It's a Jungle, Baby

Gotta Talk to Axl

Duff

Somehow, Axl and Taylor convinced their mom to let Ruby come to LA for Christmas. I don't know how, but they did. They're at the airport waiting for her to fly in. I'm with everyone else at Taylor and Queenie's apartment setting up a Christmas tree, which is hectic and insane by the way.

Slash and Izzy are untangling rope lights, Steven and I are sorting through broken bulbs, Queenie is trying insanely hard to find the star. I can't picture it any other way though, having Christmas with your family is supposed to be insane. It wouldn't be Christmas without problems and chaos.

I've been with Taylor since the seventh of March, just over nine months. I can't picture my life without her, I don't want to. I want to marry her, I want to ask her to marry me. I have to run this by Axl obviously, but I think it would be easier to run it by everyone else first. I mean, Chelsea will kill me if I hurt her best friends, I feel like Izzy feels the same way. Slash and Steven love Taylor like their little sister. We're all a family and I want their opinion on this.

"Hey, can I ask you guys something?" I wonder and Chelsea comes up behind me.

"Yes Duff, that bulb is broken." She smiles pointing at the bulb in my hand.

"Yeah, I guess so." I say and drop it in the garbage bag.

"What do you want to ask us?" Izzy wonders.

"Right. What would you guys think if I asked Taylor to marry me?" I wonder.

Everyone is quiet for a while, running the possible outcomes in their heads. I'm worried if they say we're rushing into this. I don't want to push her away. Marriage scares the hell out of her but we've talked about it before. Taylor had said she'd want to marry me one day. Why can't today be one day? I mean I love her and she loves me. That's all that matters, right?

"Are you sure about this? I mean it's huge." Steven is the first to speak.

"Only thing I've been absolutely sure about." I admit.

"Do you love her?" Queenie asks a stupid question.

"Yeah, more than anything." I tell her for the thousandth time.

"You know she doesn't believe in divorce, right?" Izzy laughs. "She believes in disappearance. As in TJ will make you disappear." I laugh with him.

"You know it's not us you have to ask, right?" Slash speaks up.

"I'm just getting input first." I explain. "So?"

"I think you should do it." Queenie smiles.

"Yeah, me to." Izzy agrees.

"Yeah." Steven agrees.

"Same here." Slash says but looks at me under his top hat. "You've gotta talk to Axl, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I know." I breathe out.

Just how do I do that?

The door opens behind us and three gingers walk in. Taylor and Axl are both wearing leather jackets and blue jeans. Holding on to their hands, smiling ear to ear, Ruby walks in wearing a thick puff brown jacket to keep her warm. I know for a fact that's not going to last long, for Christmas Taylor bought her a baby leather jacket.

Without missing a beat, the fearless Ruby Bailey walk into the apartment. She hugs Chelsea and Izzy before turning to me. Her big brown eyes glint with mischief like her siblings' do, she smiles at her.

"Hi Duffy." Ruby giggles.

"Hi Ruby." I smile and she hugs me.

"I missed you." She tells me.