I swear this started out as a lowkey ship... oh well. Please let me know what you think!
Elope
"So, when are you going to propose to Maggie?" Parker asked, causing Eliot to choke on is beer.
"She has a point you know." Sophie added, just realizing said point.
"I mean, you both love each other and it's not like you're getting any younger."
Eliot glared at the older woman and bit back the 'younger than you' retort.
"Ooh and I could plan the whole thing!" she squealed, or what approximated to a squeal. Sophie Deveraux does not squeal.
"Can I help?" Parker asked, nearly bouncing out of her chair.
"Of course. You know, I bet they would love an outdoor wedding and we could –" The rest of her sentence was cut off by the door closing behind Eliot.
A week later, Nate noticed Eliot look at the jewelry store across the street.
"Thinking about buying a ring?" he joked. Eliot glared.
"Why can't ya'll just mind your own damn business?" He growled and stormed off, leaving a very confused Nate, who had missed the wedding planning of the previous week, in his wake.
It wasn't that Eliot didn't want to marry Maggie, he'd actually entertained the idea a few times in the last few months. But every time he came to the same conclusions.
Maggie had been married once before, and while she hadn't specifically said, he wasn't sure she'd want to do it again.
Yes, they lived together already but living together and getting married were completely different. It was one thing to date a man like him, Eliot doubted anyone would want to marry one.
And on that note, he wasn't safe to be around. He felt bad enough making her a target by being close to her, he couldn't ask her to put herself in more danger by marrying him.
And what if she said no?
So he didn't ask. He didn't mention marriage or rings or anything too far in the future. Eliot was happy with her and he could spend forever without changing a thing.
So he didn't get down on one knee and profess his love. He didn't take her to sports game and have his proposal announced on the big screen. He didn't slip the ring he'd had for two month into a glass of champagne or leave it anywhere she, or anyone else (Parker), might find it. He never brought up the topic of marriage to Maggie.
Until he did.
He didn't plan it, not in the slightest. Like most things you try to bury and deny, they come out when you least expect it. For Eliot, this happened to be July 31st.
Eliot leaned back so that he was resting on his elbows and laughed at spot of blue paint in the middle of the ceiling.
"Darlin', how did you get paint in the middle of the ceiling?"
"What are you- oh. I think that was you." Maggie grinned.
"I don't think so."
"Yup, definitely you." Eliot chuckled and sat up to grab another piece of pizza.
He turned his gaze to the couch, checking to see if she had managed to get paint under the plastic.
"If there is paint on the couch, it's your fault. I didn't go near it." Maggie said, stealing his drink since hers was empty.
He laughed again, this time at how easily she read him.
"You know, I think we have too much furniture." He said, looking at the couch, chair, coffee table, and end table all pushed in the first corner they had painted.
"No, the couch is just too big. I told you we should have measured the room before we bought it."
"Where's the fun in that?" he asked, smiling as he stole back his drink.
She grinned when he realized it was empty.
He set it down and then fell back, lying on the floor.
She scooted over a moment later and cuddled up next to him, using him as a pillow.
They stayed like that for a while, not talking, just enjoying each other's company after a long day of painting and moving furniture.
Which perhaps made what came out of Eliot's mouth even more surprising.
"Marry me." He said, not knowing where the words had sprung from.
"What?" Maggie sat up and Eliot followed, deciding to follow through with what his mouth, or more accurately his heart, had started.
"Marry me." He repeated. "I love you Mags, I'm always gonna love you." He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the ring he'd been carrying around for days. "Maggie I love you so much and I want to spend forever with you. I wanna wake up next to you every day and I wanna fight so we can make up. I want to be your husband. Will you marry me?" he asked, uncertainty making its way into his voice for the first time only at the end.
Maggie stared at him without saying a word. She was so caught off guard it took her a few seconds to process what he'd said, that he'd actually said it.
"Yes, yes, oh yes, Eliot I love you." She said wrapping her arms around him in a hug, causing them both to fall.
So they began to plan the wedding.
"We need to pick a date." Maggie said one night after Eliot came home from a finished job.
"I'll marry you tomorrow."
"Eliot, I'm serious. We have a lot to do to plan this wedding."
"Well, what season do you want, that's the first step." He didn't bother adding that he was serious about marrying her tomorrow.
"What kind of flowers did we pick?" Eliot asked one morning while making pancakes.
"Mmm Pillsbury I think." Maggie replied, eyes half closed and coffee still resting on the table.
"I meant for the wedding hun." He chuckled.
"I can't tell the difference between these color swatches that Sophie gave me." Maggie complained one day while they watched a movie.
Eliot smiled and rolled his eyes. "I told you letting Sophie plan the wedding was a bad idea. I'm pretty sure I heard her and Parker discussing horses."
Maggie groaned and buried her face in Eliot's chest, smacking him when he laughed again.
"We should elope." She muttered.
"We could." Eliot replied.
"Seriously?" Maggie studied his expression. "What about all our friends?"
"We can have a party afterwards, after the honeymoon."
She thought about it and Eliot went back to watching the movie she'd insisted they watch, something about a group of high schoolers in detention.
"I don't know." She finally said, almost ten minutes later when the movie ended.
"You think about that, I'm gonna go make dinner." He kissed her as he got up and added "I'd marry you tomorrow Mags, anytime, anywhere."
She joined him in the kitchen as he was finishing up and began setting the table.
"We'd still have to decide where we'd go."
"We could still go to Father Paul."
"But what about Sophie and Parker, they were so excited to plan the wedding."
"So we let them throw us a party for when we come back from the honeymoon. They'll have a few weeks to plan and they'll enjoy that just as much. Maybe more."
"Okay mister answer for everything, how long have you been planning this." She joked.
"It's been running through my head for a while now." He admitted. "If you want a big wedding we can do that. If you want to elope, we can do that too. It's whatever you want darlin', all I need is you."
The following Saturday found them walking into Father Paul's church in Los Angeles, her in a beautiful white dress and he in a handsome three piece suit.
In retrospect, they probably shouldn't have been surprised to see Parker, Hardison, Sophie, and Nate sitting in the front row.
"Didn't think you were gonna get married without us, did ya Sparky?"
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