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Doug sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, a sea of notebooks scattered around him like forgotten fragments of time. His fingers hovered over the pages, gently brushing the worn paper edges, careful not to smudge the familiar words written in his teenage scrawl. He smiled to himself, the weight of nostalgia pressing down on him with a bittersweet tenderness. These journals were like tiny windows into his past—windows he peered through now with a full heart.The sun was starting to set outside their window, the fading light casting a warm, golden glow over the room, making everything feel softer, dreamier. Doug could hear the distant hum of traffic beyond their little home, but in here, it was quiet, peaceful. The only sound was the rustle of pages as he turned them, his heart aching in a way that was both beautiful and bittersweet.He had always loved reading his old journals, especially the ones from when he was in high school. Those were the years when everything had been so uncertain, so raw and messy. He had been just a fifteen-year-old kid back then, stumbling through the maze of teenagehood, feeling things he didn’t quite understand. And then, there had been Roger.Doug’s hand stilled over the page as his eyes traced the name, written hastily in a fit of teenage confusion. Roger Klotz. The boy who had, for so long, been the bane of his existence. The bully. The one who always made his life just a little harder than it needed to be. Doug had never known why Roger acted the way he did—why he singled Doug out, why he pushed and prodded him in ways that left Doug breathless with a mix of frustration and something else he hadn’t been able to name at the time.But now, as he sat here, years later, married to that same boy who had once made him want to scream, Doug could look back on it all with a kind of clarity and gratitude that made his chest tighten.He turned another page, his breath catching as he read an entry from the day Roger had unexpectedly shown up at his locker after school. Doug could still remember the way his stomach had twisted when he saw Roger leaning there, waiting for him with that crooked smirk that always sent his nerves into overdrive. He’d written about it in painstaking detail, trying to make sense of why his heart had raced in that moment, why his hands had been sweaty, why he had felt more than just nervous.“I think I might like him,” the entry had said, written in messy, anxious handwriting. “But that’s crazy, right? He’s Roger Klotz. He’s the guy who’s made fun of me for years. I can’t like him. I just… I can’t.”Doug chuckled through the tears that started to well in his eyes. His younger self had been so scared, so confused, so lost in all the emotions that had come crashing down on him during those years. He remembered lying awake at night, staring at the ceiling, wondering if he was broken somehow for feeling the way he did. For wanting to be near Roger. For wanting to see him, even if it meant risking another teasing remark or smirk.But, of course, things had changed. Slowly, gradually, they had gone from enemies to something else. Doug had written about it all in those journals—every tiny moment that had chipped away at the wall between them. There had been days when they had accidentally laughed at the same joke, moments when Roger had stepped in to defend Doug against someone even meaner, nights when they had ended up walking home together, talking about everything and nothing.The journals chronicled it all. The tentative, awkward friendship that had bloomed between them, the stolen glances, the quiet moments when neither of them had said a word, but everything had felt charged. And then, of course, the confession. Doug’s heart swelled as he flipped to the page where it all had come to a head—where Roger, in a fit of teenage bravado, had kissed him behind the bleachers after a football game, pulling away with a look of sheer terror on his face, as if waiting for Doug to push him away.But Doug hadn’t pushed him away. He had kissed him back.And now, years later, they were here. Married. Roger had taken Doug’s last name when they’d stood at the altar, exchanging vows that had made Doug’s heart feel like it would burst out of his chest. Roger Funnie. His husband. His best friend. The person he had gone through hell and back with, and had come out stronger for it. Doug’s vision blurred as tears filled his eyes again. He wasn’t crying out of sadness—no, far from it. It was overwhelming, this love, this joy that consumed him now as he looked back on everything they had been through.It wasn’t just the fact that they had made it through all those years of confusion and heartache. It was the fact that, after everything, they had chosen each other. Over and over again.The front door creaked open, and Doug heard the familiar clomp of Roger’s heavy boots on the hardwood floor. He wiped at his eyes, but the tears wouldn’t stop. His heart was too full, too heavy with emotion. Roger’s voice drifted down the hall as he called out, “Dougie? I'm home!”Doug didn’t answer. His throat was too tight, his emotions too close to the surface. He just sat there, staring at the journal in his hands, feeling everything all at once—every bit of love and pain and pride and joy he had ever felt for Roger.It wasn’t long before Roger appeared in the doorway, his sharp green eyes immediately honing in on Doug’s tear-streaked face. “Hey…” His voice softened with concern as he stepped into the room, kicking off his boots. “Aww, Doug? What’s wrong?”Doug shook his head, unable to speak as the tears spilled over again. He set the journal aside and held out his arms, his body trembling with the weight of everything he felt. Roger didn’t hesitate. He crossed the room in a heartbeat, sinking down onto the bed and pulling Doug into his arms without a word. His touch was so familiar, so steady, and Doug melted into it, burying his face in Roger’s chest.“I’m sorry,” Doug whispered, his voice breaking as he clung to his husband. “I just… I was reading my old journals, and I—” His words dissolved into quiet sobs, his body shaking with the force of them. “I’m so happy, Roger. I’m so, so happy.”Roger held him tighter, his strong arms grounding Doug, keeping him anchored even as his emotions swirled. “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Roger murmured, his lips brushing against Doug’s hair. “You don’t have to apologise for that. You’re allowed to feel everything, you know.”Doug nodded against him, his tears soaking into Roger’s shirt. “I just… I look back on who I was then, and I feel so much for that kid, you know? He was so scared. So confused. He didn’t know if he could handle loving you… but he did. And now, we’re here. We’re married, Roger. We made it.”Roger’s hand came up to cradle the back of Doug’s head, his touch gentle. “We did,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “We made it. And I’m so damn proud of us.”Doug pulled back slightly, just enough to look up at Roger through his tear-blurred vision. His heart swelled as he took in the familiar features of the man he loved—the sharp angles of his jaw, the warm green of his eyes, the way his hair was a little messier than usual after a long day at work. Roger had changed so much since they were kids, but in so many ways, he was still the same. Still the boy who had stolen Doug’s heart when they were just teenagers, even if Doug hadn’t fully realised it at the time.“I love you so much,” Doug whispered, his voice trembling with the intensity of the emotion behind it. “I didn’t know it could feel like this. I didn’t know I could be this happy.”Roger’s smile was soft, tender, as he leaned down to kiss Doug’s forehead. “You make me happy too, my Funnie Honey. More than I ever thought was possible.”Doug’s chest tightened at the sound of Roger calling him by that old nickname—the one that used to be said with a teasing smirk, but was now laced with love and affection, especially since he had ended “Honey” to the end of it when they started dating. He wrapped his arms around Roger again, holding him close, his tears finally slowing.They stayed like that for a long time, wrapped up in each other, the world outside fading away. Doug’s old journals lay scattered around them, a testament to the journey they had taken—one full of twists and turns, heartache and triumph. But in the end, they had found their way to each other. And that was all that mattered.As the last rays of sunlight filtered through the window, bathing the room in a soft, golden light, Doug closed his eyes and breathed in the familiar scent of Roger’s cologne. He felt safe. He felt loved. He felt home.And in that moment, he knew that no matter what, they would always find their way back to each other. Because they had already come so far, and there was no limit to how much further they could go. Together. Always together.And Doug’s heart, full of love and gratitude, could only whisper one word: forever.