Archive of Our Own ^beta

Ghost hummed, walking down one of the hallways at the Archives. They had taken Quirrel to work that morning, like they often did as he tended to spend more nights at the palace with them than in his own bed. So Ghost had made it a part of their routine to wake up together with him and then accompany him on his way to work.

They had been together almost two years now, and most people around them knew them to be dating. Many people in the higher hierarchy of Hallownest were basically taking bets as to when Ghost would propose, as relationships tended to work like that when one was royalty. Royals didn’t date, they courted, and courting was always backed with the intention to marry. Otherwise, you were just having an affair.

Ghosts' relationship with Quirrel had started as a friendship, as they had often met during court meetings at the palace. Over time it had turned into something more, into shy glances across rooms, into late night letters and conversations, into nervous first dates in secret. Valentines day two years ago had been their first official date, it had been when they had agreed that they both wanted more than just friendship. Ghost had not been in a hurry to marry anyone, not even if two years was considered a weirdly long time in the world of royalty, and not that it would have been just that easy that they could have just decided to marry Quirrel. But now…

With a deep breath to calm their nerves, they knocked on Monomons office door.

“Come in, please!” She yelled through the door, sounding like she was in a good mood, which put Ghost's nerves even more at ease. This was just a formality, they repeated in their head.

They slipped inside the room, straightening their back and the long coat they were wearing, tailored exactly to their size in their signature dark blue. Their usual long cape was layered on top, pinned to place at their shoulders.

“Morning, Lady Monomon!” they smiled, bowing their head.

“Oh, your highness! What brings you into my office this morning? I know you come by often in the mornings to accompany Quirrel, but you rarely linger for very long.” She said, putting down her papers, curiosity shining off from her body language.

“Well today is a little bit special,” They hummed. They were impossibly excited, and just as nervous. “I know I have complained to you before about how fathers court and advisors tend to behave towards me, how hard they have been trying to push me to have an arranged marriage for the benefit of the Kingdom…”

“Did they finally manage to convince your father to make you do it?” she asked, now a bit more worried. She loved having Ghost around, and even more she loved seeing them be so happy with Quirrel. They were almost family. “Is that why you are here?”

“Thank the heavens, no, it is not. In fact, quite the opposite. For years now, people have told me that I have no kingdom to inherit, like my siblings do, and so I should do what a good prince does, and arrange myself a political, comfortable marriage. Fathers court hasn't really warmed up to Quirrel for this, since he makes it harder to convince me to get married. However, as I am finally allowed to say this, I have a kingdom to inherit, as the next Lord of the Abyss. And so after years of frustrating back and forth I have finally convinced father to hold my side in his court and tell them that arranging me a marriage would not benefit Hallownest for long, and me possibly never.”

“That is quite wonderful news, but tell me, why keep your inheritance secret?” Monomon asked, having not yet figured out what Ghost was implying.

“Well, it was a wish of the last lord, to keep me safer. But that is not what matters here. What I came to say is that, as of yesterday morning, finally, as decided by father and the Hallownest high court, I am now allowed to marry as I wish.” They said, meeting Monomons eyes as they could see the realisation dawn on her face.

“Ghost…!”

“So I am here today, to ask, for your son's hand in marriage.” Ghost finally said, bringing their hands nervously together.

Monomons face practically lit up and she let out a delighted noise as she came around the table to hug them. “You know that you do not need my permission, all that matters is his answer, right?” she asked, a smile in her voice.

“I know, but when you are royalty, formalities are more than important.” they said, getting her to snort.

“That’s fair, I suppose,” she said, knowing exactly what kind of people royalty and high ranking nobility could be. Though not even their sourness could quite overshadow how happy she was for both Ghost and Quirrel at that moment.

“Ouh, Ghost! We are going to be family!” Monomon laughed, squeezing them tight in the hug. They laughed too, some of the nervousness having left them. Now they would just have to actually propose to Quirrel.

“So I have your blessing?” they asked then, making Monomon push them away a little to get a look at their face.

“Really? Of course you do! As long as Quirrel says yes, which I know he will, then you are all set!” she smiled at them, gently, bapping their cheek with one of her tentacles. “So, when are you planning on doing it?” she continued to ask, just as excited as they were.

“Tomorrow, on Valentine's Day. It is our day in a sense, after all,” they said shyly, earning an approving coo from Monomon.

“So, wait, does he know that you have a kingdom to inherit?” She asked, as that realisation crossed her mind.

“He does. I made father make an exception for him. I suppose on some level he knew that the court would never convince me to marry someone else. I think that he likes Quirrel, even if he won't say it out loud, that we both knew this was where it was going to end up all along.” they chuckled.

“That’s good, it’s not a thing I think should be a surprise. Though this does mean that… He’ll become a.. A king?”

Ghost nodded, their face flushing darker at the thought. Something about the thought of getting to make him a king, their counterpart, made them feel all soft and warm inside. They had spoken about marriage with him, about what it would mean in Ghost's situation, but they knew that he would not be expecting the proposal, as he was still under the impression that they were fighting for their right to marry. Which was all the more reason to do it now, before anyone could spoil the news for him.

“Well, I wish you the best of luck? I am sure I will get to hear all about it the day after Valentines,” Monomon smiled, knowing that she would soon have a very happy and excited pillbug in her hands. “Now, please, let me see the ring…!”

Ghost let out a deep breath, making sure that everything was where it was supposed to. They had reserved one of the palace observatories for this particular evening, and set up a picnic underneath the open roof which allowed one to see the stars even when underneath the earth or during daytime. Right now the sky that showed through the magical glass was a very pretty, deep purple colour, showing perhaps a bit less stars than usual.

“Perfect,” they muttered, as they heard the door to the level below open. After a moment Quirrel poked his head into the room from on top of the stairs, his eyes scanning the space before landing on them. His face softened into a smile, and he climbed the rest of the way up.

“Did you have trouble finding here? I know you often say that the palace is like a maze…” they asked, grasping his hands with their own, pressing their foreheads together. They had yet to grow that much taller than Quirrel, not even close as tall as Hollow, so Quirrels height wasn’t yet a problem at all. Yet.

“Not this time no, your father was kind enough to point me in the right direction almost as soon as I got inside. He had this… odd expression on his face, should I be worried?” Quirrel smiled.

“I don't think so. I’m happy to hear you didn’t get lost this time,” they chuckled, grabbing his chin gently with their fingers, before they pulled him into a kiss. It was good to feel him relax in their hands, feeling his arms wrap around their neck to get their bodies closer together.

“Me too,” he muttered against their mouth once he eventually broke the kiss. “Oh I brought you something!” he said then, turning to dig around his bag. He dug out a light teal envelope and a book-shaped wrapped gift.

Ghost smiled, pressing a kiss to his temple. “Should we take a seat, before I take a look at it?”

“Of course. I could see that you put a lot of work into this,” Quirrel answered their smile, letting them lead him to the food-filled table and the plush couch they had carried here with Hornets and Hollows help.

They settled down, Ghost against the couches corner and Quirrel with his legs crossed next to them, close enough to touch but far apart enough to not hinder either of them. He passed his gift to them silently, seemingly very excited about it. Ghost opened the gift with a chuckle, neatly tearing the wrapping paper open with one of their claws. Inside was a little photo-album, filled to the brim with pictures of them from dates, secret ones taken in courtrooms, and of that time when they had gotten drunk and climbed the Archives roof together.

Ghost let out a little, pleased noise, turning over the pages at random, looking at the notes Quirrel had scribbled next to certain pictures. There was a warmth blooming in their chest and they felt even more reassured in their decision. This was the man they wanted to marry, more than anything.

“Oh it’s wonderful, thank you,” they said quietly, softly kissing Quirrels cheek.

“I did my best to think of something special. I know I tell you a lot about how important you are to me, but I wanted to give you something to remember it by.” He said, reaching out to hold one of their hands.

“I hope you remember how much I love you, too,” Ghost answered, pressing their foreheads together again.

Quirrel let out a snort, pressing his other palm against their cheek, “With all the flowers you send to my office, it’s hard to forget. Not that I mind them, I know you know that. Gives me something to look at when I do my paperwork,” he smiled, pulling them into another kiss.

Later in the evening they are standing directly under the enchanted glass roof and Quirrel is telling them all he knows about the stars they can see from here. Ghost can see the way the starry sky glistens in his eyes as he speaks of gas giants, slow, sleeping titans of the night sky, and they can't help but stare at how beautiful he looks. If they will ever be ready, the moment is now, Ghost thought, feeling the ring box suddenly weigh heavy in their pocket.

“Quirrel, love,” they whispered, leaning close to him and clearly stopping his train of thought. “I have some news for you, that I have been waiting to share…” they continued, wrapping their arms around his midsection and resting their chin on his shoulder.

“Oh? Do tell,” he said, turning his head just enough to see them.

“I have finally won against fathers court, and they have been silenced regarding my lovelife affairs.” they chuckled, pecking a kiss against Quirrels neck.

“Ghost, that's great news! It was about time they got their noses out of your life and their fingers out of trying to arrange you a ‘convenient marriage’,” Quirrel laughed, nuzzling his cheek against theirs.

“Indeed it is… and speaking of it…” they said then, getting Quirrel to turn and look at them as they pulled the little velvet box out of the pocket of their coat, lowering themself to one knee. “You entered my life subtly through shared glances across courtrooms, and two years ago when I picked you up for our first official date from that date-off the knights had organised, I couldn’t have known that I’d find myself here. But my heart tells me this to be the right time, and the stars have finally aligned in my favour for me to be able to ask this, and so… Quirrel, my love, my dear scholar, will you marry me?”

Quirrel had pressed one of his hands against his mouth and Ghost could see the tears in the corners of his eyes. They could tell he was smiling, looking at the open ring box in their hands.

“Yes, yes, more than anything,” he answered, wiping his eyes and then capturing their cheeks in his hands.

Ghost pressed their heads together as they easily slipped the ring into his finger. It hadn't been all that hard to get the size right, they had just simply kept making paper rings until one of them was just the right fit. The design of the official ring was simple too, as they had thought about the most practical design for someone who did a lot of work with his hands, together with Monomon in her lab.

“Oh that’s pretty…” Quirrel hummed, meeting their eyes.

“The band is made of pale ore and made acid proof by magic, and the stone sunken into it is an aquamarine that father gave me, once I expressed to him my wish to marry you. I think the light blue suits you, and it reminds me of the Blue Lake, which I know to be one of your favourite places,” they said, trailing their finger over the ring, finally getting to see it in his finger.

“You know me so well,” Quirrel muttered against their mouth with a smile, “and you make me happier than anyone,” he continued before pulling them into a sweet and gentle kiss.

Ghost knew they had made the right decision as they wrapped their arms around their fiancé. They would show him off more than anything come the next morning, giving a sort of classy middle finger to the attendees of fathers high court. They had found their match, and if it wouldn’t have been him, it wouldn’t have been anyone.

“I love you,” they whispered, weaving their fingers together, "Tonight, and for all the ones after."