The Sanctuary

Still You (2)

***

Gun let out a soft gasp before he covered his mouth with his hands as they entered Off's unit. Everything inside reminded him of their relationship. Photos hanging on the walls were his favorite travel pictures with Off. All the things they did the first time together were neatly framed. His short notes and colorful paper letters were in a transparent vase on top of a drawer in the living room corner next to his La-Z-Boy. The gifts he gave him throughout their relationship were placed everywhere to complement the look of the place.

Off stepped behind Gun and wrapped his arms around him. Gun turned around to face him. With tears in his eyes, he hugged Off real tight.

"I never forget you, Love. You're still with me all these years." Off rubbed Gun's back as he continued sobbing. "It was hard at first, but I have trust in our love. I knew this would happen. That you would be able to come home. . ." He said. "To me."

"I'm so sorry, Love. It must have been so hard. I never thought my decision would hurt you that much."

Off picked Gun up and carried him to the sofa. He made him sit comfortably on his lap and wrapped his arms around Gun's waist. "I'm okay now. The orphanage helped me cope with sadness. The kids made me happy while you were gone. Whenever I am sad, I go there to play with the kids. They are so cute, right?" Off tucked some hair behind Gun's ear and kissed him.

Gun leaned his head to Off's shoulder, silently sobbing. "I never forget you. While I was away, there was no day I did not think of you. Everything I did, I thought of you. We promised to do all our first together, right? That's why I was so guilty when I passed by the Eiffel Tower. I really didn't take pictures there because I want to have you there when I take one." He said sadly.

"We can always take pictures when we travel there. We will have an around-the-world trip on our honeymoon anyway."

That made Gun raise his head from leaning. He looked at Off as if to know if he was serious. "You're thinking about honeymoon? We just got back together, Off."

"Off? What happened to Love now?" He said and pouted.

"Sorry, Love. But, don't you change it now."

"I've waited for three years, Love. What do you think I did in the past three years that I saw only your face here?" He even gestured to the pictures around the unit to prove a point. "And every day, I read all your letters to me. Everything that we want to do together is all there. So I planned everything. I even have a complete itinerary of our honeymoon trip for three months."

"Three months?!?"

"Yup. Three months. I really want it to be at least six months, but you might not be allowed to leave work for that long, so I cut it to three months." Off then reached and fixed Gun's hair. He kissed his lips gently and said, "But if you decide to leave work we can extend our honeymoon then. That is if you want to. It's still your decision. I won't force you to do something you don't want, you know that." He said seriously.

"What will I do if I quit my job then?"

"Well. . ." Off started and sighed softly. "You can open up your own business. You told me before you wanted to open up a snack bar or cafe, right?"

Gun sighed deeply and tried to absorb everything Off had said. Everything was already planned. He was shocked but also felt excited. He couldn't feel the nervousness he felt the first time they were planning to get married. Yes, maybe he wasn't ready then.