Carlos POV
"Babe please," I tried again, "this is the safest place possible. The security here is better than Fort Knox."
"Carlos, if I wanted to live in a cage, I'd book a room at the zoo. I don't care if a serial killer breaks into my house tomorrow and shoots me in my brain. I'd prefer to live my life as fully as possible." She threw back. We've been having this discussion for the past half hour.
"I need to make sure that what happened never happens again." I tried to plead my case once again.
She gave me a look, and I knew that what she said next would win her argument.
"Carlos, let me remind you of something one of our founding fathers once said. 'Any society that will give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.' Benjamin Franklin is one of the wisest guys you will ever find in any history book. We have a statue of Liberty. This country fights for 'freedom' every day. Don't try to take that away from me because I will not stand for that."
She took a deep breath and continued "I'd rather die tomorrow, than live my life in fear of death."
"Okay Babe, I don't like this, but if you feel that strongly about it I don't really have a choice." I hadn't given up, I'd just need to make sure that I was with her all the time to make sure that nothing happened to her. She'd been lucky this time that they hadn't been intending to hurt her. I'd taken care of the issue and she'd been none the wiser. No one messes with the people I love, and she was on the top of that list of people, right next to my daughter.
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Stephanie POV
I know that he's spent his entire adult life protecting this country and its people, but I know what I'm about. I believe in what I just said. What's the point in living if you cannot have your life?
We spent the rest of the day painting my bedroom wall a soft baby blue. I drew a few designs I had in mind on the wall and then went over it with a silver paint. It was like a shadowy effect. There were large windows in my room showcasing the city line. The soft cotton curtains let the sun stream into the room in the mornings, giving the space a golden glow.
We put together all my furniture, and Carlos spent the evening fighting with all the wires to get my television connected.
I made a stir fry chicken salad for dinner and we pigged out whilst watching Netflix on my big screen (Carlos won the fight with all the wires).
The next couple of weeks went smoothly with the both of us heading to work in the morning, spending the day sorting things out. Our picnic lunches were a norm now. We'd head back to work after our lunch hour, and finish up at the end of the day by having dinner and some ahem other activities.
We'd been together for almost five months when I realised that we spent every day and every night together. Carlos had pretty much moved into my house. He had a 'side' on my bed. He had space in my closet to the point that he didn't even need to head back to his apartment for anything. The only time we were apart was when he had to go to his Miami office to sort a few things out. We both had a skype session that night because neither of us could fall asleep.
Ohmigod.
Ohmigod.
Ohmigod.
We're like an old married couple. We've even had friends for dinner I realised as I recalled the train wreck of a dinner we had after Tankie and Lulafinally became official. Long story short, they were humping in our powder room.
We also had Hector and Cal for dinner after they had a slightly drunk, but still very sweet marriage in Vegas. They were really shy about their relationship, but it was a very nice dinner nonetheless.
You know how at the end of a mystery novel, or an episode of Sherlock (with Benedict Cumberbatch duh) everything just falls into place, and the whole thing seems so obvious the entire time. Like duh that paint is obviously only made in Alaska, so he's been there recently and he so obviously killed his wife, like have you seen his tie?
All our friends ask us about our plans as though we're one entity. My mother hasn't tried to set me up with anyone in forever. My dad and Carlos smoke cigars every Sunday after dinner. I call him to buy milk on the way home. I would not be surprised if I looked down at my left hand and found a wedding ring on there at this point. Shit.
Okay, just breathe.
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Carlos POV
I came home to find all the lights out, and my Babe staring blankly out the window. She looked as though she was solving a really complicated puzzle in her head. She startled as I dropped my keys in the bowl.
"Carlos" she whispered.
Slightly concerned, I sat down next to her and pulled her into my lap. "What's up Babe? Why do you look so worried?"
"We're a couple." She said, like it explained everything.
"Well, yes, we've been dating for almost six months." I explained patiently.
She turned around and straddled me and put her hands on my face so I was looking straight into her crystal blue eyes "No, we're like a real couple. Like obviously a couple kind of couple. You know how sometimes you see a person, and you just know that there's another person in their life, like it's obvious." I was trying really hard to concentrate, but our position was making it especially… hard.
"Babe" My hoarse voice caught her attention and she pinned me with an alarmed look.
"YOU! You knew and you didn't tell me! How could you? You're one of them. It's like everyone knew but me. We're dating and I didn't know. We're living together!" She jumped off me and started pacing the length of the living room.
I sat there, completely confused. What is she going on about - couple? Couple. Ohh Couple. Shit. Woah.
"Babe" I whispered. She stopped pacing and looked at me.
"We're together. Like together kinda together. Woah." It's a good thing that I was sitting because my knees were suddenly weak.
She plopped down next to me and we spent the next hour staring out the window.
"I have an idea!" She jumped up and proceeded to tell me.
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We told all our friends and family that we were going on a little holiday. We went to Miami, and applied for a marriage licence. Since I had a few friends who owed me a favour, we only had to wait for an hour before we had one. We found a judge willing to marry us and were married that evening.
Since everyone already thought of us as a couple, we thought we might as well make it official and get all the tax benefits that go with being married.
We spent the next two weeks consummating our marriage, and well, life went back to normal. We were already ingrained in each other's lives, so there wasn't much difference. Except now my official address was with my Babe, and her last name was Manoso.
It took our friends and family three months to find out. Sloppy.
-The End-
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I hope you all like the ending :D I know I've been a horrible writer. I realised that I began this story in 2014 July… Yeah I'm really sorry. Thank you all for sticking it out with me. I think I tied up all the loose ends. Please review and make my day.