~Together: A DystopianTale Errink prequel~

Ink: age 26
Error: Age 27

"Is the blindfold really necessary?"
Ink giggled, steering his taller boyfriend through their cozy home, pushing him into a chair in their dining room. "It's very necessary! It's your birthday, and I've got a surprise!"
"You don't have to blindfold me to give me a blowjob, babe."
"Error!" The small skeleton smacked Error's arm, his partner erupting into laughter. "Good god, you're so dirty minded sometimes."
Ink walked away from the table, leaving Error sitting there, still blindfolded, and pulled out an ice cream cake from the freezer. He had originally wanted to bake a cake, but it would have been nearly impossible to hide that from the other monster. It would have both heated up their place and filled it with the smell of baking. Then there was the whole buying the ingredients, which would have been very suspicious to Error.
He did however, manage to buy two candles: a two and a seven.
Outside, snow was falling in large puffs, covering the ground in a cold, white blanket. It looked magical, and Ink hoped they'd be able to take a walk later on. The white skeleton hummed, pushing his two candles into the frosting before carefully lighting them.
He took the cake, walked back to his boyfriend and set the cake on the table in front of him. "Ok! Take off the blindfold!"
Error brought his hands to his face, pulling the blindfold off. He stared in surprise at the cake, then his gaze softened as he looked up to Ink, who had taken a seat adjacent to him. His cheeks were flushed, and the darker skeleton chuckled and blew out the two colourful candles. "I know you said you didn't want anything too... extravagant for your birthday, but I wanted to do something for you."
Error reached across the table, intertwining his and Ink's fingers. "It's perfect, thank you."
"I was thinking, since it's so pretty outside, we could go on a walk later!"
Error chuckled, putting two pieces of cake onto plates, handing one to his partner. "Sounds good sweets, we could go to that coffee place you like so much."
The monster nodded enthusiastically, taking a bite out of his slice of cake.
Error helped Ink tie his scarf later that evening, laughing when the boy complained. The walk was very nice, with the large snowflakes falling around them as they walked hand in hand along the streets.
They entered the small coffee shop - a small, cozy cafe called "See you Latte" - and the familiar sound of the bell above the door rang out. "Ink, Error! It's so good to see you two again!" The shop's owner, a small cat monster named Nari, greeted them as she started getting their usual drinks prepared. The two monsters came here very often, and as a result the owner and most of the workers all knew them very well. Ink happily struck up a conversation with Nari and her employees, while Error opted to take a seat, letting his gaze wander around the warm building. It wasn't busy tonight, there were only three other customers: what appeared to be another couple, and a student working on some project of theirs.
The two skeleton's got their drinks and, despite Error's protests, Ink paid. Sitting at their table, ideally playing footsie under the table, Ink easily rambled; and the two joked and laughed loudly with each other, both of their souls warm and fuzzy from the other's presence. At one point, the student gave them a sharp glare, which only made Error laugh more.
Eventually, once they finished their warm beverages, they bid farewell to the owner who was getting ready to close the cafe, and stepped back into the chilled night air.
At home, they had a bath to warm up - nothing sexual, Ink had brought in a book and Error had spent the time reading over his shoulder, and admiring his loved one as he relaxed against him. It was his favourite way to see him; just casually relaxing in his embrace, or one of his hoodies, obviously comforfortable and happy. Slowly, Error let himself drift off in his thoughts.
It had been many years since the boys had graduated and started dating - nine, to be exact - and they now lived in a cozy, two story home. A little after they graduated, they had moved into a small apartment. It wasn't the best, but it was their first home, and they had both loved it. Error quickly found a new full time job at a computer store - it was a job that he not only liked, but it paid better than his last job. Ink, on the other hand, got a job at a nearby library. It was quiet, peaceful and Ink had grown to love it (and his coworkers) dearly.
When Ink turned 23, the talk of marriage had popped up between the two men. They looked for a new home and found the one they lived in now. It was roomy with a large backyard - perfect for kids! - and once they had saved up enough, they moved in.
But, marriage plans were pushed aside when Ink's mother, Winter, passed away shortly after they moved into their new home. No one had realized the severity of Winter's illness until she told Ink when he was 21. She'd contracted a rare disease that was caused by complications during Ink's birth.
Complications from childbirth, while rare for monsters, could not only still happen, but could take years before it is noticed. One of the rarest diseases fractures the pregnant parent's soul because the baby's soul doesn't detach properly and takes a portion of the parent's soul with them; which causes a chain reaction that eventually results in the parent's death. This chain reaction, unfortunately, takes years to occur and is very hard to detect in the earlier stages. Treatment is nonexistent for monsters with this disease because, once it is found, there is nothing that can be done to reverse the damage.
After her death, Ink immediately started to blame himself; he felt that if he hadn't been born, his mother would still be alive.
Seeing Ink fall into such a low place ...terrified Error. He knew what it was like to fall into a mind pit like that and he never wanted his loved one to feel the way he had. So he helped his boyfriend in all the ways he could think of. Of course he gave the small skeleton space and time to grieve, but Error made sure to remind him that he was loved and cared for by bringing up happy memories time and time again. He never questioned when Ink would suddenly become cuddly, practically clinging to the taller monster. He also got Ink to, begrudgingly, see a therapist to help him heal; the therapist helped Ink to see that his mother's death wasn't his fault. Although, if you asked him, Ink would deny it.
Even though Ink was now doing a lot better, marriage and kids never seemed to come up in their conversations anymore. A part of Error assumed it was because Ink didn't want either of those things anymore, especially after what had happened with his mother.
Coming back to the situation at hand, Error blinked up at Ink. He had a towel wrapped around his body and was handing the other towel to the monster who was still in the tub. Taking the towel, he unplugged and drained the tub before drying off and getting dressed for bed. Leaving the attached bathroom, Error crawled beneath the pile of blankets on their shared bed. With Ink's hatred of the cold, Error always made sure their bed was layered with blankets to ensure his boyfriend was always comfortable and warm. Ink followed him closely and snuggled up next to the ebony skeleton, his face nuzzling into the crook of his neck.
"Hey Ink?"
The small monster hummed in response, turning to look up at him.
"I..." He wanted to ask if Ink would ever want to marry him, have a family, but... well, he was a bit scared of the answer. If Ink didn't want to, of course that was ok with Error, he was happy just as long as they were together. Plus, he didn't want to somehow make Ink uncomfortable because of the question. "Nevermind, it's not important." He kissed the top of his boyfriend's skull.
"Oh, come on Erry." Ink pushed away so that they were an arm's length away. "We said we'd always talk to each other. So tell me what's bothering you."
Error sighed; he loved Ink with all his soul, but he sometimes wished the other skeleton couldn't read him so easily. "Would you still want us to get married someday..?"
"What? Of course I do! Oh goodness, is that what you were worried about?" Ink giggled, curling up to his chest again. "You're so silly sometimes."
Error laughed nervously, nuzzling his partner. "Mh... I love you hun."
Ink yawned. "I love you too."