Fic: With This Bagel I Thee Wed
Title: With This Bagel I Thee Wed
Fandom: Grimm
Rating: PG
Pairing: Nick/Monroe
Summary: Fill for this prompt. Monroe pops the question.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own words.
It happened while Nick and Monroe were discussing the gay marriage bill that had just been passed that day in Oregon. They’d spoken of it before, both in favor, of course, but Monroe hadn’t expected it to actually go through with all the ignorant loudmouths in this state.
"It's nice for those who want to get married," Monroe said, while chopping up mushrooms and carrots for the stir-fry. Normally, Monroe already had dinner prepared by the time Nick got home, but he’d had some clockwork to catch up on this afternoon. Meanwhile, Nick checked the firmness of the pasta boiling on the stove.
"Yeah."
An odd tone tugged at Nick's voice. Monroe glanced up at him and his knife fell still against the cutting board. Wistfulness permeated Nick’s face. Considering the subject matter, it could only be due to one thing. Nick had almost proposed to Juliette. It was only his Aunt Marie’s sudden “Guess what? You’re a Grimm!” revelation that had halted him and eventually induced him to break it off. And he had shown himself to be very much the romantic type these last two years he’d been with Monroe. Last Valentine’s Day, he even got Monroe flowers, though at least he’d skipped the clichéd roses in favor or some elegant orchids. But Monroe had never considered that this marriage bill would affect them in any way. It couldn’t be clearer that he and Nick belonged to each other. He saw no need for the government to certify it with a piece of paper, although there were certain legal perks he wouldn’t mind enjoying. Nick, on the other hand, might be yearning for the whole vows, rings, and public ceremony thing.
"Nick?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you want to get married?"
Nick jerked his head toward Monroe, startled.
“What? No. Not necessarily. Not if you don’t want to.”
The words ran out of his mouth way too fast as he looked away from Monroe after only a second of eye contact. That would be a “yes”, then.
“So if I wanted to…” Monroe said.
“Do you?” A hopeful lilt brightened Nick’s voice, puppy eyes whimpering, Yes, please, Monroe, I want to marry you, please.
“I never really thought about it, to be honest.”
“That’s okay. I didn’t expect you to want to.”
“But you want to.”
“Monroe, it’s fine. I don’t want to force you into anything you don’t want to do. I love what we have now.”
Nick pulled him close for a kiss, his smile content and sincere and full of love and understanding. Monroe wasn’t buying any of it. If he let Nick sweep this under the rug, he would be the callous bastard who let his boyfriend wallow in misery while Nick sighed regretfully over every wedding announcement in the paper, when the first gay couple getting married under the new bill appeared on the news, perhaps even whenever he saw a wedding ring on the finger of a happily married person. Alright, maybe that was exaggerating, but Nick would still be upset over something that clearly meant a lot to him and it would be Monroe’s fault. Why not get married? He had no problem proclaiming to the world that he loved Nick (alright, maybe “the world” was overstating it a bit, since a legion of creatures would rise up and murder him for loving a Grimm instead of eating him like a proper blutbad should). And maybe sharing wedding bands would finally get women to stop hitting on his boyfriend right in front of him. Even the thought of introducing Nick as his husband made a groan of pleasure shiver along his skin.
“I could do it,” Monroe said, stroking up Nick’s back. “If it’s what you want, I’ll marry you.”
Nick shook his head, returning to the stove to pull out a strand of pasta. “I don’t want you to do anything just for me.”
“Hey, it wouldn’t just be for you. You don’t think I want to marry you?”
Nick shut off the stove. He looked up at Monroe, analytic caution in his expression.
“You said you hadn’t considered it.”
“That’s before.”
“Yet you keep phrasing it conditionally to whether I want to or not. That doesn’t tell me you want to. Jjust the opposite.”
“I don’t not want to marry you.”
“And that’s okay. Really.”
“So if I dropped on one knee right now and asked you to marry me, you’d say no because you think I’m just trying to make you feel better?”
Nick’s face turned speculative.
“You’d drop on one knee?”
“Sure would. Wanna see?”
“I don’t want you to do it as a joke.”
Monroe frowned.
“It’s not a joke.”
“Sorry. I phrased it wrong. I don’t want to force you into marrying me.”
“Who’s being forced? I want to marry you.”
“Since when? Two minutes ago? Monroe, just let it go.”
“Fine. Now I don’t want to marry you.”
“That’s my point. Why are we fighting over this? Can we just please forget I brought this up?”
How the hell was Monroe supposed to forget a pseudo marriage proposal? He picked up the knife again, intent on chopping up the stupid vegetables, but he couldn’t compel his wrist into doing more than slap uselessly against the wooden board. This was pointless. A pointless boat in a pointless sea of pointlessness.
Putting the knife down, he grabbed the bagel bag sitting in the pantry, took one out, then dropped down on the proverbial knee in front of Nick, who gaped at him.
“What are you-“
“Shush,” Monroe cut him off, raising the bagel. “You are not allowed to say anything other than a single, monosyllabic word.”
“You’re going to propose with a bagel?”
“Did you not hear what I just said? Honestly, are you selectively deaf?”
“Wow. Insults. That’s so romantic.”
“Could you please let me get on with this? My knee is starting to ache. I’m not some young whippersnapper like you.”
The silly word made Nick snort
“My apologies,” he said. “Please proceed.”
“Thank you. And, just so you know, I’m using the bagel because it’s the only ring shaped thing around here. Anyway. Nick Burckhardt, would you please accept my sincere and not at all coerced proposal of marriage and be my husband?”
The most tender expression overtook Nick’s face.
“You really mean that?”
“Yes or no, Nick.”
Nick’s smile widened into a grin.
“Yes,” he said, taking the bagel, then he tugged up Monroe for a kiss that had Monroe pressing Nick back against the counter.
Dinner went uneaten for a very long while.
Fandom: Grimm
Rating: PG
Pairing: Nick/Monroe
Summary: Fill for this prompt. Monroe pops the question.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own words.
It happened while Nick and Monroe were discussing the gay marriage bill that had just been passed that day in Oregon. They’d spoken of it before, both in favor, of course, but Monroe hadn’t expected it to actually go through with all the ignorant loudmouths in this state.
"It's nice for those who want to get married," Monroe said, while chopping up mushrooms and carrots for the stir-fry. Normally, Monroe already had dinner prepared by the time Nick got home, but he’d had some clockwork to catch up on this afternoon. Meanwhile, Nick checked the firmness of the pasta boiling on the stove.
"Yeah."
An odd tone tugged at Nick's voice. Monroe glanced up at him and his knife fell still against the cutting board. Wistfulness permeated Nick’s face. Considering the subject matter, it could only be due to one thing. Nick had almost proposed to Juliette. It was only his Aunt Marie’s sudden “Guess what? You’re a Grimm!” revelation that had halted him and eventually induced him to break it off. And he had shown himself to be very much the romantic type these last two years he’d been with Monroe. Last Valentine’s Day, he even got Monroe flowers, though at least he’d skipped the clichéd roses in favor or some elegant orchids. But Monroe had never considered that this marriage bill would affect them in any way. It couldn’t be clearer that he and Nick belonged to each other. He saw no need for the government to certify it with a piece of paper, although there were certain legal perks he wouldn’t mind enjoying. Nick, on the other hand, might be yearning for the whole vows, rings, and public ceremony thing.
"Nick?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you want to get married?"
Nick jerked his head toward Monroe, startled.
“What? No. Not necessarily. Not if you don’t want to.”
The words ran out of his mouth way too fast as he looked away from Monroe after only a second of eye contact. That would be a “yes”, then.
“So if I wanted to…” Monroe said.
“Do you?” A hopeful lilt brightened Nick’s voice, puppy eyes whimpering, Yes, please, Monroe, I want to marry you, please.
“I never really thought about it, to be honest.”
“That’s okay. I didn’t expect you to want to.”
“But you want to.”
“Monroe, it’s fine. I don’t want to force you into anything you don’t want to do. I love what we have now.”
Nick pulled him close for a kiss, his smile content and sincere and full of love and understanding. Monroe wasn’t buying any of it. If he let Nick sweep this under the rug, he would be the callous bastard who let his boyfriend wallow in misery while Nick sighed regretfully over every wedding announcement in the paper, when the first gay couple getting married under the new bill appeared on the news, perhaps even whenever he saw a wedding ring on the finger of a happily married person. Alright, maybe that was exaggerating, but Nick would still be upset over something that clearly meant a lot to him and it would be Monroe’s fault. Why not get married? He had no problem proclaiming to the world that he loved Nick (alright, maybe “the world” was overstating it a bit, since a legion of creatures would rise up and murder him for loving a Grimm instead of eating him like a proper blutbad should). And maybe sharing wedding bands would finally get women to stop hitting on his boyfriend right in front of him. Even the thought of introducing Nick as his husband made a groan of pleasure shiver along his skin.
“I could do it,” Monroe said, stroking up Nick’s back. “If it’s what you want, I’ll marry you.”
Nick shook his head, returning to the stove to pull out a strand of pasta. “I don’t want you to do anything just for me.”
“Hey, it wouldn’t just be for you. You don’t think I want to marry you?”
Nick shut off the stove. He looked up at Monroe, analytic caution in his expression.
“You said you hadn’t considered it.”
“That’s before.”
“Yet you keep phrasing it conditionally to whether I want to or not. That doesn’t tell me you want to. Jjust the opposite.”
“I don’t not want to marry you.”
“And that’s okay. Really.”
“So if I dropped on one knee right now and asked you to marry me, you’d say no because you think I’m just trying to make you feel better?”
Nick’s face turned speculative.
“You’d drop on one knee?”
“Sure would. Wanna see?”
“I don’t want you to do it as a joke.”
Monroe frowned.
“It’s not a joke.”
“Sorry. I phrased it wrong. I don’t want to force you into marrying me.”
“Who’s being forced? I want to marry you.”
“Since when? Two minutes ago? Monroe, just let it go.”
“Fine. Now I don’t want to marry you.”
“That’s my point. Why are we fighting over this? Can we just please forget I brought this up?”
How the hell was Monroe supposed to forget a pseudo marriage proposal? He picked up the knife again, intent on chopping up the stupid vegetables, but he couldn’t compel his wrist into doing more than slap uselessly against the wooden board. This was pointless. A pointless boat in a pointless sea of pointlessness.
Putting the knife down, he grabbed the bagel bag sitting in the pantry, took one out, then dropped down on the proverbial knee in front of Nick, who gaped at him.
“What are you-“
“Shush,” Monroe cut him off, raising the bagel. “You are not allowed to say anything other than a single, monosyllabic word.”
“You’re going to propose with a bagel?”
“Did you not hear what I just said? Honestly, are you selectively deaf?”
“Wow. Insults. That’s so romantic.”
“Could you please let me get on with this? My knee is starting to ache. I’m not some young whippersnapper like you.”
The silly word made Nick snort
“My apologies,” he said. “Please proceed.”
“Thank you. And, just so you know, I’m using the bagel because it’s the only ring shaped thing around here. Anyway. Nick Burckhardt, would you please accept my sincere and not at all coerced proposal of marriage and be my husband?”
The most tender expression overtook Nick’s face.
“You really mean that?”
“Yes or no, Nick.”
Nick’s smile widened into a grin.
“Yes,” he said, taking the bagel, then he tugged up Monroe for a kiss that had Monroe pressing Nick back against the counter.
Dinner went uneaten for a very long while.