Mason needs a new backpack. He's known it for a while since the seams started pulling apart, but he was hoping he could make it last as long as it could. That comes to an end when the bottom seam rips open as he's getting ready to go on a weekend trip to Seattle with Jamie, who will be picking him up soon.
He sends his boyfriend a text.
Hey, there's a hole in the bottom of my bag and I can't use it anymore. Could I put my things in with yours?
He'll get a new bag when they're in Seattle or when he's back in Pullman after.
Ok :)
I'll be there in 10
Ten minutes later, Jamie pulls up, his bag in the passenger seat for Mason. Only, it's empty when he opens it. Not even Jamie's sketchbook is in his bag.
"Did you pack anything?"
"Yeah, of course." He gestures over his shoulder to the backseat where he sees… Jamie's backpack.
"Wait, you have two?"
"No, that one's yours."
Mason's torn between being touched that Jamie bought him a new bag and slightly exasperated because it's exactly the same as his. "You bought me the same backpack as you?"
"Yeah! Now we match!" Jamie grins, clearly pleased with himself.
"Babe," Mason says, putting his stuff in his new bag. "That's cute and all, but how are we found to tell them apart? They're identical."
"I have an idea. Trust me."
"Alright, alright. Let's go."
The next day, Mason finds out what Jamie's idea is for telling their bags apart: a little doodle of the Space Needle, which they had just visited.
The next doodle Jamie adds is a shell after they spend a day at the beach.
Then a collection of shooting stars after they watch a meteor shower together.
Every time they go or do something together, Jamie adds another doodle onto Mason's backpack. At first, Mason had used the backpack the way he had the old one: for class, day trips, getting groceries, etc, but once Mason caught onto what Jamie was doing with the doodles, he bought a separate bag to use on a daily basis. Now he keeps his special Jamie-fied bag specifically for when they hang out. He doesn't want it getting damaged or dirty like what happened to his old one.
Slowly, over time, the backpack beings to fill up with doodles like a mini scrapbook of all the places they've been, and with it, Mason's favourite memories.
After they graduate and Jamie doodles a mortar cap and tassel, they take a full road trip down the California coastline, stopping at most tourist destinations, cities, and any beach that strikes their fancy. They go to San Fransico, where Jamie adds a Golden Gate Bridge to Mason's backpack, then to San Jose. They find the apartment building Jamie's mom was living in when she had Jamie, then the hospital, and Jamie adds a mini cartoon version of himself with his mom. Once they reach LA, Jamie draws a star with Mason's name inside.
"Because you deserve your name on the Holywood Walk of Fame."
"But I'm not in the entertainment industry, nor am I famous."
"You're the brightest star in my universe."
Mason melts, pulling his boyfriend in for a kiss.
Jamie adds a little airplane the first time they fly together. They're on their way back to Boise for Christmas after moving out east for Mason's schooling; which also earned him a pen and notebook doodle. Mason holds Jamie's hand as they fly and accidentally falls asleep on his shoulder. He hasn't been getting a lot of sleep with exams kicking his butt, but as long as he has Jamie's arms to crawl into at the end of the day, he's okay.
Two years later, Mason goes to Europe for a year abroad, and Jamie talks his manager into letting him work remotely for the eight months. He's good enough at his job that she approves his request, then Jamie is packing boxes beside him. A cardboard box gets added to his backpack.
They travel around while in Europe and Mason gets famous landmarks added to his backpack in quick succession. Big Ben. The Eiffel Tower. The Leaning Tower of Pisa. The Colosseum. The Parthenon. The Louvre. Stonehenge. The Brandenburg Gate.
With how full of doodles his backpack has gotten, Mason now has to search to find the newest drawing when they go somewhere. Jamie started hiding which part of the bag he was adding to, effectively turning it into the most personal and touching hidden object game. It's easier to find if he knows what he's looking for, so Mason also ends up trying to figure out what Jamie would doodle for the place or event.
It's because of this that it takes over a year for Mason to find one particular doodle Jamie added when Mason wasn't expecting one.
After they move back into their apartment in the States, Mason spends most of his days unboxing and setting up their things while Jamie goes back to work in the office. It's summer, so he's doesn't have classes yet. Deciding to take a break, Mason sits on their couch and traces over the doodles on his backpack, reliving the memories each one brings up.
There are a lot of simple ones- beach shells, a taco, a smiley face- that Mason can't remember the exact events of the long-ago days, but still bring a smile to his face as he recalls endless summer days and longer nights. A lot of laughter and kisses and feeling like there wasn't anywhere else he'd rather be. Most of the doodles remind Mason of the feeling of Jamie's hand in his. Regardless of where they were or if it was their first or tenth time somewhere, Jamie has always been at his side, hand in his. For every single doodle, Mason can remember how he felt when they were added.
He chuckles at the rollercoaster doodle with two stick figures getting splashed in the face. That had been a fun day at the amusement/water park. He remembers how-
Mason pauses and looks closer.
There's a doodle of a ring and Mason can't remember what it's for. He can't even remember of he's even seen it before. It's next to the key to symbolize the first apartment they got together- the first time they lived together- while still in their undergrad, so he has a feeling it's something important. For ten minutes, he stares at the doodle, trying to stir up a memory, but nothing's coming up. He pulls out his phone and goes through his and Jamie's Facebooks and Instagrams, trying to place the doodle.
He's still looking and thinking when Jamie gets home.
"Darling?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you remember what this doodle is for? I can't figure it out for the life of me."
Jamie toes off his shoes and walks over, kissing the top of Mason's head as he looks over his shoulder. Mason points at the ring. "Oh, yeah. One sec, I'm gonna put my stuff down."
Frowning, Mason looks at it again. Jamie remembered so easily. Why can't he?
A moment later, Jamie is in front of him and sinks to one knee. In his hands is a jewelry box open to show a ring.
Mason's jaw drops.
"Sweetheart, without a doubt, you are the single best thing to have ever happened to me, and I can't imagine my life without you at my side. I know everything will be okay if you're with me. You've been with me through thick and thin, have helped me and stayed with me when I needed you most, and are a constant warmth in my heart. You're my everything, and I love you so, so much. I want to spend every day of the rest of our lives with you. Will you marry me?"
Pinpricks of tears gather in Mason's eyes, and he wipes them away, nodding silently. Jamie is still smiling his half-crooked smile, and Mason lets out a wet laugh. "Yes. Yes, of course, I'll marry you."
Jamie beams and Mason hauls him in for a deep kiss. Even when they're grinning too much to kiss anymore, Mason still keeps his lips pressed to Jamie's. His smile feels familiar under Mason's. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Pulling back, Jamie holds up the box. "May I?"
Mason wipes a tear from his eye and nods, letting Jamie slip the ring onto his finger. The tiny gem on the silver band catches the light, and the glitters dance, just like the happy skip in Mason's chest.
He pulls Jamie in for a longer, deeper kiss. As he does, he lays down on the couch, Jamie climbing above him.
The backpack falls to the floor.
Half an hour later, they're cuddling in bed, Mason on his back and Jamie cuddling into his chest. His body is a comforting weight, and Mason has one hand in his hair and the other rubbing his back, admiring the ring on his finger. He looks at it and thinks of the bag on the living room floor and the doodle on the fabric.
"How long was that there?"
"Over a year."
Mason's jaw drops. "A year? So, like when we left for Europe?"
"It was our first night there, yeah. You were on the verge of falling asleep when you nuzzled into me and quietly thanked me for being there. Right then I knew. I mean, I've known for a long time that I wanted us to get married, the same way I want us to have a horse together one day, but it was that moment I knew it was time. I needed to put a ring on your finger and officially make you mine and me yours."
Mason's tempted to say that he's always been Jamie's, but he knows what his fiance means.
Fiance. He has a fiance now. He and Jamie are engaged.
This is easily the best day of his life. He can't wait for the rest of their lives together.