Of husbands and wives

Prompt: Ursula is upset/angry that Cruella had a husband in the non-magical world and gives her a hard time about it. Cruella doesn't understand why it is such a big deal. :)

Cruella and Ursula had been among the first people to get the news of the upcoming marriage between Regina and Robin Hood, but their reaction wasn't probably the one that any bride-to-be would have liked to see from her friends. Of course, the sea witch had tried her best to express her joy and even hugged her, but Ms De Vil hadn't even tried to hide her disapproval. Mumbling some unhappy comments, she had remained all the time sitting on the couch, sipping a glass of gin and throwing doubtful looks to the other two women, until – probably also because of that behavior – the former Evil Queen decided to stop her short visit.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ursula bursted, once the door was closed.

The smile she had used to say goodbye to Regina was already gone, and now on her face there was only space for an annoyed expression addressed to her girlfriend.

"What are you referring to, darling?" the other woman asked herself, in an uncertain tone. And the worst parst was that the confusion wasn't fake.

"Oh, for the seven seas, Cruella! You could at least pretend to be happy for them, couldn't you?"

An ironic smile crossed Cruella's lips now at that explicit explanation, finally realizing the reason of that reproach. "Oh, that's it then… Well, forgive me if I don't see the happiness of willingly becoming someone else's slave"

The destructive and distressing definition she had just given to the concept of marriage, managed to raise even more Ursula's anger. As if it was a personal matter! But after all, the animal witch had already had chances to understand how talking about marriage – and expecially about her ex husband – was a sort of silent taboo between them.

"No one has dragged a gun on you when you got married, as far as I know…"

Truth be told, she had been the one to drag a gun on Feinberg. But that was another story.

"No, but you have no idea of the sacrifices and the boredom I had to endure! And all of this for what? Now he's in jail and he has left me with not even a dime… Ah! I hope he will burn into Hell!"

"Oh, poor thing… I don't dare imagine the Hell of living in clover without moving a finger!" Ursula replied with a sharp tone, remembering the hard work that in those thirty years happened to herself instead.

That sarcasm succeeded unexpectedly to hurt Cruella, who, after another generous sip of gin, quickly looked up, showing an annoyed expression.

"Can you tell me what the hell is your problem? I got married, yes, and it was for money… I frankly can't see where is the big deal!"

The last words were immediately followed by the sea witch's incredulous and bitter chuckle. Usually, she would have loved any absurdity and any contraddiction her woman was the spokesperson of, but not now, not if all of this was hurting her. Because for her it was actually a big deal, an unberable boulder that hadn't allowed her yet to enjoy their new fonde love.

"You really don't get it?" she echoed her, ironically "You have left me and before three months were passed, you already were Mrs Feinberg! Was it really that easy for you to give up on me and forget me?"

The above-mentioned Mrs Feinberg shook her head and almost rolled her eyes. "I've already told you… It was for money!"

"I know! And that's bothering me even more!" the other woman quickly replied, in a new burst of anger. "Because you have preferred money to me, because I wasn't worth some jewels and a couple of furs… Does love really mean so little for you? And marriage… Is it really that meaningless?"

And at the end of those questions, anger turned into heavy sadness, betrayed by the tears that already were forming into her dark eyes. Standing up in front of the couch, with the arms leaned on the hips, Ursula kept staring at her girlfriend, not caring about her current weakeness. But it wasn't long before Cruella interrupted that silence; there was no will to joke this time in her expression as she suddenly understood the seriousness of the situation and she started to feel a sense of shame toward herself. Maybe because she was finally understanding that the octopus woman's weakness was also her own. So, she put the glass down on the little table beside her and slowly stood up as well, starting to approach her, until she could gently grab her wrists.

"I am happy now with you, I know now that you matter to me more than any other thing…"

In that suddenly sincere whisper, there was no justification for the past, but just the satisfaction for that present, the present when she was finding out that her happy ending had always been in front of her, but she had been just too silly and blind to realize it.

"And then, if you wanna know, I have a romantic vision of marriage too…" she contined then, letting out an enigmatic smile.

"Ah? For example what?" Ursula asked, curiosity trembling in her voice out of general agitation.

"For example, I would like to have a wife and not a husband…"

The sea witch was undebiably caught by surprise this time by the naturalness of that allusion, a naturalness that almost feeded one of her secret desires. She hated herself for that hope and so decided to mask it with an ironic remark.

"So, if I ask you to marry me you could also say yes?" she asked in fact, with a forced laugh, trying to wiggle out of the other woman's grip.

But Cruella held her while the determined expression was still on her face; she was now the one to conduct that difficult matter and in a way that until that moment she had never expected.

"Yes, I could" she found herself answering, but not joking at all.

Their eyes met and this time Ursula's ones were showing a pure fear, the fear of being really completely happy. She could feel her heart ready to burst into her chest for that display of love that surely costed a lot to Cruella, but she didn't say anything. Before tears could actually fell from her eyes, she grabbed in fact her girlfriend by the waist and involved her into a kiss that had the taste of love, sweetness, passion, but that also seemed to represent something more.

Because unexpectedly, unawarily and implicitly, they had just officially got engaged.