The Second

To the ones that have been living in my head,
to the ones that changed my life,
to the ones that helped me through a hard time,
to the ones that led me to improvements,
to the ones that make me feel giddy when thinking about them,
I love you. Happy Second Anniversary, my idea babies. <3

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[The Second]

"Oh my gosh, I can't even begin--"

"You can say, 'thank you so much, I love you.'" Abel said, smiling.

Mark's face continued beaming at the little box in his hand. He bit his bottom lip with his mouth curved upwards, and then he looked directly at Abel. "'Thank you so much, I love you.'"

With a satisfied chuckle, Abel kissed Mark gently on the lips and scooted closer. Mark leaned into him and looked again at his gift. After some thought, he said, "You do know we're the past the stage where we have to impress each other. It's been that way for over a year now."

"I know," Abel said, his smile slightly flattened. "I just wanted to get you something special this year. Something that will last long."

"I know, I know. I'm still not used to it. And, hey, memories last a long time."

"Until you develop Alzheimer's."

"Okay, let's stop being negative," Mark said, kissing Abel's cheek. Abel tried to turn his face away, but Mark grabbed his cheek and turned him around. Mark's eyes lost their giddy shine, and he straightened his face. "Really, I'm very glad for this. For these two years. For these struggles. All that you've done, really." After a pause, he added, "When you're sweet, you're very sweet."

Closing his eyes, Abel brushed away Mark's hand and wrapped his arm around his boyfriend's shoulder. "To that, I'll say my thanks for you. Thanks for dealing with the rocky beginning. Thanks for dealing with the obvious problems with being with me. Thanks for putting up with my personal demons and stupid shit like that." His voice dwindled down to silence.

A train horn whistled, and the chuggs of the engine and wheels slowly gained audacity. Mark sighed happily and looked again at the box in his hand. He set the box down on his knee and reached into the box. "That's what being in love is about, isn't it?"

In his hand, he tightly clutched the skull ring with the words "Through struggles and strife, I love you."