Fandom The Day The World Changed { The Last of Us 1x1 with icedthemoon }

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines
Citizen of Seattle, WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Hayden was so wrapped up in Josh and his words and the world that he was so ecstatic to live in that he didn’t even notice the waitress until she asked for the drink order. “Lemonade, please,” he said softly, his confidence mildly waning now that he was caught off guard. Though, he did not even look over at their clasped hands. That was normal. That was good. He sheepishly turned away as she left to leave them to look at the menu. He leaned forward against the table and laughed nervously. “Promise you won’t ever leave me?” He stared at the menu, trying his hardest to read the words. ​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua Smith
Citizen of Seattle WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Josh saw Hayden wasn’t really paying attention and he could hear in his soft response that the confidence was going away again. Josh noticed that their hands were still clasped. Josh heard Hayden’s question and nodded with a smile. ”I’ll never leave your side.” Josh promised. Little did he know that the future would work against him and try to keep them apart.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines
Citizen of Seattle, WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Never. That was all Hayden wanted. To have Josh with him for the rest of time. No matter what was going on around them. All he needed was Josh. He placed his other hand on their together ones and sighed. “Good. I don’t think I could do this without you.” He really turned his attention to the menu. “Okay. You know what you want?”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua Smith
Citizen of Seattle WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Josh didn’t want to go through life without Hayden. He would do whatever had to be done, not only to be with him but to protect him as well. “I don’t want to do this without you my love.” Josh told him, before he smiled. “Of course. I’m going to get a plate of oysters and a salad. Do you know what you want?” Josh asked him, setting the menu down.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines
Citizen of Seattle, WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Hayden took in the menu items a little bit longer before nodding to his mental decision. “I’m thinking the salmon teriyaki. Make it a little interesting since today is a little interesting.” He set the menu down and smiled into the hand he held. He peered over the knuckles at Josh which only made his smile grow into this wide, uncontrollable thing. “You don’t have any more surprises for me, right? Because I don’t know if my little heart could take it if you did.”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua Smith
Citizen of Seattle WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Josh looked at him and nodded, smiling at him. "That sounds interesting, though like you said, goes with the day." He said, looking at Hayden happily. "No I don't have any more surprises planned, today anyway." Josh said, ending his comment with a lighthearted tease. "Well, we can't have your little heart having problems, I've got nothing else planned other than a relaxing night on the couch watching something on the TV." He added as the waitress came over. Josh gave her his order and then she turned to Hayden for his.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines
Citizen of Seattle, WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Hayden also gave his order to the waitress before shrugging as he turned back to their conversation. “I mean, not that I don’t handle surprises well. Or at least I think I am pretty good with them. I just-“ He had not planned on this going so difficult. This was just how he was, though. He should not have been surprised. He opened his mouth, jaw dropping as his lips attempted to form words that escaped him. He laughed, looking away as the pink dotted his cheeks. “You and me forever.” He shook his head slightly then laughed again. “I mean, I always knew it of course. No doubt or question. That doesn’t mean it isn’t… still crazy?” Now that he had thoroughly embarrassed himself yet again for being so incapable, hiding behind the hand he still held close, “So. Okay. You and me forever. Married. Still crazy. Wedding? What kind of wedding should we have? When? Where? How?” Now that he unlocked the questions he had been too shocked to considered, they all came rolling out without waiting for any answers.​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua Smith
Citizen of Seattle WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Josh looked at Hayden, listening to him. "My love. You handled these surprises better than you think." He said, seeing the attempt at forming more words, and then the pink on his cheeks. He chuckled, listening to Hayden. He could listen to him all day long and not grow bored. "What's crazy is I waited six years to ask you to marry me. I should've done it sooner." He said with a smile. "You and me forever. You're stuck with this handsomeness as your husband. As for a wedding, I was thinking something simple, small. By the ocean." He said looking at Hayden, curious as to what his reaction would be.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines
Citizen of Seattle, WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Six years was a long time, but it didn’t feel like it was forever. It felt like they waited the perfect amount of time to get settled into their new lives. They already lived together. They already knew how each other worked. This was like they passed the trial phase. He knew this was going to be exactly how their lives were supposed to go. They were going to be the happiest people in the whole of the world. “By the ocean?” Oh. Oh he liked that. He liked that a lot. The two of them together with maybe a small gathering of friends and family. Perfect. Always so perfect. Perfect partner. Perfect family. Perfect life. “That’s exactly what I have always wanted,” he finally answered. It was a dream he always had. Perhaps not the full wedding but instead the imagine of the two of them wandering a beach, the sounds and smell of the water around them, and the sight of sea life living so beautifully around.​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua Smith
Citizen of Seattle WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Josh knew that it took at least five years to get to know someone as well as they knew each other. Often a look was all that was needed to communicate with each other. "Hmm. How did I know that was what you'd always wanted for a wedding?" Josh asked with a playful smile. He knew his partner well enough and he knew his love of the ocean. Before Josh could say anything else, their food arrived and he smiled over at Hayden. This was perfect to him, this was all he ever wanted in life.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines
Citizen of Seattle, WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Hayden smiled at the waitress, giving her a polite nod as he moved his hands back to his own side of the table to make room for their food. Once she left, he posed, “Perhaps because you have known me for the better part of what… forever? Gosh, how long have we known each other? Ten years?” That in itself was crazy. He grabbed his utensils and started to eat. Better part of forever. At some point, he would look back on his time before Josh and think, that was such a small amount of time compared to the rest of our lives that have been together. He loved that. He would never tire of thinking about that.​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua Smith
Citizen of Seattle WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Josh looked at Hayden after the waitress set their food on the table. He chuckled hearing that comment, though it was crazy how true it was. Ten years. They'd known each other for a decade. "I can't believe it sometimes, I still remember meeting you back then." Josh said with a chuckle before he turned to his plate and took a few bites. "We should talk to our families tomorrow about us. It'll be interesting to see who wins what betting pool." Josh said with a chuckle.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines
Citizen of Seattle, WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Ten years ago, they were young and new to learning about their sexuality. They were still learning who they wanted to be. As he took another bite, he laughed. “Oh, I bet Kyra’s been betting with your brothers too. You know how much she loves to come out on top.” He sighed and took another bite. “And my mom- oh man, she’s probably got a whole wedding planner ready. I caught her talking to one of her friends at the house a couple weeks back.”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua Smith
Citizen of Seattle WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Josh laughed and nodded after he took another bite. “I’m sure she has been. Jacob and Logan love betting and they are just as bad at wanting to win.” He said with a laugh. Jacob and Logan were twins and always competing with each other so it was natural that they’d compete with Hayden’s sister. “Our moms have probably joined together and created the whole ceremony already.” He added with a chuckle.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines
Citizen of Seattle, WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Hayden stabbed his fork into the small piece of fish and raised it to take the last bite but instead his mind wandered, leaving the fish to become a talking instrument. “We are going to tell them tomorrow and they’ll pull out their big binder with all the information for this ceremony we didn’t even know we were having.” He laughed as he shook his head. There was more than one occasion when this kind of thing had happened, though not quite to that extreme. Like when his cousin got married a few years back. All the aunts were making this huge deal and practically tried to take over because everyone was so excited. He took that last bite and placed the fork back down before placing his hand down on the table, palm up as a request for when Josh was able. “We have got to call a family meeting so everyone’s together. Then we can see all of their faces and reactions at once.”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua Smith
Citizen of Seattle WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

As Josh finished his food, he listened to Hayden talking, seeing him waving his fish around while it was on the fork. “We might not have known we were having it, but honestly I think our moms could tell. Like some weird mom superpower or something.” Josh said with a chuckle, seeing his hand on the table, palm up. Josh set his hand in Hayden’s palm to palm and smiled. “Should I send a message to my mother? I’m sure she has a group chat just for our families.” He said seriously. “Because I can only picture their reactions together..” ​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines
Citizen of Seattle, WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Hmm, group chat. The mothers probably did. They were so in the know with all of the different circles. It would not surprise him if they were all secretly hanging out all the time without them, though the without was likely because they moved out and not because it was secret from them. Their parents got along super well. Sometimes Hayden was shocked that their moms specifically had not been friends prior to him knowing Josh. They seemed to click so well. “Oh! Wait, we have to be weirdly cryptic so that they know without knowing and are super weird and excited for it.” He pulled out his phone and pulled up a text message for his own mother. He typed, “We need to talk Grab the fam. The WHOLE fam,.” Then he swiped to the string with his sister and sent, “SOS I NEED EVERYONE TOGETHER TOMORROW MAKE IT HAPPEN SIS.” He grinned and looked up at Josh. “How do you want to startle your family?”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua Smith
Citizen of Seattle WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Josh laughed as he relaxed in his seat. He raised an eyebrow and chuckled at Hayden’s comment. “I agree, hold on.” Josh pulled out his one and opened the group chat with his brothers. ‘One of you was right, one was probably wrong. You’ll find out if you bring all the family over tomorrow.’ And then he swiped over to his mom’s chat. ‘Everyone needs to come over to our place. Tomorrow. Got some crazy news’ and sent it. “Well let’s see, I basically pitted my brothers against each other saying only one of them was right. And told my mom there was crazy news and everyone had to come over.” He said with a grin as he slipped his phone in his pocket.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines
Citizen of Seattle, WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Perfect. This was exactly how they were going to tell their family. With smoke, mirrors, and nonsensical mysteries. It was, of course, the only way to go. Before he could put his phone away, it buzzed. He peered down to see a text from his sister. ‘WTF R U DYING?’ He grinned and considered how he could possibly answer this before sending back only a heart emoji and then another with ‘Our place tomorrow. Bring EVERYONE.’ He shoved the phone into his pocket despite the fact that he was feeling it buzz over and over. “That should keep her busy guessing for a while.” He squeezed Josh’s hand and raised both eyebrows. “How do you think tomorrow is going to go, hon, especially now that we have made it sound like some dire emergency?”​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua Smith
Citizen of Seattle WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

This was going perfectly and definitely was going to cause chaos. Josh felt his phone buzz and he glanced at it to see his brothers

‘J: hold on! We have so many bets right now, which one?’

‘L: Joshua Smith! You tell us right now.’

‘Nope! Tomorrow. Our place.’ Was all Josh replied with. And then he looked back up Hayden with a smile. “My brothers are so upset right now. And as for tomorrow.. I’m going to say we might get the third degree on why we made it sound so terrible.” He said with a laugh, feeling the squeeze to his hand. “But they’ll be happy in the end I’m sure.”​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines
Citizen of Seattle, WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Hayden pushed aside his plate and leaned forward conspiratorially. “That’s on them for not knowing that we are actually criminal masterminds.” He looked to the left and then the right, trying to be as shifty as possible for comedic effect. He raised their clasped hands so that their elbows were on the table, and he shook them lightly. “I look forward to our life full of crime together.” Which was funny coming from him since he broke so few rules throughout his entire life.​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua Smith
Citizen of Seattle WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Josh met Hayden as he leaned in as well. He saw the left and right looks, and the attempt to be shifty. Of course, it just made Josh fall for him all over again. He felt Hayden raising their hands, elbows on the table now, and the hands shook lightly. "I cannot wait for our criminal empire to come to rose my love." He replied, a smile pulling at his lips as he tried to remain serious. "Now. Shall we head home to prepare ourselves for tomorrow?"​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines
Citizen of Seattle, WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Like the criminal that he was, Hayden could feel the desire wanting to inform his actions rather than his cautious nature. With Josh so close, with the circumstances that were frankly the most romantic and touching he could possibly imagine, he very much wished that they were alone. But they didn’t have to be alone. They could be themselves here. “Wait. I want to do one more thing first.” If Josh could brave the Ferris wheel to wait until they were at the very top to propose to him, Hayden could do this. Hayden could be brave too. He wanted to be brave. He was ready to be brave. He could hold hands and kiss him in the middle of an aquarium. Public restaurants were easy too. He could do this. He wanted to do this. He could be courageous. After a few seconds of psyching himself up, habitually checking to see who could possibly see around them, he took his hand from Josh’s, and gently placed them lower down in his cheeks. He rubbed his thumbs across the cheekbones and then in concentric circles. This was his best friend. He loved Josh before he knew what it was like to love. He was Hayden Gaines, the fan who went to every track meet and started an accidental cheer squad just for them, and he was going to marry his best friend. Don’t think. Just do it. So he pressed his lips to Josh’s and let himself get lost in the kiss. No people around them to judge or ridicule. No scary world to keep them from living their perfect life. Just them. Josh and Hayden like they had always been. ​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Joshua Smith
Citizen of Seattle WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

Josh was looking at Hayden, love in his eyes as he tilted his head in curiosity. Just what was his handsome partner up to. He watched him checking around before a hands went to his cheeks, thumbs rubbing over cheekbones. Then Josh felt lips on his and he smiled into the kiss, before he put his hands around Hayden's neck, behind his head and deepened the kiss. It was just them, Hayden and Josh, the high school sweethearts, and soon to be husbands. The world fading away around them as they kissed.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Hayden Gaines
Citizen of Seattle, WA | 24 | Current location ;; Washington State

They did not have to be alone to do things like this. If the other couples could do this, why not them? There was no reason that they had to stop themselves if no one else did either. So he didn’t stop. Not yet. He didn’t want it to stop. He wanted to be here in the now with Josh. Joshua and Hayden Gaines. As he melted, his hands fell from Josh’s cheeks and thudded onto the table below. Startled, he pulled away a couple of inches, and then laughed at himself. “Well, I ruined the moment.” He chuckled again, and that was when the color overtook his entire face. “Okay, I did that.” He nodded as if someone asked a question. “I liked that. Maybe I can do that again sometime.” He looked back up, sheepish. “We can go now.”​