Prompt; Will You Marry Me
If he were being honest with himself, he was nervous; horribly, terribly nervous. This was an entirely new feeling for the man. Gajeel was more of an on-the-fly kind of person, whatever happened, happened and he would just roll with the punches. But these plans had his nerves on full alert and the butterflies in his gut were going absolutely insane.
He loosed a breath and fiddled with the box in his pocket; the weight, though light, still felt unbearably heavy. The long hours he'd put in at the shop had finally paid off and he was more than excited to finally spend some well overdue and much deserved quality time with his girlfriend. She had been busy making their new house into more of a home and he was beyond ready to take that one step further.
The front door swung open with little effort on his part, his eyes instantly zoned in on the artwork hanging in the living room. She had been hard at work today putting those up, it seemed. The furniture was still scattered but that would have to wait another time, he had bigger plans to deal with this evening.
"Lev, I'm home!"
Bending over to pull his boots off, he set them aside, stunned into silence as he righted himself to his normal height. Levy was smiling at him as she came down the stairs; the butterflies in a near frenzy at this point. He swallowed and took in her appearance: a semi-flared black dress that stopped at her knees, paired with a deep red shawl. Her hair was down but pulled back in her signature style with a black lace ribbon. Thanks to the bit of height from her heels, she came to right above his chest and she twirled as she approached him, making the skirt billow.
Wide-eyed and grinning, he stepped forward to take her hand and twirl her again. Compared to her usual demure appearance, this was a sudden contrast, "Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?"
Levy giggled and smiled back, those damn butterflies were at it again, "She took the night off, and I didn't think you'd mind spending the evening with me."
He shook his head, "Not one bit."
He kissed her quickly and raced up the stairs to change into his outfit for the evening. Not caring to properly place his clothes in the hamper, he littered the floor with his outfit from the day and pulled on a pair of black slacks and a red dress shirt. A quick glance in the mirror had him slicking his long hair back in a low ponytail then he was out the door and back down the stairs, taking Levy by the hand and leading her out to the truck.
"So where are we going? For you to actually go to the trouble of planning something it must be extravagant!" Levy squirmed in the passenger seat.
He shot her a sideways grin and answered her question with his peculiar laugh, "Yer just gonna have to wait and see."
He saw the way she began chewing on her bottom lip and never had that box in his pocket felt so heavy. He wasn't sure when he was going to bring it out of hiding tonight, the moment had to be just right and he knew, for sure, it would not happen at the restaurant. He wasn't one for audiences.
Reservations had been made at the new restaurant in town; Gajeel knew he was probably a better cook but he wanted the night to be special and he had remembered a few months ago.
Levy had mentioned wanting to come here when the place opened, and so here they were.
He helped her out of the truck and turned to give the valet attendant a death threat if his precious black beauty came back with even one scratch. Levy had merely giggled with the shake of her head. With her arm wrapped in his, he lead her inside to the hostess booth.
Giving his name to the woman at the stand, he shuffled nervously as she flipped page after page with a worrying expression on her face.
"I'm terribly sorry Mr. Redfox, but it seems we may have given away your table."
He took a deep breath; this was why he never made plans. He started to speak but a small and delicate hand rested itself against his chest.
"Gajeel, honey, it's fine. I know a nice place just down the street. Come on," Levy thanked the woman and he followed her out the door. The night is about her, he reminded himself, and if she's happy, that's all that matters. Though that restaurant had not heard the last of Gajeel Redfox.
Leaving his truck in valet parking, the couple walked down the sidewalk hand in hand. When Levy stopped at a hot dog vender, Gajeel lifted a studded brow and snarled.
"Hotdogs? This is hardly what I had planned for tonight, Levy."
She shrugged with a smile and ordered for the two of them, "I love that you made us plans Gajeel, but what I really love about you is the unpredictability of how our dates usually go." She handed him his order and her smile grew, "Plus, I know you really didn't want to eat there."
"I would for you," he grumbled.
The weight in his pocket was now even heavier. He hadn't planned on popping the question in the restaurant, but he was planning for that part of the evening to really get the ball rolling. Now, here they were, dressed to the nines and eating hot dogs as they walked towards the park.
Levy was smiling and he couldn't help but notice just how beautiful she really was when that smile was on her face. If he had it his way, she'd have that smile on her face for the rest of her life, starting with tonight.
They sat together on the edge of the fountain in the middle of the park, eating their hotdogs. He
finished his and fiddled with the ring box in his pocket.
"Gajeel? Are you okay?"
"Huh?" He blinked and came face-to-face with the blue haired woman he had been admiring only moments ago.
"You spaced out there, are you feeling okay?" She touched his forehead with the back of her hand and frowned, "You don't feel warm."
"I'm fine, Levs. Just..something on my mind," he replied, not meeting her gaze.
"If you say so," Levy reached for his trash and turned to toss it in the bin across from them.
Gajeel swallowed, it was now or never. He gripped the ring box in his pocket and stood from the rim of the fountain. And just like that, it all happened too quickly.
Levy turned from the waste bin, running straight into Gajeel who had once again managed to zone out. Wrapping his arms around her to brace her fall, he lost his footing and took one too many steps back. Over the edge of the fountain they went, with Levy in his arms landing in the chilled water, and Levy sprawled out over his lap. For being mid June the water was damn near freezing.
This evening could go to hell.
Levy laughed a sound like music to his ears and sat up in the pool of water, her dress was soaked along with the lower half of his body.
"Gajeel, what is that?"
He looked down to where she was pointing, there in his lap was the black ring back box; he hadn't realized he had pulled it out in the moments before they ended up in the cold fountain water. He took a deep breath and picked it up; Levy's eyes watched his every move.
"This is not what I had envisioned at all for this night, but to hell with it," he opened the box and gently coaxed the princess cut, diamond ring out of the red velvet holder, "I love you, and I'd love nothin' more than to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me, Levy McGarden?"
Levy was shaking her head, wide-eyed and mouth open. She wasn't saying anything, which had Gajeel's stomach clenching, wanting to vomit.
"Levy, I'm sorry, I know tonight wasn't ideal and I may not be the greatest boyfriend ever-"
"No," Levy interrupted and quickly realized her mistake, no, I don't mean no. Oh Mavis. I'm in shock, I wasn't expecting this at all! I mean, you want marry me?"
Gajeel sat up, cold water sloshing from his movements, "With all that I am, yes. I want to spend my life with you, Levy. I want to spend the rest of my days makin' you the happiest woman ever. So, will ya marry me?"
Levy released a sob as he slipped the ring on her finger, and once it was in place she tackled him. Her arms wrapped around him and he fell backwards, further into the water as she straddled him and followed him down.
"YES!" She answered against his lips as he wrapped her in his arms.
Water dripped off the two of them as he stood and stepped out of the fountain onto the sidewalk. She was crying and kissing him everywhere her lips could reach.
"This was so much better than anything you could have ever planned!"
"Does this mean I get outta havin' to help plan the weddin?" He asked in between her kisses.
"Absolutely not, Mr. Redfox."
He set her back down on the ground and flicked her nose, "I wouldn't have it any other way, Mrs. Redfox."
I'm such a sucker for proposal stories. my love life might be suck as a bucket, but Gajeel and Levy's sure isn't. The damn cuties. Ugh.