The Sweetest Save

Conversations

At first, Tuure had only planned to talk to Alexej about the possibility of getting married, but as is common in life, the plans changed.

He was reading in the kitchen when his phone rang. Tuure answered the call without looking, so he was slightly surprised when he heard his brother's voice.

"Tuure!" Juuse Raskinen exclaimed. "I have some amazing news that you have to hear!"

"You interrupted my reading session," Tuure groaned. "What do you want?"

"Did you hear that the Titanic II is actually going to go on its maiden voyage in April of 2022?" Juuse squealed excitedly. "They have had trouble with building and launching it for the past few years...like, I remember talking to you about a possible launch in, like, 2015! But the Blue Star Line confirmed that they have reached an agreement with a shipbuilding company in Ireland, and construction is set to go ahead!"

Tuure was quite surprised by this news. "Really, Juuse? You're being serious right now?"

"I know I prank and tease you a lot, as I should, but I promise that I'm being completely honest this time," Juuse replied in a serious tone. "I'm going to send you a few articles that I found about the whole thing."

"Are you going to bring Liisa and Kielo on the ship?" Tuure asked curiously.

"Unfortunately, Kielo gets seasick," Juuse sighed.

"So does Liisa," Tuure recalled. "After I graduated, I went on a short Mediterranean cruise with some of my friends. Liisa didn't tell me about her seasickness and proceeded to throw up on me after telling me multiple times that she was fine..."

"Bullshit!" Liisa, Tuure's friend from high school and Juuse's new girlfriend, scoffed. "I leaned over the side of the ship."

"Hey, Liisa," Tuure giggled. "I was just talking to Juuse about the Titanic II. He claims that it's going to be launched soon and go on its maiden voyage in the spring of 2022."

"Juuse has been going on and on about that ship for the past day and a half," Liisa responded immediately. "I don't think he's lying. If he's lying to you, then he's lying to me, and let's just say I will be less than happy if I find out that he is lying to me."

"I just sent Tuure these articles!" Juuse tells Liisa. "Look, babe. It's real!"

Tuure's phone went off, and he saw that his brother had sent him some articles. He skimmed through them, and they all confirmed that Juuse's claim was true. The Titanic II was going to set sail in 2022.

The brothers and Liisa chatted for a bit longer about various other subjects before ending the call. Tuure set his phone down on the counter and went to go find his boyfriend.

Alexej was sitting on his bed watching an episode of a show he liked when Tuure found him. Tuure didn't want Alexej to feel like he had to mute the television, so he just kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed next to his boyfriend. Alexej smiled and moved closer to Tuure, who pressed a couple of kisses to his neck.

Tuure reluctantly forced himself to pull away before he got too distracted. "Alexej, if we don't qualify for the playoffs in 2022, would you be up to going on the maiden voyage of the Titanic II? I know you've been talking about how you want to go on a cruise..."

"That would be so much fun!" Alexej exclaimed breathlessly. "Especially with you and Esteri. It would be a little family trip! You said it's in 2022?"

"The maiden voyage is supposed to be on the same dates as the maiden voyage of the original Titanic, just 110 years later. It starts on April 10," Tuure explained to his boyfriend.

"Oh, I'm in!" Alexej hugged Tuure. "Thank you, babe. Now I'm kind of hoping we don't make the playoffs in 2022...is that bad?"

"A little bit," Tuure kissed Alexej's cheek. "But I have a thing for rule-breakers."

Later, when clothes had been shed and certain bedroom activities had been done, Tuure and Alexej laid in bed next to each other, breathing heavily. It made Tuure feel so loved when Alexej wrapped himself around Tuure and lightly kissed his forehead, lips, cheeks, and any other place that his lips found. He did it every time they were intimate, and it never failed to make Tuure's heart swell.

"Alexej," Tuure called out, and Alexej smiled blissfully up at his boyfriend.

Tuure had felt confident enough to discuss marriage when he said Alexej's name, but all that confidence disappeared when Alexej looked up at him expectantly. Tuure felt the butterflies flutter their wings in his stomach.

"I want to marry you," he blurted. "I'm not proposing to you right now, but I want to do it in the future. You don't have to, but I would love for you to say yes when that eventually happens."

Alexej's eyes widened. He stared at Tuure. His mouth was open, but his face was still unreadable.

Tuure cleared his throat and looked away from Alexej, rapidly scrambling to get out of bed. "I'm sorry, I know, I'm moving much too quickly. I'll just go to the bathroom and we don't ever have to talk about—"

"Stay!" Alexej exclaimed breathlessly, sliding across the bed and grabbing Tuure's arm. "Please. Tuure, stay here for a second."

Tuure smiled and sat down on the bed. "Okay."

"I didn't mean to scare you," Alexej said. "It's just that you're the first guy I've ever dated that's expressed an interest in getting married. You're also the first guy I've dated for more than a year and a half, but still. I wasn't expecting to hear that."

"Really?" Tuure seemed genuinely surprised. "No guy besides myself has ever told you that he wanted to marry you? But you're just...you're so...you're amazing, and kind, and easy to love...how could anyone not want to marry you?"

Alexej blushed furiously. "I'm just...I'm too...I don't know. Nobody ever wanted a long-term thing with me. I guess they didn't think I was worth it."

"Well, I think you're worth it," Tuure gently took Alexej's hand. "Those guys are all idiots. I want to have a future with you. I love you, Alexej. I want you to be my husband."

Alexej's eyes were full of hope, but his voice still shook when he spoke. "You're not kidding, are you?"

Tuure's heart cracked a bit when Alexej said those words. How could someone as amazing as Alexej feel like he was so undeserving of love? Tuure's heart had never felt as full as it did when he was with Alexej. There was no doubt in his mind that Alexej was his soulmate.

Tuure kissed Alexej's hand. "No, sweetheart. I'm not kidding. I love you so much."

A tear ran down Alexej's face before he could blink it back. He turned his face, embarrassed, but Tuure still reached out and wiped the tear away.

Suddenly, Tuure had an idea. If Alexej was willing, they could go on the Titanic II with Esteri.

Tuure could then propose to his boyfriend on the maiden voyage of the Titanic II.