A/N: Submission for Smythofsky Week Day 3 – Las Vegas

Warnings: Mild language

"This place is so ridiculously tacky," Sebastian moaned, meandering through the lobby of their hotel. "It's like Lady Gaga got run over by a snow blower and landed on a demolished Christmas light factory. Why are we even here?"

Dave snorted. "We're here because Nick and Jeff decided to have a destination wedding in Las Vegas and you're Jeff's best man," he reminded his boyfriend.

"Right," Sebastian said with a grimace. "If I'm Jeff's best man, why couldn't I talk them into having their destination wedding someplace less nauseating?"

Dave shrugged. "I'm pretty sure they thought you were joking when you told them they should get married in Paris."

Sebastian sighed heavily – and overdramatically. "Paris is beautiful this time of year."

"Yeah, but all the wedding guests are kind of in Vegas right now," Dave pointed out. "Plus, we've already had the rehearsal dinner. The wedding's tomorrow afternoon – it's a little late to move everything to another country."

"When we get married, we're going to Paris," said Sebastian stubbornly.

Dave's eyes widened in surprise. "What?" They had been dating for nearly three years, but they'd never really talked about marriage before. It had always been a sort of vague possibility, but not something they spoke of with definitive "whens" and specific plans.

Sebastian froze for a second, realizing what he'd said, but his face slowly melted into a relaxed grin. "When. When we get married," he said, trying out the words again. "Dave, let's get married."

"Are you – are you seriously proposing right now?" asked Dave, incredulous.

Sebastian nodded emphatically. "Yes!" He grabbed both of Dave's hands and pulled him close. "Come on, Bear Cub. Let's do it. Right now!"

"What do you mean right now?"

"I mean, why wait? Let's get married now!"

"But – we're – we're in Vegas – and for someone else's wedding!" Dave reminded him. "Are you seriously suggesting we elope right fucking now?"

"What better place to elope than Las Vegas?" asked Sebastian. "We've been together long enough – it's not like we don't know what we're getting into." His eyes were bright with excitement. "I love you, Dave Karofsky. And if you love me half as much as I think you do … then what are we waiting for?"

Dave shook his head, pulling his hands away. "You just spent the last five minutes whining about how awful this city is – and now all of a sudden you want to get married in it? What the hell is going on with you right now?"

Sebastian's eyes narrowed slightly. "Nothing's going on with me. I just – I love you. And I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And I want the rest of my life to start right now."

Dave laughed. "Seb, you're being ridiculous."

Sebastian took a step back, hurt. His face fell flat and a cold veil blocked the emotion from his eyes. "Fine. If that's how you feel … just forget about it."

Dave tentatively moved towards him, attempting to bridge the distance that had suddenly come between them. "Forget about what?"

"All of it," said Sebastian, crossing his arms across his chest. "I get it – you don't want to marry me. Fine. I think we're done here." He pivoted away from Dave and stormed off.

"Sebastian!" Dave called. He hurried after him. "Seb, just – Seb! What are you –" he finally caught up, putting a hand on Sebastian's shoulder and spinning him back around.

"What?" Sebastian spat. Dave dropped his hand and pulled back in alarm.

"I just – you can't just say "we're done here" and walk away like that!"

Sebastian laughed bitterly. "That's what it means when you say you're done – it's over. Finished. No need to stick around and chat."

"Sebastian," said Dave quietly. "What exactly are you saying?"

Sebastian's eyes flashed. "We're over."

Dave drew in a sharp breath. "Seb. You can't mean that. A second ago, you were asking me to marry you and now –"

"We're breaking up," said Sebastian, refusing to make eye contact. "Funny how things change." He glanced up at Dave. "Don't expect me back in the room tonight." Without another word, he turned and walked away, leaving Dave standing alone and speechless in the lobby of the hotel.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Dave pushed the chicken around his plate, not paying any attention to the joyful chatter around him. It was a lovely reception – the hall was filled with flowers and streamers, and the guests were arranged around small, circular tables with light blue tablecloths. Sebastian, as best man, was seated next to Jeff, while Dave – as the significant other of a member of the wedding party – had been assigned to a seat at one of the round tables closest to the front. He knew a few of the other people at his table – former Warblers, mainly – but he wasn't particularly close to any of them. No one seemed to know about what had happened between him and Sebastian the previous evening, and Dave certainly wasn't planning to tell them.

True to his word, Sebastian hadn't shown back up in their hotel room last night. He must have gone immediately to get his belongings out of the room – by the time Dave got upstairs, all traces of him were gone.

Nick and Jeff's wedding had been beautiful. The love in the room was palpable, but Dave was in no mood to appreciate it. Everything had made him think of Sebastian, digging a little deeper into the cavernous hole growing in his heart.

Sitting at the reception, listening to Sebastian's best man speech, and watching the newlyweds in their blissful state wasn't helping anything. Despondent and miserable, Dave just wanted to go home.

Up at the main table, Sebastian didn't seem much better. Whenever he thought Nick or Jeff was looking, he'd throw on a smile, but as soon as they looked away, he would slump slightly, refusing to take his eyes off of his plate. He didn't look like he'd gotten much sleep. During the ceremony, Dave – who had sat near the back – had noticed flashes of pain wash across Sebastian's face during the most romantic moments of the proceedings. A more selfish part of Dave thought he should draw some sort of satisfaction from the other man's suffering – serves him right; he brought his upon himself – and me – but seeing Sebastian hurting just made it worse.

Absently, Dave checked his phone. He'd called Sebastian at least ten times last night, and he'd lost track of how many texts he'd sent, but, so far, there had been no response. At this point, Dave was determined to leave it up to Sebastian to make the next move. After all, he was the one who owed an apology – why should Dave come groveling?

As dinner ended and the DJ began to play, Dave started to lose hope. Maybe Sebastian wasn't going to apologize – maybe this was really it. He found himself wondering vaguely if Sebastian would somehow beat him back to New York and move all of his stuff out of the apartment they shared before he got there. Maybe he'd erase himself from Dave's life completely.

Glancing back up at the main table, Dave was startled to see Sebastian's chair was empty. Slightly alarmed – maybe he did leave – Dave scanned the dance floor, looking for the tall brunette, but he was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. "Can we talk? Outside – away from …" he gestured loosely around the room, "all of this?" Sebastian asked quietly.

Relief washed over Dave – maybe we still have a chance after all – but he refused to show it. The pain was still too fresh. "I thought we didn't have anything to talk about," he said coldly.

Sebastian's face crumpled. "Look, I get it if you don't want to talk to me – hell, I wouldn't even look at me right now – but please. I'm begging you. Give me another chance."

Dave nodded wordlessly. No matter how hurt he was, he couldn't just leave Sebastian hanging when he was so vulnerable. He stood and followed him out of the hall and into a small garden just outside the building.

For a moment, Sebastian just stood there, staring off into the distance, gathering his thoughts. Dave waited patiently. He was still upset with Sebastian, but it wasn't as though he had stopped loving him. He was ready to forgive him and pick up where they had left off – the other boy just had to say the word.

Taking a deep breath, Sebastian turned to face him. "Dave," he said, his voice cracking with emotion, "I am so fucking sorry. I was caught up in the heat of the moment. I overreacted. But that's no excuse for the way I treated you."

"I forgive you," whispered Dave.

"Thank you," breathed Sebastian, "but I'm not finished." He bit his lip. "Look, Dave, all the stuff I said at first – about you being the love of my life, about knowing I want to spend the rest of my life with you – all that was true. I meant every word if it." He stepped towards Dave and reached out to hold his hand. "I just – I was so ensnared by the thought of being with you forever that I forgot myself – I forgot you. We don't need to rush into a wedding to show the world how much we love each other. We can take our time - plan the wedding of our dreams." He smiled. "After all, I only plan on getting married once. There's no reason for it to be anything but perfect."

Dave squeezed Sebastian's hand. "I love you, too, Sebastian. And that sounds perfect." He touched his free hand to the other boy's face. "You know, I wasn't balking at the idea of marrying you – I just didn't want to do it right then. I want our wedding to be the best day of our lives – not some last-minute shindig in Vegas."

Sebastian laughed. "But … you do want it to be our wedding?"

"Of course," said Dave softly. "I certainly don't plan on marrying anybody else."

"Good," smiled Sebastian. He let out a slow breath. "Dave, you mean the world to me. These past 24 hours have been hell. I never want to be without you again. My world is a much brighter place if you're there to help me fight off the shadows." Still holding Dave's hand, Sebastian got down on one knee, looking up at him with complete adoration. "Dave Karofsky, will you marry me?"

"Yes," said Dave, positively glowing as he pulled Sebastian up into his arms. "Absolutely yes."

Sebastian pulled back slightly so he could kiss his boyfriend – no, fiancé. Their lips pressed together, each trying desperately to show all of his love and desire through that one kiss. Finally, Sebastian broke away. "I don't have a ring yet," he said breathlessly.

Dave laughed gently, shaking his head. "That's not important. We can get one later – when we get back home, maybe."

Sebastian pouted slightly. "But I want to start showing off my beautiful fiancé now!"

"Technically, we're still at Nick and Jeff's wedding – we should probably let them keep the spotlight a little bit longer," Dave teased lightly.

"All right," Sebastian sighed. "This is better anyway – I get to keep you all to myself," he said, nuzzling close.

The two men stood in the garden holding each other. After a minute, Dave gently pulled away. "We should probably go back inside. You'll be needing a best man, soon – you should probably be setting a better example of how you'll expect Jeff to behave."

"Mmm, I picked a smart one," said Sebastian, smiling playfully. "Let's go – I think we're both in a much better state of mind to enjoy the festivities." Taking Dave's hand, Sebastian led him back towards the reception hall. "Hey, Dave?" he said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"What, Seb?" asked Dave, somewhat warily.

"Can we have our wedding in Paris?"

The corners of Dave's mouth twitched upwards, and a glimmer of amusement danced across his eyes. "Maybe."