The Paper Does Exist

Aspen's mouth remained shut until after the other put the plate of food down in front of him along with coffee. The little cowboy had been too dazed by everything to inform the other that he wasn't a huge fan of coffee. Just the smell made him scrunch up his nose in distaste.

"I can tell by your face that you're not a huge fan of coffee. Right now, you're going to drink it because I know it will help you feel better." The bartender shoved the mug closer to the other, who only watched as the steam poured over it.

Did he actually have to drink it? Would it be rude in this situation to refuse if they were supposed to marry? Aspen looked over at Raphael who'd taken a seat in the chair next to him and seemed to be quite happily sipping his coffee without a care in the world.

Didn't this whole situation bother him in the slightest?

"Come now. Don't you have anything to say about this whole situation Little Cowboy? You should at least be thinking about eating something if nothing else. It'll help settle your stomach." Raphael leaned over, putting his arm around the other in order to bring the plate of biscuits closer to him. Aspen couldn't deny that they smelled really good. He just didn't know if his stomach would be able to keep anything he put in his mouth down.

"Before I go about answering any questions, can you at least tell me why you keep going about calling me that? Little Cowboy. I don't think that there is anything about me that resembles a cowboy in the slightest." A lopsided smile appeared on the bartender's face as he reached a hand forward to ruffle the other's hair.

"Why do I keep calling you that? I thought that it would be obvious to you or at least that I wouldn't be the first person to address you in such a manner. My reason for doing it is actually quite simple and has everything to do with your looks. The way you have your hair parted to the nice button-up shirt and jeans you were sporting last night. You automatically gave me the impression of a wayward cowboy." Not to mention his rather boyish features that only added to the whole appeal that Raphael felt when looking at the other.

A sharp contrast to the rather rough and rugged-looking bartender who maintained more of an unkempt bad boy look. Raphael found it made it so much easier when hunting for a cute little treat to spend the night with. Something about his looks seemed to make him oh so difficult to resist.

"I don't think that just because I want to try and make a good impression on a person the first time that I meet them that means I look anything like a cowboy." Aspen huffed at the other's explanation. It sounded more like the bartender was mocking him than meaning it as a sort of compliment.

"Awh. Come on now. Even you have to admit that gruff, grump attitude right there is very much so like a cowboy. Trying so hard to keep up the tough guy act around your husband despite the fact that I already knew what a softie you are." Raphael pulled the other closer once more so that he could place a kiss on his head. A kiss that caused Aspen's face to flush red once more. Could he not keep his hands to himself for a few moments?

"Really though, we should be talking about the more important matter at hand right now. The whole marriage thing between the two of us. I guess really, more than that since we need to figure out living arrangements and all. Rian might have a bit of a problem with you moving in. I'm sure we can figure out something though." Aspen froze at how serious the other's tone of voice suddenly became.

This had to be some kind of joke right?

"Hold on a minute. Let's not be getting so far ahead of ourselves before we actually talk things over. Where did you put the proof of this supposed marriage between us?" Aspen grabbed the other's hand, more to steady himself than to stop the other. The Little Cowboy suddenly found himself not feeling so good once more as the world began to spin around him.

"Oh, that's probably up in the room. Somewhere in the clothing I had been wearing last night or whatever you had on. That reminds me though that we do need to make sure that gets put someplace safe before anything happens to it." Raphael stood up with such purpose that Aspen that he didn't have a choice but to believe that the piece of paper must've existed. Even if they didn't have a proper marriage, that didn't mean they couldn't have gone to a civil court or something to make it happen.

"I think right now though we do need to be talking about how seriously we want to take this between the two of us. We didn't get to talk last night and this morning it hasn't been going well so far either." Raphael paused to scratch the back of his neck causing his shirt to ride up a few inches and reveal perfectly chiseled abbs that Aspen couldn't keep his eyes off of.

Why did fate hate him so much that the moment he found an ideal guy he could possibly see as boyfriend material this kind of thing had to go about happening to him?

"I guess we can go back to talking for the time being before I go about fetching that. You also need to eat something as well. I'm telling you that you will feel better the moment you get something into your stomach." Raphael plopped back into the chair at the same moment he picked up one of the biscuits off the plate.

Aspen thought that the other would eat it himself until he suddenly found the thing being shoved into his mouth the moment he opened it to try and ask the other another question.

"Shh darling. There will be plenty of time for us to talk in a few minutes once you get something into your stomach. I won't be going anywhere." The bartender brushed a thumb against the other's cheek in some sort of comforting motion or Aspen assumed it was supposed to be comforting.

Except, it didn't have the intended reaction the other might've wanted it to have.