Archive of Our Own ^beta

Connor had recently developed a problem. He had figured out that his boyfriend, Jared, looked exceptionally cute, and objectively much better, when he was wearing Connor’s clothes. It was just another fact of the universe, Connor figured. This in and of itself wasn’t a problem, per se.

“Can I borrow a sweatshirt? It’s colder than I thought it would be today.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. Lemme grab you one.”

The problem was, that whenever it occurred that Connor saw Jared wearing his clothes; when Jared went to return whatever the item was, Connor would give in to the urge to say,

“No, uh, you can keep it, actually.”

And Jared would smile that special smile he reserved just for Connor, the one that showed his little dimple, and Connor would smile goofily back. Then, when Connor went to grab the item from his closet or floor, it wouldn’t be there. He’d search for hours for something he was sure was here the last time he needed it, only to find a picture on his phone of Jared wearing that exact thing.

Connor was stuck. He couldn’t think of a solution to the problem. He wouldn’t even consider not letting Jared have his stuff. Connor knew having his stuff was a comfort to Jared, even if he would never say it; and Connor liked seeing his boyfriend wearing his clothes.

Connor sighed, and sat heavily on the edge of his bed. Zoe sat across from him, straddling his desk chair and drawing on her arm with a ballpoint pen.

“I’m running out of clothes.”

“That’s what you get for giving away all your sweatshirts, you big gay disaster.”

“It’s not just sweatshirts, Zoe,” Connor said matter-of-factly. He started pacing around the room, counting on his fingers. “It’s sweatpants, t-shirts-” he cut himself off with a frustrated noise. “He’s got a pair of my shoes, Zo.”

“Oh my God,” Zoe giggled. “You’re gonna be naked for the rest of your life.”

“It’s not funny-” Connor suddenly stopped, posture straightening. “Oh, shit. Oh, shit, I have an idea.”

“Okay?” Zoe raised a brow in confusion. Connor dug quickly through his bag and pulled on his jacket, before bolting out the door.

“Thanks, Zoe!” he called over his shoulder. Zoe sat in stunned silence for another minute, before she chuckled to herself and went back to her doodling.

 Jared looked around the park in disinterest. Connor had called him suddenly, speech rushed and breathless, and told him to go to ‘their spot’ as soon as possible. Jared loved his boyfriend-and his impulsive nature-but he couldn’t see Connor anywhere. He had figured Connor would already be there, bouncing his leg in impatience. Instead, Jared saw a mostly empty park, poorly illuminated by the streetlamps just flickering on.

He flopped onto the old bench, wriggling to try and get comfortable on the cool metal. He remembered how they chose the bench as ‘their spot’ and chuckled to himself. A disastrous first date, at a too-crowded fancy restaurant, led to a heated argument which Connor stormed away from. Jared chased him to the park, and they sat on the bench in awkward silence before Jared broke and apologized. They sat together just talking for hours, well into the night. And when Connor walked Jared home, they shared their first kiss across his front doorjamb.

“Hey, Jared. Sorry to keep you waiting.” Jared smiled to himself. He turned his head to see Connor jogging toward the bench. The yellow streetlight made his pale skin glow, illuminating his flushed cheeks. Jared stood up, grateful to be off the hard metal.

“It’s no big, eel. What’s the occasion?” Connor flushed at the nickname. He stared intensely at the ground, and was fidgeting with something in his pocket. Jared’s brow furrowed. Connor was nervous, something Jared hadn’t seen since his last big interview.

“Can you just, like. Turn toward that tree for a sec?” Jared did just that, but his chest felt tight. There was a weight growing in his stomach with each second of passing silence from his boyfriend. He stood stiffly, almost glaring at the bark in front of him.

“Okay, you can turn around.” Jared turned slowly, his breath catching in his throat. Connor was kneeling in the grass, holding a tiny ring box open in his palm. Jared bit down, hard, on his lower lip to keep it from wobbling. The silence stretched on, turning awkward and cold.

“Jared?”

“This isn’t funny, Connor!” Jared shouted, his hands curling into fists at his sides. His whole body was trembling. Connor’s heart hurt and a flash of anger shot through him. This wasn’t at all what he expected to happen.

“I’m not trying to be funny,” Connor said emphatically. He rose slowly, and stepped closer to Jared. When he was so close their chests were nearly touching he whispered gently, “Will you marry me, Jared?” Jared took in a gasping breath, finally letting his tears fall. Connor snapped the box shut and shoved it back in his pocket, before wrapping his arms around Jared in a tight hug. Jared hesitated, then fisted his hands in the back of Connor’s jacket.

“You don’t want to spend the rest of your life with me,” Jared practically whimpered into Connor’s chest.

“Says who?” Connor shot back. His grip on Jared tightened. He buried his face in Jared’s hair, blushing as he quietly admitted, “I’ve been thinking about this for a while, Jared. Like, a really long time. I bought the ring like, six months ago.” Jared shifted in his arms, puffing out a laugh. “Zoe and I were talking about something-” Jared cut him off.

“What were you talking about?” He wasn’t crying anymore, but his voice was a wet croak, muffled by Connor’s jacket. Connor shrugged the best he could in their current position.

“How I kept giving you my clothes.” Jared’s face scrunched up in confusion. Connor laughed lightly.

“Right? It’s stupid. But, I ran out and bought it. I knew I wanted to be with you forever, I just. Started to second guess myself.” He pulled back enough to see Jared’s face. His cheeks were wet, his eyes puffy and red. He sniffed wetly and Connor smiled.

“Jared Kleinman, will you do me the honor of being my husband?” Jared’s lip wobbled again. He broke into a grin, showcasing the gap in his teeth that Connor loved.

“I’m not taking your last name,” he joked.

“I kinda like the way ‘Connor Kleinman’ sounds.” Jared made a noise like he’d been punched in the stomach. He moved his arms to wrap around Connor’s neck. He leaned up, barely standing on his toes, to kiss Connor full on the mouth. They kissed gently for a few minutes, enjoying each other’s presence.

Jared pulled away first, leaning his forehead against Connor’s. They breathed together for another moment, before Jared opened his eyes. He made eye contact with Connor. He broke into another dopey grin.

“Yes. I do, whatever I have to say.” Connor laughed and leaned forward to capture Jared’s lips in another emotional kiss.

It was a bit of an unorthodox solution, Connor knew. But as Jared turned the corner to enter their bedroom, wearing Connor’s favorite sweatshirt, he knew he didn’t care. Jared settled next to him on the bed. Connor wrapped him in a full body cuddle, playing with the ring on Jared’s left hand. He smiled. It was the best solution he could’ve asked for.