With winter holidays approaching, it's supposed to be a time for romance and togetherness for Colton and Ben. Except climate change has erased the chance for a white Christmas, their rent is going up, and neither of them have energy after working all day and barely getting to see each other. As their frustrations mount and finances dwindle, it almost seems more likely they'll be single for the new year rather than doing anything special for each other.<br><br>Colton isn't willing to give up without a fight, though. He might not be able to give Ben his dream of visiting the moon, but he can bring a bit of the moon to Earth. Rekindling some of his own hope and romance, he decides to put his skills as a chef to good use and go all out in preparing Ben a meal --  and a night -- not to be forgotten. The world might be a grim place, but if he shoots for the moon, maybe he can hit a bit of holiday magic.

Shooting for the Moon

Phones were monitored. At first they’d thought they could hide, always in the back of their minds hoping it wouldn’t matter anyway. The world regularly claimed to be accepting, ran ads with people like them in it, and yet because everyone was allowed to refuse them anything, many people did.


Neither of them wanted businesses accessing this information, and a time and place on a napkin was too tempting for Colton to pass up. He’d gone over to Ben’s parents’ home in the middle of the night, his sleep schedule be damned, and they’d gone to the garage to be together. It was big enough for three cars but nobody could afford to own that many anymore. Colton had been in awe of the space, of Ben, who got right down to the business of making out.


Chapter 7