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Yellow eyes glowed as a aggravated sigh left Tyler’s throat – the sound coming close to a growl. He had been searching for hours and he just couldn’t find something that screamed her. Dark. Gothic. Beautiful but unhinged. Time was fast running out and he was getting pissed. It wasn’t like this was the first day that he choose to go out shopping; just nothing was good enough for her.
“Can I help you, sir” a middle aged sales associate came up to him – the hyde looked at her with a snarl on his lips. He eyed the crisp and perfect outfit she wore; skirt on point, a nice blouse tucked in and perfect high heels the emphasized her long legs. If he were anyone else, he’d be attracted but Tyler never thought anyone could match up to his Wednesday – she was short, perfectly able to be encased in his arms where he could protect her from the world. She wasn’t a materialist but even he could say that she always dressed meticulously in some form of black or black and white – she’d occasionally wear heels so that she felt closer to his height, a goofy smile lit up his face as he thought of the behavior, it was endearing.
Looking up into her eyes, the woman gasped and stumbled back from him for a minute causing him to smirk with a raised eyebrow – he enjoyed being able to put others on edge; it was more of a hobby really. “I don’t think so – nothing matches her!” he snarled, his right hand going up to run through his hair, “I’m running out of time” he nearly pleaded.
“Out of time?” the woman became a little more sympathetic, “oh no, is she sick” she asked.
“What!” Tyler sputtered out, not realizing that his comment made it more or less seem as though Wednesday had a terminal condition. Seeing the woman’s confused reaction he continued, “Her family relies largely on black magic and her last cycle before turning 20 and I need to ask her before it ends!” his eyes large.
Nodding her head in an awkward manner, the woman goes, “cycle? Like menstrual cycle?” her nose squished up against her fact – she’d never met a man who ever remotely uttered the words, let alone one who could and wanted to incorporate it into his proposal just because of how much he loved her. She thought it was romantic in a twisted way. At his nod and pleading eyes, the sales woman stuck her tongue out and bit down on it lightly – a gesture she often did as she thought through something. She squinted towards the cabinets and noting he clear dejected face at not being able to find the perfect ring, she felt sympathy flare up in her heart. “I got an idea, follow me” she said and started walking to the back of the store and through a door.
Tyler was unsure of what was going on, followed like a lost puppy – he adored his girl and didn’t want to give up, but he just couldn’t find something that fit her. He knew that she wasn’t expecting the proposal and he didn’t want to do anything showy or with people around as he knew she wouldn’t like that, but he at least wanted to get her something that embodied her and her dark aura that he loved so much.
The woman gestured for him to sit down at a table before handing him a pencil and paper. Tyler presented her with a quizzical look that the woman had to smile at. “We do allow people to design their own rings for their partners – I’ll leave you back here to try and design something. Does that sound okay?” she explained and asked to which Tyler nodded. He wasn’t really artistic but he knew he had some idea as to how the ring should look because he knew his girlfriend; nothing gold, nothing silver, nothing that looked like it belonged on a princess.
The woman went to walk back to walk to the salesfloor before Tyler realized something, “I never asked your name.”
The woman looked at him with a soft smile, “My name is Lilith.”
“…you’re not…” Tyler stuttered for a second, he was new to this whole world, hyde part of him aside, but I mean he supposed it was possible but maybe – he didn’t know.
A tinkling laugh left the woman who looked at him with barely contained mirth – “no no no dear. My mom had a penchant for the dramatic – just a normie” she commented with a wink prior to walking out.
Tyler let out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding – sitting in the chair he realized that at some point the tension had left his body especially knowing that he now had a way to really ensure that Wednesday was to get the ring of her nightmares; she deserved it. Tyler closed his eyes and he saw the ring right behind his eyes – dark, twisted, painful. Opening them he drew the outline of a small casket – she loved her coffin; she occasionally still took naps in it when she wanted to be alone, thankfully upgrading to a bed when he started staying over at her place, and when they moved in together. What stone though? Tyler bit his lip before they widened in realization – black diamond – perfect for her. Next… ‘okay, Tyler breath. It’s only her engagement ring – the piece of jewelry she’ll wear for the rest of her life’. ‘Think think think. What does she love more than anything – aside from him’ he couldn’t put himself in the ring… or could he. Tyler made a note at the side of the page to remind him when he presented the idea to Lilith.
“Plants” Hyde said to Tyler. ‘Of course! How could I forgot – she loves her plants’ Tyler replied back. He drew a few lines around the coffin adding leaves here and there. ‘Vines’ he thought as he stared at the band and added segments of more black diamonds throughout the band. Now lastly – pain. Wednesday put pain and love in the same category just as he and Hyde did. It was one of the way they expressed their love whether it be her nails digging into him or her holding a knife to his throat during foreplay. ‘Thorns’. A near dirty word for the two of them – half of the name of the woman who nearly destroyed them – but only built them back stronger in their hatred of the bitch. That would be the perfect pain to make sure that Wednesday knows how much he loves her. With the pencil, Tyler drew small pricks on the inside of the ring design knowing just how much she would love the thought of feeling the ring and his love dig under her skin.
Tyler looked down at the design and knew that this was it – this was the perfect ring for his beloved. With a glowing smile he walked out of the back room and signaled to Lilith – thankfully she wasn’t being preoccupied by another customer. Walking right over, she smiled at the smile on his face. “You finished it, I take it?” she questioned and reached to take the paper from him. He nodded enthusiastically at her question causing her to chuckle. Looking down at the paper her eyes widened with shock – it would be gorgeous and so incredibly….haunting. “I can get this made for you – give me about 2 days. That fit into your time frame?” she questioned.
Tyler sighed, it was going to cut it close, he didn’t want to ask as she was nearing the end of the cycle but just as she was in the middle of it, when her pain was at its worst. 2 days should be fine but he’d have to ask that night and not let his nerves get the best of him. “2 days is fine, but no longer if possible – I really need it by then!” The lady nodded in agreement, trying to think of just how she could do it; she would need to do the mold today to let it set. Tyler interrupted her musing, “How about the note?” he asked with a sheepish grin – he knew he was easily able to charm people and he was sure he could get her to agree to his less than normal request. Tyler watched as her eyes flashed back down to the paper knew she found it as her eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
“Uh. We don’t really…” she paused for a second seeing the excitement leave Tyler’s eyes as the look was replaced with puppy dog eyes. Lilith closed her eyes and thought ‘god help me’. Sighing she flashed him a small smile and said “I’ll do it”. Tyler nearly jumped and whooped at the answer. This would be perfect. Taking a small vile from his pocket, Tyler pricked his finger and let his blood drip into the vile – watching it fill halfway. Lilith turned green as he handed the now closed blood vile to her – hesitantly she gripped it with a nod. “2 days. Now let’s set up the order” she said and led him over to a computer so she could import the information and scan his design into the system. “You’re not worried about price are you – custom rings can run quite high”.
Tyler shook his head, “price is of no issue. I’ve been saving for years” and he had been. Their apartment was owned by Wednesday’s family so it wasn’t like they had to pay rent – just basic bills; with Wen and him both working at Nevermore Academy they had plenty of time to save their money. Wednesday wasn’t materialistic but she was quite the decorator, a talent she must have inherited from her mother – not that he’d tell her that, he rather liked his head attached.
“Okay then. Name?” She questioned as she typed slowly into the computer.
“Tyler Galpin” He answered, enjoying the way she froze and stared at him wide eyed. His name had been in quite a few papers after he was acquitted of the murders done because of Gates. He loved being able to taste the fear that people oozed once they heard his name – Wen tended to call him her ball of sunshine as he was easily excitable but could burn if he wanted to, or if she wanted him to. It was definitely fun seeing people compare who he was to the murderer that he also could be – it was very Ted Bundy.
Swallowing, Lilith looked at the ring design and the vile of blood sitting on the counter in front of her. She nodded as though she wasn’t affected by the news nearly gasping as the yellow in Tyler’s eyes flashed at her “Right, okay. Uh…this makes so much sense now.” She said with an uncomfortable chuckle. Typing his name into the order form, Lilith followed up with questions about his address, ring cost estimate, etc. “Recipient’s name?” Lilith had to question – she normally skipped this question as it wasn’t totally necessary but her curiosity was getting the best of her.
Tyler’s eyes flashed once again as he thought of his lover. “Wednesday Addams” he said with a soft smile.
Lilith nodded again – she was going to have a kink in her neck with the amount of nodding she’d done this conversation. “Again” she said, “that makes so much sense”.
Tyler squinted at her for a second feeling affronted by her comment, “What is that supposed to mean?” he questioned her.
Lilith’s eyes widened as she realized she had offended her new client. “Oh…I just meant that I’ve heard stories about the….eccentricities of The Addams Family” she said in hopes that she would placate him. The eyes really riled her up and caused anxiety to spike – she almost wished she could decline the ring design but given how much he was going to spend, she really couldn’t. This ring was going to be close to $4,000.00 given the fact that it was a custom rush order with black diamonds and his personal request.
Tyler growled a bit at her – biting his own tongue he grit out “that’s my family. I’d prefer you didn’t speak about them in such a manner around me.” Lilith just nodded quickly and informed him that she was done collecting information. “I’ll be back in two days” Tyler said as he walked out of the shop. This wait was going to be torture and not the good kind. How was he not supposed to tell Wen just why he was so anxious – fuck.
The minutes ticked by into hours as he sat in their apartment waiting for Wen to get home – she went to her family’s home today to do something with her mother in preparation for their cycle. It wasn’t unusual. An idea hit him and he hoped up, walking over to the mirror he tapped it once and said “Gomez Addams”.
A shimmer filled the mirror as an image of Gomez at his desk filled the mirror. “Mr. Addams” Tyler spoke to bring attention his attention to him.
Gomez jumped for a minute, he didn’t often get calls by mirror, that was more his wife’s speed. “Tyler? What is it my boy? You look positively wrecked” Gomez asked concerned.
Swallowing Tyler said, “I’m finally doing it Mr. Addams, but I need some time. 2 days. Can you make an excuse to keep her at home until then?” Tyler questioned his fists clearly clenching and unclenching at his sides.
Thankfully Gomez knew exactly what the young hyde was getting at and laughed merrily. “Of course, my boy! Finally! Congratulations!”
“Well she hasn’t said yes yet, Sir” Tyler winched thinking that it could be a very real possibility but he knew in his heart that she would agree to marry him; they had talked about it just never put a timeline on it. She once let it slip that she’d want it to happen sooner rather than later so they could tie their bloodline together before she hit her 20s.
“Oh, don’t fret. She will. I’ll send her home to you in 2 days’ time. Bad luck, Tyler” Gomez signed off the call with a little wave.
Falling onto the couch, Tyler breathed a sigh of relief. Now all he had to do was plan the rest.
Two days actually passed quite quickly for the boy as he didn’t have to worry about Wednesday coming home and ruining his proposal. This morning he ran out to the jeweler and picked up the ring. It turned out even better than he imagined, his pulse rate spiking as he gazed upon it nestled in its dark black ring box which was thankfully small enough to fit into his pocket.
Once home, Tyler worked quickly to set up the projector in their room. Fluffing the pillows and ensuring that the blinds were closed Tyler moved to grab the strawberries out of the fridge nearly dropping them as he heard the front door close.
“TY” Wednesday called curiously as she didn’t see him in the living room.
“KITCHEN” he called back to her, his grip tightened on the strawberries as his pulse increased.
Wednesday walked into the kitchen and went to greet him with a kiss – she never thought she could hate being away from someone but everything was different with him. She just wanted him. He normally came with her to her parents’ house but claimed that he had very specific plans that needed to be done and who was she to argue. Just because she wanted to be around him constantly didn’t mean that she had to be. “Is there a reason you want to strangle the strawberries” she questioned with her typical monotone. Tyler couldn’t form an answer and felt like he was chocking on his own tongue. “Tyler…are you alright” Wednesday asked as she waved one hand in front of his eyes, gently pulling down on his eye lids “you didn’t get a concussion without me here did you?”
Shaking his head, Tyler was finally able to form some words and give her a kiss, though he thinks that his shaking must have been transferred over the kiss as well since Wednesday glared up at him. “No. No concussion. Listen…how about you go get into some comfortable pajamas. I have a plan for us today. You’ll hate it.” He said with a smile as he reached down to squeeze her hand.
Eyeing her boy up, Wednesday could sense something was on his mind and as much as she hated when he kept things from her, she knew he’d tell her eventually. She nodded wordlessly and stalked into the bedroom, Tyler following after her with the strawberries in hand. He nearly ran into her when he noticed her stop suddenly at the look of their bedroom and he had to walk in front of her to put the strawberries down. Looking up at her, he saw a brief flash of awe and love fill her eyes as she took in the fairy light, more so once she noticed what movie was on the projector. “Legally Blonde” Wednesday all but whispered pausing before continuing “You recreated our first date.”
Tyler held his hand out to her and helped her on the bed to sit next to him, pulling her feet into his lap, he carefully undid her heels and began rubbing the arches of her feet softly. “I love you” Tyler said to her as he stared in her eyes and a small smile lit up her face as well. Moving her feet out of his lap, he maneuvered himself to sit beside her. He gripped her waist and pulled her into his lap so she was nestled between his legs. Tyler pressed play on the movie and laughed at how Wen once again shuddered in horror as the familiar song that rang out of the projected. Gently he undid her hair and ran his fingers through it as they watched the movie – occasionally he’d pick up a strawberry and feed it to her. The first one he gave her got him a questioning look but she allowed him to carry on throughout the film; she wasn’t going to admit but she was enjoying herself.
Before they knew it the movie had ended and Wednesday was relaxing fully against Tyler, his arms around her middle lightly rubbing her stomach as he knew her cramps were particularly bad during this part of her cycle. The room tumbled into darkness as the projector turned off causing Tyler to release a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.
“Hey Wen” he started causing her to hum in response. “Is there anything you’d change or do differently?” he asked.
Wednesday tensed in his arms at the question, relaxing after a moment or two, “the only thing I’d change is knowing you before that woman” she said, spitting the word woman out with complete malice. Her voice grew soft for her next question, conversations like this unnerved her but they didn’t happen often so she obliged him. “Why do you ask?”
He chuckled against her back and held her tighter. “I’d change that too, but no mostly curiosity’s sake” he said, his yellow eyes glowed as he realized it was almost time to actually ask the question that’s been on his tongue and driving him mad with anxiety. “There’s one other thing I’d change though. It’s not something I’m particularly attached to sooo why not” he started to say and felt Wen shift back against him in curiosity.
Pulling away to turn around and look at him in confusion, “What’s that?” she asked. Her interest was most definitely peaked now, she never thought he would change anything about their relationship and she couldn’t think of something that he wasn’t attached to – it was odd.
“My last name” he said with a nonchalant shrug that absolutely DID NOT reflect the inner butterflies he was currently feeling. He had to chuckle at the look that crossed her face – she wasn’t understanding his words, just as he suspected she wouldn’t. He took her hand gently and pulled the box out of his pocket. “Tell me something. How does Tyler Addams sound to you?” He questioned her as held the ring box in front of her face.
Tyler watched as her eyes widened in disbelief at first before turning into clear adoration. “Ty. I – I don’t even know what to say right now” she started, her breath started to come out in pants as the shock hit her.
He took her hand and placed the ring box in it, opening it in the palm of her hand. “Say Yes, Wen. Say you’ll marry me and make me the happiest man on this planet”. He would have said miserable or any other variation of happy that the Addams used but he also knew just how much she loved him and how excitable he was – her opposite, her ground wire, her everything.
Nodding with a shaky breath, Wednesday agreed “Yes, Ty. Of course, I’ll join you in unholy matrimony” she said surging forward to kiss him. Tyler grinned widely against her lips, his hand worked the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger as he kissed her; her hiss of pain being captured by his kiss.
Pulling back Wednesday took a moment to admire the ring, it was stunning and if she closed her eyes she swore she could almost feel Tyler in it. As if he knew what she was thinking, Tyler leaned down and whispered “I had them infuse the metal with my blood as they shaped it. That way I’m always with you, always under your skin – present like an itch you can’t scratch – a perfectly torturous feeling.”
“It’s perfect” She whispered back. “Tyler and Wednesday Addams. Sounds positively dreadful” She continued with a smirk and she leaned back into his chest, enjoying the feeling of his heartbeat against her back. “Worst blood cycle ever – and it’s all thanks to you.”