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It’s a Thursday lunch, and Bdubs is poking at his meal of spaghetti bolognese as he supervises his year thirteen class using his art room.
They’re all in a trance, focusing like crazy on their artworks for their final exhibition. He smiles to himself, another successful year for the art department with some unique and wonderful themes and designs.
Suddenly a loud ring cuts through the air as Bdubs jumps out of his seat.
He glances down at his vibrating phone, eyes widening at the caller. He awkwardly chuckles as he notices his students cranking their heads towards him with curious glances.
“S-sorry guys! Just Eth— My husband calling!” He quickly snatches the phone up and heads out into the hall.
He quickly shuts the door behind him, pressing the answer button.
“Hello? What’s up?”
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He sighs. That bastard! Just calling to tease him like always.
Bdubs walks back into the classroom, fully expecting to go back to his meal and resume his day. When all of a sudden a voice perks up.
“Mr. Dubs, How did you and Etho even get engaged in the first place?”
Oh god— He almost jumps out of his skin once again. He keeps forgetting that his year thirteen classes know who his husband is, they’ve seen the man in the flesh. Completely by accident.
(That mini press conference they had in his classroom while his husband was hounded with questions still causes headaches for Bdubs.)
The class stares at him, wide eyed, curious.
“Tell us!”
“Yeah! How did you even bag an actor like him?!”
“Oh Judas Priest…” he huffs, returning to his pasta. “You nosy beasts! Didn’t Etho already tell you guys we were neighbours and best friends? And what do you mean, how did I even bag him?!”
“Yeah but how did you… You know, sign the papers, get married, all that jazz?” Another student hums, continuing on drawing on their tablet. “As an actor, I’d imagine the proposal would be romantic? Highly publicized?”
“Psh— First of all, why are you assuming he’s the one proposing…Second of all, get back to work you sneaky gremlins!”
“…So you proposed?”
“…no it was him.”
The class erupts into giggles and cackles, as more students put down their paintbrushes and art materials.
“So… how did it go down?”
“Oh fine! I’ll tell you guys! It was on this set he was working on….”
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It’s during his first summer vacation after getting his teaching license and becoming an art teacher. A normal day on the film set, Bdubs doesn’t feel like he’s supposed to be here, but Etho had begged him to come today anyways.
“Just for tomorrow? I need a practice partner for my script, and my co-star is out sick.” Etho had pleaded with him, stupid pretty heterochromic eyes staring up at him as he laid on Bdubs’ lap on the couch the night before. “Pretty please, Bdubs? They’re also filming in a nice forest.”
“Gah! Fine!” He huffs affectionately, as he runs his fingers through Etho’s soft white hair. “I’ll come. I’ll come! So do I get a copy of the script?”
And he does! It looks super cool, as the director orders everyone around. Bdubs only awkwardly sits by Etho’s makeup chair, where Etho was getting his makeup done, humming a soft tune as he flicks through the script.
“Which scene are you filming today and which scene are we rehearsing?” He mindlessly toys with the edges of the page.
“Filming scene 10, finish rehearsal for scene 12 just in time for filming tomorrow.” He smiles. Bdubs notices how fidgety Etho has been ever since they’ve arrived, jumpy, the twitching in his hand, the tugging of his mask.
It isn’t strange per say, Etho has always needed to fidget, Bdubs knows this well from his mechanical engineering days that whenever he was working on a math equation, some homework, he always played with something.
But this twitching? This was the same twitching he saw at the 8th grade science competition when Etho had won and had to go on stage. This was the same twitching as the first time he had to show his full face on camera, the same twitching as when he asked Bdubs to talk and proceeded to ask him out on a date— You get his gist.
He flips to the scene— Oh…
Oh god….
A blush rises to his face as he realises who—what he has to do.
“Dubs? Are you good?”
“I-I-Is the rehearsal in front of the entire crew? I’ll kiss you deep like that?”
“Yes, but, if you’re uncomfortable I can ask for just the director there? Just to make sure my acting is smooth, you know.” His boyfriend gently soothes, rubbing circles into the back of Bdubs’ hand.
“N-NO! No! It’s okay, I can totally do this!” He laughs boastfully, puffing his chest out. “I can!”
He expects Etho to laugh it off, tease him back with one and a half decades of experience.
“Are you sure?” But he doesn’t.
“Yeah, Etho, baby,” He tries to smile, to reassure him. “I’m sure.”
“Good.” And the small smile Etho sends back is everything Bdubs needs.
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He’s reading through the scene for the Nth time, trying to memorize every stage direction, every sfx played and every sign so that the rehearsal would go perfectly for his boyfriend.
He waits and watches the filming happening. Etho’s acting has always been natural and flawless, capturing every teensy emotion, every movement is calculated and perfect.
It almost moves Bdubs to tears.
He watches, trapped, hooked, enraptured even without a silver screen and—
(“WE GET IT MR. DUBS! YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH YOUR MEGA FAMOUS HUSBAND! GET ON WITH IT!”
“YOU RASCALS!”)
Anyways, he waits patiently, before the director calls—-
“SCENE! Great job today Etho! Your game was top notch.”
He watches as his boyfriend awkwardly glance at him before flashing the director a crooked smile.
“Erm… Yes… It’s been a good day.”
“Would you like a break? Before we move onto rehearsal for scene 12.”
“No, it’s quite alright. Let’s get on with it.” He flashes Bdubs a soft smile, beckoning him over.
“Perfect! Okay! I want Grian on standby for the next rehearsal scene and transition, Hypno and Mumbo, get the camera rolling for a test run! Beef, does everything sound good? The mics are working?”
“Yessir!” Beef shouts back, winking in Etho’s direction, and shooting him a thumbs up.
“Great! Our main love interest isn’t feeling that well today, so Etho’s boyfriend is the stand in. Bdubs, you can have the script on you, it’s just a practice, so don’t worry about messing up. Good luck dude!”
He awkwardly shuffles onto the set, taking his position under the gorgeous trees and vegetation—
(“Did you say the legendary cinematographers Mumbo Jumbo and Hypnotizd were there?!”
“Yes— Do you want me to finish before lunch ends or not?!”
“Sorry Mr. Dubs!”)
He picks up his script, takes a deep breath and….
“Scene!”
“You…Called me here?” Bdubs recites, trying his best to imitate his role. “For…”
“There’s something I need to tell you.” Etho breathes, the perfect nervousness depicted on the script. “I love you.”
“You do?”
“I love you. I love you like no other. I’ve grown up with you, we’ve been together and I cannot imagine a life without you.”
“You really?!—“
“You’re my everything, ever since we’ve been together I knew, I knew I wanted to— No, needed to spend eternity with you.”
“I—“
He watches as Etho get on one knee, pulling out a pretty wooden box. This prop was incredibly well made, Bdubs muses as he quickly glanced towards his script, he needed to talk to the props department today—
Wait.
“Etho… This isn’t in the script—“
“KEEP THE CAMERA’S ROLLING!”
“Bdouble O.” Etho nervously hums, his eyes staring at Bdubs like he was the sun. Bdubs feels his heart pound, his hands shake.
“Etho the script!”
No… He didn’t!
“Would you make me the happiest man alive… Will you marry me?”
The box opens, the beautiful gold mossy agate ring shining under the soft sunlight, filtered through the trees.
The world stops for a moment, he doesn't register the anticipation of the cast, or the chirping of the birds.
His Etho…
“Etho…”
“Bdubs.”
“You didn’t…!”
“I did.” His Boyfriend only looks up at him, sheepishly and desperately.
“I-is this acting?!”
“No.”
“…Yes.” Bdubs croaks out, tears slipping down his face as he gasps through them. “Yes I will marry you!”
“HE GOT HIM BOYS!” Cheers and claps flood the scene, as Bdubs flings himself into Etho’s arms knocking his fiancée into the dirt, as he sobbed into his shirt. That sly bastard! That sly romantic bastard!
He can feel Etho take off his mask as he leaves a million kisses on the crown of Bdubs’ head, holding him tighter. Bdubs only ugly cries harder— Damn that amazing man! He completely had no idea!
“You!” He glares at the rest of the cast, straight into Hypno’s camera, addressing the sentimental cast. “Did all of you have a hand in this?!”
“YEP!” Chirps Grian, laughing mischievously like he always did. “You have no idea how many times Etho has asked the crew for proposal ideas… until the director greenlit him to use this forest.”
“There wasn’t a scene 12 written like this, we made that up! The cast quickly threw something together so he could execute his plan.” Beef chuckles, reigning back his film microphone. “Congratulations you two!”
He glares teary eyed back up to his now fiancé, who only stares at him sheepishly. “I can’t believe you! You— You really surprised me!”
“Sorry, flower.” He hums, not sounding that sorry. “Can I?”
“Yes.”
And Etho slips the ring onto his left ring finger, the pretty mossy gemstone twinkling under the sunlight. His fiancé now brings his hand up to his lip, kissing it gently, pulling his mask down.
“I love you so much.” Smiles Etho, tears brimming up in his eyes. “Thank you. Thank you Bdubs.”
“Sap.” He only sniffs, grabbing Etho by the collar and yanking him into a kiss. “You absolute sap!”
“Your sap.”
“That you are. I love you for that.”
“So do I get to make a speech at your wedding? I came up with this idea.” Yells Gem where shes seated next to Grian.
“NO!”
“YES!”
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“So yeah, that’s basically how it went down.” Bdubs hums, packing up his lunch box as his students listen in awe.
“You got proposed to… On set?”
“Yep.”
“And celebrities like Grian and Mumbo helped?”
“Yep.”
“How did none of this get leaked to the press?!”
Bdubs chuckles, a smug grin on his face. “Etho’s talent agency? Oh yeah, their lawyers are terrifying. Basically after that they made everyone on set sign an NDA under Etho’s request. Not me though. They couldn’t do anything to me! But I’m going to have to ask you guys to keep this quiet, you know why.”
“Yessir!”
“Good— Woop! And there’s the bell! Off to your next class you lot!”