by lil_1337
Disclaimer: I don't own Alex or Kevin, though Natalie is a figment of my own waffy imagination.
A/N: Alex McDonald is a creation of Anne in her series Tears in Heaven. I received permission to borrow him. Please do the same before using him, as Kevin is just a tiny bit protective er possessive. Well, both actually.
[ ] denotes telepathy.
Kevin shifted nervously and ruffled the ears of the golden retriever puppy in his arms. She looked up at him with big soulful eyes and then licked his face, wiggling in his arms as she did so. He looked around Sam's cheerful kitchen and then checked his watch for tenth time in as many minutes. Five minutes until four in New Zealand. It was time to go. With the squirming puppy, in one arm and his other hand firmly gripping the gray velvet box in his jacket pocket, he focused on Alex and teleported to a spot close to his lover's psychic signature.
Alex looked up from where he was leaning against a tree, recognizing the familiar feel of Kevin's presence nearby. He'd been nervous but excited since he'd received the email that said meet me in the riverpark where we met at 4pm tomorrow afternoon. I have a surprise for you. He'd had to smile and shake his head when he read it. It was the forestpark but Kevin insisted on the calling it the riverpark no matter how many times he corrected the other man.
Around the bend and out of view, Kevin set the puppy on the ground. He then unhooked her leash and ruffled her ears again watching carefully she trotted off down the path in Alex's direction. The leash was stuffed in his pocket as he stood quietly, waiting for the sound of Alex's voice that would be his cue to show himself.
Alex pushed off from the tree he had been leaning against and began to walk towards where he could feel Kevin waiting for him. He paused, then smiled, as a golden colored puppy trotted towards him, her tail wagging furiously.
"Now where did you come from, I wonder?" He could feel his smile growing wider as she came closer, obviously not afraid. He bent to pet her, then picked her up. "Someone must be worried about you." The puppy made a grab for his shirt and worried it playfully, causing him to laugh. "You're quite the handful aren't you?"
At the sound of his lover's laugh, Kevin started walking again. Alex had found the puppy and it was time for him to make his appearance. With deceptive casualness he rounded the bend and then had to pause. The scene before his eyes took his breath away. The puppy was licking Alex's face and he was smiling happily. He's so beautiful when he smiles, Kevin thought. I can't believe he's mine. Once again his fingers brushed across the box in his pocket as he began to move closer.
"Ah, there you are, Alex. Found a friend I see."
Alex looked up at the sound of his lover's voice and smiled. "He's cute, isn't he?" He turned his attention back to the squirming bundle in his arms. "Yes, you are. Very cute." Looking back up at Kevin, his smile took on a wistful edge, "he reminds me of Ewan when he was a puppy. He use to love to lick like this."
Kevin leaned over to kiss Alex before the taking the puppy from him. Lofting her in the air he made a show of checking her gender before returning her to the other man's waiting arms.
"Hate to break this to you, love, but Ewan is a Natalie." He frowned. "I wonder who she belongs to."
Alex blushed and cuddled the puppy close. "Oh, I didn't even think to check for that. Natalie." He paused, then grinned. "If you watched Star Wars as many times as Andrea it certainly wouldn't have been for her." Noticing for the first time the puppy wore a new leather collar, he tilted his head to examine it. "Often they have a name and address on here." The puppy squirmed and attempted to get down, having been held long enough for her tastes. "Stay still, girl. You haven't got a leash. We can't let you run free. You're already lost."
Kevin reached out to pet the squirming animal in an attempt to distract her as Alex tried to examine the collar. "She's a beautiful animal. I'm sure her owner can't be far." Once again his fingers touched the box in his pocket, trying to hide the nervousness that was beginning to take a firmer hold. As Alex bent to study the tag he watched, anxious but hopeful.
Alex snorted in an ill concealed statement of his opinion of the puppy's owner. "Crime letting her run off like this. She's only a baby."
He bent to read the label on the collar then frowned, paused and read it again. "This can't be right…" Reading it yet again, he raised his eyes to meet his lover's. "Kevin?"
Kevin steeled his features to keep the grin he could feel from showing on his face even though he knew his eyes would give him away. Hiding his emotions was not something he did well, especially from Alex. "What does it say?"
Alex read the tag again slowly. "It's my name, our address and phone number." Confusion clearly showed in the frown on his face. "Kevin, what's going on?" Looking up into Kevin's twinkling eyes, his voice took on a more hopeful tone. "Is she mine?"
Kevin made a show of examining the collar and then smiled. "That's what it says, alright. She must be yours then. Tags don't lie." Looking up, he kissed Alex softly. [That is, if you want her.]
Alex kissed him back eagerly. [I want her.]. Carefully holding the puppy with one arm, he took his suddenly foggy glasses off with the other and wiped them on his shirt. "I can't believe you did this for me. It's not even my birthday or anything. Thank you." Pulling Kevin into a tight hug he 'pathed to him. [I love you.]
[I love you too, Alex]. "I figured it was about time we started a family." Kevin paused, a thoughtful look on his face. "There is one small problem though.
"Problem? What kind of problem?" Alex frowned, worry showing on his features. "I'm not giving her up. I'm not giving you up either."
"Well being the good Catholic boys we are, we really shouldn't be starting a family out of wedlock now should we?" Kevin pulled the case he had been toying with all afternoon out of his pocket and snapped it open to reveal two gold rings, each with a square diamond in the middle of the band. He went down on one knee and took Alex's free hand in his own. "Alex Sean McDonald, would you do me the honor of marrying me?"
Alex's jaw dropped, his eyes going wide in surprise. He closed, then opened, his mouth several times trying to make the words come out. Swallowing loudly, he switched to telepathy. [God yes. Umm, I mean. Yes. Of course I will. Yes.] Swallowing again, he found his voice. "Are you sure you want to do this? I told you I didn't need a piece of paper to prove our commitment." Alex squeezed Kevin's hand, grounding himself to make sure he could feel Kevin and this was not a dream that he would wake up from suddenly.
Kevin stood up and took the other man into his arms. "It's not a piece of paper, Alex. It's a statement of commitment. My commitment to you, to us." He smiled at his shocked but happy lover. "Besides," his eyes flicked to the rings then back to Alex, "this is easier to wear than a sign that says property of." [I love you, Alex, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to go to sleep in your arms and wake up to your smile.]
Alex leaned into the embrace, then rested his head on Kevin's shoulder. [No one's ever done anything like this for me before, gone to all this trouble. I'm so very lucky]. With that he kissed Kevin deeply and slowly. There was a smile on his face and in his eyes when the kiss finally broke. [I love you more.]
Kevin pulled the leash from his pocket and clipped it to the puppy's collar before setting her gently on the ground. No longer hampered by the restless animal he pulled Alex close, molding their bodies together and kissed Alex slowly and thoroughly, starting with a gentle touch that grew into an insistent demand for more. [I'm the lucky one, Alex.] Smiling into the kiss he played along with what was one of their private games. [I love you most.]
Alex returned the kiss just as passionately, melting into the taste and feel of Kevin. [More]. Remembering that they were in a public place he reluctantly pulled away. Looking at Kevin a thought struck him. "I'd like to see the rings up close. Please."
A pull on the leash reminded Kevin of the puppy and he tugged gently, directing her to come closer to them. With a sheepish grin he handed the still open case to his lover. "If you don't like them we can do an exchange. I probably should have asked what you would like."
After examining the rings and determining there was one for each of them, Alex relaxed and smiled. "I love them. And I'm pleased that there is one for you. After all, it's better than a sign that says property of." He grinned, then suddenly went quiet. With shaking fingers he took one of the rings out of the case and handed it to Kevin. He offered his left hand, with the ring finger extended, the intensity of the emotion making his voice waver. "Would you? I'd really like that."
With fingers that were equally shaky, Kevin took the proffered ring after first wiping his sweating hand on his pants leg. He kissed the top of Alex's finger then gently turned his hand over, palm up. Another soft kiss was placed on the underside of Alex's ring finger before his hand was again turned palm down. Carefully, Kevin slid the ring onto his future husband's hand.
"It's beautiful, my love. Just beautiful. Exactly what I would have chosen." Alex's voice was thick with tears as he studied the ring on his finger.
"It looks wonderful on you." Kevin wiped the tears away with his thumb then smiled. "Would you like…? " He paused, unsure of how to continue.
"Yes, I would love to." A soft blush highlighted Alex's cheeks and gave his skin a healthy glow. "I was going to ask if you hadn't." He took the second ring from the case and in a teasing voice said, "You must have read my mind." His fingers slipped on the slick metal and he nervously cleared his throat. "Kevin...." He stopped, wanting to say something but unable to find the words to echo his now fiancé's formal proposal. "Kevin, I love you. Be mine forever, like I am yours." With nervous hands he repeated Kevin's actions, kissing first the top then the underside of Kevin's ring finger before sliding the circle of gold onto it.
Kevin stared at his hand, smiling brightly at the ring now shining on his finger. He then cupped the back of Alex's head in his hand before drawing him close and kissing him deeply. [Yours forever]. Breaking the kiss he smiled and in a teasing voice that was more reminiscent of a certain redheaded American he added, "I was anyway, Alex. Now I'm yours with jewelry."
"You've been spending time with Megabyte again, haven't you?" responded Alex with a laugh and a shake of his head.
"Well, you were the one who insisted on playing that new video game with him the other day." Looking down, Kevin's eyes lit on the puppy sitting quietly watching the world around her. He nodded at her then smiled. "Any ideas what you want to call her?"
"It was a good game, and I'd been waiting for it to come out for ages. Even if he did kick my arse," he added ruefully. "One day I'll beat him, just probably not in this lifetime." Kevin felt an arm slide around his waist and sensed Alex's attention shift to the puppy. "She already has a name." He said smiling at the puppy. "Don't you, Natalie?"
"You have many other wonderful qualities to make up for what you lack in the video game arena." Kevin squatted to pet Natalie gently. "What do you think of your new name, little lady?" She jumped to lick his face and he laughed. Tilting his head, he smiled up at Alex. "What do you say we take Natalie home?" He stood and offered Alex the leash, formally handing Natalie over to her new owner. "We'll have to fib about the wedding date later so she won't know we got her out of wedlock."
Alex laughed and took the leash, then frowned suddenly serious. "Are these engagement rings or wedding rings or both? I don't want to have a long engagement, Kevin. I'd like to get married as soon as we can. I want you, you want me." A blush spread over his features as he hurried on. "It's not as though we're waiting for our wedding night to have sex. I don't see why we need to wait."
"I was thinking wedding rings but it is up to you, love. I'll marry you tomorrow if that is what you want." Kevin paused, thoughtful. "Though I think there are a few people who will want to attend. How about in two weeks? We can both ask for some rostered off time and have a real honeymoon. I'm sure Sam won't mind watching Natalie for a few days."
"I want them as wedding rings." Alex paused, thinking of his mother. He knew she wouldn't approve of the marriage and would probably refuse to attend the ceremony. Not that that would stop him. He just wished she would at least accept that he and Kevin were together. "Yeah, a few people would. The people who…" He stumbled but found the word he was looking for…"matter". He looked down and studied the ground, then smiled. "Two weeks sound perfect. It's school holidays here so I can get the time off no problem and I know you have leave owing." He raised his eyes and met Kevin's with a smile, his mind turning to happier thoughts. "Sam knew, didn't she? I called in yesterday when you were offworld. I talked to her for a while. She didn't give anything away but I knew she knew something."
"Actually I was at the breeder picking up Natalie. Sam let her stay with her last night. She knew. She helped me pick out the rings." He paused, a thought suddenly occurring to him. "You don't mind, do you? "
Alex shook his head, "No, of course I don't mind. I like Sam. She's like family. You need family to help with stuff like this. It's important."
Smiling sadly, Kevin nodded his agreement. "Yes, you do." Brightening, he added, "fortunately for us we have a wonderful family we made ourselves." Kevin shivered as he became aware that the evening cold had begun to seep through his light jacket. "Let's take Natalie home." He pulled Alex close once again, kissing him softly but with heartfelt depth. [I want to make love to my fiancé.]
Grinning, Alex wrapped his arms around a now shivering Kevin. "You're cold. We'll have to warm you up." He winked, his idea of how to accomplish this task clear on his face. [Fiancé. I like that idea.]. A glimmer of guilt danced across his mind at the sadness in his lover's smile. Pushing past it he grinned. "I like the idea of husband better." He paused, thoughtful for a moment as the implications of being married hit him. "Not sure I want to change my name though. Is that okay?"
Kevin shook his head at Alex, his voice booking no argument. "No guilt, love. Today is a happy day." Softly he echoed Alex's words. "Husband." He added his agreement with a firm nod. "That is by far the best." Trying to lighten the mood he looked at Natalie and whispered in mock horror. "What will we tell the puppy?"
"Huh?" Alex's eyes reflected his confusion as the attempt at humor soared loftily over his head. "That she has two parents who love her. What else would we tell her?"
Kevin stooped to pick up Natalie then handed her to her new owner. He ruffled her ears before wrapping his arms around Alex. "You are so bloody cute, Alex," he said, amusement dancing in his voice before kissing his soon to be husband and teleporting the three of them home.
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