It had been two months since Finn had taken out his Nan's ring. Six since he had begun toying with the idea. But he still hadn't done it.
If he was to be honest with himself, he'd always somehow known maybe as early as the first time Rae and him had spent the night together. And that had scared him at first, of course. A little. They had been too young then anyway, so Finn had not dwelt too much on these thoughts.
But as time flew by and him and Rae grew closer and closer each day, the idea began to take root and firmly plant itself in his head. Till one day, the alternative to his plans was something that he couldn't even bear to imagine. What if Rae didn't accept…? A new fear took over the old one.
Now Finn was no sissy but it took some real guts if the girl you wanted to propose to was one Rachel Earl. What if she didn't believe him? He could hear her scoffing and laughing off his proposal as a joke of some sorts. He flinched. That would be unbearable.
He'd finally let go of such fears and doubts, a little over a month ago. His plans were to be set in motion at last but then Mrs. Bouchtat, Rae's mum, went into premature labour with her third baby (which turned out to be a false alarm). Rae had to rush over to her mum's so Finn had to cancel everything at the last moment.
And then the next day Rae's little sister took ill and Rae decided to stay there to help tend to her which was really bad timing in Finn's view. He loved the little kid as his own sister and wanted her to recover soon- but what an inconvenient time to get ill!
Finn found himself growing more and more restless as each day passed by.
Finally Rae was coming back. Everything was ready. The table set, the music in place (their song), and the candles lit. All that was missing from his perfect setup was Rae herself.
Finn waited half an hour which soon turned into one, two, THREE. She was late. Each minute was pure torture. He paced the room in agitation, nervously fingering the ring in his hand.
Eventually Rae arrived, looking frazzled and tired. She looked beautiful to Finn. The sight of her calmed him down.
She kissed him lightly, setting herself down in the chair across from him. ''Oh, sorry Finn. Karim had an urgent call from work in the morning and I thought I'd stay and help out mum till he returned. Mmmhmm. What's that smell? Oh, Finn, did YOU cook tonight?'' She looked at him in wonder and he found himself blushing under her open gaze.
''Er, yeah. It's your favorite lasagna. I thought…'' he trailed off, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
''I love you, you grumpy sod,'' she pecked him on the cheek and smiled at him and he found himself grinning back like a fool.
He set down a plate of lasagna for each of them and they began to eat. Then Finn brought out dessert. Rich chocolate mousse cake. Another one of Rae's favourite.
His hands shook a little from the nerves. He took a sip of the wine he'd poured for them- his mouth was so dry. He could even feel the weight of the ring in his pocket. Solid. Steady.
Finn looked across at Rae and felt a smile of deep contentment grace his face. This was it. Him and her. And this was his moment. Nothing was going to spoil this for him.
He cleared his throat slightly and opened his mouth to speak.
''Eh…'' Just then the phone rang loudly shaking him a little.
After a few excited words and delighted squeals exchanged over the call, she looked up at him. ''Oh, Finn! That was Izzy! Chop's asked her to marry him! Can you believe it? About time, I say!'' Her excitement was almost infectious but Finn was too angry for words.
What the bloody…? It had to be a joke. There were always things in his way! Effing Izzy, out of all people- and never mind that in a normal state of mind he'd be happy for his best friends, had gone and ruined all his efforts. He angrily cleared away the half-eaten dessert as Rae innocently chattered on about eager plans for their friends oblivious to his inner turmoil.
When the gang gathered at their old hangout to celebrate, Finn couldn't begrudge his friends their happiness. He had still not gotten over his resentment fully though and perhaps that showed a little in his quiet, sullen attitude. But nobody minded because they were used to his moods and Izzy even placed a sweet sisterly kiss on his cheek endearingly and he couldn't really resent her after that.
He didn't mean to steal the limelight from their happy friends but seeing them so happy made him feel more resolved than ever. He could hardly wait to get back home that night.
''OH MY GOD!'' Rae's voice startled him from his quiet musings. He looked up to see Rae closing her phone off as she beamed around at them all. ''Mum's gone into labour. It is positive this time. I am going to have another little baby brother or sister!'' A round of congratulations went around.
That would mean they would be going over to the hospital tonight. So that was that for his plans.
Finn cursed his fate.
They had just returned from the hospital. The newborn (baby boy) and mother were safe and healthy. They would be discharged the following day. It was late and everyone was tired though happy.
Rae had dozed off as soon as she hit the pillows but Finn couldn't sleep that night. He couldn't stop thinking. Had it been this difficult for Chop to propose to Izzy? He doubted it. And hell, if Chop could do it, anyone could. Why was fate always messing with him? Like it wasn't meant to be? It wasn't fair really since there were no two people more right for each other than him and Rae. He knew that. If he had to be cheesy, he'd say she was his soulmate.
He must have fallen asleep sometime in the night though for the next morning he spluttered awake to Rae bending over him with her damp hair tickling his face.
''Mornin' sleepyhead,'' she looked at him mischievously yet adoringly. And it was that adoring look in her eyes that did it.
It took him one moment to jump up and grab the ring from its hidden place.
Another to go down on his knees and blurt out, ''Rae, will ya marry me?''
He didn't realize it at the very instant but the words had come out a little more aggressive than he had originally intended. Rae stood there, the mischief comically wiped out from her face. She'd been rendered speechless; eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.
Finn felt himself growing nervous with the lack of response from Rae. He hadn't intended to come on to her so roughly. Oh, he was a right twat. What must she think…?
He was thus mentally berating himself when she finally snapped out of her daze and threw herself at him.
''Yeah…I mean, yes?'' Then in a more certain tone. ''Yes. Yes. Oh my god. Yes!'' And then he was kissing her all over her face as she giggled in a very un-Rae manner. He felt lightheaded with joy himself and couldn't stop grinning.
Finn held her close to him as he kissed her deeply, trying to pour into his kiss what he couldn't convey with words.
''I thought you'd never ask. What took you so long?'' She asked teasingly once they stopped to breathe.
Finn smiled as he didn't think she'd really want to know.
Instead, he pulled her close, bringing their heads together and told her all that really mattered in that moment.
''I love you, Rae.''