Mine, mine, mine...
Finally.
What a gift.
To claim Joseph Quinn Goldberg for our eternity.

My treasure walks along the Grecian coast, attached to my side.
You never want to let go and today should be no different.
Yet, it surprises me that you do not look at me,
That you ignore every brush of my fingers against yours.
You know how desperately I long for your attention, beloved...
Did I do something wrong?
Have I upset you?

"Joseph? Darling...?"

The look you give me...
It's harsh and rough and grey-
It's charcoal.
Utterly clogs my throat, tears burning at the edges of my eyes.
What will I do if you walk away this very moment, leaving me mere ash in your wake?

There's too many things that could go wrong.
I'd forgotten this.
But was I wrong?
Is this... Not what you want?

Your happiness matters most to me, Joseph.
I'd gladly be burnt to nothing if it keeps you warm.

But soon, the smoke clears.
I look beyond my ego, my selfish fears and see you.
Just you.
Vulnerability spills from your gaze like melted wax as I take your hands in mine.

"Are you sure you want this?
Want to be married to me?"
Your voice trembles with uncertainty
But not because you no longer want this.
Us.

Years of abandonment and rejection have chipped away at your security, my love.

I know this...
Yet, it pains me deeply that you still question my devotion to you.
These doubts will fade with time.
They must.
I will snuff them out bit by bit with every second I spend by your side.

"I only wish I could give you a better marriage and better man than this, beloved.
The wedding of your dreams, that's what you deserve.
That alone."

"This is the wedding of my dreams,
My rose.
You and some gasoline.
What more could I ever need?"

I feel another urge to kiss you as your eyes light up with danger.
What a dangerous bond we have, my gold.
I do hope - like humanity - that we worsen with age.

I wish I could get on my knees, show you my devotion.
But we risked that at one crime scene.
This is to be our wedding and I need my husband for our honeymoon.
Your arms wrap around me, relief bringing saline pools to your eyes.
I usher them away with my lips to your skin,
Admiring your huffs of amusement as you settle into the feeling.

Then we stay rooted a while
And I bask in your radiance,
Waiting patiently for your heartbeat to return to its usual pace.

"Should we... Take a break, Joe?"

"No... We can't keep the Reverend waiting, can we?"

Our eyes meet, crashing waves of warmth finally reaching their crescendo.
I resist the urge to kiss you, reminding myself it's only a little longer and take your hand in mine.
We run the rest of the way.
Your laughter is the sweetest sound...
It brings comfort to my wounded soul
That I am capable of causing you joy.

We approach the long-abandoned church.
If you listen carefully, beyond the gentle echoes of nature around us, a man's cries can be heard.

No.
Not man.
Monster.
Beast.
Although his congregation would refer to him as their priest and teacher.
One of the many people on this planet who use their power to manipulate the lambs among us,
The innocent youth who only wished to be helped.
Nurtured.
Saved.

How bitterly familiar.

My sight blurs as I stare hard at the old structure.
We decided on this place, knowing a church in use was too important to its faithful sheep and would draw attention.
How lucky it was that we found this building during one of our explorations...
I smirk as the fond memory of fucking you over the altar plays behind my eyes
And then I hear your breath.

Heavy.
Soaked with need.

Our eyes meet again.
I forcibly swallow, blinking away the heat that quietly overtakes my skin once you flush and wink at me.
After so many years, I still get a rush of sudden shyness from time to time
By simply looking at you.
How did I manage to claim you, treasure?

I suppose fate thought us a perfect match.
After all, it brought you to England...
To me.
Every single murder led to us.
To this.
And to a lifetime to come.

Light and dark, flame and gasoline.
We are smoke, Joseph.
So tangled in each other I sometimes forget where I end and where you begin.

We are entwined.
And we always shall be.

I swear it by the blood of the bruised and broken, half-dead predator we caught and punished together
Who begs for salvation he does not deserve from a silent deity that will not hear him.
I swear it on the match we will soon use to set off the spectacle
And on the repulsive creature we will burn alive in loving sacrifice to us,
To you and I alone,
Whichever utterly apathetic divinity may exist be damned.

Our bond is ours.
Mine.
Yours.
Wherever we find ourselves, we will destroy to protect -
Be it through a roaring inferno or the biblical double-edged sword to a pig's round belly
And I will see to it no target of ours is spared, no need of yours left unmet, no part of you unkissed
Till the day our blood is sated.

I cannot wait to be officially yours,
My captive,
Captor,
Succubus,
Strength,
Friend,
Lover,
Pet...

Husband.

Let man or god ever try to take you from me
Before we are greyed and withered,
Filled to the brim with a life well-loved and lived,
Utterly prepared to have our bodies become food for the smaller of Earth's creatures.

Fate will quickly learn the meaning of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.

Just as I, with alarming swiftness,
Was forced to learn
What it meant to love
When I dared try to keep you captive,
Only for you to capture my very soul.

FIN.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rhys after all this: I do hope these vows are enough to show you that I- Joe? Joe, are you crying? Wh-why is your nose bleeding- beloved, are you alright?!

Joe: *falls dramatically to the ground like the mentally unstable dramaqueer he is* I just... Oh my god I'm so fucking gay what the fuck how could I have ever doubted being bi for even a fucking second I can't even handle being alive right now- shit, my vows are so much more boring than yours and I've been into literature since before I was getting locked up for days with books by Mr Mooney who are you and why are you so damn smoot gaddamn-

I think that's all my brain tank can manage. I hope it's good. I had part of it for a while and like... I decided to try finishing it cos I couldn't bear to just delete the thing even though I already marked this book as complete 😅 oopth 😘

To everyone who finished on the previous chapter and may never see this one... I'm not completely certain it's good but las las it's the end end so.. RIP. Sorrows, sorrows, prayers, prayers... Kk.. Don.. Bai 🤍

...I've got to make myself post this or I'll keep editing and re-editing till the end of time 🙃