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Hero blinked. He blinked again.
"Mari...you do realize we're supposed to be keeping an eye on Sunny and Kel, right?"
Mari's grin widened as she placed the bottle down and went to the cabinets, searching for wineglasses. "Yeah, I know, but they're asleep. It's almost midnight, you know. What's the harm in trying something new with my dashing lover?" Mari turned away from her search to wink.
Hero chuckled nervously, his cheeks beginning to grow warm. "I-I guess, but drinking at fifteen or sixteen or any age under twenty-one is illegal."
"No one will know." Mari pulled out two wineglasses and placed them on the table. "Besides, we'll just try a glass. If we hate it, we'll stop drinking. Okay?"
"Okay, but..." Heri sighed. Was he really going to go through with this? "We should have some water and food on hand. We shouldn't eat on an empty stomach."
"We had dinner a couple of hours ago, though."
"Yeah, but I'd—I'd feel more comfortable if we just ate a little."
Mari tapped her chin. "That's reasonable. Okay, then." Mari went to the pantry and got out the open bag of pretzels. "We can snack on these."
The two of them were quiet, eating the pretzels. When they felt satisfied, Mari popped open the bottle.
"What is that, anyway?" Hero asked.
Mari turned the bottle to look at the label. "Uh...rum. So maybe we should take these in shots instead?" She went back to the cabinet and pulled out two shot glasses. Then, she poured a bit of the rum in it and sniffed.
"Weird smell," she commented, handing Hero the other shot. "Here."
Hero sniffed it and nodding, withholding a choke. "Y-Yeah. No kidding."
Mari stared at the shot, then looked back at Hero. "Ready?"
Hero nodded. "Three, two, one..."
The two of them threw back the shot, and Hero could barely swallow it. His heart was pounding quite a lot. I technically just broke the law. Mari turned me into a criminal.
...
So why does this feel so...nice?
Hero looked up at Mari and began to laugh upon seeing her expression.
"Isn't your taste?" Hero chuckled.
Mari shook her head quickly, sticking out her tongue. "Ith growth."
"Can't disagree with you there." Hero took a quick drink of water to be safe. "So, are we putting it away?"
Mari thought for a moment. "I kinda wanna try drinking some more."
"Are you sure? That might not be wise..."
"I'll be fine. Just one more."
One more turned into two more, and two more turned into a quarter of the bottle.
One thing was for sure: Mari was definitely not a lightweight.
However...she was a tad drunk.
"Hehehehehehehehehe, giggle bubbles are gooooood," Mari giggled, hugging Hero from behind. Hero was a little tipsy, which meant that he could still remember all of this. "Hey, hey, hey, Hero!"
"Yes, Mari?" Hero sighed with a smile.
Mari flopped into his lap, and Hero was eternally grateful they went to the living room. She grinned widely up at him. "I luuuuuv youuu!"
Hero chuckled lightly. "I, um, love you too. You should drink some water."
"But I don't wanna!" Mari pouted. "Hey, Hero? Why haven't we had sex?"
Hero began choking on air. "M-Mari!? That's, um, highly inappropriate!?"
"I'm serious, Herooo," Mari whined, sitting up and on his lap. She pulled off her vest, leaving a button-up short-sleeved shirt on. "Am I not sexy enough for you?" She held up her breasts. "Are these not big enough for you?"
Hero had to force himself to keep his eyes from wandering, and he gently pushed Mari off of him. "It's not that, um, you're not...s-sexy. I-I just want to wait until marriage is all."
"Oh. I mean, mood, but you don't seem like you want me at all." Mari unbuttoned a few buttons. "Am I not pretty?"
"That's not it at all! You're absolutely beautiful, Mari." Hero pulled Mari into a hug, trying to ignore his nervousness. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes on. I-I just get really...scared."
"Why?" Mari pulled away, tilting her head to the side.
"Because. You're so beautiful and smart and funny and adorable, and I'm...well, me. Sure, I'm a decent cook—"
"The best cooker ever!" Mari interjected, grinning.
"Th-The best, uh, cook ever," Hero stammered, "and I get good grades, but I'm not nearly as interesting or amazing as you. I feel so unworthy to be in your presence, let alone...be your sweetheart." Hero cupped Mari's cheek and smiled sadly. "I can barely touch you without wanting to recoil, because to me you're like a goddess—stunning and wonderful but out of reach, and I don't want to hurt you or anything. If I, um, m-make love to you...I want to be sure you won't run away or hate me afterwards. I want you to feel as amazing as possible, and I don't feel like I can do that for you right now."
Mari leaned into his touch and smiled warmly. "You're the best guy—boyfriend—uh...sweetheart? Uh...thing...I could've ever asked for. You're super hot and sweet and your cookin' is almost as good lookin' as you."
Hero let out a small giggle, earning a giggle from Mari.
"But...that's not all I love. You're resp—respeticful—uh, respiteful?" Mari's eyebrows furrowed. "Re—respectful! Right! You never take adva—(fuck, words are hard)—you never overstep my boundaries, even now when I'm drunker than that bottle o' rummy." Mari snuggled into Hero's chest. "I love love love you, and I wanna marry you."
Hero kissed the top of Mari's head. "I wanna marry you, too."
Mari looked up with stars in her eyes. "Remember when we were younger and we came up with some vows?"
"Of course I do." Hero gave Mari a kunik kiss. "How could I forget?"
Mari picked up the white blanket that was on the floor and arranged it so it was like a veil. When she stood, despite being drunk, she stood with such poise and strength that Hero could have fell to her feet and worshipped her. She was gorgeous normally, and the moonlight only highlighted that beauty.
"C'mon. Don't leave yer bride waitin'."
Hero would've laughed at Mari's awful country accent, but he was too enamoured to do so. He stood and took Mari's hands, not caring if this was pretend or not.
Mari picked up two strips of paper that were left over from when Sunny and Kel were trying to make link chains earlier. She twisted them into rings, and she fixed her "veil," which was slipping.
"You wanna go first?"
Hero nodded, and he took one of the rings. He swallowed, and spoke softly. His love seeped into every single syllable, and he slipped the ring onto her finger.
Mari seemed to be teary-eyed, and even though she could barely stand, she managed to keep upright (well, as upright as possible while tilting a bit). She began saying the same vows.
"With this hand—" she held up a hand and placed it over Hero's heart— "I will lift your sorrows." She then cupped his face. "Your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine." She took both of Hero's hand's and squeezed them, looking up at the moon. "With this candle, I will light your way in darkness." She slipped the "ring" onto Hero's ring finger, kissing it softly. "With this ring, I ask you to be mine."
"I do," Hero whispered.
"I do," Mari repeated, "and so you shall kiss the bride."
Hero's hand slipped up to cup Mari's cheek, and he pulled her closer. He could smell the rum on her breath, but he could care less.
Whether she remembered this night or not, it was a memory Hero was sure he would cherish forever.
He closed the distance between them by putting his lips against hers, and it felt a wonderful mixture of scary and magical and calming. The blanket slipped from Mari's head, but the pseudo-newlyweds did not have a care in the world.
For now, it was Hero and Mari, a softhearted boy who loved his girl with all his heart, and a chaotic yet kind drunken girl who loved her boy with everything she had.
Maybe alcohol isn't that bad, Hero thought, and he decided to forget his more complex thoughts.
For now, he wanted to relish his love.