This was a prompt from @themythicalumbreon it was "It's too cold out here! You set up a surprise for me? I love it!"
NONE OF THIS WAS WHAT I ORIGINALLY PLANNED!!! I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!!!
I originally was planning on Chilled being a devious boy and dragging Ze out on a Christmas Eve Hike while Ze complained about how it was too cold and that they were going to get sick only to have Chilled lead him into an ambush where the Derps launched a full out snowball war but it turned into something else entirely because I saw a prompt about a time capsule and I just don’t know what happened!
It was supposed to be so dorky and funny and it turned into this sappy weird fluff shit!? I don’t know!
I really don't know how I feel about any of this. I'm sorry.
Though I suppose my original idea was farther from the prompt then this one?!
I think the tone changed like 8 times. Shrugs.
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The beautiful night sky, stars sparkled like diamonds giving off the appearance of a perfect night.
The air was cold and crisp and there was a sweet serenity of the snow-covered land. Perhaps it was cold but the beauty behind it all made it all worth it.
Anthony had always hated the snow and the cold that came with it. And he never much liked Christmas either. With his family broken the way it was, Christmas’s in house were always quiet. He would have hibernated all winter if he had the choice.
However, in his teen years he had met Steven when he transferred from California. And they became friends. And Steven loved the winter.
It was hard to hate something that his best friend loved so much.
With each passing year they hung out more and more, and one of the easiest times to do just that was winter break.
So, they would get together and play video games and Steven would make Anthony go out to ice skate and build snowmen. They would get into snowball fights and build forts. Often dragging their other friends to the battle field. They would all make snow angels and go sledding. They’d all race to one of their houses, though everyone preferred Steven’s, and cozy up with hot chocolate or cider. Hiding under blankets and in front of a fire where they would read comics and talk.
And time passed, they grew older, high school came and went.
Their group held strong but they saw each other less as they spread out to colleges.
Steven and Anthony became roommates and started college together.
Their winters changed slowly, as did their relationship.
Suddenly it was just the two of them on the winter excursions.
Winter hikes and movies curled up by the fire. Video games while cuddled up on the bed.
Hurrying across campus sharing a scarf with hands entwined.
And over time friends became best friends became boyfriends and boyfriends became lovers as hands graced gently over each other’s bodies.
And then before either of them knew it college was almost done. Anthony was graduating and Steven was on his last semester and they were moving into a house together.
And their winters were changing all over again.
Their house was beautifully decorated.
Steven loved Christmas and Anthony loved making him happy.
Even if that meant spending an entire day stringing up lights and climbing on the roof.
He got to carry Steven around the house on his shoulders, laughing, so he could reach the highest places and get the tree topper on.
Walks around the city hand and hand, shopping for family and friends together.
Steven’s family welcomed Anthony with open arms and ugly Christmas sweaters. Somehow Anthony got used to participating in the silly family tradition of ugly Christmas sweaters and they would find the worst ones for each other.
They would throw holiday parties that the other Derps would attend and they became their own little family.
And years pass and before either of them blink it’s their 5-year anniversary of dating. And their 10th of being friends.
Anthony proudly marched through the snow dragging Steven along behind him.
They were on a visit to their home town to see their family and it was just a little past 8pm.
It was dark and the moon was full, causing the snow to glisten.
It was beyond cold and the wind nipped at their noses but Anthony didn’t care. He was on a mission and goddamn it was going to be accomplished.
He wasn’t waiting any longer.
“Anthony? Why are we out by the high school?” Steven asks observing the area. It hadn’t changed much since they last were here. It was empty and dark since it was Christmas Holiday but Anthony didn’t seem to be walking towards the school but rather behind it, towards the forest where they used to hike and make forts and have battles with their friends.
Steven smiles at the memory before shivering, “Seriously, Anthony, it’s below freezing. Can’t this wait until tomorrow? I mean, I love winter nights and all but we’re going to get frostbite or get sick.”
“No, it can’t wait, and we’re almost there. We’ll be fine.” Anthony grins as they trudge through the woods.
“Alright, but if you get sick don’t come whining to me.”
“No way! My resistance to the cold has grown!”
Steven opens his mouth to protest but Anthony interrupts, “And it’s grown since the last time I said that and got sick!”
Steven laughs shaking his head in disbelief, “Whatever, Chilly Willy.”
Steven looks around confused, “What?”
Nothing prominent stuck out to him, all that was here was snow and trees….
Anthony fishes a shovel out of a nearby bush and starts digging as Steven’s hand grazes over the tree with all their friends’ initials in it as well as their own. Under their initials was carved ‘Derp Crew for Life!’
He laughs looking back at Anthony noticing him shoveling.
“Wait? Are you digging up the time capsule now?! We are supposed to do that as a group!”
“I know, I know, but there was something I put in it that I want you to see. We can put the rest back. And we won’t look at anyone else’s shit.”
“It’s okay, Ze! It’s just one thing and it’s important.”
Steven sighs and nods, “Alright, if it’s that important to you.”
Steven nods and allows Anthony to dig out time capsule as he reminisces.
It was their senior year of Highschool when they all got together and agreed to make a time capsule.
All of them, Chilled, Aphex, Galm, Smarty, Tom, and himself all loaded up this time capsule as they said their goodbyes before college.
They all got postcards and wrote a note to each of their friends. They all added in copies of their favorite games. And a pack of photos of them goofing off with each other. They made lists of their favorite places and activities. Little souvenirs from trips they’ve taken and ticket stubs from movies and concerts they’d attended. And they each put one or two items that meant a lot to them in it.
So when Anthony pulled out that sealed metal box from the ground Steven was curious to say the least.
What was he about to show him?
Anthony grins as he sits down in the snow and pops open the box.
He shuffles through the stuff carefully, gloves off as to not get snow on anything, and pulls out a postcard and a tiny wooden box.
He hands Steven the postcard.
Steven looks at it and it’s had an apple falling from a tree with a scribbled saying of: “Even if there was no gravity on Earth, I’d fall for you.” Then in the corner there were periodic blocks for Iodine, Lutetium, Vanadium, and Uranium. I LuV U.
Steven flips the postcard over eyes skimming it.
He wasn’t sure what he was expecting. Maybe some ridiculous story or note. With jokes or adventures they’ve had. Or maybe Anthony writing a serious note about their friendship…
Whatever he was expecting, it wasn’t the short sentence that was there.
‘Steven, I love you. And I hope we stay together forever.’
Anthony stands up when Steven looks at him and smiles at him.
“Anthony?” Steven asks confused, his heart was beating a little fast and his face was warm. And Anthony was staring at him with an intense look. His eyes showing a mesh of emotions, excitement and nervousness, and most of all brimming with love.
“I was uh, never the smartest kid but when I met you, I knew you were special to me. I didn’t really understand why at first.” He clears his throat. “I felt a closeness to you that I didn’t feel with anyone else. Our friendship developed quickly and in a short time you knew more about me than anyone else. And I realized very quickly that I wanted to keep you in my life forever. You brought this sense of warmth into my life. And as time went by I was enveloped by all that was you. They say that love needs time to grow and develop and that the rest is just lust, but I can’t help but disagree because I loved you long before I ever realized it. That love got stronger and stronger as time passed until I couldn’t be oblivious to it. It was right in front of my face, when you smiled and my heart froze. How I just wanted to reach out and kiss you.” Anthony says placing his hands-on Steven face, moving closer. “I knew I was screwed all those years ago. And I was so scared that I would let something slip and that you would leave me. So I bottled them and put them in this box vowing that someday I would get the courage to tell you, even if it was ten years down the road when we opened this goddamn box… But I didn’t need to wait because when we went off to college, you moved closer and closer to me until we just were one. I mean seriously, we were dating long before I ever got the balls to ask you.”
Steven laughs and Anthony brushes his thumbs over his eyes wiping the tears.
“What I’m trying to say is that I love you, Steven, and I have for a long time. I can’t imagine my life without you… So I’d like to ask you to be in it forever.”
Anthony drops to one knee and pulls a little ring out of the little wooden box and holds it up to Steven.
“Steven, will you do me the great pleasure of being my permanent partner in crime and marry me?”
Steven laughs as tears fall down his face and he drops down grabbing Anthony in a hug, “Yes, of course. Of course.”
Anthony laughs kissing him and sliding the ring onto his finger.
Steven wraps his arms tighter around Anthony’s neck and kisses him deeply. “I love you.”
Suddenly a snowball smacks against their faces. Followed by a few more.
Anthony jumps up and whirls around, “What are you idiots doing here?! You ruined the moment!”
Tom laughs as he packs another snowball in his hands. “You practically invited us.”
“You asked us if it was okay to open the time capsule to propose to Ze.” Smarty laughs
“Well if you thought we would just sit by and not come watch then you’re crazy!” Galm explains rolling his eyes.
“I was actually kind of hoping to see him reject you.” Aphex snickers.
Anthony gets another snowball to the face.
“That’s it! You’re all dead!” he yells bending down to scoop up some snow, “Come on, Ze, let’s show ‘em!”
Only he gets nailed with a snow ball in the ass causing him to gasp and glare at Ze all offended.
“It was too tempting!” Ze laughs.
Chilled tackles him into a snow drift both of them laughing as they wrestle.
“Aw, come one Chilled, don’t be too upset, usually you’re the one nailing his ass. Let him nail you this once and get away with it.” Tom snickers.
Ze squawks and stops attacking me. I burst out laughing only to get a face full of snow from Ze before he races off to assault Tom.
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By the time it was all set and done they were all exhausted. It was well after midnight and the area looked like a war zone. Trenches were dug out, forts were built, and the boys were laughing and panting.
“Man, some things never change.” Smarty laughs.
“Yeah, you still are the same damn coward. ‘I surrender, I surrender!’” Galm mocks in a high pitched voice.
Smarty laughs. “Fuck off!” smashing a snowball in his face.
Galm goes to retaliate but Aphex interrupts, “Alright! Now let’s see what’s in this box!”
“Aren’t we supposed to wait 3 more years?” Galm asks
“Eh. Who cares? I think seven years has established we’ll always be friends and don’t need this stupid time capsule to drag us back together.” Smarty laughs.
“He’s got a good point.” Chilled shrugs.
“I want to look through this, so let’s do it.” Tom grins.
“Hell yeah!” Aphex cheers
“Maybe we should go inside somewhere first.” Steven laughs
“Meraki?” Chilled offers.
And so they wonder off, time capsule in tow as they head towards their favorite restaurant.
Meraki was a late-night diner. It opened at 8pm and closed at 8am.
It was a wonder it was still open but the place got good business.
By the time they get there they were all shivering and squeeze into a booth.
The waitress greets them and take their orders. All of them getting their usual fries and milkshakes and burgers.
As they wait they look through the time capsule.
Chilled teases Ze for being a nerd when he pulls out a tiny piece of a broken wooden bridge.
“Hey! Tom and I worked for 3 days on that stupid bridge and it held 203.7 pounds!”
“Hell yeah it did! That was a new school record.” They high five.
“Whatever, asshole.” Steven laughs.
They read through their little postcards, smacking each other and laughing at old inside jokes. Going through pictures and reminiscing. Smarty pats Galm’s back while everyone laughs about that time he got sick after the Concert they went to.
“Who put that stupid rock in here?!” Tom laughs.
“That’s Sir Rock Rolled.” Smarty laughs grabbing it.
“Oh my god, you kept that thing?!” Galm yells.
“What is it?” Steven asks as I laugh.
“Well, before you moved here. Galm and I went to Niagara Falls one year. We were about 13 or so. Smarty was supposed to go with us but he got sick. So, while we were there Galm found this rock near the river and brought it back to the hotel and glued googly eyes on it. When I asked him what he was doing he told me that it was Smarty’s new pet. Galm carried that stupid thing all over taking pictures of it near landmarks and taking pictures with it and gave it all to Smarty. And for some damn reason Smarty loved it.”
“I cannot believe you kept that stupid thing all these years. And put it in here as one of your most treasured items, seriously?” Galm says laughing.
Smarty grins and shrugs, “It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me. And it made me feel a lot better while I was in the hospital.”
Galm turns red as he glances away, “Well, I’m glad it helped you.”
“I’ve kinda missed him too over the past seven years, he usually stayed by my bed side. I think I’ll probably take him back actually and put him back where he belongs.” Smarty hums taking the little rock into his hand and smiling at it before tucking it away into his bag.
“Galm and Smarty sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” Anthony sings and everyone quickly joins.
“Shut up, you dicks!” Smarty blushes.
Galm kicks Anthony yelling, “Fuck off!”
They spend the rest of their night there.
Laughing as they go through old time and make plans for new times.
And the entire time Steven’s hand was entwined with Anthony’s.
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Ze was washing dishes when he hears shuffling behind him and he knows Anthony is leaning on the doorframe of the kitchen.
“Ze…” whines a raspy sniffly voice that gets muffled by a cough.
“God damnit Chilled, I knew this was going to happen.”
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And their winters changed once more.
Though I suppose you could say it came full circle.
With a new addition to their family, their sweet adopted daughter Neve, sledding and snowball fights and snow angels found their way back into the house.
And new traditions of making cookies for Santa and hanging stockings… An Elf invading their house and getting into creative mischief and play was a common occurrence. And who could forget getting creative on where to hide the presents and sneaking around on Christmas Eve trying to get the presents under the Christmas Tree. And the small fortune spent on batteries….
Nevertheless, winter had quickly become one of Anthony’s favorite times of year.
Sure it was cold and dreary…
But when it was filled with the warmth and love of his family and friends?
Well it was a pretty happy and magical time of year.
