Wilby fic: Multiple Choice, by kuonji (PG-13)
Commercial Break! This is readable as a standalone. :)
Title: Multiple Choice
Series: Points In Common
Author: kuonji
Fandom: Wilby Wonderful
Characters: Duck MacDonald, Dan Jarvis, Buddy French
Pairings: Duck/Dan
Category: somewhat crack, romance, friendship
Rating: PG-13
Words: ~1190
Summary: Dan rolled off him, exhausted and sweaty. "Hey, Duck," he said. "Want to get married?" Duck, already half-asleep, said, "Sure."
Multiple Choice
by kuonji
Dan rolled off him, exhausted and sweaty. "Hey, Duck," he said. "Want to get married?"
Duck, already half-asleep, said, "Sure."
***
Duck could tell something was different. Dan had cooked his favorite dish and was wearing something low-cut and--
***
Duck could tell something was different. Dan had cooked his favorite dish and was wearing an extra nice sweater and those dark pants that made his bony ass somehow look good--
***
Duck could tell something was different. Dan had cooked his favorite dish and was wearing an extra nice sweater and those dark pants that made his ass look as terrific as it normally did.
"What's the occasion?" Duck asked, a little nervous, a little excited. There was something electric in the atmosphere, like a thunderstorm seconds from breaking.
Dan reached over the table and took his hand, and his palm was a little cooler than usual. He rubbed a thumb over Duck's skin, making Duck shiver. His long neck convulsed with a swallow.
"I, um. I don't know if I should..." He stood up suddenly, only to go down a second later beside Duck's chair. On one knee.
"Jesus. Dan. Are you--?"
"Will you?" Dan asked. He actually looked uncertain. The goof.
Duck took Dan's hand in both his own. "Are you kidding? Yes. Of course."
***
They were walking home from dinner at Sandra's. The lights on the water and the familiar slap-slap of waves against the bulwarks created a pleasant backdrop for their stroll.
Halfway home, Dan slipped his hand into Duck's pocket and twined their fingers together. Duck smiled, tucking his chin down, and squeezed him back.
"Duck."
"Hm?"
"You know I... I'm really glad I met you."
"Me, too." Duck looked over at his lover. Dan had his eyes on the road. His profile cut familiar angles against the dark.
"You're very special to me." Dan looked up at that, meeting Duck's gaze. "I love you," he said softly.
Over a year together, and his stomach still flipped over when he heard those words. "I love you, too," he answered.
"Duck."
"Yeah?" Duck realized that they had stopped walking.
Dan pulled his shoulder gently around to face him. "Walter MacDonald, will you marry me?"
His first reaction was surprise. Then he squeezed his eyes shut, still not quite believing his ears. "What?"
"Marry me. Be my husband. Make me yours." Dan's eyes were full of confidence.
"God." Duck freed his hands from his pockets and cupped Dan's cheeks. "Yes," he said simply, before kissing Dan lightly on the mouth in promise.
***
When Duck came home, Dan was nowhere to be found. Confused, he wandered through the modest two-bedroom house. "Dan?"
Hearing a sound, he opened the door to the backyard. And stared.
Dan had strung up the Christmas lights along the shed, and a dozen candles were placed on the ground in a circle of light.
"Dan, what are you doing?"
Smiling somewhat embarrassedly, Dan finished adjusting the last candle and stood. "Ah, Duck. Hi." He looked around. "Do you like it?"
"It's... pretty," Duck answered, because it was. He smiled and went to stand beside the other man. "You getting romantic on me, cowboy?"
Dan tugged him in for a quick kiss. "Maybe." He stepped into the circle and pulled Duck in after him. Laughing, Duck went. He was careful to lift his feet high, not wanting to catch the baggy trouser-legs of his overalls on fire.
When he looked up from his own feet, he discovered that Dan had gotten down on one knee in front of him. He took a sharp breath. "Dan, what--"
"Will you marry me?" Dan asked quietly. From somewhere, he had produced a single red rose which he now held out to Duck.
Duck stared for a moment. Then he dropped to his knees in front of Dan and crushed him in a hug. "Yes," he said, his voice hoarse with emotion.
***
Dan had strung up the Christmas lights along the shed, and two dozen candles were placed on the ground in a circle of dazzling light. More candles formed a walkway from the back porch to the circle, where Dan stood waiting with a bouquet of red roses in hand.
***
Dan had strung up the Christmas lights along the shed, and five dozen candles blazed in a circle of light. A red velvet carpet led from the back porch to the circle. Lanterns hung from the tree branches, with streamers of lace and silk wound around the trunks. Dan stood waiting in a glossy tuxedo and white gloves, a bouquet of red roses in one hand and a cage containing a pair of white turtledoves in the other.
***
It was on the water. Dan recited a poem to him.
***
It was on the roof. Dan set off fireworks and told Duck how he lit up his life and made him fly.
***
It was like that movie with Nicole Kidman. Dan sang-- No, no, the other one, the romantic one. No, not the one with the robots, for god's sake, the one with the circus, where she's--
Oh, shut up.
***
Pride and Prejudice. Dan wrote Duck a love letter that he stuffed into Duck's hand before he ran away. Duck met him later at the Watch where they stood on the rocks overlooking the waves and made small talk until Dan broke down and asked him, "Well? What's your answer?"
Duck, who had been playing coy, laughed even as he curled his fingers around the letter in his pocket. "Yes. Of course. What did you think?"
They didn't kiss. Not in public. Because that wouldn't be proper, especially before marriage.
Duck wore a white hat with ribbons on it.
***
Dan knocked three times. "Are you ready, sweetheart?" he asked. He fixed his ten-gallon hat, tipping it at a jaunty angle, and readjusted his neckerchief and vest. He'd gone all out this time, even oiling his chaps and polishing his spurs.
The door opened, and Duck greeted him demurely. "Hello, Mister Jarvis," he said in a rich southern accent.
Dan stood back and admired his lover for a moment. Duck was wearing his favorite flowered dress with petticoats, complete with the lace-edged bonnet. What a sight.
Unable to contain himself, Dan grasped Duck's silk-gloved hands in his own -- perhaps a little more roughly than he intended to -- and kissed them twice each. "Duck," he said, choked with emotion. "Marry me."
Duck's eyes widened. "Oh, Dan. Do you mean it?" he whispered.
He moved into the room to pull Duck into a rough embrace. He kissed Duck forcefully, then picked him up and whirled him around, the hem of his skirts flaring. "Say yes, honey. Say you'll be my wife."
Duck broke down in tears. "Yes," he sobbed. "A thousand times, yes!"
***
***
Duck gives Buddy a look of undisguised disgust. He doesn't even bother to say anything.
"Aw, come on!" Buddy wheedles. "So how did he do it, really?"
Duck hides his smile in a cough and looks straight ahead. "Edmonton's got a shot at the Cup again, you think?"
END.
A/N: Despite the fact that he's only in the last few lines, I think this story is really all about Buddy. :) In my head, Duck and Buddy hanging out together is a comedy duo with Duck playing the straight man. (Yes, ironic, I know.)
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