Five Hundred Twenty Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes

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Phoenix laughed lightly. "You were bein' really weeeeird when you were on that stuff," he told Oriel, wiggling his eyebrows. "Some of the stuff you were doin' and sayin'... I didn't know what t'take seriously." His expression softened at what Oriel said next, and Phoenix nodded a bit, tucking his head against the boy's chin. "I'm glad too," he murmured. "It kinda... Helped get this whole thing goin'."

The pixie had learned the habits of his lover, and that was why he was urging him on giddily, knowing he'd get it out eventually if forced. Normally Phoenix wouldn't force him like this, but... But this was important, dammit, and Oriel had to say it!! When else would Oriel get to ask him again? Never, if this was what the older boy thought it was.

He kept giggling and grinning as Oriel struggled to get out what he wanted to say. He didn't mean to make fun, but he was just being so adorable and shy about it, Phoenix couldn't help himself. "Want tooo~?" he urged, heart beating a bazillion times a minute. Finally, finally when those words came out....!

Phoenix's world went black. For about ten seconds. Apparently the excitement was too much and he'd just outright made himself faint (unless it was lack of oxygen from Oriel's grip - but it wasn't). What seemed like an instant later, he was blinking and sucking in a deep breath, somewhat confused but still excited. ".... Yes!" he squeaked belatedly, remembering what was going on. "Of course... Of course I will, Squishy!" Still slightly woozy, Phoenix clumsily spun around in Oriel's arms and kissed him, grasping his fingers into the boy's hair as giddy giggles spilled out between his lips. He didn't even realize he was crying at the same time.

He was a mess of emotions. But what did one expect with him being proposed to by his one and only?

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“I’llll bet I was. Shit, you should’ve taken a video or something.” Though if he had, and Oriel had heard all of the other things he’d rambled on about, the boy would have had to dig a hole all the way to China and live in it for the rest of his days. He’d revealed a lot of stuff that he’d never intended to back then…and then overall just acted like a fool. “Yeah…”

He wished he had some of that stuff now. Maybe it would make it easier for him to get the words out if he were doped up on that shit again? That shit, and whatever they sent him home with later, was great stuff, actually. For the first time in…well, in as long as he could remember, Oriel had felt good. Normal. As much as he could’ve, at least. A lot more than he was usually. The stuff he had now was a lot different…and he wasn’t even sure if it was working. If it was…wouldn’t all this be a lot easier? Wouldn’t the jitters and butterflies shitting in his stomach have gone away?

When he finally go the words out, Oriel felt his entire body cringe as he awaited Phoenix’s answer…which didn’t come right away. Actually….Phoenix seemed to slump right there in his arms, and when Oriel opened his eyes to look….

“Phoenix…!?” Oriel cried out to the fainted boy. Oh, shit! What if he was…no he wasn’t dead, he was still breathing, but what if he was sick and had passed out from something that he’d been hiding all night and just didn’t want to tell anyone because he—?

Oriel pulled Phoenix in to rest in one arm while he gently patted his cheek with the other, letting the ring fall into their laps. “Phoenix…? Hey! Are you—?” Then he was awake again and no sooner did he open his eyes did Phoenix burst out with an answer that made Oriel’s very own breath catch to where he thought he might grow faint as well. Phoenix fell into his arms and Oriel held him there while their lips locked in a deep, passionate, excited, giddy, loving kiss. Seeing the tears in Phoenix’s eyes…Oriel felt like he might as well. How could he be this happy? It was just like when they’d first confessed their feelings to each other a year ago, late at night in the school’s hot-tub. No, this was even more wonderful.

Oriel separated from the kiss just enough to breath out a sentence. “Wait…let me…the ring…” He reached behind him where the tiny box had fallen and plucked the small ring from it’s setting, then held Phoenix’s hand out where he slipped it on his finger. “…what do you think? Looks good, huh?”

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Phoenix snickered at the idea. "I should've," he agreed. He took in a shaky breath. "I just... I was so worried... I was cryin' an' scared and..." Phen shook his head, removing the thoughts from his head. "But it's okay. You're okay." He didn't want to think about what would have happened if he hadn't been.

And awwww.... If Oriel wasn't nervous and scared shitless about asking Phoenix the question, where would the fun be? He should have already known was the pixie would say. They'd practically pledged their lives to each other when they'd gotten their promise tattoos.

He hadn't expected to faint, though. Phen had fainted a few times in his life before (usually from some sort of dust-crazed illusion), but not like this. He would be embarrassed about it later, when he wasn't overwhelmed with giddy happiness and overwhelming joy.

"Fuck, I just... I'm so happy," he gasped between kisses and sobs. Phoenix was sure he looked a right mess, but he didn't care. "M-marriage... I never thought..." His head was already whirling with thoughts. When they would do it, where, who they would invite, who the best man would be.... Gryphon, of course, if Oriel allowed it. He was going to have to text his best friend all about this tonight.

He giggled as Oriel grasped for the ring again, and eagerly held out his hand, catching his breath as the cool metal slipped over his finger. Phoenix held it up, staring in awe at the simple little thing. "It's perfect," he murmured, tears springing to his eyes again. "Oh, Oriel, I love you so much..." He wrapped his arms around his lover and nestled his face into the boy's hair. "I... I get t'call you my fiance now," he realized with an excited laugh. "You're my fiance!"

Not even for a second did he stop to think they might be too young, or rushing anything. Phoenix knew he was going to marry Oriel someday, it just happened to be sooner rather than later. "... I wanna celebrate.... In our room..." he mumbled, running his fingers up and down Oriel's back. "Think that... That the supervisor would allow us a few minutes... For the special occasion?"

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Oriel felt bad for Phoenix, for putting him through all that worry last year while he was in the hospital. This year, he hadn’t done much better being separated from Oriel. “Yeah,” he whispered. “I’m okay.” He still remembered the searing pain that had come from the bite Erik had given him. How it shot up and down his leg. How he felt like he couldn’t even move for fear of making it worse, but even holding still just brought on an ongoing throbbing, and burning, as if there was something tearing at his leg from the inside out….

Oriel really needed to punch Erik for that, didn’t he? Jerk. Oh well.

Compared to the jitters and heart stopping breathes his own body was putting him through right now, that snake bite had been a cakewalk. Compared to actually having to be honest, to put himself out there and leave himself vulnerable to the one person he most didn’t want to hear rejection from…Oriel would take physical pain over this any day. But at the same time, he was proud of himself, for even making it this far. For motivating himself enough to get out and involved in that volunteer thing, which in turn motivated him enough to push himself into getting a job, anything at all, that he could put up with. As long as he got paid, it didn’t matter what it was. Because by that time, Oriel had already concocted this plan. And having gotten as far as he had already, Oriel grew impatient and wanted to jump right into it. So first paycheck, yesterday, Oriel had quickly cashed it out, put it together with what he’d already saved, and scoured the downtown area, searching for that one ring that just popped out at him! And given that he had no idea what he was doing, he also contemplated getting a ring for himself so that they both would have one….but his funds only allowed for the one. It was expensive as it was, just by itself. And…that was okay. Oriel was fine with that. Definitely.

The ring was a hell of a lot more socially acceptable than a collar too. Which he’d also considered.

Phoenix’s happiness was infectious…though it could easily be said that Oriel had been afflicted by the bug long before Phoenix started assaulting him with kisses and blissful sobs. He felt a drop run from his eye and down the side of his face. “I know,” he breathed in response to Phoenix’s half finished sentences, his smile fading not even once. “I know!” He squeezed the boy again tightly in his arms as if to never let him go ever. “I am….and you’re mine…my…finace…” he said into the embrace. Just saying the word made him squeeze tighter in his excitement. The details weren’t sorted out yet, not in the least, but…they had plenty of time to do that. This was just the first step of many they’d be taking together. They didn’t have to get through all of it at once, right?

“I know…” he muttered, his breathing finally starting to slow down some. He peered over to where his supervisor was, only barely seeing her large form sitting on a bench facing away from the young couple. “…honestly, I think she would,” he said softly. Oriel loosened his grip around Phoenix. “But….you know, she really is a nice lady….I don’t want to get her in trouble or nothing…” Which still depressed him that they couldn’t at least do something…

Or could they?

Oriel sat up, pushing Phoenix off him just enough so that he could take off his coat. “Phoenix…you look cold,” he said ‘casually’. “Here, wrap this over you…” He pulled the coat around Phoenix’s torso, guiding the other boy to lean up against him again. “It’ll keep you ‘warm’,” he said with a lecherous wink. Hopefully, Phoenix didn’t have to have Oriel spell it out for him, what he was doing.

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Phoenix wasn't yet even really thinking about what it must have taken for Oriel to go out and get this ring. He was vaguely aware that engagement rings were expensive, but it was the ring itself and what it meant, not the price behind it, that he was focused on now. Once Oriel told him all the work he'd done to get it, the pixie would be even more grateful and ecstatic (and probably cry even more). He was so proud of his love for getting to where he was.

He caught the tear that found it's way down Oriel's cheek on his thumb and brushed it aside, kissing the damp mark that it left on his scruffy face. "I can't believe it..." he mumbled into the boy's hair. "N-no.... I can believe it, I just... I never thought... I would ever... Until I met you and..." Apparently being proposed to gave one the inability to speak. He let out a sharp, short laugh and nuzzled his face against Oriel's neck, his arms looped around his fiance's shoulders and fingers tangled in his hair. He wasn't in any hurry to do anything else other than just enjoy each other's presence.

Phoenix's own breathing finally began to return to normal as the after-glow started to settle over them, like the feeling he got after making love. "Mmm..." he hummed in response, also peeking back at their supervisor. "Yeah, that... That would be bad, we wouldn't want t'get a mean replacement..." His face fell slightly, though only a bit, since what had just happened was still overwhelmingly better than anything else.

He squeaked a bit as Oriel suddenly moved him, giving the younger boy a confused look. "What're you...?" It took him several long moments to realize what was going on, and when he did, Phoenix's eyes widened and the edges of his cheeks got mottled pink with lust. "You gonna...? Here? Really?" he whispered, glancing around to make sure no one else was near. Well... They could probably get away with something, right? "... I'll try t'be quiet," he said softly, cupping the younger boy's face in his hands. Phoenix pulled him into another slower, softer kiss, his excitement trickling down his spine to spread out below.

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There was no telling how long this “feel good” situation of Oriel’s was going to last. He seemed to have periods where he did well, was productive, and rampaged through his obstacles like no one’s business. There were times when he had much more control over his emotions and could tolerate the little things better. Hell, sometimes it wasn’t even tolerating, it was just not being bothered by them at all. And then, for whatever reason, maybe a triggering situation, he fell really fast from that high pinnacle of sanity, leaving him to climb all over again. It was a cycle, something he needed to pay more attention to, apparently. So while he was doing well now, and probably could continue to do well over the next few weeks, months, maybe even up until graduation, it wasn’t any guarantee. Oriel still had a lot he needed to work on. Hence why, while he’d proposed marriage with his one and only, he wasn’t stupid enough to rush into it until…well, probably not until after graduation. Because by then, he’d be an adult and wouldn’t have to rely on anyone’s “permission” to do what he wanted for his lover.

He wasn’t thinking about all this right now though. Not by a long shot. Oriel was thing more on just…how fucking wonderful it was to have someone like Phoenix, promised to be by his side for the rest of their lives. It was more than he ever thought he’d ever get, and certainly more than he deserved. But still, it was his. And he wasn’t going to let him go for anything in the world.

“I know…” he breathed back to his fiancée. “I can’t….” Oriel’s voice cracked as he struggled to get the words out. “It’s just…everything I ever wanted. T’have a h-home…a family.” He sniffled as he felt the tears start to come quicker. He cupped both hands under Phoenix’s chin and lifted his face to look up at him. “Y-you’re…all that for me…” he sobbed, resting their foreheads against each other. “Heh…and here I am…getting all fucking….” Oh, well. Phoenix was the only one who was seeing it.

The sheer emotion permeating the atmosphere around them made their sudden secret intimate moment all the more special to him. He wanted to just jump into it without a care of who or what was around to watch. Shameless, he was. But…he’d been celibate for coming on three…no, four months already! Oriel needed something to reward himself with.

He pulled Phoenix closer, adjusting the older boy on top of him to grant him the easiest access while still keeping the coat strategically placed above them. To anyone else it might just look like they were cuddling underneath the same jacket, maybe even that Phoenix was taking a nap. Oriel spread his lecherous smirk and leaned in to his fiancée. “You do that,” he said softly. “Just remember…that if you do make any noise…I’m going to post that video you sent me online as punishment.” He wouldn’t really….maybe….

--Fade to Black--