Chapter Text
Richard’s room was dim as he sat at his desk, clicking around on his computer, his chin resting in his hand lazily.
Eddie snuck into the room quietly, approaching Richard.
“Hey, buddy.” Richard said.
“She is asleep.” Eddie replied, his large figure peering over Rick.
“Yeah, I figured.” Trager sighed. “Ready to talk now?”
“I am.”
“You wanna sit down?”
Eddie chuckled ominously. “I am good just like this.”
“Okay.” Rick scratched his neck. “So, uh…you said you were ready? What do you mean ready?”
“I’m ready to LEGALLY marry her, you idiot. Me and yourself included have determined that we are most definitely safe. My duty as a man, this whole time, has been to ensure her safety and that she is cared for. She is and has been my wife as much as the sky is blue, but in the eyes of the government, she isn’t…and I’m ready to change that.”
“Congrats, buddy. All I need from you is… how do you want to go about getting your ID back?”
Eddie strolled over to Richard’s bed, sitting himself on the edge, pondering for a moment. “What’s safer? For god’s sake, you worked at Murkoff!”
“Eddie. You know safety is my top priority here at this house, right buddy? My collective vote is this… I log back into the Murkoff systems and check if your identity has been erased or marked dead. After that, I can either wipe you from the system using Arthur’s hacking techniques, if you haven’t yet been wiped.”
Eddie’s fear grows within him. “What if I’m not erased?!” His eyes meet Rick’s, “Richard…I NEED to make our love legal. I need to do this. I have to.”
“Calm down, buddy.” Trager takes a sip of wine. “No need to worry. I know you may not understand completely, but…buddy. I know the framework of Murkoff. It’s going to be easy for me. Anything I can’t access, Arthur will. In the eyes of the government, you are most definitely dead, and I will prove it to you once we get in the system again.” He pauses. “Murkoff wants to erase us, and that is seemingly what they did. They want us to disappear. They want to hide the atrocities of that place from the world. If you get wiped or have been wiped, it won’t be a big deal to them…really. They can’t find us again. I’ve put in the work to ensure that.”
“All I want is to stand at the altar with her again, Richard. I don’t want anything to go wrong…”
“It won't go wrong, buddy.” Rick raises his glass. “When you have money, you can get away with anything.” He shut his laptop. "March fifth is the baby shower. We will get your ID in no time, buddy. You are lucky your job didn’t give a shit about having lost your ID in a presumed ‘fire’...”
“Thank you, Richard. I appreciate everything you do for the family.”
“It’s nice to hear that from ya, buddy.”
“Uh-huh. Good night, Richard.”
“Thanks.”
Eddie left Trager’s room, making his way back through the long hallway, dragging his fingertips against the elegant stone part of the wall.
He opened the door to his room gently.
“Hi, love.” Eddie whispered to himself as he watched his darling sleep peacefully in the bed.
He got under the covers, careful not to bump her or wake her. He snuggled up behind her, inching his body closer and closer to hers. His hand hovered over her stomach for a second, then placed his palm against her soft skin.
“Good night, my beautiful little ones. I love you.”