Huh, shorter than expected. Oh, well. I own nothing. Cheers to yam for helping me come up with this!
Kuon loved Kyoko. He thought her flaws were adorable. Her spontaneous dogezas (rare now though they were) were sweet, as long as she didn't bang her head on the floor. Her flights of fancy just gave him ideas for presents. She could scare him sometimes, sure, when she got dark. He didn't always understand what she was talking about when she talked about "grudge demons" and faeries. But he loved her, more than he had ever loved anyone. He loved her more than he loved acting. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. So yes, he loved her, flaws and all.
But there was one that was getting on his nerves: She would never accept his compliments, particularly the ones about her appearance. Ever. She would always find a way to deflect or contradict him. She would say that it was just the magic of make-up, or that it was thanks to Kotonami-san doing her hair. Or that everyone looked good in this lighting. Or that it was the magic of Princess Rosa. Or a million other things that boiled down to her brushing off the compliment.
Worst of all, sometimes she took it as a joke. She thought he was teasing her… or even making fun of her. It was one of these times when he'd finally had enough. All he'd tried to do was call her beautiful, and she'd gotten upset. Really upset. And so had he.
"What do you want from me, then? Am I not allowed to compliment my own girlfriend?" He threw his hands up in the air. They were standing in his living room, having just come in from a long day of work.
"I want the truth! Not some flimsy little thing you're telling me out of pity!" she snapped back. Her grudges floated around them, loving the energy.
That threw him for a loop. "I am telling the truth!"
"Then you have terrible taste," she huffed, "and that's why you're being so nice. One of these days you're going to realize that."
"No? What would even make you think that?"
"I know I'm nothing like the girls you've dated before, so I guess I'm a novelty-"
"I knew I shouldn't have let Mom show you those albums-"
"-so I'll understand when you come to terms with reality and want to leave."
He gaped at her. "Excuse me, what?"
"I said, I'll understand when you realize that I'm not actually beautiful or any of that and want to leave." Her face was curiously blank. He hated that almost as much as the words coming out of her mouth.
"Ignoring the lie of the first part, do you really think I'm that shallow?" He was angry, yes, but not at her. Never at her, not really, not in the ways that mattered. He was angry at the people who had made her believe that.
"No, but it'd be wrong to keep you in a relationship with someone you don't find appealing." Still, her face was carefully blank.
"Well, then it's good I find you incredibly appealing."
"For now, sure, but when you change your mind -"
"I'm not going to change my mind!"
"Yes, you are, it's just a matter of time." Her lips pressed into a thin line, showing the cracks in her mask. "It's alright, Kuon, really. I'll keep all your secrets even when that happens. Because I know you deserve someone better. You know, someone who isn't so plain, someone who matches you. Someone - someone better." She swallowed.
"You know what? That's it." Kuon turned on his heel and stormed off to his bedroom to get something.
Kyoko fought to keep her mask in place. She shouldn't have said that. Shouldn't have let him know that his identity would be safe with her no matter what. No, she should have. It was only right. She couldn't keep being so selfish. She needed to let him go, if that's what he wanted. And he seemed to be realizing that now.
Except when he strode back into the room and dropped to one knee, it wasn't a non-disclosure agreement in his hands. It was a ring.
"You say that I'll get tired of you or realize you're not the most beautiful woman on the face of the planet? Fine. Wanna bet? Marry me. We'll see who gets sick of who first."
Kyoko's mask shattered. Tears began rolling down her cheeks in thick streams. "Put it away, you're making it worse!"
"You know, I had this whole romantic thing planned out, a picnic by a scenic waterfall I found. I was going to woo you there and propose, just us, since I know you wouldn't like a big public thing. A proposal by a waterfall. I had a speech planned. But now I'm asking you to marry me here, in a rambling mess in my living room. Because you still don't seem to realize how damn much I love you!"
"I love you, too," Kyoko choked out between sobs.
"Is that a yes?" he asked hopefully.
"No! That's just going to make it harder for you to leave!"
He let out a frustrated sigh. "Have you ever considered that I want to make it harder for you to leave me?"
The look of bafflement on her face would have made him laugh in less serious circumstances. "No? Why would I ever want to do that?"
"So is that a yes?"
"But what about-"
"Kyoko, unless you say that you never want to marry me, I'm just going to keep asking." Even if it meant staying on one aching knee for the rest of the night.
"Of course I wouldn't say that! You think I haven't been trying not to think about this for months? But I can't let you waste yourself on me!" Her hands were flailing, and he caught one.
"Let me decide what's a waste of myself, okay?" He kissed the tip of her finger. "Now, what sounds good for dinner? Sushi? Pizza? Marriage? French?"
Frazzled by his sudden switch in topic, she replied, "Anything's fine."
"Great!" He slipped the ring on her finger. "Let's have sushi."
Kyoko didn't regain function until after the sushi arrived.
After they ate, they would have a calmer discussion about Kyoko's doubts and fears, and Kuon would share his own. The ring would stay on her finger until she needed to hide it, when she transferred it to his necklace, now worn around her neck.
Later, he would go through with his romantic proposal plan, much to her confusion. After all, he'd already proposed! But he'd wanted a do-over, a proper proposal, and she'd given him a proper answer. It was a happy ending, and they gained a funny story to tell.
Thoughts?