When August answered the door, his brain momentarily short-circuited. That looked like Ephraim. It looked exactly like Ephraim…but Raimy was back in Indiana. There was no reason logical reason or explanation for him being in Bahrain, especially not in time for August’s 28th birthday. Last year, he had to spend his 27th at sea spent it sulking over his lack of celebratory sex and abundance of practice drills at 5 am.

August began to hyper-ventilate, muttering oh-my-gods over and over. He twisted to stare in slaw-jacked disbelief at his tight-knit bunch of seamen. They were all grinning like Cheshire cats. August was just grateful they had accepted him as an out gay man, but to think they went so far to organize this was just… everything went blurry. He threw himself into Ephraim’s arms and cried into his shoulder. A chorus of “awws” followed behind him.

Raimy rocked him, kissing his temple and sniffling himself, “I missed you so much…” he whispered, voice cracking.
James handed them both tissues which they used in an instant. August pulled back and grabbed Raimy’s head in his hands, “Holy shit it’s really you.”
“Yes, it’s me.” This was punctuated by a possessive kiss.
“Holy fuck…this is – this is …I can’t ..words!” he cried, flapping his hands. “YOU’re my birthday present? Is that what the guys were talking about?”

“Not exactly,” Ephraim smirked, He was wearing only a pair of tight jeans with nothing on underneath and looked damn dashing. After making sure none of their hotel neighbors were watching, he came into their room and closed the door behind him. Ephraim wasted zero time. From his back pocket he withdrew a small box and got on one knee.
“August Reynolds Tarbell. I cannot fucking stand the idea of you thinking I don’t love you enough to send you out into the world without some assurance you’ve been claimed. You are my world, my reason for living. You gave me a reason to kick my Oxy habit. You pulled me through my mother’s passing. You encouraged me to be a mechanic and open my own shop. You…have always been so goddamn patient with me.” He swallowed hard, voice warbling, “I love you so much, please let me love you forever. I will never take it for granted. Will you marry me?”

August’s hands flew to his mouth. His knees were wobbling, so James stood by in case he fainted. The sailor could only nod his head and squeak out a “yes”. The entire hotel room erupted in roars, cat calls, and whoops. Hidden bottles of alcohol emerged from dresser drawers and under the bed. 
Ephraim put the ring on his fiance’s finger, dried his tears with the tissue, then sealed their promise with the most passionate, sweetest kiss. August melted into the sensation of his lips and the texture of Raimy’s tongue… he’d missed those kisses so goddamn much that he wished he could tell his lover without the threat of bursting like a damn. Ephraim pulled him close with an arm around the back of his neck and continued making out hard, not minding their audience.

James let them have their intimacy for a bit then thrust glasses of champagne into their hands. “Alright, alright, you can neck and have sex later but right now, we drink! To the happy couple!”

They got four noise complaints that night. Only two of those were from the party.