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The night bit at his skin as he breathed out, leaning on the railing, glancing around him at the crowds of the boardwalk. Instinctively, his glove hand was raised to his mouth as his eyes searched. Wondering where the fuck you were.
Now, Marko had never been a super impatient person - he had his moments, sure, but for the most part, he could wait. But it was officially half an hour after you had told him you'd be here, and now he was starting to get annoyed. We'll, annoyed as well as worried. You were never usually this late… Did something happen? Had you had a run in with someone trying to get down to the boardwalk? Shit, he knew he should've insisted to wait for you to get off your shift outside the building-
“Oh my gosh, you're still here! Thank god, look, I'm so sorry!” A small wave of relief washes over him as he turns to face you. You seemed to be okay, save for being a bit out of breath. But that must've just been because of how you ran over to him.
The blonde scoffs a bit, pushing himself off the railing. “Yeah, sorry's about right. Do you have any idea what time it is? I was this close to riding over to that stupid store and-”
He pauses as he notices something glint in the carnival lights. Something on your face.
You let out a sigh of your own, nodding. “Yeah, I know, and I really am sorry! Look, i know-”
“There's a ring in your face.”
You blink, looking back at the eyes of the man. Marko's own are pinned on your nose, right above your lip, and he can see you flush a little. Giggling, you nod. “Oh, uh, yeah! Just got it done, like, twenty minutes ago. I swear, I made the appointment for earlier! But I forgot my ID when I left for work this morning and didn't realize until I got there and-”
If Marko had any thoughts in his head, he'd probably feel bad about how he's not listening to you rambling on right now. But in his defense, he had no idea you'd look so good with a septum piercing. Hell, it went so good with your face, he almost didn't notice! But oh, he definitely noticed now, and you had your boyfriend's full attention. Well, the metal did, anyway.
How did you make it look so good anyways? It was just a simple ring. The default one he figured most piercers gave people when they first put the hole in their face. He'd seen plenty of other people on the boardwalk with far bigger and clunkier jewelry in their skin. Piercings and tattoos and other body modifications all over them. But for some reason, all it took was for you to put one ring in your nose, and his brain was fried.
Maybe what they say about piercings is true, you do oddly look a bit more rebellious. Not that that tiny bit of information really mattered at the moment. It looked hot. It looked so hot. You were so hot. And pretty. And cute, and beautiful, and wonderful, and how did you manage to do all that? And how did he manage to score a lover like you? God, if you only knew how bad he wanted to forget this whole date and go back to the cave and-
“Marko? Baby, you listening? Look, I know you're mad, but can you at least say something? Anything?”
Ah, shit, you're talking to him.
Marko snaps back quickly and nods, chuckling a bit. His glove shoots back to his mouth, sucking air through his teeth as he thinks of his response. “Mad? Why would I be mad? It looks good. Great, even! You look great.”
You blink for a moment, then chuckle a bit yourself. “Well, I was talking about the fact that I was totally late for our date, but thanks. It's not too much, right?”
“Of course not.” The words fall out quickly, quicker than seemed natural. Your head tilts, almost as if you don't believe him. God, even when you didn't believe him, you still looked so good. “It looks sweet. Sick as hell. But like, subtly. I almost didn't even notice it, honestly. It works really well with your face.”
Your cheeks are flushing a bit red, and another giggle escapes your throat, and you still sound angelic. Seriously, how in all his afterlife did he manage to get someone like you? What miracle did he accomplish to earn the right to be your boyfriend?
“That's good. I wasn't sure if it was too much or not. I had a hard time deciding on the exact sort of thing to get, even from the, like, three things they said they'd do.”
“You coulda told me. We could've gone and I could help you pick out jewelry and hold your hand and shit.”
“I wanted it to sorta be a surprise,” you explained. “When I decided I really was gonna commit and do it, I figured it'd be kinda fun to surprise you. Seemed like you'd be into this sorta thing-” God, was he. “- but then, well, work ran late, and I forgot my ID, and I just- everything sorta started falling apart.” You awkwardly chuckle, glancing down at your watch. “I really am sorry, Marko. Seriously. If I had known, I would've called you and rescheduled or something."
“Hey, it's okay,” the blonde replies, hands up in the air in a defensive gesture. Truthfully, he probably should be a bit more peeved, and under other circumstances, he would be. But seeing how great you looked with that ring in your nose whipped his brain, and now he's content as a clam.
“It's really not…” you sigh. Then perk up a tiny bit, reaching into your bag. “That's why I got you a little something. A sorta apology. Saw it on my way over and couldn't resist.”
You make a gesture requesting his hand, and he's ever so quick to oblige. His breath hitches as you take the glove-clad hand into your own, and the other places a tiny piece of metal into his, so lightly he almost doesn't feel it. It glints the same way yours does, and upon closer inspection, a tint of pink creeps up his cheeks as he realizes it does that because it's nearly identical to yours.
He can't help the way he stiffens as his brain connects the dots. Or the way he sneers and makes a stupid comeback. It's your fault for throwing him off so bad! How dare you be so cute! “You stopped to go shopping when you were already running late? That ring may be turning you into a careless punk ass as we speak.”
“Like I said, I'm sorry! It's an apology gift, you smartass,” you scoff a bit yourself, a small smile on your face as you look at him. “It kinda looks like mine, but it's an earring. I figured we could match, even if you don't have a septum done.”
He's about to go do it himself with how you're talking. Matching jewelry. God, you two really were a couple, weren't you? It’s cheesy, it's cliché, and it's honestly something Marko might've made fun of other people for doing if he noticed it on the boardwalk. But this was you doing it. Your the one being all cute and wholesome and sappy. How could he make fun of that?
So instead, he smiles wide and tucks the ring into his pocket. Wraps an arm around your shoulder, pulls you close to his side. Kisses your cheek, whispers in your ear, “God, I love you. You know that, right?”
You giggle and nod back. “Yeah, of course. It's kind of obvious.”
“Jeez, you nearly miss our date and I can't even get an ‘I love you too, Marko!’ ?” He says. You scoff again, and lean closer and press a kiss to his lips.
“I love you too, Marko, you big baby.”
He smiles, looks away as he feels his face warm up. God, he's whipped. And he's putting this earring in the moment he gets back to the cave. That is, if he doesn't end up spending the rest of his night hanging out with you. He'd never complain about getting to spend his night like this.