Work Text:
"Freelancer, can we…talk?"
It was just four little words, but your heart has already plummeted into your stomach. You had just been finishing up the last bits of editing needed on a paper that's due at midnight- admittedly feeling a bit of tightness behind your eyes from staring at your screen far too long. Normally sweet words from your beloved incubus pulling you out of your concentration bubble would be a welcome distraction, but in this context you are a bit spooked by his words. You swivel your chair around to meet his gaze, rubbing the dryness from your eyes as you attempt to focus on him.
He's sitting on the couch just a few feet from your work space- a small desk neatly tucked away into the corner of the room with an open laptop and scattered papers. There he sits, his hands fiddling with nothing in particular in his lap, one leg crossed neatly over the other. He looks just as beautiful as always, and you can't stop your heart from thudding in your chest. His apparent nervousness creeps up your spine like a chill- his normal confidence seemingly lost to him. You take a deep breath.
"Of course Gav, what's up?"
His eyes shift as he silently pats the cushion next to him, beckoning you to join him. You hesitate for only a moment before getting up from your seat with a huff and meeting his request. As soon as you are seated next to him, he shifts closer, wrapping you up in a tight hug which you immediately reciprocate.
Okay, keep it together, maybe he's just feeling needy?
Why are you so anxious anyway? Maybe you are the one that really needs the hug. Too much work perhaps. Regardless, his embrace has done well to calm your wildly rambunctious heart.
"I'm sorry, Deviant. I know this probably seems… out of the blue. I'll cut to the chase," his voice is low as he begrudgingly peels away from you so that you can both properly look at each other, "I wanted to talk about our relationship moving forward."
Nope, the nerves are definitely back now.
“O-Okay,” you swallow, your throat’s sudden dryness matching your eyes, “Go on.”
A soft smile graces his lips, causing your heart to flutter unapologetically. You really hope this isn’t going where you think it’s going, because you're practically melting under his gaze already. He slides his hands that were previously stationed on your arms down to your hands, taking them gently in his.
“I love you… so much, Deviant. More than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything in my life on Elegy. You make life worth living. You’re a cold drink of water on a sweltering summer day. The first flower to bloom in the springtime. The first snowflake that falls in the winter-”
If this goes on much longer, you may just pass out before he finishes smothering you with his sweet words. You squeeze his hands.
“Honey… I love you, and I love your incredibly warm compliments, but please get to the point before I have a heart attack.”
You try to sound composed, but your heart is full to burst and you are very aware of the heat that’s taken residence upon your cheeks. The ‘I love you’ was enough to console your overly paranoid heart. But then what was all of this? You try not to let the panicked assumptions bounce around your skull too much so that you can concentrate on your love’s words, but that doesn't stop them from chewing at the back of your thoughts.
Meanwhile Gavin’s thumbs trace lines into the backs of your hands. His smile turns sheepish as his eyes dart away from you briefly, a soft chuckle escaping his lips.
“Yes, of course. I guess I got a little carried away there… But what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t shower you with all of my love as much as my mind and body will allow?” He coos in his usual dulcet tone. You flush harder, which you didn’t think was possible. His smile widens at this as he continues.
“We’ve been together for a while now, and we’ve been through so much together. You make me a better person, more so every day. Without you, I’d probably have never known what real love even was.”
“Not to mention you'd probably still be causing property damage in the local 7-Eleven,” you tease without thinking, your nerves causing your words to spill out unintentionally. But Gavin merely lets out a warm, hearty laugh in response and you no longer feel embarrassed about your impromptu word vomit. He leans in closer, peering at you through playful eyes.
“You’re absolutely right, my lovely little Deviant ,” he whispers with a wink. It’s becoming increasingly harder not to kiss him, but you wait patiently for him to continue.
“Even more of a reason for my current request. You keep me out of trouble. The unwanted kind, at least,” he looks to the side again, taking a strategic breath in before continuing, “You’re my everything, Freelancer. And I think I want to… take that next step with you.”
Wait.
Wait-
“Y-Yeah,” is all you can choke out in response because quite frankly you feel like your brain might be short circuiting. He… he couldn’t mean-
“Freelancer, the love of my life, would you…”
Oh my god-
“…want to adopt a cat… with me?”
Oh my god.
You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. A cat? All of this was because he wanted to adopt a pet with you?
You stare at him with a dumb, flustered expression as you try to gather any form of coherent response that doesn’t give away the fact that you thought the conversation was going in a very different, more life altering direction. You settle for slowly bringing your hands to cover your face entirely. You feel Gavin’s hands move, one going to your shoulder and the other to the back of one of your hands.
“D- Deviant? Hey, are you okay? I’m sorry, was that too fast?” You can hear the genuine worry in his voice and that’s all it takes. You’re laughing now. Loud, uncontrollable, unfiltered laughter. You bring your hands down from your face.
“You…” you manage through tears as Gavin joins you in a soft, albeit confused sounding, laughter of his own, “You brought about all of that build up…to tell me you wanted a cat .” You say this last part more than ask. This man is truly a treasure.
“Well yes , of course. It’s a very important life step, adopting and taking care of a pet,” he says in a completely serious tone that causes you to snort in spite of yourself. You give up on your previous restraints in favor of closing the distance between you to plant an affirming kiss on his lips. The sound he lets out in surprise before reciprocating is enough to make you feel giddy. After planting several scattered kisses across his face, you lean back again, taking his face in your hands.
“Yes, Gavin,” you whisper, stroking his cheek with your thumb, “I would love to adopt a cat with you.”
A bright smile spreads across his face as he pulls you into another tight hug. You chuckle again at his enthusiasm as you run your hands across his back gingerly. When you two finally pull away, Gavin nods seemingly to himself, humming a sound of content before clapping his hands down onto your thighs.
“Well now that that’s over, what are we feeling for dinner? I was thinking chicken parmigiana,” he purrs sweetly, giving your thighs a light squeeze. You didn't even know he could make that- you certainly never taught him.
“Sounds good to me,” you respond, another soft laugh at this whole situation tumbling past your lips. Your lovely incubus flashes you a toothy grin.
“Wonderful,” he delights, pushing himself up off of the couch with a huff, using you as leverage. He heads towards the kitchen, as you place a hand on your chest and take another deep breath in. Good lord , what a rollercoaster of emotions. But you wouldn’t trade it for anything. As you’re busy collecting yourself, you hear some scattered clanking coming from the kitchen as Gavin calls back to you after a moment.
—-
“So I was actually already thinking of a name for our new furry friend,” Gavin chirps from the kitchen as he rustles various pans and utensils from their designated spots onto the counter. He hears the couch shift slightly, followed by that beautiful voice he's come to love.
"Oh yeah?" Freelancer asks from out of sight, "What were you thinking?"
Gavin searches idly for the basil and oregano.
"I was thinking 'Cleopatra'."
"What if it's a boy?" They call back. The incubus chuckles, setting down the spices he's retrieved.
"No no, I want a girl so we can name her Cleopatra," he answers, pausing to lean against the counter, folding his arms across his chest. He can hear a gentle laugh followed by more shuffling from the other room and the creaking of his love's office chair.
"Why are you so dead set on Cleopatra?"
"Um, is that even a question? Cleopatra was badass ."
Another, slightly louder laugh comes in response, and Gavin's heart swells.
"Well, you're not wrong. Cleopatra it is," Freelancer's voice sings from the other room, as the clacking of their keyboard rings out.
Gavin smiles to himself, unfolding his arms and digging into his pocket. He pulls out a small red box after a moment, fiddling with it idly in his fingers and taking in a deep stabilizing breath.
"Next time. Next time for sure," he mumbles to himself before returning the box to his pocket and bringing his attention back to dinner.