❝ we should do it. get married, have a wedding. ❞ / from @k17y ❤️ ❤️🤭
Eyes bug out in an almost comical fashion at the words coming from her mouth. Funny, isn't it? She could say the most depraved, dirty things and he wouldn't bat an eye — used to filthy talk from her. But when the topic of marriage comes up? That is what causes fluster anew.
"Married," he repeats, voice coming out somewhere between a squeak and a whisper. "Married."
His freckles have all but vanished beneath a tidal wave of blush that spreads from his cheeks to his throat to the tips of his fins. He can feel his pulse hammering behind his eyes.
"You — but — we —" He swallows hard. Tries again. "You want to marry me?"
His heart is doing something dangerous in his chest. The kind of dangerous that feels like flying, or falling, or maybe both at once. He's been in love with her for so long that he stopped calling it that — started calling it admiring, cherishing, being hopelessly devoted to his sweet Kitty — because love felt too big, too much, too stupid for someone like him to feel for someone like her.
But she's looking at him. Waiting.
And she just asked him to marry her.
"I — yes," he blurts, then claps a hand over his mouth, eyes wide. "I mean — if you're — if you're serious — yes. Obviously yes. A thousand times yes. I just —" His voice cracks. He's crying. Oh, hell, he's crying. Just a little. Quickly wiped away with the heel of his palm.
"I just need to know you're not joking," he manages, quieter now, almost fragile. "Because my heart can't take it if you're joking."
Hesitantly he steps forward. His posture is slouched, still shy, but there's something new in the way he holds himself. Something hopeful.
"I love you," he says, and the words come easier than he expected. "I've loved you for ages. I just never thought — I didn't think I deserved —"
He stops. Bites his lip. Then offers her that wobbly, watery, painfully sincere smile that he reserves only for her.
For once, he finds that he doesn't care.
"N-no. I mean, could we?" She knows she can do much better, right? Would he be so selfish as to tie her down to him just because he wanted to keep her all for himself? They were never really monogamous because Phineas always knew her sex work would come before their relationship, and he'd always been okay with that. Maybe marriage is just a prettier word for showing the world how deep their bond is. And he wants to. Oh, Satan, does he want to.
"I will — I mean, I do. If you do too."
@k17y is swimming with the fishes 🐟
