Zack X Ray (AGE UP)

"chapter 2"

He tried to fight back the smile that was creeping up on him. Some photos would be very nice. His imagination was only so good... Oh god. He shouldn't be imagining her like that at all. Off limits! Super off limits! Well, all women were, but she was the only one he actually gave a damn about. If he was going to die in here though, it would be nice to have a pretty face to look at. She just happened to be the last person in the world he should be imagining naked...

"Uhh... How old are you now?"

"I just turned 18..."

"Yep. Send all the photos. Lots of them." Oh thank god, because there was absolutely zero chance that he wasn't going to be thinking about her the next time he needed some quality personal time.

She was laughing at him. Of course she was laughing at him. Why did he have to say that? He must have sounded like the biggest fucking perv in the world.

"Sorry. That was gross," he muttered.

"If you think of me that way, I'm glad."

"What? Of course I don-" he cut himself off. He hated liars. It was just embarrassing to admit because the last real mental image he had of her was of her when she was 13. Yeah, like that ever mattered to him. He'd fallen head over heels in love with her after knowing her for just one day. "Sorry..."

"It makes what I'm about to ask you a lot less embarrassing anyway."

"Wait... What are you going to ask me?"

"Um... Well, I don't know if you know this, but prisoners that are married have more visitation rights under this jurisdiction. And if you... signed these papers that I'm going to leave for you, we could... have more visitation, as in... actually see each other instead of... this."

"Huh?"

"I'm... not explaining this well at all," she laughed nervously. "There are things I want to tell you that I are for your ears only," she whispered into the receiver conspiratorially. "If we were... you know..."

"Ray. You know I'm really dumb. Can't you just say it so I'll understand?"

"I want you to marry me!" she blurted out.

"Oh!" He actually dropped the receiver in surprise. Now she was the one hiding her face from him. "Yeah... That's... a terrible idea, Ray."

"I'm sorry! That was dumb! I know you don't- I shouldn't have asked!"

"Ray..." he sighed her name and took a long pause. As nice as the idea was, it was just that, an idea. A fantasy. They were never going to have any kind of life together. That was the price he paid for saving her life and they both knew it. "I'm going to die in here."

"No you're not," she growled. "I will never let that happen." She sounded so determined. He wanted to believe her.

"Don't think there's much you can do about it." Then again, he had seen her make a bomb out of a battery and a scrap of wire before, so he was pretty convinced that she could handle just about anything. Fuck. He missed her.

"We really should get married. Not because of the whole... I mean, I would like to, if you would like to, but I understand if you're not interested in the um... physical aspect of visitation."

His jaw actually dropped. She wasn't actually saying what he thought she was saying, right? What the hell was wrong with her? If he would like to... what? Have sex with her? The idea of her perfect body against his was just as repulsive as it was erotic. Was she out of her fucking mind? Wait, yeah. Of course she was. It was one of the things he loved most about her.

"Doesn't this bother you?!"

"You being locked away like this? Of course. It's killing me."

"No! I mean the- me! All this gross shit. I look like a monster, and you're- well... I don't have to tell you. Pretty sure you've looked in a mirror at some point during the last few years."

"I know," she sulked. "I look the same, huh?"

"Jesus fucking christ," he huffed in frustration, not quite believing his ears. "You're even crazier than I thought."

"Will you think about it though? You don't have to agree now, or sign anything right away. I'll take care of everything. I just need you to sign the papers... whenever- if you're ever ready."

"I really want to say no, Ray." He cast his eyes down and away. He couldn't look at her while he said it.

"Oh... I get it. It's okay." Her shoulders sagged in defeat and her hand dropped from the divider in favor of compulsively toying with that beautiful hair of hers.

"I'm a selfish bastard though." He laughed at himself. "God, I fucking love you."

"What?" She froze in shock..

"Uhhhh..." he laughed nervously, immediately backpeddling. "Just forget that I said that!"

"I love you too!" Unable to contain the excitement that burst from her, she jumped to her feet and planted her hand back against that divider, silently urging him to do the same.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" He just stared at her hand in confusion.

"Why are you mad at me? You said it first!"

"I- Because- Goddamnit, Ray! The whole fucking point of getting locked up was to save you. Now you're throwing your life away! And for what?"