together
Explanation
The Joke
A couple announces to friends that they have decided to stay together after all. When their friends react with surprise and something resembling congratulations, the couple explains that it was not a romantic reconciliation -- they had started divorce proceedings, but discovered that disentangling their finances, going to court over custody, losing their savings, and determining who qualifies as a "non-felon" would be too painful. So instead, they have simply decided to stay together. Their rationale is summarized as: "The tie that binds us is dirty, dirty paperwork."
In the final panel, the friends ask what this decision has made them as a couple, and the couple responds: "You'll find out one day when you fill out a joint tax application." The comic presents marriage not as a bond of love but as a bureaucratic entanglement that is simply too inconvenient to undo.
The Humor
The joke subverts the typical heartwarming "we're staying together" announcement by revealing that the motivation is entirely pragmatic and miserable. The couple is not together because they love each other but because divorce is too much of a hassle. The phrase "the tie that binds us is dirty, dirty paperwork" is a darkly funny reworking of the romantic notion that love binds people together. The final punchline about the "joint tax application" drives the cynicism home by reducing marriage to its most unromantic possible essence: a tax filing status. It resonates with anyone who has ever considered the logistical nightmare that is modern divorce.