Tea and Titles

 After the previous night's events, Sira couldn't help but feel shy and nervous around Azul.

 Precipitation slipped off her glass and onto her hands as she sipped on the iced lemonade, avoiding Azul's gaze.

 Instead, she stared down at her grilled chicken salad in front of her, her eyes scanning every leaf and vegetable inside the bowl.

 Azul sat across from her, his arms and legs crossed, watching as she sipped on her lemonade, waiting for her to look towards him.

 After about 5 minutes of Sira ignoring him, he suddenly leaned over, putting his face closer to her salad, his eyes squinting as he eyed it over.

 Sira put her tea down and stared at him with a confused look on her face.

 "What are you doing?"

 Azul grabbed his fork and lifted up one of the leaves, staring at her plate curiously.

 "You were staring so hard….I thought there must be treasure hidden in here somewhere."

 Sira breathed out a quiet laugh, a small smile appearing on her lips.

 Azul glanced up and smiled with her, "There she is."

 She couldn't help but blush at his words, feeling slightly embarrassed.

 "Whatever….." She said, the small smile not leaving her face as she put a forkful of her salad in her mouth.

 "Now that I have your attention, should we discuss details about our possible union?"

 Sira swallowed hard and scratched her forehead, "What do you need a wife for, and why me? Don't they have wives for hire or mail order brides and things like that?"

 Azul chucked before he took a sip of his tea.

 "How can I trust someone like that with this task? You want me to invite a stranger into my home?"

 Sira furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before laughing.

 "Am I not a stranger?"

 He shook his head, "I've spent time with you, been to your home, and you've been to mine. Plus, I've seen you naked."

 Azul quickly took another sip of his tea, eyeing her up and down as a deep red hue colored her face.

 "H-Hey!"

 "Besides," he put his drink down on the table and leaned his head on his hand, "you also need something from me."

 "What is it I need from you?"

 "Your co-workers are awful to you, and you don't want to quit. I can protect you from them. Don't tell me you wouldn't be happier if they couldn't be so rude to you."

 Her mouth contorted and she nodded ever-so-slightly. That much was true, her life would be much easier if they would leave her alone, but was that worth getting married over?

 "Plus, there's your vow. I can tell….since this morning, you've felt sick about it…" there was a slight hint of sadness and disappointment in his voice, "at least this way you can know your first time was with your husband. Even if it's not a real marriage."

 After having thought about it for the past few hours, she was indeed considering his proposal.

 "You still haven't answered why you need a wife all of a sudden."

 "I've already told you. I need to get some people off my back. So, what do you say?"

 A look of annoyance came over her face, "Sounds like an evasive answer. You want me to be your wife, but you don't want to give me details?"

 Azul nodded in agreement, "Yes. You don't need to know the details just yet, just that I need a wife to get people off my back. It's the truth, not a lie."

 Sira leaned back in her chair and sucked on the edge of her fork before pointing it at him.

 "What would being your wife entail?"

 "I just need you to come with me certain places and act the part."

 A frustrated sigh escaped her lips, "Azuuuuul!"

 She whined, her eyebrows furrowing upwards, "You can't ask me to be your wife and then not tell me anything! What places? Who am I going to be meeting? You're not in a gang or something, right?"

 Azul coughed, his heart stopping for a moment when she mentioned him being in a gang.

 "What gangsters are pestering their members to get married?"

 Sira squinted, "I wouldn't know, I'm not in a gang….."

 He shook his head, "I just need you to trust me. You'll get your protection, and your vow won't be broken. I can't give you a bunch of details right now, but I promise I won't put you in danger and you won't be doing any unsavory activities."

 "Okay, let's say we get married. I'm not so interested in living with you as a married couple….I don't want to share a bed with you….or….be intimate with you again – no offense…"

 "Non taken."

 "Plus I have my apartment…my things and all that."

 As much as he hated that she lived in such a seedy and dangerous neighborhood, he had to acknowledge it was still her home.

 "I'd prefer you leave there and live with me. We can move some of your things in and put the others in storage. Or you can leave it all there and continue to pay rent. You can take the guest room."

 Sira shook her head, "I'm just…not comfortable living with you. I don't really know you very well."

 Azul sighed. He knew that would probably be the answer, but at least he tried to get her out of that nasty building.

 "Fine, then you can stay at your place and you'll come to my place when needed. We'll only act as a married couple when it's required to do so. When it's done, we'll get our marriage annulled."

 After a few moments of thinking, Sira agreed.

 She pulled out a notepad and pen from her purse as they discussed rules and what each wanted out of their 'marriage'.

 "This weekend, I'll pick you up and we'll head to the courthouse. I'll have the contract for you to sign then."

 "Alright…." Sira said quietly, a little nervous for what was to come.

 "So where do you want to go for the honeymoon?" Azul teased as he pinched her cheek.

 "No where!"