TRP: Goro and Hansel (Proposal)

**LINA**

[Setting: Day 260, just outside the Sanctuary walls.]

"Get. Down."

Theo shook her head and gripped the tree trunk even tighter.

Goro had been stern with her lots of times, but she'd never
seen him mad. He was more scared than anything, but he wondered if it would
help if she thought he was pissed at her. "Get your ass down here now,
kid, or I'm gonna fuckin'..." Do what? Wasn't like he could threaten to
hit her, since they both knew he fucking wouldn't, and it also seemed too mean
even to say it. Normally he got leverage over Theo by telling her she wouldn't
get dessert, and shit like that. But the way things were shaping up, she wasn't
gonna end up eating dessert for a while anyway.

Only if you promise not to send me away, she signed, not
waiting for him to finish.

"Okay. I promise not to send you away."

She scowled. You have to mean it.

He gritted his teeth and paced in a circle, hands on his
hips. If he'd had any magic left, he could've just fucking dimension stepped up
there. He hadn't slept, though. Had barely sat down. Easy enough, since he
wasn't hurt anymore. His goddamn mother had somehow fucking divined that he was
injured from the fight, and healed him without his consent.

He stepped up to the trunk and rested his forehead against
it, sighing.

**IZZY**

Hansel had a moment to sit down, which meant that instead of
sitting down, he did round -- found Luci first, still on her feet, and told her
to sit down; she ignored him so he found Roddy and dispatched him to take care
of her, once he'd given the kid a hug, too; then he found Mishka, in deep
conversation with Joan that still kind of look like an argument, and kissed the
top of his head and made him drink some some water and all but put food
directly into his mouth; then he finally tracked down Jonn up on a roof, and
called up to make sure he was okay, getting a thumbs up in return.

Goro was fucking MIA. He backtracked. The last time Luci had
seen him, he'd been with Mishka. Mishka said he'd gone to tend to Theo. The
kids were supposed to've been herded onto the ships already, but the sailors
didn't know anything about a dark-haired, olive-skinned half-elf cleric about
yea high and a little human girl who didn't speak and looked like his sister.
When he checked in with Jonn, though, he got a direction -- kid had a good
vantage point from up on the roof.

Once he knew what he was looking for, he spotted Theo up the
tree. Ah, that fuckin' tree. He was gonna fucking chop it down.

Goro stood at the base, leaning against it like he was
defeated. Hansel bet he'd never climbed a tree, just drainpipes and shit in the
city. It was fine, though -- Hansel fuckin' had it handled. He came up behind
Goro, waving up to Theo.

"Kinda fuckin' cold up there, ain't it?" he
called.

**LINA**

Theo shook her head.

"Liar," Goro called. He could see her shivering.

**IZZY**

"Uh-huh." Hansel looked down, wrapping his arms
around Goro. He still felt cold -- Hansel rubbed his arms briskly. "You
want me to go get her?"

**LINA**

Goro hadn't realized that was an option. He grinned slowly.
He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Your days up there are
numbered, Baker!"

She flipped him off.

"Hey!" he shouted, voice turning a little shrieky.
"What'd I tell you about obscene gestures!"

**IZZY**

"Ahuv, we swear in front of her all the time, what'd
you think was gonna happen." Hansel kissed the top of Goro's head, then
shrugged his coat off and dropped it onto Goro's shoulders. "Hold onto that
for me." He started cuffing his sleeves up. "What's she doin' up
there, anyway? She say?"

**LINA**

"She doesn't wanna get on the ship," Goro said,
pointedly ignoring Theo's attempts to sign much the same thing. He could tell
she was signing it angrily, and colorfully. He had not taught her the sign for
"fucking." He hadn't. This was someone else's fault, god damn it.

**IZZY**

"S'too bad." He shook his head and shrugged, and
eyeballed the tree. Yep. Same fuckin' tree. Goddamn menace. He found his first
foothold and started up. "You heard the man, Baker. You're gettin' on that
boat."

**LINA**

Theo shook her head adamantly, eyes widening as she watched
Hansel's approach. She looked up, and grabbed the next branch over her head,
carefully maneuvering onto her feet.

"What're you planning to do, climb up to the top and
fly away?" Goro called. "He's gonna catch up to you, kid."

Theo was testing the strength of the branch she'd grabbed,
and she looked uncertain. She eyed Hansel again, rapidly getting closer.

**IZZY**

Hansel paused a little ways down from her, locking his legs
around the trunk and giving his arms a break, rolling his shoulders. He sighed.
"Hey. It's all right, kid. Come on down and let's get you warmed up,
eh?" He signed it as he spoke, habitually, even though he was pretty sure
the kid had a better fuckin' command of the language than he did.

**LINA**

Theo shook her head again, lower lip quivering. Goro will
send me away.

**IZZY**

"Okay." He climbed a little closer. "Hey,
listen. No one's sending you away, motek. We just gotta do some dangerous shit,
and Goro's gonna feel a lot better if he knows you're somewhere safe.
Everything's gonna be all right, and we're gonna come back to you, okay?"
He switched to signing, silently. Goro's just scared of losing you. He needs you
to be safe.

**LINA**

Theo shrank against the trunk a little. Her eyes darted down
to Goro.

"Theo!" he called, exasperated. This was fuckin'
exhausting. "Look, I'm fucking sorry I gotta put you on that boat,
but--" He rubbed a hand over his face. "It's gonna be alright, okay?
There's other people's kids getting put on there, too. You think we're all just
gonna forget about you guys? We'll reel you back in the second it's safe."

She looked to Hansel again. Her chin trembled, and tears
spilled from her eyes. She clutched the trunk tighter, shivering.

**IZZY**

Hansel scooted closer, enough that he could reach her, and
offered both hands. "He means it, kiddo," he said gently. "We
don't wanna lose you. We got you. C'mon, okay?"

**LINA**

Theo leaned away from the trunk a ways, peering down at the
ground, as though for the first time realizing just how high up she'd gotten.
She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Moving slowly, loath
to let go of the trunk all the way, she climbed into Hansel's arms.

Goro let out a breath.

**IZZY**

"There you go. I gotcha." Lot fucking easier than
talking Jonn out of the tree had been. Poor kid. "Hold on, okay?" He
kept one arm around her securely and started back down carefully. "We're
gonna have all kindsa cool stories to tell you once we see you again," he
promised. "It's gonna be great. You'll love it. And tell you what
--." He reached the ground and turned to face Goro, still holding her.
"One more mug of hot chocolate before you go, huh? Think we got time?"
He glanced to Goro to clear it with him.

**LINA**

Watching them come down, Goro clenched his jaw and pulled at
the hair on the sides of his head. Fucking horrible. His boyfriend and his
little sister scaling down a tree, one-armed. They made it without incident,
though, and Goro had to hold himself back from fucking pouncing on them as soon
as they were on the ground.

Hot chocolate? Eh, there wasn't really fucking time for
shit, but... man, Theo looked so hopeful, and Hansel sounded so sweet about it,
he caved like a paper sack. "Yeah. Sure. Let's do it."

Theo didn't smile, exactly, but she looked relieved. She
hooked her arms around Hansel's neck and rested her head on his shoulder,
clearly having no intention of walking herself to the kitchens.

**IZZY**

"All right, then." Theo was shivering, so Hansel
shifted to wrap her up in both arms, and held his elbow out to Goro, since he
didn't have any arms left to grab him, too.

**LINA**

Goro linked his arm through Hansel's and reached his other
hand up to ruffle Theo's hair. They walked back inside the Sanctuary and headed
for the kitchens. Normally the place would be bustling at this time of day with
people getting ready for dinner, but at the moment it was deserted. Operating
on a grab-food-and-go system, probably.

Hansel was still on Theo-holding duty, so Goro set to work
preparing the hot chocolate, clattering through the pots and pans until he
found one a good size for heating up milk.

**IZZY**

Hansel gently pulled Theo off his neck to sit her down by
the nearest woodstove to warm up, whispering, "One sec," and swiping
his coat off Goro's shoulders to drown her in it instead. While she was
distracted, he grabbed Goro from behind, arms going around his waist, and
murmured into his hair, "Hey. She needs you, dumbass, not me."

He pushed Goro over to the fire and picked up the task of
making hot chocolate.

**LINA**

"Pfff," Goro said, but that was all the argument
he put up. He dragged a chair over to sit next to Theo, put an arm around her,
and kissed her forehead.

Extra chocolate, she signed.

"Extra chocolate," Goro said to Hansel, then
scoffed and shook his head at Theo. "Y'know, I'm only giving in 'cause I
feel bad about having to ship you off. I mean, not that bad. I want you to be
fucking safe, is the first thing. Doesn't matter if you're having a good time
or not." He gave her a squeeze. "More extra chocolate when you get
back, too, okay?"

Theo nodded solemnly. Goro patted her on the back and
watched Hansel at work. Yep, that was a fucking dreamy guy right there. Making
hot chocolate for his little sister.

Goro caught himself almost letting out a happy sigh. Fucking
embarrassing.

**IZZY**

Hansel made two mugs of hot chocolate -- extra chocolate in
one -- and found a carafe of coffee to pour himself a mug of that. He was
getting tired and there was still more to do. He really should get back to
strategizing with Morgan soon, but --

Goro and Theo sitting by the fire were more important, just
now. Had to get more work done, so they could be safe, but he could take a
fuckin' minute.

He hooked a chair with his boot to drag it over beside them
and sat down heavily, passing Theo her mug and ruffling her hair and kissing
the top of her head, then passing Goro his and pulling him over Theo's head by
the collar to kiss his forehead. He was so fuckin' cold, still. That goddamn
magic back at the ruins. Wasn't feverish, though. He'd sleep it off, Hansel
told himself.

He settled in, just for now -- stretching his arm around
Theo to rest his hand on Goro's shoulder, and took a sip of coffee.

**LINA**

After they'd finished their drinks, Goro coaxed (well,
dragged) Theo back to Amari's room to pick up her small pack of belongings,
then down to the docks.

When it was time to board the ship, she latched her arms
around Goro's waist, face buried against him. He wondered if this was what it
was like to be Hansel, on a daily basis.

"Hey," he said gently, one hand on her back. He
wasn't sure if she just needed one good hug now, or if that'd make it harder to
let go. He grimaced at Hansel.

**IZZY**

Hansel frowned. This shit had always been hard, with Jonn --
he'd just been the one getting on the ship, not the kid. And he'd chosen to do
it. Goro didn't have any options, here, and that had to fucking make it feel
worse.

He knelt down, petting Theo's hair to get her attention.
"Hey. Motek." He signed sweetheart as he said it, to teach her.
"Can you do something for me? Got a real important job for you."

**LINA**

She didn't loosen her hold on Goro, but she turned her head
a little more to get a better look at Hansel.

**IZZY**

He dug into his coat pocket and pulled out his dented
collapsible copper spyglass, popping it open and closed a couple times to show
her how it worked. Jonn had always liked fidgeting with it -- gave him
something to do with his hands. He held it out to her.

"Need to you keep this safe for me, okay? It's real
fuckin' important to me, just like you are. Had it for a long time. Hold onto
it 'til I see you again, yeah?"

**LINA**

Theo stared at the spyglass for a long time, looking back
and forth between it and Hansel. Hesitantly, she reached out to take it.

"'Ey," Goro said, ruffling her hair. "Maybe
you can help the captain with that, yeah? Keep an eye out for more orc ships on
the horizon." God, he fucking hoped not.

Theo nodded, and hugged the spyglass to her shoulder, still
not letting go of Goro. He hugged her tight and kissed the top of her head.
God, he was gonna get a little choked up, here. He was worried that'd make her
really lose it, though, so he had to wait until she couldn't see him.

"Be brave," he told her. Almost said don't cry,
but no one had really done him any favors teaching him that being brave meant
not crying. "I know you will be. You're already real brave, getting on
that ship. It's okay if you feel scared, though," he added, not wanting to
make her feel bad if she didn't keep a brave face up. God, damn, not fucking
kids up was hard. "Just a few days, alright? Then it'll be all the hot
chocolate you can drink." He kept raising his offer. She sure made a
fuckin' sucker out of him, without even trying, really.

Theo nodded, gave him one last squeeze, then stepped away to
hold her arms up for a Hansel hug.

**IZZY**

Hansel scooped her up to squeeze her tight for a few beats,
swaying back and forth gently, then kissed her head and sat her back down on
her feet. "All gonna be fine, kid. See you in a bit."

Then he signed, Love you, and slipped his fingers between
Goro's because he figured Goro probably needed it about as much as Theo did.

**LINA**

Theo signed I love you back with her free hand, waving it
back and forth emphatically. Then she turned around, spyglass held close to her
chest, and ran across the gangplank.

She didn't look back once. Goro wouldn't have, either. That
was his sister, alright.

He squeezed Hansel's hand. Once Theo was out of sight, he
said, "Alright, let's get the fuck out of here before I start
bawling."

**IZZY**

"Mmhm." Hansel pulled him away, looping his arm
around Goro's head and shoulders without letting go of his hand. He kissed
Goro's temple. "Hey. It'll be good for her, in a way, y'know? Show her you
mean it about coming back."

He glanced over his shoulder at the ship. Didn't make it
feel any fucking worse.

**LINA**

Goro thought about that as they started walking back toward
the Sanctuary. He wondered if that would've done him any good when he was her
age. If someone had adopted him or something, and trained him to learn that
separation wasn't always fucking permanent.

All he could think about, though, was this one time when he
was twenty or so, and Amari had left him alone in a market square for twenty
minutes, and he'd fucking chewed her out as soon as she got back. Cussed at
her, kicked things. God. How the hell that woman still managed to love him was
a mystery.

"Wish I could stick my fucking mother on that ship,
too," he muttered. He didn't care if Eldath was gonna maybe empower her,
or whatever. Some other cleric could do it.

**IZZY**

"Yeah, well." Hansel fiddled with the Sending Bead
on his other wrist. Wished he could get in touch with Leigh and his mom, tell
them to get the fuck out of town. He'd have to wait until morning. Useless to
think about it now. "She's gotta stay and make sure you're safe, hasn't
she?"

**LINA**

"'S'fuckin' bullshit," Goro spat, then hurriedly
put an arm around Hansel's waist to soften it, kind of. "Not like she
follows me around checking on me all the time. She's just being a goddamn
bleeding heart for all those sick and old people. And I guess I love her for
her dumb bleeding heart, but god."

**IZZY**

Hansel cut an amused glance at him. "You know I'd fuckin'
be here anyway, too, right?"

**LINA**

"What?" Goro squinted at him. "You mean if
the rest of us just booked it, you'd stick around?"

**IZZY**

"Someone's gotta." He looked up the hill at the
Abbey. "This place fucking matters. It's important. No one's taking it."

**LINA**

"God." Goro skipped ahead a step and turned to put
himself in Hansel's path, stopping him from walking any further. He grabbed the
front of Hansel's coat to tug him down for a kiss. "Guess you got a dumb
bleeding heart, yourself, huh? Guess I'm a fuckin' sucker for you people, with
your caring, and shit."

**IZZY**

"Uh-huh." Hansel grinned against his lips and
rested his hands at Goro's waist. "Shit, if I didn't know any better I'd
think maybe you gave a fuck, too."

**LINA**

"Nah." Goro shook him off and kept walking, hoping
to dispel any more of Hansel's delusions about him being 'kind.' "I'd be
fuckin' outta here if it weren't for my family. And I'd kill every last goddamn
one of those infirm fucks to save you guys, if it came down to it. I mean,
dunno why I'd need to, but I would. Point is, I look out for me and mine."

**IZZY**

Hansel didn't buy it. "Yeah, okay." He caught
Goro's hand again, and raised their hands together to point to a low stone wall
that lined the pathway leading out of the Sanctuary. "See that there?
That's where Jonn always used to meet me, when I came to visit." He
pointed up to one of the towers. "That's where his and Luci's room
was." He pointed to the empty field outside the walls. "Taught him
how to handle a trident out here. Tried to, anyway." As they passed
through the arched entrance, he indicated an out-of-the-way bench in the
courtyard. "First time Luci ever fell asleep with me, I was reading to her
over there -- the fountain, there, that was where she showed me she'd learned
those water spells. So fuckin' proud."

He kissed Goro's head. "I am fuckin' lookin' out for me
and mine."

**LINA**

Goro scoffed. "Yeah, whatever. Places aren't important.
Only people."

Then again, maybe he just fucking thought that because he'd
never really had places. Didn't have enough good memories to get attached to
anywhere, he guessed.

Sometimes, he still thought about that cove where Hansel had
first kissed him. He wondered what it would be like if they went back there,
one day. Shame about the driders and all, though.

**IZZY**

"Psshh."

Hansel didn't figure this was an argument he could win, so
he dropped it. People were definitely more fuckin' important -- if it was
picking between Jonn and Luci, and the Sanctuary, he'd pick them without a
second thought. Without a first one. But places were important to people --
ones other than Goro, anyway, he supposed -- and he didn't have any fucking
intention of letting the place where his kids grew up go to ruin.

He changed the subject. "You had a minute to rest yet?"

**LINA**

Goro waved a hand vaguely. "Just a little while ago,
when we were drinking hot chocolate."

**IZZY**

Yeah, that didn't count. "Anything to eat?" He was
angling them back towards the kitchen, figuring he knew the answer.

**LINA**

"Hot chocolate. You paying attention at all? Come
on."

**IZZY**

"Ahuv," Hansel said patiently, "hot chocolate
ain't fuckin' food." Him and Mishka both. Fucksake.

Hansel directed him to sit back down where he'd been before,
by the fire, and collected their mugs before going over to scavenge for
something real to eat. There was bread, and sliced ham, but he wasn't easily
finding anything of substance that he could eat. Eh. It'd be fine. He brought a
sandwich over to Goro and sat with him, bringing another cup of coffee for
himself.

**LINA**

Goro took one bite of the sandwich like normal, and then
couldn't really stop himself from cramming the rest in his mouth like some
kinda animal. He was hungrier than he'd realized, he guessed.

He eyed Hansel's mug while he chewed. "So, hot
chocolate ain't food, but coffee is, huh?" he asked, mouth full.

**IZZY**

Hansel grunted, took a drink, and deftly changed the subject
again. "Hey. So I was talkin' to Wyn earlier."

**LINA**

"Nuh-uh-uh-uh-uh." Goro wagged a finger.
"Don't even think about it. When's the last time you ate a meal? Solid
food, asshole. Little taste of your own medicine."

**IZZY**

Hansel grumbled.

**LINA**

Goro examined the remnants of his sandwich, crust with a
little bit of ham left. Normally Hansel added cheese, too, so Goro reasoned
there probably hadn't been any.

"Gimme a sec," he said, setting his plate aside.
He popped up, kissing Hansel's forehead on the way, and went to search through
the pantry himself. He hadn't really spent time in the Sanctuary kitchens, but
if the place was anything like the abbey, they'd have a root cellar loaded up
with canned goods and probably some fresh vegetables.

He found the entrance to the cellar set into the floor
between two of the pantry shelves. Pulled it up, climbed down the ladder, and
cast a light cantrip to make it easier to read the labels.

Yeah, much better selection down here. Carrots, potatoes,
canned beans, even some rice. Goro loaded up as much as he could fit in one
arm, leaving the other free for climbing back up the ladder.

He walked back into the kitchen and deposited everything on
an empty counter. "There you go, big guy. Fuckin' make yourself something.
Or I'll do it for you." Goro wasn't as good a cook as Hansel, but he could
throw edible things together.

**IZZY**

Hansel grumbled again. He could argue about how he didn't
need to eat, how he needed to get back to work and didn't have fuckin' time to
make dinner, or, he guessed, he could just fucking eat something. He sighed
like it was a massive inconvenience and pushed himself up. "A'right,
a'right, fine."

Killing off his coffee, he set the mug aside and looked over
the goods Goro'd brought up, picking up a raw carrot to munch on. Beans and
rice. That'd work. "Y'know there's not fuckin' time to put together a
proper stew or anything, right? Got shit to do."

**LINA**

Goro pulled a large pot off the shelf and dropped it on the
woodstove. "Alright, go do your shit. I'll bring it to you when it's
done."

**IZZY**

"Oh yeah? You know how to make stew?" Hansel gave
Goro an amused look and didn't stop what he was doing -- finding a smaller pot
to quickly cook up some rice and beans for himself.

**LINA**

"Sure do. I'm not some fuckin' helpless dumbass, you
know, despite my reputation." It'd be more efficient if they combined
their efforts, though. He eyed what Hansel was doing, then grabbed himself a
knife and cutting board to start chopping potatoes.

**IZZY**

"Never said you were." Hansel wasn't sure he knew
how long it took to get raw potatoes stew-ready, though. On the other hand, if
he was fuckin' insistent on doing it himself, Hansel guessed that didn't
matter. "I do remember havin' to tell you the difference between meat and
vegetable this one time, though," he added, grinning a bit.

**LINA**

Goro frowned at the potatoes he was chopping, trying to
remember what--

Oh. Oh, fuckin'... that. Goro's hands stilled and he looked
at Hansel, wide-eyed. Hansel was smiling, though. They were... okay to joke
about that now, Goro guessed.

He set the knife down. Wiped his hands on the front of his
robes and marched up to Hansel, threw his arms around him, and hugged him
tight.

"Love you," he mumbled into Hansel's shoulder.

**IZZY**

Hm. Yeah, he probably shouldn't've said that. He was fuckin'
tired -- just kind of came out without the usual filtering of people usually
get upset when you make jokes about upsetting shit, commander.

He kissed the top of Goro's head and shifted to hug him
back. "Yeah, I know. Love you too."

**LINA**

Goro pulled back just enough to smile at Hansel. Just kinda
gaze dreamily into his eyes. 'Cause why not. That was his boyfriend, after all.
He was allowed.

"Yeah," he said. "I know."

**IZZY**

"Well, fuckin' good." Hansel ruffled his hair,
then petted it more gently and kissed his forehead. "Ought to."

**LINA**

Goro kissed Hansel's chin, then let him go to get back to
work on the potatoes. He diced them real small, so they'd cook up faster. Then
he carried the cutting board over to Hansel's pot, eyebrows raised in an offer
to dump the potato in.

**IZZY**

Hansel shrugged. He wasn't sure potatoes necessarily went
with rice and beans, and it was more filler without much to actually give him
lasting energy, but sure. Wasn't like he was going to turn down Goro's hard
work. It was kinda nice, doing this with him -- Hansel and Raef cooked together
sometimes, and that was real fuckin' nice, too. Bonding and shit.

"Hey. We should do this more often," he said.
"Y'know, when there's not a fucking war going on outside, and all. I can
teach you how to bake, or some shit. Cookies are real easy."

For some reason he felt vaguely embarrassed about suggesting
they spend more time together, like they didn't already live together and sleep
together almost every night -- like they didn't both cling onto each other any
time they were around. It was getting easier to ignore the mutter in his head
that insisted Goro didn't want him, would outgrow him. Still spiked sometimes,
but it was getting easier.

**LINA**

"Oh yeah?" Goro smiled crookedly as he scraped the
potato into the pot. Stupidly, he felt his cheeks getting a little warm. He
didn't have any interest in baking, really, but getting to do anything with
Hansel fucking made his day. "Cookies, sure. Can't show me how to make
chocolate cake, though. Can't spoil the secret recipe."

**IZZY**

He scoffed, feigning offense, and kissed Goro's head in
passing as he went back to the counter. Cheese. This pot could use some nice
cheese. "Yeah? Who's gonna fuckin' make me birthday cake, then?"

**LINA**

Goro took over stirring the pot when Hansel stepped away. He
snorted, grinning down at the contents. "Your mother-in--" No, wait.
He covered his mouth with the hand not holding the spoon. Fucking idiot.
"Your mother. She bakes good, right?" Fuckin' fuck.

**IZZY**

Hansel tried to contain a grin, giving Goro an amused
side-eye. Right. Right. "Nah, not really. Yours does though, right?"

**LINA**

"Decent." God. Goro glanced around frantically for
something to do besides keep stirring, and he spotted a salt dish. He grabbed a
pinch and tossed it in. "Salt. Good stuff. Too bad it's not, you know,
herb season, and shit."

**IZZY**

"Mm." Smooth topic change, there. Hansel kissed
his head again as he came back with a bowl of freshly-shredded white cheese and
raked it into the pot to melt, then set the bowl aside to take the spoon away
from him and lift his hand up to kiss the knuckle of his ring finger, keeping
hold of it as he stirred.

**LINA**

Goro grabbed onto the counter with his free hand, leaning
his weight against it. He stared at Hansel, mouth hanging open a little like a
dumbass. God, thinking about Hansel slipping a ring on that finger someday made
him weak in the knees. Literally. Couldn't stand up straight.

The hell are you waiting for? he wanted to ask, but he knew.
Hansel had told him. Wanted to wait a while to be sure it was the right choice,
and Goro had agreed.

Fuck, though. Fuck.

Couldn't rush these things, though. He'd regret it if he
did, probably. He'd always be left wondering if Hansel just married him because
Goro was impatient, or because he really wanted it just as badly.

Fuck, though.

"Um." Goro squeezed Hansel's hand. Involuntarily,
like a spasm. "Anyway, hope it turns out... turns out good. The... stew
thing, I mean." It smelled good, strange combination though it was. Goro
realized he was still fucking hungry, but he didn't want to go eating up
Hansel's food. Maybe he'd stuff some more ham in his mouth on his way out.
"Well. I oughta get back to work. Wish I could stay here with you all day,
but, fuckin'... armies and shit."

**IZZY**

Hansel didn't let go of his hand, and didn't look at him,
either. "Thought you were gonna fuckin' make me dinner?" Then he
looked up from the pot to grin at Goro. "Least you could do is keep me
company."

That, and fuckin' sit down for a while longer by the fire.
Hansel knew Goro needed to rest, just like Luci did, for magic and shit -- but
also just fucking in general. Luci knew exactly how long she needed to rest to
get her magic back, and Hansel knew she'd push herself to that exact limit. He
was betting Goro would pull the same kinda shit if anyone let him.

"C'mon, I'll tell you all about how good me an' your
girlfriend are gettin' along," he teased.

**LINA**

God. Was hard enough to leave anyway, but now Hansel was
asking him to stay, and Goro was weak, fucking weak. He didn't even try to put
up a fight. Just shifted so he was standing behind Hansel and could put his
arms around Hansel's waist, rest his head on his shoulder.

"Oh yeah," he said. "You and Morgan,
huh?"

**IZZY**

Hansel's grin turned smug when Goro just moved to keep
holding onto him. Fucking win-win, honestly. He got to make Goro settle down for
a bit, and he got to spend time with him, too.

"Mm. Had to make sure she's good enough for you, and
all, y'know."

**LINA**

"Oh, no. Don't tell me you had to have the
if-you-ever-do-anything-to-hurt-him-I'll-hunt-you-down-and-feed-you-to-sharks
talk with her. I like her, Hansel." He thought for a second and snorted.
"Though, if you did tell her that, she'd probably love it."

**IZZY**

Hansel snorted. "Hey. Hey, I can be fuckin' sneaky,
y'know," he said, feigning offense poorly. "Subtle and shit."

He'd been studying Wyn ever since she'd shown up with the
others from Skyport, and hadn't been too fucking endeared by her attitude.
She'd noticed just about immediately and winked at him over it. Sneaky indeed,
commander.

Then after the parley she'd elbowed Goro and said, Hey,
those two are fuckin', in no uncertain terms. We ought to do something with
that.

He guessed she paid more attention than it looked like.

**LINA**

"Sure can. My big subtle guy." Goro gave him a
squeeze. "Well? Did she past muster?"

**IZZY**

"Psshh." He turned in place to kiss Goro's head.
"Like I could fuckin' keep you away if you wanted to hang out with her,
anyway. But sure. No objections, I s'pose."

Now that he'd seen Wyn in action, he got it. She was similar
enough to Mishka -- and shit, Goro'd even met them under similar enough
circumstances -- that he figured there was a pattern, there. A type. He didn't
really get where he fit into that, but he wasn't thinking about it.

**LINA**

"What were the two of you talking about, anyway?
Me?" God, that sounded embarrassing. What, would they fuckin'... compare
notes? Nah, nah, Hansel wasn't like that.

Wait, he kind of was, actually. He'd all but told Larkin
outright he loved shoving his dick in Goro's mouth. He'd been real drunk, but
still.

**IZZY**

"Eh, strategy shit." He reached back to scuff up
Goro's hair. "Not that you ain't worth talkin' about." He paused.
He'd been about to joke about interrogating her once she had a moment to relax,
but that just made him think -- "Wonder if she's sat down and had something
to eat, either."

**LINA**

"Hm. Not sure I know her well enough to say. She's
pretty good at sitting down when she feels like it, though. Don't think anyone
could stop her."

**IZZY**

He snorted. "Yeah, guess she doesn't seem like someone
that works any harder than she's got to."

The cheese was getting nice and melty. He scooped a little
rice out of the pot to check it -- still needed a few minutes.

**LINA**

Goro closed his eyes, just enjoying leaning against Hansel
and soaking in his warmth. "Mm. I gotta keep working hard, myself. But I
really just wish I could take a goddamn nap with you. Sounds perfect right
about now."

**IZZY**

"Oh, yeah?" Hansel jostled him playfully.
"Goro fuckin' Voronin admitting to wanting a nap? I can make that happen,
y'know, chatichi."

**LINA**

"Shhh. Ain't admitting shit. Just wanna cuddle with
you." His heart gave a little leap hearing Hansel call him Goro fuckin'
Voronin. Was the first time he'd really gotten to hear someone else say it out
loud, unprompted. "I like the name. Keep calling me that."

**IZZY**

"Mmhm." He scraped the spoon off on the edge of
the pot and set it aside, then covered the pot and moved it a little away from
the heat to simmer. "S'a good name." Then he turned to wrap his arms
around Goro and just hold him for a moment, petting and kissing his hair
quietly.

You want another one? he thought about cracking. I got one
you can have.

Fucking cheesy, though. Fuckin' dumb. Goro might think he
was just joking, teasing him, making fun, and that was the last thing Hansel
wanted to do, when it came to this. He meant it. He really fucking meant it.

Shit, he hadn't expected to get nervous. But he didn't think
he actually had the fuckin' ability to stop being nervous about things, so what
was the point in waiting?

"Hey." He pulled away just enough to kiss Goro's
forehead. "I got you somethin'." He gently tilted Goro's face up to
kiss his lips, almost faltering and adding, Uh, you don't have to like it.
Maybe it's dumb. I'll get you a different one. Sorry.

Instead, though, he held Goro's hand as his other one
reached into his coat pocket, and he knelt down on one knee and presented Goro
with the little cedar box Leigh had carved for him, popping it open with a
thumb to reveal the braided gold ring that Larkin had helped him gamble and fight
to get the money for.

Only when he got to that point did he realize he didn't know
what the fuck to say, and just looked up at Goro hopefully.

**LINA**

Goro's sluggish fucking brain took in the sight of Hansel
down on one knee, presenting him with a gold ring, and thought, Heh, this is
what people do when they're proposing.

Yep. Sure fucking was.

He stared at the ring, and his eyes carved a line between it
and Hansel's face and back again, like if he kept looking really hard he'd find
something amiss and it would all make sense. Just click into place, how he was
misinterpreting things.

He put a hand over his mouth.

**IZZY**

"Uh." Fuck. Fuck, Goro wasn't saying anything
either. Fuck. "Uh, d'you ..." He didn't like it? He wasn't ready? It
was the wrong fucking time, with an army bearing down on them? Shit, shit,
shit.

Hansel swallowed and considered just fuckin' booking it.
Maybe find Larkin. She knew Goro better than anyone else, maybe she could --
shit, actually he could already picture her throwing up her hands (or awkwardly
patting him on the back if he was already crying by that point, which he
probably fuckin' would be) and telling him to just go back and talk to Goro.

He squeezed Goro's hand. Wasn't like he wanted to leave,
anyway, he was just ... "Uh, listen. This whole fuckin' war thing, it
doesn't -- it doesn't bother me, doesn't fuckin' scare me. But I'm still real
fuckin' scared of the idea of losing you, and honestly that's all I've fucking
been scared of at all, and ... that's not gonna go away. I don't think there's
any sense in waiting for it to. And," he added quickly, "and, listen,
hey, if you're not ready or -- or if you never are, if you never fuckin' wanna,
that's okay too, or if you wanna marry someone else, or whatever. I just, uh
..."

He trailed off, and glanced away nervously, then back to
meet Goro's seastorm eyes.

"I just really fucking wanna marry you, Goro."

**LINA**

Goro squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head.

Shit--fuck--that was backwards. Hansel would think he was
saying no. He switched to nodding, rapidly, emphatically, hand still covering
his mouth. He wasn't sure what it was keeping in.

It was stupid, he decided, that the tradition for someone
proposing was to go down on one knee. Made 'em too far away. Maybe normal
people didn't have the constant, pressing urge to grab onto each other that
Goro and Hansel seemed to have.

Sometimes, Goro figured they were making up for lost time.
Went so long in life not knowing each other, now they had to hold each other
extra to fill in all the gaps that came before.

Maybe it wasn't like that, though. Maybe they just really
wanted to be holding each other all the time, and it wasn't gonna change.

Goro dropped down in front of Hansel and grabbed onto him--a
little awkward, around the knee. He held on vicious tight. Because he needed
to. Because Hansel always let him. Always grabbed him back.

He was supposed to fucking say something, wasn't he? The
right thing wasn't gonna come out, though. It would be Are you sure you want
to? or Isn't it too soon? or You're not just doing this to shut me up, are you?

And Hansel wasn't that kind of person. He wasn't a fucking
liar.

Goro shuddered, not really crying yet but fucking close to
it.

**IZZY**

Ah, fuck --

All right, well --

Before Hansel could quite form any sort of thought about
Goro shaking his head, and then not, Goro had whacked into him. He grabbed back
automatically, with one arm, and fucking fumbled the box with the other and
ended up dropping it. Then he fumbled more, caught between just hugging Goro
with both arms and trying to get the ring back -- he'd heard it clink onto the
stone floor, tipping out of the safety of the box. Fuck, he'd been so worried
he might lose it before Leigh finished the box, and now it wasn't even fuckin'
in the box, and ...

Thing was, he really just wanted to hold Goro. He'd really
wanted to give him something more permanent -- especially after the twine ended
up snapping, like he'd known it would -- Goro fidgeted with it the same way
Hansel fidgeted with his wedding band -- but this was more important right now.
It was always more important. It was just that sometimes they couldn't be
together, and he wanted Goro to have a reminder, for when they weren't.

So he clung back for a beat, slowly folding his leg under him
and settling back, holding Goro to his chest and hooking his chin over Goro's
shoulder. The ring hadn't rolled far, thank fuckin' god -- the braided gold
glinting up in the firelight. He plucked it up, tucking it into his palm, and
curled his arm back around Goro, kissing his hair and the side of his face a
half dozen times, because he was pretty sure Goro was crying, and he was
telling himself they were happy tears, but it was still upsetting.

He cradled Goro between his shoulder and head, rubbing their
cheeks together. "That's, uh." He hesitated. "That means yeah,
though, right? Uh."

**LINA**

Goro made Hansel drop the box. Fuck. He'd almost kind of
forgotten about the ring, in a way--he'd seen it, recognized its significance,
but he hadn't really looked at it. It had felt tangential to the thing that
really mattered. He fucking wanted it, though, for sure. He wanted to see what
it looked like. What Hansel had picked out for him. God. Hansel had fucking
picked out a ring, thinking about him.

Goro's heart beat like it was trying to punch its way out of
his chest.

Then Hansel asked, That means yeah, though, right? and Goro
let out a wheezy sound in between a laugh and a sob. God, that was fucking
adorable, Hansel stuttering and hemming like he was nervous. Like there was any
chance in hell Goro would say no.

Granted, Goro had fucking shaken his head for a second, so
he couldn't blame Hansel for being confused.

He couldn't really speak, either. Goddamn. Was pretty
fucking rare that he not be able to use words to deal with something. Just
couldn't seem to get his voice to work. Felt like it'd gone miles away. So he
just nodded, instead, and pulled back, keeping his right hand on Hansel's
shoulder and holding out his left, so Hansel could put the ring on his finger.

That was how it worked, right? The person proposing got to
put the ring on? Hell, even if that wasn't the right tradition, Goro wasn't
about to deny either of them the pleasure.

**IZZY**

Okay, okay. All right. Hansel was still fuckin' nervous
about Goro not saying anything, because half the time that was bad, but he
guessed the other half of the time it was good. (Actually Goro didn't get all
speechless and embarrassed as much as he used to, so maybe it wasn't
half-and-half, now that he thought about it -- shit, shit, was this bad, then?
Fuck. Calm down, commander.)

Nodding was good. Yeah. He was just all fucking overwhelmed
and shit. Hansel should've planned for this, and shit, done it better. He
fumbled the ring a little again, but he didn't drop it this time. He had
fucking planned for it, and here he was fuckin' going off-script.

He took Goro's hand, hesitating, glancing at Goro's face and
then back down at the ring, the matching braided fibers already on Goro's
finger. "I was, uh." Words, Hansel. Say words. With your fucking
face. "I never took you on that date. Uh, somewhere high up, with a good
view, right?" God, dumb. So fucking dumb. Goro probably didn't remember
that shit. "I was uh. I was gonna take you to a lighthouse, but it was too
cold, y'know, fuckin' on the oceanfront and shit, and up high like that, I
thought, uh."

He cleared his throat, and real fucking tentatively, slipped
the ring onto Goro's finger. It was a little too big -- Hansel didn't know shit
about ring sizes -- he didn't even fuckin' know his own -- but it had a tiny
bit of magic in it that made it tighten down to fit properly.

He brushed his thumb over it, across Goro's knuckles.
"Anyway, I just -- I didn't wanna wait 'til fuckin' spring, so -- fuck,
um, sorry it's not, y'know, perfect." He deserved for it to be perfect. He
fucking deserved everything. Hansel couldn't even look at his face again, just
kept his eyes on Goro's hand.

**LINA**

"It is perfect," Goro said impulsively. He gave
Hansel about half a second longer to look at the ring on his finger, and then
pushed back in, putting his arms around Hansel. He could admire the ring that
way, though. He rested his chin on Hansel's shoulder and held up his hand,
turning the ring around with his thumb. Holy shit. Holy shit. He had an
engagement ring. He had something everyone could see, and know--

He could go to Amari and show her. Look, Ma. Someone loves
me so much they wanna marry me.

He could show Jasmilia, if he ever saw her again. Look. You
were wrong. Look.

Or maybe he shouldn't spoil it, by showing it to her.
Except--nah, there was something deeply fucking satisfying about letting the
people who hated him see it. Not even rubbing it in their faces, just letting
them notice it, and think, Huh? Him? That fuckin' guy got someone to marry him?
All those assholes at the Church who barely ever tolerated him. Every fucker on
the street he'd had to bow to or stay out of the way of to keep his head on his
shoulders. Yup. Little ol' me. I found someone who thinks I'm handsome, and kind,
and full of love. Look.

And it was something he could show himself, too. Any time he
was feeling sad or afraid or alone, there would be the ring, reminding him how
much Hansel loved him. Reminding him how he had felt in this moment. Look.

"It is perfect," he said again. "You think
I'd change a single thing about this, if I could? I love you so goddamn
much." He sniffled. "You still gotta take me to the lighthouse,
though. Sounds fuckin' great."

**IZZY**

Hansel snorted quietly. He was relieved Goro was talking,
kind of a little bit because it meant maybe he could stop -- but also because
it helped settle the voice that said he was doing something wrong, he'd fucked
this up, Goro didn't really want him. Not completely. It could still hiss that
all the silence was hesitation, was just Goro trying to work out how the hell
to get out of this, and then giving up, giving in because no matter what Hansel
did or how hard he tried to make himself seem gentle and small, he never would
be, and people would always be afraid of him, and he would always hurt them and
bully them into shit without even trying --

But he could also tell that voice to fuck off, because Goro
said this was perfect, and he wouldn't change anything. Goro always came back
to him and held him again, tracked him down if he had to. Goro wasn't afraid of
him and would fucking tell him off. If Goro didn't want this, he'd say so.

Hansel focused on that, and held onto it and held onto his
boyfriend -- fiance. His hands were still kind of shaking. "I will,"
he promised.

**LINA**

With their chests pressed together, Goro could feel Hansel's
heart beating just as hard as his own. He could feel the uncharacteristic
weakness in Hansel's arms--still stronger than most anyone else, but with a
tremor to it. Hansel was nervous. He sounded relieved, but he'd made himself
nervous. Goro didn't want him to be nervous, but he had to admit it was fucking
endearing.

He pulled back so he could cup Hansel's face in his hands
and lean their foreheads together. Kissed him a few times. He was grinning like
a maniac, but his face kept scrunching up, too, since he was crying. He
probably looked real fucking ridiculous, but he didn't mind Hansel seeing.

"Sure is a fucking yes, ahuv. Sure is." Wanted to
get that out, now that his voice had returned to him. He wanted Hansel to hear
the yes. He sniffled a few more times, and glanced up toward the stove.
"I'm, uh, afraid your dinner's gonna burn, though."

**IZZY**

"S'fine." He scoffed a bit. Like he gave a shit
about the food. Or the preparations, or the battle, or anything else.
"Moved it off the heat." That was the one part of this he'd actually
planned. Good job, commander -- but not in the usual sarcastic way. The real
way. (She had said it like that, sometimes, too, he just tended to kind of
forget.)

He reached up to gently dry Goro's face with his thumbs. It
was still hard to look at him, somehow -- it was too much. He was too fucking
beautiful. You couldn't look straight at the sun, after all.

**LINA**

Goro caught Hansel's hands and held them both so he could
kiss his way across the knuckles.

"Are you, um." He wiggled his newly adorned ring
finger in the air. "Gonna get one of these too?" Without waiting for
an answer, he examined Hansel's hands. There was Mishka's wedding ring on his
left ring finger, so Goro tapped Hansel's right ring finger, and looked up at
him questioningly. Who knew how the hell it worked with two husbands? Well,
those wood elves, maybe.

**IZZY**

Hansel shrugged. He managed to look at Goro, then back down
at their linked hands. Silvanus, he didn't know why he was so fucking antsy and
embarrassed. Hadn't fuckin' been like that with Mishka -- maybe because he
hadn't gotten it yet, then. How much of a big deal this was, how much it meant
to him once he fucking realized that it did. It was just too fucking ...
special, and precious. He got to be the first for so many things, for Goro, and
got to be his first spouse, too. Fucking ridiculous. Amazing. God.

He was just so fucking lucky.

"You gotta buy it," he said, idly spinning
Mishka's band with the engraved I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine.
They'd bought them together, and then Mishka had the metal reforged together,
split into two rings. He'd gotten the gold braid because it was like the twine
he'd given Goro. He didn't know what kind of ring Goro might buy for him -- he
actually hadn't thought about it. Maybe because he had the Mask charm. It was
more permanent than some twine, already. And magic, too. He didn't need
anything more.

"I mean, y'don't have to," he added. "Just
that I ain't gonna buy one for myself. Defeats the purpose, or somethin'. I
dunno." Ah, it sounded dumb, saying it out loud. He could've just ...
bought two twine rings, or something. They could match. Or not. It'd be fine
either way. The idea of Goro buying him a ring alone was enough to make his
face warm. God.

**LINA**

"Y'don't have to. Pfff. I sure fucking will." God,
Hansel was so cute and embarrassed, turning all pink and shit. Goro kissed the
backs of his hands again, then climbed into his lap, arranging Hansel's arms
around himself.

Curled up there safely, he admired the ring again, turning
it around on his finger. "Should I get you a matching one, d'you think? Or
pick out something different? I don't--I don't know how it's supposed to
work." Shit, now he was getting embarrassed, too. He turned so he could
hide his face in Hansel's chest, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. Best place to
be. "Just want it to be perfect for you," he mumbled. Hadn't meant to
echo Hansel's sentiment, but there it was. Couple'a fools.

**IZZY**

That was better. More comfortable. He always liked how Goro
would just decide to climb onto him or cuddle up next to him and pull Hansel's
arms around himself, make himself at home -- ever since the first time Goro'd
done it, on that ship to Calimport. It'd been so rewarding. Fucking magical.
Like finally getting to pet a feral cat he'd been trying to win over for
months, and finding out it was the softest, sweetest goddamn cat in the world.

He squeezed Goro and hid his face in Goro's hair. God, now
they were just both embarrassed. God. If some poor hungry cleric wandered into
the kitchen about now they'd sure have a fuckin' show.

"Dunno," he mumbled. "Works however we
fuckin' want it to work, I guess. Whatever you wanna do'll be perfect. I love
you."

**LINA**

"Love you too." Goro squirmed loose enough to put
his arms over Hansel's shoulders and kiss his cheek. An old dilemma right
there; keeping his face smooshed against Hansel, or keeping it free so he could
look at him and kiss him. Blushing Hansel was a rare enough sight, though, that
the latter won out this time. "What if what I wanna do is whatever you
wanna do, huh?"

**IZZY**

"Psshh." Wasn't much help, really, but he said it
anyway because he didn't have the mindset for solving problems and thinking
about shit -- he had the mindset for sappy bullshit. "Guess we can do
whatever, then, and it'll be fuckin' perfect no matter what."

**LINA**

"Psh," Goro said right back, and clung to Hansel a
little tighter. "Maybe I'll get you ten rings, huh? One for every
finger."

**IZZY**

"M'kay." Hansel kissed his hair, teasing,
"What, you think I wouldn't fuckin' wear'em? Try me, ahuv."

**LINA**

God, that'd look fucking dumb. Goro snorted.

He didn't want to pass up the chance to fish a little,
though. "Pff, whatever. There's no way you love me that much. Ten rings'
worth? Nah. Er, wait. Nine rings. God damn it. Point stands, anyway."

**IZZY**

Hansel scoffed gently. "Nine, ten." He tapped his
fingers against Goro's back, then pulled away enough to flick at the scrying earring
dangling from one ear. "Room for three more, here." He gestured to
the other ear, where he used to have other rings, when he was a real pirate. "Five
on that side." Then brushed his thumb along his bottom lip, next to the
broken tusk, to see if he could find the scar from the lip ring he'd had years
and years ago -- before he'd even met Mishka. "Used to have one here.
Shit, I'll get it again." He curled his arm back around Goro to nuzzle
into his hair. "I'll get as many as you want. That's how much."

**LINA**

"No way," Goro insisted, keeping his chin low so
Hansel couldn't read his face. See the stupid hopeful, dreamy grin there that
kept flickering with an old fear.

Was a weird place to be at. The fear was like some creature
he was trying to kill that just wouldn't die. He'd stab and stab and stab, and
it would lie still for a moment, then stir and rise up again. But it was weaker
every time, and easier to knock down, and he thought maybe if he kept trying,
one of these days it'd stay down for good.

"There's no way I get to take up that much space on
you," he said. Taking that plunge again, trusting Hansel would catch him
and tell him he was wrong.

**IZZY**

Hansel gave him another psshh, kissing his hair again.
"Much space as you want." He rested his cheek on top of Goro's head.
"I got plenty for you."

He wasn't sure why it was so -- comforting, somehow,
repeating how much he loved Goro. It was soothing. Maybe because the admission
made him vulnerable -- just having the feeling at all made him vulnerable, but
saying it out loud was baring more -- and he hadn't been let down yet. Goro
hadn't taken advantage of the weakness, just let him say whatever dumb, heartfelt
shit came to mind and seemed to love hearing it as much as Hansel loved saying
it. So he kept saying it. Felt good.

**LINA**

Goro hid his face in the crook of Hansel's neck this time,
grumbling, embarrassed. Man, the two of them. A couple of fucks sitting on the
kitchen floor, trying to grapple with how much they loved each other. Fucking
ridiculous. And great.

"God," he said. "We're gonna have like a
fucking wedding and shit, right? Shit. Are you fucking sure? I told you to
fucking wait, jackass. 'Til you couldn't wait anymore. You'd better not just be
doing this for my sake, y'know."

'Course, as soon as he said that, he had to grab onto Hansel
even tighter. He shifted so he could put his legs around Hansel, too, just
latch himself on all the way. You'd better not be doing this for my sake, but
also, good luck getting rid of me, and please, never fucking try.

**IZZY**

"'Course I'm fuckin' sure," Hansel grumbled
amicably, rubbing his beard against Goro's head. "Fuckin' bought a ring
and shit, didn't I." He squeezed him tighter again, pushing the air right
out of his lungs, 'cause Goro liked it when he did that and he fucking liked
doing it. "We don't have to have a wedding if you don't want one. I just
wanna be married to you, s'all I care about. We can elope or some shit."

**LINA**

"Oh. I--" Goro pressed his mouth against Hansel's
skin, not even sure what had been about to come out of it. Eloping. Huh. That
was an option, yeah. Was it... the better option? Sure felt less nerve-wracking
to think about.

I just wanna be married to you. Goro had to fuckin' agree
that was the best part. That was what mattered. He wondered if he'd regret it,
though, if they skipped straight to it. If he'd be cheating himself out of...
something that also mattered, if maybe not as much.

Ceremony and ritual. That was how he made sense of the world
already, being a cleric and all. Seemed like a given they'd have to do
something to mark the change, going from boyfriends to husbands. (Husbands.
God.) The question was just whether they'd invite other people to watch.
Truthfully, Goro never minded letting other people watch him at work, as long
as they were people he could trust to take it seriously.

And then there was the whole party aspect to think about.
The reception. The part that always made him panic and run and hide. He wasn't
sure if it'd be better or worse, knowing the party was for him. Undeniable
fucking proof that he belonged.

Either way, though. It seemed only fair to give himself a
shot. Let himself try out the thing he'd always seen other people do, and
assumed he'd never be a part of. There was a ring on his finger now, telling
him he'd been wrong.

And if it did turn out to be too much, and he had to run and
hide? Well, he figured Hansel would hide with him, until he was okay again.
'Cause they'd be in it together.

"I... I want a wedding," he said quietly. There it
was. Might be the only time in his life he let those words slip out of his
mouth. Catch me, he thought, still clinging tight. But he already knew Hansel would.

**IZZY**

"M'kay." Hansel nuzzled against Goro hair,
pleased. "We'll have one, then." Good. He fuckin' liked weddings.

He was still kind of nervous that Goro might think it was
dumb when they got to that point, might not want to do it after all or might
think he was just supposed to and be miserable the entire time -- but on the
other hand, they could always just fuck off and bail on it if they wanted to.
Who gave a shit, right? It'd be their fuckin' wedding. If they wanted to ditch
it, they could. Hansel would just pick Goro up and walk off with him, and he'd
like to see anyone try to fuckin' make him stop.

"There's, uh. No rush," he said. "If you
wanna ... I dunno, take some time to get used to it, and shit." He wanted
to make some joke about how this was his third wedding, now, so he could take
care of everything, it wasn't going to stress him out -- but damned if he
hadn't gotten all fucking antsy about proposing, anyway. It'd be his third
wedding, but his first one to Goro.

(Who the fuck was he kidding, anyway -- he'd been goddamn
nervous when he and Mishka had renewed their vows, too. It was only the first
one that hadn't gotten to him, 'cause he'd been too oblivious about it. Fuckin'
sappy idiot. God.)

**LINA**

"Mm. Dunno if... dunno if I'll ever fucking get used to
it, but yeah. Very least, maybe we don't wanna have a wedding when there's a
fucking war going on. We could wait 'til shit dies down a bit."

**IZZY**

Hansel snorted. "Goro. Ahuv. Shit never dies down a bit
for us, you noticed that? We got a fuckin' free afternoon some time, maybe we
get hitched then before there's another fuckin' hydra or dragon or god or some
shit." He kissed Goro's head, and teasingly added, "Or maybe I just
make you wait, huh. How about that."

**LINA**

"Psh." Goro leaned his head back to grin at
Hansel, and kissed his chin. "Fuckin' go ahead. I got this now." He
held up his hand, showing off the ring. "Reminds me it's coming."

Unless they... fuckin' died before they got the chance, or
something. Damn. That was the shitty part about this new 'having dreams and
family' shit. Lots to live for meant lots to lose.

**IZZY**

"Mmhm." Hansel snatched at Goro's hand to kiss his
ring finger again. "Didn't say I was gonna let you fuckin' forget, did
I." He nipped the knuckle, then kissed Goro's forehead. "Just make
you wait."

There was a vague expression on Goro's face, there for a
minute, and Hansel wondered if the teasing was too much -- he definitely
fucking understood the insecurity (for some fucking reason he never, ever found
it frustrating, even though he always assumed other people had to find him
fucking insufferable whenever he needed things). He kind of had the feeling it
was something else, though. The thing he'd said before, maybe, about the
disasters never ending.

He leaned his forehead against Goro's, closing his eyes
contentedly. "Y'know nothing on any fucking plane is gonna keep me from
marrying you, right. Gruumsh can fuckin' try if he wants. I'll just have to
fuckin' end his dumbshit war hell and come back to you. No question."

**LINA**

"You really want it that bad, huh?" Goro knew
exactly what the answer was gonna be, and he wanted to hear it anyway.

**IZZY**

"Mmhm." He lifted his head again to kiss Goro's
head, and tucked Goro under his chin. "Sure fuckin' do, shemeshi."

**LINA**

"Haha. Sap. You love your boyfriend, huh? You love
gettin' married?" Goro grinned and snuggled as close as he could get.

**IZZY**

"Naw, I love my fiance," Hansel corrected,
grinning back and cuddling him.

**LINA**

[end]

Title: Proposal. Summary: Hansel and Goro talk Theo down
from a tree and put her on a ship before the battle at the Sanctuary. Hansel
talks Goro into eating and resting... and asks Goro to marry him, too.