DEAR FUTURE HUSBAND [ ZONAH ]

reading (final)

zach bit his lip as he clutched a thick book in one of his hands, raising his fist up to the large wooden door to notify its occupants of his arrival. he knocked three times before hearing a faint "come in."

he pushed open the heavy door, using a bit of force, to enter the near-empty room. the two people occupying it looked up when he entered, smiling at him eagerly. one man, adorned in a navy suit, stood up to shake zach's hand. his dark hair was short, and he had a nicely trimmed beard. "zach, right?" zach nodded, and the man stepped to the side with his camera, ready to take all the photos of what was about to occur.

"okay, just pretend i'm not here, and continue as you would," he smiled and focused his camera, while zach looked over at his fiancé.

"hi," he bit his lip and blushed, mentally rolling his eyes at himself. despite knowing him for years, jonah still have zach the stupid butterflies he got when they first met.

"hey baby, whatcha got there?" jonah asked, referring to the book in his hands.

"uh-it's for you," zach smiled bashfully, holding the slightly worn book out to him.

"a gift? for me?" jonah smirked, "thank you baby, let's open it." he patted his lap and zach happily found his place there, getting comfortable before smiling brightly.

"open it now, jonah!" he giggled, biting his fingernails in anticipation.

the elder laughed lightly before pulling open the cover of the scrapbook. "may 27, 2012? zach what the fuck is this," jonah looked up at the smaller boy, slightly shocked at the date.

"read it, and hurry up, i'm impatient," zach wrapped an arm around jonah's neck, playing with his hair lightly.

"do soulmates exist? i hope they do. i only turned 14 today, but i know i'll end up marrying a boy. sometimes i get picked on for being a little girly, but i don't mind." jonah grinned and choked lightly on a sob. "i can't wait to meet you. i hope you're nice. i hope you'll love me for who i am. zach are you trying to make me cry already?"

the rosy-cheeked boy just laughed and pointed at the book, ushering him to read on.

"may 28th, 2012," he read some parts of the letter silently. "me and my best friends are going to have the most amazing summer before high school starts. jack, daniel, and corbyn are my best friends. we do everything together. they even know i like boys instead of girls, and they don't care. you really are just the cutest human, aren't you?"

zach rolled his eyes and nodded. "obviously, now keep going."

"june 16th, 2012," jonah read aloud, "how cute, you wrote me one on my birthday."

zach wiped some tears that had escaped from jonah's eyes, as he read the rest of that letter. he subconsciously leaned slightly into zach's touch.

"august 10th, 2012," he continued, his voice wavering only slightly, "i wonder if you believe in God. i hope you do. i pray for you every night, even though i don't know who you are. i ask Him to watch over you and help guide you to me. i don't know if it works, but i hope it does. i can't wait to meet you, soulmate. i love you, goodnight. you wanna know something, darling?"

zach nodded.

"i prayed for you too," jonah smiled through watery eyes, making zach melt a little bit inside.

"december 25th, 2012," jonah smiled, "christmas!"

he continued to read, pausing sometimes to laugh. "i love your bible verses baby, they're so cute."

zach blushed and motioned for him to continue on.

"february 14th, 2013," he paused to read a little bit, "thinking about you, and all the valentine's days we will spend together in the future helped me feel better too. because i know you'll come into my life when i need you the most, and i can honestly say that i can't wait for that day. i prayed for you before bed again, i think about you all the time. is that unhealthy?i don't think so, i think it's love. because i love you, even though i don't know you yet. writing to you always makes me feel better. i'm happier now. who needs this valentine's day when we can have all of ours together in the future?"