A/N: Spring (finally!) came and it seems that it has an influence not only on my mood, but even on my stories :) I don't remember the last time I've written a story with so much sugar in it... Well, I hope you're going to like it :)
Jack felt nervous. Even though everything was going exactly in the way he had planned it, he still couldn't help but feel anxious. It was something that didn't go unnoticed by his companion, but every time Sue tried to ask him what was the reason for it, he kept telling her that everything was absolutely fine. And it wasn't a lie but he still wished he had already done what he had planned.
He glanced at Sue, whose attention was now on her plate and wasn't watching him. He could feel warmth in his heart and had problems with fighting with a smile on his face every time his eyes were landing on her. For three years, from the moment he realized that he was attracted to her to the moment when they started dating, he thought that he has never loved somebody so much as he loved her. It was true, but when they finally admitted their feelings to each other, three and a half years after they had met, he realised that it was an understatement. He loved absolutely everything about her – her look and character, her positive and negative features; in fact, he loved even those things which were driving him crazy, all because they were still part of her and were making her who she was. He has never realised that one person can love another so much as he loved Sue.
When he finally gathered enough courage to tell her his feelings, and she said that she was reciprocating them, he felt like the happiest man in the universe. In fact, he never stopped feeling like that. Her kisses, touches, looks or even just her presence were able to brighten his mood and make his day better. He felt himself swell with pride, when he could say that she was his and he was close to exploding when he noticed jealous looks of other men, when they noticed her with him. They were a couple for a little over than half a year but he was more than sure that she was the one for him, that she could make him immensely happy and that he wanted to spend his whole life with her.
It was the reason why he had planned the whole evening. With Amanda's help he was able to get tickets for the performance at the school for the deaf, then take her for a walk to the restaurant for a romantic dinner. He wanted to propose and he wanted the whole evening to be absolutely perfect; if she agreed, she could be thinking about this day with a smile on her face and thought, that she wouldn't change anything. Still, he was afraid that she was going to say no. After all, they weren't a couple for a very long time and it could be too soon for her. She could also, of course, not be sure if she wanted to marry him and stay with him forever.
"Jack..?" he heard her voice and blinked a few times. He didn't even realise that he was staring at her, but it became obvious when he noticed her curious gaze. "Are you sure that everything is fine? You're unusually quiet tonight..."
"Yeah... Well... What do you think about a walk..?" he asked, as their dinner was actually finished. At the same time his hand unconsciously slipped into the pocked of his jacket, where he could feel a small box with the ring he had bought for her.
"Sure." she smiled and after a moment they left the restaurant, slowly making their way to the park.
They were walking in silence until they've reached the destination and sat at the edge of the same fountain, next which they were so often finding themselves spend time together.
"Are you going to tell me what is the reason for you being so reticent?"
"Ugh... I was just wondering if you like the evening." he said, a little too slowly for her to actually believe it, but he was more than glad when she didn't try to press him.
"Yes, it's perfect. The performance was so beautiful, don't you think?" she asked and he could feel his cheeks getting warmer. He was sure that they were bright red.
"Uhm... Yes, it was... I only wish I could keep up with signing, I really do my best with learning and practicing but it was a little too fast for me..."
"How much of it did you actually understand?" she asked with a small, reassuring smile and her gaze told him that it was better to admit the truth than trying to hide it.
"I caught few signs here, few signs there... I couldn't focus on remembering the meaning of those signs I wasn't sure I remember correctly because I had to focus on the performance and I was a little lost..." he said, feeling sheepish and her smile only became a little wider.
"The most important thing is that you try. It's going to get better the longer you have contact with ASL. If you will want to keep learning, of course."
"I want to keep learning. I want to know your language, explore your world. I can't actually know how it is to not be able to hear but I want to try to understand it."
Sue only nodded as she didn't even know what to say. Jack's words brought tears to her eyes and left her speechless. He wasn't the first person to accept her the way she was, over the years she has met a lot of people who were able to notice her without looking through the prism of her deafness, who completely didn't see her as different from them just because her ears weren't working the same way their worked. Many of them even started learning ASL for her, just to make communication easier for her. Still, it was only Jack who absolutely always thought about everything what may cause problems for her; he may have forgotten that she couldn't hear a few times at the very beginning of their acquaintance but after some time it has never happened again. He has never expected her to adjust to everything, never made her feel like she has to do everything to fit. It was the exact opposition to it, and he was the only person who was even making her feel really special because of it.
"It's a part of you, Sue, all of this make you the way you are, the person I love. It's only natural that I want to become a part of it, too, even if it may be difficult."
He extended his arm in her direction, the palm of his hand up and his fingers spread a little. She had no problem with understanding the meaning of his gesture, placed her hand in his and they immediately entwined their hands with each other. He smiled at her and she immediately smiled back, fighting with the urge to wrap her arms around him and give him a tight, loving hug.
"Thank you." she said quietly, and Jack only squeezed his hand.
"There is no reason for you to thank me. It's the least I can do for you. For your whole life everyone expected you to fit to the hearing world and you did everything you could to fulfil this task. But why? It can be as well us trying to fit into your world. I can't see the difference. And I really want to do that. I want to be able to go with you to the events like this spectacle today, just like you go with me to the cinema or theatre. I want to be able to talk to you even when the light just isn't enough for you to see my lips clearly. It really isn't that much and I believe it's much easier for me to learn to sign, than it was for you to learn to read people's lips and especially to speak, when you aren't even able to hear it."
"It's not like I was actually given a choice. It was difficult, it's true, but thanks to that, now my life looks like it does. I would have never met you and most of my friends if hadn't done what I have done."
"I know. But I don't want you to think that it's you who always have to adjust to everything. I don't care that a lot of people would say that I'm crazy, but I want to do that because I love you. I fell in love with you the way you are and I would have never change anything about you. I know that you feel a little uncertainly with the fact that you can't hear while I can, but I really don't care. People may say that I should really consider all of the difficulties it can bring and think if I'm willing to face them but they aren't going to change my mind. In fact, I have thought about it and I really can't see anything what could make us unable to overcome it. Shouldn't our feelings matter more? I love you and I can't imagine that one day you won't be here, with me." he swallowed and took a deep breath, knowing that if he actually wanted to ask her, it was the best moment as his courage seemed to be with him.
"I want to be with you forever, Sue. I know that we're a couple for half a year but damn! We know each other longer and better than a lot of married couples do! I'd even risk to say that I know how it is to be married to you with the 'living together and spending most of the time of the day with each other' part. We've wasted so much time... When I think what we could have had right now if we hadn't chosen to forswear that we're more than friends I can't help but think that we were stupid... I don't want us to waste anymore time... I know that being with you, sharing my life with you is exactly what I want and..." he stopped, trying to judge her reaction in any way. He didn't recognize any emotion on her face, she seemed completely focused on watching him and reading all words on his lips. He could feel his heart beat very fast, and his hands shaking as he slowly withdrew his hand from hers to sign "Will you marry me?"
Sue blinked few times, as she couldn't really believe what she saw. Has Jack really just proposed to her? During his long speech it crossed her mind few times that the reason for everything he was saying could be an intention to propose, but it seemed unbelievable. And definitely too wonderful to be true. She even started to wonder if there was any way that he mixed signs and changed the meaning of what he was saying, but the longer she was thinking about it, the more impossible it seemed. After all, his signing has really improved, he knew a lot of signs and was able to easily lead conversation even though he was signing slowly. And it was quite characteristic sign...
'Oh, stop it already! He really proposed to you and he awaits your answer!' appeared in her mind and she moved her eyes up to look into Jack's; those brown eyes she loved so much, and which were able to make her lose all words with just one look.
Jack felt a relief when it came to him that he has done it. Something he was the most afraid of was that he was going to chicken out. It was something only Sue was able to do to him, but he always had problems with expressing his feelings and thoughts in her presence. He was afraid that he may say something wrong, something what will offend her and ruin everything they were sharing. He often told himself that it was ridiculous, especially now that he knew that she loved him too. Earlier he at least had the reason to be such a coward; how many friendship had been ruined because one of the people fell in love with the other and wanted more than the second one was willing to offer? But now it was no longer an issue; she has given him her love, complete trust, everything she has never given to anyone in such a huge significance, as she admitted to him. If she was claiming that her feelings were so strong, would it really be possible for him to lose them?
Still, when she didn't react, he felt himself getting more and more nervous. Has he just made a fool of himself? But then he finally noticed something change in the neutral expression on her face. He could see something light up in her eyes just before they filled with tears and corner of her lips twitched, her mouth slowly spreading into a huge smile. In the very next moment he felt her arms around his neck, as she embraced him tightly. His arms unconsciously moved around her waist to press her even tighter against him, and he was holding her until he felt her moving back a few inches, just enough to look at his face. He noticed wet traces on her cheeks and a grin, which didn't seem eager to even think about disappearing.
"I believe I'm still waiting for an answer..." he said, a little teasingly, feeling like a huge weight was lifted from his heart. He knew that her reaction could mean only one answer but he still wanted to hear her say it or see her sign it, just to be absolutely sure.
"Yes! Absolutely yes!"
His mouth spread and the size of his smile matched hers. She squealed in delight, wrapping her arms tighter around his neck, when he lifted her and spun her around. When he placed her back on the ground, his hand slowly moved up from her back to cup her face and his thumb gently moved over her cheek, before he closed the gap between them by placing his lips on hers. The kiss started as very gentle, but it quite quickly turned to a very passionate one, never losing its tender, loving nature. After a short while his hand moved to the back of her head, his fingers tangled into her hair and his tongue asked for permission to enter, which she immediately granted. He could hear her moan softly when he touched her tongue with the tip of his, pulling her even closer to himself, deepening the kiss.
Jack only moved away with an unsatisfied groan when he felt someone behind them clear his throat and realised where they were. He could see the question in her eyes and mouthed the answer, to which she only responded with a nod. They were both breathing heavily, Sue's cheeks were flushed and he knew that it was even better that the circumstances were like they were. He kissed the tip of her nose in a loving gesture and took the box out of his pocket. He opened it and removed the ring only to take her hand in his and slide it onto her finger.
"It's beautiful..." she whispered, looking at the simple ring with a small, white gemstone and Jack smiled.
"I'm glad you like it." he squeezed her hand and moved to her side, never letting it go "Let's slowly go back. I'm sure Lucy is waiting for you to come back and give her all details of the evening."
Sue chuckled but she was aware that it was true. She remembered how ecstatic Lucy was when they finally admitted their feelings and she always waited for her to come back to their flat, when she was going out with Jack. This time however, Sue wasn't sure if it wasn't her who waited more impatiently to being back home, so she could break the news to her friend. She just smiled to herself and rested her head on Jack's shoulder as they were slowly making their way to her apartment, with their arms linked. She closed her eyes for a moment, her smile only widening; when she made the decision about coming do D.C. she hoped to find a life she always dreamed about. Now she had a great job, wonderful friends and the man she loved and knew was the right one for her, and who reciprocated her feelings. She could see a wonderful future in front of her, and even though not all of them were fulfilled – yet - she could say that her dreams were coming true.