The Secret Marriage

"Well… I never knew…"

The potted plant was a healthy, if diminutive, thing; blooming was an effort, after all. On an equally petty salary, the runty violet was the pick of the litter.

"It's beautiful," the captain stopped himself short of sighing in relief. Now he owed an apology, but it was a small worry if Aki liked the gift, "Who helped you?"

"I, uh," Gray blushed. He couldn't lie, at least not to her. But… how did she guess so quickly?

"I can't imagine it was one of your squad brothers," the scientist mused, enjoying the reaction, "Was it a woman?"

"It was a friend," the soldier shrugged, nervous despite his integrity, "Does it matter?"

Aki raised her eyebrows, "It could, but I don't think so." She smiled, easing the anxiety, "I was only curious."

She cradled the plant protectively, glancing over her shoulder, from the man to the apartment for a place to put her new treasure. She left Gray in the doorway, returning quickly once she had found a temporary surface for the flowers to dwell on. He hadn't budged, only apprehensively examined the darkness-obscured wallpaper during her short absence.

"Are you coming in, or do I shut the door now?"

"Yes," Gray answered cryptically, following through with the first proposition after a few seconds more, "Thank you."

It took a while to get him from the jamb to the table, most of the time he spent wondering how Aki could live in the rented out lab. Although… General Hein allegedly lived in his office; and the captain's own accommodations, well…. Comparatively, they weren't so bad.

"So how've you been?"

Despite their bond, they still resorted to the trivial small talk, and Aki considered that as she seated herself across from the man, resting her chin on her meshed fingers. He leaned to see around a massive bioscope set on the center of the surface, so she didn't bother.

"Tired, but I'm glad you found time to visit me," she smiled, at him, and, though he didn't change colors, he may as well have been blushing.

"I, uh… had a reason," under the table Gray toyed with the cuff of his sleeve. He stared down, as though he could see through it and what his fingers were doing without him, but looked up when the woman laughed.

"You have to have a reason to come and see me?"

"No!" the protest hinted towards her humor, and he almost smiled, "I wanted to see you, but I… sort of wanted… also…."

The trail-off was deliberate, Gray knew perfect what he was trying to say, but he was too embarrassed to say it. The deception never worked well.

"Do… would you… like to get married?"

She laughed at him, again, and he suddenly felt how bad an idea this really was. Then again, he liked it when she laughed, regardless if he was the object of it. Still, in this situation, it put him in the mood to strangle twice and a half the people who put him up to it.

"Hey! I thought it would be a nice thing…."

"M'sure it would be; but, Gray?" the sincerity was heartening, if the direction seemed not to be, "Why now?"

"I… well, I was only… got the idea yesterday."

"Only yesterday?" she echoed. Gray, not one to panic easily, was nearly thrown into a nervous fit by the tone. Suppose she wanted to get married earlier, and he'd missed all the signs. Wait – were there signs that someone wanted to get married aside being asked outright?

"Oh no, I… well… I've thought about it," once, "It's just, marriage takes, um…."

"Commitment?" Aki cheeped, drawing a scowl. Ah well, when he was serious enough about something, he could be bothered….

"I didn't meant it like that," the captain snapped, and immediately regretted it. Aki stared at him, eventually sighing and standing, looking down at him over table and contents. Instead of being the strong leader he often tried to be, he had become the whimpering puppy-dog.

"Come here," the woman ordered, and Gray meekly obliged. He couldn't really avoid looking at her as he stood, unless he looked at his shoes. And nice shoes they were… shiny, "Who put you up to this?"

He winced. This was not going well.

"What makes… who, why?"

"Because I want to talk to whoever did." Talk… if she were feeling merciful when she got to it.

Gray squirmed. Bad Gray, Bad for admitting you got help; bad for admitting you needed help!

"It… no, it just came out wrong!" he pleaded in his friends' defence, "let me try again."

She was silent, and his quick glance revealed that she had forgiven, for the time being.

"Marriage is," he couldn't get over how it seemed like a dirty word, "It takes money, people, organization… And the requirements are higher than it all seems worth."

As the scientist stared at him, he coughed up the courage to finally look at her square while he continued his speech, "But I love you; so for all I care we may as well already be married."

Aki softened, or he thought she did, for she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Gray thought it was rather appropriate – after all, didn't all marriages start with a kiss?

The End

Working Title: The Secret Marriage

Inspiration: The song of the same name, I suspect.

Noteworthy: ... There's no real angst to it?

Disambiguation: Nothing comes to mind.

Derivative work of material © Square Pictures, Squaresoft. Reformatted to abide by 'site standards. None of the original text has been modified, 'cept in case of typo.