Prompt: Wedding


Parker was acting squirrely.

Well, more than Quinn was used to.

He continued to study the dossier for his cover. Quentin Trembley, a construction worker who inherited quite a bit of money as well as having just asked his longtime girlfriend to marry him. Parker, on the other hand, kept staring from the other end of the couch. He practically felt her gaze as he turned another page.

Patience was one of his greater virtues...well, sometimes...on occasion.

"Do you want to get married?"

Parker's question wasn't unexpected. Their latest con involved exposing a wedding planner that took her clients for a ride, leaving the happy couples to discover their venues and vendors hadn't been booked the day of the event.

"Now? I'd say we're a little busy at the moment, Sweetheart," Quinn replied. Normally, he felt a little bad about maneuvering her, but he needed to buy a little time to figure out what was upsetting her.

"I mean, like normal people do," she said. The concept of being normal was something she focused on, causing a few misunderstandings early in their relationship, and nothing Quinn couldn't solve quickly once he learned the signs. "Like with the big cake, the suit, and the whole thing."

Honesty was always best with Parker he'd found.

"Not a big fan of weddings in general, a lot of window dressin' for somethin' that could take five minutes at a courthouse," Quinn said. Weddings were An Event in the South and he liked going to them sometimes, but being in one he found to be torture. Plus considering his career and lifestyle, being the center of attention was something he liked to avoid. "Why do you ask?"

"Would you marry me?" Parker asked. He'd thought about it now and then, but there were several complex issues involved with the idea. Not that he wouldn't have done his damnedest to work around them for her.

So they were going the long way to get this figured out, Quinn thought.

"If it's what you want. Weddings and marriage are two different things. What do you want, Parker?" Quinn asked, using her name to show he was serious. If she just wanted the wedding, he'd suffer through it.

"I don't know. Marriage looks nice on the outside but sometimes it's rotted on the inside like a bad apple. I don't want to wake up one day hating you," Parker said. She took his hand in hers, holding on tight. "But I want to experience it, not the kids part."

He knew she never wanted kids. Neither did he. It was something they established on their third date. Looking back, Quinn was glad they took care of it when it was a molehill before it became a mountain.

"Sweetheart, we're already doin' married people stuff. We live together, we make decisions as a team, we compromise, and we take care of each other," Quinn explained. He decided to bare it all to drive his point home. "Parker, you know I love you so much, it makes me stupid. You're the rest of my life, however long or short it is."

Parker let herself be pulled across the expanse to be tucked under his arm. Quinn kissed her temple, hoping his words made sense.

"You're not allowed to die," Parker told him. If anyone could steal from Death, it would be her, Quinn decided. "If we're doing married couple stuff already, why would we have a wedding?"

Quinn shrugged.

"Generally people view it as a formal and legal way to declare their love," he explained. "Others use it as a gift and cash grab."

Parker tapped her fingers along his arm.

"What if Alice White and Quentin Trembley got married? If we ever needed an established married couple for a con, we have one!" Parker bounced slightly in her seat. "We could get cake and file taxes!"

"If you want it, Sweetheart, we'll do just that," Quinn said. He knew she was using their aliases for a degree of separation because it was a concept Parker now could see herself in. "I'll buy cake whenever ya want it though."