The Rest of the Story - A What if It's Us Sequel Fic

by BrokenTwilighter

Arthur is graduating from college and Ben surprises him by attending the ceremony. Will this be their chance at happiness, or will their fear get in the way?

1. Part 1- When You're Home

Arthur – Saturday, May 27th, 2023: Graduation Day at Wesleyan University

Holy Fucking Shitballs! I. AM. GRADUATING TODAY! Today is the day which unleashes me upon the world to do my damnedest to adult appropriately (hopefully with a certain someone). This thought is both terrifyingly laughable and unbelievably cool!

A text comes in on my phone from Jessie:

Jessie: [CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU!]

There is a picture of her already on the bleachers of the stadium next to my parents who are shooting thumbs ups to the camera. Another text comes in:

Jessie: [We also have a surprise for you! *winky emoji*

Me: [Is it a good one? *tongue out winky emoji*

Jessie: [ So. Good.]

Another text comes in, this time from Ethan, it is a picture of him in his cap and gown. UVA is also having their commencement ceremony today. Major boo since we can't be at each other's graduations, but he looks happy. This is a major improvement over his Rent video a few years ago. He's doing really well and I'm happy for him.

Me: [Congrats, my dude!]

I send off my own cap and gown selfie. I have to get going or I'm going to be late to line up. One more text comes in before I stuff my phone in the pants pocket of my black slacks under my graduation gown.

Ben: [Congrats, Best Friend. I hope today is better than you ever imagined!]

I smile like an idiot. Against all odds and in the face of pretty severe adversity, we have actually stayed in touch… and more… during our college years. I send him a quick reply:

Me: [Wish you were here! *Kissing heart emoji*]

I rush out of my semi-packed dorm to meet my second favorite group of people (my 17th Birthday group will never be surpassed). The Quasimodal Seniors are all waiting outside my building. We are performing today in the ceremony so we have to sit together in the front row, which means we lead the entire class into the stadium.

"Come ON, Art! We are cutting it VERY close!" Abigail chastises me. Abby is our Quasi President and does her very best teacher voice to make sure we all have our shit together.

"Sorry! Endless texts from friends and family!" I sigh as we all make our way to the football field in the center of campus. Today is an especially lovely day for a graduation. 70 degrees, sunny, and a bit of a breeze. I am so fucking happy as we come to our places in line and Abby pulls out her pitch pipe.

"Okay, friends. Last time," she reminds us, eyes glassy as she gives us our B flat. We do a few warmup scales and the first verse of the song to ensure that our harmonies are tight. While acapella hasn't always been a walk in the park, and that thing with Mikey was a definite low point for me, I have all my best memories with my Quasi-crew. I'm seriously going to miss them, but I have some pretty epic plans for the next chapter in my life.

All ten of us snap to attention as the opening notes to "Pomp and Circumstance" are played by the orchestra. We process ceremonially into the stadium beneath all of our family and friends who are in the bleachers cheering loudly for us which is causing some emotion to build up in my throat. We did it. We made it. We are here, finally!

The Quasis and I have our stage presence brains turned on right now, so where everyone else is turning around and waving at friends and family in the audience, we are sitting still, tall, and quiet. A couple of people make opening remarks and then we are up. We file on stage, Abby gives us our pitch, and we're off. We absolutely fucking rock our mash-up arrangement of "Don't you Forget about Me" and "We are Young". As we finish and take our signature double bow, I allow myself to hunt Mom, Dad, and Jessie in the crowd, but I don't see them first. I see a head of light brown hair popping up above the crowd. He is smirking and whispering to Jessie who points wildly and waves. My fellow tenor, Jackson, has to nudge me to start following the basses off stage. They are already halfway down the stairs. My cheeks heat to a bright tomato color and I feel like I'm literally picking my jaw up off the stage as we return to our seats.

Once we are seated and another speaker is droning on about our futures, Jackson taps my arm and whispers, "Yo, you okay?"

Jackson is probably the best college friend I have. Nothing like I have with Ethan and especially not like Ben, but he's a good guy. Very straight but very supportive and cool as a human being. Because he's heard me talk about him (pretty much non-stop), he knows what I mean when I whisper, "Ben is here!" as quietly as I can muster in the moment. I blush another full shade of deeper red. He smiles and pats my shoulder. I have to remind myself purposely to take everything about today in because all I seem to be able to do is think about Ben's gaze boring holes in the back of my head. His presence incites a magnetic pull toward him that I have to physically stop myself from giving in to.

I have only been back to the city once since that summer. My parents sent me back to NYC for my 21st birthday before school started this year WITH two tickets to Hamilton. FINALLY! They also booked a hotel stay for a long weekend with instructions to invite whoever I'd like (even though they were pretty sure they knew who I'd be inviting). My blush deepens again as I recall the weekend we spent together. Neither of us were involved with anyone else so we were completely free to involve ourselves with one another as much as we wanted. Aside from going out to dinner with Dylan and Samantha and then going to the show, we spent most of the rest of the weekend in the luxurious hotel suite (free upgrades FTW!) doing decidedly "non-platonic bro" things.

As my class lines up to walk the stage, there is a slight delay, giving me just enough time to look back and catch his eyes. I blow him a kiss which he "catches" and holds against his chest and I am beaming like the sun as I look forward and follow the line. I walk, I shake hands, I smile for a picture, and we turn our tassles. I really hope someone is streaming this somewhere because I won't remember a damn thing about this day except that we ROCKED our performance and Ben has come to surprise and support me. I am flying pretty high right now.

We are announced as official graduates of Wesleyan University Class of 2023 and we recess out of the stadium. My stomach is all aflutter and my eyes are locked on Ben's the entire way to the exit. The pride shining in his eyes brings that thick emotion back to my throat as I head into the tunnel with my class.

Ben

Early this morning, I grabbed my small duffle bag I packed for the weekend and caught an Amtrak to Middletown, CT. It took about two hours and when I got to the station I requested a Lyft to take me to Wesleyan which is about a 20 minute drive. Arthur's graduation starts at 10 and it is only 9AM. It feels like such a win to be able to show up for him today and on time at that! I text Jessie when I am dropped at the campus and ask where to meet her. She tells me she is with Arthur's parents in the 3rd row.

As I navigate the campus I find myself wondering where Arthur is right this second. I shoot him a text to keep up pretenses because Arthur does not know I'm here. I am so excited to see him. He and I haven't really talked next steps and we aren't officially dating again, but there is definitely a "waiting for each other" vibe happening. I am praying to God and the Universe that this is our moment to finally have everything we've wanted since we were seventeen. We've each dated a couple of other guys, and we were always open with each other about those relationships, but, mine at least, were in no way serious. I never even slept with them because it didn't feel right if I couldn't give myself in the same way I gave to Arthur or even Hudson. I still don't regret Hudson, but I know Arthur and I are destined, fated, whatever you want to call it, and I honestly think me dating Hudson was meant to bring Arthur and I together. Throughout this long season of being mostly apart, he and I have rarely gone two weeks without at least a quick check in, but more often than not, we were intentional about calling every other week or more for a solid facetime.

As I'm walking into the stadium I receive Arthur's reply and think to myself Just you wait.

When I get to the stands, I find Jessie and Arthur's parents quickly and give them all hugs. Shortly after that the class begins to process in. Arthur is near the front of the line so I see him immediately, but he's in his hyper-focus mode. I know he is performing today so he probably won't notice me until he is able to relax a bit.

Jessie makes small talk and Arthur's parents ask how I've been as the rest of the graduating class files in. I can't stop staring at the back of his head as he stands straight and tall in the front row. He is adorable when he's "On" for performances. It has been incredibly cool to watch him come into his own as a performer and as a man watching the videos of his Quasimodal performances at ICCA competitions.

Arthur hasn't added any real height since our summer together, but he's gained quite a bit of muscle which I especially noticed this past fall when he came to the city for his birthday. Just thinking about that weekend makes my mouth go dry. He only even got two drinks while he was there: a margarita in the commemorative Hamilton cup from the Richard Rogers, and a fruity mixed drink when we went out to dinner with Dylan and Samantha at TGIFridays. Seeing Hamilton together was everything we hoped it would be. It was as heartfelt and epic as the first time I listened to the soundtrack with Arthur. When the show was over and they did their curtain call, we both stood up before anyone else and cheered SO loud.

The day after the show, I tried to convince him that we had an epic do over at our disposal for him to do all the super touristy things we had wanted to do on our last full day together that summer but couldn't because of my stupid exam. Each time I brought it up, though, he'd make a comment about how he'd rather be a "tourist of Ben Alejo's body" or something equally cheesy and off we went. I was finally able to get him to go out on his last morning in town and we went to the top of the Empire State Building just to spend a little more time making out and get an epic Instagram photo.

The ceremony gets going and Ben's performance is pretty early. God he's amazing as he sings proudly and steps in time. There's not a lot of choreography but there's more vocal acrobatics throughout the group than one of their usual arrangements. Arthur has a solo which transitions one song into the other and I am so unbelievably turned on by him. I have to remind myself purposely that his parents are about 5 feet from me. When they finish the performance and are taking their bows, he looks my way. I smile, unsure if he's seen me, but he definitely knows because he's just standing, mouth agape, and has to be nudged by the tall dark-skinned boy next to him to get moving again. I chuckle under my breath and whisper to Jessie, "He knows". She beams and points at me like a crazy fangirl. When Arthur is back in his seat, I can feel our desire to be in each other's arms like a cord tugging me from my core as if my soul is calling out for him across the physical expanse.

My urge to leap over the railing and run to him is something I have to physically repress as Arthur's adorable face beams up at me with glee while his class streams out of the stadium.

I am so incredibly proud of him. He's expressed a lot of frustration with a capella and told me repeatedly how much he misses "the city", especially since his birthday. He stuck it out and I know that was super stressful, as senior year is for everyone, but now he has graduated Summa Cum Laude from the alma mater of Lin-Manuel Miranda. Now we can see what there is to an us. I have missed him so much.

As we get up to walk out of the stadium once the procession is gone, a text buzzes my phone:

Arthur: [Get your adorable fucking self out here and kiss me you beautiful surprise of a man!]

Once we are outside (FINALLY!) I immediately spot his acapella group as they are all hugging and crying and point them out to Jessie and his parents. They don't seem to have the same built in Arthur detecting proximity tracker that I do. His parents reach him and wrap him in a Seuss family group hug first. His mom hands Jessie her phone and makes her take several pictures. In the last one, Arthur leans over and kisses her cheek and Mara beams like the happiest woman in the world. Next is Jessie and Mara is taking pictures as they hug and pose. Finally, his sparkling blue eyes are aimed at me and my stomach does a double somersault as he lets go of Jessie and turns to me. I step toward him and loop my arms around his waist as he lifts his up around my neck and I pull him in for a tight full-body hug.

"Picture!" his mom says, and we turn and smile. Once she's taken her fill, I pull him back in for another hug and lean down and whisper in his ear, "Congratulations Arthur. I'm so proud of you."

" Thanks," he sniffs against my chest then tilts his head up pressing a light kiss to my lips. He nuzzles his nose against mine and then, with as much difficulty as it is for me to let him go, he pulls away but keeps an arm around me. "I'm going to take some pictures with the Quasis, we're doing Perk on Main for lunch right?" he asks Jessie and his parents.

They nod and Jessie says, "Why don't we go get a table? You can meet us there."

Arthur

I am high fiving Jessie in my mind as she walks off with my parents. I turn to Ben and say, "I'm commandeering you. You can be my photographer." He smiles shyly and I grin as I lift up and kiss him again, unable to help myself. "I'm sorry, is this okay?" I ask, feeling badly for not having thought to make sure.

He cups my cheek in one hand. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't extrotally okay with you kissing me." We both laugh. "Come on, let's get your pictures taken. I want my best friend back," he says, imploring me with his eyes to understand his meaning (I do).

Do you know what's especially difficult? Organizing a large group of seniors into a picture perfect arrangement on graduation day with any quickness because the love of my life is smiling that sweet crooked smile at me and wearing a shirt I had made for him under his open button down. For Christmas, I sent him a t-shirt printed with a commissioned illustration of Ben-Jamin and King Arturo drawn by Samantha. I also ordered one for me because it was such a great shirt! (Find what I imagine this to look like here on redbubble by allarica.)

We finally finish taking pictures and I give everyone one last hug. No matter how much I want to get Ben alone and jump him right now, I have to take these final moments of college in. I won't be able to get them back and if all goes to plan, Ben and I will have a nice long time to spend together. Ben waits patiently and once I've hugged and waved goodbyes to the last of them, I feel his strong arms come around me from behind. His lips lay a whisper of a kiss on my neck.

"You ready?" Ben asks.

I swipe at a last tear that has escaped down my cheek and nod. I don't know how he got here, but we have some serious talking to do. But first, lunch with the fam. I turn in his arms and wrap him in a hug. "It is perfect that you're here, Ben. I've missed you more than you know," I tell him quietly. He holds me tighter, pressing his face into the crook of my neck. His breath against my skin is wildly intoxicating, but we have places to go. "Come on, my car is a bit of a walk away. You can tell me how it is that you're here," I say as I slide my hand into his.

We begin heading toward my car and I nudge him expectantly with my elbow. "I mean, you know I wanted to be here," he tells me as his cheeks pinken. "It just so happened that I was able to trade enough shifts to string together a few days off from The Strand so I could make it happen." He bites his lip and glances toward me. There's more.

"I love that you're here. I can't even tell you how much, but are you here just as my best friend?" I prod.

Ben shakes his head. "I haven't been with anyone else, Arthur. Not since or before your birthday. I've barely even gone on dates. I understand if there are any you have that I don't know about, that was the point of letting you go. I didn't want to hold you back." He looks at me and my brow is furrowed in confusion at his complete obliviousness.

"Ben," I sigh. " I spent almost exactly 4 years trying to run from, turn off, or kiss away my feelings for you. There have been dates, but none you don't know about. I haven't done more than kiss any of them because they weren't what I really wanted. No one holds a candle to you. I thought we made that pretty clear in August… no?"

Ben's lips quirk into a smile. "You made a lot of things very clear, my Mighty Arturo." He brings my hand to his lips and presses a gentle kiss to the back. I blush, again.

We reach my car and, after he tosses his duffle in the back, I pull him in for a couple of quick selfies before I take my cap and gown off. My cap is tilted to the side and Ben holds me from behind. We are too precious, I think as I swoon at the pictures we've taken.

A text pops up on my screen from Jessie:

[The wait is 20 minutes. Are you on your way?]

I text back a quick affirmative reply and I unzip and strip out of my cap and gown to the sound of Ben's whistle which makes me blush again. I toss my gown into the back and we both get in the car. From my cap, I take the tassle and hang it next to the red and blue one from high school which is hanging from my mirror.

I start the car and get it maneuvered out of the parking spot and onto the road leading off campus before I reach over where Ben's hand is there to meet mine immediately.

"So, how have classes been? Are you done with exams? Sorry I missed your Facetime the other night, I was literally passed out on top of my World Lit book in the library. It wasn't cute."

He chuckles. "It's okay. I finished up on Wednesday. 1 A, 2 Bs, and a C," he says with a hint of that proud smile on his lips.

"Ben, that's amazing! I told you that you'd do well." I grin at him, so incredibly proud at how successful he's been in college. He still has one semester left and then he'll graduate in December.

"I don't know how amazing it is; Geology kicked my ass. I worked really hard for that 70%."

"I know you did, but you haven't gotten less than a C since your junior year. You only have, what, four classes left? You have come so far, Ben. In December, you will be an Alumnus of Hunter College of New York! Don't sell yourself short on that accomplishment." I take my job as hype-man for this incurably insecure boy very seriously. Helping him see himself through my eyes and pushing him toward his better instincts has been my favorite part of staying close with him.

Ben scrubs a hand over his face. "This semester is going to be a doozy. I'll need all of the pneumonic devices you've got."

I reassuringly squeeze his hand and say, "They are yours for the taking."

We make it to the restaurant just as Jessie and my parents are being seated. As we eat a delicious lunch, Mom and Dad check in with Ben about Isabelle and Diego. He confirms they are well and Mom says, "That's wonderful! We'll all have to get together once Art is all settled in to his new place."

Record scratch!

"Mom!" I admonish her. "I haven't told him yet!"

"Oh honey, I'm sorry! I've spoiled the surprise," she apologizes, contrite.

"Art? Are you moving into the city?" Ben asks with thinly veiled hope bursting in his eyes.

"I am. I was hoping we could drive up together tomorrow. I'm moving into a place in Hamilton Heights," I tell him, biting my lip.

"Of course you found a place in Hamilton Heights, you beautiful man," he grins and I swear he's about to tear up. He reaches out and takes my hand securely in his.

"We'll absolutely be making a trip up this summer and we'd love to get together with your parents again," Mom reiterates.

Ben smiles at her, "They would love that."

"Perfect, we'll set it up."

When we finish with lunch, Mom and Dad head back to their hotel with fairly lame excuses about having a "big moving day" tomorrow, but I'll take the win of getting time alone with Ben. Jessie rides with us so we can drop her at her car.

Ben

As we drive back to campus, my mind is swimming in a sea of possibility. I make sure to get on my phone and cancel my train ticket and then I turn to catch up with Jessie about her plans.

"I'm heading to UVA to help Ethan pack up his stuff and take it home. We're really starting to be able to get back to being good friends again," she explains.

"That's awesome. I've been there. It's really great when you can rediscover that friendship," I encourage.

We get her back to her car and we both jump out to hug her and wave her off. Arthur and I head into his building and I ask, "Is your roommate here?"

"He moved out Thursday after his last exam. He was a junior, so he didn't stay for graduation." Arthur smirks at the visible relaxation in my posture.

"So it's just us tonight?" I ask quietly.

Arthur nods up at me, blue eyes sparkling with desire as he keys into his room. I head in and drop my bag as he shuts the door behind us. He drops his keys on the desk and pulls his wallet and phone out to join them. I wander around the small room, peeking in boxes. There are twins of everything. Two twin beds, two dressers, two desks with built in lamps, two larger wardrobes for hanging items. Only one of the beds is made, so it must be Arthur's, and it is on risers with a small refrigerator and one of the dressers beneath it.

"So, New York?" I ask. I'm trying not to be a little hurt but I ask, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to surprise you this week. I had a whole scavenger hunt planned to get you to the new place." He pouts deeply. "This surprise is so much better, but some serious man hours have been wasted in you not using this scavenger hunt."

"Maybe we can use it on Dylan, Seussical," I tease as I begin moving toward him.

"Maybe." He smiles and makes his way toward me as well.

As we draw closer to one another, I see a nervous apprehension cloud Arthur's gaze which pulls me up short from pretty promptly having my way with him. "You okay?" I ask, running a hand down his arm and taking his hand. "What is it?"

"Can't hide anything from you, can I?" he shakes his head and clears his throat, putting a hand on my chest and looking up into my eyes. "I just want to make sure I'm not ambushing you by moving to the city. I really do have a great opportunity with Penguin working in their audiobook department but I don't want to be too presumptuous. I know you have school to finish and a life of your own."

He chews on his lip and I take his perfect, beautiful face in my hands. "Arthur, I came here to see if there was any possibility of your coming to the city so that we can finally be together. This job, your new place, they are literal answers to my prayers. We both deserve to explore every bit of the relationship we know we could have. We are destined and the Universe is on our side again. I'll never let you go again if I can help it."

I press my lips firmly against his and his hands slide up my back in the way he knows drives my crazy. I cradle Arthur's head in my hand and move to press him against the back wall of his room. I am unbuttoning and untucking his shirt and he is doing the same as our shoes fly off in unknown directions, but our lips never leave one another. We drag button downs down one another's arms and let them fall to the floor. Arthur backs up for a breath and I sieze the opportunity to kiss him along his jawline, down his neck, and across his chest. As my lips explore, Arthur's breath hitches and he breathes my name as my hands make their way beneath his white tanktop. You wouldn't think acapella would do a body so much good, but all that breath control (none of which is on display now) does actually require pretty solid core strength. I push his shirt up exposing his whole chest and stomach. As I am sinking to my knees, leaving a trail of kisses along his happy trail, Arthur pauses me with a hand on my cheek.

"Can we move to the bed?"

I stand and kiss him gently. "Of course, getting weak in the knees?" I ask as we pivot and kiss our way to his bed.

"Very," he breathes against my mouth as he lifts onto the edge of his raised bed. I move closer so that I am positioned between his legs and he runs his fingers lightly over the outlines of our characters on my t-shirt. I wore this especially for him today, hoping he would notice. I guess he did. He slides his hands around behind me and lifts the bottom of my shirt, dragging his fingers along my back as he pulls it off. Once it has been dropped on the floor, I am again kissing Arthur insistently and wrapping my arms around his incredibly well-muscled back to lay him back onto the mattress.

(MA: Cut Scene 1)

Arthur

Ben and I show one another in every way we know how and in no uncertain terms exactly how much love we still hold for one another for a full delicious hour. We rise and fall and are even more comfortable with one another than we had been during our honeymoon-style weekend in the hotel. During that time we were able to take the time we needed to acquaint ourselves with one another's bodies fully. Our encounter in high school was the perfect first experience. Ben was gentle and we were both awkward, but in August, we both already knew we were safe with each other and so the pretense of "should we, or shouldn't we?" was all gone. We wanted each other, much the same way we wanted each other today.

"Thank you for always making me feel safe," I say quietly as we lie curled together under the comforter.

"I never want you to feel uncomfortable, Art. I will always do everything in my power to make sure you feel safe and cared for, not just when we have sex, but especially then. You make me feel the same way with our system of signals and our language for each other. I know you're always checking in with me like I am with you." He brushes his fingers through my hair and kisses me on the forehead.

"I just want you to know, for the future, while I may not be as…creative, if there's something you want to try, please ask me. Okay? I want us to feel free to explore within our signals and language, that's why we have them." I don't want him to feel held back by my lack of experience. I know he doesn't have much more than I do, but more is more, and if there's something he likes I want to know because I want to make him happy.

He nods. "I hear you, Art, but that presumes we'll be doing more of this in the near future, I think regular encounters like this might be contingent on a conversation about commitment, yes?"

I catch his meaning immediately. If we're going to have sex all the time, we should probably at least be boyfriends. However, I have something a little more solid in mind. " Ben… I wanted to wait, but I guess I'll just come out with it. Please be honest if I'm being absolutely crazy." I breathe a deep uncertain breath, pressing my face into his chest.

Ben runs his fingers along my spine gently and murmurs against my hair, "What is it?"

I lift up and sit criss-crossed next to him as he lifts one arm behind his head looking like a painting of Adonis. I stare into his expectant gaze and ask, "I want you to be my boyfriend, but I also want more. I want you to be my partner. Would you ever consider moving in with me?" Ben's eyebrows fly up his face and I immediately launch into a nervous diatribe about how we could make it work. "The apartment is a one bedroom, and while I can definitely handle it on my own, it would be really tight, but I don't want to live with anyone else, Ben. I don't just want a roommate. I want you. My starting pay is amazing so I don't want the finances to freak you out and I don't want you to think that I'll be broke if you say no. God, I am an idiot for just springing this on you, I'm so sorry. I had a whole plan for when I was already in the city, I was going to take you out to dinner, but now you're just here and I'm moving tomorrow, and I don't want to wait. We've been waiting long enough."

I finally look back into Ben's eyes and he is smiling gently, letting me ramble my insanity at him. "Do I get to talk?" he asks with a chuckle. I nod and kiss his hand, then hold it against my chest, barely breathing as I await his response. "It's a huge step, and I've never lived anywhere but with my parents, so that's all pretty terrifying." I nod again, bracing myself for the 'no' I believe to be coming. "But, on the other hand, I've been saving up for a place of my own with plans to move out after graduation. I think if I'm going to bump that up at all, my family would feel a lot more comfortable if I were moving in with someone like you or even Dylan than a random stranger as a roommate. I wouldn't just consider it, Arthur. I have considered it and I don't want anyone but you. I can't see ever wanting anyone like I want you ever again." His voice is thick and he breathes deeply.

Tears well up in my eyes and I bend down kiss him lightly. "I love you, Ben. I'm scared, too, but it was so much more scary when it was just me. I believe in us and I know we can make this work."

He wraps his arms around me tightly and holds me against his chest. "Te amo, mi amour. Eres mi familia. I have so much faith in us," he professes.

I breath a huge sigh of relief and rest my forehead against his. "Are we really doing this?"

"We are so doing this, but that probably requires that we finish packing up your room," he chuckles.

"Oh, that." I life up and look around at the assortment of partially filled boxes and my assortment of stuff that is not packed at all. "That would probably be really helpful, huh?"

We climb off the bed and Ben pulls his jeans and tee back on, while I slip on a pair of gym shorts and the tank top I'd been wearing. I look at my watch and realize it's only 3 o'clock in the afternoon. "Wow, Its still super early."

"Yeah, it is," Ben smiles. "Maybe we finish packing up and then you can show me around?" He comes to me and rests his hands on my hips. "I'd like to see what life was like for you here. I want to know what you're going to miss."

"You are the actual sweetest," I kiss him. "Let's finish packing, take a shower, and I'll give you the grand tour of Wesleyan and Middletown."

"Perfect, and we can save water by taking one shower," he grins. We both blush and he kisses my forehead.

Reluctantly, we separate and I briefly explain what the system had been so far, which was just that I had a box designated for certain types of items: clothes, school supplies and books, electronics, etc. He nods in understanding and I pick up my phone from my desk, connect it to my Bluetooth speaker, and play my Broadway playlist for us to work to. We settle into a decent rhythm as we empty drawers and clean off shelves. When boxes are full, we tape them and pile them against the back wall. As we work, we hum along to Hamilton, Heights, DEH, SIX, and a bunch of my other favorite musicals. Ben doesn't know all of them, but every once in a while, I'll catch him singing along to a song I'm surprised by under his breath and I'm impressed. As we move back and forth across the room, working around one another, Ben will lightly rub my back or shoulder or lay a kiss on my temple. I will gently squeeze his arm or kiss him on the back of the neck as I pass. It all feels so comfortable and domestic which only adds to my feelings of safety and contentedness.

Ben begins cleaning off my desk and picks up the picture from my 17th birthday, which is still placed front and center of all my pictures. Just like that picture of us from the post office is one of about 5 favorited pictures in my phone. I see him staring at it nostalgically and go to him, wrapping my arms around him from the side. "See?" I say. "The universe isn't an asshole. Just look at us now."

He smiles and sets the photo in the box he's filling before turning to me and returning my embrace. His eyes have gone glassy and he kisses me gently. "I know it isn't, because you're coming back to me just in time. Between Dylan being gone and not knowing if he'll be coming back, and Hudson and Harriet both graduating in a couple of weeks and planning to move away, I didn't know who I'd have left outside my parents. I've been becoming increasingly panicked about being left alone." He takes a deep shuddering breath.

"Ben, why didn't you tell me? I'd hate to think that you didn't want me to worry because I consider it a high privilege to concern myself with your well-being, Ben Alejo. You can't keep it from me when you're having feelings like that. Whatever we're dealing with, we handle it together. Deal?" My hands hold his face steady and my thumbs lightly caress his cheeks as tears pool in the rims of his eyes.

"Deal," he agrees.

I kiss him gently and we embrace tightly for a moment. I feel Ben swipe a couple of tears from his cheeks. We separate and finish the last of the packing, leaving out only clothes for tonight and tomorrow for me and my toiletries in the bathroom.

Ben is piling the last box of my school supplies on top of the boxes in the back. "Ready for that shower?" I ask, my face immediately heating up. Ben smiles and grabs his duffle bag and the leftover supplies from my bed before following me into the bathroom. While we did eventually actually shower, we also did what any other 20 something couple in a spacious dorm shower would have done.

(MA Cut Scene 2)

Ben

After our *cough* shower, we are toweling off and getting dressed. While I am openly gawking at Arthur's naked body, and he is ogling me as well, I manage to focus enough as we each wrap towels around our waists to ask, "So, what does the apartment look like? Do we have furniture?"

Arthur smiles, "Mom and Dad and I have most of that covered. We have my bed and dresser and nightstand set from home. It's a queen, so we have plenty of space in case you like to spread out."

I walk to him and kiss him. "I am going to cuddle the actual shit out of you. It's going to be both metaphorically and literally gross. Prepare yourself for a disgusting amount of cuteness."

"That sounds awesome," he giggles and wraps his arms around my waist. "So those are all coming with the pod and the movers. It was such a shit show logistically to make tomorrow happen. I had to pack my room up over the long weekend I went home for Passover and then Mom and Dad had to get everything in one of those little pods that you can send places."

"Okay, and what about like a table or a couch?" I ask, mentally picturing what an apartment needs.

"Absolutely, we found a great deal on a small round table and 4 chairs and my bubbe sent me a graduation gift of a small sectional from Article. I didn't want to bring way too much, I figured I, we, will fill it in as we need certain items for storage or whatever. I know there's not a lot of room."

We continue getting dressed and I say, "It sounds pretty reasonable to me so far. So, tomorrow we go up and get you moved in," I say as I button my pants. "Then, you have to come with me to talk to my parents. I am not breaking this to them alone. I think they'll be fine, but there will likely be a lot of emotions," I warn him.

Arthur pulls his tee over his head and smiles gently. "Sounds like a plan. My position at Penguin doesn't start for a couple of weeks so we have some time to work out whatever we need to."

"Perfect," I say, pulling on my own shirt. "We'll get to spend some real time together. I have to work on Tuesday, but my shifts usually aren't all day. I have Saturday off. Not sure about next week yet. I am excited, but it's going to be a huge adjustment just being in the same space all the time." I walk to him and rest my hands on his hips.

"We have to be real adults," he says, linking his hands together around the back of my neck. "But if I'm going to start a whole new life, I'm glad it's with you. I've discovered all the best parts of who I am with three people: you, Ethan, and Jessie. You make me feel at home, Ben. No matter where I am."

Tears pool in my eyes and spill over because, seriously, same. I know moving away from my parents is going to be hard, even though they'll be close. But I know doing this with Arthur feels perfectly right.

Arthur brushes tears from my cheeks. No hunger, all comfort and support. When he pulls back, I whisper, "I love you so much."

"I love you, too." He hugs me close for a moment. "Come on, I have one night left in this town and someone told me they wanted to see what I love about it. It's still early for dinner, so do you want to see campus first?"

"I'm following your lead. This is about as far from the city as I've ever been." I gesture with my arm out to let him lead the way.

He grins and grabs my hand leading me out into his dorm building. "This is West Campus housing. It's not quite as fancy as some of the cooler apartments for upper classmen, but it has really awesome culturally centered and social awareness activities. Also, the WestCo Café has the best coffee of which I have consumed a lot. Seriously, D would be so proud of the sheer gallons of coffee I've imbibed living here."

"Are they open? How's their lemonade?" I tease.

Arthur laughs. "No, it's student run, so they shut down when exams are done, but their raspberry lemonade was delicious. Handmade every morning."

"Mmm, sounds good. It's super cool that they have themed dorms like that. Hunter's seem to be pretty much a free for all from what I could see."

"It's been a really cool couple of years here. Come on, I want to show you main campus." He tugs me out of the building to continue the tour. He walks me through a theater where Quasimodal performs and I tell him how hot he was during his performance this morning. We walk through the student center and we would have walked through the library but it was closed. "Damn, I wanted to take part in the tradition of making out in the stacks," he says, feigning disappointment.

I look around and campus is literally deserted, so I grab him and pull him to me, kissing him breathless. "Close enough, right?" I say with a smile.

"Yeah, that'll work," he chuckles, regaining his footing. From afar, he points out the Butterfield dorms, or "The Butts" as the students call them, and the literature building where he spent most of his time as an English major.

As we make our way back to his dorm, he grows quiet and seems to be looking at every building or place like he is trying to sear it into his mind forever. He swipes at a couple of tears and I pull him to a stop. I wrap my arms around him pulling him into me and say, "It's okay to be sad, babe. This is the end of an era. You get to be sad for the ending of this chapter and excited for the beginning of our new one." I gently scratch his back and kiss the top of his head.

He nods into my chest and sniffles as we both feel a text vibrate his phone. He takes a deep breath and pulls back a bit. "I am definitely that…" He pulls his phone out and smiles, brushing the last few tears from his cheeks. He turns to show me and I see Ethan and Jessie in front of two fully packed cars posing and showing off their muscles. Another text comes in asking how packing is going on our end and he sends off a reply before sliding his phone back in his pocket. "Okay, so we have pizza or we have Italian. I know, they sound like the same thing. They are definitely not," he explains as we head for his car.

"Pizza sounds good. I'm a New York Style diehard, but it's all I've ever had. Maybe I'll like it even better!" I joke. Please note: I WILL NOT like it better. Village Square Pizza is my life's blood, but I'm a general pizza enthusiast, so I'll probably at least like it.

As we get in the car, I realize that something has to be done with it when he moves to the city. "Where is this thing going after the move?" I ask, patting the dashboard of his forest green Subaru Outback.

"Elphaba will go back to Great Georgia from whence she came with my parents and be sold. I'll get the money from the sale." He pouts adorably and caresses the steering wheel. "She's been a good and loyal friend since I was 16. I'm going to miss her," he sniffs dramatically.

I laugh, "We'll have to give her a proper send off. I've never made out in a car before," I tell him, suggestively putting my hand gently on his thigh.

"Benjamin Hugo Alejo, I already want to jump your bones all of the time. Please, in the name of Lin-Manuel Miranda, remove your incredibly tempting hand immediately."

I do as I am asked smiling sheepishly. "Can we make out in the car after dinner?" I smile, wide and innocent.

He sighs. "Like I could possibly resist you, you impossible boy." He shakes his head but he is smiling as he shifts the car and we head out.

Arthur

I take Ben to Mondo for what I think is amazing pizza. Once we finish eating, he reluctantly admits that it is good, but it's not even close to Village Square. As I sit across from him, staring at his strong jaw and adorable splash of freckles, I realize I must look like a personifies heart-eyes emoji. I am here with Ben after all these years. We are Ben and Arthur, Arthur and Ben. Taking on adulthood in the big city.

Ben slides his fingers between mine across the table. "What're you thinking about over there?"

"Just how I'm looking forward to all of the firsts we get to share just between us. We're taking on a huge milestone and we're doing it together. But, seeing as I just got you back, prepare for me to be very selfish with you. Only Dylan gets unrestricted access because he'd totally choke me out and because I love him," I tell him very matter-of-factly.

Ben grins wide. "I'll be sure to let D know that you're down for joint custody whenever he's in town. He and Sam graduated yesterday, you know? If Illinois were any closer I'd have gone to both, but he's half a country away.

"Are they still going strong?" I ask.

"5 years in July. Pretty sure he's going to propose on their anniversary. Coffee will be involved. I, well, we may be commandeered to help with the proposal," Ben supposes.

"Oh my God! I would love that so much!"

"I know you would," he smiles at me adoringly. "Are you ready? Big day tomorrow, and I was promised a car make out."

I roll my eyes and smirk at him. He is the most impossibly irresistible person. "Come on, make out monger. I know just the spot."

It is after 9 and just starting to get dark, but soon, the sky will be full of stars. Not far from campus is a park where we can be reasonably assured to be alone. I drive us to Butternut Hollow and, as I expected, no one else is around. I pull in and drive a little way back to a lot that isn't fully bathed in streetlights. I am out and proud, but this is a moment just for the two of us. I grab my phone and turn on the Hamilton Instrumental tracks on low as background noise then look toward Ben. He is smiling over at me and I feel particularly seen by him, which isn't bad, but I'm not used to that anymore having been apart from him for so long.

"What?" I ask, reaching for his hand.

He twines them together and says, "I'm just really proud of you. When we first met, you were still coming into your own as someone who was out and proud, like, I don't know, you weren't quite comfortable in your "gay skin" yet. I can see how well you've settled into who you are and that you're so much more yourself. I saw it some in August, but that was like a blast from the past. Seeing you here, in your element, it's so much more apparent."

"And this new me is still attractive to you, right?" he smiles self-consciously.

"Oh Arthur, you've always been attractive to me inside and out. I just know it was difficult, coming here on your own, building a new life for yourself, but I can honestly say that seeing you grow and develop into this version of yourself has helped me fall even more in love with you than I was then. It's seriously like the Universe stayed on our side just to bring us to this time when it's finally our turn."

I am looking up, blinking away fresh tears that prickle at my eyes. "Do you even know how much of my comfort with myself and my identity I have you to thank for?" I look back at him. "You showed me that there's no one right way to be a gay man. From the outside you may present more typically masculine and I may present more feminine, but you don't use that against people, especially me. You never made me feel like I should act straighter or even gayer. You just take me as I am and love me for me. Not everyone has been that accepting, even within the community," I admit.

"What do you mean?" his brow furrows.

"Some of the guys in acapella also headed up the Pride association and they made some comments about how 'loving musicals and liking guys' weren't 'gay enough'. They tried to pressure me into getting more into the whole scene at the clubs, drinking and even sleeping around so that I would be a 'real' gay man. That's about the time I'd hole up in my dorm room and text or Facetime you." My eyes are downcast as I allow him to process.

When I look up, I see the rage pass across his features before he opens his eyes and they are sad. He tugs me to him and it takes some finagling, but I am over the center console and straddling his narrow hips in pretty short order. He takes my face in his hands. A lone tear escapes my eye as I hold my hands over his. "I've said it before and I'll say it forever: you are so good Art, just at your core a good human being. You don't need to do or be anything you aren't comfortable with in order to be 'gay enough'. That's some seriously fucked up bullshit. I will make it my life's mission to make sure that no one ever makes you feel that way again. Okay?"

I nod and he brings me in for a kiss, slow and gentle at first, but then he trails his hands over my shoulders and down my back, holding me tighter. I wrap my arms around his neck and press my tongue into our kiss. You would probably think that, given what we got up to earlier…twice… that this would not be just as good. But God, kissing Ben is the actual best. Having sex with him is a literal cherry on top because I could be held and kissed and cuddled by ben forever and be a happy man. I start to get uncomfortable, though, because cars are small, so I reach down and pull the seat-back release. We both fall back and laugh as I fall against his chest.

I lift up and smile sheepishly, "Sorry, my knees were starting to get sore."

"You do have a dorm room we could move this party to just down the road. You're aware of this, yes?"

"I do, indeed, but my man requested a car make out and a car make out is what he shall get. Also, the stars out here are beautiful and I wanted to get one last good look before we get to the city of endless light pollution." I smile and rest myself against him again, continuing to kiss his beautiful mouth.

I run my hands through his hair and he holds me to him with one hand around my back and the other firmly planted on my ass. We are breathing deeply and unevenly and I feel Ben growing excited against my leg. I slow the kiss considerably and lift away from him. I pull him to a sitting position and return the seat back to upright as he rests his forehead against my chest and we both take a moment to cool down. I gently run my fingers through his hair at the nape of his neck and rub his back.

"Pretty good for your first and only car make out, yeah?" I ask.

He looks up at me and nods before pressing one more kiss to my lips. I open the passenger side door and kind of spill out of the car awkwardly, shaking and stomping my legs to regain feeling in my feet.

"You okay?" he asks, putting a hand on my back to help steady me.

"Yeah, just a little numb," I smile.

He waits patiently as I make sure I am stable and then I grab the thick wool blanket that lives in the back of my car. I take his hand and he asks, "Where are you taking me?"

With literally zero hesitation, in a moment I have been waiting for all of my life, I say, "I'm about to change your life." I grin widely.

"By all means, lead the way," he quotes back with a chuckle.

God, aren't we just the fucking cutest?

We reach an open patch of grass and spread out the blanket together before lying down next to one another. I can almost literally hear Ben's jaw hit the figurative floor as he stares at the vast expanse of millions of twinkling stars. "You're right, we never see this many in the city. God, there's just so many."

"Just you wait until I finally get you back to Georgia. They're even brighter in the country. Maybe we can try to go for Thanksgiving? I know you'll want to be here with your family on Christmas."

"Wow. That sounds amazing," he says thickly. "I'd love to see where you grew up."

I turn my head and see him blinking away tears. "We are quite the emotional pair today, aren't we?" I chuckle, rolling up on one elbow and clearing the tears from the sides of his face.

"It's been a pretty charged day," he offers, moving an arm around me. "You doing okay?"

"I am with my beautiful boyfriend and we have a bright happy future together. I am completely blissed out of my fucking mind," I tell him. I rest my head on his chest and we lie there for a while longer until Ben says, "We have a pretty big day tomorrow. You ready to head back?" I not and we sit up, stretch, and head back to campus.

As we are brushing our teeth and getting ready for bed, I am struck by how well we orbit one another. Our movements ebb and flow for one another, making space for each other but not sacrificing the space we need for ourselves. We are patient and we are kind. I hope we never lose this innate respect we have for one another.

We finish up in the bathroom and go climb into bed. I am the little spoon and Ben pulls me against him, pressing a couple of kisses to my neck and shoulder.

"Love you," he whispers.

"I love you, too," I say softly as I settle back against him. We are asleep almost immediately after the very long and emotionally taxing events of the day.

Ben – Sunday, May 28th, 2023

I am stirred awake by Art's phone alarm. He groans next to me as he reaches out and turns it off. I laugh as my eyes flutter open. Due to the cave-like nature of his room, it is still very dark.

"Morning sunshine," I say against his ear and brush my lips along the curve of it.

"Mmmmmm" he groans again. "Sunshine is still sleeping next to his perfect boyfriend," he grumbles into his pillow, rolling more onto his stomach. My hand lands on his back and I gently scratch up and down his back while laying light kisses on his neck and cheek.

"I have some ideas as to how I might help you wake up, if you're interested," I tease.

His head quirks toward me and rolls back onto his back. "Even half asleep me is intensely interested in the prospect of whatever you might be suggesting," he yawns. I move to lay fully on top of him and smile mischievously as I dip my head to start kissing his neck and then traveling down his body, eventually kissing…everywhere… He reciprocates in a similar fashion and we finally agree we should get up and get ready.

(MA Cut Scene 3)

"We are meeting Mom and Dad for breakfast before we start our caravan into the city. They're expecting us in," he checks his phone, "just over an hour and we still have to load up my car."

I take a deep calming breath. "Okay. Let's move you to NYC!" I pull him in for a tight hug.

"I'm so excited!" he says into my chest.

We climb out of bed and quickly go through our morning routines before we start loading up his car. We haul out the first couple of boxes and put down the back row of seats to make more room. Even so, we have a little trouble Tetris-ing all of the boxes and his fridge into the car. Art texts and lets his parents know we are running a few minutes late. They respond that they have coffee and nothing but time.

Once we finally have everything in, he does a final scan of his room which is now bare of any memory of him save the ones we hold in our minds. Art leads me to the end of the hall where he knocks on the door that reads "RA". A pretty black girl with braids down to her butt opens the door. "Hey Art, are you all cleaned out?"

"Yep. Thanks for everything this year, Jaylin. Seriously, you went above and beyond the call," he tells her.

She leans in to hug him and is brought up short when she sees me leaning against the wall. "OH. MY. GOSH. Is this Ben? THEE Ben?" I blush and nod. She puts an arm around Art's shoulders and looks me up and down with a whistle. "Damn, boy. You done way better than any of those bitchy acapella boys. You trust that!" she assures him.

I chuckle a little and thank her. Arthur is smiling at my clear discomfort and mild embarrassment. "Alright," he says. "We gotta go, Jay. Give Jessica my love and definitely look us up if you're in NYC." He hugs her one more time and we head back down the hall.

I can't help but wonder. "Thanks for everything?" I prod.

He smiles kind of sadly. "When I moved in this year, I was kind of a hot mess. You and I had just… and I was not as present at dorm events as I had been last year. Jaylin and her girlfriend Jessica, yes they're that cute, came to my room and asked me what the hell was going on with me. I kind of word vomited everything to them about us and our story and how we'd just spent this perfect weekend together and I missed you," he explains.

"God, Arthur… I didn't… shit…" I stutter in frustration at having missed this moment but also at being the cause of it. "I'm sorry," I say quietly.

"It wasn't anyone's fault, it just wasn't quite our time yet." He grips my hand reassuringly. "But them pulling me out of my room pretty literally pulled me out of my funk. They were also very supportive of my choice not to whore myself out like the other guys were doing. They were just really great friends."

"I'm really glad you had them. I hate that I couldn't be there for you in that moment, but it's good knowing there were other people who had your back when I couldn't. I'll admit, Dylan had a similar intervention moment before he left in the fall." I imitate him, "Bennis the Menace, you've been in this bed for days! Let's go, dear heart." Arthur smiles. "It was pretty rough on my end there for a bit,too," I admit.

When we reach his car, he wraps his arms around me, pulling me in for a kiss. It is soft and sweet and he hugs me tightly. I kiss his temple and return his embrace. "Come on, we have a whole new life to get started on," I whisper.

He pulls back and pecks me on the lips one last time before heading around the car and unlocking it so we can both get in.

At breakfast, Arthur tells his parents that he asked me to move in and I have agreed to do so. They share a knowing smile and nod.

Mara reaches across the table and takes one of my hands and one of Arthur's. "We love you both, and we just want you each to make sure that you're very careful to take care of one another. Living together is much different than just dating."

We both nod and promise to do so. She lifts our hands and kisses each of them in turn and squeezes them. I'm a little surprised they're being quite so supportive, but I know they love Art and they know I love Art.

"Okay boys, we should get going," Art's dad says, coughing some thickness from his throat.

"Yep, the pod and movers are supposed to be there around two and we want to unload everything else before they get there. Article is supposed to deliver around four," his mom says.

Arthur and his dad agree on a path to get to the apartment and sync up their GPS apps before we get on the road. As we drive, we are listening to a mix from Arthur's phone that I made for him a long time ago with a lot of Broadway and plenty of catchy 2018/2019 radio hits. I feel a buzz and pull out my phone to see a text from Dylan:

Dylan: [Bennison! Call me, I hear you have NEWS!]

My brow furrows and I turn to Arthur asking, "Did you already tell D?"

He goes immediately pink around the ears. "I may have asked him a couple of weeks ago if he thought you'd say yes. He said I was an idiot for not realizing you missed me as much as I missed you. I guess he connected the dots when you came to me for graduation."

I shake my head but I can't deny that I love that Arthur felt comfortable enough to approach D with that kind of thing about me. I turn down the music and tap the Call Icon by Dylan's name, putting him on speaker.

"Benny boy! Light of my life! What's the good word?" he answers. No bullshit or small talk for this guy.

"Hey D, I hear you've been conspiring on my behalf," I accuse playfully.

"I may have encourage our young Seussical in the direction he was already heading, but it was all on him."

"Well, you'll be glad to hear that we are currently driving to what will be OUR new apartment uptown. As soon as I tell my parents."

"Oh Bennison, they love Arthur almost as much as they love me. Fear not, for they will be happy for you."

"Thanks man."

"Thanks for the nudge, D," Arthur chimes in.

"Anytime boys. Hey, Samantha and I will be back in town next weekend! Let's get together! We'll come check out your new place!" he suggests.

"Sounds good to me, you good with that?" I ask Arthur.

"Absolutely, you know Ben's home is always open to you. Just make sure you text, so you can…how did you put it? 'Unhook our dicks immediately.'"

I immediately lose it and bust up laughing and I can hear Dylan laughing on the other end as well. Arthur is smiling, pretty pleased with himself, but still driving safely. "Sure thing Seussical," Dylan manages through his guffaws and we hang up.

"That was a deep cut, babe. Respect!"

"Thanks," he chuckles. "So, I get you to move in with me and we're a pet-name couple?" he asks with a smile.

"Huh, not necessarily. I don't know. It just felt right. Are you not okay with it?" I ask.

"It's just something I noticed. I don't hate it, it's cute. I really love hearing you say my name, though. I'd miss it if you never said it." He reaches out and takes my hand.

"I can appreciate that, Arthur James Seuss."

"Thanks, Ben Hugo Alejo." He still doesn't have the Spanish emphasis quite right, but it's still the fucking cutest.

Arthur reclaims the use of his hand as we approach the city and traffic gets quite a bit heavier. He's run all over public transit, but driving is much more nerve wracking in Manhattan. I try to DJ music to inspire calm and positive vibes. Finally we arrive at the building and he calls the manager to let him know we are there. The building manager says he'll meet us in the apartment #2018.

"That's the year we met," I realize with a smile.

"The universe is laughing at us again." Arthur squeezes my hand.

Arthur and his parents sign papers because they are co-signing with him and the manager says he will send up paperwork later this week to add me to the lease. We are both given keys and, of course, Mama Seuss wants pictures. We hold them up for the camera and I sneak a kiss on Art's cheek as she is finishing. She lets out the biggest, "Awwwwwwww," which means we are both immediately blushing.

Arthur and I take a moment to look around and form a plan of attack, deciding things like the orientation of the bed and that most of the boxes coming in now can't really be unpacked until the furniture gets here so they'll go in the two small closets and by the wall of the living room for now. The building manager told us to use the service elevator for loading in so we don't hold up either of the two regular elevators. It turns out that everything from both cars will fit in that elevator in a single trip. Win!

We unload into the apartment and it is still a little while until the pod gets here so Art and I are sitting on the peninsula of our kitchen counter holding hands, 100% blissed out and happy that we are here together. Art's dad comes in from making sure both of the cars are in spaces with well paid meters and asks if we want lunch.

"Sure," we say in unison and laugh.

Mr. Seuss puts a hand on my shoulder and says, " We really are glad you'll be here to make sure our boy is okay, Ben. In a way, it doesn't feel sudden at all." He gives my shoulder a squeeze.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be, sir," I say around the ball of emotion building in my throat. In this moment, I think about my own parents and my confidence is bolstered that they will also be supportive and happy for us.

Mr. Seuss coughs and steps back. "How does Chinese sound?" We both nod and he searches for a local place to order from then steps away to make the call.

I look at Arthur and he is smiling like a fool. I take his face in my hand and kiss his forehead realizing, once again, how lucky we are to have such amazing and supportive parents when so many young queer people just don't get that. Speaking of my parents, they have no idea I'm here. "Hey," I say to Arthur. " I have to go call my mom. I'll be in the hall."

As I hop off the table, he grabs my arm gently. "Ben, use the bedroom babe. It's your space, too."

I smile and say "Oh, yeah. And I also don't hate that." He smiles and I kiss him quickly on the lips.

I head into the bedroom and call my mom's cell, sitting against the wall with my knees up.

"Hi Benito, how are you?"

"Hey Mom. I'm good. I wanted to let you know that I got back into the city a little early."

"Oh? Is everything okya, Mijo?" she asks.

"Yeah, everything is actually amazing. Better than I could have expected. We are currently moving Arthur into his new apartment in Hamilton Heights."

"Wow, Ben! That's amazing, you know I've always loved Arthur."

"I do know that, and that's why we would like to know if you and Pa are available for dinner tomorrow. There's something we'd like to talk to you about." My voice is nervous and a little shaky.

"Of course," she says. I can hear the emotion in her voice as she continues. "How does Pollo Guisado sound for dinner?"

"That sounds great, Ma. Are you okay?" Tears begin welling in my own eyes now.

"Of course, Mijo, just a mama whose baby is leaving the nest, aren't I?"

"I should have known you would know," I say quietly. "How do you think Pa will take it?"

"I think he'll be proud you're getting out and sad to see you go," she admits.

We firm up plans for tomorrow and hang up, swiping at tears I don't remember falling.

Arthur knocks softly and pops his head in. "Ben? Food's here." He sees me on the floor and comes in, sitting cross-legged in front of me. He leans forward and rests his chin on my knee. "You okay?"

"Ma figured us out," I laugh through the tears. "She started getting emotional and so did I."

"But are you okay?" he cups my cheek in his hand, caressing my cheek lightly.

I know he is confirming once again that I am, in fact, ready to move in with him. "Yes, Art. I'm ready. I love you and I'm so excited, It just comes with a lot of feelings."

He nods and lifts up to kiss me gently. "Come on, the food smells really good." He stands and offers me both hands which I take and he helps me up. He pulls me in wrapping me tightly in his arms. It is more than just a hug. His arms snake around my midsection and cover my lower back and the space between my shoulder blades. His cheek is pressed tightly against my chest. My arms looping around him is immediate and I rest my face against the top of his head. "I love you, too. Thank you for taking this leap with me."

He pulls back and we walk out to the kitchen and have lunch. The food is so good that Art's dad makes sure to leave the menu on the counter so we have it whenever we might want to order again. By the time we finish, Art's mom has gotten a call that the movers are just a few minutes out. She explains to them where to go so they will back up to the service elevator.

"We'll go meet them to make sure they're nice to your things. You boys stay here and tell them where you'd like it when they come up," she tells us.

When they've gone, I turn to Arthur and smile, "What a charmed life you live."

He grins. "Right? Best of all, they're going to be filling that elevator for like half an hour. Come on, I want to show you something!" He drags me to the living room.

Arthur

I pull Ben to the sliding door in the living room and open it. We step out onto the two by six patio which looks out toward downtown. Ben's eyebrows lift, impressed.

"Wow. This is amazing, Arthur." He walks to the railing and looks over. "We are so high!"

I come behind him and wrap my arms around him, burying my face in his back between his shoulder blades. He caresses my forearm absentmindedly and muses, "This will look so cool at night."

We stay like that in comfortable silence for a little while. I am so completely content and happy just standing here holding him. Eventually, Ben turns around in my arms and returns my embrace, letting his long arms fall over mine, his linked hands resting on my lower back as we lean together against the railing.

"Can you believe we get to just do this now? We get to hang out on OUR patio. We'll get to sleep in OUR bed. We'll get to cook in OUR kitchen. It's all ours now, Ben," I say, a little awestruck.

"It's like what you said that day at Milton's," he says.

"Like we're old New York City dads! Yes! It's exactly like that," I agree. "I can't believe you still remember that."

He looks into my eyes intensely. "Arthur, I remember everything." He kisses me deeply, but quickly and when he pulls away I am breathless. He rests his forehead against mine and holds me close while I catch my breath and then we hear the door open. We head inside to direct the team of movers.

Just over an hour later, the bed is set up and my mom is making it, the table and chairs are in place outside the kitchen, my dresser and other bedroom furniture are in, and the small entertainment center my parents let me commandeer from our basement is in where we think we'll be setting up the living room. Not very long later, the movers are gone and the Article delivery people are placing the couch in the perfect place to define the living area across from the entertainment center. Once they've gone, my parents decide it is time for them to go and let us get settled on our own. Mom's been yawning for a bit now and Dad wants to get her some food and to bed. Ben, who is in the kitchen area unpacking a box of dishes and utensils, turns and waits patiently while we say our goodbyes.

I walk to Mom and wrap my arms around her tightly. "Thank you, both of you, for everything," I say, choking on the emotion rising in my chest. Tears begin to slide down my cheeks as Dad wraps both Mom and I in his larger embrace.

"We love you, kiddo. We are so proud of you." Dad's voice is thick, too.

I lift my head between my parents' and see Ben watching us also swiping at the tears on his cheeks but letting us have this moment for our family.

"We love you so much, Arthur." Mom pulls back and takes my face in her hands. "If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to pick up the phone, okay? We can bring back anything you might need from home when we're back in July."

I nod and take a deep breath. I hug my dad one last time as I regain a bit of my composure.

Mom goes to Ben and hugs him tightly. "You take care of each other, okay? You don't hesitate to call either. We'll be sure to set up that dinner with your parents."

Ben nods. "Thanks for everything, Mara. I'll take care of him as best I can." My dad claps Ben on the shoulder a couple of times as he and my mom make their way out the door.

Ben comes to me as they wave to us. He wraps an arm across my chest and I hang onto it tightly. The other hand is looped loosely around my waist. They close the door behind them and I lean back into Ben. They're gone and I feel like they've just packed up my childhood and taken it with them. It was different going to college, not that I didn't shed some tears then too, but it is so much more permanent and final now.

I turn around and bury my face in Ben's chest, gripping the back of his t-shirt in my hands as the emotion of the moment and the day as a whole take me over. He rubs my back and whispers to me. "I'm right here, I've got you."

It takes me a few minutes, but I manage to pull my shit together. I pull away and take a few deep breaths as Ben clears my cheeks of tears. I look up at him and smile. "Thanks, Ben. I think I'm okay now."

He presses a kiss to my lips and smiles. "So, what are you up for? More unpacking? Warding off impending adulthood with a movie? We could also embrace the adulthood and go grocery shopping since our fridge is decidedly empty," Ben offers.

"That sounds like a good idea," I say. "Let's go get our adult on."

"Awesome, we can set up a shared list and when we need stuff, we can each grab it on our way home. It's so easy," he explains.

"I also have a rolling cart for our bigger trips, so we don't have to carry a ton of bags home." I smile.

"Look at us, so prepared to adult!" He kisses me and we separate to get our wallets and keys so we can go.

As we walk to the elevator, I tell him, "There's a Food Universe around the corner. We can go down Hamilton Place!"

"You've had this planned out for a while haven't you?" he asks with a chuckle.

"You know me, overthinking to the max, always prepared, always on time."

"I do know this and I love it about you. I also love helping you be more spontaneous. We'll work on that." He grins as we ride down the elevator.

Shopping together is … an experience. I am very used to buying things in bulk and having enough for a while, but in the city you have to have somewhere to store all that stuff and you have to carry it to wherever you live, so buying a bunch of anything is not a great idea unless the sale is just that good. Ben keeps reminding me that the fresh stuff eventually goes bad and will go to waste. I respect his insistence because a.) he's my boyfriend and I love him, but more so b.) because his family has dealt with having 'just enough' for as long as he can remember. So, while we do splurge on a couple of snack indulgences we might not usually get at home (Ben's got a thing for twinkies and I love pop-tarts, like, a lot) we mostly stick to the basics. Another thing Ben is pretty passionate about is not buying a lot of pre-packaged stuff because if you can buy stuff to make it and containers you can reuse, then you end up way more while spending a lot less. He's like a master budgeter and really into shopping sustainably when he can. This was a bit of a revelation to me, but I fell just a little more in love with him listening to him explain why he does or doesn't buy certain things. He got into a whole diatribe about lunchables and how they're the biggest scam and I just had to kiss him in the middle of the store, right there in front of the cooler.

As we head back home, (yes, our home, doesn't that sound cool?) Ben rolls the cart and I carry the bag that didn't fit while our interlocked hands swing between us. The bliss I am feeling at this domesticity cannot be measured. We make it home and organize our items into the fridge. We both have pretty similar thoughts about where things should go, which is good because I won't come home and find the milk on the bottom of the door when it clearly belongs on top and he won't find the lunch meat in one of the veggie drawers when there's a clearly labeled Meat and Cheese drawer.

We decide to make grilled cheese for dinner because it's simple and quick. I pull out the larger of the pans we have and get it on the burner while Ben pulls out the cheese and mayo and starts assembling them on the bread.

"Mayo?" I ask as I fish around the utensil drawer for a spatula.

"You've never had a grilled cheese with mayo? It literally always comes out perfect and never burns."

"We always used butter and they definitely burned," I tell him with a laugh.

"Stand back, my Mighty Arturo, for I will make you the perfect grilled cheese." He does a little super hero pose and I giggle. He kisses me and firmly nudges me out of the way of the stove so he can get cooking.

"Are we thinking a salad on the side or…" I hunt in the small pantry for some of the canned items my parents brought from home. I see a couple of glass jars in the back of peaches. "Peaches? Oh man, home canned Georgia peaches. Yum!"

"I think we have a winner," Ben says smiling in my direction.

"Extrotally!" I exclaim as I carefully pull them out.

"I'm pretty sure that's like 'Fetch' babe. It ain't gonna happen."

"I know, but it made you smile, didn't it?" I ask as I walk back toward him.

"Yes, my love. Yes it did." I kiss him on the cheek and grab a small bowl to pour the peaches and their delicious syrup into.

It doesn't take long before Ben has dished up two perfectly melty and crispy grilled cheeses and we are eating at the table. "Wow, Ben. These are amazing."

"I know," he smirks. "So are these," he notes as he stabs a peach slice with his fork and pops it into his mouth.

"Oh, I know." I smirk in return. We both laugh as we finish up and clean up together.

As I am placing the pan we used into the dish drainer on the counter, Ben comes behind me putting his hands on my hips and laying a light kiss on my shoulder. "Are you as tired as I am?"

I turn in his arms. "Exhausted, but feeling especially grimy. Quick shower?" I ask.

"Yeah, together?"

"Absolutely, just a shower though, right?"

"Oh yeah, too tired." He yawns for emphasis and smiles.

Once we've washed all pertinent areas, we stand in the shower holding one another under the extra hot water letting it wash over us and relax all of the tension of the day away. When the water starts to lose some of its bite, we shut it off and get dried off. In a similar way to how we ebbed and flowed with one another in my dorm room, we find our way to the beginnings of a routine here as well. It is must smaller, but the respect and care in our actions is there.

Once we're ready for bed, we climb in and assume the positions that will likely be ours most of our nights together. Ben curls around me from behind, kisses my shoulder, and tells me he loves me. I bring his hand to my lips kissing the back gently and tell him I love him, too. We are settling in together so well and I am completely content as I drift off to sleep.

Ben – Monday, May 29th, 2023

When I wake up, I pry open my eyes while reaching out for Arthur and realize I am alone in bed. I roll out of bed, take care of morning business, and head toward the kitchen. Arthur is there scrambling eggs at the stove. My heart literally aches at how adorable he is cooking in his shorts, tee, and glasses. It reminds me of the day I left that summer. He looks beautiful no matter his form.

He turns when he hears me and a smile breaks wide across his face. "Hey Handsome, are you hungry?"

"Yeah, I could eat. What are you doing up so bright eyed and bushy tailed?" I ask.

He shrugs. "I woke up and looked at the beautiful man lying next to me and wanted to make our first morning in our new place special."

My heart melts and I walk up behind him linking my arms around his waist. "It's already special because you're here with me," I lay some light kisses behind his ear and in the crook of his neck. "But thank you for breakfast regardless."

He turns his head and kisses me lightly. "It's my pleasure. Would you mind getting out drinks? I'd like OJ."

I kiss him again and then move to the fridge doing as I was asked.

"One piece of toast or two?" he asked

"One is good." I take the drinks to the table and then rifle through the assortment of pantry items Team Seuss sent and SCORE! I find cinnamon and sugar and make myself a concoction in a small plastic container. I see Arthur's brow furrow in confusion and ask, "Have you never had cinnamon sugar toast?" He shakes his head and I laugh. "We didn't always have jelly or whatever so Ma would make this and sprinkle it over our toast. It's really good. Like a knock off homemade cinnamon churro," I explain.

"Sweet," he shrugs. I pull out the new bottle of squeezable strawberry jam I foundin the cupboard as well and put in on the table with my mixture. Finally I pull out the silverware and the butter as Art is dividing the eggs onto plates. He slices the toast diagonally and puts two triangles on each plate before bringing them to the table.

While we eat, we discuss our plans for the day. We decide we'll unpack all we can that's here and then grab one of those $20 U-Haul pickups to take to my parents' apartment when we go for dinner tonight.

I'm still pretty "Say what?" about moving out of my the apartment I've shared with them since I was little, but I can also already feel the rhythm that Arthur and I are settling into and I can see us being content and comfortable together for the rest of our lives. This would scare the shit out of most 22 year old guys, but I'm so fucking happy about it. Where Dylan was always hoping to find that love and I was really just looking to be happy, it looks like we both found it about the same time. I just had to wait a while for it to become a reality. Sometimes I wish I'd let Arthur keep looking at schools in New York but I know we needed the time apart from one another to appreciate what we have now. And man, do I love what we're building here…

We clean up breakfast together and then I insist on doing the dishes because he had cooked, so he gets going on unpacking in the bedroom. Once the dishes are done, I settle in on the floor in front of the entertainment center, finding an odd sort of comfort in the untangling and plugging in of wires. As I get to the bottom of the box of wires and electronics, I spot a small black console with a handheld game in it and two joycon icons on the outside.

"Babe!" I call, looking at the Nintendo SwitchPlus in awe. I've played one with some of the guys from Hunter, but we could never afford to buy one.

"Yeah?" he asks as he comes out of the bedroom.

I hold up the game system. "You have one of these?" I ask, still a little overly impressed.

"Jessie and Ethan love the Just Dance games, so we'd play them together." He comes and sits next to me. "I was thinking about getting rid of it, but as I was packing up in April, I already knew I wanted you to spend a lot of time here, and even Dylan when he's home, so I brought it along. Maybe you can help me appreciate it more, because I asked for it for Christmas last year mostly for them."

I kiss him. "I can't tell you how much I love that you were already planning to ply my attention with video games over a month ago, like I would need an excuse to be here," I shake my head and he quirks a half smile.

I set down the Switch on the entertainment center and tug Arthur into my arms so he is sitting between my legs with his legs over my thighs. I hold him around his lower back and cup his face in my other hand, pulling him in for a gentle kiss. He pulls himself closer, winding his hands around my back as I deepen the kiss. Knowing how much he thought about me in his move makes me feel so incredibly loved and wanted that I can't help but show him this intense affection. We hear a knock at the door and reluctantly pull away from one another. He smiles and presses on more kiss to my lips as he untangles himself from me and gets up. He has to adjust himself a bit before he is able to open the door and I stay seated on the floor, my elbows on my knees letting my body reign itself in. I can't not respond to him. I know we're young and maybe it won't always be such an instantaneous turn-on, but damn… I want to jump him ALL. THE. TIME. This is not to say that I don't love cuddling or simply being near him, I do, a lot, but if we're alone and he gives the go-ahead, it's on.

Arthur comes back to the living room with an installation guy from Verizon who will be putting in the Wi-Fi modem. We don't want to leave him alone in our apartment, so we relax on the couch making small talk with him while he hooks up our service.

I am spread out on the chaise when he leaves, and Arthur closes the door behind him. He comes back to me and straddles my hips, to which my hands automatically hold him under his ass. "Now, where were we?" he asks mischievously as he bends down and begins to kiss my neck and we continue exactly where we'd left off, christening our new couch as our own.

Later in the afternoon, we are able to pull ourselves away from one another long enough to get showered and changed for dinner in time to get the U-Haul pickup and get over to my parents' house.

Arthur, being the only one of us with a driver's license, is driving. As we make our way into Alphabet City, I can't seem to stop my leg from bouncing or my hands from wringing nervously. I am not nervous that they'll be mad, in fact, I'm pretty sure they're okay with this, but there is a level of milestone enormity that is settling over me. I am 22 years old and I'm moving out of home to move in with my boyfriend. THIS. IS. HUGE.
Arthur senses my tension and squeezes my arm. When he parks, he turns to me and asks quietly, "What's going on up there, Ben? Are you having second thoughts? It's okay, we can wait a little while if…"

"No!" interrupt with a shout. I am taken aback that that is where his mind went. I reign in my volume and take his hand. "No, I'm ready, it's just a lot of change and very quick and I've never lived anywhere else with anyone else, and it's just big. When it's just you and me, there's nowhere else I want to be, but now we're here and we're telling my parents and I just need to know we're in this together. I want this with you and I want you more than anything I've ever wanted in my life, but it's not going to be easy, neither of us is rich and we're so young and I still have to finish school and…" I'm rambling so much I don't even notice Arthur push up the center armrest/console and slide toward me, so he has my face in his hands before I can process what's happening because my brain is all over the place. There is no chill here. I have lost it all and I just don't know what is happening and I'm coming up with more questions than answers.

He kisses me and all of the swirling thoughts in my head vanish as his lips touch mine. He pulls back and I am focused only on his electric blue eyes. He is lightly rubbing my cheeks as he tells me to take a deep breath.

"I'm right here, Ben. I am with you in this. I told you, I want a partner, not a roommate. Whatever we have to figure out, we'll handle it together. Just tell me what you need from me. If money is the issue, we're okay for as long as we need to be, like I said, I could do it on my own, I just don't want to."

"I don't want you to have to support me, I've got some savings…" I start.

"I know, Ben, but I'm saying you don't have to worry about not contributing enough. We'll both put in what makes the most sense. Partners, in every area. I never want you to feel like you're not as invested in this or like you're indebted to me. That's not love or family."

Tears well up in my eyes because I know he's right. I know he would never make me feel badly or even point out that I wasn't contributing as much money as he was, but I realize what I'm actually feeling as I rest my forehead against his and whisper so low I pray he doesn't hear, "I'm so worried I won't be enough for you…"
He does hear and he is… at least a little hurt. "Benjamin Alejo, don't even say that to me again. You are you and you are so much more than enough. I love you as you are, no matter what. You are not a charity case and you're not my project. You are the love of my life and the man I want to do my life with. Got it?" A couple of tears slide down my cheeks and I bury my face in his shoulder, wrapping my arms around him.

"I hear you. I love you so much. I'm sorry," I say against his shoulder.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, Ben. This is a big scary thing, which we both want to respect, but I need you to trust that when I say I've got you, I do. Okay?"

I nod and kiss him determinedly. "Okay, let's do this." I hug him close one more time before we get out of the truck and grab the empty boxes and tape we brought from the apartment from unpacking Arthur's stuff.

When we walk in to the apartment, I can already smell the Pollo Guisado, a Puerto Rican chicken stew, and I am both comforted by its warm scent and saddened that I won't be able to come home every day to mom's amazing food. Walking in from school or work and having her ask about my day so we could talk while she cooked were some of my favorite times with her. I breathe through the wave of sadness this memory brings on and realize that it won't never happen, it just won't be as often.

"Hey Ma," I say and she turns with a smile.

"Oh! Benito! Hi boys, so good to see you again Arthur, welcome back to the city!" She wipes her hands on her apron and hugs us both. She's over doing the enthusiasm a little, but I appreciate the effort on her part to show us that she's more excited for us than she is sad.

"So good to see you again, Isabelle. Dinner smells delicious." That's my Arthur, always charming with the manners.

I smile at him. "Seriously Ma, it smells amazing. When will Pa be home?"

"He'll be back around 6:30. Do you boys want anything to drink?"

"I'll get it, Ma," I say, needing to move and get rid of a little nervous energy. I step around Arthur into the kitchen and he quickly squeezes my arm reassuringly. I get us each a glass of water and as I hand Arthur his, I ask, "Did you tell Pa? How'd he take it?"

"I did. As you'd expect he's got his concerns, but we both know you've been working toward this for a while. We definitely agree, though, that we are much more comfortable knowing you won't be doing this alone or with a stranger, but with someone we know and love." She turns to Arthur, taking his chin in her hand. "You will take care of him, won't you, mijo?"

"Of course I will, I love him," Arthur professes thickly.

"I know you do, Arthur." She brushes his cheek with her thumb before releasing him. "And so we support you. Take whatever furniture you need from your room, okay Benito?"

I wrap her in a hug. "Thanks, Ma. Love you," I say softly.

"We love you, too, Ben. We just want you to be happy, healthy, and safe and we believe you will be." She squeezes me tightly. "Okay, you boys go start packing up and I'll call you out when dinner is ready."

We head to my room which has not changed much since the last time Arthur was here and he notices as much. "Wow, it's like a time capsule in here," he observes. "Where do you want to start?"

"Can you start getting all the clothes out of my closet and dresser into a box and I'll clear off my desk and bookshelves?"

"Sounds good." He leans up and kisses my cheek before he grabs a box from the stack and gets started.

I pick up my backpack from next to my desk and set it in my chair to pack my chargers and my laptop. This 15 inch refurbished MacBook Pro with a touch bar is my literally most prized possession. I was able to buy it with financial aid for school and it's the nicest device I've ever owned so I basically protect it with my life. There are a few other items of special importance I pack in my backpack like Samantha's book cover for TWWW, my pictures of Arthur's 17th birthday, and my graduation with Dylan, Harriet, and Hudson. Next I move on to my book shelves. I pack the school books I've saved for continuing certain courses (most of the others I sold back), my Harry Potter series, and all of my guilty pleasure Cassie Clare books (those were an investment, let me tell you. There are almost 30 now).

As we are both finishing up, I look around to see that we have essentially packed up my entire life so far into 5 medium sized boxes and a backpack. Even though we are taking both my bookshelves, my desk and desk chair, and my dresser, we'll probably still have extra space in the truck bed. Just as I'm starting to feel self-conscious about this fact, Arthur pulls my arms from where I have them folded in front of me and wraps his arms around me from the side.

"Remember when we tried to have sex in this bed?" he asks quietly and giggles against my chest as my arms go around his shoulders.

I grin at the memory and kiss his forehead. "Of course I do. I was such a nerd trying to play it cool, showing you my Sims of us." I really just remember I didn't want to pressure him into anything.

"You did make a very good me," he comments. "But do you know what I remember most?"

I shake my head, "What's that?"

"I remember that you took every moment of my virginal neuroses and you made me feel safer in that moment to be exactly who I am than I'd ever felt with anyone, even my super supportive parents and best friends. Even though I'm sure you were disappointed that nothing much happened that night, I felt save and loved and cared for. That's how I still feel each night when we curl up in bed, and I hope you feel just as safe with me."

"I do, Arthur," I murmur against his forehead and plant a light kiss where my lips rest. You're doing spectacularly handling all my insecurities. Seriously, babe. Props to you."

He laughs and squeezes me in a hug when he sees my dad in the doorway and we both turn.

"Hey boys," Pa says. "I understand you'll be taking our Ben from us," he nods to Arthur.

"Taking him from you is the last thing I want to do. None of my family that I'm close to is in town, so we'll probably be here quite a bit. I'm a sucker for Isabelle's cooking, too."

I love him so much in this moment. Pa smiles and says, "That sounds wonderful. What if we start a Sunday dinner tradition?" he asks.

Ma comes up behind him, nodding enthusiastically. "Oh! That would be wonderful! The bookstore closes early on Sundays, right Benito?"

"Yeah, what do you think Art?"

"That sounds perfect. I so look forward to spending more time with both of you," he says, and while I know he really means it, his dad's comment of "Kiss ass" from that dinner here in our apartment comes back to my mind. I smile to myself at the memory.

"Great," Pa says taking a deep breath to clear the mist from his eyes. "Well, dinner is ready. Come and eat. You can tell us about the new place."

We gather at the table and I volunteer to pray over the meal. I thank God for family and rediscovering love and that He brought us together when we needed one another most so we would always be there for each other. Finally I thank Him and ask for the blessing on the meal. We all look up and I squeeze Arthur's hand as Ma and Pa are blinking away tears.

We did in and they ask us all kinds of questions about the new apartment. Ma wants to know what it looks like and what the finishes are, while Pa wants to know it's safe and secure. Thankfully neither of them has decided to focus on the fact that it's one bedroom and we aren't taking my bed. We know that they know that we know that they know and no one needs to talk about it. Once dinner has finished, we pull our phones out and show them some of the pictures we took before heading over this afternoon.

"That looks beautiful," Ma says .

"It's pretty nice already, but we definitely have some things we'd like to add to make it really homey." He smiles at me.

"So," pa says. "We have something for you Ben."

"You do?" I have zero clue what this is about.

"Yes," he says, pulling an envelope out of the compartment in the coffee table. "When you started working senior year and asked us to stop giving you an allowance, Ma and I talked and decided that was a very responsible thing for you to ask of us, so we wanted to do something with that $20 each week. We've been putting it into a high yield savings account ever since. This is all the paperwork for you to keep it or add to it yourself or whatever you need to do with it," he says, handing me the envelope.

My mouth is agape and I stutter before finally saying, "Guys, I asked you to stop because I thought you needed the money…why…?" I am flabbergasted.

"We knew you would want to get out on your own after college and we wanted you to be able to do so with confidence and assurance that you would be successful. There's about five thousand dollars in the account today, mijo."

I am immediately overcome. I move off the loveseat where I'm sitting with Arthur and kneel in front of my parents to hug them both. "Thank you, Pa. I can't tell you how much this means."

Pa pats me on the back. "You're a good kid, Ben. You've never given us any trouble and we know we've taught you the value of this kind of money, so we trust you to use it well."

"We're so happy for you, Benito," Ma says.

"Thanks, Ma," I say thickly as I pull away from them.

"Well, we should get you boys loaded up," Pa says as he coughs the thickness from his throat.

As expected, my stuff doesn't quite fill the truck bed. I put my backpack carefully in the front seat to make sure my frames don't break. Arthur hugs my parents and promises to see them Sunday, then goes around and gets into the driver's seat. I turn to my parents, tears already welling up in my eyes. Ma hands me a container of leftovers and both of them lean in to hug me much like Arthur's parents had with him last night. A couple of tears escape as I pull away. "See you Sunday," I promise.

"5 o'clock. See you then. Love you, Mijo."

Pa claps a hand on my shoulder and says, "Be happy, Ben. Love you."

"I love you guys, too."

I climb in the truck and once Arthur has maneuvered into the street, he beeps the horn a couple of times as we drive off. Tears begin to spill unchecked down my cheeks as I watch my parents grow smaller in the sideview mirror.

By the time we get back to our place, I have pulled myself together as much as I can and while we wait for the service elevator to get to the ground, Arthur wraps his arms around my neck, winds his fingers in my hair, and whispers that he loves me. I hold him tightly and breathe him in, drawing so much comfort from his embrace as I regain most of my calm. As the elevator dings its arrival, I kiss Arthur's temple and whisper, "I love you, too."

We get everything into the apartment and return the U-Haul near the grocery store we had gone to the night before, then we walk back to the apartment.

We decide how we will divide up the space and eventually we have created distinct areas in the limited main living area for the living room, dining room, and office space. In the bedroom, Arthur's wide but short dresser is along the one wall and my tall thinner dresser is in the corner. We each have a nightstand from his bedroom set where we each have a lamp, one from his room and one from mine, and we have the chargers for our phones and things set up behind them. The closet is a pretty even split between us. There are a few things we'd like to find to really make it our own, like a mirror over Art's dresser and some sort of wall décor so it doesn't look quite so sterile with just our furniture in the apartment. Our fridge has exactly two magnets on it and they say our names. They are the magnets I bought when he was leaving.

There are so many callbacks to that time of our lives in our new life we are building and I am still struck by how exactly we managed to hold onto one another for dear life for all of these years so we could finally have this moment when we are finally ready to come together in the love story we deserve. It took a lot of work and every time Art would tell me about a new guy he was seeing my heart couldn't help but break a bit at the prospect of him walking away from the possibility of an us. Whenever I would meet someone new, I wondered if this would be the one that made me want something different, but they never were. It was always meant to be US (Not the United States) and only us.

When I finish putting my clothes in my dresser, I wander out of our room and find the sliding door open. I head outside and see Arthur gazing out at the lights of the city with a smile on his face.

"What are you thinking about, you beautiful boy?" I ask as I encircle him in my arms from behind.

He rests back against me. "I'm just happy. It's been a long and emotional long weekend, but we did it. I'm here and we're together and I'm just so fucking happy, Ben." He squeezes my arms around him with his own. I drop a soft kiss on his neck followed by one behind his ear as my fingers lightly play at the skin beneath the hem of his t-shirt. There is a stutter in his breath and I whisper, "Me too" against his ear. He turns in my arms and his lips are on mine hungrily. I move us inside as we kiss and I close the slider behind him, pressing him against it for a moment as we continue to make out. We eventually move off the door and stumble together to our bedroom, kissing and stripping off articles of clothing leaving a path across our living area as we go. When we arrive in the bedroom, I close the door and we proceed to express our complete and utter bliss in as many ways as we can to one another.