While Wilbur slept, Quackity went over to the small bar and poured himself a shot, shuddering as he heard the words sugar pumpkin echo in his mind. "I'm not going to bring you back," he said to the air, downing the shot. You never were marriage material, pumpkin. "Just shut up and let me have this!" he shouted.
"Big Q?" Wilbur's sleepy voice crept in through the crack he'd left in the door.
"I'll be right there!" he called. He glared at the chest where Schlatt's bones were hidden and hissed, "You can turn to f-ing dust in that box, I'm never bringing you back." He downed another shot.
"I heard there was a special place where men could go emancipate..." The song echoed from the bedroom, not in the way he'd heard Wilbur sing it, but in that stilted, ethereal way he'd heard before their failed execution of Technoblade.
Quackity raised his brows followed by his glass. "Hey, Ghostbur. It's been a while. I guess we're both being haunted tonight."
It wasn't really Ghostbur, though, just echoes of memories Ghostbur had made but Wilbur couldn't recall. He hadn't heard Ghostbur's voice in a long time, he mostly only heard it when Wilbur was upset or stressed. He sat on the sectional couch and ran his fingers through his hair. "Why don't you just tell me the f-ing truth, instead of making me play these goddamned f-ing guessing games all the time!" he yelled in frustration towards the man sleeping in his bed.
"My L'Manberg, My L'Manberg," the ghostly voice sang.
"My L'Manberg, My L'Manberg." Quackity joined in the last part. He stared at the empty glass on the coffee table. As he leaned back he felt the chafing of his bindings around his chest. Wilbur was out cold, he didn't need to worry about him seeing. Slowly, he unwrapped the bandages, letting out a sigh of relief as his back was freed. Then he winced as he felt the back of the couch against them.
There was no reason, at this point, not to let him see. See the ugliest part of him, the part of the outside that matched the inside even more than the scar that split his face. They both had scars, but Wilbur didn't have... didn't carry this. And he was afraid to let him see, to allow himself to be that vulnerable and out of control of the situation.
As much as he'd come to love Wilbur, trusting him, relinquishing control to him, he wasn't sure he could wholly do that. He needed to feel like he still had some control of his world until the last possible moment. And Dream, Dream was an element that was so far beyond his control... There was no telling what Dream would do. What Dream would say... and tell Wilbur. And if Wilbur would stay with him after he heard it.
"Two... Three... Four..."
The f-ing numbers again. It must be something really bothering him. He'd be awake soon. He'd need someone to hold him in that first moment before the memory vanished. Quackity quickly rewrapped the binding and returned to their bedroom, just as the screaming started.
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Almost two weeks had passed since Wilbur had asked about visiting Dream. Every day he felt more and more like he was living in the eye of a worsening hurricane that threatened to tear him to pieces. His smiles were more and more forced as he threw himself into his work. He knew Big Q had noticed, but he just couldn't... he wasn't a good enough actor to pretend he wasn't bothered.
If Quackity intended to take Paradise from him, lulling him into the belief that they were truly partners would certainly be the way to do it. He'd even, on his own with no suggestion, considered selling the hamburger truck before he'd found out about the other account. Now, it was his most prized possession, his only leverage.
"What do you think of making an offer to Eret for his pyramid?" Quackity asked as they stood in front of their board with plans for Phase II covering it and two drafting boards.
"The giant cobblestone thing in the ocean?"
"Well, if we covered the cobblestones with something nicer, and maybe built a bridge..." Quackity drew the pyramid on the white board with two lines linking it to Las Nevadas.
"Just for something to look at?"
"No, I was thinking we could put a casino inside." Quackity drew a crude version of his vision. "Go with an Egyptian theme."
"Maybe with suites on the top." Wilbur took another color marker and put in a few floors near the point.
Quackity's elbow bumped into him, he looked up to Wilbur with a smile, his cheeks slightly flushed. Wilbur couldn't help but smile back. He quickly looked away to the area where Paradise Burgers stood.
"Big Q, I've been meaning to ask. What are your plans for my burger stand?"
Quackity frowned. "I thought we were just going to bring Paradise into Las Nevadas. Maybe as apartments or a wilderness themed area or something with the lake. Why? You don't really want to keep it, do you?"
"As a matter of fact, I do."
"Why? Wilbur, we're about to double the size of Las Nevadas! We've been working on this for months! It's just a bit of land and a burger truck. You can have a whole burger truck franchise if you want! This!" Quackity pointed to the giant drawing of Phase II. "This is our paradise!"
"I just want to have something that's mine! You have your other bank account! Oh f-ck! I didn't mean to say that!"
Quackity eyed him. "Is that what this is all about? Is that why you've been acting weird lately? Yeah, I have another bank account. Sh-t, I have more than one. I wasn't sure that this would work. I've worked my a-s off for all of this, I've lost too much to loving the wrong person before and I'm not f-ing willing to lose it all again."
Wilbur couldn't disguise his hurt. "So you thought I might be the wrong person?"
Quackity turned away dismissively. "Oh don't even pretend to be offended."
"Fine, I won't pretend!"
"What was the first thing- the first thing you asked me for when you saw Las Nevadas? The very first thing, you wanted to be partners. You wanted a chance at Las Nevadas."
"I came to find you without even knowing what Project Nevadas was! All because of a book you left me calling me your dearest friend. I wanted to see you!"
"And then you wouldn't accept it when I wouldn't just give you what you wanted. I'm sorry if I couldn't tell whether you wanted me or Las Nevadas." Sarcasm dripped from Quackity's words.
"You couldn't... You couldn't tell?! I f-ing built a burger stand overlooking your country. I walked the border almost every day! I could have gone anywhere-"
"No, you couldn't. Where were you going to go? Back to your dad's house? You know what? F-ck this sh-t!" He threw up his hands and turned away from Wilbur, towards the door. "I'm not having this f-ing fight."
Wilbur braced himself for the next words. The banishment back to the burger truck. It would honestly come as something of a relief. This had all been far to good to be true. Make it quick, Big Q, he silently pleaded.
Quackity turned around, his finger poking into Wilbur's chest. "You know what, Wilbur? I've had too many f-ing fights in my life to waste my f-ing time arguing how I was justified in being wrong about you."
Wilbur started. Had he heard right? "Quackity?"
"Don't pretend that isn't what this is. I was f-ing wrong. I don't need to f-ing justify it and make it somehow be the f-ing rightest wrong. I was wrong, you f-ing love me and you'd f-ing love me even if I didn't make you my partner and you were stuck living in that f-ing burger truck. Which you can f-ing keep, by the way, if it really means that much to you." He drew a square around Paradise. "I don't f-ing need it. We'll call it a wildlife preserve or some sh-t. People love that kind of sh-t. But I'm keeping my other bank accounts and if you want to f-ing walk over that, there's the f-ing door!" Quackity threw open the door and stood with his hands on his hips, his eyes blazing, daring Wilbur to move.
"Ok." Wilbur said, his voice still a bit shaky. He walked toward the door. As he did he reached out and grabbed Quackity's tie and pulled him behind. He smiled. "Ok. But I'm taking you with me."
They made it as far as the large sectional sofa in the living room before they couldn't go further, they fell to the couch, lips and bodies locked. Quackity's tie was somewhere on the floor, it only took a second before Wilbur's practiced fingers had his suspenders off. They kept kissing as Wilbur unbuttoned his shirt separating only long enough so Wilbur could slide it off, then Wilbur's hands found the back of Quackity's neck and pulled him back in.
He felt Quackity's hand take his and guide it down to the binding bandages around his chest.
"Take it off," Quackity whispered into his ear.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I want you to see."
Wilbur carefully undid the bandages. His lover's chest came into view. He'd been wanting to see it for so long. And then... He felt the sudden rush of wind as they opened and there, framing Quackity's body, were two battered and broken wings. They were dingy white in color, feathers hung off of them like dead leaves or else clung in patches between sallow, sagging skin covered with scars and sores. They looked more like broken sails with strips of torn canvas hanging off than real wings.
"Quackity," he gasped, reaching to touch the mutilated thing. The wing winced from his finger, dropping a long feather. "What happened to your wings?"
"Schlatt. He got drunk and we had a fight. He tried to tear them off of me. I don't remember a lot of it. I passed out after that. He beat me up pretty bad. It wasn't the only time." Quackity looked down at the hand holding his. "It wasn't even the first time," he mumbled.
"Big Q, I'm so so sorry. If I'd... if I'd have known I-"
Quackity smiled sardonically. "You would have what? Saved me from him? Wilbur, you couldn't even save yourself back then."
"I would have... I'd have been there for you."
Quackity let out a mirthless laugh. "That would have probably only made things worse. Look, we can't change the past. Just- just be here for me now." He rested his head against Wilbur's chest, Wilbur wrapped his arms around him. "Be here for me now."
Wilbur held him tightly and whispered, "I'm not going anywhere, angel."
"Angel?" Quackity managed a half smile.
Wilbur brushed back his black hair. "My angel."
Quackity made a slight scoffing sound. "Fallen angel, maybe."
"Then what does that make me for tempting you? The devil?"
"El Diablo," Quackity said, a smile curling up the sides of his mouth.
"That is uncomfortably fitting." Wilbur gave a quick frown. "I'm not sure there are too many who would disagree with that assessment."
"I've been on the road to hell for so long, it figures I'd end up in bed with El Diablo at some point."
"Let's not go too far with it," Wilbur said with a smirk. "We've made mistakes in the past, but that doesn't have to be our future. That's the point of Phase II, a new beginning. Together." The word hung in the air.
"F-ck." Quackity said.
"What?"
"I'm going to marry you, aren't I? I'm going to marry Wilbur f-ing Soot. I should have seen this coming from the beginning."
Wilbur was at a loss for words. He couldn't tell if Quackity was joking or not. "I mean, if you want to."
Quackity looked as unsure as he felt for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I want to. Do you?"
Wilbur took a long look at Quackity, his heart racing, his mind going a million miles an hour as their lives together flashed before his eyes from the day they'd met until now. "Yeah... Yeah, I do. When?"
Quackity shrugged. "No time like the present."
"Now?"
"I mean, it's pretty late. Nobody'll notice if we go down to the... you know... the wedding place."
"Seems strangely ironic that was the first thing you showed me on our tour," Wilbur said with a smile.
Quackity caught the smile from him. "Yeah, I guess so." He laughed. "This is such a f-ing terrible idea!"
"It really is," Wilbur agreed.
"But you still want to?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I still want to."
"We are so going to regret this tomorrow."
"Oh no. No, I'm not going to give you the time to regret this tomorrow," Wilbur said with a chuckle.
"We'll need rings." Quackity got up and started looking around.
"What are you doing?" Wilbur laughed. He was positively giddy.
"Looking for something we can use for rings. I'll have Sam get us some better ones later, but you know, for the ceremony."
"You already have four rings, can't we use two of those?"
Quackity scowled at the rings on his left hand. "No. I'd rather have no rings than use these. They don't exactly have the best memories attached to them. I mean, I've used these to hurt people." The small smile Quackity had as he said that gave Wilbur to know he'd enjoyed that aspect of wearing them.
"Oh... oh yeah, that's a good- that's a good point. We really don't need rings."
Quackity opened up a drawer. "Aha!" He pulled out a number of wires and a pair of pliers.
"Guitar strings?"
"Yeah." He quickly set about threading the ends through the little eyelets, cutting them, and wrapping them to form two thin silver rings. "There."
"Yeah, that seems, that seems about right." Wilbur laughed again.
"What's so funny?"
"I just always imagined my son and my brother would be at my wedding. And my father."
"We'll have a bigger ceremony some other time for everyone, after we've told them we're together. You know, give them some time to get used to the idea. Don't want to just spring it on everyone, nobody even knows we're a couple." Quackity said.
"The slime does."
"Charlie doesn't count."
"They would be quite surprised."
"They'd probably think you f-ing hypnotized me or something," Quackity said.
"I could be blackmailing you," Wilbur suggested.
"With what?"
"You're the one married to a corpse."
"Not married yet."
"A mere formality that will be rectified shortly."
"So we're really going to go through with this?" Quackity laughed.
"Only if you want to," Wilbur said with a smile.
Quackity leaned in and kissed him. "Yeah, I want to. I'm all in."
"So am I," Wilbur said, hoping beyond hope he truly was.
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They snuck out in the wee hours of the night, being careful to check that nobody was around. Wilbur wore his suit and fedora just in case, so he wouldn't be immediately recognized. At least, that was the excuse Big Q made, but, if he was being f-ing honest, he really just liked the way Wilbur looked in it. For his part, Wilbur had made one request, that he keep his wings out, which required a little emergency tailoring, but they'd managed.
"I'm taking the whole Quackity, even the broken parts," Wilbur had said.
And then the part of him that kept repeating this was the dumbest f-ing idea he'd ever had promptly shut its trap.
They quietly made their way to a small building held up by white pillars with a very Greek look to it. Inside, despite the late hour, the lights on the wooden bridge glowed softly. He could hear the sound of water trickling beneath it. So this was really happening? Every time they looked at each other, they couldn't stop giggling.
Wilbur pulled Quackity to the center of the bridge. Their eyes met and another gigglefit, as Wilbur called them, came upon them both. He took the wire ring from Quackity's palm and took his left hand, turning it. Four golden rings sparkled up at him. "Where do you... Where do you want me to put it? Maybe the right...?"
Quackity looked at his hand. "The thumb, I think. I really can't use it to punch people if it's on there, at least not without breaking it. Like a symbol that I'm giving up my old ways for my- for my dearest friend." His heart pounded so hard as he said that, the words almost sticking in his throat.
"So how do we... how are we doing this? With this ring I thee wed?"
Quackity laughed. "I'm f-ing marrying Wilbur Soot! Oh my f-ing God, I can't believe it! So I'm going to be like Quackity Soot or something?" Another gigglefit took him. It was just too surreal!
"I think just Quackity." Wilbur kissed him.
Quackity returned it, kiss for kiss as frogs chirruped from the water. "We should probably..."
"Yeah," Wilbur agreed.
Quackity took Wilbur's hand and slipped the ring over his third finger. "God I f-ing love you."
Wilbur smiled and slid the ring on Quackity's thumb. "The feeling is more than mutual."
They looked up at each other. "So I guess we're married now," Quackity said.
"I guess so."
Quackity grinned. "Alright then, let's make this world our b-tch."