A/N: I'm back. Finally. Sorry for the slow update, I'm trying to write about four stories at once...not a good thing, in retrospect. I quite like this oneshot, and I hope you do too.

Franny peered into the bathroom mirror, her sparkling diamond earrings glinting in the low lighting. Straightening up, she eyed her trim figure appreciatively, turning around so she could get a better view of her backside in the form-fitting dress.

"Franny, have you seen my- oh."

Cornelius stopped in the doorway, one hand on the wall as he stared open-mouthed at his fiancée. She giggled at his expression, and he visibly shook himself. "Uhm...new dress?"

Franny nodded, examining her lipstick for smudges. "Yup. Like it?" She watched his image in the mirror scoff.

"That was a rhetorical question, right?" Cornelius asked her, his eyes still unable to rest on her face for more than a second, choosing instead to flit all over her body. Franny smiled at him, her own eyes raking his outfit. They were both in black-blue, Cornelius in a smart dress shirt and slacks, and Franny with her long and simple sparkling gown. It looked stunning; her long legs appeared even taller, and it hugged her slim curves in all the right places. Franny laughed, and walked over to him as gracefully as if she were floating.

"What were you saying? We gotta get going." She toyed with his buttons for a minute, and Cornelius plumb forgot everything on his mind.

"It was, er...uhm, I think...shoes. Yes, that's it. Seen my shoes around?" He blinked, running a hand through his unmanageable hair and looking around her apartment. Franny rolled her eyes, pulling him over to the walk-in wardrobe and taking them from the shelf. The shelf they were always on.

"Your eyesight is getting worse everyday, I swear," Franny told him as she shoved the shoes against his chest. He grinned, walking over to the bed so he could slip them on. Franny watched him with one hand on her hip. "Those contacts can't be good for you."

Cornelius looked up, his hair almost obscuring his vision. "That's why I hardly ever wear them. Did you know...that you look...beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous."

Franny smiled in gratitude, picking a bit of imaginary lint of her shoulder. She picked up her handbag, looking expectantly at Cornelius, who finished with his shoe laces. "You ready? Or I'll go with one of the other men lined up to date me."

Her bouncy tone somehow got lost between her and her husband-to-be, and he bit down on his lip. The atmosphere in the room changed in that instant, and Franny said quietly, "What's wrong?"

Cornelius eyed the dress again, as if seeing it from a whole new perspective. "This is gonna sound weird...but can you wear something else, please?"

Franny's face fell, and she looked down at her outfit. "Why?"

Cornelius paused, and opened his mouth. Franny beat him to the punch. "You just said you liked it! And I've go no other dresses in that colour, and I spent hours picking it out just for tonight!"

Cornelius shook his head, standing up and striding back into the walk-in. Franny followed as he began searching through her large collection of dresses, picking out a few at random. "Cornelius! Why can't I just go in this? What's the problem? Not 'good' enough for your little company dinner thing?"

He hesitated, but stopped so he could look at her. "It's...too good. You're too pretty for me to handle tonight," He said by way of explanation. Franny still didn't understand.

"What is that supposed to mean? I like looking my best!"

"Look. You have to be the most attractive woman in the city, and I know for sure that I'm not the only guy who's noticed that. I don't want to handle all the looks people are bound to throw your way tonight, OK?" He put his hand on the shelf, refusing to meet her narrowed eyes.

Franny lifted her chin, folding her arms across her chest. "I don't see how it's such a big deal."

"It's a big deal to me. Can you try to respect that, please? Don't you ever see how furious I get, whenever you return a smile to some guy who's practically leering at you-" Cornelius said in exasperation, before Franny interrupted him.

"They don't leer, stop being melodramatic-"

"-I'm not, and you know it-"

"What do you want me to do?" Franny yelled, throwing her hands up. Cornelius sighed.

"Act... like I matter to you. And that these men don't."

"What if I care about everyone's opinions of me?" Franny said indignantly, stepping inside his personal space- which wasn't exactly a hard thing to accomplish, considering the size of the cupboard.

Cornelius glared at her. "Are you serious!? Do you really enjoy the attention that much?"

"I might. It's nice to see you get jealous." Franny raised one eyebrow, noting with some satisfaction the angry flush on his cheeks.

"I don't believe this! You expect me to live with that? You can't just parade about in front of other men, knowing how you can make them feel! It tears me apart!"

Cornelius was almost shouting now, his tone incredulous. Franny didn't like it when he dominated their arguments, and said back with equal volume but at a much higher pitch, "It happens to everyone, Lewis! A little jealousy is the only thing that makes you really pay any attention to me!"

"Is that what you think?!"

"YES!" She screamed, pushing both hands against his chest.

"You're wrong, Franny!" Cornelius said viciously, his face red with fury.

"You know I'm always right!"

"Not this time. I hate it when you dress up like this, and go flaunting absolutely everything you have to every guy in the country-" He gestured wildly with his hands, throwing about five of her carefully ironed dresses onto the floor, barely keeping the urge to stomp on them at bay.

"Why? It's not a criminal offense!"

"It should be!"

"What makes you say that?!"

"Because. You're. Mine," He growled, discarding the little black dress he was holding, grabbing her wrists and yanking her towards him. Cornelius held Franny tightly, his head bowed next to her ear. "...You're mine."

The sudden stillness of the room was resolute, nothing disturbed the air except the couple's heavy breathing slowly returning to a normal rate. Franny sighed softly, breathing in his musky scent and feeling the warmth his chest and arms offered. She didn't realize just how protective her fiancé could get. It was almost what one could call...territorial.

"...Not for any other guy. You...I just-" Cornelius faltered, his voice cracking.

"I know, honey."

"Then why do you do it?" He whispered, tightening his grip around her shoulders. Franny shook her head slowly, suddenly exhausted.

"I don't know," She admitted quietly, her voice hoarse from their shouting match.

Cornelius frowned. "I don't want to have to fight for you."

"You shouldn't have to, I'm sorry," Franny mumbled into his shirt, feeling incredibly emotional after their short outburst. Cornelius pulled back, holding her at arms length and searching her face. Franny couldn't decipher what he was thinking, and felt hot tears prickling the inner corners of her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, anything which might cause the guilty lump in her throat to disappear, but he shrugged.

"Forget it. Let's go." Cornelius walked back out of the small room, running a hand through his hair in frustration. Franny sighed, looking down at her dress in dismay. All it had so far achieved was a pointless argument which would ruin their evening, as it still had yet to be resolved. All the admiring glances she may receive tonight didn't mean a thing if her fiancé didn't even want to look at her.

"Franny, hurry up, we're late already."

She turned to face the full-length mirror, and couldn't see what was so special anymore. In fact, she looked downright ugly with the stupid thing on. Franny reached up to free the shoulder strap, feeling nothing but a need to get the cursed dress off.

"Franny, I'm serious, if you don't wanna go, just tell-" Cornelius' eyes widened as he walked into the wardrobe, Franny's half-naked form right in front of him. He swallowed, trying to moisten his suddenly dry throat. "-me."

She shook her head, reaching up to undo her hair clip. "I don't want to go."

Cornelius nodded slowly, trying his hardest to stop staring. He quickly backtracked, and almost tripped over the doorway. Franny watched in amusement, running her fingers through her loose, tousled hair. "...And I don't want you going, either."

Cornelius looked up, confused. Franny shrugged as she stepped out of the dress, kicking it aside with her high-heels and saying softly, "It's not right to go on pretending we didn't just disagree. I don't deserve you; I shouldn't be acting like the class skank, three months before our wedding. I shouldn't be acting like that at all, wedding or not. And I can't believe it's taken you so long to point it out to me." Franny lifted her head so she could look him in the eyes. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Cornelius rubbed the back of his neck, still averting his eyes as he leaned back against a pile of moving boxes. "I know."

"...Forgive me?"

He sighed, but the corners of his mouth twitched upwards in a small smile. "Of course. Like you said, it's not a criminal offense...I just get...carried away, I suppose."

Franny shook her head, her hair swaying behind her like rippling water. "It's like you said...I'm yours. Which means you have special privileges that no over man is privy to. They are only allowed to look." She stopped right in front of him, and raised an eyebrow smoothly. "Do you still want to go?"

Cornelius bit his lip. "...Not particularly." He glanced towards the discarded dress, and smiled as Franny's uncovered arms slowly curled around his neck. They never could hold grudges very well. "Why did you take it off? Did I mention how fantastic you look in that thing?"

Franny kissed him once, shaking her head. "It's going in the bin. So is this outfit, by the way," Franny muttered, poking his dress shirt. Cornelius presented her with his best puzzled look, which didn't come often for the famous inventor extraordinaire. She smirked, and tangled her hands in his blond hair. "You're not the only one who gets jealous." Franny pressed her lips against the tip of his nose, and whispered, "You're mine."

I want to thank everyone who's taken the time to review! -hugs-

Coming up next: I've had a request from Link Fangirl01, so the next chapter will be dedicated to her. Who wants to see our favourite couple get married?? XD