□yeszzs□

Milo's place was filled with the sour stench of dried blood mixed with a strong odor of insect repellent. The walls were covered in peeling yellow paint, and dust gathered in every corner. Spider webs hung on the ceiling, and Ryan suspected that ants were starting to infest the space beneath the wooden floorboards.

In short, Milo's place was shit.

But to be fair, Ryan wasn't entirely convinced that this ramshackle dump was the guy's real place or if it was some cheap temporary flat he rented for a couple of bills and weed. After all, you can't exactly get caught holding the son of some wealthy bastard hostage, right?

Ryan sighed heavily, his face pressed into the worn sofa cushions as he fought to keep the rising bile in his throat at bay. The rough, itchy sensation of the cuffs chafing against his legs was a constant pain but he was too exhausted to do anything about it. He lay there listlessly, feeling the weight of his anxiety grow heavier. Trapped in this dilapidated, poor excuse of a house for months, his hopes of escaping seemed to dwindle with each passing day. He had clung to the thought that Milo might eventually release him, but the asshole's recent behavior had grown increasingly erratic and unpredictable.

Ever since Eris dumped Milo (Ryan overheard Milo muttering to himself once), Milo had apparently kidnapped him as a way to prove his worth to the crazy fucker.

However, the whole kidnapping thing has been going on for too long and Ryan's pretty sure that Eris isn't coming back. Milo seems delusional though, and is only getting worse every time he comes to visit Ryan. In fact, Ryan has been seeing his face around more often than not and it's become incredibly off-putting.

At first, Milo was only around to either beat the crap out of him or to feed him the little food he had left to spare. But as time passed, his living conditions upgraded. Ryan went from living in the shitty basement to living in the equally shitty living room. The windows were boarded up so he couldn't see anything from the outside, and he couldn't even reach the main door if he tried because of the metal cuffs tugging his ankles back.

In short, Ryan still felt like shit.

And yet, he didn't complain. At the very least, he wasn't getting any limbs sawed off, and his testicles were still perfectly intact. It was a good thing that Milo didn't hate him so much as to castrate him but the lonely thought brought little comfort to Ryan's turbulent mind.

He mentally sighed.

There was also another change that Ryan didn't expect, and that was Milo's behavior becoming that of a baby koala.

Speaking of koalas, Ryan let out a grunt as Milo shifted behind him, maneuvering him onto his back and pressing his face against Ryan's collarbone. Milo's arms encircled Ryan’s torso tightly, creating an uncomfortable embrace that left Ryan with a sense of fear and tension.

The unexpected closeness made Ryan's blood run cold, as he couldn’t shake the feeling that Milo might try and do something to harm him. Milo’s hug felt like a deliberate move, done to lower Ryan's guard and exploit his vulnerability.

"Stop moving," Milo said firmly, his hand closing around one of Ryan's wrists and positioning it gently on top of his thick, black hair. Ryan instinctively froze and began petting Milo's head.

Ryan had absolutely no idea how this strange transgression even occurred. He really had no idea! He was ripping his hair out on the inside and dreaming of slamming his thin face into the piss-colored walls because;

What! The! Fuck! Is he doing with his kidnapper?! Is he playing some sick game of house with this little shit now?! Has he truly gone insane? He really had no clue how this happened in the first place and when Milo began acting like a newborn infant.

...

Well.

Actually... Ryan may have an inkling.

A month ago or so, Milo had forgotten to chain Ryan back up after letting him bathe in the tub and Ryan–seeing the opportunity–took it and ran. He had practically ripped the door off its hinges and bolted out the house. Milo quickly noticed Ryan's escape and hurriedly chased after the man. After realizing that Milo had begun hunting him down–evidenced by the chain of distant curses behind him–he started to pray to the gods above that the maniac would either trip over a stick or get run over by a car.

They both ran several yards, with Ryan shouting for help and Milo in close pursuit. Eventually, they reached a busy road with speeding cars. Ryan managed to make it to the other side, but Milo wasn't so fortunate; he was struck by a black Volvo and knocked unconscious, his rib crushed in the collision.

Ryan was relieved to finally have Milo off his ass but for some odd reason, he felt incredibly guilty leaving his kidnapper–who had beat him on multiple occasions–out on the road to get run over again. It was incredibly ridiculous but Ryan figured that he may as well just drag Milo over to the concrete sidewalk to protect him from the other cars. But after doing so, his guilt still hadn't been appeased so he decided that he'd at least patch the guy up and be back on his merry way. You know, since he's such a nice guy!

But it was still incredibly ridiculous.

Of course, Milo had woken up before Ryan was finished bandaging his wounds and was rewarded with a punch to the face. That's what you get for helping people, huh.

Looking back on it now, that's probably when Milo had began to visit this grimy home more often. Ryan really should have just gone home, seriously! He should've left Milo to die on that road. It's what he deserved anyway.

But...

Milo rubbed his face into Ryan's shirt, almost affectionately. He took a deep whiff of Ryan's scent and let a contented hum slip from his lips at the feeling of Ryan's fingers gently combing through his hair. Ryan grimaced, wrinkling his nose in mild discomfort but still continued stroking Milo's head, afraid of angering his hot-headed companion.

Nowadays, for some reason, Milo had become accustomed to entangling himself in Ryan's embrace much to the latter's dismay. Sniffing his hair, watching him from afar, finding minor excuses to touch him, all that weird stuff.

Ryan was distressed.

What is fucking happening.

Ryan gave Milo a gentle pat on the back, subtly nudging him to get off. Milo glanced up at him with a look of irritation, his brows knitted and eyes sharp. Ryan exhaled sharply, a mix of frustration and resignation in his voice. "Calm down, will you? I'm starving and just want to make something to eat." He then placed his hand back on Milo's head.

Milo looked as if he was deep in thought before murmuring something into Ryan's neck and begrudgingly standing up, stomping into the kitchen.

Ryan watched Milo's retreating back leave the living room and slowly raised a hand to his warm neck. He felt that his face had grown a little flush and decidedly buried himself back into the sofa cushions.

Living in this dump was still shit, Ryan swore.

But in the end Milo just knows that it was Ryan's special way of expressing his undying love, they were both after all very emotionally stunted. Even back then as he laid on the ground, bleeding from his nose as Ryan walked away from him with a smug grin, he knew that they were made for each other. They already struggled with the same issues, they would be able to understand each other better than anyone else and they would help each other through the many hard times to come, never judging the other for the way they expressed their emotions or coped.

Milo of course also had fantasised about the days where they would sit on the couch, petting their pet bunny, Watcher. Showering the other with kisses and gentle touches, reassuring the other that they were there for the other no matter what's to come. Their wedding bands would click against each other when they intertwined their hands. Making them both smile at each other before gentle laughter overtakes them and they cuddle deeper into the other until they both fall asleep. 

Of course Milo had at first doubted his love, back then he was still so shy, naive and stupid. Always thinking that love was just something simple, something that’s always supposed to be gentle…He never accounted for the ones who were hurt by it, like his beloved Ryan, his dear Poppy Anemones.

Everyone heard about his breakup with Eris, everyone saw how fragile and scared  he looked afterwards. And some tried to use his vulnerable moment to their advantage. Only to realise that this experience left the man much more resilient and defensive, lashing out like a wounded animal at everyone who came near him. Even towards those who were trying to be kind to him or those who loved him, like Milo did.

Oh but Milo knew how to fix it, he already had plans made for their perfect life where Ryan would never need to suffer again. Where he could rest and slowly let down his walls and welcome Milo in but it wasn't the time for it yet and so he started with plan; Courtship! 

Like a true gentleman Milo began his courtship by following his beloved around, always making sure to stay in the shadows so as to not disturb him from his daily chores. He was simply here to make sure that he was safe and sound, though it did soon turn into a fun little game between them. His Anemone would spontaneously turn around, hands clenched into his shirt tightly as his eyes zipped from place to place, searching for his beloved of course! And don’t get Milo started on his beloved's excited jumps whenever he caught a glimpse of him or his adorable happy shaking!

It’s truly a shame that some people just had to ruin their fun, approaching his beloved with their ‘concerns’ and ‘advice’ acting as if he didnt know what they were trying to do! They all were just trying to steal his love away from him. To hurt him, use him and then throw him away like Eris had done before, they were simply a problem but what is Milo if not a problem solver? 

And in the end they were pretty easy problems to deal with, of course he hated to leave his Anemone alone but at least he had a few cams installed inside his apartment. So he could always watch him from afar and make sure he wasn’t doing anything too dangerous…It also doubled as a way to collect some more pictures for his collection but that's besides the point.

At  the end of the day he would always return home, bringing his beloved a little souvenir or as he liked to call it; Hunting Trophy. 

He still remembers the first ever Trophy he brought back for his beloved, oh how he had screamed in joy before running back into his room and burying himself under his blanket and shaking once again.

He must’ve truly loved it but sadly Milo had to leave soon after since the Police Sirens were getting a bit too close to comfort and while he was careful on his hunts he wouldn't really be able to explain why he was on a tree…Let alone why he was watching his beloved from afar, well at least not without getting questioned or worse, arrested! And he couldn’t risk that, who else would then watch over and protect his love!? 

Milo also gave him other, more traditional gifts as well; flowers, chocolate, little nick nacks that caught his beloved's attention, condoms, plushies, you name it. Milo always felt the happiest when his beloved kept his gifts, sometimes he would throw them out but that was fine, it taught him what gifts to avoid giving and which he prefered.

Sadly his Trophies would always get confiscated by the police. So sometimes he had to get creative, carving bone into different jewellery, cooking him a special meal or just taking a picture of the masterpiece he left behind. 

On these occasions where he was planning on photographing the scene, Milo always brought his supply backpack with him. This courting gift  was heavily inspired by the show Hannibal and how the character in that show created art with those corpses. His never were really that pretty and more often than not they were ready to fall apart any second but he still got the job done and the Police could only confiscate so many pictures. And even if they tried to take them all he would just bring new art pieces or copies of the last art piece to his beloved Anemone.  

Of course his love was smart and soon had  figured out who was leaving all those gifts for him. Oh, how he stomped his way towards him, teeth fletched as his eyes burned with that unbridled passion. Some would say he was furious but they didn't know Ryan as well as he does! 

Sure the beating was more brutal than usual, Milo was a bit worried about his beloved's knuckles who started to bruise and bleed. At some point he just couldn’t take it anymore, he just couldn’t let watch Ryan keep hurting himself and flipped him over, pinning him to the ground and kissing each knuckle with a gentle smile. Barrating him gently on how he should get something to protect his delicate knuckles or at least wrap them in bandages. 

The only reply he got was a face of pure shock, that had such a cute blush from his affection and maybe from all the screaming & cursing. But to Milo it was just so adorable, Ryan was so overwhelmed with love that he had to resort to anger to let it all out. 

Milo was sure one day they could both learn to express their feelings better but before he could even utter this suggestion, he realised that they both had classes to attend to. He truly didn't care that much about his classes but he did care a lot about Ryan’s and his future. He would need a stable income after all if he wanted  to shower his love with anything that he could ever wish for! 

And now months later, he was finally fulfilling their shared dream. After a quick look over, he dusted off the purple suit with a black gradient that started below his ribs. He had specifically ordered a custom tailored suit to fit his aesthetic and style. It of course has a few details that he hand sewed onto it, from little black hearts on his shoulder to the little eye Symbol beneath his chest pocket to symbolise who his heart belonged to until time sends death after them to separate them. Another detail he had changed was the flower that was suppose to be in his pocket, instead of going with the classic rose he decided to pick the one that inspired his Fiancé’s nickname; the red Poppy Anemone.

He of course also added a little something to his sleeves, small heart cufflinks with an eye carved into them. His pants and shoes on the other hand were just the classic black, mostly because he already had some in his closet…Plus the pants really showed off his assets and nobody would judge him for showing off a bit, mostly to tease his love of course. 

Taking a deep breath, Milo muttered to himself; “Today is the day, we will finally be bound until death parts us but he surely knows not even that would keep me away from him. We were made for each other, we’re soulmates! Ooooh, I can't wait to see him, I shouldn’t make him wait any longer! My love here I come!~” Milo cheered as he rushed down the hall to meet up with one of his friends, her name is Yuka. She was a very sweet woman who engulfed the excited man in a tight hug, exclaiming her congratulations for finally marrying the one he loves and also making him promise that they would still hang out from time to time.  

He agreed with a chuckle, over his time courting Ryan he had found so many new friends, no, family. True family who was supportive of his union with Ryan, not like his old friends who saw it as “Morally wrong” and “Barbaric” just because he picked his beloved Anemone up (or as they called it “kidnapping”) and bound him to a chair! 

Shaking his head he concentrated on the moment right now. Gently grabbing onto Yuka’s arm they both started to walk towards the door, pushing it open to see Hesper and the rest of the guests smiling at him. But his attention was quickly drawn to the one who owns his heart, the one who was waiting patiently, rocking on the chair out of excitement (and maybe because he was bound to it.) Ryan, his dear husband to be. 

And as they walked down the aisle, having flowers and  bread slices (& bagels, buns, baguettes and more baked goods) thrown at them. Ryan was getting more and more excited, his rocking grew more frantick as his muffled words grew in volume. How sweet of his friends to shush his love so he wouldn’t say his wedding vows too early or start teasing him again in front of all his friends!

Once they were close enough to the podium, Milo let go of Yuka’s arm letting her sit down in one of the many seats as he stood in front of his beloved. Their best man, Gabriel (who seemed to cheer extra hard for them, muttering something about finally having a higher chance of getting Eris back?) and best woman, C4 who stood next to each other, ignoring the heated glares that Ryan was sending towards the two. 

Milo gently turned Ryan’s face towards  Hesper with a smile, giving her a subtle nod to start the  ceremony. And as Hesper spoke, Milo couldn't hold back a dreamy sigh, this was just like what he had always dreamed about! Everything was perfect and once he heard the words “Will you take Ryan to be your loyal husband-” he couldn’t help himself and shouted “I do!” while Ryan got the gag removed from his mouth to say his own ‘I do’ (which was a bit hidden but Milo had heard it out and everyone around him accepted it. Even though the exact words Ryan said were“I do wanna rip your throat out!” It seemed to make Milo just blush and giggle, replying with a “Oh you tease!~”)

They both shared a deep, passionate kiss, Milo had to hold tightly onto his love so he wouldn’t squirm away like the shy man that he was. All the while the people around them cheered in joy, applauding for them and throwing more baked goods and flowers around as Milo grabbed the chair his beloved was still bound to and dragged him away while the sun was going down.