The Announcement
"Morning, gorgeous."
Michelle groaned sleepily as Tony stroked her face. "Is it morning already?" she asked, not opening her eyes.
"Well, the sun's up, the alarm's ringing... so yeah, I think it is."
"Mmm. Well. Damn."
"So..." said Tony, slowly pulling the covers off of her as she still stubbornly refused to move. "This would be the part where you get out of bed."
"But it's cold," she protested.
"Then, much as I hate to suggest it, you should maybe put some clothes on." said Tony, pulling a shirt over his head. "And I'll make pancakes while you're in the shower..."
"You won't come in the shower with me?" Michelle asked, now finally beginning to sit up.
"You do remember what happened last time we did that, right?"
"We were... a little late to work." She put her legs over the side of the bed and stood up.
"I was too late. Why is it always me who has to go in second?"
"Because you always offer, because as long as I arrive before the boss it's okay..." She went up to him and put her arms around his neck. "But after today it won't matter, 'cause they'll all know!" she said, smiling.
"Which is why we don't want to be late today and give them a bad impression." He kissed her briefly on the mouth and then took her by the hips and gently turned her to face the door to the bathroom. "Now go."
"Yes Boss," she said, wrinkling her nose at him over her shoulder as she walked.
He grinned and shook his head fondly.
"You nervous?" he asked her as he parked the car.
She nodded. "Terrified. You?"
"Well, I'm about to share the best news of my life with all my colleagues, so I shouldn't be... but yeah, I am a little."
He turned off the engine and she took his hand. "It'll be fine... I hope." She undid her seat belt and then suddenly looked up at him again. "You did tell Chappelle already, right?"
Tony laughed. "For the thousandth time, yes, I told him, he wasn't happy, but he didn't have any other choice than to congratulate us. Just like everybody else will... except they'll really mean it."
Michelle exhaled and nodded. "Okay."
There was a moment's silence between them, then Tony glanced around the parking lot before taking Michelle's face in his hands and kissing her.
"Ready?" he asked, pulling away and stroking her cheek.
She took a deep breath and gave a brief nod. "Yes."
He smiled. "Then let's go..."
They got out of the car and walked up to the entrance side by side. They silently held hands in the empty elevator and let go as soon as the doors began to open on their floor. Then they walked away from each other with nothing more than a "See you later".
Tony looked down at the floor from his office, waiting for that brief moment when everyone had arrived but had not yet begun to work properly; those few minutes when people chatted and asked each other about their weekends and families and everything else non-work-related while they waited for their computers to finish logging them in. He glanced at the work waiting for him on his desk but decided that starting it now might make him miss the moment, and he and Michelle had agreed that today would be the day...
He noticed Michelle looking up at him and wondered if that meant she thought it was time. A slight nod from her told him that yes, it was.
Tony stood up and headed down the stairs. Michelle left her station and met him as he reached the bottom step, where he stopped and cleared his throat.
Michelle took his hand and stood next to him.
"Uh, could I have everybody's attention please?" Tony said, although he noticed that most people were already staring at the two of them.
All that sneaking around for the last year must've really worked, then, if people were this surprised...
"Michelle and I just wanted to tell you all," he continued, "That we're... getting married."
There was a shocked silence throughout the room for a moment before someone whooped, and all of a sudden everyone was clapping and cheering.
Tony grinned and looked at Michelle to see that she was blushing, averting her eyes even though her smile clearly showed how pleased she was.
"And of course that means," Tony went on, looking back into the crowd, "That if you come and congratulate us and distract us from our boring paperwork we'll buy you a drink later."
Another cheer went up at this news and Tony turned back to Michelle. "There," he said to her quietly. "That wasn't too bad, was it?"
Michelle smiled and gave him a peck on the lips.
"I am completely exhausted," Michelle said as she hung her keys on their hook by the door. A thoughtful expression appeared on her face. "Also, slightly drunk."
"Yeah, me too," said Tony, leaning against the wall. "So I probably shouldn't cook, I might burn the place down."
"That would not be good..." Michelle agreed. "Pizza?"
"Sure."
Michelle nodded and headed off to find the number. "The usual?" she asked as she disappeared into the kitchen.
"Yeah." Tony went through to the living room and let himself fall onto the couch. He lay there for a while before sitting up straight and taking off his shoes.
"Pizza's on its way," said Michelle, reappearing and sitting down next to him.
"Uh-huh." Tony reached for Michelle's feet and pulled them up onto his lap. He took her shoes off and put them next to his, then began to massage her feet.
"Ohh, thank you..." Michelle leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes.
Tony smiled. "So, today went well."
"Uh-huh. But, y'know, there's still so much we have to do... so much to organize..."
"Yeah, but you know what? After it's all done, we'll get a wedding, and a honeymoon, and we'll be married 'til death do us part."
"Hmm, then I guess maybe it's worth it."
"Only maybe?" Tony laughed.
"Fine..." Michelle opened her eyes and put her hand on the back of his neck to pull him towards her for a kiss. "Definitely worth it."
Tony grinned, leaning his forehead against hers. "That's better."
Michelle giggled. "So, what are we gonna do until the pizza gets here?"
"Hmm..." He looked at her thoughtfully. "Shower?"
"I take it that means you're gonna get in there with me this time?"
Tony suddenly scooped her into his arms and lifted her off the couch. She shrieked and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He grinned. "Oh yeah."
The End
