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It was Redd that brought the news to Branzy, one average Thursday afternoon. He had been closing up the winery, around four o’clock, when he received a knock on the front door. He brushed his hands on his vest, plastered a smile on his lips, and he went to the front, a pre planned response on his tongue.
“Sorry, but we are close-“ He cut off when he saw Redd. “Mr. Doons?” Branzy opened the door. “It’s a pleasure to see you, I-“
“Branzy.” Redd cut him off, rather frantically, out of breath and scared looking. “There’s- there was an incident. At Whitepine. The house went up in flames, and it- not many people made it out in time.”
Branzy’s breath hitched and he covered his mouth with his hand. “Oh, gods, is- do you know if-“
“Clown’s okay. He’s in the hospital, but he’s alive. The only others to make it out were Seraptor, Kantje, and that girl, Ivy, I think.” Redd shifted on his feet. “I just caught word of it.”
“O- oh. I- is Ash…?” Branzy asked cautiously, wary of upsetting Redd. He knew that Redd and Ash were close.
Redd’s lips pressed into a thin line and he looked away. “It was just those four that made it.”
“Oh. Redd…” Branzy pulled the taller man into a loose hug, rubbing his back in that comforting, soothing manner that Branzy always seemed to achieve.
Redd hugged him back, hands tightly grasping him. Whatever noises he made were stifled in Branzy’s shoulder. “…I’m gonna miss that idiot.” He mumbled wetly.
“I know you will. We all will, but I know you two were close.” Branzy looked to the sky, watching a pair of cardinals fly by. How lovely. Don’t they symbolize something? Eh. “…almost all of Whitepine. That’s so many people.” Branzy thought out loud.
Redd hummed, then pulled away from the hug. “I almost forgot. The fire was last night and Clown had been unconscious since, but he woke up an hour ago and was asking for you.”
“Oh!” Branzy blinked. “Well, we’d best be off to the hospital, then!”
Redd nodded and led the way down the streets to the hospital. They entered and the receptionist smiled at Redd, who’d been there previous to Branzy. They quickly made their way to the second floor and entered room 28A.
There was a nurse near the door, who smiled at the two. “I assume you’re Mr. Craft?”
Branzy smiled in return and nodded. “That would be me, ma’am.”
“Oh, I’m quite glad. He’d been restless, asking for you constantly. I’ll leave you alone, but I’ll be just down the hall if you need anything.” And with that, she left the room and shut the door quietly behind her. Redd patted Branzy’s shoulder, then left as well.
Branzy immediately rushed to Clown’s side. He didn’t seem too worse for wear, other than a few burn marks on his arms. His eyes were closed, but they fluttered open when Branzy sat down on the side of the bed.
“Branzy.” Clown breathed with a barely choked back sob. “Th-they’re all…”
“Shh, it’s all right.” Branzy moved next to Clown, pulling the other man into a hug as painlessly as he could whilst Clown was in this state. “Not everyone’s gone. You’ve still me and Redd. And that girl, Ivory. She’s okay. So are Seraptor and Kantje. Not everyone is dead.”
“But Ash and everyone else, and I- I couldn’t- just like- no, Branzy, I can’t save anyone.” Clown clutched at Branzy’s vest like an upset child, crying and sobbing feverishly.
“Nonsense. Both of the times it hasn’t been your fault. There is no possible way to save everyone. You couldn’t have known about the fire and you couldn’t have known about that ambush. Neither of those instances were at your fault.” Branzy held Clown close and brushed gently through his hair with his fingers. “So please, my ruby, don’t blame yourself. It’ll get you nowhere good.”
Clown sniffled and pressed his face into Branzy’s shoulder. “…don’ wanna think. Or- or feel.”
“Clown Pierce, don’t ever wish to not feel.” Branzy kissed Clown’s head. “If you couldn’t feel, then what would happen when I kiss you? Or when I call you those fun pet names that you get all happy about? What then?”
“…nothing.” Clown mumbled quietly,
“Exactly, nothing. And we can’t have that, now can we?” Branzy chided and tilted Clown’s head up. He brushed strands of hair out of his eyes. “If you couldn’t feel, you might as well be dead. And I would cry and cry if you were to die, Clown.”
With that, the two sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, just simply reveling in each other's company. Clown was the one to break the silence.
“…what will I do now?” He asked quietly. “Now that Whitepine’s gone?”
Branzy hummed softly. “Well… I did always offer you a place with me, didn’t I? At the winery. We could be business partners as well as… this. I’d work in the front, do the people-ing and be the one who works the wine, and you could do the financing and business aspect. I know you’re good with that sort of thing.”
“…I am.” Clown pondered that for a moment. “Yes. I- yes. I’d love to work with you. And- live with you.”
“Good. I’m glad.” Branzy rested his head atop Clown’s. “You know what, Clown? I think we’re going to be alright. As a matter of fact, we're going to be fine and grow old together peacefully.”
Clown huffed out a small laugh (a sound that never ceased to make Branzy smile). “Well, wouldn’t that be something, Mr. Craft?”
“Indeed it would be, Mr. Pierce.”
[Two months later…]
To say they were happy would be an understatement. And they had every right to be. Wine By Craft was doing better than ever, sales were through the roof. The partnership was wildly successful, on both accounts of it. The part that everyone else saw, and the part that was only seen behind closed and locked doors.
Presently, the owners were closing up the winery, one of them in the front whilst the other worked in the back.
Branzy flipped the sign on the door from open to close and wiped his hands on his vest. Then he walked to the back, past the office, then went upstairs. He headed straight for the kitchen.
Clown wouldn’t be done downstairs for another hour or so, which gave Branzy plenty of time to make dinner for the two of them.
He filled a pot with water and put it on the stove to boil. Then he took out pasta and tomato sauce and as the water began to boil, he dumped the pasta into the pot. Then he took out a smaller pot and put it on another burner and poured some of the sauce in it. He idly stirred both pots.
When the pasta was finished, Branzy got out two plates and put a portion on each, then added a decent amount of sauce, which at that point had been warmed. Then he grabbed some Parmesan cheese and a cheese grater and added it onto the top of the pasta. He set the plates on their table where they ate. It wasn’t quite large enough to be considered a dining table.
Branzy then took out two champagne glasses and poured out the drink into them and set them at the table. Then he sat at his spot at the table and waited.
It wasn’t five minutes later when Clown came up the stairs to see Branzy sitting and waiting for him with a smile on his face. He immediately noticed the choice of drink and cocked his head at Branzy as he sat.
“Champagne? What’s the occasion?”
“Well,” Branzy grinned. “Today marks two months since we started living together. And, I don’t know, I wanted to celebrate it.”
“Aww, Branzy…” Clown stood and kissed Branzy on the cheek. “You sap.”
“Only for you.” Branzy chuckled. “Now eat, the pasta is getting cold.”
Clown sat back down and they ate and drank and laughed. It was quite lovely. When their plates and glasses had emptied, Branzy stood and cleared them. Then he took out two smaller plates and set them at the table with a wink at Clown.
“Champagne isn’t the only special thing I got for tonight.” He grinned then opened a seemingly random cabinet and took out a small bag. He set it down in front of Clown. “Open it!”
Clown rolled his eyes and opened the paper bag. He paused for a moment, then smiled wide and took out two golden brown jam filled pastries. Strawberry lemon flavored. Clown’s favorite. “Branzy… you didn’t have to.”
“I know. But I wanted to. And I could. So I did.” Branzy kissed Clown’s head. “Also, I have two more things planned.”
“Well, now I feel like I have to get you something.” Clown remarked after Branzy sat back down and they’d distributed the pastries.
“You don’t have to. Don’t feel obliged to. I like spoiling you. And giving gifts. It’s my love language. It doesn’t have to be yours.” Branzy smiled reassuringly at Clown. “Now let’s eat these. Unless, of course, you don’t want yours?”
“Don’t you dare suggest such blasphemy to me ever again, Branzy Craft.” Clown glared playfully, then began eating. He melted instantly. These were so freaking good, holy crap.
After they finished the pastries, Branzy cleared the plates away and returned to offer Clown a hand, bowing exaggeratedly. “May I have this dance, mi lord?”
Clown rolled his eyes again at his partner’s antics, but took the hand. They quickly assumed a dancing position, Branzy leading. The two did a fairly simple dance, back and forth, across the open room. Eventually, they slowed to a sway, Clown resting his head on Branzy’s shoulder.
“…you said you had two more things. Assuming that the dancing was one of them, what’s the last one?” Clown questioned quietly.
Branzy chuckled. “The dance was one of them. As for the last one…” He trailed off and stepped away from Clown.
Then he dropped to one knee and pulled out a small box.
Clown’s breath caught in his throat. “Branzy?”
“Clown.” Branzy smiled up at him. “I know we can’t get officially married. And if we were to both suddenly be wearing matching rings, people would ask questions. So,” He opened the box, revealing two necklaces. One with a ruby, the other an amethyst. “We have these. We’d have to be careful, of course, but they could hide under our shirts and no one would know. So what I’m trying to say is this. Clown Pierce. Will you be my partner for life, until death do us part?”
“I- yes, of course, gods, Branzy…” Clown’s surprise turned to giddy excitement as Branzy stood and clasped the necklace with an amethyst around Clown’s neck. Then he clasped the ruby necklace around his own neck.
For a moment, they both just stood there, smiling at each other. Then Clown surged forward and drew Branzy into a tight hug. Branzy eagerly returned it, squeezing Clown tightly. “I love you Clown. So, so much.”
“I love you too, Branzy. More than you could know. More than I think I could ever put into words.” Clown pulled away slightly from the hug to look at Branzy. “And you know I was never much good with words. You have complimented me on my kissing, however.”
Branzy giggled. “That is true.”
“So, I think I can more accurately convey how I feel through that, rather than speaking. Are you in favor?” Clown smiled as Branzy nodded. “Good.”
Then he pressed their lips firmly together. Branzy sighed contentedly and tilted his head to deepen the kiss. His hands rose to grasp at Clown shoulders and nape. Clown’s lips parted and he put a hand at Branzy’s back to push him closer until the two were pressed together pretty much from head to toe.
After a few moments however, they did need to breathe as they pulled away an inch, foreheads resting together. Then Clown murmured, “I feel like I need to give you a gift now. You’ve given me so many.”
“You don’t have to. Like I said before, I like spoiling you. You don’t have to do anything in return except be here. That’s all I really need from you.” Branzy began kissing Clown’s neck. “Would you like to go to bed now? It has been a long day, after all.”
“Yeah.” Clown sighed softly. “That would be nice.”
Branzy pulled away from Clown’s neck and took his hand, guiding them to their shared room. He closed and locked the door behind them (out of habit) as Clown sat on the bed.
“So.” Branzy started. “How shall we do this? Like, how tired are you? Just so I can gauge-“
“If you don’t get on the bed and kiss me, I’m divorcing you.”
Branzy giggled. “Aw, already? It’s barely been ten minutes, darling!” He sat next to Clown on the bed, the latter of which had laid down. He threaded his fingers through Clown’s hair, who hummed and leaned into the contact. Branzy giggled again. “You’re such a cat, Clown.”
Clown tilted his head up at him. “How?”
“Well, for one, when I pet your hair you lean into it like a touch starved kitten. Two, you tend to use your body language more than words. Three, you’ll bump your head against my back when you want attention. You are incredibly cat coded.”
“That-…” Clown faltered as he considered that. “…yeah. You’re not entirely wrong, actually.”
“That tends to happen.” Branzy grinned and leaned down to kiss Clown’s forehead. Then he peppered kisses across Clown’s cheeks, nose, eyes, jaw, then his lips.
Clown sighed contentedly and tilted his head back. “Neck kisses?”
“Sure. If you fall asleep though, I will be waking you up to make you change.”
“…I should probably go ahead and change in that case.” Clown sat up and Branzy laughed softly. Clown liked that sound. He and Branzy quickly changed into sleep clothes and settled back onto the bed.
Branzy made quick work of attacking Clown’s neck with light and firm scattered kisses. He smiled as Clown melted like butter underneath him. “You’re so easy.”
“Yeah?” Clown mumbled. “Well, you’re so… pretty.”
Branzy giggled. “That’s not an argument, baby.”
“Could be.” Clown muttered. “Not my fault that my brain’s putty right now. I feel like I’m melting. Feels amazing.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying it, ruby.” Branzy pressed a kiss to Clown’s lips before laying down beside him and holding his partner. His husband. Oh, that felt good. He giggled at the thought.
“Wha’s so funny?” Clown mumbled, already half asleep.
“Nothing. Go to sleep, darling. Rest.” Branzy kissed his forehead and Clown mumbled something unintelligible before relenting to sleep. It sounded suspiciously like I love you.
Branzy let himself relax and stare at Clown’s sleeping face fondly. His husband. Branzy was married. That was beautiful.
Screw society for saying it’s wrong. And for making them have to keep it a secret out of fear. Maybe, one day, it won’t have to be that way. Maybe one day, they would walk down the street holding hands. Kissing. Going on dates. Proper dates, not just the home cooked meals Branzy manages to make.
Maybe one day, they won’t have to hide. Wouldn’t that be something? A beautiful world.
Free.