A/N: Thanks for the reviews already! I didn't expect any, considering there isn't even a section for Greatest Showman!
This is mostly fluffy because the next chapter won't be...so enjoy it now.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I reap nothing. I'm merely sharing my love of this couple and these people with you all.

Enjoy

Phillip stood on the vestibule of his childhood home, a stranger in familiar land. He took a deep breath and with one hand crushing the velvet of his hat, he raised his hand and knocked on the giant door. It reverberated around him and he counted a full 30 seconds until the pristine, crisp clack of shoes echoing inside alerted him to the presence of someone on the other side of the door.

"Master Phillip," Alfred answered and Phillip smiled at the elderly gentleman.

"Alfred," he nodded his head in acknowledgement, "are my parents home?" The butler stepped to the side and Phillip entered the manor, waiting politely while Alfred closed the door, took his hat and coat, and walked him to the drawing room.

It was amazing how his life changed in the past handful of years. When he was a producer, he could have arrived in the middle of the night, drunk and barely able to stand, and been welcomed with open arms. Now, he was shunned and being led around his own childhood home by the butler who sent him off to school when he was a child.

"Phillip Carlyle for you, sir," Alfred announced, stepping to the side so Phillip could enter the room. His father held the afternoon paper while his mother held needlepoint in her lap, surprise clear on their face while he took a seat across from them.

"Mother, father," he greeted as politely as he could, putting on his best airs. The calm he exuded belayed the quivering he felt inside. He knew they wouldn't agree but he had to ask-for her. "You're looking well."

"Phillip," his father said, finally reacting to his presence and setting down the paper and motioning to Alfred to mix a few drinks for the occasion. "What brings you here?"

"You look well, dear," his mother simpered and Phillip could only smile.

"Have you put that circus nonsense out of your mind?" his father asked, reaching for the drinks Alfred offered and Phillip took his, enjoying the taste of fine liquor again. It had been a while.

"I didn't come here to talk about work," Phillip replied, swirling the amber liquid around in his glass. "I came here...to ask for Gran's ring." His mother's intake of breath was almost drowned out by his father's snort of derision.

"Do you take us for fools, son?" his father demanded but Phillip only met his gaze without answering. He wanted to answer honestly-yes, they are fools to blind themselves to the amazing things in the world because it made them uncomfortable.

"Lottie told us you're still infatuated with that...that girl," his mother sniffed, and Phillip nodded, tearing his gaze from his father and meeting his mother's horrified look. "Phillip…" her sentence trailed to silent tears and while that would have once wrenched his heart, he merely took pity on her.

"Her name is Anne," Phillip said, "and I'm going to ask her to marry me." The words bubbled out of him and he couldn't contain the smile that spread across his face. He approached W.D. a week ago and after a nerve-wracking 5 minutes, the man clasped Phillip on the shoulder and gave him his blessing. This was barely an ordeal compared to talking with Anne's beloved older brother.

"Not with our permission, you won't," his father barked and the absurdity of the statement made Phillip laugh.

"You can't stop me," Phillip reminded. "I'm 30 years old, I've been on my own for over 5 years, and Gran left me her ring to give to the woman I choose to marry."

"It will not be that bitch," his father snarled. Phillip slammed his glass on the table next to him and stood, heat rising and he felt himself began to shake. He was used to the glares as he and Anne walked down the street, even disregarded the odd word or two spat their way but this was his father. His father.

"You will not talk about her that way," Phillip threatened, crossing the room in a moment to within an inch of his father. "You don't even know her and I will not ask you to. I will only ask for my inheritance from my grandmother. You owe me that much."

"I owe you nothing," his father seethed and Phillip searched for the spark of the man he once knew but he couldn't find it. He only saw a man so concerned with status and wealth and he wondered if his father ever cared about anything else.

"Mother," Phillip turned and saw his mother as white as a sheet, her hand over her mouth, and looking as if she were about to faint. "I'm sorry for the intrusion and I bid you a wonderful evening." He didn't wait for Alfred to show him to the door; he let himself out.

^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^

Lettie found him sulking backstage between shows the next day. Phinn had given him the day off, but his life was this place and he had nowhere else to go...or money to spend out because of the small box in his coat pocket.

"Didn't go well with the folks?" she offered and he looked up with a half-smirk and shook his head.

"What gave it away?" he asked, reclining on the bales of hay he settled himself against.

"She's going to say 'yes' no matter what ring you offer her," Lettie comforted but he shook his head.

"That's not what it's about. Gramps first proposed to Gran when they had nothing; not even rings to exchange during the ceremony," Phillip explained. "The ring she left me, he gave to her years later when he could afford something he deemed worthy of her. It cost him a small fortune but to him, it was worth it. Gramps always said Gran was his star and the ring shone almost as bright as she did.

When Gramps and Gran passed, the ring passed to me along with the instructions to find a person who shone brighter than the ring. That's what they wanted and I never understood that-"

"You never understood that until you met Anne," Lettie finished and Phillip nodded. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry you couldn't get the ring."

"Thanks, Lettie," he said. She smiled softly, touching his shoulder in solidarity as she passed, leaving him to his thoughts. He tilted his head back against the hay, closing his eyes and fingering the box in his pocket. This was nowhere near as fine as Gramps ring as this one was smaller and more unassuming, but the cut and clarity were brilliant and the half carat diamond sparkled even in dim light. He spent nearly 2 years of salary on the ring but the moment he held it between his fingers, he knew it was perfect.

"I thought P.T. gave you the day off," she interrupted his thoughts and brushed a kiss to his forehead. Phillip moved over so Anne could join him in his corner of the Big Top. She curled into his side, resting her head beneath his chin and he wrapped his arm around her.

"I went to see my parents today," he confessed, gently running his hand up and down the expanse of her bare arm. "My Gran left me something...an inheritance. I went to claim it this afternoon."

"It didn't go well?" Anne guessed and Phillip shook his head. "We don't need money, why did you-"

"It wasn't money," Phillip interrupted, sitting up a little forcing Anne to sit up as well. "As the eldest grandson, Gran left a family heirloom-her wedding ring-to me, to give to the woman I choose to marry." At the words wedding ring and marry, Anne's eyes flew open and her mouth dropped.

"Wha...Phillip?" she asked shakily and he could only smile as he pulled the box from his pocket, carefully undoing the ties holding the lid in place.

"My parents refused to give me the ring, so I went and purchased this," he lifted the top off the box and the torchlight caught the brilliantly cut diamond and it sparkled like a star in its setting.

"Anne, I don't have much, but what I have is yours. We can create our own heirlooms and new traditions, as long as you're beside me. Will you marry me?"

"Yes, yes, yes," she breathed through sobs of laughter and Phillip couldn't help but join in as he took the ring from the box and slid it on her finger. She was used to the sensation of flying through the air, but this...this was a new sensation of flying she never experienced before and she wasn't coming down any time soon.

"I love you," he whispered, pulling her close and peppering kisses across her cheeks, her nose, and finally on her lips. "So much."

"I love you too," she whispered back, snuggling into his embrace with a sigh. She closed her eyes, screwing them together tightly-if this was a dream she never wanted to wake up. The cool band on her finger and the sparkle of the diamond told her it wasn't a dream, and this was only the beginning.

They were home.

A/N 2: If you have an idea you want to see, let me know and I'll see if I can do it justice :)

As always, if you feel the need to flame, flame responsibly :D