Felix and Marissa had barely stepped off the portal and back into their living room before they realized—nothing had changed. The enchanted sparkles from their magical honeymoon clung to their clothes, adding an uncomfortably glittery sheen to their every movement. Felix flicked his sleeve and sighed. "I thought the glitter thing was supposed to be temporary?"
"It's a souvenir," Marissa said with a smirk. "You get used to it."
Felix gave her a half-hearted frown. "I'm gonna be picking glitter out of my hair for weeks. Feels like I'm in a high-school musical."
Marissa rolled her eyes but didn't disagree. At least they were home, back to reality—whatever that meant after they'd spent a week in an enchanted honeymoon retreat where pegasus flights were a daily event, and truth spells were dished out like room service.
They took a seat on the couch, their bodies instinctively shifting into the comfortable space they'd created over their few months of "accidental" cohabitation. But the tension was palpable.
"Okay," Felix said, breaking the silence. "So... we're married now."
"Uh-huh," Marissa replied. "Can't believe you dragged me into this. Again."
Felix couldn't help but chuckle. "You're the one who agreed to it, Mrs. Wakefield."
She gave him a playful shove. "Technically, I was forced into it."
"Right. Forced into it by the magical marriage contract, which you willingly signed."
"It was one page!" she protested, crossing her arms. "I thought it was just some stupid formality. And now look at us. Married, in debt, with an insurance policy that involves suspicious amounts of magical glitter."
"Don't forget about the sentient luggage," Felix said with a grin. "That was the highlight of our trip."
Marissa groaned. "Ugh, don't remind me. I think it ate my new pair of shoes."
They both sat in silence for a moment, staring at the wall. It was a strange kind of silence—the kind that was neither comfortable nor uncomfortable, just... there. Both of them had been through so much in such a short time, and now, they were expected to act like any other married couple. Which, for them, was a terrifying thought.
Finally, Felix broke the silence, standing up and pacing the room.
"I mean, come on, how do we even start this thing?" he asked, his voice a mix of frustration and uncertainty. "We've been thrown into this marriage with all sorts of magical baggage, and it feels like we're both just stumbling through it. I don't even know what 'married life' is supposed to look like."
Marissa looked up at him, her gaze softening. "You're not wrong," she said, her voice quieter than usual. "I don't know either."
Felix stopped pacing and turned to face her. "So... what now? I mean, we're supposed to just... figure it out, right?"
She nodded slowly. "I guess so. But the whole 'figure it out' thing? It's not exactly as easy as it sounds."
Felix let out a long sigh, walking over to the window. He stared out at the city skyline, his mind racing. He never thought this would be his life. He never thought he'd be married, especially to someone like Marissa. They were so different in so many ways, and yet... something about her was so easy to be around. Maybe that was the magic of it all. Maybe he wasn't meant to understand the hows or whys; maybe he just needed to accept it.
"I never thought I'd get married like this," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.
Marissa watched him, her lips curling into a small smile. "Me neither. But here we are."
Felix turned to her, his smile matching hers, though it was tinged with a hint of uncertainty. "So... what now? Do we just... act married?"
"I suppose," she replied, standing up and walking toward him. "We figure it out. Together."
Felix smiled fully now, the tension from earlier easing out of his shoulders. "Together, huh? Sounds like a plan."
---
The next few days were a whirlwind of mundane but somehow magical experiences. They had to adjust to their new life as a married couple—sorting out bills, grocery shopping, and dealing with the occasional magical mishap that seemed to follow them everywhere. The apartment still had that faint aura of enchantment about it, and Felix suspected their landlord had more than a few interesting connections.
One morning, after a particularly disastrous attempt at cooking breakfast (which involved a misplaced spell and a very burnt toast), Felix found himself staring at the pile of ruined food, trying to figure out where it all went wrong.
"I swear, I'm cursed," he said, poking at the remains of a pancake that had turned into a brick. "Even my breakfast doesn't want to cooperate."
Marissa, who was sitting on the couch with her feet up, glanced over at him. "Maybe you should've taken a cooking class instead of magic lessons."
Felix gave her a playful glare. "Hey, I thought I had the breakfast thing down. I wasn't expecting the eggs to go rogue."
She raised an eyebrow. "What happened to your eggs?"
"They... they turned into a small dragon."
Marissa stared at him. "A dragon? In the kitchen?"
"A tiny one," he clarified. "A really cute one, actually, but it burned the toast trying to fly out of the pan. It was a disaster."
She burst out laughing. "I didn't even know eggs could do that."
Felix gave her a sheepish grin. "Neither did I. The magic world is full of surprises."
"Clearly," she said, still chuckling.
He joined in her laughter, shaking his head. "Well, I guess it's not the worst thing that's happened to us. But what if this marriage thing is like our breakfast? You know, we try to make it work, but it keeps turning into a magical mess."
Marissa looked at him thoughtfully, her smile fading a bit. "I think... I think that's the point, Felix. Life's a mess. It's just about figuring out how to handle it, one disaster at a time."
Felix smiled at her, his heart lightening a little. "That's... that's actually a really good way to look at it."
She shrugged, then leaned back into the couch. "And you've got me. We'll figure it out together. One magical disaster at a time."
Felix looked at her, his smile genuine now. "Yeah. I guess we will."
---
The next week was a blur of magical mishaps, surprisingly romantic moments, and even a few heart-to-heart conversations that made Felix realize just how much he'd come to rely on Marissa. Maybe it hadn't been love at first sight, but somewhere between the spell-induced chaos and their shared laughter, something had shifted. Something that felt like the beginning of something real.
One night, after a particularly eventful dinner (which had involved the accidental summoning of a love potion that made their neighbors unusually affectionate toward them), Felix found himself lying in bed next to Marissa, staring at the ceiling.
"You know," he said, his voice soft, "this whole thing... it's kind of working. We're not perfect. But we're getting there."
Marissa shifted beside him, turning her head to meet his eyes. "Yeah. I think we are."
He smiled and reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers. "You know, I think I'm starting to like this married thing."
Marissa raised an eyebrow, her lips curling into a smirk. "I thought you hated the idea of marriage."
"I did," he admitted. "But now, I think it's just the beginning."
She squeezed his hand. "Yeah. The beginning of a very... interesting journey."
Felix laughed softly. "You can say that again."
And for the first time in what felt like forever, Felix didn't feel afraid of the future. He didn't feel like he was pretending or faking anything. He was exactly where he needed to be—with Marissa. And for once, that felt like enough.