As Long as I'm With You

It only took about a few hours after he'd proposed for OJ to realise that he'd definitely made a mistake.

No other objects on the show had ever even considered marriage before. So obviously OJ had never even been to a wedding, and his only exposure to them was through whatever romance movies or TV shows Paper watched that included them as post-credits scenes.

So how the fuck was he supposed to PLAN ONE?

Pretty much the only thing he knew that weddings had to have was people exchange vows, rings and kiss. But that left so much room for variation... what else would they need on top of that? Food? Flowers? Photography, music, the venue itself, decorations...

Yeah, with all of that to cover he was pretty much screwed. He'd always prided himself on being pretty organised and a great planner, but push him just one step out of his comfort zone? He became completely useless.

He was headed straight for his office, about to drown himself in work to distract himself from those problems, when he was suddenly approached by... Fan of all objects.

"Hey OJ! Congrats on the proposal, eh?"

OJ's eyes widened in shock, staring at Fan as if he'd just read his mind.

"Wha- how'd you-"

Fan simply chuckled, clearing his throat as he responded.

"I'm still the biggest fan of II that I know. I know everything that goes on around here, remember? That includes all things related to ships."

...OJ decided not to question it.

But maybe... maybe Fan could help OJ out here. He probably already had their whole lives planned out in fan fiction form; it wouldn't be a stretch to assume he's thought about his and Paper's wedding at least once in his life.

"Hey... since you're so in-tune with this sorta stuff... Do you have any ideas for our wedding?"

It was almost comical how outrageously loud Fan's gasp was once those words left OJ's mouth.

"You're asking ME? Oh, oh I never thought this day would come! I have SO MANY IDEAS!"

OJ sighed, nodding along with an anxious smile as he got ready to make mental notes.

"OKAY SO! I'm thinking you guys should have a massive wedding cake for guests like Cheesy or Lightbulb... we're gonna need lots of cans of Dr. Fizz for Trophy and Yin-Yang, I'm thinking 50 will do it if they're able to control themselves... but 100 may be better if you want to diffuse a potential argument before it even starts... of course Soap's gonna focus on making the entire venue as sterile as possible, and I have a whole seating plan I drew up that I can show you for where each resident will be sitting-"

Okay. Wow. This was a lot.

"Fan..."

OJ began, cutting him off mid-sentence.

"This is a great starting point and all... but... have you thought about the fact that maybe not the entire hotel should be there...?-"

He could tell that Fan's world had completely shattered.

"Wait, WHAT?! Are you serious? I thought that was the whole point of weddings, for everyone to come together to celebrate! That's always what you've been about, not leaving anyone behind..."

He paused in his ranting for a moment, pulling out a clipboard and a pen from... somewhere.

"Oh, oh but- but of course, maybe you want your wedding to be more personal... AUGH, now I have to start all over again!-"

As he started frantically scribbling all over whatever was previously written on the board, OJ came to the realisation that Fan would not be the slightest bit helpful here. He was just as confused as OJ was.

"Uhh... thanks anyway, Fan..."

Fan didn't even seem to notice him walking away, still too absorbed in whatever he was doing now...

Well, that could've gone better. At least now he had an idea of what Fan was expecting, though.

That was when he ran into Soap, who was scrubbing the floor tirelessly as she always insisted on doing.

Hm. Soap was... a lot calmer than Fan was. And probably less crazy. Maybe she at least had some advice on how to handle things? OJ trusted Soap, she was pretty supportive and friendly in comparison to most other contestants at the hotel.

"Hey there Soap..."

He waved at her, catching her attention as she stopped scrubbing to look up at him.

"Oh, hey there OJ! What's up?"

OJ took a deep breath, getting ready to explain.

"So, I just proposed to Paper a little while ago-"

"Wait, really? Wow, congrats!-"

OJ gave her an appreciative smile, nodding along as he continued.

"-And I just... I want it to be perfect... because- because I love him so damn much and I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if it was any less than that..."

Soap let out a quiet 'aww' noise once he'd finished, stepping closer to him and resting a hand on his shoulder.

"That's so sweet of you... I get what you mean. A wedding is a day you only live once. It's got to be memorable, for sure. You've still got a lot of time to figure out the nitty-gritty of it all, right? Not in a hurry?"

OJ gave her a silent nod, allowing her to continue.

"I think you should really only have a few guests there... the hotel's filled with a lot of great objects, but a few of them have the potential to cause quite a ruckus."

He couldn't agree more... there were so many objects at the hotel that he feared had the potential to screw absolutely everything up.

"Obviously you'll have to book somewhere absolutely spotless for your big day. I'm thinking a church would work best for you two, but that doesn't make having it open-air the worst option ever... just harder to clean, of course. Then you've got to plan out what you'll serve for the guests, how many there'll be, what kind of services you'll need... but I'm sure you'll be alright with handling all of that, right? You're OJ, after all, you co-manage a hotel! You got this."

Well... that... helped a little, he supposed. Even if he was still pretty confused and nervous about everything.

"Yeah, okay... thanks Soap..."

"Anytime."

OJ was going to finally head back up to his office after that, but he'd spotted Bomb and Pickle playing some sort of video game on the couch together... it couldn't hurt to ask them, could it? They'd been by his side since the beginning - they probably knew something about what his wedding would need to be like.

"Hey guys... got a sec to spare?"

Pickle's attention drifted over to him, shrugging as he and Bomb seemingly finished some sort of level and gave him their full attention.

"Uh-huh... what's up, OJ?"

"Well... I proposed to Paper recently, and I've been trying to think about how our wedding should go... since nobody here's ever had experience with one. I was just wondering if you'd maybe have any helpful ideas with that?"

Pickle hummed quietly in thought, seeming to think on it for a while, before shrugging.

"Just go all out for him. Tons of flowers, sweet music... anything that'd make him happy."

"Y-Yeah, t-there's no r-real stress. N-Nobody's been to a w-wedding before, just make it s-special."

...Of course... OJ shook his head a little, fidgeting with his fingers in his hands.

"I- yeah, that makes sense... but what if I screw everything up somehow? What if there's one too many flowers, or the music ends up just feeling... off... and then nobody's having fun, and it's a shitty time for everyone? I just- it doesn't just have to be special, it has to be perfect."

Bomb rolled his eyes, and Pickle wasn't exactly helpful either.

"T-Then we c-can't help you."

They walked back upstairs, leaving OJ to sit on the couch, head in his hands.

God... just a day after he proposed, and this was already shaping up to be a disaster... What was he thinking?

Paper... Paper meant the entire world to him. He wanted them to have such a magical day, the kind of day they'd snap so many pictures of that they'd have a whole photo album filled with them. One they could look back on with fond smiles and memories of the day they were finally brought together for the rest of time...

So why did that day seem so endlessly far away... so impossible to reach...

...And then he was approached by none other than Candle.

"OJ? Is everything alright?"

He looked up at her, breathing a quiet sigh of relief.

"No, not in the slightest..."

"Oh? What's wrong?"

She moved to sit beside him, calm and ready to listen as OJ poured his heart out to her.

"So... I just proposed to Paper... and I know we should probably start planning it soon, even if it'll be months from now... but I just- I have no idea where to even start... I've asked a few objects around already... Fan, Soap, Pickle, but none of them really seem to know either! I want it to be perfect..."

Candle let out a quiet hum of acknowledgment, shifting around on the couch a little. She was about to interject when she realised OJ wasn't finished, and he continued to ramble.

"But what does perfection look like?- nobody's ever actually been to a wedding before, and everyone has different expectations of what it'll be like... will it be decorative or simple? Open-air or indoors? Private or-"

"OJ."

He finally shut up at that, actually looking towards Candle, who had this... relaxed smile on her face. Relaxed, yet slightly condescending in the sense that OJ could tell she thought he was acting like an idiot.

"I think your problem is that you're going to the wrong people to help you out on this. Fan and Soap have no more experience than you do, remember? They all have their own visions for what they'd want your wedding to be like. Really... the only people you need to please with your wedding... are yourself... and Paper."

OJ took a moment to process her response... but when he did, god he really did feel like an absolute idiot.

"...Oh... oh. You're- you're right... I didn't even think about asking Paper, and this is OUR wedding! Not a surprise birthday party! Damnit, I'm already such a terrible fiancé-"

"No, no you're not... this is all very new to both of you. You're just doing your best. There's no rush... just talk to him now, I'm sure he'll understand."

OJ nodded along to Candle's words, breathing a sigh of relief as he got up from the couch, a determined smile starting to form on his face.

"Thanks Candle! You're the best with this sort of stuff."

"Anytime."

He made his way up the stairs, knocking on his and Paper's shared room with a giddy smile on his face... finally feeling excited to talk about this... why wasn't this his first thought?

The man himself opened the door, and of course his little ray of sunshine looked just as beautiful as he always did. He gave him a small smile, opening the door fully and letting him inside.

"Ah... who could you be... perhaps my gorgeous fiancé, hm?"

OJ chucked quietly to himself, rolling his eyes a little as a faint blush spread across his face.

"I'm never going to get used to you calling me that."

"Mm, you won't need to, you'll be my husband soon enough."

His face somehow grew even redder.

"Okay... I guess you have a point..."

He made his way over to the bed, sitting down on it as Paper followed.

"I've actually been thinking about our wedding quite a lot today..."

"Oh, really?"

That wasn't what Paper had expected to hear. He thought OJ wouldn't give the wedding much thought until at least a week from now. But it was better to start planning earlier rather than later, he supposed...

"Yeah. I've been wondering what it should... really be like... when I proposed to you, it was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted you to be my husband until the end of time... and I realised I've never really thought about the step right before that."

Paper nodded along, slinking an arm around OJ's back as he began to speak again. Paper's voice was always so soft and heartwarming. But that wasn't surprising in the slightest; it belonged to an angel, after all.

"Well... personally I want everyone that cares to be there, but I don't think we need absolutely everyone we know to show up. I wouldn't mind it being fancy or extremely decorative, but the personal, intimate details have always been more important to me... and I'd probably prefer it if it were open-air, and more in-touch with nature..."

His hand slid so perfectly into Paper's that he didn't notice they were intertwined until Paper brought them up in front of them.

"I've thought... quite a bit about my idea of the perfect wedding with you, OJ. But... when you actually proposed to me... I realised that none of that really matters at all."

OJ's eyes widened a little, and he could've sworn he'd never seen his love smile so bright...

"...Because I realised... as long as I'm with you, I couldn't care less if we got married in a junkyard. Or on Mars, or at the hotel, outside or in a church. With all our friends, just the two of us, or everyone in the whole world watching. Maybe they'll make a bad photo in an album or two - so what? At the end of the day... if it brings us closer than ever before... if I get to call you my husband... then I couldn't care less about those extra bells and whistles everyone usually attaches to marriage."

...And just like that, OJ was in tears, clutching Paper's hand like it was a lifeline.

"...Hey, are you okay?-"

Paper wasn't worried, though, he knew the smile on his face made it obvious they were tears of joy.

"Damnit, I... how do you keep making me fall in love with you, over and over again?"

He placed a kiss on his fiancé's forehead, and an innocently cheerful giggle escaped him in response.

"Hahah... well, I suppose it's just my specialty... now c'mon. We can sort out all the details... a bit later, no? I want cuddles."

OJ nodded without a second thought, popping his cork in his glass and letting his future husband cling to him like he'll never let go. And of course, he did the same, holding the thin sheet of paper close to his heart, as close as he possibly could have him.

This... this was all he needed. All he'd ever need. Just him and Paper, curled up in each other's arms, sharing a blissful love so pure that nothing in the universe could tear it apart.

This... was perfect.