Chapter Text
Murdoc lay on Stuart’s bed, the lanky ex-singer curled up asleep on his chest, the sounds coming from him a mixture of breaths and occasional murmurs that Murdoc could not decipher.
The darkness made Murdoc want to think, usually that was his last plan of action but when you were the only one awake your thoughts usually caught up with you, all the nights in prison had taught him that. Tonight Murdoc’s thoughts centred around one thing.
Stuart Harold Tusspot wanted to marry him.
Not only that but, Stuart Harold Tusspot wanted to marry him, and he had said yes.
The word ‘marriage’ never sat right with Murdoc for most of his life, his dad had left all of his wives for cheap fucks and growing up Murdoc belived that marriage was temporary, something to not expect much from and certainly not something that Murdoc ever defined himself with. Now it all felt different.
He raised his right hand to the ceiling and pictured what it would be like if there was a ring sitting on his fourth finger, would it be heavy? Would he be able to style it with his other rings? He stared back at Stu, who was still asleep soundly on his chest.
Murdoc glanced at his lover’s hand, which was placed lazily over his shoulder, somehow he felt as though their hands felt empty. Well, not really empty, Murdoc could imagine the rings on their fingers like ghosts. He wondered how the sort of jewellery would look between them.
Frankly, Murdoc HAD noticed when Stu would spend more than 10 seconds looking at the engagement rings in shop windows when they went drinking, or the sidelong glances Stu gave him when people would introduce their spouses. As if he too wanted to be able to give enthusiastic introductions to their collaborators and call Murdoc his “husband.”
And that was when Murdoc couldn’t stand it anymore, because he desperately wanted it too.
He sat up suddenly and swung his legs out from the sheets, carefully replacing his space in the bed with a pillow snugly under Stu’s arm. He kissed the ex-singers temple gently before pulling on the first pair of pants he spotted and his leather jacket and headed out the door of Stu’s apartment.
The night air was crisp, and the change in temperature from Stu’s warm bed to the street caused Murdoc to cough a little.
When he made it to the pavement outside, he suddenly realized that it wasn’t likely that any of the engagement ring shops would be open this time of the night. He checked his phone, it read back at him, 5:23 am.
After a quick google search he found a shop that was opening at 6am only a few blocks from Stu’s apartment, and, luckily for Murdoc his boyfriend, well fiancé, was a heavy sleeper.
He made it to the store in all of 15 minutes and he even managed to meet the manager of the place as she was coming in to organize the store before it opened for the day.
The choice of rings wasn’t glamorous but when Murdoc left the store with a small velvet box shoved in his coat pocket he felt a sense of excitement on his heels and he made it back to Stu’s apartment in under ten minutes.
—-
Stu was woken up the next morning by the sound of music coming from his kitchen. He rolled to his side and covered his face with his pillow in an attempt to block out the noise. His head pounded and as he attempted to open his eyes he had trouble focusing on the space next to him.
…the empty space next to him.
Stu sat up abruptly, many things had happened last night. Some of them he remembered, most of which he didn’t. But he definitely remembered Murdoc staying over last night.
His nose finally registered a smell and he caught a faint whiff of bacon drifting into his bedroom.
Slowly and silently Stu swung his legs over his bed and wandered through the hallways of his apartment, following the sounds and smells.
Once through the doorway his eyes landed on the back of the one and only Murdoc Niccals. He was completely butt naked, save for one pair of black boxers which thankfully spared Stu a scarring at 10 in the morning.
Murdoc was swaying his hips side to side, whistling along to the tune of “Single Ladies” by Beyoncé. Stu considered interrupting him, but bit his lip and decided not to. Instead he leaned his shoulder against a nearby wall and watched his green lover dance about his kitchen like an idiot.
It was a nice sight Stu thought, perhaps he could get used to it. Murdoc’s singing was horrible, it was way off pitch and gruff sounding, when he forgot the lyrics he replaced them with those strange guttural noises he made way too often.
The song reached its conclusion and Stu coughed into his fist, announcing his presence.
“Stu!” Murdoc whipped around, surprised.
“Murdoc.” Stu answered, smirking. He glanced at the pan on the burner where a few pancakes sizzled away.
“Aww that was nice of you Murdoc!” Stu made his way over to the ex bassist.
“Nothing’s ever ‘nice of me’ Dents” Murdoc laughed, “Thought I told you that years ago!”
Stu smiled and hummed to himself, slowly allowing his fingers to brush against Murdoc’s shoulders. Once he was sure Murdoc was allowing this touch, he slowly began messaging his hands down his biceps, snaking his arms under Murdoc’s and bringing their bodies closer together so that Stu was resting his chin atop Murdoc’s shoulder.
Stu sniffed.
“ ‘This is a new cologne Mudz?” The smell was new, strange and not unpleasant but definitely new. Perhaps more expensive, if that was the right way to describe a new smell.
“Not sure what you mean bluebird.” Stu could feel his smirk against his neck. Murdoc flipped a pancake in the pan, it made a sharp hiss when it hit the pan. The smell wafted into Stu’s nostrils making his mouth water.
The music changed again, this time to something softer and Stu allowed Murdoc to sway them together to the beat of the song. Stu couldn’t make out the lyrics, he thought he heard something about love, maybe revenge maybe reconnection.. his brain was too scrambled this morning to make sense of it. But he allowed himself to close his eyes and drift to the sound of the melody anyways, humming softly into Murdoc’s neck.
It was when Stu opened his eyes that his view drifted over the kitchen surface. At the face of it, it was normal… a batter covered spatula, the bowl containing said batter, etcetera, until Stu spotted a very distinct black velvet box poking itself out very clearly amongst all of the normal culinary clutter.
Stu paused. He could feel his hands begin to sweat, his eyes widened and his heart quickened. Every moment, every touch, and every desire and question asked the previous night rammed through his brain at such a speed that Stu had to step away from Murdoc.
Said man noticed immediately.
Stu moved over and took a hold of the small box. It felt foreign in his hand. Like it shouldn’t be there.
“Murdoc?” Stu asked, almost in disbelief. Was this real? Slowly he opened the box, inside was a set of pearlescent rings, small, but beautiful all the same.
He almost jumped when he felt Murdoc’s hands hold his own.
“Wha-?” Stu began, glancing up at Murdoc. He found his lover searching his face for some kind of answer, some clue to tell him how he was feeling. Truthfully Stu was a little mixed up inside, part of him was angry for making such a request of Murdoc the previous night, another part wanted to kiss Murdoc senseless, and there was also a third (but much smaller) part that wanted to scold Murdoc for buying such rings without telling him.
“I just… After last night I.. couldn’t stop thinking about this. About us, it was driving me insane, Dents.” Murdoc paused, exhaling through his nose.
“You were driving me insane, and I- well I just wanted…so I…”
Stu could feel his body shake and his shoulders sag, he didn’t understand his reaction, were these happy tears? He didn’t know. But when he reached up and touched his cheek, it was wet. Somehow through it all he was smiling.
“Hey, you alright love?” Murdoc brushed Stu’s face with his knuckle. A small gesture that several years ago Murdoc would have never attempted and Stu would shrank back in fear if he did make such a move. However, they’d come a long way since then so Stu accepted his touch and nodded.
Slowly, Stuart reached forward and wrapped Murdoc in a hug, he squeezed tightly onto the other.
The hug lasted only a few seconds before Murdoc broke them apart.
“I just… I couldn’t wait.” He said, leaning his forehead against Stu’s.
Stu furrowed his brow, and let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
“Impatient bastard.” He said fondly, and leaned forward to kiss Murdoc, which the ex-bassist accepted immediately.
Their bliss was interrupted only after a few moments when Murdoc broke away suddenly and Stu began to smell burning coming from the pan beside them.
“Bloody pancakes!” Murdoc cursed, flipping one revealing a crisp black underside. Stuart giggled.
Murdoc pointed his spatula at Stuart accusatoringly. “Don’t you laugh at me Stuart Pot!” There was a smile playing at his lips, revealing jagged teeth. “You still have to eat these!”
“I know.” Stu said, simply. Leaving the kitchen and sitting down at the small breakfast table. Murdoc sat down with him minutes later, a plate of only a few pancakes in hand.
Stu tilted his head. “I thought you made more?”
Murdoc huffed,
“Yeah, well some tall, pretty boy made me burn most of the batch.”
Stu knew Murdoc was teasing, but he loved edging him on.
“Oh? Who is this boy? Someone I know?” He leant forward on his hands, poking out his tongue at Murdoc.
“Someone who I've written music about, so yeah you might know him.”
“Kirk Douglas?”
This earned a chuckle from the ex-bassist. “Yeah, Kirk Douglas made me burn my pancakes.”
Stu smiled. “Good for him, because I definitely didn’t.”
Murdoc pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, “Sure, luv.” He said lighting it.
They sat in silence together as Murdoc smoked and Stu ate his pancakes. The radio in the kitchen was playing, what Stu recognized as Bruno Mars.
“Oh no, not this shit.” Murdoc said, standing making his way over to the radio dial.
Stu, through a mouthful of pancakes said. “Wait!”
His lover turned, and looked bewildered at him.
“Excuse me? Did you just ask me to not turn off shit music?”
Stu was quiet for a moment. Murdoc rolled his eyes.
“I can't believe you want to listen to Bruno Mars of all people! He destroys music!”
Stu stood up too, he’d finished his pancakes.
“Just listen to the lyrics, Mudz.”
Murdoc crossed his arms but obeyed.
Stu crossed the kitchen to reach Murdoc as the lyrics began.
“its a beautiful night~ we’re looking for something dumb to do~” He sang along. Murdoc rolled his head back, probably cringing, but definitely blushing.
“Hey baby~ I think I wanna Marry You~”
Stu, who had pocketed the rings that Murdoc had given him, pulled it out once again. Offering it to Murdoc.
The ex-bassist inhaled sharply.
“You are the corniest motherfucker ever, you know Stuart?” Murdoc said finally.
Stuart, satisfied with his answer, placed the box into Murdoc’s hands. “I know.”
Murdoc grinned and opened the box, the rings in all their shining glory staring back up at him. He looked back up at Stu. The ex-singer wasn’t really sure what he expected from the other at this point, but he didn’t have to wonder much more as Murdoc’s eyebrow quirked up at him and his lips curved up.
“Fancy marrying me now?” He asked, with a somewhat sincere tone to his voice.
Stu spluttered, leaned backwards but Murdoc seemed to crave closeness because he stepped towards him right after.
“W-what? Now?” Stu was surprised at how casually Murdoc proposed this.
Murdoc tilted his head.
“I mean… I..” Murdoc's grin was fading a little. “If not…”
Stu didn’t like it when Murdoc became stuttery, so he tried to calm the other by placing his hands under the others, so they held the rings together.
“I want to marry you Murdoc.” He stated, unfiltered and with no room for any interpretation from the ex-bassist.
Murdoc smiled. “Good.”
The ex-singer reached up his hand, tracing Murdoc’s cheekbones with his thumb and trailing it down to his jaw, brushing the stubble that the man had yet to shave.
“Today if possible.” Stuart added.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Murdoc looked confused. “So why not…?”
Stuart exhaled in amusement, “I’m not marrying you while you're in your underwear and I’m in my pajamas.”
Murdoc laughed along with him. “No I s’pose not.”
Stuart breached the distance to bring back Murdoc’s fringe and kiss his forehead.
“Tonight.” He whispered into his hair. “Be ready.”
Murdoc shivered a little, Stuart was unbearably close. A small “Yeah” was all he could manage.
“Good.” Stuart replied, before bringing their lips together for an actual kiss, pressing deeply into Murdoc’s lips, slotting their bodies together, sighing as Murdoc wrapped his arms around Stuart’s waist, pulling them closer than Stu thought was possible.
-
That evening could not come soon enough.
Stuart’s choice of suits was limited. Well he owned about 10 different styles, none of which were Murdoc’s taste.
“Where’s all your black tuxes, love?” He called from the bedroom.
Stuart, who had made a strict oath not to see Murdoc until that evening, replied from the living room.
“I don’t own any black tuxes!”
Murdoc furrowed his brow.
“Christ, okay then.” He said to himself, pulling out the darkest of the bunch, a deep blue suit with a matching black satin tie. This one was rarely worn it seemed, the dry cleaners bag still adored it and Murdoc swore he saw a shriveled little tag attached to one of the buttons on the cuffs as he slid it around his body.
It really wasn’t his style at all, but when Murdoc admired himself in the mirror, fiddling with his hair, he decided that it would do, if little else Stuart would find it attractive.
The rings were on the bedside, open and gleaming. Almost threatening in their intense stare. However all Murdoc felt was the thump in his chest and the breath leaving his lips as he grabbed the box and stuffing it into his pocket.
Stuart was sitting on the couch, his legs pressing his palms together between his legs. Murdoc noticed immediately that one of the ex-singer’s legs was bouncing anxiously and his own grip on the rings tightened slightly.
However when Stuart finally stood up from the couch all of Murdoc’s own anxieties drifted from his head, and all he could think of was the way Stuart was looking at him.
The ex-singer was wearing a baby pink suit. It was a lot lighter than Murdoc’s and in material it seemed ethereal, like it would float off of Stu if he moved the right way. To his head was pinned a small white chrysanthemum. He was perfect.
“You clean up well Mudz” Stuart spoke first.
“Not so bad yourself, love. You look like a dream.” He smiled.
Stuart blushed a couple of shades darker than the suit he was wearing.
The ex-bassist moved closer to Stu, enclosing both their hands together and pulling out the ring box.
“Are you ready?” Murdoc asked. “I swear dents, if you postpone this again I-”
“No, this is happening,” Stuart confirmed, squeezing Murdoc’s hands.
Murdoc inhaled, the nervousness setting in once more as he glanced down at the rings, this was it. It was happening.
He pulled out one of the rings, and gently took Stuart’s hand. As the ring hovered over Stuart’s finger he noticed the slight gleam of the other’s nails.
“Did you paint your nails?” He asked.
“Just a little.” The ex-singer blushed. “You gonna put that on?” Stuart was teasing again, and it made Murdoc shiver.
“Shush pot, give me a chance to say my vows.”
“You wrote vows?”
Truthfully, Murdoc had not but that wouldn’t stop him from making something up on the spot. He’d gotten quite good with his words over the years writing songs and so, he thinks, he’ll be quite good at making the best damn vows the blue haired singer has ever heard.
“Yeah, so shush.” He took a deep breath, and began.
“Stuart, I’ll admit we didn’t meet in the best of circumstances. Or in the best of ways, sorry about that.” He paused, biting his lip. “But, you eventually started to see something else in me, that honestly.. until now.. I didn't know it existed. You took a broken boy from Stoke on Trent and took him halfway across the world and somehow made him fall in love with a silly pretty boy from Crawley. How you manage to stick with me after.. everything .. I'll never know, but I thank you… and…” His breath hitched and he felt his emotions bubble in his chest.
“I love you.. Stuart.” He meant it.
Murdoc dared not glance up at Stuart after his words, nearly frightened of the look he knew was waiting for him as he pushed one of the rings onto Stuart’s finger.
“Mudz…” Stuart’s voice sounded cracked, like he had been crying, and Murdoc watched as his nimble fingers grasped the second ring in the box.
“I love you too.” Stuart was definitely crying now, and when Murdoc met his gaze finally he saw just how much the tears were flowing.
“Don’t cry, love.” Murdoc said gently, cupping Stuart’s face.
Stu wiped at his face. “Sorry I.. can’t help it.”
He regained a little bit of his composure, “I-I just love you so much, Murdoc. I don’t know what else to say except that I do. And that I hope you’ll continue to love me even when we fight.. or… when I can't stand you.. or when my voice becomes too broken to sing anymore.”
Murdoc frowned at that last part. “Of course I would!” He insisted. “You are a dunce Stuart if you think that I only love you for your voice. It’s true, it’s one of your best features, but you're so much more to me than that.” He cooed.
Stuart smiled and pushed the other ring onto Murdoc’s finger, as he did so he moved closer and closer until Murdoc caught his drift and pressed his lips to Stuart, intertwining their fingers and breathing sharply through his nose as their mouths slotted together.
When they finally broke apart again, Murdoc pressed his forehead against Stu’s, their marriage wasn’t glamorous or flocked in white, or really properly officiated by anyone other than themselves. Frankly, Murdoc didn’t care, all that needed to be was them and that was it.
This was them, not quite perfect, and not quite traditional, but always absolutely sloshed and absolutely in love with everything the other was.
