#xavbdaywhen

You keep it in the ship's botanical garden and learn to care for it. It proves to be a hardy species, and soon the whole atrium is bathed in a golden glow among a wave of blue forget-me-nots. Xavier intentionally carved out space on his ship to have a garden. How very like him, so sentimental.

–

“This whole thing,” he whispers, “came to me in a dream.”

It's early in the morning in Linkon, Xavier's favorite time of day. The night has yet to fully release its hold on the sky. You're warm in his arms, still shaking from his attentions. “Of a ring on your finger," he lifts your left hand to his lips, planting a kiss on your ring. It's become a bit of a ritual for him, as if he just needs to quietly reaffirm it's real.

“Of us being together,” he presses his forehead against yours. A soft glow starts to warm your chest and you wiggle closer.

"In my dream," he whispers, "we were making love in my ship".

A soft kiss down your neck, soft soothing breath by your ear. "I was telling you," a roll of his hips and you moan at the feeling of him pressing against you, "I-I was telling you that I'm gonna marry you."

Your head spins faster than the speed of light. —

"I'd like to plan our honeymoon," he says shyly over dinner. You pause, a forkful of seafood pasta tantalizingly close to your face. The tone of his voice suggests he's been practicing a speech of some kind.

Xavier takes your dumbfounded silence as permission to continue.

"I...want to surprise you. You will have nothing to worry about. We'll take six months off to start--"

"A sIX moNTH honeymoon Xavier??? Are you insane?? to start??"

Xavier blinks, blue wide with quiet surprise. "Is that too little? I would really love a whole year actually but then I started thinking about who would water the plants you know and--" the more he babbles, the more he blushes.

His brow creases. "Six months means we can't visit as many places as we'd like....If time wasn’t a factor, we could see the stars from every era.”

“Maybe we can do six months for starters...?”

"Six months to start then," he extends a pinky out towards you. His expression implies that he’s won something, after all he did just get you to agree to his original plan. You both shake on it and you’re left with more questions than answers.

—

He hands you a packing list one day. As you unfurl the creased corners and look over the contents, nothing seems out of place so far. Comfortable in-transit clothing, something formal, something dressy, different types of shoes. It was quite thorough.

It also gave you zero hints as to what Xavier was planning.

—

The two of you are poring over your shared calendar. It's early in the morning in Linkon, Xavier's favorite time of day. Finally. Finally! He says he's ready to talk honeymoon dates.

"Does it matter what season we start at?" you tap your chin in thought. Clearing your calendar for six months felt insane, especially given the amount of missions the two of you take on.

He shakes his head, "Not at all."

Leave it to Xavier to never give you the answers you need.

"Well if the start time doesn't matter…how about we start in May? That way we'll skip the gross humid summer here and come back to fall."

Xavier looks at you as he crunches on a mouthful of cereal. His bangs are sticking up again.

"May is perfect."

He leans in for a kiss.

—

It finally dawns on you when he teleports the two of you to a remote forest deep in No-Hunt Zone 53.

Traceback II.

He's taking you onboard his spaceship. To space. For six months.

He extends a hand at you, eyes twinkling.

“What do you think? Do we dare disturb the universe?"

You laugh, a cheery brightness filling the space as you reach forward and tweak his nose, "I think we're past the point of 'disturb'"

Xavier shines in return, pulling you past the ship’s threshold like he’s pulling you in for a waltz. “You're right. We're at ‘cataclysmic disruption of the space-time continuum’”.

The doors close, airlock sealing with a hiss.

—

“Everything we do from this moment forward will be a first,” Xavier muses once Traceback II escapes the Earth’s atmosphere.

He turns to you, eyes shining bright as the ship is suddenly drenched in total darkness as you cross over to the dark side of the moon.

“Allow me to give you your first kiss among the stars.”

It's, well, out of this world. Xavier’s lips, soft and hot, are savoring every possible inch of yours with a slowness he rarely exhibited in Linkon.

At journey’s end, the two of you are well and truly, finally, together.

—

After a day orbiting Triton, he punches in another set of mysterious coordinates. When you arrive, the two of you take the scouting vessel down into Saturn’s atmosphere to gaze at clouds of diamond rain. 

“Where does this even all come from?” you remark, aghast at the shimmering rain. 

Xavier taps the thick window pane, “It’s the same as it is back home. Diamonds are made from carbon and a little help from really intense pressure. Deep within our planet there is geological pressure. On Saturn, that pressure is in the atmosphere.”

“So you’re saying I can’t just put a bucket outside and catch enough diamonds to fund our retirement?”

Xavier huffs a laugh, “Believe me, you don’t want to be outside of this ship right now. You’d turn into an instant pancake.”

“I bet I would taste yummy with some fruit and syrup.”

“You taste yummy as is.” he replies smoothly, briefly glancing down at your lips. The dark blue of his gaze is more breathtaking than the celestial body in front of you. “Come on, let’s get OTTO to take some photos for us before we have to return to our ship.”

—

He makes you come apart in front of a supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) to be exact, at the dead center of the Milky Way. You wonder if it's a metaphor for claiming the right to obliterate you down to your last atom. You know he planned this, having stirred you up for four cycles, leaving you to stew with impotent rage (during which you couldn't even try to touch yourself because there wasn't much room to hide aboard a spaceship).

Now, he's pinning your arm back while he takes you from behind. That's always been your favorite. Xavier likes it too, especially when he collapses on top of you, pulling you in for more kisses as he slowly rocks you back and forth. He redirects your attention back to the view outside the glass, and you can just make out your reflection, superimposed on top of one of the most inhospitable places in existence.

But you're home, here with him.

That's all that matters.

—

"Here we are."

You feel his hands lift you up, guiding you to your feet. The thick fabric of your dress rustles as you try not to stumble over it.

"Was a blindfold necessary?"

Xavier sweeps you into a bridal carry, mindful of your veil.

"Nope. I just like to see it on you."

"Xavier!"

"I kid, I kid."

By touch, you can tell he put on formal wear. His tuxedo, you're guessing, by the bowtie at his throat. Maybe he wanted new wedding pictures somewhere?

A gentle breeze sweeps past as the ramp lowers. Carefully, Xavier removes the blindfold, brushing a stray hair off your face.

"I've always wanted to carry you over the threshold the first time we come home."

Always so sentimental.

You duck into his neck, "You're so old-fashioned."

He nuzzles you, joy emanating from every part of him.

"This is our little planet. We made it."