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You can do this. Emmerich thought to himself. He gave himself a good shake, cracked his neck and his knuckles, and took a deep breath. You can do this. He’d battled dragons, restored Elfdame’s kingdom, defeated the Demon Lord of Darkness, spoken before a tribunal, and even managed not to fall out of that tree when Corvirus had turned his head just so and the setting sun transformed Corvi’s normal fae-like beauty into something truly ethereal…
He really was just done for. Totally done. All that was left was to tell Corvi that. And let the chips fall as they may.
Don’t think like that. He scolded himself, unconsciously scowling. Corvi doesn’t suffer fools but he suffers me. I’m sure he must have felt our deepening connection before I did. He’s the smartest person I’ve ever known, there’s no way he couldn’t.
He really should have figured it out himself long ago, but even Princess Dowed Verily had figured it out before he did. Corvi must have. He was just waiting for Emmerich to catch up, like he did when they raced, or climbed trees, or snitched apples. Like he did when they started this quest and Emmerich had spent half the morning trying to say goodbye to his mother, turning into a blubbering mess every time he went to say the words.
You can do this. He reminded himself again, pulling out the little piece of paper that had his final speech written on it. Sister Savantha had helped, which was great because the first few iterations had been horrific.
His long, winding prose and nonsensical metaphors had been condensed down to their purest form, and all that was left was to just say it.
Short. Simple. Sweet.
That was it. That was what he needed to do.
Short. Simple. Sweet.
We’ve been partners through our whole lives, and as we begin a new chapter I would like to turn the page on our partnership and start a new chapter there as well. Corvirus, will you do me the honour of allowing me to court you?
Short. Simple. Sweet.
He took another deep breath and cracked his neck again. Then he set off to where Corvi was busy mending their cloaks, his standard first task after battle, completely ignoring the way Elfdame had finally collapsed into wheezes of laughter at his third neck crack. Okay, fourth. The fifth didn’t count. (It was nine, but he was never going to admit that)
*
Corvi was right where Emmerich thought he would be, and he scowled up as the paladin approached him.
“You’re blocking the light.” He spat out, blunt and grumpy as always. Emmerich found himself grinning as he crouched down next to him, easily balancing on the balls of his feet while soft, deceptively strong fingers turned Ferric’s cloak back and forth, looking for more tears.
They were silent for a moment, and Emmerich felt like he had a rock stuck in his throat. His hands were sweaty and he felt like he might sneeze. Even facing the Demon King of Darkness was easier than this.
(Of course it was, Corvi was at your back for that.)
He took a deep breath.
Short. Simple. Sweet.
He has the plan, he has the speech, now he just needs to say it…
Short. Simple. Sweet.
“Out with it.” Corvi growled, rolling his head around with an insolent sort of grace that Emmerich would find rude on anyone else but was just cute on Corvi…
Short. Simple. Sweet.
“I’m so in love with you. Marry me.”
*
“Walk me through it again.” Sister Savantha said, steepling her fingers and staring down at Emmerich where he appeared to be trying to smother himself dramatically with their bedrolls. “There was a plan. You had a plan. HOW did you end up proposing to him instead of asking him out?!”
“That’d be because our lad here is, to put not too fine a point on it,” Ferric broke in, still sharpening his knife, “A complete fucking moron.”
Elfdame was no help. She was laughing so hard she’d already stopped breathing twice. Emmerich was ignoring her so pointedly it was like they were true siblings, not just heart siblings.
“I don’t knoooooooow.” Their favourite oblivious drama queen whined into the blankets below him. “He gave me this look and I just couldn’t help it! It just came out!”
“That’s what he said.” The piano player remarked under his breath. He didn’t even flinch when the group turned their attention to him, bad joke or no. He just raised his chin defiantly.
Working for an Evil Overlord had very few perks, and job security wasn’t one of them. He’d come to terms with his own mortality quite some time ago.
“Anything you’d like to add?” Sister Savantha asked peevishly, obviously implying he was Not Helping. He shook his head, then shrugged, deciding to go for broke.
“You keep saying ‘proposed’. Like you asked. Actually it sounds like you gave him an order.”
Emmerich made a sound akin to a wounded water buffalo and somehow managed to bury himself even deeper in the blankets. Elfdame stopped breathing again.
*
Afternoon bled into evening and still no one had seen their mage. Normally that wouldn’t be a big deal, they all knew that Corvirus had a limited tolerance for people and they respected his need to hide away, but this wasn’t Normally. Between how exhausted he had been at the end of the final battle and the absolute hash Emmerich had made of his confession everyone was a little on edge to have him out of sight. Elfdame had just stood up to go find him, using dinner being ready as an excuse, when Emmerich’s head snapped up out of his sulk. It took the others a moment to realize there was a small flame dancing in front of him. Ferric was the one who finally asked the question everyone had. “Is it him, lad?”
Emmerich nodded, looking entranced. “He hasn’t used a will-o-wisp to summon me for a long time, we’re usually too close to need them in a camp, but it’s definitely Corvi.” He gave a shuddering full body shake then before getting to his feet. “I should go face the music, I suppose. See what there is to salvage here.”
“Hey.” Elfdame stopped him with a hand on his wrist. He paused for a moment, both of them regarding the other solemnly, before she gave him a bolstering smile. “You’ve got this. I believe in you.”
He gave her a wan smile, but couldn’t deny that that simple sentence buoyed him immensely. “Thank you.”
He straightened his shoulders, then marched authoritatively after the dancing flame. It was time to meet his fate.
*
His confidence had worn off by the time the little fire brought him to where Corvi had been hiding. The clearing was much smaller than the one their camp was in, but there was enough of a gap in the trees to let the light in.
Corvi probably didn’t mean it, he never seemed to notice how he was presenting himself, but the single sunbeam breaking through to strike him simply highlighted the shadows cast by his hat and robe, giving him the gravity of a figure stepping out of the night even in daylight. That wasn’t why Emmerich’s hands were shaking, but if questioned that’s probably what he would have blamed it on.
They were silent for a moment, eyeing each other up, before Emmerich took a deep breath…
And Corvirus beat him to the punch. “I accept.”
That took the wind out of Emmerich’s sails entirely and his knees went weak. “What?”
Corvi blushed, and it was the cutest fucking thing ever, oh gods, before taking a step forward and reaching for Emmerich’s hand. “I said, ‘I accept’, dumbass. Or did you forget you asked me something?”
Corvi’s hand shook slightly too, and Emmerich gripped it like a lifeline. “I didn’t forget.” He insisted. “I just… bungled it a bit. It wasn’t what I wanted to say and I panicked.”
Dark brows drew together, and despite Corvi radiating peevish annoyance as hard as he could Emmerich could see the desperate hurt underneath. “Not that I don’t mean it!” He continued, beginning to panic in an entirely new direction as he clutched his favourite person’s hand to his chest with both of his. “Because I do! I want that so, so much. But I want to court you too. Which was what I was going to ask. Because I want to show you how much I care, and how good I can be to you, and that I want you forever. Not just say it, but show it.”
“Emmerich…” Cor began unsteadily, looking at him in concern, “... You do know that you don’t have to stop being romantic after the wedding, right? Like… we can get married and still romance each other. This isn’t an either or type situation.”
The tension bled out of him in a moment as he processed what that really meant and he gave Corvi his brightest smile. “I’ll never stop romancing you.” He asserted, watching with delight as Corvi flushed brighter and looked away.
Corvi shot a sneaky look back at their joined hands, then Emmerich’s face, then away again, and Emmerich somehow managed to smile wider. “... I’m not getting a ring then, am I? If you skipped over a bunch of steps in your asking.”
He pulled the hand up higher and kissed the back of it, lingering with it touching his face. “We’ll pick one out the way we do most things.” He asserted to his beloved. “Together.”
Corvi sighed like he was being incredibly put upon, but even he couldn’t hide the shy, pleased smile radiating from his whole being as he agreed. “Together.”