter asked. He sat up anxiously, eyes combing the room. She was usually holding one of their hands when they went out. Not running around alone in a huge ballroom. River paused Hunter’s panicking, bringing him to a stop by squeezing his hand.
Then, he raised his hand and pointed. The older man didn’t have to comb the room or do any searching. He knew exactly where she was.
Children circled the candy buffet like moths to a flame, chattering excitedly over the superb selection. Melodie was leading the flock, passing wrapped chocolates down the line like a conveyor belt. It was so cute, Hunter pulled out his phone, recording it for a few seconds.
“Should we get her?” Hunter asked when she stuffed yet another jubejube into her mouth.
“It’s fine,” River chuckled, waving off Hunter’s concern. “She’ll have a bunch of sugar and then be tired for the rest of the party. A win-win.”
The candy bar’s selection was extensive. Hunter knew a ton of couples that wouldn’t have spent the extra money. But, with Kellie working as a department lead and Josh getting promoted to COO, they could afford it.
Hunter promoted him just a couple of weeks ago. But, as a wedding present, Hunter paid him 3 months in advance. It was only fair. Josh has been taking care of Hunter’s shortcomings for as long as he’s known him. Now, Stick Figure Animations is expanding and Hunter only knew one man he trusted with that much power and responsibility. Giving him the pay and title worthy of his effort was long overdue.
Finding a new PA had been a completely new problem. Hiring Josh the first time was horrible enough. But it was worth it to see the look on his face when Hunter gave him the job offer.
“River!”
Two heads turned to the voice, alert until they saw who it was. Luke Chang in the center of the dance floor, dropping something low. Connor stood behind him, confused as to how to pick it up. Despite being twisted up like a pretzel, Luke found the energy to call River. He made a come hither motion with his free hand but River and Hunter both shook their heads no. While Hunter had fought him on it, River was right. They did need a break from all that dancing. And Hunter’s sprinkler wasn’t very good.
It was nice to just sit for a moment. To not be running around or dancing or socializing with a million new people. To just stay still for a while next to the love of your life.
“Would you want this many people at our wedding?” River asked, scanning the crowd curiously. ‘This many’ meant over 300 hundred. Whether or not Hunter even knew that many people, the fact that River asked threw him into a tailspin.
River wanted to marry him. Or at the very least, he expected they’d stay together long enough for it to make sense. Hunter was buzzing with excitement. He wished he had a wedding ring to propose right then and there. Hunter didn’t have a speech prepared but he could speak from the heart. God knew all the things he could say about loving River.
Instead of doing any of that, Hunter reined in his emotions and just shrugged.
“We would probably have to move in together first.”
A good, simple joke. See, Hunter could still make those even with his heart going 400 beats per minute.
“That’s true,” River agreed easily. “You want to do that tomorrow?’
“Move in together?”
“Mmmhmm.”
River had plopped his chin onto Hunter’s shoulder, staring up at him through dark lashes. His evil smile was in full effect as he stared up at his boyfriend. He knew the havoc he was creating in Hunter’s nervous system. But Hunter also knew that nothing River said was done lightly.
River was thinking about marriage. And he did just ask Hunter to move in with him. Hunter was beaming, his cheeks aching from the strain.
“Sure,” he grinned. “Let’s do that tomorrow.”
———————————
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