Work Text:
"Hi, Jay!" Jade's melodic voice carried through the phone. She sounded excited. "Guess what?"
"What?" Jay asked, one hand holding his cell phone to his ear, the other rooting through his sock drawer in search of a matching pair of socks.
"I'm engaged," Jade said without preamble.
Jay thought he'd heard her wrong. "What?"
"Engaged," Jade repeated. "To be married."
With a soft plop, Jay's phone slipped from his hand and landed among the socks. He sat there staring at it.
"Jay?" Jade's voice sounded tinny and distant. "Jay? Hello?"
Jay's fingers remembered how to work again and picked up the phone. "Hello," he said.
"Well?" Jade asked nervously.
"Well what? You're the one who got engaged without telling me!"
"I'm telling you right now!"
"Well, why didn't you tell me before?"
"Some things are private!"
"I can't believe it," Jay muttered. His fingers were tapping against each other. "You're too young to get engaged."
"Excuse me?" she challenged him. "I'm older than you!"
"By three days."
"So even if that doesn't count, we're the same age. You say I'm too young to get engaged? What's this I hear about you and Lonnie?"
"Anyway!" Jay said, suddenly desperate to change the subject for some reason. "Who are you getting married to?"
"You're only asking this now?" She laughed. "Diego."
"Diego? Diego de Vil?"
"Do you know any other Diegos?"
"No," he admitted. "So. We'll be related to the de Vils now."
"I'll be related to the de Vils now. You'll just be the random cousin."
"Have you set a date yet?"
"No, but we want it to be in the spring. So, in about three months. We just want to find an apartment first."
"And you're only telling me all this now?"
"...Yes?" Jade sounded confused.
"Never mind," Jay sighed. "I have to go give Diego a little talk."
"Jay!" she groaned.
"Hey, Carlos." Diego sounded excited and nervous at once. "I have to tell you something."
Carlos's mind immediately flashed to all the worst-case scenarios.
Diego knew his cousin well. "Nothing bad!" he said quickly. "The opposite, in fact. This morning, I-You know Jade?"
"Nasira's daughter?" Carlos moved the phone from one hand to the other. "A bit. Why?"
"Well." Diego paused. "I, ah, know her better than you do...We started talking once, and I took her out for dinner a while ago...and then again...Anyway, today, I, I asked her-if she would marry me. She said yes."
There was a pause.
"Yes!" Carlos whispered.
"What?" Diego asked.
"That's great!" Carlos said. "I'm so happy for you!"
"Thanks," Diego said. "That really-thanks."
"Have you told anyone else yet?"
"Well, I told Hunter, and he said he would tell our father, and then I didn't get to call you or Ivy because Jay came to visit me. Apparently if I'm bad to Jade he'll beat me up and turn me into a snake. Now I'm telling you. Don't tell Ivy yet-I want to tell her myself."
"Okay," Carlos said. "What did Hunter say?"
"Well, I've been asking him for advice for like the past three months, so it wasn't like he didn't know it was coming. But he said he couldn't believe that his little brother was going to get married before him. I told him that if he would finally get up the courage to actually talk to Yzla he might not have that problem. He quickly changed the subject."
They both laughed.
"So, when are you..." Carlos started.
"In the spring." Diego anticipated his question. "We're not sure when exactly, though."
Carlos didn't say anything.
"Carlos?" Diego asked.
Carlos shook his head. "Hi. I'm just-I'm really happy for you. Both of you. Congratulations. I just can't believe...We're adults now. We're off the Isle. You and Jade are beginning your future...Maybe we can get happy endings after all."
At the engagement party Carlos cornered Jay and held out a hand, waiting.
Jay rolled his eyes and groaned good-naturedly. He dug in his pocket for a few dollar bills. "You win."
"I win," Carlos said, counting the bills, pleased.
"Remind me never to take bets with you on who's going to propose to who again."
Carlos laughed. "You know what they say about making deals with the devil!"