#anxiousasexual

“What do you mean you’re not dating? You go over to the Iplier Manor every day, spend more nights over there than here, and have those cutesy pet names for each other. That is dating.” 

“We don’t have cutesy pet names for each other.”

“Are you sure about that, dove?” Marvin watched as the name got Anti to freeze mid-chew. 

“Shut up.” Anti shoved the other half of the doughnut in. 

“Thankfully, Dark has the romantic braincell between you two.” Marvin rolled his eyes. 

“It’s just a day. We’re not doing anything special.” Anti thickly swallowed the wad in his mouth and chugged some milk. “We’re just not like that.”

“And that’s why Dark got a ring.” Marvin clicked his tongue, smirking when that got Anti to start coughing.

“Ring!?” Anti’s voice cracked.

“Whoops. Did I say that out loud? Oh no~” Marvin sang his last words, sipping more of his tea as Anti’s phone started buzzing loudly on the table. 

“Hey, Darky,” Anti answered the call. “Uh…y-yeah, yeah. That sounds good…I’ll see you tonight…bye.” He had never sounded so awkward in his life. 

“Let me guess, you have a dinner date?” Marvin asked.

“I’m going to throw up.”

“You’re not going to throw up.”

“I am all. All over the table. Just bleh.” 

“You’re dramatic.”

“I’m dying.” Anti was still just holding his phone up. 

“You’re not. We’re going to do some fun self-care. Wash your hair, do a face mask, trim your nails. Make you look all nice and handsome for your date.” Marvin felt like he was soothing a feral cat on the verge of collapse as he took the phone and guided Anti to stand. 

“I’m going to throw up.”

“Stop saying that.”

x~x~x

Anti felt…weird being all dressed up, and it wasn’t even that dressed up. It was just a button-up and slacks, but that was a lot for someone who usually just wore t-shirts and ripped jeans. He also felt weird sitting at a table in a restaurant that reeked of hundred-dollar spoonfuls of food. Anti awkwardly kept his hands in his lap as the waiter poured the wine into his and Dark’s glasses. His smile was even more awkward while Dark thanked the waiter before he walked off with the bottle. 

“You look stressed,” Dark commented when they were alone, or, well, as alone as a restaurant could be. 

“This place is weird,” Anti said, picking up his glass and sniffing the wine. It smelled good. 

“It’s not weird, it’s different.” Dark corrected with a chuckle. “It’s not what we’re usually doing for dinner.” 

“Still weird.” Anti took a sip of the wine, and he had to admit, he liked it a lot. 

“How about I help ease some of the tension and let you know why I wanted us to come somewhere nice tonight,” Dark said, reaching into the inside pocket of his blazer. Anti felt the need to throw up coming back, his heart feeling like it was itchy as he watched a small square box be pulled out. “Now, I know what this looks like.”

“Yep.” Anti’s voice was strained as Dark held the box toward him. 

“And I want to ask you something. I know we’ve been fairly…casual about what we are, and I think we are at that point that we should make it official.” He used his thumb to open the box, showing a simple, golden ring inside. Anti just stared for a second, blinking a few times before speaking.

“Did you just propose to be my boyfriend?” 

“You could say that.”

“Fucking, hell, Dark.” Anti groaned in relief, pressing the heels of his palms to his eyes. “I was ready throw up everywhere. I thought you wanted to get married.” This time, it was Dark, looking like he was ready to get sick. 

“No, no, not at all. We are far from anything like that.” Dark let out a nervous chuckle. “I guess this was a bit of an extra show to ask for exclusivity.” 

“A bit? Marvin told me you had a ring and had me spend hours primping myself.”

“Marvin told you? I asked him your size in confidence.”

“He didn’t tell me the why. I am putting superglue in his shampoo after this.” Anti sighed and plucked the ring out of the box, looking over it. “But he did have somewhat of a point. I guess we really are dating.”

“So it’s a yes?”

“Duh. And you'd better have a matching ring as well.”

“Of course.” 

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