TW: I'm more of a Smornby, but whatever floats your ship ;)

Title: ~Thinking Out Loud~

The sun glared through the thin blinds, the light illuminating every line in Chris’ face as he sat in his armchair, watching as Alex moved around the room, a stick clutched in his grasp and his other hand catching on to the mantelpiece for support as he made his way to his own chair beside Chris’. He grimaced slightly as he bent to sit in the chair, starting to feel the effect age had had on his joints. As he shifted and got comfortable in his chair, he reached for the old, worn guitar beside him.  As the music rang out, he sang softly along. The song he played was an old one, reminiscent of when they were teenagers. He used to be able to play it beautifully his fingers moving easily over the strings of his old guitar, but time had brought crippling arthritis and now he struggled to play. Despite the pain in his hands, he still managed to play smoothly, his lips fitting the sweet words to the melody.

Alex sang softly, the light fading in Chris’ bedroom as the teenagers lay together, Smith’s arms wrapped around Chris. Chris lay his head back on Alex’s chest, the soft thump of his pulse reassuring. 

‘What are we gonna do Smith? Our universities are hundreds of miles apart, how can I get by without you for three whole years?’ Chris whispered into the dark, his hand clutching tighter on Alex’s.

‘It’ll be okay, I promise. It’ll be hard, but if we both want this to work enough then it will. I love you, Chris, and I’m not gonna let a little thing like a couple of miles keep us apart. Okay?’ Alex whispered, pulling Chris closer into him and kissing the top of his head. Chris mouthed the word ‘Okay’ back, sniffing hard.

‘I miss you, Alex, so much’ Chris said into the camera, his duvet tucked around his shoulders tightly against the chill of the empty dorm room, his eyes focussed on the slightly pixelated live image of Smith in his flat, his hair mussed up and dark circles under his eyes.

‘I miss you too, I have to go, I have work in the morning’ he replied, stifling a yawn. Chris smiled sadly, mouthing ‘I love you at the camera, blinking back tears.

‘Chris… Are you okay?’ Smith asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

‘Yeah… Yeah. I’m fine. Honest’ He replied, shaking his head and forcing a smile.

‘Okay. Just remember babe, you’ve got three more months and then you’ll be back here with me, okay? I love you, I’ll skype you tomorrow’ Smith replied, smiling gently. Chris sniffed hard, collecting himself.

‘Okay, I love you too, see you soon!’ Chris replied, smiling himself as he ended the call and closed his laptop.

Smith smiled to himself, resisting the urge to look over his shoulder as he heard the guests gasp and shift in their seats, heralding Chris’ arrival. Ross took the brunettes arm, tears in his own eyes as he led him towards the alter where Smith was stood. Chris was already in pieces, choking back sobs as he allowed himself to be walked down the aisle. Flowers adorned the church as tears fell on the lapels of Chris’ suit, Smith finally giving in and turning around to see his fiancé, a huge smile breaking out on his face and dimples creasing his face as he couldn’t resist jogging down the aisle towards him, taking his hand and winking at Ross as he towed him back towards where the vicar was stood, much to the amusement of the congregation. The vows went off without a hitch, Chris managing to stop crying long enough to murmur ‘I do’ at the right time and Alex too. The vicar barely managed to say ‘You may now kiss the groom’ before Alex grabbed Chris, the congregation exploding into laughter and applause as he leant him backwards and kissed him deeply, smirking and winking as Chris blushed hard, Ross’ call of ‘Keep it PG’ going mainly unheeded.

Smith shifted and fidgeted in his seat in the office, Chris laying a soothing hand on his shoulder. 

‘Excited babe?’ Chris asked, Smith nodding and smiling to himself. A woman walked into the room, sitting down at the desk. She smiled at the men, a file in her hand.

‘Okay Mr Smith and Mr Smith, all your visits and observations have been fantastic; we think we’ve got just the child for you. She’s 18 months old, her name’s Billie.’ Opening the file, she pushed it towards the men, a picture of a smiley toddler paper clipped to some documents. Chris and Alex looked at each other for a moment, a huge smile breaking out on Alex’s face. Chris swallowed hard, trying to compose himself before replying.

‘She’s perfect’ He said quietly, his eyes filling up with tears.

‘Maybe we found love right where we are’

As the song finished and Smith’s voice tailed off, Chris looked over at him with tears in his eyes. He reached across and clutched his hand, a comfortable silence falling over the room as Alex held his hand just as tightly back, his thumb rubbing over the gold band on his finger.