Marry Me Duke x Reader

~Flashback~

Duke watched the young (h/c) girl pretending to walk down the aisle in front of all her stuffed animals. Duke was hiding behind a wall, as she was wearing an (f/c) tutu-like dress as she held flowers she picked from the side of the road. Duke felt a blush cover his chubby cheeks as he smiled as she said 'I do' to her imaginary husband. Just then the young boy ran to her and clapped. She turned around smiling at her best friend running to him hugging him.

~End Flashback~

You and Duke were currently laying in his bed watching t.v.; this was a regular thing since you two have been best friends since you were five years old. When the wedding part came on, your (e/c) eyes lit up brightly. Duke watched you as you were watching it so intently.

"I want to get married one day." You whisper with a smile, and Duke chuckles stroking your hair.

"I am sure you will. I know you already got it planned out to don't you?"

"You know me so well Duke." You say looking up at him, causing him to laugh slightly. He looked at your features; you were beautiful to him. But he couldn't bring himself to confess to you because he didn't want to ruin the friendship.

"Of course, tell me about it how do you want your wedding?" Duke asked you laid your head on his chest smiling widely.

"I want it perfect; I want my granddaddy to preach the services, I want magnolias for the flowers, definitely out in the country. Not too many people though to save daddy some money."

"Sounds like a simple wedding, but it's perfect for you. I can see you with that kind of wedding."

"Really?" You asked looking up at him, and he smiles.

"Yeah. I can actually. Well, want to go grab something to eat?"

"Yeah, I am starving." You say getting up. Duke laughs getting up before wrapping an arm around your shoulder as you both walked out of the house.

"You are paying right, Duke?"

"Of course, you most likely purposely didn't bring your wallet," Duke said smirking which made you stick your tongue out.

"Yepp." He shook his head; you removed his arm from around your shoulders before nudging him. You both arrived at the diner; you ordered a burger with fries and a shake. Duke ordered the same as you, you two were sitting side by side laughing about random things.

"What about you? Do you wanna get married, Duke?" Duke looked at her before looking out the window.

"I do... but I don't care how the wedding turns out, as long as she is happy."

"That is sweet." You say, he turns to look at you with a smile. You grasped his hand lightly before grabbing one of his fries. He smiles looking at both of your hands before at you. You turned to look at him with a smile; Duke leans in which you began to lean in as well. Just as you both were about to kiss, Joey and Tristan hit the window causing you both to jump apart as if nothing happened. You ran out leaving Duke inside as you began to beat Joey and Tristan. Duke watched you feeling his heart racing.

"I wonder if she feels the same," Duke said, you turned to look at Duke shrugging with an innocent smile before going back in. You sat next to him, as you both began to eat, you told him about your classes, and what you guys planned to do the rest of the day. Duke realized you pretended the kiss wasn't about to happen. That kind of pained him slightly, after you both finished eating; you guys just walked around.

~Fast forward to three years~

After you both graduated from high school, you moved away to go to college. You both stayed in contact, but you both couldn't hang out because you both were far away.

Duke looked at the ceiling before he went to get his mail.

"Junk, Junk, Bill, Junk, Bill, Invitation, Junk Wait Invitation? From (Y/N)?" Duke looked down at the invitation seeing it was a wedding invitation. Duke dropped it slightly burying his face in his hands.

"Crap, I am too late now." He mumbled to himself before he decided to get ready, go shopping for a tux. You were his best friend; he wasn't going to let his feelings get in the way, or try not to anyway.

The day finally came for the wedding day, and he went to get you a wedding dress. He drove to the country where it was being held. You were standing there in your white dress, getting the guests. When you saw him, you waved before hugging him; he hugged you back softly. Duke knew your dad was dreading this day, but he wondered if your dad knew he wasn't the only one giving you away. He laid the gift on the table looking at the photo frame before going to the back. Duke was wearing his black suit, black tie. He did a strong shot of whiskey straight out of the flask, and he watched you walk down the aisle, once he realized you weren't paying attention he left. You looked around for Duke, before realizing he left. You looked down slightly before turning to your soon to be husband.

"Do you take (Y/N) to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Jason looked down at you, and you smiled. For some reason, Jason was excited about this day, but now he didn't know if he wanted to marry you. Everyone waited, the wait was making you anxious; Jason looked around at everyone then at you before shaking his head.

"I am sorry. I don't know why but I can't do this. I can't follow through." He said. Everyone gasped, you looked down letting the tears weld in your eyes.

"W-What are you saying?"

"I can't marry you." He walked away. You stood there in your white dress and perfectly done makeup and hair. Your father quickly left to find Jason, to beat the crap out of him. Your bridesmaids hugged you tightly. You ran off getting into your car driving. You didn't want to be around anyone right now. So you went to the only place that even remotely would make you feel better, and that place was where you and Duke would go to eat. The small Diner in that small town called Domino. You shut your car off, the tears no longer falling, you sat there feeling empty, before getting out. You walked over before seeing Duke there in his tux; he was staring off into space. You looked away, before looking back at Duke. Duke looked out the window seeing you before looking ahead. But realization hit him, and he turned to see you. He gave you a confused look, but you only shrugged before covering your mouth crying. Duke shot up, telling the waiter he will be back before going out to see you.

"What are you doing here? The wedding... it can't be over yet." Duke said pulling you into a tight hug. You couldn't even tell him, as small sobs left your eyes.

"H-He didn't want to marry me anymore." Duke's eyes flashed with anger, sadness, and comforting. He led you inside ordering your favorite which was the burger and fries with (f/f) shake. He leaned your head on his shoulder holding your hand with one hand and his other arm around your waist.

"I don't know why. He didn't even tell me why." Duke kissed your head comfortingly. Everyone looked at you two; some overheard the conversation feeling sorry for you both. You because your ex-fiance left after changing his mind. Duke because he was the one that wanted to marry you, and everyone could tell he loved you.

"It's going to be okay; someday someone better will make sure you have the perfect wedding and marriage," Duke whispered, but your next words made his heartbreak.

"This was supposed to be the perfect wedding. I don't want ever to get married, what if they run off? I wouldn't be able to handle it." You whispered the last part. Duke looked down at you with a frown; you looked up at him before he wiped your tears. You let a small smile because Duke always manages to make you smile even when you didn't want to.

"You are beautiful, don't talk like that. There are people out there that love you." You shake your head hugging him tightly.

"Thanks for always being there for me Duke. I am glad to have a best friend like you." Those words made him fight back his heart break. He buried his face into your neck holding you close, the two of you were heartbroken, but you both continued to hug scared to let the other go because you were each other's rock.

It has been two years since your wedding was ruined by your ex-fiance, and two years since you moved in with Duke your best friend. He didn't want you living with the guy who ruined your special day and broke your heart without any reason. Duke still had feelings for, but he didn't want to pressure you into anything you weren't ready for.

Right now you had your head on his lap with your eyes closed. Duke was watching t.v. while stroking your hair, the action made you sleepy and you almost fell asleep. Duke looked down at you for awhile as you dozed off, and he smiled to himself. You turned to get more comfortable and buried your face into Duke's stomach. He stopped stroking your hair, which made you wake up and look up at him with a pout.

"Why did you stop?"

"If you fall asleep on my lap, you will wake up with a stiff neck. So if you are tired, you need to lay in the bed." You huffed at his response and hugged his torso tighter.

"I don't wanna..."

"(Y/N), don't act like this..."

"Duke...Your lap is comfortable, and I like it when you play with my hair." You said and Duke met your eyes, that's when he realized that this was going to be a battle that he won't be able to win.

"Okay, how about this, you lay in bed and I play with your hair." You pretended to think about the arrangement before flashing him a wide smile.

"Hmm, that's tempting but... you have to also lay with me and cuddle. You do that, and you got yourself a deal." You said and this caused Duke to blink in surprise and blushed. After thinking about it for a bit he nodded his head in agreement which made you cheer in victory.

"Fine, you got a deal." He mumbled and you smiled widely before pulling him up and headed to the bedroom you slept in. You laid on the bed pulling him, down on top of you, the weight of him made you laugh. He began laughing too sine your laughter was contagious. He soon stopped laughing when he realized how close your face was to his, and he had a sudden urge to kiss you. He quickly rolled off of you before he was tempted any further, you turned to face Duke and he pulled you to his chest. He began stroking your hair again and a sigh of content left your lips.

"Are you okay?" Duke asked and you nodded your head looking up at him. Duke didn't know this but you had realized a year ago that you were in love with him. When you looked back, you had always loved the male before you. The times the two of you almost kissed, and always being around each other, it was perfect. You were glad that the wedding was called off because you would have made a terrible mistake.

"I am fine, just thinking that i'm glad I didn't get married to ex-douche bag."

"I wasn't expecting that, but if I may ask...why?" Duke asked curiously and you hummed softly closing your eyes.

"Well, I realized I almost married the wrong person. I didn't really love him, and I realized I loved someone else way longer. I was just too blind and naive to see it, funny thing is it took me an entire year after the wedding to know of my feelings." Duke shot up causing you to flinch since you weren't expecting him to get up so fast. You looked up at him with a worried look and Duke was somewhat upset that you didn't tell him you loved someone.

"You realized you loved someone a year ago? Why didn't you tell me?" He asked and you slowly sat up with a small blush and Duke knew that look on your face all to well. He had let you slip through his fingers yet again, and he felt himself dive into an ocean of depression.

"I didn't want to ruin our friendship."

"You liking someone won't ruin our friendship." You looked away before shaking your head at Duke.

"Everything would change."

"No it wouldn't, who is it?" Duke wasn't sure if he wanted to know, but no matter what he had to be happy for you. Your hands began to shake as you met his green eyes and you took a deep breath.

"Promise, nothing would change?"

"I promise." Duke said softly and you gently got on your knees before cupping his cheeks gently before pressing your lips to his. Duke was shocked and didn't kiss back immediately, realizing this, you felt embarrassed. You started too pull away from the kiss, but he quickly wrapped his arms around your waist. He held you close to his chest and began to kiss you back with such passion and intensity. You both poured their heart and souls into that kiss, and he licked your bottom lip wanting entrance. You shyly parted your lips and the kiss became more heated as he slipped his tongue into your warm cavern. You gripped his shirt tightly as he claimed every inch of your mouth. When air became necessary, you both parted from the kiss panting and red in the face.

Duke smiled as he stroked your cheek before laying you down on your back and your arms went to hug his neck. He made himself comfortable hovering over you making sure you were comfortable and you were able to think properly before he spoke.

"I am sorry (Y/N), it seems I am going to have to break this promise I just made to you. Everything is about to change." Your face fell almost instantly and your arms fell beside your head as you looked up at Duke in shock.

"Why? Please, I don't want to lose our friendship. I'm sorry Duke, please don't leave me." You said but Duke pecked your lips repeatedly which confused you further.

"You have the wrong idea, I love you (Y/N). I have loved you since we were kids and you were pretending to walk down the aisle.I want to ask you to be my girlfriend, but in order to do that I have to break my promise to you." Duke said and you physically relaxed before smiling widely.

"I think I can forgive you for breaking your promise, if it's for the greater good then." You said and Duke chuckled softly before nuzzling your nose with his own.

"Thank you for forgiving me. Will you be my beautiful girlfriend?"

"Yes, of course." You said pulling him back down into another deep and passionate kiss. He instantly returned it, and everything felt right. Duke pushed you back down on the bed as eh continued to kiss you. You ran your hands through his hair, and he broke the kiss before trailing his lips down your neck. You let a soft moan out and his hands began to travel up your shirt, your body began to heat up and Duke pulled away and you smiled softly.

"Is it okay if I continue?"

"Yes, I want to be yours completely. You waited long enough." You said and Duke pecked your lips again before shaking his head.

"I don't mind waiting however long I need to, don't feel pressured (Y/N)."

"I don't feel pressured at all Duke. I love and trust you completely." You said and Duke laced his fingers with yours before giving you another breath-taking kiss.

"(Y/N) just know, when the day comes and I ask you to marry me, I want run away." He mumbled against your lips and you smiled.

"I am trusting you with my heart Duke." You whispered and he smiled warmly.