Just Like We Promised

Matt Good laid down with his hands and arms behind his head, feeling the warm sand on his back. He laid along the ocean, letting the water run up the shore and surround the lower half of his body. He glanced to his right and watched as his beloved ran in and out of the water, playing with their friends' little cousins.

Matt closed his eyes and let out a breath of satisfaction and relaxation, feeling the ocean's cold water pull in and out of the sand, soaking and trying to pull his body in along with it. He almost drifted off into a little nap when he heard the slapping of feet against the water, running towards him.

He opened his eyes and watched as Sonny Moore jogged over to him; he was a little out of breath but nonetheless, maintained a smile on his face. His hair was wet and clung against his bare chest. He looked like quiet a beauty to Matt - running along the shore towards him, hair wet, a smile plastered on his face, and the yellow sun shining bright behind him, creating a surrounding halo. Matt could almost put the whole scene in slow motion and lay in the sand, watching it forever and ever.

Sonny sat down in front of Matt, cross-legged and his back facing the ocean. He giggled as a big tide washed on shore unexpectedly and the cold hit his bare back. Matt chuckled and shielded his face to prevent the water from splashing up and going into his eyes and nose.

"Whatcha doing Matty?" Sonny asked, grabbing one of Matt's arms that were behind his head and started playing with his fingers.

"Just laying here, talking to you," Matt replied, lacing his and Sonny's fingers together. Sonny got up and pulled Matt along with him. He started to walked deeper into the ocean to the point where water was always at their feet, his hand still connected to Matt's.

Sonny pulled him into a walk along the shoreline past many couples, families, and little kids, ignoring their stares at two teenage boys holding hand. "Well, now you're walking," Sonny said happily, skipping a few steps ahead.

They walked in silence, listening to the wonderous sounds of the beach, and swinging their linked arms back and forth. Sonny swung Matt's arm around his shoulder and began to talk. Matt pulled him closely to his side and his other arm found their way across Sonny's stomach and to the outer side of his waist. He bent down behind Sonny and laid his chin on his shoulder, still walking with an arm now draped across Sonny's neck.

"What are you doing?" Sonny giggled, laying a hand on the arm that was draped across his neck.

"I'm listening to you," Matt lied. Truth was, Matt was doing anything but listening. All he heard was Sonny's voice but the words were all a big slur.

"Oh really?" Sonny suspected. "What was the last thing I said?"

"Uhh," Matt stalled, racking through his brain for a quick answer. He can visualize Sonny rolling his eyes right before him. "I love you...?" he asked rather than stated.

"No." Sonny laughed. "But you're lucky I love you or else I would've hit you for letting me waste my breath for so long." He pointed a finger back at Matt.

"Aww." Matt pouted. "So you don't want to waste your breath on me to hear your beautiful voice?" he asked in a high-pitched voice. His arm left Sonny's waist and tilted his face with tender fingers towards his own. He planted a sweet, innocent kiss upon Sonny's pierced lips and placed his own next to Sonny's ear, whispering, "Promise me you'll marry me."

[[ Ten Years Later ]]

Matt Good and Sonny Moore shared a long, passionate kiss in the middle of the living room of the house they shared together as their closest friends cheered. Streams of liquid sprung up in the air everywhere as they shook open bottles of champagne, sprayed cans of silly string, and confetti thrown in the air.

It was the night of their wedding, performed at home with unprofessional practice. They wanted an uncostly wedding - because of their monthly salary - with only their many closest friends.

Matt smiled down at Sonny and leaned down for another kiss before someone ran by and patted Sonny on the shoulder, slightly jerking him away from Matt.

"Congrats Sonny! Yay Matt!" Jono exclaimed, clapping with a half empty bottle of alcohol in his hands. A few drops of the liquid landed on the carpet floor and he looked around, shrugging it off and began to jump away to the beat of the music blasting on the stereo.

"Come on, let's go talk to some other people." Sonny laughed, happily bouncing on the tip of his toes and linked his arm through Matt's, pulling him over to some other friends.

x - x - x

Sonny and Matt laid in bed that night; Sonny laid on Matt's chest and listened to his steady heartbeat while Matt played around with Sonny's hair, staring at the quiet television screen in front of them.

Matt decided to turn the television off and scooted himself lower into his pillow so that Sonny's head was laying more near his neck than chest. He laid his cheek against Sonny's head and held onto him tightly.

"You're all mine now," Matt said into Sonny's hair, smiling to himself as Sonny nodded and replied with the same phrase. "What do you suppose you'll do in the future?" Matt wondered, looking up at the smooth, black ceiling.

Sonny stared down and softly stroked Matt's tattooed arm before shrugging. "I'm not sure. I want to travel around the world though - that's for sure something I want to do in my life." He looked up at the pair of smiling blue eyes. "What do you plan on doing?"

Matt replied sweetly, "Hopefully, I'll still be with you." Sonny smiled and leant up, placing his lips upon Matt's and letting them linger there for quite a while. Pulling back, they shared a small laugh before Matt thought of an idea that was surely to make both of them happy.

"How about, you make me a promise," he stated, showing off a lazy smile.

"And what is that?"

"Promise me that when we turn old and fifty, we'll go all over the world together with all the money we can save up - just you and me."

The corner of Sonny's own lazy smile slowly turned upwards into one of the biggest smiles he has ever worn. He jolted upwards, sending the bed bouncing up and down tremendously. "That sounds awesome!" he exclaimed and Matt chuckled.

"But do you promise?"

Sonny nodded his head eagerly. "I promise." He pulled Matt upwards into a tight embrace around the neck. "I love you."

"I love you too." Matt chuckled and placed a kiss on the top of his head.

[[ Twenty Three Years Later ]]

Sonny sat a corner of his and Matt's bedroom, sitting against the window seat. He stared out at the street below and the gloomy neighborhood. The sky was dull and dark, the streets were wet and grave. It was raining outside - a storm was growing with every passing minute.

But Sonny didn't care; he enjoyed the gloomy feeling, the cold weather. He looked down at the picture frame that laid in his lap and felt the stinging tears rush to the back of his eyes, slowly beginning to blur his vision. He wiped the glass cover dry as his tears began to rapidly fall.

The photograph reminded him of old memories, memories that he hope never fades away from him. The photograph was simply of him and Matt at the park. He was sitting at the end of a tunnel slide with a smile on his face and Matt was behind him, crouched down inside the tunnel but still visible, closely behind Sonny with a goofy smile plastered on his face. An open mouth smile with teeth and a slight show of tongue that will never vanish from Sonny's memory.

The photo was taken from an upper view - a close friend of their's, Derek, took it one day unexpectedly while the couple was running around the park wild, blending in with the little kids.

It has been a week since the tragic accident - one that took Matt far away from Sonny forever and the scene still repeated itself in his head. Sonny secretly despised whoever the alcoholic was; never again will he be able to hold Matt in his arms, or vice versa.

He angrily threw the photograph aside and the glass frame shattered across the opposite side of the room. The broken pieces of glass shimmered and shined, reflecting off the light from the glistening rain outside.

He sobbed to himself. "Why Matt? You promised!" he yelled, angrily putting down his fist on the cushion-covered wooden seat. "You promised us forever," he whispered to himself, letting his head droop down to laying on his knees that are curled up to his chest.

I'll still keep our promise, Sonny thought to himself, getting up and walking into the bathroom. He was still determined to keep the loyal promise he made to his soul mate; dead or alive. He wasn't going to stop at any cause.

x - x - x

Sonny's eyes lowered in sadness behind his thick, big black sunglasses; his face seeming to drop down at the wonderful sight before him. He wished that he could've shared this beauty with someone - someone that would've surely enjoyed it just as much as he did; the one who was destined to see it with him. Oh, what a shame that they couldn't be here.

He gripped tightly onto the railing, not listening to what the tour guide was saying. He was lost in his own world of imagination - pretending to feel an arm around his waist and a chin on his shoulder like there would've been if things had gone his way.

A flash went off and Sonny lowered the camera from his face, looking down at the deep grand canyon. He smiled to himself and left, running to catch up with the other tourists.

"Gorgeous, isn't it?" A woman came up next to Sonny and he nodded, smiling at her.

"Yeah; it's wonderful."

"Are you here alone?" she asked, looking at him through curious eyes.

He shook his head. "No; not at all." A gust of wind brushed past him, lifting his hair around his face and he smiled the best smile he could to himself without showing his teeth.

"See Matt?" he asked to himself after the woman had walked away. His question was diverted to the clear blue sky as he felt Matt's presence around him. "We traveled around the world together; just like we promised."