Engagement

Though Tyson would happily be engaged, he doesn’t want to get married:

“Hmm, that depends, would y-you expect us to get married if I proposed, Sebastian? Or would you be content to be officially tied down, whilst continuing to be out of wedlock s-sinners as fiancés?” Tyson teased back, though curious. He would proudly be engaged to Sebastian. To show the world their love and commitment to one another.

Tyson wasn’t going to marry, however. ‘Study until perfection, then try harder. Be better than you are. Take your rightful place at the university. Marry the girl; love be damned, find someone ‘acceptable’ amongst the social elite and have an heir children. Uphold the family legacy, no matter the personal cost.’

Somewhere along the line, Tyson’s view of the actual marriage part had been soured by expectations that he’d spent a lifetime running from; though he’d usually pretend that he simply didn’t see the need in a modern society.

He likes the idea of an ‘official’ relationship status beyond dating, a way of showing long-term commitment, but years of expectations from his family and its legacy has caused Tyson to resent the idea of marriage.

Another factor in this is that Tyson is polyamorous, and there is no law against being engaged to multiple people whereas there is one against being married to multiple people. Even though he doesn’t think that all of his relationships should be treated the same way, Tyson wouldn’t want a show of commitment that he couldn’t also offer in other relationships.