ferrumcorde | marriage au

marriage au

[ McGillis has been trying for months to get Gaelio to talk marriage with him. But rather typical of the other man the moment the subject comes up he finds something else that needs his immediate attention or changes the subject. Over and over. To the point that McGillis gives up broaching the topic with Gaelio and goes straight to his father. Frankly it's not the way he would have wanted to do it ideally, but asking the parent's permission before proposing is still considered proper. It's just a bit less proper when the person in question has no idea of interest in the first place.

In any case, Lord Bauduin was amenable enough to the match if his son was. Of course no formalities could be discussed until Gaelio agreed and so, finally, it's come down to McGillis having to trap the man into the conversation he keeps avoiding like the plague.

This time, however, he believes he has an approach that will keep Gaelio form fleeing.

They're in the rose garden of the Bauduin estate, drinking tea and enjoying a brief moment of time off, just the two of them. It's a lovely setting, and suitably romantic, as far as it goes. The day is perfect, with the sun shining but not too hot, a light breeze smelling of roses and sea air, the sky a lovely blue with white clouds--picturesque and memorable.

And Gaelio is with him, talking about something or other. McGillis waits for a lull in the conversation, setting his tea down. Looks at Gaelio dead on as he announces: ]

I am currently in engagement negotiations. But I wanted your help. And advice, I suppose.

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[ Gaelio played himself.... ]

Ha. If anyone can do it, it's you.

[ It's funny because it's complimenting McGillis, as Gaelio is sure apt to do, and because it's already true... what a grossly dere person Gaelio becomes around him. ]

But you won't have to work so hard.

Hm? Flattery? You should accept my sincere efforts for your happiness. After all, I'm the only one allowed to spoil you from now on.

[It's just flirting, teasing, because he knows Gaelio will enjoy the attention and being special, and because he didn't intend to let Gaelio see past this. Certainly he'll grumble his complaints to Gaelio about the state of Gjallarhorn, but their relationship must remain on a footing he controls, and that includes making Gaelio feel wanted and important.]

[ Ahh..... being spoiled by McGillis... he has to cover his mouth with his free hand to keep his laugh in. Not because it's not possibly the nicest thing he's ever been allowed to imagine, but because just thinking of it sounds like a pipe dream to him. Laughing also allows him to cover his tiny dokidoki expression, or try to!!!

His aim was always pretty low when it came to McGillis. Gaelio would have been satisfied just being his friend for the rest of his life, after all. ]

You'll be properly thanked, of course.

I wouldn't dream of rejecting whatever you think up.

[He tugs Gaelio to one of the benches in the garden with him.]

Perhaps you'll lighten my workload by taking on more?

[The most unromantic proposition but he is... Still himself after all.]

[ Wow, how unromantic... except that Gaelio is Gaelio, and would never really complain about more work aside from a small comment here and there. He takes a seat beside him, looking down at their hands. ]

Of course, I'm happy to.

[ Again... McGillis relying on him. He might be dreaming. ]

I'll work just as hard for you.

[ Despite his casual attitude at times, Gaelio is... a very good officer. Good choice man 👍👌]

[If only he could marry everyone who looks up to him to motivate them to work harder. Well, Gaelio is a good officer, and a good ally to have dedicated to the things McGillis wants to accomplish.

And yes he's still holding Gaelio's hand.]

I would expect no less from you.

[ Don't ever tell Gaelio that, he won't feel special anymore. ]

Should we call it a night? [ Glancing over his shoulder, Gaelio can see some of the guests beginning to leave. Absently, he rubs the inner side of McGillis' fingers with his own. ] You've got work to pile on me, after all. Including our wedding.

Hm. Yes. But that's tomorrow.

[He tilts his head to look at Gaelio with a fond and somewhat wicked smile, mischievous as he gets, really.]

Tonight I'm enjoying the evening with my fiance. Unless you're eager to call in early?

[ Hmm, how sneaky. Gaelio's seen faces like this before, but rarely turned on him. He crosses a leg, smiling at him. ]

What do you have in mind?

[ He GUESSES!!! he can stay up longer. Just for Mackey. ]

[He smiles, still, watching Gaelio and leaning conversationally closer.]

I was wondering if you might answer a question of my own.

[ Gaelio leans in too, but it's not conversationally. He really just wants to feel their shoulders touch, and he's giving him a small, playful smile. ]

What is it?

Hm, I'm wondering what an acceptable thank you might be.

[He leans closer, until his lips brush Gaelio's, he's in his face smiling.]

Something like this?

[ Wow, if he keeps this up Gaelio is going to believe that he's the only one McGillis is looking at— ]

Maybe. [ His head is tilting slightly, eyes falling closed. Just barely pushing into him. ] But you'd get bored if it was just this, so I'll have to be creative.

[He lifts the hand not holding Gaelio's and cups his cheek, murmuring softly.]

I could never get bored with you around.

[And closes the distance on the kiss, gentle and romantic and sweet, as much as he knows how to convey those things. Even if he can't feel them he can feign them, give an act convincing enough to satisfy Gaelio, and that's all that matters.]

Edited 2017-03-27 09:47 (UTC)

[ See, he's no masochist, a serene moment like this is absolutely what he believes to be the ideal right now. Telling him what he wants to hear and then giving him attention like this is absolutely the way to his heart—coupled with complete honesty and trust, of course.

Of course.

He's completely open and receptive to the kiss, only pulling back because, frankly, he's suddenly embarrassed about how easy he is with him. His reactions to most people offering him romance are varied between "no thank you" and "too busy with work" or even the rare "I'm not going on a date with you so you can get close to McGillis!!"

But it's not a bad thing, he thinks. Just kind of embarrassing.

So, he's sitting back and supressing the urge to rub his, now slight pink, cheeks. ]

[This is fine. Gaelio is happy, and even if McGillis isn't being honest with him that doesn't matter, as long as Gaelio is content. Isn't that how happiness works?

He squeezes Gaelio's hand and lets him lean back, settling next to him on the bench and looking up at the stars.

Mentally he's checking off what he thinks and has observed makes things romantic. He still needs to bring the flowers, and candles should be involved somehow. And more dancing in each other's arms most likely. But he'll get a better idea of what makes Gaelio happy the longer they're at this, so he can revise as they go.

Hm, how often should he romance Gaelio once they're married? Something big once a month and smaller things every week? What's the capacity that people need to still feel happy and valued, but doesn't intefere too much with work? He'll figure out that balance too.

He looks distant, lost in thought as they sit together in comfortable silence.]

[ Gaelio, on the other hand, isn't looking at anything romantic around them. He can look at that stuff whenever he wants to, and right now he doesn't want to. He wants to look at McGillis, the cut of his profile and the way the tiniest breezes lifts up soft-looking blonde hair.

This kind of thing isn't different from before, though. Gaelio's always looked at him like this, with a large mixture of pride and affection, underlined with just enough competitiveness to get people wondering if either one of them wanted to surpass the other. It sure isn't Gaelio, who is satisfied being on the same level, and still feels sometimes that he doesn't even manage that.

Time passes, and he's still just watching him. But then, a smile. ]

Your room has already been prepared for you. [ Well, it means it's been cleaned up suitable for a guest to move into, and (hopefully) adorn with their own things, anyway. ] If you don't feel like going home.

[He blinks back to reality, turns his attention to Gaelio and squeezes his hand. He frankly never feels like going home, so there's no reason at all to refuse that offer.]

I would like that.

[It's sincere. He would, in fact, like that.]

[ The hand thing isn't going to get old. Now he's using it to tug at McGillis while he stands up. Look, it doesn't even have to be absurdly late, Gaelio is just an early sleeper. ]

This is late for me, but I'll escort you if you don't want to stay out here for awhile longer. [ Since... their rooms are now beside each other. ] You have a balcony there too, though.

Aren't you a bit young to be such an early sleeper?

[He teases as he lets Gaelio haul him up. Of course in military service they both have to get up early. McGillis tends to push himself sleeplessly when he has a task at hand, but at the moment he has nothing to do but follow Gaelio to his new room.]

[ LOOK, MCGILLIS FAREED. Gaelio's waving his free hand in a half-shrug. ]

Ahh, but it's reasonable to go to sleep early if you want to wake up early! I don't want to waste any of my day, after all.

[ His defensiveness is also mostly a joke. Up the stairs they go, and he's casually saying farewell to a few people along the way. ]

What a hard worker.

[He teases gently, equally charming to the leaving guests before they make it upstairs.]

I'll see you first thing in the morning, I suppose?

[ If he slept in after mentioning how great it was to wake up early, Gaelio would probably die. ]

Of course.

[ And there, he's finally (regretfully) letting go of McGillis' hand as he leads him up to his new door. Then, he's jerking his thumb towards his own room. ]

You know where I'll be, if you need anything.

[ THERE ARE SERVANTS FOR THAT. ]

[He could say something really flirty but it might be a bit early in this for that, so he refrains, just smiling as he opens the door to his new room.]

Thank you, Gaelio. Good night.

[And perhaps it will be, since he'll be sleeping here. Which is a nice change in itself.]

[ Thank you for sparing him a night of tossing and turning in anticipation, McGillis??

Gaelio bids him goodnight, falls asleep reasonably quickly, and wakes up like an old man, at a nightmarish time of the morning. By the time that most of the household (excluding the servants with work at the same nightmarish hour) is waking up, Gaelio's already showered and dressed. Thankfully, it's his normal routine and isn't meant to impress McGillis, otherwise doing it every single day for the rest of his life would suck.

Speaking of sucking, fast forward a few months. Gaelio has been dutifully helping with planning his own wedding. He's stayed on Earth for the most part, like a good fiance. He hasn't run off to jump into his mobile suit to beat up some people, like a good fiance. And now, the date is almost here.

There was a small section of the schedule he'd come up with reserved for partying before the actual event. Bachelor parties, basically. The last chance to go wild before you're to settle down and have a nice family... or in their case, go back to work. Gaelio, for some reason, didn't want to be the one to say "Yeah go have a fun party, bang some hot chicks, get drunk, whatever!" to McGillis, so a few days prior he had someone else deliver the message for him, under the pretense of being too busy planning his own party.

Which is this. His house is completely empty, save for a couple guards outside, and he's sitting in the library with tea and a book.

Sure, he likes parties. Most of the time. He even has friends, how amazing. but he feels like he can do that any other time, and he really has no inclination to ever mess around with anyone (else). He's already reasoned with himself that he doesn't mind if McGillis does, but just as quickly as he's thought about it, he's decided to never ever actually consider it again.

Supposedly, he's throwing a big party at his house...! But it's incredibly easy to find out that he's actually just being a bum. ]

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this got out of control, jesus