Toris hummed to himself as he packed up the last few boxes. The day was sunny and warm, the birds were singing, and all of nature seemed alive again after such a long winter. New grass was springing up, the flowers were blossoming, and the first golden-green leaves had finally sprung out of their buds. He felt happy, for the first time in weeks.
He was about to close up the final box when something caught his attention out the corner of his eye. That's right—he had forgotten to take down his calendar. He pulled the tack out of the wall and folded it closed. He didn't want to look at the date; he knew today was still circled. Today was supposed to be his wedding day, but he didn't want to let that bring him down. Not when he felt so at peace otherwise. Sighing, he threw it on the top of the other items in the box and closed the lid.
Just as he was admiring his hard work—he had packed up everything by himself—the doorbell rang. That seemed rather odd. He had no idea who it could be, so he went right away to see who it was. Perhaps it was a neighbor wishing him goodbye or something.
When he opened the door, he found himself faced with the very last person he expected to see.
"Hey Toris…" the Pol said, a weak smile on his face.
"H..hi." Toris was in complete shock, so that was all he could say. He simply stood there, staring, with one arm still outstretched and holding open the door.
"Can we talk?"
"Um..y-yeah, sure. Come on in." He stepped aside and let Feliks inside, and guided him to the sofa that was still sitting in its normal spot. "Sorry for the mess. Things are a bit all over the place right now."
"Are you like, moving out?" Feliks asked as he took a seat. Toris sat down beside him.
"Yeah, I've decided to move back in with my parents for a little while. Just to make life a little easier."
"Ah, I gotcha."
There was a brief pause when neither really knew what to say. They both stared off at various parts of the room for a few moments, until Toris finally spoke up.
"So… what are you doing here?"
Feliks stared down at his hands, which he had folded in his lap. He felt too ashamed to make eye contact.
"I just… I guess I just want you to know what happened. I know a sorry isn't going to make up for the pain I probably caused you, but I just want you to know why I left."
"…okay."
"I thought I was doing right by you. I felt like I was holding you back and I wanted to make your life easier, but I see now that I totally went about it the wrong way."
"Feliks," he breathed. "You should have just talked to me. Yes, I was upset, but that didn't mean I wanted you to leave. I never wanted that."
"I know, and I see that now. Truth is it hurt me to leave too. I just… I loved you. In fact I never stopped loving you. I was so stupid to have left you." The longer he talked, the more upset he became, and by the time he finished his last sentence, the tears had started flowing. Toris reached out, hesitating for just a moment, and then wiped the tears away.
"I am so glad you came and talked to me." He couldn't help but pull him into a hug. Though he was still upset with him for leaving without warning, at least he somewhat understood now. "I would have wondered for the rest of my life."
"I know, and that's why I had to tell you," Feliks mumbled into his shoulder, and hugged him back. "I really am sorry…"
"I know, I know…" He rubbed his back a few times before pulling away. "I don't know if you want to try again, but—"
"I thought you'd like, never offer," Feliks interrupted. "Of course I would."
"Okay, but here's the thing. I don't think we're ready to jump back into engagement just yet. I mean, the people who told us we were too young… they were probably right. But, maybe if we start from the beginning and take things a little slower, it could work out for us."
"That sounds good."
Toris was then struck with a thought. If they were going to start again, he knew exactly what to say next.
"Hi, I'm Toris," he said, outstretching his hand towards the Pol. Said Pol laughed, wiping back the last of the tears, and shook the Lithuanian's hand.
"I'm Feliks," he replied.
So maybe they didn't have to go back quite that far, but it seemed like a good way to start up their relationship again. And soon after, Toris had another thought. He stood up rather suddenly, walked over to one of the nearby boxes, and pulled out a much smaller box. He brought it back over to the couch and sat down.
"Um… like I said, I don't think we should to go right back into being engaged, but…" he opened the box, revealing their matching engagement rings, and took out the smaller one. "When you're ready to have this back, just let me know, okay?"
Feliks grinned. "Totally."
Toris leaned in and hugged him again. "I love you, Feliks."
"I love you too, Toris."