Marriage and You

Part 8 : Second guess

To be perfectly honest, Gulf was enjoying this marriage more than he'd dared to admit.

The arrangement might be odd, and the circumstances that led him and his husband to this point were questionable at best, but he liked to think that there was more to this than just them trying to navigate this through without tripping on each other or worse, failing. 

He knew it was a possibility they couldn't ignore, especially given that they only have a few months to figure out if staying together was what they would want once the so-called 'trial period' was over, but he liked to think that despite the uncertainties they would surely wade through to get there, he and P'Mew wanted the same thing.

The interview earlier proved to be the perfect catalyst to this, at the very least. Gulf knew the question P'Ter directed towards them left an impression, if not something for them to think about for their next session with the older man.

P'Mew had been quiet after that. If Gulf was a petty man, he would have treated the ensuing silence with a heavy heart, worrying himself sick at the possible implications. But no. Because despite being with the older man only for just a handful of days, he knew his husband was thinking things through as well.

Have you guys had sex yet?

Well, if Gulf was going to be completely honest about it, the question was anything but unexpected. It was a logical thing to ask given the limited time they had with each other. This was part of the experiment too; their compatibility as a couple would be tested not only through the missions and activities they were tasked to complete, but especially through this.

Sex was, and always had been, a vital role in a married couple's life. Or at least that was what they were told at the pre-wedding session with their individual mentors. Gulf knew that, of course, of course, but it didn't mean it was the only thing that mattered to make a marriage work.

Then again, Gulf was certain that the question hadn't been posed just for the heck of it. It was given to gauge not only their reaction to it but also to make them think. Was it the lack of it that was keeping things interesting or was it the opposite? Would they be getting along well if they dove right into it the very same night they were married, or would it make things awkward along the way?

To be fair, he didn't have all the answers. He figured things were plenty interesting now, just as they were, and he didn't think rushing things would help. He liked that he and his husband were both trying to ward off the awkward by talking, by simply letting things develop as they should if they were in a normal relationship. He figured since they were doing things practically in reverse, it was better to keep things simple. And it wasn't like either of them had troubles navigating through the weird parts because frankly, he thought they'd moved past that stage with flying colors, what with all the kissing and hugging they did since his untimely request for a kiss at the gallery.

He remained motionless in bed, but he was hyper-aware of every movement P'Mew made since he walked out of the bathroom after showering. The silence that filled the room saved from the sounds of the older man's footsteps as he approached the bed, the rustle of sheets under his weight when he finally decided to join Gulf on the bed.

For a few minutes, no one was moving, and Gulf was certain they were both holding their breaths, waiting for the other to break the silence. It went on for a while, until Gulf couldn't take it any longer.

"Should we talk about it, Phi?" he asked, not daring to turn sideways like he normally would to look at his husband and just opted on keeping his gaze locked on the ceiling just to be safe. He would rather do this face to face, but he figured they could do that later once he was certain P'Mew was ready to breach the subject so they could deal with it like proper adults.