"It's so pretty."
The balcony that was attached to the private area where you had your dinner was decorated with twinkle lights, pictures of you and Erling over the years and small bunches of your favourite flowers in the vases you've personally made. There was a familiar scent which assaulted your nose and while you were looking around the room, you noticed that Erling brought along your favourite essence, as well.
"Oh Erling, I absolutely love this. I'm about to cry— don't laugh, you ass." The tremble in your voice made it sound less menacing as you traced the Polaroids.
There was a picture of one of your first dates where you got caricatures drawn of you and Haaland. Instead of facing the camera, you were leaning into each other laughing your asses off at the images.
There was another of the first dog you had adopted - Champion - a cute German shepherd which needed a home immediately, and Erling didn't hesitate in bringing him home.
The last one really made your heart swell with joy - it was the most recent picture of you and Erling. One where he had you lifted in the air as you held onto his shoulders, the Champion's League trophy on the ground and just... pure happiness radiating from both of you.
However, the empty space where a large heart was drawn left you confused. You traced the shape with your finger, stopping, once you realised that it was drawn with crayon and you were ruining it, a bit.
"Hey..." You called out to Erling, he lifted his head from the candles he was lighting and looked at you. "What is this for? There's just an empty space here."
"What?" He asked in confusion as he walked over and hooked his chin onto your shoulder. Your finger was pointing to the spot and all he could do was smile - smile and kiss your exposed shoulder.
"You'll see. It's a secret."
He grabbed your hand and slowly, lead you over to where there were two stools situated close to the balcony's railing with hors d'oeuvres on a small table separating the chairs. He made sure you were seated before grabbing the champagne flutes and settling down himself, handing a glass to you.
"To us." He raised his glass in the air, as you smiled and clinked your glass against his.
"To us." You repeated.
*******
The silence was lovely, comfortable and gave you time to appreciate the moment with Erling. It was a spectacular view; overlooking the city's skyline as the sky was littered with stars, not a cloud in sight. At first, it was a little terrifying being so high up but with Erling as a distraction and the perfect weather conditions you did not mind - all you needed was Erling next to you to make your night special.
Speaking of your boyfriend, you glanced over to his seat and he was smiling to himself - had been all night long. Not once did you see Erling without a smile on his face.
His pretty smile.
His pretty eyes.
His pretty hair.
His pretty skin.
His pretty hands.
Erling broke the silence first, "Can you come with me?"
You nodded, wondering if it was another surprise your boyfriend had planned for the evening. Originally, it was supposed to be a night to celebrate Man City winning the treble but Erling said he'd much prefer to spend a night with you. So, you showed up for a few minutes and greeted everyone before he lead you, by guiding your lower back, to a private room where you spent the rest of the evening together.
But all he did was take you back to the mural of memories, wrapping his arms around your waist as he recalled how he remembered feeling in each picture.
"Oh, that one. It was my first goal for Man City and all I could do was look for you in the crowd. I wanted to show you that uprooting your life - for me - was not in vain, I just always wanted to make you proud of me."
"I am..." You mumbled, kissing his cheekbone, "...so damn proud of you. I'm glad that this move was worth it, for the both of us."
"Okay so now I'm going to ask you to do something - it might be weird but just... bare with me. It'll be worth it."
"Stay like this, don't turn around yet."
Hesitance was evident in your voice as you replied, feeling the loss of his arms around your waist and hearing him shuffle about behind you.
"Erling, what are you—"
"Just wait." He insisted and, indeed, you did. But it wasn't long before he told you that you could turn around.
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.
Your hands flew up to your mouth before you could stop it, tears began to form in your eyes and your whole body twitched with excitement. Haaland was kneeling on the floor with an open ring box in his hands, staring up at you in amusement. "Y/N..."
He began but you shook your head, not believing that this was real, "I'm not dreaming, am I?"
"No, you're not." He momentarily got up to wipe the tears that started falling down. "It's real, as real as my love for you is."
"Pinch me first."
Erling blew out air in frustration but complied with a smile, "If you say so then."
He caught your skin between his fingers and it hurt, it actually hurt, confirming that this was, indeed, not a dream and very much real.
"Will you let me continue now?" He asked and you waved your hand, words escaping you at the moment.
"Y/N..." He went back down to his kneeling position, "...Where do I start? I can start by declaring my love for you but I fear that there will be not enough time and words to describe my experience loving you and being loved by you. You are the love of my life. I always knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, and I would've been happy whether we had gotten engaged or not. Because you know what? You and I have already been married, in my head, about a million times now..."
The laughter that both of you let out sounded so raw and so wet because of all the tears that escaped your eyes, "Then why didn't you do this earlier?" You slapped his shoulder playfully as he trapped your hand between his face and shoulder.
"I want to say so much but I'm pretty sure these guys are getting sick of me speaking and just want to celebrate." He's referring to his friends and teammates who had their phones out, all happy smiles on their faces, waiting for the moment you say "I do."
You didn't even know they were here until he pointed them out, and made you laugh even louder.
"So Y/N..." He raised the box higher and with his blue eyes shining and smile on display, "...will you do the honour of becoming my wife? Having my last name and—"
"Yes, yes, a million times yes, E." Shutting him up, you bent down and threw yourself into him. He wrapped his arms around you and started crying in your shoulder, "Thank you."
The place erupted in cheers and they waited until Erling slipped the piece of jewellery onto your ring finger before giving their congratulations and engagement gifts.
"I have one more surprise." He motioned to something in his hand, and you saw that it was a Polaroid of the moment he was kneeling during his speech. You smiled and nodded your head, understanding what he wanted you to do and you would do it with pleasure.
Later on, he would announce his engagement to the world. A picture of your left hand - the ring visible - pointing at the last Polaroid of him proposing and a massive heart drawn around it