𝓣𝓸𝓶 𝓗𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝔁 𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 - 4

Accidental Proposal

Tom's got his mouth open and he's about to respond when your niece makes a loud yawning sound, her fists going to rub at her eyes. "Tired," she mumbles. "Bed."

Your boyfriend's face softens. "I'll take her up," he offers, the conversation over. He barely looks at you as he carefully walks from the living room, too absorbed by the sight of the sleeping child wrapped up in his arms.

You collapse back onto the couch, heart pulsing in your chest as you listen through the baby monitor. You hear as your niece manages to persuade Tom into reading her a bedtime story with only the word story, and listen as his soft tones whisper a story about a fierce knight protecting her kingdom.

You don't know what it is. Maybe it's the fact that your sister just got married, or that you've spent the past three hours watching Tom interact with a child, or that you're feeling especially emotional. Either way, you're feeling incredibly needy, but not just for physical contact or affection; no, you're in the mood to gush. You have the overwhelming urge to pounce on Tom and whisper words of love against his skin and card your fingers through his hair and kiss his lips 'til your mouth goes puffy.

So you do. Or, at least, you try to.

The moment he's back through the door, you're up, striding across the carpet before folding yourself into his front, your arms encircling his waist as he startles slightly. He quickly catches on and hugs you back, his cheek going to rest against the top of your head as you sway together for a few moments, his gentle pine-forest scent washing through your senses.

You really, really, really love him.

"I love you," you say, squeezing your eyes tightly. You pull back a little, just enough so you can tilt your head up and kiss him, feeling your lips slot together in a warm embrace.

One of his hands slips away from your waist to cup your cheek, and he blinks softly down at you as his lips pull away from yours to smile. "I love you too," he responds. His fingertips stroke lazy lines over your cheekbones as the sparks in your heart run wild.

"I want to be with you for the rest of my life," you murmur, words falling into each other. His eyes are hypnotising. "I- I want to wake up every morning and see you there, and I want to wear a ring that reminds me of you, and- and I want to have lazy lunches with our kids when we spend the entire time trying to teach them their pleases and thank-yous. Tom, I- I want all of that with you." You can barely get it all out, your mind swirling with thoughts of overpowering romance so quickly. You've never been one for elaborate speeches, but you've had the realisation of just how much you love Tom, and it's as if you'll die if you don't get it all out. "I love you."

And it's in the moment that you stop talking that you realise you might've overstepped. You realise you've been so lost in his eyes that you've failed to notice any of Tom's other signals. As the final words roll off your tongue, you're overcome with a sudden fear that you'll have spooked him.

"Did you..." Tom trails off, and you notice his eyes gaining a far-off look. But his eyes are still on your waist, and his mouth's still so close that you can feel his breath wafting over your cheeks, so you aren't too anxious anymore.

"Did I what?" You whisper, swallowing deeply.

He looks back to you. "Did you just propose to me?"

You blink. "What?"

"Are you halfway through a proposal right now?" He continues. Then his face falls. "Oh my god, I just interrupted your proposal, I'm-"

"No, no." You drop your hands from his waist as you begin to laugh, the entire situation catching up to you. "I'm not- no, Tom, I'm not proposing to you."

His head tilts as his eyes narrow. "Are you... Are you sure?" He fiddles with his fingers. "Because you can, y'know. Don't be embarrassed or anything. It's 2018, it's year of the woman, you can-"

You cut him off by reaching up and stealing his lips in a quick kiss, his speech faltering considerably as he concentrates on kissing you back. After a moment, you pull back and quickly settle back into his arms. "That was not me proposing to you, Tom," you murmur. Though the thought does sit agreeingly with you, that wasn't quite what you were aiming for. "I'm just... I guess seeing you with my niece, and how much you get on with children, and then thinking about all our friends getting married... It just got me thinking. And I want that with you, y'know?" You can feel your eyes large as you gaze at him, pausing for a moment as you find your heart skipping a beat at the sight of his beautiful face. "I just wanted to tell you how I was feeling."

"You really want all of that?" He says, voice quiet. His warm fingers stroke circles over your waist as he watches you intently. "The future, and the wedding, and the kids? With me?"

You nod undoubtedly. "Absolutely." A smile bites at your lips. "Is that alright?"

He doesn't reply. Instead, he drops your waist suddenly and backs away, cheeks red, eyes wide. "Wait here," he begs, nodding quickly. "Right here."

And then he's gone, and you hear his feet thumping up your sister's staircase. You stay still, anticipation mixing with excitement as you try to work out what's going on.

He returns after a few minutes, hair sticking up in every direction, face screwed into an anxious smile. "I- I was going to do this next week, but I guess..." He trails off, voice quieting down as he holds out his hand, eyes snapping to your face as you take in the object in his palm.

A black velvet box.

A black velvet box with a ring nestled in silk padding.

"Oh my god..." You murmur, immediately feeling tears spring to your eyes.

"Y/N, you've said everything I could've ever hoped to hear from someone." Tom wobbles down onto one knee, almost losing his balance on the way but saving it last minute. "I, uhm, I've never felt this way about anyone before, and honestly, it's pretty scary. Because you hold my heart completely in your hands, and I know no one could break it like you could." And then he pauses and grins, and you feel yourself exhale. "But you wouldn't break it, or at least, I hope you wouldn't. I want... I want all of those things you've talked about: the kids, and the marriage, and waking up beside you every morning and seeing your face and knowing I made the best decision of my life when I decided to drop to my knee and propose. Will you please, please let us start this next chapter together and marry me?"

And his hands are shaking, his face is flushed, and his eyes glistening with emotions. And how could you ever say anything but,

"Yes."

Then you're kneeling on the carpet with him, vaulting into him excitedly as you kiss him, a stray tear casting down your cheek. You mutter against his lips, "'F course I'll marry you, Tom," and then you kiss him some more. His hands are on your back and you're breathing in his scent and you know there's nowhere you'd rather be.

"Should probably put this on," he mutters, pulling back to pick the box off the carpet from where it'd fallen during the kiss. You shuffle back just a little and bring up your hand, watching in awe as he pushes the band up and over your knuckles until it lays over your finger, glistening in the light from the fireplace. "Do you like it?" He takes your hand and kisses the back of it as you grin wildly.

"I love it," you admit. Light bounces off the gem and you find yourself filled with a bubbling excitement for your future. "I love you."

His lips brush your forehead. "And I love you too, sweetheart," he chimes, voice covered in emotion. "'Can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

And then you tumble down to the carpet again, kissing and cuddling and talking for the rest of the night. And when you wake in the morning with the sparkling engagement ring wrapped around your finger, you're more than relieved to know it hasn't all been a dream. This is real. Your future with Tom is real and ensured, and for the moment, nothing else really matters. You have him and he has you, and that's all you truly need.

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