Title: Bells
Genre: Romance (I guess?)
Summary: An unexpected question from the First Division Commander leads to an interesting conversation.
"Have you ever thought about getting married?"
The question came from out of the blue, and Aerie looked down at the man whose head was in her lap in surprise. The crew had been relaxing on a tropical island for the last few hours, celebrating a recent victory with feasting and partying. A bonfire roared on the beach nearby, around which drunken pirates were dancing. When they had first arrived, Aerie had partaken in the food and drink, but had retired to her current seat underneath a tree once she had grown tired of partying. Her commander, who was gazing up at her with calm blue eyes, had joined her a short time after, not saying anything as he lie down and put his head on her thighs. They had been like this for some time until he had voiced this question. Honestly, Aerie had thought he had fallen asleep.
Recovering from her surprise, she said, "I don't know...maybe a couple times?" Marco hummed and closed his eyes again. "Why?"
"Just wondering, yoi," he murmured. He shifted until his head was in a more comfortable position on her lap.
"I mean," she started, "I guess? When I was a teen, yeah, all the time. But that could've been the hormones."
Marco hummed again and rolled his head to the side to face Aerie's stomach. Absentmindedly, he brought a hand up to wrap around her waist, palm warm through the fabric of her shirt.
Curious, she asked, "Why? Have you been thinking of getting married?"
"Now and again," he replies into her shirt. "Only if she wants to."
Aerie raised an eyebrow. "I would hope so." She settled herself back against the tree, lowering her brow as she leaned her head back. After a moment of silence, she asked, "What season?"
"What?"
"For the wedding."
"Ah. Probably spring, yoi. Not too warm, not too cold. Fall would work, too, I guess, and if you find the right island you get the added bonus of all the trees changing colors."
"Big or small?"
Marco snorted. "As if I have a choice. Have you seen the size of the family?"
"Fair enough." Aerie stared out at the sea. "Are you thinking a traditional ceremony or something more casual?"
"I'm not one for dressing up normally," he said, to which she barked out a laugh. Now that's an understatement. "But I think it'd be worth it." He shrugged, taking his hand off her waist to push it through his hair. "Doesn't really matter, I guess. Either way, she'd be beautiful."
Aerie hummed in agreement. "I'm sure." She lifted her hand to rest on his on the top of his head, gently letting her fingers intertwine with his. "What flavor will the cake be?"
"I was actually thinking lemon poppyseed or something like it. Light, you know? With, like, a buttercream frosting."
"Sounds tasty."
"It was a favorite of my mother's growing up. We always seemed to have some."
"You've given this a lot of thought for someone who's only considered it 'now and again.'" She returned her eyes to his face, finding him gazing at her with a soft look on his face.
He lifted their joined hands, bringing them to his mouth. Against her fingers, he muttered, "I've had reasons to lately," as he pressed a kiss there.
Aerie cleared her throat, feeling a small blush rise to her cheeks. "I take it she's worth it, then?"
Marco looked back, unabashed. "Definitely worth the trouble it's taken to get this far."
Aerie chuckled and closed her eyes. "I'm sure she feels the same way about you. You're probably the biggest pain in her ass on this side of the anywhere."
"Probably," he agreed. She felt him sit up, so she opened her eyes again.
He sat facing her on the side of his legs, one arm on his own lap and the other crossing over her legs to rest on the sand. His face was close enough that she could make out the subtle freckles dotting his nose, giving him the appearance of a much younger man.
Her voice was barely above a whisper as she asked, "Are you proposing to me, Marco?"
He dipped his chin in a nod and said, "If you'll have me." He raised the hand on his lap to gently cup her cheek.
Leaning into his touch, but not closing her eyes, she answered, "That's all I've ever wanted."
Uhm...
Hey y'all.
*Dodges various rotten fruits*
Yeah, I know. Almost 3 years and radio silence on this story and on Dodger. I don't have an excuse, just that I ran out of things to say. I wasn't satisfied with my writing, so I thought I could pretend it never happened.
I watched The Last Jedi over my break, though, and it made me realized something: you can't just ignore your past if it isn't going your way.
(This is supposed to be deep and profound but it really just sounds stupid.)
A couple of announcements! First, I've changed my pen name; I now write under Sonata14! (It's still me, so if you see this story or others with my characters, don't flip a coffee table.) Second...there's really no way to say it except that I've given up on Dodger. I know the story wasn't finished, there's so many things that I wanted to happen, but rereading it made me realize all of the inconsistencies, the horrible plot, and lack of character development. For now, it's going to stay on the site, but I really want to rewrite it.
Third, I started a new story! It's an AU of sorts for One Piece, set 20 years after the end (whenever that will be). Most of the character and plot points are original, but some old favorites are about to make an appearance in the story! (Please read it I need the ego boost.)
That's all for now! Until next time!
~Sonata14 (Formally known as BatmanSwim2016)