Just a quick oneshot I did. Reveiws, crits, flamings, etc all greatly appreciated!
'We should get married.'
Buri looked up from cleaning her nails with a knife. 'I missed something,' she said dryly. They were in Raoul's rooms at the palace; they had just enjoyed a glass of red wine and anecdotes about the many campaigns they'd been in together.
Raoul frowned. 'Well, we've been… seeing each other, for… a while now,' he explained haltingly. 'People are starting to talk.'
Buri looked up at him lazily. 'Raoul, if you'd been paying attention, they started talking weeks ago.' She raised one eyebrow at him, and swung her leg, before hopping off the tabletop. 'Besides, since when have you cared what they said?'
He blushed. He actually blushed. Buri could have laughed in his face, but decided it would be funnier to see how the situation played out. She didn't for a moment think he was serious.
'Well…. this time there has been some truth to the matter,' he squirmed.
She started walked slowly, deliberately, towards him. 'And…?' she asked with malicious intent. If he was going to come up with something like this, then she was going to make him suffer.
'And….' He really looks uncomfortable now, Buri mused. 'And my mother heard something,' he muttered so low that Buri could barely hear him.
She frowned, and cocked her head to one side. 'I thought she was happy that you didn't have a preference to men anymore?' she asked quizzically, with a teasing note in her tone. She was referring to the fact that his mother had been trying to get Raoul married off for years now.
Raoul let out a short, sardonic snort and rubbed his brow wearily. 'Yes, but that was two months ago, Buri,' he said. 'And now she expects…' He waved his hands around. 'stuff,' he finished lamely.
'Two months isn't a long time for courtship,' she pointed out tartly, though she blushed – just a little bit - on the word 'courtship'.
'I took you to my family midwinter ball, you know,' he responded. 'My mother took that to mean… things.' He took a deep breath, then fished inside his pocket for something. A box. Oh, Goddess, Buri thought apprehensively. I'll have to make sure he doesn't embarrass us both!
'You keep that thing away from me,' she said, eyeing it. Then, abruptly, 'Fine. Let's get married. Only,' she said in a warning tone as he was about to say something. 'Only,' she repeated in a milder tone, 'because we're not getting any younger.'