Fandom: Bendy and the Ink Machine
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Henry looks at his hands. They shake a little like they have done all day. Ever since he walked out of the jewellery store with a little box in his jeans pocket.
"Henry, your okay?" Joey asks from the other side of the room. His eyes glister while he checks his guitar. The roadies say they can do it, but somehow Joey always wants to do it himself. It's still weird having all these people around them, working to make life easier for them.
It's been six years since Joey joined the band and they changed their name to Given. They played in competitions and local clubs, until a scout approached them, give them a record deal and Given released their first album. A new world opened for them, and now, two albums later, their fans still love them.
It's also been six years since Henry and Joey started dating. The first three years in secret so they wouldn't hurt their reputation. Until a fan got a shot of them backstage, arms around each other, lips locked in a passionate kiss. It was crazy to deny it, especially after all the positive publicity it brought the band, so they came clean.
And now that they have a show in their home town, with their best friends in the crowd, it's the perfect time to show the world how serious Henry is about his boyfriend. If only his hands would stop shaking.
"I'm fine, Joey. Just hometown nerves," Henry says. Sammy laughs behind him. He knows what Henry is planning tonight, knows his behaviour has nothing to do with hometown nerves.
"Okay," Joey nods and he turns back to tuning his guitar. Henry watches him with a soft smile on his face.
When it's time to go on stage Sammy passes Henry and whispers in his ears: "Don't worry, he'll say yes." Henry nods and walks out on stage after everyone else. The crowd cheers and dances to their songs. Henry plays on autopilot. The little box in his jeans pocket feels like it's on fire. Joey gives him worried glances from time to time. He must be messing up more cords than usual.
"We've got a new song for you tonight," Joey tells the crowd. "One close to my heart. I hope you all love it."
Sammy starts the baseline and Henry focuses to not miss his cue, they've messed this up on the last couple of practices. But he can't mess it up tonight. Relieve floods his chest when he hits the right cord and Joey smiles. He opens his mouth and starts to sing. It still makes Henry's heart swell. Even after all this time, it's still the most beautiful thing to hear. It's louder here on stage. When this song was created Joey's voice had been soft and sweet. They had woken up together, naked between the sheets, and they had played around with cords and words. Joey's voice had sounded like an angel when they had played it before Henry and Sammy. And now, filled with bass and drums, it's perfect. Just like the storm racing in Ritsuka's heart.
The song ends and the crowd cheers. Joey thinks Henry is going to start the next song now, only Henry pulls off his guitar and hands it to one of the stagehands. Joey turns towards him, a questioning look on his face.
Behind him, Sammy smiles brightly when Henry steps closer to Joey. Henry takes Joey's hand in his and then goes down on his knee. He fumbles to get the little box out of his jeans pocket because he can't take his eyes of Joey's. They start to water and his free hand covers his mouth. Joey shakes his head like he can't believe what's happening.
Henry finally gets the box out of his pocket and opens it with his free hand.
"We wrote a song, proclaiming that our love will never fade but will last forever. And to hear you sing it, say those words that make me the happiest man on this planet, it's beautiful. And now, I want to say the same words to you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You're the one and only for me. So please, Joey Drew, will you marry me?"
Tears fall from his eyes. He nods his head before he utters an overwhelming yes. Sammy slams on his drums and the crowd goes wild, only Henry hardly notice. He places the ring on Joey's finger and then gets pulled back on his feet. Joey kisses him with a massive smile on his face.
"How am I to focus on the rest of our show now?" Joey whispers to Henry before they step apart.
"Just as badly as I've done the entire night. They won't care," Henry says nodding his head towards the crowd that still lets out deafening cheers. "We've already given them the best show ever."
Joey laughs and turns back towards his mic. Henry takes his guitar back and pulls it over his head. He strums the cords of the next song and Joey starts to sing with him. He messes up words and keeps turning to look at Henry. The show is a mess until the end, but nobody seems to care.
It's during the after-party when Joey's hands are on Henry's hips while they dance to the music when they finally calm down a little.
"I knew your excuse of hometown nerves was bullshit, but this, I never expected this," Joey says.
Henry kisses him. "What did you think I was so nervous about, then?"
"The song, you kept messing it up in practice. I was afraid you were going to pull it from the setlist before the show."
"I never want to cancel that song, it's the best we've ever written," Henry answering him.
"Yeah, it really is."
