Ooh, this is a fun chapter. Possibly one of my favorites in the entire story. Hee hee, I am sadistic, am I not? Have fun with this one, lovelies... it's a good one.

~77

Noodle wandered down the hallway, trailing her hand on the wall next to her. She hadn't really thought this out at all. She pulled out her phone and stared at it for a moment. She couldn't call Darren, he was still in his meeting. Noodle stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the sea and leaned against the railing. The cool breeze blew her hair off of her forehead. She heard the door behind her slide open but she didn't turn around.

"Yew awright, Noods?" She nodded.

"Just thinking." 2D sidled up beside her, cigarette hanging from his lips.

"Wot're yew finking about? The… wedding?" She nodded.

"… what if I'm not ready?" 2D chuckled beside her.

"Yew awready know I don't fink yew're ready." Noodle turned and stared at him dryly.

"Honestly. What if… what if I can't be a good wife, or… what if I have to be a mother?" 2D paused. He didn't like to think about Noodle being a mother to any other man's children. He didn't like to think of her in relation to any other man at all, not in that context. But, how could she think she wouldn't be amazing at anything she tried? He hesitated, the cigarette flicking up and down, before he spoke.

"Yew… will be the most perfect wife any man could ask for… that I know," He nudged her playfully and she smiled and leaned into him, "And no one's expecting yew to be a mother… not right away… and DEFINITELY not if yew're not ready." It was painful, reassuring her that she could make someone else happy. He didn't know how he would handle the wedding… just sulk around the island with his hands in his pockets he supposed. He would eventually get tired of his own thoughts and turn to some strange drugs. Then he would lounge around his room for days, hazed out of his mind. Then he would get tired of his drugged thoughts and drag himself to sobriety. Then it would start over again. Addictions are fun...

"What if I'm never ready to have kids? Will he be upset? ...Would you be upset?" 2D looked out to the sea. He spoke very softly.

"Wull... I suppose thah's the best fing about marryin' the person yeh love. They'd accept wot choices yew made and be 'appy just to be wiv yew... I don't suppose yew ever 'afta be ready."

"... but would you be upset?" 2D shook his head.

"Nah... kids are a big responsibility... yeh know, not thah I would know- the mothers of my children are quite efficient wivout me- but, yeah... ih's a big decision to make wiv the person yew, yeh know... want to spend the rest of yeh'r life wiv."

"Do you suppose... it's normal for the bride to have... second thoughts before her wedding?" 2D looked over.

"Are yew?" She shrugged, "I dunno. Suppose ih's normal for anyone to 'ave second foughts before somefing important. Are yew... considering not gettin' married?" Again, she shrugged.

"i don't know anymore. It feels like the right choice, but..." She trailed off. 2D was torn between cheering she was almost reconsidering and getting angry that she was throwing her life away in such a state of indecision.

"But... what?"

"You know that little voice that tells you off when you want to do something? No matter if it's right or wrong, kind of like a devil's advocate? Someone to argue with?" 2D nodded. He had been having an awful lot of conversations with that voice lately, "Well, sometimes... I think that voice has a point. That maybe I shouldn't leave... you know?" She looked up at him. His cigarette flicked up and down as he stared at her.

"Yeah... I fink I agree wiv the voice, though." A half-smirk appeared on her face.

"Of course you do..." He grinned at her, though the grin was tainted by hints of bitterness and pain.

"Sorry, not sorry." A thought occurred to him. "How long… how long are yew gone for yeh'r… honeymoon?" Noodle stood up straight and cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"Uh… we… aren't leaving… for a honeymoon. Not straight away." He looked at her questioningly. She stuttered for a moment.

"He- he has to be on- on business and he- we- I can't-" He stared at her incredulously. He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and flicked it over the edge of the railing. He stared stonily down at the sea, not saying a word. Noodle touched his arm lightly.

"T- Toochi...?" When he spoke, he was seething with rage.

"He didn't get off work for yeh'r honeymoon?" She shook her head, meekly. If his eyes had not been completely black, they would have glowed red with fury. "Wot, he couldn't make time for yeh? It's yeh'r bleedin' honeymoon! Is he even going to be there fer the wedding? … I'm findin' him. I'm gonna knock some sense into him and his boss…" He stormed off into the house, muttering to himself. Noodle panicked and flitted after him. He was already in the lift and Noodle had to force her hand in the door to get in. In the tiny space, his rage was more apparent. She didn't realize it would make him this upset. Noodle wondered when he got into this mode of raging, too. Usually he would be upset for a few moments, maybe yell (Cockney accent in full effect) then be fine. This was a surly, pent up, rage-in-silence, kind of anger. She randomly wondered if he could get a heart attack at thirty-three.

"2D! You need to calm down, it's not that big of a deal!" He turned on her, fists clenched at his sides.

"Not that big of a deal? He's not treatin' yew right, Noodle. I'd say that's kind of a big deal." The door opened to his room and his boots made a clomping noise as he stomped across the room. He tossed his blankets aside, got on all fours and searched underneath the bed, rooted around in the mess that was his bedside table. It took a minute for Noodle to figure out what he was doing. He was searching for his phone. She hurried after him and grabbed his arm. She made him turn and look her her.

"2D, listen! This isn't his fault and I'm not mad about it! It's just something that we have to work around! Seriously, it's no big deal." She put her finger over his lips when he opened his mouth to protest. When he stopped resisting, she slid her hand up his cheek and around to the back of his neck. He sighed and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. He spoke in a very strained voice.

"I'm jist lookin' out fer yeh, Noods." She nodded. She pulled him over to the bed and made him sit beside her.

"And I appreciate that… but you don't need to. I'm perfectly fine… why are you so worked up about all of this?" 2D looked down. His sorrowful look nearly broke Noodle's heart in two. Something about the singer before her made her want to reach out and touch him. To let him know someone was there. To kiss his cheek- she stopped herself. She watched him glare murderously at the blanket before looking up at her with his usual soft expression. 2D worked his jaw a few times before he managed to get out,

"I… I love yeh, Noods." She nodded, looking down at their intertwined hands.

"I love you too, Toochi. But I'm going to be fi-"

"No!" Noodle looked up. The fire in his eyes was back but it was a different kind of fire. She felt her words die in her throat. 2D escaped her grasp and raged around the small space again. "No! Yew don't understand. I. Love. Yew, Noodle. I really... really love yew. I dun' want yeh to get married to thah git. I- I want yeh for meself... Goddammit! It makes me so… mad. I fought we were happy here on the island, and then yew go and get engaged and I'm left here… alone. And I've wanted to tell yew… God, I've wanted to tell yew, but it's too late now!" He hung his head and turned away. Noodle was breathless. Somehow, the news didn't surprise her as much as she thought it would. His fantastic display of anger had been… thrilling… but Noodle didn't know what to think now. She reached for his hand and pulled him back down to her side. She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.

"I don't know what to say… I don't know where this leaves us and-" 2D wasn't listening. He was too focused on the way her fingers were tracing circles in the back of his hand. He was caught in her eyes. She seemed to be able to see down into his soul just by glancing at him. He was drawn in, locked away by her eyes… and he didn't mind a bit. She trailed off what she was going to say when she looked up. Some part of her recognized that the hunger was back on 2D's face. And… strangely, she felt it too. The fear in the pit of her stomach wasn't fear at all. It was a tingly sort of… she actually didn't know what. She was still confused, but something else had taken the forefront of her attention. Her gaze slowly trailing from his eyes to his mouth and back up again. Without really thinking things through, 2D leaned closer. She seemed to find her voice again.

"You're making me kind of nervous…" He nodded minutely. "I should probably go…" He nodded again.

"… Probably, love." She was leaning closer as well, every bit as entranced by him. Her gaze flicked once more to his lips. She glanced back up and 2D felt the same almighty pull he did on the beach. She opened her mouth and fought to find her words for a moment. 2D kept his eyes trained on hers. His brain was so busy, taking in every tiny detail about this moment. She never tore her gaze away from his.

"…Don't kiss me…" With that, she purposely closed the space between their mouths and opened her mouth immediately to him. 2D felt his brain deflate as all of the world focused into this one tiny moment. Flashes of light popped in his eyes and a flaming heat was starting in his lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself into his lap. He ran his hands up her back, feeling her lithe muscles. She was slightly above him, making it easier for him to kiss her neck. She let out breathy sighs when her lips were free.

"Don't… kiss me… 2D… don't… stop, don't stop." He lightly scratched her sides and found his way to her mouth again. He moved and gently backed her up and laid her on his bed. He followed her down and hovered over her. Noodle ran her nails across his back, making him groan. They were speeding up, nipping at the other's lip and chasing the other's tongue. 2D wasn't sure of the last time kissing had felt so nice. He started kissing her neck again, hitting a spot right under her jawline that made her gasp. He kissed the spot and started sucking lightly. Noodle held him to her, he was delighted to feel her nails digging into his skin. When he had left his mark, he kissed his way back up to her mouth. 2D let himself roll and pulled her on top of him. She opened her eyes and 2D saw a swimmy sort of pleasure, as if she was in such a haze to notice anything besides her current situation. Noodle went straight for his neck, wanting to repay him for the mark on her neck. When he gasped her name and contracted his fingers on her back, 2D saw her spine stiffen. She sat up very fast, her eyes in a panic.

"I need to go." She got off of him and the bed in a flash and was racing towards the lift before 2D even had the chance to get up. He was a bit groggy and stared at the lift for a few seconds before falling back on the bed with a groan. He held his head in his hands, what had he expected to happen?

Upstairs, Noodle didn't stop running until she got to a remote corner of the house, a few stories up. She braced herself against the wall and heaved a sigh. What was she doing? She guiltily glanced down at the ring on her left hand. It seemed to weigh much more than usual and caught the light more. What would Darren think if he saw what had happened? She knew she shouldn't have done what she did. She was engaged. She shouldn't be alone with 2D, much less sprawled on his bed, leaving hickies on his neck. She felt ashamed.

Yet… Noodle couldn't get an image out of her mind. She kept imagining the way 2D's face looked as she kissed his neck, gripping his arms tightly. He looked so happy and passionate. Why did she kiss him? She told him not to. She had been the one to instigate it, if she was being honest with herself. She leaned in first, she opened her mouth and practically pounced on him. Shouldn't she have stopped herself? But Noodle knew the answer, she had never thought about Darren the entire time she was in 2D's room. She forgot the ring, the wedding, all of it. Noodle slumped to the floor. A sob ripped through her and shuddered her small frame. She didn't want to be in any wedding. She didn't want to marry Darren. She didn't want anything to do with the ring on her finger. 'What do you want, then?' Her brain hissed at her. She gasped and threw her head into her hands, sobbing silently.

She wanted 2D. And she was engaged to the wrong man.

Ok, I want to see all your flames in the comments! Beware, if I'm really feeling mean, I may drag out the wait for the next chapter... I'm fairly good at that...