Out in the Park
[ lol. enjoy :) ]
[ Prompt: none ]
[ Characters: Archie Hopper, Eros Barlowe ]
[ Warnings: this is just...... very soft ]
[ Notes: Perdita and Pongo are meddlers no matter the owner ]
[ AO3 Link ]
It had been a year since Eros finally asked Archie out.
Well, “asked him out” is a bit of an understatement. It was more of a spur of the moment kiss after Eros found out that Archie was alive, but the date came soon after.
There wasn’t too big of a change in their relationship, to be honest. They had always been close, closer to each other than anyone else. Being together romantically was just their friendship with kisses sprinkled in. Also the fact that they had moved in together, and regularly went on ~romantic~ dates (heavily different from their friend dates (not really)).
Long story short, they had gotten comfortable together. While Storybrooke was not exactly… safe, they finally truly had each other, and so they were comfortable. Comfortable enough that Eros bought Archie a ring.
Admittedly, Eros never considered marriage. He’d only ever loved one person, and said person chose to become a cricket before he ever worked up the courage to confess his feelings. And, understandably, he did not intend to marry a cricket.
But now Archie- Jiminy- was human again. They were finally returned to each other, and he wasn’t going to give the universe any chance to pull Archie away from him again.
So he bought a ring, and planned to propose somewhere they both liked. Given they both have dogs (who, interestingly enough, were mates as well), they spent a lot of time in the local park. Archie was weary about the woods, so Eros was fine with the park.
It was where they had their first date, and all the people in town were always so busy so there was rarely anyone else there. Which was a good thing- because they were both way too anxious about their private lives to do something like this so publicly.
It took a while for the perfect day to approach, but finally, it did.
“Arch! Perdita’s getting antsy, I think it’s time for a walk. You wanna leash up Pongo and head down to the park with me?” Eros called up the stairs of their house, clipping the leash onto his dog’s collar before standing back up, watching those same stairs.
He heard Archie move around upstairs, before he appeared on the top landing. “Yes! Just give me a moment to grab my jacket- do not forget yours. It’s on the coat rack next to your scarf, which you should also wear.”
Eros let out a soft chuckle at his lover’s concern, but he knew said concern was necessary. So, he hunted down that jacket and scarf, greeted by Archie leashing up Pongo when he came back to the door.
“Ready to go?” he asked after leaning down to grab Perdita’s leash again. Archie looked over at him, giving him that bright smile of his, before nodding a ‘yes’.
Eros opened the door for them, keeping it propped open with his foot for his lover and his lover’s dog, before following them out with Perdita by his side. She sat patiently next to him while he locked the door, and was rewarded with a pat to the head.
After that, they were on the move.
Honestly, although it was unlikely Eros would ever admit it, he was glad for the extra cold precaution. He could feel the fresh winter air nipping at his arms through his jacket, however it probably was worse for Archie. He hadn’t built up the same tolerance to the elements that Eros had.
So, with that in mind, he decided they should probably speed this up. He nudged Archie gently, before walking a little faster. Luckily, Archie got the message, and sped up as well.
It wasn’t too long until they reached the park, but Eros noticed the cold getting to Archie in the form of reddened cheeks and a little red tint on his nose. “Awww, I told you you should have camped in the winter more often with me,” he teased, pulling Archie down to press a kiss to the tip of his nose.
“Eros, I couldn’t camp with you, we were always on the move,” Archie replied, putting a hand on his boyfriend’s back to get him to start walking again. “Though it would be nice to have your nigh-inhuman tolerance to the elements.”
“That’s just the benefit of being a hunter, my dear,” Eros teased, grinning up at his lover. “You can’t be very effective in winter if you’re shaking the whole time.”
That drew a laugh from Archie, and the sound brought a soft smile to Eros’s lips. When they were alone like this, in a place they both loved, there was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to marry the man next to him. They waited so long to be together, and he didn’t want to wait any longer.
Though, he was not the one to bring them to a stop. Eros could tell Archie had something he wanted to say- he was doing that thing where he mentally hyped himself up and accidentally made it super obvious on his face.
“Arch?” he asked gently, his confusion probably extremely clear when Archie moved in front of him.
His boyfriend took one last deep breath, before pulling something small out of his pocket. Eros couldn’t see it yet, but he didn’t have to speculate long.
“Eros- Hellion- you’ve always been my closest friend. I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember, even if I didn’t realize it until, well, the curse was closing in on us. But the curse is gone, and I still didn’t make a move. I was scared you didn’t feel the same,” Archie paused to take a breath, the cold making it come out shaky. There was a moment where he hyped himself up again, before continuing.
“I don’t want to give us the chance to lose each other again, or to be stuck in some weird limbo that we won’t climb out of because we’re afraid of the consequences. I’m not letting you go, not again.”
“So…” he paused again, and finally revealed the object in his hands. A ring. A beautiful ring, that he probably meticulously picked out to make sure the gem was Eros’s favourite colour- green. “Will you, Hellion, be my husband?”
Eros didn’t know what to do. He brought him here because he planned to propose, and then Archie pulls out this beautiful ring with an equally beautiful speech… he should have expected this.
Archie opened his mouth, likely to prompt an answer or ask if something was wrong, but Eros cut him off with a tear filled laugh. “No no no no, I was supposed to do that,” he told him, laughing again as he pulled out the ring he’d bought. “Jiminy we- we really need to get better at communicating plans.”
There was quiet for a moment, before Archie laughed as well, running a hand through his hair before pulling Eros in for a tight hug. “You- you were going to propose too?” he asked, sounding deeply surprised, as if Eros wasn’t the one to make every first move in their relationship.
“Of course! Jiminy, you’re the only person I’ve ever loved as deeply as this. You mean everything for me, of course I wasn’t going to let you go! I had to make sure you wouldn’t turn into a cricket on me,” he replied, resting his forehead on Archie’s chest with a laugh.
So here they were. Standing in the middle of the park they spent so much time in, crying in each other’s arms because it was so on brand for them to try to propose at the same time.
After a moment, Eros looked back up, gently holding one side of Archie’s face with his free hand, which his lover leaned into. “Well, Jiminy, my answer is yes. A thousand yeses for all the times we didn’t make a move. It will forever be yes.”
Archie let out a soft chuckle and leaned forward to press a kiss to Eros’s forehead. “It’s a yes from me too, Hellion. I’m not letting you go ever again. No.. curse or royal family drama will ever pull us apart ever again. I promise.”
Of course, they had to make use of those rings, so they took a moment to slip on the rings made for them- Eros with the gorgeous green gem, and Archie with a band that Eros had gotten a cricket carved into.
And then Eros pulled his new fiance into a kiss; one that expressed all the feelings he’d ever had for the man into it. All the sadness he felt when they had to part ways, and the relief and joy he felt when they found each other again when the curse had broken.
Unfortunately, the moment was cut short when they realized that something was a bit off. And when they pulled back, they found their dogs’ leashes wrapped around their legs, and the culprits sitting there all innocent and shit.
“Seriously, you two?” Eros asked them, giving an incredulous laugh when Perdita looked sheepish and Pongo almost looked smug.
“I think they’re saying that it’s about time,” Archie offered, grinning at his lover before pressing a short kiss to his cheek. “I know that’s what I’m thinking.”
Eros rolled his eyes in response, but stole another quick kiss. “Alright, alright. But here’s what I’ll ask you, my beloved conscience: how are we supposed to get out of it?”
“Now, that’s an answer I don’t have,” Archie replied, and there was quiet for a second before both of them laughed.
What a perfect proposal.












