For Maque and Austin’s five year dating anniversary in 2023, they went on their first big vacation together. They flew to Washington State with plans to spend a few days adventuring and hiking on the Olympic Peninsula, followed by some time in Seattle. Austin, who is a big planner, worked out the details of the trip, deciding where they would stay and what they would do. When the trip planning began early in the year, Maque knew that he wanted to propose on this trip. He carefully arranged how he would propose without tipping Austin off to his idea. At the time, Maque was unsure if Austin would wear a ring, so he purchased a silver bracelet and shipped it to a friend’s house. He snuck the bracelet into their luggage without Austin having a clue about it. Maque chose Fort Worden, a state park with an excellent sea glass collecting beach and Austin’s favorite spot in Washington, as the location for the proposal. They started their morning early and started looking for sea glass. The day was overcast and cold, which left Maque and Austin alone on the beach. Maque’s plan had been to propose at the end of sea glass hunting, but he grew too excited to continue waiting. He let Austin get ahead of him, then he pulled out the bracelet and called Austin over to "look at something cool he found". To which Austin replied "Just a minute!" and picked up a piece of seaglass before he made his way over. When Austin finally made his way over to Maque, he asked Austin to marry him and of course, he said yes!