"Did you look at the pictures?"

Moss doesn't bother with a formal greeting when Addie's face appears on his screen.

"I did. It looks very romantic, Mo," she responds with a grin on her face.

The Larsson's are back in Sweden, so Moss tries to be mindful when calling his friend by taking the time difference between Uppsala and Denver into consideration. She tends to be busy during the day with the kids and tired by the time they are asleep. It should now be around nine o'clock at night there—the perfect time for Moss to call her in a panic.

"Our vacation last year was also romantic, Ads. Do you think this one is any different?" He questions anxiously.

Last summer, Tye flew them out to Greece during the offseason. Moss swears that their trips keep getting more and more elaborate every year. His boyfriend is amazing at planning vacations for them and is more than willing to drop some serious cash in the process.

Addie waves her hand dismissively at the camera as she makes a pshh sound with her lips. "Yeah—that was also very nice, but you stayed at a hotel there. This is an entire villa that he is renting out for the two of you in Sicily."

Moss bites at the skin on his thumb nervously. He has had the exact same thoughts as Addie going through his head ever since Tye sent him the villa information. After looking at the pictures of the extravagant Airbnb, Moss simply gave his boyfriend a thumbs up response over text.

"Whenever he wants to surprise me, he really commits to it. Don't you think this would be a little obvious?" He continues to talk out his thought process with his friend.

She laughs airily at his concerns. "Clearly it's not obvious if you and I aren't one-hundred percent sure that he's going to do it. I don't understand why you're so nervous anyway, you already know that you'd say 'yes'."

"The unknown makes me nervous, Addie." Moss frowns playfully at the camera. "Besides, I think the anticipation is also what's getting me so worked up. Everyone is always asking us when we're getting married—I kind of wish I didn't agree to let Tye do the proposing. If it were up to me, I would've proposed years ago."

"You two are sickeningly sweet—I miss you so much," Addie says with a sad smile on her face.

Moss goes from feeling anxious to melancholy instantaneously. "I miss you too, Ads. Maybe I can convince Tye to visit Sweden while we're in Europe. Actually—even if he says no I'll do it anyway." This earns him a laugh from his long-distance friend.

It has been difficult not having the Larsson's around for the last year and a half. After the Boulder's won the Cup in 2024, Lars returned the following season fully healthy. He continued to captain the team for two more seasons before eventually sustaining another injury. He made the difficult decision to retire when he learned about how long the healing process would take after yet another surgery.

They stayed in Denver briefly into the next season. This wasn't ideal considering their older kids were enrolled in school and would have to transfer when they moved back to Sweden. However, Lars wanted to be there to support Tye when he was named the next captain of the Colorado Boulders.

Tye inheriting the captaincy was a bittersweet experience all around. While he was honored and proud to be given the C, he struggled with accepting that his mentor was officially retired and moving out of the country. Ev had also retired and a couple guys were traded including Shane and Enny.

There were definitely a couple of instances where Tye would get emotional and slightly overwhelmed with the changes, so Moss tried his best to be there for him. He is immensely proud of his boyfriend and his accomplishments, but it took a while before Tye gained a good grasp on the new role that he now plays for his team.

"MoMo! I'm home!"

He hears Tye call from the kitchen. There was a charity event for Alzheimer's that was taking place at the arena today and Tye wanted to be there to show his support.

"Tye just got home. I miss you so much—I promise I'll visit as soon as I can," he tells his friend.

"I'll hold you to that." She smiles back at him before yawning. "I'm getting sleepy. Keep me updated on the proposal situation. Love you."

Moss' finger hovers over the 'end call' button. "Love you too. Tell Lars and the kids that I miss them."

They give their goodbyes and hang up.

"MoMo? You home, sweetheart?"

Moss smiles from where he is sitting on their bed when he hears Tye continue to call for him.

"I'm upstairs!"

Tye enters the room a moment later with their cat, Dorothy, trailing closely behind him. He walks over to where Moss is seated scrolling on his phone with his back against the headboard. Dorothy hops up to rub against his leg.

"Hi, beautiful," Tye says before placing a kiss on top of Moss' head and pushing a hand into his dark curls.

Putting his phone down, Moss beams up at his boyfriend and grabs the hand that isn't currently brushing through his hair. "Hi, handsome. How was the event?"

"Pretty good. We had a decent turnout and raised more money than what they projected."

Times like these reaffirm Moss' all-consuming love for his boyfriend. He has never met anyone so genuine and kindhearted as Tye in his life.

"I'm so proud of you, captain," Moss says with a smile as he gently tugs at Tye's hand, urging him to join him and Dorothy on the bed.

Tye laughs and sits down next to him, throwing an arm around Moss' shoulders and giving him a kiss on his nose. "Thanks, sweets. Have you had a chance to look at the Airbnb I sent?"

"Mhm," Moss hums and places a kiss on Tye's lips. "You somehow found a place even more beautiful than the hotel we stayed at in Greece last year. Didn't know that was possible."

The compliment causes Tye's cheeks to redden and his smile to widen with pride. "I knew you'd love it. Have you started packing?"

"Yep. I have everything but our toiletries in the suitcase already. You might want to check and see if I packed all the right outfits for you, though," Moss replies, playing with his boyfriend's fingers.

"We've traveled enough together. I trust that you packed the essentials for me," Tye says confidently. "Thank you, sweets."

They leave for Italy in two days where they will be staying for a week and a half. Tye initially suggested that they go for two or three weeks, but Moss told him that they could only do ten days. The new accounting firm that he works at in Colorado has mandatory meetings coming up that he needs to be present for. They just so happen to be taking place as soon as he and Tye return from vacation.

"No problem," Moss replies sweetly with a smile before pecking him on the lips. "If you really want to thank me though, you could schedule a quick stop in Sweden...."

Tye groans playfully and lays his head down on Moss' shoulder. "How do you always manage to find a way to throw a wrench in my plans?"

Moss lays his head on top of his jokingly exasperated boyfriend's.

"It's a special talent of mine," he says cheekily.

Lifting his head back up to make eye contact with Moss, Tye asks, "You want to try to make time to see the Larsson's?"

Nodding his head, Moss tries to give Tye his best pleading eyes. "I really miss them. Do you think we could stop by at some point?"

"I'll see what I can do," Tye exhales and places a kiss on the top of Moss' head.

-

"Wake up, MoMo. We're here, sweetheart," Tye whispers gently to his sleeping boyfriend.

Moss had fallen asleep in the cab from the airport. He is exhausted after the nearly twelve hour flight to Italy, but ecstatic to be done with transportation for the day.

"I'm up," Moss slurs sleepily as he picks his head up off Tye's shoulder and reaches for the door handle in the cab.

The couple take their bags out of the trunk and Tye gets out some euros to pay the driver. He walks back to Moss, grabs his hand and steers them toward the impressive Italian villa.

Blinking the sleep from his eyes, Moss finally takes in the sheer size of the beautiful building in front of him. "Jeez, Tye. You really didn't hold back for this vacation, did you? It's even bigger than I thought it'd be."

Tye types in a code on the security system that he has written down in his phone. "I spare no expense for you, my love," he responds complaisantly.

The inside is architecturally gorgeous. There are arched windows and doorways as well as pristine furniture which is a mix of creams and browns. The sheer amount of space and number of rooms is unnecessary for the two of them, but it is still breathtaking to look at.

Moss and Tye's room is bright and open with a view of the ocean beyond the wooden doors to their personal deck. They throw their bags down and change into their bathing suits immediately after spotting the infinity pool in the backyard.

After some swimming, Moss lays out on a chaise lounge patio chair as Tye continues to float. "This place is sick," he says aloud with his eyes closed while soaking in the sun.

He hears his boyfriend laugh at the comment. "Glad you like, it sweets. Hopefully the rest of the trip will impress you just as much as the house itself."

Lifting his sunglasses up to peer down at the man in the pool, Moss replies, "You never fail to impress me, baby."

-

Their vacation blows all other vacations out of the water. Moss would put money on this being the best vacation of all time—no one has ever had as much fun as him and Tye are having during this trip.

Okay, so it's only been a couple of hours, but Moss is having the time of his life already. When they finished swimming, the two of them showered and went to a local pizza place that was within walking distance of the villa. Full and relaxed, they headed back to the villa where they broke in the luxurious cotton mattress before falling asleep.

Moss wakes up to light shining through the wooden doors leading to their deck. Stretching his hands above his head, he deflates and closes his eyes for a couple more seconds. He is not sure what surprises Tye has planned for him, but he hopes to God that one of them involves Tye finally getting down on one knee.

Eventually, he rolls out of bed and digs through his suitcase to retrieve a pair of black shorts and a button up with vertical dark green stripes. He leaves the top three unbuttoned to show off the silver chain Tye head gotten him previously. The shirt remains untucked per the Pinterest photo he referenced while looking up what summertime outfits he should wear in Europe. After putting on his high white socks and Adidas shoes, Moss heads down to the kitchen.

Tye must have ran out to a market while he was sleeping because he is cooking with several ingredients that they certainly did not have when they arrived yesterday.

"Morning, sweets," Tye greets him with a kiss when Moss walks over to him at the stove.

"Morning," Moss responds. "You should've woken me up to get groceries with you—I could've helped you carry everything."

Flipping a pancake over in his pan, Tye shakes his head and smiles. "You looked so cozy, I couldn't wake you up. And I didn't have too much to carry, so it's fine."

Sitting on the counter next to the stove, Moss pulls a bowl of fresh strawberries and blueberries closer to him. He pops a dark red strawberry in his mouth and then finds a big one to feed to his boyfriend who is currently playing chef for the two of them.

"Open up," Moss singsongs to the taller man. Tye opens his mouth obediently to receive the fruit. He bites down causing some juice to run down Moss' finger. The solution?

"Ew, what the fuck," Moss laughs heartily as Tye takes his finger into his mouth in an attempt to chase the strawberry juice.

Releasing his finger from his mouth, Tye flips another finished pancake onto a tray with a stack of other pancakes. "What do you mean 'ew', you weirdo—you're telling me you aren't used to my mouth after how many years together?"

Moss laughs and hops off the counter. Picking up the tray of pancakes, he carries them to the kitchen table which is already set with plates and silverware. He notes that there also seems to be a bouquet of fresh cut flowers in the middle of the table and a small candle burning to the side.

"Not when it's being used to suck fruit off my fingers, no," he chirps back happily.

Tye puts the bowls and pans he used by the sink and brings over orange juice and a bottle of champagne. "Well, I was gonna offer you a mimosa, but now I don't think I want to."

"I think you actually owe me several mimosas for what you just did," Moss rebuttals as he divvies up the pancakes and fruit on to each of their plates. Tye puts down two champagne flutes and begins filling them with the orange juice and champagne.

Before he can respond to Moss' sass, he seemingly drops something on the ground. Moss didn't hear a loud thud, so he assumes it must have been something smaller. His boyfriend gets onto his knees to search for whatever it is that he dropped.

Moss' heart suddenly begins to race as a thought pops into his head.

Could this be what he's been waiting for?

"Aha!" Tye exclaims and spins around on his knee. In his hand he holds the cork from the bottle of champagne. "It would've been bad if either of us tripped on this sucker."

Moss sighs and cuts into his pancake. "Yeah—close call."

-

A couple days later, Moss and Tye are walking around the small town nearby. The town is made up of a variety of colorful buildings as well as ones built from beige stone. They walk down the cobblestone path, ducking into stores and stopping at various street vendors along the way. Moss enjoys being a stereotypical tourist and is determined to see and do everything that they possibly can within their vicinity.

"Should I get this for Eli?" Moss asks. He currently has a magnet is his hand that says 'Italy Girls Trip'. Around the words are cartoon depictions of famous Italian monuments as well as sculptures of nude male bodies.

"E will make eye contact with you as he throws it away," Tye informs him gently, as if talking to a child. "But you can put it on our fridge if you want."

Closing his hand around the small magnet, Moss gets his wallet out of his pocket. "Nah—I'll give it to him in front of mom and dad. They'll guilt him into keeping it."

After shopping around for a couple hours, Moss' legs start to get tired. He begins looking around them for a place to sit when he suddenly hears music playing in the distance.

"Live music! Let's go!" Moss grabs Tye's hand and drags him in the direction of the plucking of a guitar and melodic Italian singing.

A duo—an elderly man and woman—sit on stools as they perform to a small crowd of people in the center of the town. Tye spots a free table and pulls his boyfriend toward it to sit. He throws his arm over Moss' shoulder and hums along lowly to the music.

When a new song starts up, two young girls go to the empty space in front of the performers and begin dancing along to the cheerful tune. They clearly recognize the song as they sing along causing the musicians to smile wide with glee. Soon, a few more people join the girls on the 'dance floor' and make up their own steps to the music.

"Come on," Tye urges Moss to stand up with him. He has a small smile on his face as he leads Moss to the crowd of dancers.

Moss laughs as he and Tye attempt to keep up with the made up steps that the young girls are now encouraging everyone to follow. The song ends and a slower one starts up. Some people leave to sit back down while others stay to sway along to the new melody.

As they dance, Moss can't help but feel like this would be the perfect moment for Tye to pop The Question.

After the thought crosses his mind, Tye begins patting at his pockets. It was subtle at first, but then he backs away from Moss' arms to search more closely. His eyebrows are drawn together in concern and the next thought that crosses Moss' mind is—this idiot lost the ring.

A feeling of dread falls over Moss as Tye turns to him with a sheepish look on his face.

"Sweetheart—don't be mad, but-" Tye give his pockets one more pat. "I think I lost your magnet."

"Jesus Christ," Moss mutters and grabs Tye's wrist to drag him back in the direction of the street vendors.

-

There are only three days left of their vacation.

Tye. Still. Hasn't. Proposed.

Moss is beginning to lose hope that they will get engaged anytime soon, but then Tye insists on going for a walk on the beach one evening. They are barefoot in the sand walking hand in hand as they chat about what they should get Evelyn as a thank you gift for watching Dorothy.

"We should just take her out to dinner when we get back," Tye states. "She loves that one steakhouse in the city."

Shaking his head, Moss says, "That can't be the only thing we do for her. She flew in from Calgary to watch our baby for a week and a half. We need to get her, like, jewelry or something. Maybe some gift cards?"

Tye groans playfully at the suggestion. "MoMo, she loves staying at our place and Dorothy is not hard to take care of. Evie is not expecting us to get her anything fancy for doing this."

"Just because she's not expecting anything doesn't mean we shouldn't get her something," Moss pouts. "Besides, it's not like we don't have the means to do so. I'm gonna get her something nice the next time we go into town."

"Whatever you say, sweets," Tye laughs in response, clearly knowing that he won't win this battle.

Moss is about to tell Tye about his last FaceTime call that he had with Melanie and her son when they come up to a blanket surrounded by candles and roses. The mere sight of the set up brings Moss to a stop. He feels like the wind has been knocked out of him and he thinks—for the third time—that it's about to happen.

Turning to look at Tye, he sees his boyfriend already staring at something else. A man in a suit is walking an excited woman over to the blanket with his hand covering her eyes so she doesn't see anything. Tye wraps his arm around Moss' waist and turns them around to head back to the villa, giving the couple privacy for their proposal.

Once they are back inside, Tye can tell that Moss is upset. There is a visible frown on his face and he has gotten significantly quieter than what he is used to. Knowing that he needs to cheer his love up, he says, "I was going to try to make it a surprise, but I got plane tickets to Sweden."

Moss perks up at this. A smile stretches over his lips and the light is suddenly back in his hazel eyes. "Really? We're gonna visit the Larsson's? Do they know?"

Laughing lightly, Tye replies, "Yes, they know that we're coming. We fly there tomorrow morning and will stay at their house for the night. I know it's a short amount of time and I promise I tried to figure something out sooner but-"

He is cut off by Moss who throws his arms around Tye's neck and pulls him down for a kiss. "It's perfect—thank you for doing this for me. I love you."

Tye bends down to place another soft kiss on his lips. "Of course, sweetheart. I love you too."

-

Lars picks them up from the airport the next morning.

"You two are looking refreshed!" He exclaims, embracing them one at a time. The Swedish man has grown out his blonde beard, but looks pretty much the same. The crinkles by his eyes and on his forehead are slightly more defined, which is the only sign that he has aged since the last time Moss and Tye saw him in person.

Tye pats him on the back after their hug and says, "Italy treated us well. Thanks again for picking us up and letting us crash at your place tonight."

They follow Lars' lead as he walks them to his Volvo. "It's no problem at all—we've missed you two! I think if Addie had to go any longer without seeing Mo in person, she would've exploded."

Moss smiles thinking about his friend and how excited he is at the prospect of seeing her again.

"Yeah, I think Mo would've self-destructed if he didn't get to see Addie during this trip. Thank God there was a flight available for us to come here," Tye jokes along.

Tye offers Moss the front seat, but he insists on Tye sitting up front to catch up with his friend. His boyfriend gives him a grateful smile before getting in the car. The two hockey players catch up by gossiping like teenage girls about the Boulders.

"So, the new kid that we got from San Francisco came out to the bars with us one time in January. He hung around Smitty too long and ended up doing way too many shots. Get this—he passed out in a booth so I had to carry the little shit to my car and text his roommate from his phone for his address. I guess he woke up at some point during the drive and went crazy on Uber Eats because by the time I was walking him into his apartment building, there were, like, ten fucking bags of food at the front desk with his name on them—all from different restaurants."

Lars and Tye had tears in their eyes from how hard they are laughing at each others stories by the time that they pull up to a modest, red-paneled house. Moss immediately spots his beautiful friend and her three children in the from yard.

Throwing the car door open, Moss runs over to her. "Addie!"

"Mo!" She squeezes him hard as they laugh—almost hysterically—at finally being reunited.

Eventually, they separate and look at each other with matching goofy smiles on their faces. "I can't believe I'm actually at your house," Moss tells her. He honestly wasn't sure if he and Tye would be able to make it to Sweden during their short trip.

"Oh, please," Addies laughs and waves her hand down dismissively. "You know that Tye can't say no to you. As soon as you told him you wanted to come here, he was on a mission to make it happen."

Lars and Tye appear with their luggage that was shoved in the trunk. Tye puts his bags down briefly to give Addie a hug before heading towards the front door. They must've just dropped everything off in the entrance of the house because they return quickly.

"Boys—you are watching the kids for now. Mo and I are going out," Addie grabs the car keys from Lars' hand and heads for the Volvo. Moss' eyes widen and he looks at Tye who simply offers him a shrug. He assumed they would all hang out together, but apparently Addie has other plans.

Not seeming bothered by this, Lars chuckles and slaps a hand on Tye's back. "You heard the woman, Marty. We're on kid duty—come on," Lars' gruff voice rumbles.

Moss and Tye turn to follow their respective friend to whatever activities they have planned.

-

Addie finds a place to park the Volvo and takes Moss deeper into the city of Uppsala to go sightseeing. She shows him the places that their family frequents including museums, parks and even a castle that was originally built in the 1500s. He wishes that they had more time to explore together. Preferably with Tye, Lars and the kids.

Eventually, they end up at a quaint coffeeshop close to where they parked the car. Addie orders a drip coffee and Moss—after she tells him what 'drip coffee' is—orders a latte.

They have been outside for a couple of hours and the sun is still out, but slowly beginning to set. It will most likely be dark in about an hour and a half. Their table outside by the cobblestone street gives them a perfect view of the orange and pink sky.

"I'm happy Tye was able to fly us out here, but I wish we could stay longer," Moss says to his friend as he swirls the remainder of his latte in his cup. They have been avoiding talking about his and Tye's short stay despite it being the ever-present elephant in the room.

Addie sighs and Moss watches her blue eyes drop to look down at her own cup of coffee. "I know—I told William that we should just kidnap you two and make you stay for another week, but he said that is a bad idea."

Moss laughs at this causing Addie to look back up at him with a humorous smirk on her lips.

"If you kidnap us, I promise I won't tell the police," Moss holds his pinky out to her. She hooks her own pinky around his. "It's a deal," she says in a serious voice.

Taking the last sip of his latte, Moss gazes to his left and sees some trees scattered around the nearby park. With the sun steadily making its descent, he can kind of make out some lights through the leaves.

"Do Swedish people decorate their parks with fairy lights?" He asks his friend.

Addie turns her head in the direction that he is looking. When she turns back around, she seems to be suppressing a smile. "Sometimes the city permits organizations to decorate our parks and public spaces for certain events," she informs him giddily.

"Huh," Moss ponders aloud. "I wonder what's going on over there."

"Why don't we go find out?" Addie says, getting up and pushing in her chair. She tosses her cup into a trashcan and places her hands on her hips as she looks down at him expectantly.

Perplexed by her eagerness, Moss tilts his head to the side curiously. "I don't know, maybe we should go back to your house—it's going to be getting dark soon and I want to see the kids and Lars."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Addie argues, "It will be a five minute walk, Mo. Let's just stop by and see if there are any fun vendors or activities going on, then we will go straight back home to see everyone."

"All right," Moss sighs as he gets up and tosses the rest of his latte in the trash can. "Let's go check it out. I hope they have snacks over there."

"Why didn't you get something to eat from the café?"

"I wasn't hungry when we first went in."

"I saw you staring at the croissants when we were ordering."

"So maybe I was saving my appetite for dinner later. Is that a crime?"

"Yes, it is. Now I am going to call the Swedish police and get you arrested."

"All of this over a croissant?"

"Not just the croissant! There was also-"

-

"Yeah? Well your daughter texted me and let me know that you are decreasing her screen time."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"They won't be able to talk to their uncles in America now—that's what's wrong with that."

"I didn't ban them from technology, I'm just managing their time on it."

"Well, I hate that and-"

Moss halts when they get to an opening in the trees in the middle of the park. It looks like there is a dirt pathway leading somewhere and the fairy lights are draped artistically as far as he can see down the trail.

"Why did you stop walking?" Addie asks as she grabs his elbow and pulls for him to keep going.

Planting his feet, Moss holds on to her wrist to prevent her from continuing forward. "There aren't any signs or anything—I don't think we should wander down this random path with no one around."

"You Americans are so paranoid," Addie rolls her eyes at him. "It is not dark yet and there is plenty of lights all around. I have been down here before as well, so I know there are many of openings if we need to make some grand escape."

"I don't know...." Moss trails off, unconvinced about continuing to meander down this unfamiliar walkway.

Addie laces their fingers together and smiles gently at him. "I promise the view will be worth it. But if we get murdered, I'll let you say 'I told you so' wherever we end up in the afterlife."

"Jeez, that's morbid," Moss huffs out a laugh. "All right—I'm gonna be so pissed if we get killed, though."

They walk a little further down the path littered with bushes and flowers. The fairy lights are draped all along the trees lining the trail which makes the quiet area slightly less intimidating. Addie and Moss do not continue bickering, but instead take in the beauty of the nature around them. Their foot steps make soft thudding sounds, harmonizing with the crickets hidden around them.

Moss is about to ask Addie about turning back when they suddenly come to a clearing. Beyond the trees is one of the many bridges that they passed earlier while trekking around Uppsala. The lights are woven around the metal railings of the stone bridge and pink petals from the flowers on the trail are scattered on the ground. At the opening of the stone bridge.... Tye.

Turning to look at Addie, Moss realizes that the woman somehow made a sly escape while he was taking in the extravagant surroundings. His gaze soon returns to his boyfriend who has a gentle smile on his face. Moss feels as if he is in a dream. He wants to walk toward the handsome man on the bridge, but his feet seem to be glued to the ground.

Noticing Moss' immobility, Tye chuckles and begins walking toward him.

"We were supposed to do this scenically on the bridge, but I guess this works too," Tye jokes lightly. When he finally gets to his boyfriend, he envelopes his hands in his much bigger ones.

"Hi, sweetheart," Tye says.

"Hi," is all Moss can manage to get out in response.

Tye's thumbs circle the back of Moss' hands soothingly.

"Took you a while to get here," Tye tells him with a smirk.

Moss blinks at him dumbly. "I thought me and Addie were gonna get murdered at the end of this trail," he hears himself reply, but doesn't even register his mouth moving. His brain feels fuzzy.

This makes Tye bark out a loud laugh, nearly disturbing the peaceful atmosphere around them. His eyes crinkle with amusement and he pulls Moss in for a kiss. "After tonight, continue to follow your instincts and don't go down random paths. Okay?"

"Okay," Moss echoes back.

"Did you know that the locker room wasn't the first time I saw you?" He asks, his voice low.

Shaking his head, Moss says, "But that was the first time we met?"

Tye's smile grows at this comment. "That was the first time I got the courage to introduce myself to you. I saw you before that at a family event the Boulders hosted back when Shane was a rookie."

"Shane held us hostage at the rookie table with the other rookie's families that night," Moss recalls.

"Mhm," Tye hums. "You wore a gray cardigan and black jeans that night."

Moss' eyebrows raise in surprise. "Are you trying to tell me that you had a crush on me years before we officially met? Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Laughing lightly at Moss' indignation, Tye kisses him again. This works to flush away any disgruntlement that Moss mustered up. Like magic, his brain goes back to being fuzzy once again.

"Because I thought that it would be a good segue for this," he says.

Before Moss can ask what he means by that, Tye drops down to one knee.

"Moss Benjamin Kettler-" Tye begins.

Moss' eyes widen and his left hand anxiously clasps onto his right wrist.

"-I have been obsessed with you since the moment I saw you."

Only one sentence in and Moss' vision is already beginning to blur.

"The amount of times I stalked your mom and brother's social media to find out more about you is honestly embarrassing."

Moss laughs, but it comes out choked and he immediately realizes that he is crying.

"I never could have imagined in my wildest dreams that you would actually give me a chance. You are the best thing that has has ever happened to me. I wake up every day grateful to have you in my life."

Tye reaches into his pocket with certainty unlike in Italy when he was looking for the magnet. When his hand reappears, it is holding a black velvet box.

"I want to wake up next to you for the rest of my life."

He opens the box to reveal a white gold ring. It has a thick band with a sizable diamond fitting within the confines of the band.

"Will you marry me, MoMo?"

A gasp escapes Moss'mouth despite him obviously knowing where this was going. Tears are still streaming down his face, but he can feel himself beaming at the man below him.

"Yes—yes, of course," he stutters out, attempting to wipe at his cheeks.

Tye stands up with a broad smile on his face. He places a hand on the back of his fiancé's head a presses their lips together. It's a mess—Tye is smiling into it and Moss' tears are in both of their mouths. It's perfect.

"I love you," Tye tells him as he wipes the moisture from his face using his sleeve.

"I love you too," Moss says with a laugh. "Is Addie hiding in the trees right now?"

Tye wraps his arms around Moss' waist. "Nope. She went home."

Startled by this information, Moss asks, "How are we getting back to their house then? Is Lars here?"

"We just got engaged, we're not going back to our friends house," he offers nonchalantly, swaying them back and forth.

Moss lays his head on Tye's chest but his eyebrows are furrowed together in confusion. "Where are we staying then? We need to get our bags."

Tye backs up, holding Moss at arms length and looking as if he is trying not laugh at him. "Sweetheart—I didn't just randomly decide to propose to you. Believe it or not, I planned this out. Addie's parents came over to watch the kids when you and Addie left. Lars and I took Addie's dad's car into the city to drop off our luggage at the Airbnb I rented out here. We spent the next couple hours hanging up all these lights."

"You planned this entire trip to propose to me in Sweden?" Moss is dumbfounded and can't think of anything else to say.

"No," Tye chuckles. "I planned this entire trip to propose to you in Italy. But someone was eager to change my plans, so I adapted."

Moss' lips are parted in surprise. "God, you're perfect."

He can see Tye's cheeks redden in the light provided by the little bulbs above them hanging in the trees. The flushed man's smile doesn't waver, but he bends down to give him another delicate kiss.

"I'm glad you think so because I don't think you deserve anything less than that," he says.

Moss shoves his face into his fiancé's collarbone, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion.

"I don't want to fly back home tomorrow," he tells Tye.

Tye continues to sway them back and forth as he casually says, "I'd say an engagement is good enough excuse to miss some dumb meetings back home."

Moss looks up at him with adoration in his eyes.

"Yeah. I'd say it is the perfect excuse to stay in Sweden a little while longer."