council couple

Milo smiled. Vince's voice was softer and sleepy, then he was out like a light. Adorable. Now that he was taken care of and Milo was more alone with his thoughts, he gnawed at his bottom lip and bounced to his feet again. He wasn't tired. He had something very important to do. He fetched Vince his water first, then he grabbed his coat and he was out of there fast. He wasn't sure how much time he had before Vince would be up and needing food, so he was in no mood to fuck around.

Milo walked from the residential, white picket fence area into the city, quietly looking over the money Vince had given him along with what he had in his own wallet and knew there was on his credit cards. He could make this happen. It wouldn't be the most expensive option available, but it wouldn't be low quality, either. Milo knew where he was going already, too. He'd seen it before, and now every time he passed by, he lingered and thought on it before rushing away with a very hot face. This time, he just went straight for it.

It was a little locally owned Fae jewelers. The store was small, but gorgeous inside, and it would be hard for one to keep focus if they weren't on a mission. Milo's posture was awkward, and he was terribly, painfully flustered, but he was stubborn nonetheless. He approached the elderly man at the counter, once he'd maneuvered through many shinies and knick knacks.

He explained his situation, presented all his cash in an amusing pile, and leveled the other with a nervous but firm stare. The old Fae smiled at him, and went into the back, soon bringing back a selection of what he'd asked for with all his heart. For their shared species and his powerful sentiment, he received a discount, and was able to both get something he was happy with, and a small charm- to add a cherry to the cake.

After, he went back to the grocery store, thanked the annoyed employee, and returned home to cook Vince some chicken. That, and wait to present what he'd bought with endless fluttering in his chest.

Milo brushed some hair behind Vince's ear, sitting next to him at the edge of the couch, like he had back on that bench. He hadn't really wanted to wake Vince before, since he only got so much sleep, but now he had a plate of food for him. He hadn't eaten for a while and that probably didn't help his moods. He rubbed Vince's shoulder and back gently to wake him up without being too disruptive.

"Love? I cooked what you asked for." Just some basic, inoffensive chicken, which would hopefully be to Vince's tastes and weird specifications. (Though, that had probably been to screw with Milo, so he figured this would be fine. Vince usually liked his food.)

Milo put the plate down on the coffee table, then kissed Vince's forehead. "When did you move down here, anyway? I didn't really want you to be more lucid again without me, tried to be fast with errands, but I guess the initial nap attempt disagreed with you. Sorry about that, hun."

"Cuuutie," Milo murmured. He nuzzled Vince. "No, I told you, it's a you day. Not doin' any midnight sneakin' and stabbin'." It really wasn't a good month for that, which concerned him, but he was overall distracted enough to cope. He kept hoping that was the case, at least. "I'm staying over. I live here too, don't I? I like drifting to sleep with my fiance."

"Okay, okay, my bad. Of course." The idea of Vince doing that after all the ridiculousness about food and groceries seemed silly to Milo, and clearly Vince was brushing it off for other reasons, which he wouldn't be poking at.

"Give me actual directions next time or I won't be internalizing any critique," Milo snorted after handing over the food. "You're awake now?" he asked, tone casual, ulterior motives most definitely there. He'd wait until Vince ate, then give him his overdue present.

"You'll feel a lot better if you can keep that down." Milo smiled hesitantly despite the sadder words and line of discussion. He lightly placed his chin on the top of Vince's head and gave him a little squeeze, cuddly.

"Our house," he corrected, very gentle. "I'll stay. Wherever you sleep, eat, and live, I'll do the same. As I've told you before, you're always welcome to crash or spend time in my dorm room when on campus, and when you don't do that, I'll make sure to come back here."

He paused, then grinned. "Are you going to complain about rats in the house, or my bringing over a ton of fluffy pink blankets and pillows? How about all the cutesy novelty items I buy and hoard? May I by any chance interview you about things in my Criminology textbooks when working with them? That last bit is mostly a joke. However, I'm definitely going to put on documentaries about baby animals in the living room, and you'll have to watch them with me, and there's nothing you can do about it." Oh, Milo might've already been partially moved in, but there was so much to do.

"Okay," Milo replied quietly, reaching up to pet and run his hands through Vince's hair. "I'll move in properly and bring lots of my silly little things with me, so even when I'm out, there'll be many parts and signs of me still here. And I'll always come home to you, always." He cradled Vince closer, enough that it would start to feel suffocating, were he to do this with anyone else. "Always," Milo repeated again, affection swelling. Heart delicate at the edges, like it could pop at any time with all of this constantly filling up and overwhelming him. "I love you."

Milo simply held him for a while. Then, when the beating in his chest grew too frantic and desperate, he breathed out in a rush, one of his hands dipping down to go into his pocket. He pulled back from Vince, only enough to cup his chin and kiss at the edges of his eyes- no tears, no tears- then lips, slow and sweet, heavy in sentiment and meaning.

While still kissing him, Milo let go of Vince's chin and took his hand instead. He entwined their fingers and squeezed for a moment, then just detangled them and used his grasp to slip something on.

Milo ignored the heat in his face that spread to his ears and chest, sinking into his bones. He broke the kiss regretfully, forehead knocked with Vince's, and bit his lip. "Vince… We never did this properly, did we? Everything happened so fast before, when I would've wanted to do this for you from the start, like someone as pretty and wonderful as you deserves. I take us seriously, I have from the beginning, and I'm going to treat you right."

The engagement ring was an enchanting piece to Milo, Fae reminiscent in style, adorned with small flowers and diamonds. It had a tiny one-use charm on it to adjust to the wearer's ring size, and a far more relevant second magic that would allow Vince to feel it when Milo was thinking about and feeling affection for him. With how Milo was, that meant there'd constantly be at least a mild buzz of warmth from it, but the larger bursts of adoration would definitely come across as more notable. There'd certainly be a great deal of feeling from it right then, starting off with a bang.

Milo smiled for all he was worth, cheeks painted with red. "Vincenzo Maria Fontana, will you marry me?"