Ain't It A Fine Life, Carrying The Banner!

"Marry Me?" (Sprace, Modern-Day)

Really, this whole thing was Davey's fault. Davey had suggested going to this fancy party to support Katherine, since she'd just been promoted to head editor, and everyone had said no.

But he was learning how to be persuasive, and he'd managed to guilt-trip most of the boys into it by saying how much Katherine went through to support all them, but they couldn't don a rented suit for one evening and support her?

This line had worked on all but Crutchie, Race, and Jack.

Race... Well, Race was easily bribed with coronas.

Crutchie had finally agreed after hearing Davey's argument enough times, and Jack caved at the combined puppy eyes of Crutchie, Davey, and Les.

What Spot didn't understand is why the hell he was there. Jack had extended an invitation (he suspected just to be polite), and he'd declined. So why in tarnation was he standing in the corner of a ballroom, tugging uncomfortably at a tie and watching Jack and the boys steal Katherine for a dance?

Oh, right. Because Racetrack Higgins had invited him here as his date.

Spot scowled a little at the thought. He'd have been happier just sitting in the lodging house and seeing how much mayhem they could create before the cops showed up.

Race sidled up to him. "Hey, why're you over here in a corner? Come on, come dance!"

"'Come to this fancy party with me,' you said. 'It'll be our first proper date,' you said." Spot rolled his eyes. "'You're full of crap,' I say."

"Well, how often can we afford a place like this?"

"Who needs all this rich stuff? You got a problem with what we got?"

Race visibly paled. "No, no, of course not! I just..." He sighed. "I dunno, Spot. I guess I just wanted to pretend we were normal kids for one night before we go home to reality."

Spot's expression softened, and he found he was no longer mad. How could you get mad at intentions like that? "C'mere you big idiot," he scoffed, tugging Race closer and standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.

Race grinned. "I love ya, Conlon."

Spot stubbornly ignored the flush creeping up his cheeks and dragged the other boy to the dance floor. "Shut up and dance with me."

Race laughed again and looped his arms around Spot's waist, leaving Spot to reach up and loosely drape his arms on Race's shoulders. They stood close, swaying back and forth in time to the light music.

"Do you know how to actually dance?"

"Nah."

"Me neither."

At one point, Spot could've sworn he felt stares at his back, so he craned his neck, only to see Jack looking fondly over at them, Katherine in his arms.

'Go for it,' he mouthed, before Katherine dragged him back out to dance again.

Go for it? Go for... What?

Oh.

Jack had walked in on him practicing a proposal speech the other day, and hadn't stopped subtly heckling him about it since. After a stern lecture about not screwing with Race's emotions, Jack had clapped him on the back and simply said he expected an invitation when Spot "sucked it up and popped the damn question."

Spot squared his shoulders and turned back to his date. Well, if Kelly was gonna lay it down like a challenge, Spot was sure as hell going to take it.

"Race?"

"Hmm?"

"Marry me?"

Race stopped dead in his tracks, causing Spot to stumble into him.

"Wh-what?"

Damn, he was making this difficult.

"Well, it's legal now, ain't it? We could get married in any state we wanted to. I just.... Dancing, with you looking so good in the suit, the party, the music... Next time we're somewhere like this, I want it to be because we've just tied the knot."

Race looked at him for a moment before nearly tackling him in a hug. "Yes! Yes, a hundred times over, yes!"

Spot wrapped his arms tightly around Race and grinned widely. "I, uh... I ain't got a ring or anything."

Race laughed, kissing him joyfully. "I don't care. We'd lose 'em anyways."

Spot smiled and laughed as well, lacing their fingers together. "I love you."

"I love you too. So, so much."

"C'mon, let's go thank Davey for dragging us all here."

"Should we congratulate Katherine?"

"Oh yeah, maybe that too."

Hand in hand, they made their way over to the others, Race practically bubbling with excitement and Spot... Well, Spot was still reeling from everything that had just happened.

He'd said yes. They were getting married.

Oh, Jack was going to be unbearable.