Arranged Marriage

[bostonhowler]

It's a trope near and dear to our hearts. Arranged marriage.

Maybe it's for the family. Maybe it's for a friend. Maybe you know the person and have been expected to marry them for years. Maybe it's the wedding day and you have no clue who it is you'll be tied to for your natural life. Maybe you've been married a while, and you're just now starting your life, away from the expectations of others. Or maybe, the "others" are watching, waiting, making sure this marriage sticks.

Prompts for those who need them:



Reasons:

1. Station → You come from a royal, noble, or otherwise distinguished family who has chosen a suitable spouse for you.
2. Feud → You are being married to put an end to the bitter enmity between your two families.
3. Economics → Your economic state and/or your station will improve through the union, though one of you may be marrying down.
4. Empire → You and your spouse are merging your businesses and/or property to create something more influential or profitable.
6. Tribute → You have been offered as a gift or appeasement, alternately you're the spoils of war.
8. Bloodline → Carrying on your distinguished family name has fallen to you and the equally well-bred spouse of your family's selection.
7. Disapproval → Your marriage has been arranged to keep you away from the person with whom you truly wish to be.

Scenario:

1. First meeting → This is the very first time you're meeting your future spouse.
2. Courtship → To get to know each other and encourage affection, your family has approved of you going on dates.
3. Engagement party → Be it a huge, formal affair or a small, intimate get together, you're celebrating (or pretending).
4. Wedding day → The big day!
5. Reception → The big party!
6. Wedding night → Every meme needs a smut prompt, right?
7. Honeymoon → Where will you go with your new spouse and what will you do there?
8. Been at this a while → Just starting to get to know the other person

Comments

[goingthroughaphase]

Maybe they were a good match after all. While she isn't perfect, Kitty cares a lot about other people, and always tries to find the good in other people, no matter how hard it may seem. So even if Kevin himself doesn't see the value in himself, Kitty will.

With a giggle, she nods. "Right. I think a spinach omelet sounds good. Though they always make it so big, I can never finish it in one sitting."

[southernreaper]

He chuckles. "I'm gettin' one of their poblano omelettes. Remy was sayin' they were really good." He shrugs. Kevin talks more with the senior members of the team, than he does the kids his own age. Has to do with him being a decent cook. Remy's put in a few requests at times.

He gets out and takes her hand again. In short order, they're seated in a booth in a back corner away from everyone. It's a comfortable place for Kevin, and he appreciates it.

When the waitress comes to take their order, he lets Kitty order first then has his omelette with a side of wheat toast. He also orders sweet tea. Because while he loves his coffee, he almost never drinks it anywhere but at the mansion, or Miss Amelia's house.

"Ya know, I was thinkin'." He says, once the waitress is gone. "Maybe once we've had time at Disney, we could go to Atlanta?" He wants her to meet Miss Amelia.

[goingthroughaphase]

After ordering an iced coffee and spinach omelette, Kitty glances at him after the waitress leaves.

“Atlanta?” she repeats. While she knows that he’s from the south, it occurs to her that she doesn’t know exactly where.

[southernreaper]

His smile goes crooked again. "I grew up in Atlanta." He explains. He sits back as the waitress brings their drinks back for them. She sets the lemon in front of Kevin, and he just plops it in the drink, and sips it through the straw, because at least then he's not drinking ashes.

"Miss Amelia still lives there." He toys with his straw. "I thought you might like to meet her?" He doesn't look up at her. "We don't have to, of course, but I thought it might be nice."

[goingthroughaphase]

"Oh," she replies softly. Then, placing her hand on his arm, she smiles. "I'd love to meet her. And Atlanta sounds fun. I've never been before."

[southernreaper]

"Atlanta is boring. Sure, there's museums and stuff, but not a lot of 'fun' stuff to do." He shrugs, but his gloved hand covers hers. "I'd like to introduce you to her, though. She'll say you're too skinny, but, that just means she'll shove me in the kitchen while you two talk." He smiles a bit. "Her grandsons might be there, not sure."

[goingthroughaphase]

She giggles softly. "Well, I'd still like to meet her anyway. We can leave Disney a little early and head to Atlanta on our way back."

[southernreaper]

He sits back as the waitress brings their food. She smiles at them holding hands, but doesn't say anything, going back to her work. "Why leave early?" He asks, genuinely curious. "You think anyone back home is going to say anything if we don't show up right on time? We'll call, and explain, certainly, but we can take the time." Really, this is the most anyone ever gets him to talk. He's the perfect model of 'says nothing' back at the mansion.

[goingthroughaphase]

It’s definitely the most she’s ever heard him talk, and honestly, she likes it.

“Well, I don’t mind taking some extra time,” she says with a playful smile. “But I also wanted some time when we got back to look up some college classes before enrollment. Mr. McCoy was going to help me look into that.”

With everything that they’ve all been through, it’s sometime easy to forget how young Kitty actually is.

[southernreaper]

He frowns. "Which school?" He hadn't known that she had plans for college. He doesn't. But he might have a chance at an apprenticeship, but he hasn't heard anything yet. He doesn't want to jinx it until he hears something. The problem is, the apprenticeship is in England, and then Japan. Western and Eastern style of making weapons.

[goingthroughaphase]

“I haven’t really decided yet,” she admits. “That’s what we’re going to look into. I’m thinking it might be easier just to do online courses.”

Given how often she’d been absent during high school, a school where a physical presence wasn’t required was ideal.

[southernreaper]

He takes her hand. "Kitty." He says softly. "If you want to go to school, you should. Anywhere you want. And not online. Maybe... maybe take a break and actually go be normal for a while?" He doesn't want her to leave, but he thinks she's selling herself short.

[goingthroughaphase]

She looks up at him, surprised. Then she gives his hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s...complicated,” she says slowly. “Part of me kind of does want to just be normal. Go to school, have the whole college experience, y’know? But part of me...doesn’t.” She shrugs. “I like being at the institute, and I love everyone there. I like knowing that I have people I can always turn to, and I want to be there for them too. I want to be able to be close by, to help out whenever I can.”

She glances down at their hands. “Is it selfish...to want it all?”

[southernreaper]

He shakes his head. "How about this?" He frowns, for a moment, coming up with a game plan. "During breaks, you still do what we do. But the rest of the time, you're a college student." He smiles a bit crookedly. "And there's no reason you can't go to school in New York." He points out. "Miss Frost would give us one of her apartments, and we could stay there during the week, go back to the institute on weekends?"

[goingthroughaphase]

She glances up at him. “Would you be okay with that?” she asks. “Coming with me during the week?” She knows it can be crowded in New York, and she worries it might make him uncomfortable.

[southernreaper]

He shrugs. "I can commute back to the Mansion, where my forge is or find a way to rent space in the city. We'll bring Mimsy in with us, and she'll be fine." He squeezes her hand. "It's your choice, though. Do you want to do that?"

[goingthroughaphase]

She’s silent for a long moment. “I’ll...I’ll think about it,” she finally says. “I don’t want to make a decision yet, until I figure out what school I’d even want to go to.”

[southernreaper]

He nods. "That's fine. There's no rush, either." He's not worried about himself. They'll discuss the possibilities he's faced with when he knows more. Though there is one thing... "You ever hear of a show called 'Forged in Fire'?" He asks, digging into his omelet.

[goingthroughaphase]

Taking a bite of her own omelette, she looks up at him and shakes her head. “I don’t think so,” she says around a small mouthful. “What’s that?”

[southernreaper]

He grins. "Well, it's a competition." He says, after swallowing his bite. "First round is to usually make a knife, without a handle in three hours. Then, second round is fixing the errors, and attaching a handle in about three hours." He sips his sweet tea. "Third round is three to five days, at your home forge, making an iconic weapon from history." He shrugs. "I... applied to be on the show." He admits, softly.

[goingthroughaphase]

She looks up in surprise. “You did? Wow! That sounds awesome! Have you heard anything back yet?”

[southernreaper]

He shakes his head. "Not yet. But if I do hear back, it's filmed in Brooklyn, believe it or not." He loves watching Forged in Fire. It's a great chance to see different techniques. "I just didn't want to surprise you if I did get it."

[goingthroughaphase]

She smiles brightly, placing her hand on his. “That’s great! I hope you get it. It sounds like it’d be a lot of fun.”

[southernreaper]

He turns his hand over and squeezes hers gently. "I think it would be. But they haven't even asked me for a Skype interview yet." He shrugs. "Maybe they won't." He doesn't know. He's hoping to have something in his email when they get home.

[goingthroughaphase]

“You never know!” she says, trying to be encouraging. “Maybe they’re just running a bit late.”