Song: Buddy Holly by Weezer (seriously listen to it if you have no fucking idea what it is. Their whole Blue album is spot on)
Word Count: 599
Ship: Back in the 90′s (Kurtis Valentine and Eris Beauchamp)
It had to be perfect. The flowers had to be perfect, his plaid shirt, his hair. Even the music that was playing over the radio had to be perfect. Never before had he done this, get down in one knee and ask someone to marry him but this. Well this little witch was anything but special. The moment he laid eyes on her he knew that this girl was trouble, but it was all over the moment she smiled. His heart skipped a beat the moment her lips pulled back as she giggled at something he said, it was like cupid himself shot him with an arrow. Oh he was so so fucked.
Kurtis’ fingers tapped against the table, humming along with Weezer on the radio, his hair pulled back into a simple and slick pony tail. His dark eyes were glued onto the clock and he waited for the small petite girl to show up. With each tick of the clock his heart was thumping in his chest louder and louder to the point he was sure the girls up at the counter could hear it. Let them hear it, he was in love and wasn’t afraid to show it.
In a parallel universe the small girl waltzed into the diner and sat in front of him, hands folded in her lap as she ordered her usual; tuna melt with french fries and extra ranch, and a coca-cola. He’d get his steak and eggs and after she ate the last French fry off her plate he’d walk over to the juke box to play their song, Buddy Holly by Weezer and then fall onto one knee.
Hoo, hoo
But you know I'm yours
Hoo, hoo
And I know you're mine
Hoo, hoo
And that's for all of time
Oh, wee-ooh, I look just like Buddy Holly
Oh, oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore
I don't care what they say about us anyway
I don't care 'bout that
He had it all planned out, he knew exactly what he wanted to say but Kurtis Valentine didn’t live in a perfect world where he could ask the girl of his dreams to marry him and start a family together. She’d tear up but smile and nod and tell him that she’d be his Mary Tyler Moore until they both died of old age before kissing him in front of the few people that actually visited their diner. They’d go home and fall into bed, making love until the neighbors knocked on their walls and yell at them to keep it down.
Instead she never showed up.
What really happened was he waited over two hours for her to show up, sipping on nothing but coffee, his eyes never straying far from that door or that clock. He told himself that something came up that she was just late but after 140 minutes and 56 seconds he had no choice but to pay his bill, stand up and leave to head back to his place, hands in his jeans pocket, his left gripping tight the little black box.
Instead of the happy sex filled night he would have gotten in a parallel universe he came home to a message on the answering machine asking him to come down to the station to identify a body.
That day was a day Kurtis Valentine would never forget. Not because she said that she would become his bride but because it was the say he had to tell the corner that the body on the morgue table was the one of his little witch.
He was never good at this sort of thing. He didn’t have to be. Ever. At all. Fighting his way on his own through a fucking jungle was never part of any Doctorate he ever received. He leaned on his quiet charm in order to coax in others close enough to steal away their soul, not by brute fucking strength. Soul eating took a certain finesse and he—
“FUCK NO! I DID NOT AS FOR BIG ASS SPIDERS. FUCK THIS.”
Well, at least he had his brother. Christopher bolted in the direction he heard the high pitched shrieking and immediately brought his foot down, squishing the large arachnid and cringing at the grotesque sound made by the crushing of its exoskeleton. “Are you done, you banshee?”
“It would behoove us to head toward a building or something, anything that means higher ground and a better watch over everything.”
As soon as the spider was crushed between his brother’s foot and the ground, Kurtis ran to him and wrapped his arms around him tightly, feeling vulnerable from the incident. Stupid fucking spiders. “Did you not see that thing? It was fucking huge! Had to be a foot in diameter!” More like 6 inches but still it was big. “I am not a banshee by the way. It’s not my fault it tried to kill me.”
Pulling away from the sudden contact he cleared his throat as he tried not to think of how that may have been the closest they had been since that night. Ever since Christopher came back into his life he had been distant sticking to lunch dates and chatting over coffee, nothing like how they used to be, hiding under the covers and smoking whatever they could get their hands on that day.
“Do you think there is a building around here or are we completely and utterly screwed for the spiders to take over us and kill us?” It was a serious question, he had been walking all night and still didn’t see anyone or any place like he was talking about. Not being able to help himself he muttered his breath, “Why spiders? Why couldn’t it be follow the butterflies?”
This was not how he wanted to spend his weekend. In his mind he had the image of being home on his couch with a glass of scotch that never emptied in his hand as he marathoned The Simpsons over and over again. Kurtis Valentine did not expect to be in the middle of a jungle in his scrubs and a make shift weapon in his hand. “Fucking bullshit,” he muttered softly to himself as he brushed the branches and leaves out of his face. “This is one hundred and ten percent fucking bullshit.” As he brushed his hand again once more to more the brush in front of him, his hand made contact with something hairy and long and he let out a scream that was a bit too girlish for his liking. “FUCK NO! I DID NOT ASK FOR BIG ASS SPIDERS. FUCK THIS.”
The handsome man ran over and Gabbie could not help feel her heart flutter a bit. He was cute. Then he had to say the most perfect chat up line ever. Her heart was gone. She slowly took the fruit that was in his hand her blue eyes reflecting the shock and her cheeks flaring up. She broke out of it when she finally had the fruit.
“Oh my goodness where are my manners? I am so sorry. Thank you so much, and thank you for the compliment too, it’s sweet of you,” she tried to smile gently but ended up grinning like an idiot and then she recognised him from the hospital. At least it could be him, but didn’t he have a twin as well? Gabbie decided to not try and make a fool of herself and guess it was him. She put the piece of fruit in her bag. “How can I repay you for coming to my rescue?” she asked. The words seemed so much cooler in her head.
Kurtis smiled watching her face flush some with embarrassment. It wasn’t why he said those things or came to her rescue but it was a close second. The soul eater always enjoyed watching a woman flush with red from head to toe. Standing up, he ran his hands over his scrub bottoms composing himself from throwing himself on the ground to recover her fruit.
“It was the least I could do.” He flashed her one of his smiles. “Is this what you do on your days off? O around town, dropping things in hope that a handsome man will come to your recuse?” Valentine was teasing of course. Most nurses at the hospital were easy to tease and it was one of his favorite ways to pass the time.
“No no nonononono no. No. No!” Gabbie called out as the bottom of her bag ripped letting all the fruit she had bought at the store go all over the place.
Kurtis didn’t even think when he heard the distress calls. Moving into action, he ran over to the girl and began to pick up the fruit, making sure that not a single one got away. The souleater was considered an ass to most people but there were the times he was the gentleman growing up in the 20’s made him be. Looking up at the girl, he smiled and held out one of the fruits he had caught in his hand to her as he said, “I’m not sure why they are running. If I had the chance to go home with such a beautiful girl I would be beside myself with happiness.”
“Bacon isn’t a boy’s name either love,” she told him frankly before pressing another light kiss to his lips. “Bacon is food. But I do like the name Zelda,” she added, a grin splitting her mouth. “We’ll be fine, Kurt. More than fine, I promise.” Eris brushed the front of his scrubs, smoothing down the blue fabric. “You’re taking this news awfully well. You want BLTs tonight?”
“It could be,” he said against her lips, pulling her closer. “I know we will be, our savings is good enough though I would like it to be a little more full..” Kurtis began to think out loud. A habit of his. Though the mention of BLTs brought him out of that train of thought. “Fuck yes.”
Taking the phone from her hand he glanced at the map momentarily, his dark eyes scanning the screen. “We are right here,” he pointed at the the spot on his phone where they were standing. “It’s by the hospital, you need to take a left hand turn a few blocks down when you reach the big ugly abstract sculpture and walk for about five more minutes....I think.”
“Two names to pick out, two little girls to teach Spanish to, two little ones who will love and adore you,” Eris gave, “I mean. Yes, a lot of work, and a lot of expenses but—Baby, don’t freak out.”
The animorph cupped either side of the surgeon’s cheeks. “Look at me. What do you want to name them? Not ‘Bacon,’ don’t even tell me as a joke.”
She was right when she put it that way. While there was going to be double the lows now there was going to be double the highs in raising them too. He never got the chance to raise his son but he wasn’t going to miss out on his princess’ lives this time. Even if that meant he was going to have to spend even more time at the hospital before the births to help make sure they had more than enough for his girls.
Stealing a quick kiss he pulled back and said,” No, Bacon is a boy’s name. Zelda. Zelda Marie Valentine.”
“Yeah…guess it’s kind of a given with Christopher and myself…I think my mom was a twin but her sister died when she was little…so it’s really two of them? Two little mouths to feed, butts to wipe…two college tuitions to pay…”
