Summary: Matt's planning on proposing to Emily tonight and he's trying to make it through the day.
Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own anything. If I did, standoff would have never ended.
Author's Note: So I'm not too sure about this one but had to write it (which isn't the smartest idea because I have my final chem exam tomorrow). It doesn't really have a plot and I did babble for quite a bit but give it a go.
Killing Time
Matt sat at his desk restlessly. He had done nothing close to productive since he arrived at work in the morning, his mind preoccupied with more important thoughts such as the engagement ring that was burning a hole in his pocket. With Frank's help, Matt had picked the perfect ring two weeks ago and since then had trouble falling asleep wondering if Emily would say yes or if the ring would cause her to realise she could do so much better than him. Even with Franks reassurances that Emily loves him and would say yes, Matt couldn't help but fear the worse that she would say no. This morning he decided enough was enough, making reservations for dinner and a room at the Marriott for old time's sake with the plan to ask Emily the question tonight.
So naturally, he spent the morning on youtube, watching random clips to do with mentos and coke, sodium and water that HRT had found entertaining although Matt was too distracted to even realise he was watching something. At 2pm, he flipped through the games on his computer, he realizing he had played most of them already throughout the day. Solitaire had been played at least fifteen times without a win before he had moved onto playing hearts. Matt had already developed a successful cheat method for hearts, saving the game whenever he was on a winning streak. Finally, he settled on Minesweeper, playing the game with absolute concentration that anybody walking past would have thought he was busy working on a report. However this had only kept him preoccupied for four minutes before he accidentally clicked on a bomb and gave up. Matt gave out a long sigh. He could barely concentrate but he had to find something to keep him busy before he lost his mind. Digging through his desk draws and found a tennis ball which he instantly began tossing in the air.
"Matt?" Emily asked. His unproductive behavior, in particular his constant ball tossing had broken Emily's concentration.
"Yeah?" Matt replied absentmindedly, with his eyes constantly on the ball as it flew up in the air, inches away from the ceiling before falling straight down into his hands.
"Where did you find a tennis ball?" Emily questioned.
"Desk draw" he said, eye still on the ball. Once again he tossed the ball in the air, watching it on its descent down just as Emily snatched it out the air moments before it was supposed to land in his hands.
"What was that for?!?!" Matt asked
"I can't concentrate, the tennis ball is going in my draw from now on. I don't even know why you have a ball in your draw anyway"
"Sorry" he mumbled apologetically as Emily returned to her paperwork. Only one and a half minutes had passed before his fingers had begun tapping on the desk before his thoughts once again drifted to the engagement ring in his pocket.
"Matt?" Emily's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"What?"
"Could you stop tapping?"
"Right , sorry"
"Are you alright?" a slight tone of worry filled her voice.
"I'm fine" Matt replied.
"Are you sure? The last two weeks you've been on edge and now you've been distracted and jittery all day. You would tell me if there's anything wrong wouldn't you?"
"Em, Don't worry, everything's fine, I'm just a little preoccupied." he replied, stroking her cheek reassuringly.
"Okay but if you're planning to slack off today, could please slack off quietly? I want to finish this report before we leave today" Emily said with a smile.
"Sure, Em" Matt replied. Sitting in silence, thoughts about the ring and everything related began to creep back into his mind. He decided to do one of his favourite hobbies which he developed over the last two years, watching Emily. Everything about her had him mesmerized. The way she tried to sweep her fringe back when it fell over her eyes. The way her eyebrows creased when she was deep in thought. The way she was perched on the edge of her chair, typing furiously. He couldn't help but admit it that he was head over heels in love.
"You know, some may call it slightly on the side of stalking, the way you're watching me" Emily said playfully.
"You know, well some people call it a guy admiring his gorgeous girlfriend" Matt replied with a grin.
"Real cute" Emily laughed, glancing around the office before she placed a quick kiss on his lips.
"Oh, so now you're kissing me in the office. Wait until Cheryl finds out, that the reliable and hard working Special Agent Lehman was kissing her boyfriend instead of working" Matt said teasingly.
"You were the one distracting me"
"I was slacking off quietly like you me to"
"You're impossible. I don't know how I put up with you." Emily laughed
"Well you've put up with me for over two years, surely you would have developed some sort of coping mechanism"
"Wow, two years. That reminds me, Lia told me the other day that that people were betting on how long we'd last when you first blurted out our secret" Emily said animatedly, her unfinished report forgotten.
"And who's winning so far?"
"No one. Apparently nobody thought we'd last for more than 8 months"
"Shows how bright the lot of them are. How long do you think we'll last?" Matt asked seriously.
"Do you really want an answer to that?" Emily questioned. Matt nodded slowly, his heart pounding.
"If I were a betting sort of person, I would have put my money on forever. Marriage, possibly kids, a pet, probably not of the canine variety…You?" Emily said honestly.
"Hmm, about the same although I definitely want to see a few miniature versions of you running around" Matt replied.
"Really?" Emily asked smiling.
"Yeah." They fell into a comfortable silence where Emily returned to her report and Matt was left alone with his thoughts. He couldn't help but double check his pocket to see if the ring was still there. The nagging fear that Emily might say no had almost disappeared. However that thought was replaced by the question of 'How will I make this the perfect and romantic night that she will never forget?' Matt began tapping his fingers as different ideas popped into his head. Horse and carriage? A violinist playing during dinner? Limo? Rose petals scattered over their hotel room bed?
"Matt?" Emily complained.
"Yeah?" He replied, snapped from his thoughts once again.
"You're tapping again"
"Sorry" Matt said sheepishly. "So Emily Lehman demands absolute silence when working. Can you say Princess from Princeton?" Matt said with a teasing tone in his voice.
"Yeah well, I'm your Princess from Princeton. And if you don't stop distracting me, I'll never get this report done which we're supposed to be working on together by the way and we'll have to stay late which means we'll be eating out a pizza box instead of heading out for dinner" Emily said smiling. 'Which means no proposing' Matt added silently.
"Alright, alright" Matt said holding his hands up in defeat. "I'm gonna go hang out with HRT. If Cheryl comes looking for me tell her I'm being productive"
"Sure" Emily laughed. After sneaking another brief kiss and a murmur of 'I love you', Matt headed for the elevator. He suddenly felt very industrious, regretting all the time he managed to kill during the day. It was 2:15 and he only had a few hours to pull together the perfect night for Emily. Luckily he'd have Frank and HRT to pitch in. Although he knew he would never live it down that he needed help planning the perfect evening for Emily, he was willing to take HRT's constant teasing. Why? Emily is his princess and she deserved the only the best.
