Dashing and strong. Just like him.
August was thankful that Teddy couldn’t read his mind in that moment, because he was cursing the male’s name a thousand times over and it was incredibly unbecoming. Hugh rhymed with Ew. Did Teddy legitimately want to be married to someone whose name rhymed with the universal sound of disgust?
But August said nothing, simply stewing in his anger and surprise grief as he waited for his oldest and dearest friend to stop speaking.
He had always feared that this day would come, in the back of his mind. It hadn’t been too conscious of a thought, minus the day or two when he realized that his future travels with her were not guaranteed. If her future husband did not approve of August, August would not be in her life. It was sad, but it’s how things worked. And if her future husband was a Gothel? Yes, Mother Gothel had raised his own mother to be the finest woman that he knew, but would she have had the same drive to do so when trapped elsewhere for her crimes? Would those stolen (clearly) children not have resentment? He had felt it when seated next to George at the welcome gathering, and he was certain the other siblings felt the same.
With one glance, it would seem, his life was going to fall apart. And she didn’t even know his name.
“I can’t-this conversation. I cannot have this conversation right now,” he murmured, his fight or flight activating and choosing the safest of the two options. He needed to escape. From the girl, from the conversation, from the whole night.
“You know that I care for you, deeply, and that I will support you always, but I-” he stopped himself, her next words shifting the conversation in a more manageable direction. “He should be so lucky to marry you! One day, several years down the line. He has no title either. But there’s nothing to look past, because besides being an indicator of inevitable duties, titles mean nothing. Teddy, just… please put this out of your mind. At least for the night.”
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She could see it in his face, his eyes, that he did not want to be having this conversation. And that hurt, truly it did. All she wanted was for August to support her, to share in this happiness and excitement along with her.
Instead it felt like thunder clouds were rolling in. As if something were about to erupt. “We must have this conversation, August. There is no one else I want to speak to in this moment about it. When I realized what this feeling was, I knew I had to find you immediately to share it with you.” She reached out for his hands again, trying to grasp them to keep him in place. She even gave a tight squeeze as she spoke. “You are my best friend and I want to share this happiness with you. Is that not all we’ve ever wanted for each other? To be irrevocably happy?”
Year’s down the line, August had said. And Teddy tried her hardest not to laugh in his face. Instead, she let out a soft laugh under her breath and let her eyes roll slightly.
“August, my dear, we both know that I do not have years to wait. My mamma reminds me nightly how little time I do have to find a husband before I’m considered a spinster. I suspect, taking into account engagements of past couples, we shall be married by the end of July.” She gave a stern nod of her head, as if to set the idea in stone.
“Put it out of my mind? How do you suggest I do such a thing when the mere thought of him and us and our future is all I can think about at the moment? I shall never be able to do such a thing. I do believe he will consume my waking thoughts from this moment until I die. Perhaps my dreams as well.” She turned away from August to look back towards the Gothel that she knew in her heart she was to marry. “Will you be my best man? At the wedding? I know it’s not traditional for a lady to have a maid of honor, but we all know I’m not the traditional sort.”