[early august 2029]
Being drunk in a Tesco Express that was unfortunately open for 24 hours was one thing.
Being drunk in a Tesco Express that was unfortunately open for 24 hours with the love of her life who somehow made shitty fluorescent lighting work for him was another thing entirely.
It had become somewhat of a heinous tradition of theirs: getting drunk some weekend night and hitting up the shop for whichever snacks their stupid stomachs required; they each took turns paying. One of the workers had clearly taken over the AUX cord in the back, because—
"Am I really this messed up, or is this, like, the fifth Bruno Mars song in a row?" Maverick asked, tearing his attention away from a box of Jaffa cakes. (He had eaten Jaffa cakes a thousand times.) (Didn't stop him from reading the box every single time.)
"I'm pretty sure they're playing Doo-Wops & Hooligans in order," Everleigh answered.
"How do you know the exact order—"
"How do you not—" Everleigh tsked her tongue. "Some eidetic memory you've got."
"I've forgotten the lyrics to songs I've written," Maverick said. "Give me a break."
(That was a concert in Vancouver during his Curtain Call tour.) (It wasn't so much forgetting the lyrics as it was panicking and letting his brain go into meltdown mode.) (Esmé had made him nervous with her appearance and suddenly the lyrics to last night in soho had disappeared from his brain like dust in the wind.) (The crowd got him back to where he needed to be—they always did.)
"I think Bruno Mars should take up your headspace," Everleigh said, waving him off.
"I think you're mixing me up with Stevie again."
"Everyone should let Bruno Mars take up their headspace."
"You recognize you're dating—"
"Oy. Cut it out." Everleigh took his chin in her hand, squeezing his cheeks ever so slightly. She pressed a kiss to his nose. "Don't be a spoon."
Maverick grinned when she let go of him. "Making sure you remember me."
"Not like your name is on the lease to our property or anything," Everleigh said.
"Yeah. Guess you're stuck with me."
Everleigh wrinkled her nose. "Only to get to Stevie."
Maverick shoved his hand in her face and gently pushed her away from him, Everleigh laughed. Maybe a small snort escaped.
"You're such a shit." Maverick laughed.
"I dunno," Everleigh said. "I don't have matching tattoos with Stevie."
Maverick did. Still had her name tattooed on his middle finger, too.
"I don't have permanent friendship bracelets with Stevie." Maverick stuck his wrist in her face, jingling the silver bracelet he had bought for them the Christmas before and had permanently welded to his wrist. Everleigh had a gold one around her ankle, bracelets weren't the best in labs and she didn't want hers contaminated with something gross.
Everleigh held her hands up in surrender, the bag of MilkyBar buttons rattling in her hand. Probably melting, too. Her cheeks were rosy, her palms were probably roasting. "So sorry."
"How dare you forget we're friends forever."
"You sleep with a lot of your friends?"
Maverick choked on his own spit like the classy guy he was and that she'd fallen in love with. "Everleigh Jane, this is a Tesco."
"Did you full name me?"
"You deserved it."
"I've never deserved it."
"You deserve it for making sex jokes in a Tesco."
"I thought that was why we were best friends forever."
"Stevie's my best friend. She doesn't make sex jokes in Tesco."
"Has Stevie been to Tesco, Kingston John?"
"That's beside the point, thank you so much for your contribution, though."
"I think that's exactly the point, actually," Everleigh said. "And you're a fake friend for thinking Stevie wouldn't make sex jokes in a Tesco."
"She wouldn't make sex jokes about me," Maverick countered. "She'd make sex jokes about Bash or you."
"Funny how that's still a sex joke in a Tesco and you just proved my point." Everleigh kissed his cheek. "Thank you. I win."
"You kiss everyone who proves your points?"
"Are you asking if I've ever kissed every single man in my lab?"
"I hate and love that I know you've proven them all wrong."
"Alas," Everleigh said, a tad too dramatic sigh overcoming her. "Kissing is reserved for you. Revolting, isn't it?"
"Disgusting," Maverick agreed. "You should do it again."
Everleigh looked at him, tearing her attention away from the intense decision of whether she wanted jelly babies or not. "Gross. Stop flirting with me."
Maverick grinned at her. "There are few things I'm incapable of and, unfortunately, it's actually impossible for me to stop flirting with you. Sorry."
"Suppose I'll let it pass," Everleigh said. "Just this once."
"Marry Me."
"Sure."
"I—" Maverick pointed upwards and stumbled over his sentences like they were olympic hurdles. "The song—Doo-Wops & Hooligans—what?"
Everleigh grabbed the bag of jelly babies, started walking away from the candy aisle. Foot meet god damn fucking big ass mouth. She needed an intervention. To never drink again. Never let her guard down, even to Maverick. Jesus fucking Christ. "Nothing. Good song."
"That's not what you said—" Maverick was nothing if not persistent. Sped walk to try and keep her pace, still fell a little behind.
"Maybe it is."
"Everleigh."
"We are not talking about this in Tesco," Everleigh said. She held her finger up, turned on her heel so quickly Maverick nearly ran into her. A squeak from his sneakers stopped him short from taking a nosedive into her collarbone. Both of them would've knocked over the shelves of crisps and ended up with Walkers all over them. Maybe the crumbs they would've been picking out of their knickers would've been enough of a distraction to end the conversation. "We're not talking about this at all."
"Think we should."
"Nope."
"Did you just say you wanted to marry me?"
"I don't want to lie to you."
"Does that mean you don't want to marry me or you do want to marry me and you don't want to admit it?"
"I think you're hearing things."
"I don't hear a lot, Everleigh," Maverick said, "but I heard that."
"You were telling me the song title."
"That—" Maverick sighed. "No, no, no. We're not avoiding this."
"You've known from day one that I was stubborn," Everleigh said. "Don't go pretending like you weren't prepared for this."
"I was prepared for the stubborn," Maverick said. "I was not prepared for little miss I never want to get married to maybe sort of blurt out that she... does?"
"I don't..." Everleigh made a face. "I don't hate the idea."
"You look like you just ate cocoa puffs made of rat shit, Everleigh."
"I'd rather do that than have this conversation."
"You—" Maverick looked like he wanted to squeeze a bag of cheese puffs until they exploded. "Stop being stubborn."
"I don't think I'm capable."
"Oh my God."
"What?"
"The song's called Marry You," Maverick said, slapping a hand to his forehead. "Not Marry Me."
Everleigh threw her hand up. "Now you see why I was confused."
"Do not throw this back at me."
"Well it's your fault."
"How the hell is this my fault—"
"Because you're you—" Everleigh was getting defensive. Angry. Sputtering. Or, in other words entirely, ready to talk out of her ass because she already had her foot in her mouth. "—And I never thought that anyone would convince me that marriage wasn't a binding contract or some shite because I never actually thought that someone would love me because I am goddamn insufferable but here you are and you exist. With me. You exist with me and–and it's the great thing I've ever experienced and I know you believe in marriage because you've asked someone before and you keep your mother's ring in your dresser where you think I haven't seen it but I have—
"And you don't ask because you know I'll say no because I'm an ass—" She was spewing gobshite. Good God. "—but you hold out hope anyway that I won't be goddamn stubborn when I've warned you that I will, in fact, be goddamn stubborn for the rest of my natural life and probably into whatever hell I end up in for being stubborn as shit—"
"Baby, you're spiralling—" Maverick winced. Like he was watching a car wreck. Like he saw the strings on his irreplaceable guitar snap in two. "Take a breath."
"—I recognize that this is probably a problem I should solve in therapy, but I have so many other bullshit problems that being stubborn when you love me in spite of it doesn't seem like something I should be paying someone to fix, but maybe I should," Everleigh continued. Barely felt Maverick take her hand, squeezed the living hell out of the MilkyBar buttons in the other. "And maybe this is all a long winded way of saying that I love you and I want to be with you forever and that's terrifying when I never thought that was possible, but it's you and it's like somehow you've taken every page I thought I'd studied and rewrote the syllabus into this beautiful, gorgeous thing and I will never be worthy of deserving that but you did it anyway and, yeah—maybe all it took was for you to mess up the fucking title of a Bruno Mars song for me to admit that it has been agonizingly in the back of my mind for ages now but I was too fucking stubborn to admit it." Everleigh closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Forced herself to take another. "Please forgive me. For being the way that I am. But if you were at all considering it, the answer is obviously and do not give me that stupid spoon smirk you always do when something goes the way you wanted it to because I might marry you in this damn Tesco if you do it. Understood?"
"Understood."
Everleigh peaked an eye open, slowly opened the other. Relaxed her shoulders when she'd realized they'd built tension up to her ears. "I'm sorry."
"That was..."
"A lot...?"
"No," Maverick said. "Well. I mean. Yes. But you're you and you operate on two modes, and this is one of them and that's fine."
"Dare I ask what the other is?"
"That's the one where you do all the things that you just said but you let it build up," Maverick said. "Until it comes tumbling out in... arguably the least romantic place on the planet."
"Least it's not a public loo."
"You know, you've got me there." Maverick grinned.
"I thought I specifically said no smirking."
"You also told me you didn't believe in marriage, but I feel like that's..."
"Fluctuating."
"Fluctuating," Maverick repeated. "So..."
"So."
"Do you want my mom's ring—"
Everleigh pressed her fingers to her temples. "No."
"Some damn cold feet, Meadowlark. It's been, like, two minutes." Maverick put a teasing hand to his chest. "Have I repulsed you that much already?"
"You didn't even say you wanted to get married so why the hell does it matter anyway?"
"I've never said I wanted to get married because you said you didn't want to and I was respecting that," Maverick said. "I have that ring because my mother is insane and asks me every time you're not around when I'm going to ask you to marry me. That doesn't mean I don't want to, it means I want whatever you want when it comes to that. And if you don't want to, that's fine. If you do... we will."
"I... do."
"I do, too."
"So..." Everleigh looked around.
Maverick gently put his finger on her jaw and turned her head back to him. "Talk to me, Goose."
"Is that how it works?"
"Pretty much," Maverick said. "Usually a little more... thought out. I probably would've done it on Princess Di's memorial walk, but that's fine. Would've told you that I couldn't find my hearing aids and when you found them in my jacket pocket, because you were wearing my jacket because it would've been December 12th and you would've been cold, you would've also found a box with a ring in it. And I would've tried to get Dewey to calm down so I could speak, but that would've been the second miracle of the day. I was kissed last time, but you're not her. Also fine. More than fine."
Everleigh could only manage a small kiss to the back of his hand. "You actually thought about this? I mean–you thought about what you would do for us."
"Men can fantasize too, Everleigh."
"Usually they fantasize about..." Everleigh tilted her head. "Well, not engagements to their stubborn girlfriend."
"I was not talking sexually, but fine," Maverick said. "If the Scream 2 fits."
"My God," Everleigh said, "Shut up."
Maverick laughed. "It's actually okay to be into me and change your mind about things. Did you know that? We've actually been dating for almost eight years."
"Have we?" Everleigh asked, slightly too mockingly. Wrinkled her nose. "Christ. We should be having babies by now."
Maverick's eyes widened. "You didn't change your mind about that too, did you? 'Cause I don't—"
"Absolutely not," Everleigh said. "We would be terrible parents."
"Awful."
"And we couldn't come to Tesco while drunk."
"Go anywhere and be shittered."
"That's so much responsibility."
"Right?"
"Glad we're on the same page there." Everleigh raised her hand and Maverick high-fived her.
"Me too."
"That..." Everleigh trailed off. "That brings us back to... to so."
"And no."
"No?"
"You..." Maverick pursed his lips. "You said you didn't want mom's ring." He waved his hands quickly. "And that's totally fine, but that's where we're at."
"Do you want rings? I just—" That buzz from the lights in the store had never been more distracting. "I don't want to lose it at work, I don't want to take it off all the time, and oh my God, my parents—"
"Everleigh."
"Yes?"
"Usually the stress starts a little later. And not in the chip aisle of Tesco while we're visiting your parents."
"I just want you," Everleigh said, shoulders hiking up once more. "I don't want anyone there. I don't want people staring at me—"
Maverick put his hands, and the box of Jaffa cakes, on her shoulders. Waited patiently until she took a deep breath out and deflated them. "I'm good with just us. There's eloping. There's whatever you want. We could do it at Windsor fuckin' city hall and that's totally fine."
"It's yours too..."
"Frankly, I think I'm still in shock that you said you wanted to get married, Everleigh," Maverick said. "I'm good with whatever you want."
"I'm going to puke."
"Everleigh, relax," Maverick said. Because that was the perfect way to get someone probably having a panic attack to calm down. "We'll figure it out."
"Would you hate me if I said we can do it but we keep it a secret?"
"That's also something that's impossible for me to do, just so you're aware."
Everleigh buried him in a hug and bashed him in the back of the head with her bag of MilkyBar buttons. No comment from him. "I know we need a witness, but..."
"Would it calm you down if I said I had an idea?"
"Please."
"We're going to see Stevie and Bash," Maverick said. "In October."
"Oh."
"Would you be comfortable with them there?" Maverick's hand rubbed between her shoulder blades lightly. Fingertips gentle, tracing her spine. The thumb on his other hand stroked the small of her back; the paper plane.
"I think so."
"I'm good to elope if that's something you want to do," Maverick said. "I'm good with being with you wherever you want to be."
"Okay."
"I have one request."
"Shoot."
Maverick squeezed her tightly before pulling away gently. He let out a small snort, a laugh bubbling out right after. "I can't keep talking about this in Tesco. It's killing my excitement."
Everleigh snorted. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"Yes."
"Don't get annoyed with me, Meadowlark," Maverick said, "you're not even married to me yet."
"I'm annoyed by you everyday."
"I have our entire lives to piss you off." Maverick laughed. "Here." He gently pried the chocolate buttons and the jelly babies from her hands. Poked her in the stomach, made her squirm; an annoyance that was foolproof at making her body loosen from being too tense. (In the last eight years, Everleigh had discovered that the reciprocated version of making Kingston Maverick less tense even though she was being annoying as shit was sticking a finger up his ass like every phenomenal girlfriend the world knew and loved.) (Even Billy Loomis didn't make him jump quite like her index finger.) "I have a couple bucks in my pocket, go outside and get some air."
"Such a gentleman."
Maverick curtsied. "I try."
Everleigh snorted again. "You're such a plonker."
"Bye, Meadowlark," Maverick said. "See you outside, don't leave me before the altar."
Everleigh quickly kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."
"I just—before you go—" Maverick took her hand and squeezed it. "I really need you to know something."
"Mhmm?"
Maverick pulled her close. Pressed a couple kisses on her cheeks, nose, lips, chin. Made his way to her ear. Whispered the worst sentence in a terrible seductive voice. "I'm not telling Stevie 'cause I want to see her freak out."
Everleigh laughed. "You're a shit."
"Call it a wedding gift, call it something borrowed, I don't care." Maverick laughed. "I want to see her reaction."
"Your wish is my command."
"Will you be saying that back at the house?"
"Who's making sex jokes in Tesco now?" Everleigh pried herself off him with a laugh. "Now you're really buying my snacks. Dork."
"I was going to anyway."
"I was going to stick a couple quid in your pocket," Everleigh said. "I always do."
"Get out of here." Maverick laughed. "Never pay me back for anything ever again."
"No promises."
"What about vows?"
"Shut up, Kingston."
Maverick laughed. "Bye."
Leaving the Tesco as Maverick waited in line, Everleigh leaned against the side of the building. Crossed her arms. It didn't take too long for Maverick to come back out, the ding of the Tesco door made Everleigh turn. A paper bag in his arms.
"How's it going, fiancee?"
"Wow," Everleigh said. "Is that all you're going to call me now?"
"Want me to try wife on for size?"
"Nope, that's terrifying."
Maverick laughed. "Everleigh it is."
"So perfect it's like I've been called it my whole life."
"Great." Maverick put the bag on the ground.
"Leaving our snacks?" Everleigh asked. "I had such nice alcohol that was going to pair gorgeously with the MilkyBar buttons."
Maverick dug into his pocket. Opened a package quickly. Dropped to one knee, held the—what Everleigh recognized was a god damn ring pop—candy out to her. "Pretend I gave you a long speech and that we're at the Princess Diana memorial walk, and blah, blah, blah, will you marry me?"
"I think blah blah blah is the most romantic thing you've ever said to me," Everleigh said.
"I'm pretty sure I kneeled in something so if you could, like..."
"Yeah, I'll marry you. Get off the sidewalk."
"That was super romantic, too." Maverick stood up, slid the ring pop onto her finger. "There we are. Couple of romantics."
"I've got a bottle of wine with our name on it... fiance."
Maverick grinned. "I love you."
"You know what our song should be?"
Maverick raised an eyebrow. Probably going through his catalogue of songs about them. Of which there were many. "What?"
Everleigh draped her arms over his shoulders, hands meeting at the nape of his neck. Like he had in the store, she kissed her way to his ear. Whispered, "Abstract Blue."
"You're such a—" Maverick laughed and wrapped his arm around her neck.
Everleigh squealed out a laugh. "We've talked about you doing this in public after you almost got beaten up by a man double your size—"
Maverick planted a kiss on the back of her head and let her go. "Little shit."
"I love you too," Everleigh said with a small laugh, "you spoon."