Summary: Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy often take to the sky on their brooms after a long day at work, and today is no different...except, of course, for the little velvet box in Scorpius's left pocket. An outtake to my multi-chapter story, "A Fine Line," but can stand on its own.
Author's Note: This one is short, but sweet. For those of you who have not read "A Fine Line," I would love it if you did! However, it isn't necessary to understand what is going on here. All you need to know is that Scorpius likes to call Rose by different flower names - other than the one she is actually named after - to annoy her. He tends to only call her Rose in emotionally charged moments.
For those of you who are loyal readers, I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post this. First, I was having a bit of writer's block, and then my computer died so that had to get fixed. Hopefully it was worth the wait at least. I have ideas for so many one-shots, but I think that I'm going to go out of chronological order from now on. A couple of the ones that I want to write are decently far into the future. Hopefully you guys won't mind if I jump around a bit.
As always, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy, and please don't forget to let me know what you think!
Marry Me
Rose Weasley let out a whoop of laughter as she raced towards the clearing in the woods behind Malfoy Manor, broom in hand. She glanced over her shoulder to see Scorpius Malfoy barreling towards her, his own broomstick clutched between his fingers.
"You're such a cheater!" Scorpius growled, his feet digging into the ground as he applied a burst of speed and closed the gap between them.
Rose shrieked as he grabbed her firmly around the waist and shoved her behind him, before sticking his tongue out over his shoulder as he sped past her. "Dammit Malfoy!" she yelled at his back.
They both skidded to a stop when they reached the clearing, their chests heaving. Rose glared at Scorpius, while he merely smirked at her. "What's the matter, Dandelion? Sore loser?"
Rose cocked her head, studying Scorpius carefully. She slowly sidled up to him, smiling when she saw the wary expression on his face. "What's the matter, Scor? You look worried."
"Maybe I know you."
"Maybe you do," Rose whispered as she shoved him with all of her might, before jumping onto her broomstick and pushing off of the ground as hard as she possibly could. The wind whipped past her, drowning out Scorpius's curses. She couldn't help but laugh at the feeling of exhilaration as she soared through the air. There was nothing quite like the feeling of taking to the sky…well…almost nothing.
Scorpius scowled as he dusted himself off, fighting a feeling of amusement at Rose's antics. No matter how old they were, or how long they had been together, that element of contention would never completely go away. It was one of the things that he loved most about their relationship. One thing was certain—with Rose, nothing was ever going to be boring.
He reached down to pick up the bag he had dropped when Rose had shoved him. He reached inside, pulling out a few small, red rubber balls. He and Rose often found themselves grabbing their broomsticks after a long day of work, and today was no different…at least as far as Rose was aware.
Scorpius had finally finished his training as a Healer that afternoon, meaning that he was now a fully qualified member of St. Mungo's staff. He couldn't help but feel an incredible sense of accomplishment at the fact that he had finally achieved his dream. Tomorrow, he would officially be able to drop the "Trainee" from his title, after four years of intensive study. He looked up to see Rose's form soaring above him, her wild red curls streaming out behind her. There was nothing more beautiful than Rose when she was in the air…well…almost nothing.
Scorpius slid his hand into his left pocket, running his fingers over the box he had hidden away before he had grabbed Rose and proposed a trip to the clearing with their brooms. He smiled before taking hold of his broom and propelling himself into the air.
Rose glanced back down to see Scorpius urging his broom into a steep climb towards her. At the sound of his harsh whistle, she spun in midair, raising an eyebrow at him, derisively.
"Catch!" he yelled, tossing a ball over her head and studiously ignoring the reproachful look on her face.
Rolling her eyes, Rose dove after the ordinary sphere of rubber, managing to snatch it out of the air on a rather impressive dive. In one fluid motion, she pivoted back towards Scorpius, winging the ball through the air back to him. He executed an elegant loop, coming up with the ball clutched between his fingers.
They went on like this for over an hour, flinging the round rubber balls back and forth, trying not to be the first one to let it drop. The sun was beginning to set over the tops of the trees, and it was becoming slightly more difficult to see.
"Do you think we should call it a night?" Rose asked, her expression clearly communicating that she wasn't quite ready to go back to the ground just yet.
"We've got some time," Scorpius answered, sending the ball across the clearing in a wide arc. Rose caught it easily before sending it back his way. "Let's make things a bit more interesting, shall we?"
Rose let out a laugh as two red blurs came flying at her. She swerved towards the first, while still keeping a careful eye on the trajectory of the second. When she had snagged them both, she shot a seductive look over her shoulder. "Come on, Malfoy. That's hardly what I would call interesting."
She swung her right hand up across her body, releasing the two spheres simultaneously. Scorpius caught the first easily, but was barely able to come up with the second, and only just managed to pull it out of the air after a very steep, and slightly suicidal dive. "Is that the best you've got?" he taunted Rose as he flew back up to her altitude.
"Think you can do better?"
Scorpius grinned, mischief twinkling in his eyes. "Let's see."
He took off across the clearing, steering his broom into a tight curve and coming to face Rose, a look of challenge on his countenance. "Bring it on!" Rose yelled at him.
"Go long!"
Rose raced away, glancing back over her shoulder to see Scorpius winding up for his throw. She saw the small, red object soar through the air and put on another burst of speed to catch up to it. She stretched out her hand, wrapping her fingers around what she expected to be the ball, only to draw up quickly in surprise and confusion. Instead of the smooth, round surface of the rubber ball, she was holding a red velvet ring box in her palm.
Rose froze in midair, staring at the box. It wasn't until she felt a gust of wind blow past that she realized Scorpius had drawn up alongside of her.
"Scor…" she breathed, running the pad of her thumb over the soft, luxurious texture of the velvet.
"Open it," he whispered.
Rose swallowed hard before gently raising the box's lid. She couldn't contain her gasp at the sight of the most beautiful diamond ring she had ever seen. It was absolutely perfect. And so completely her. She stared at the sparkling stone in its platinum setting in shock, almost forgetting for a moment that she and Scorpius were still hovering in the air.
Scorpius cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him. His clear grey eyes were trained on her face, wide and vulnerable as he took a deep, shuddering breath. "Rose, I love you. I think I probably always have—despite our…well, our very rocky start. There is no one that I can imagine loving quite so much…or love fighting with quite so much." He reached out, clasping her left hand in his. "Rose, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Marry me."
For a moment, all Rose could do was stare at him in shock. When he had suggested that they grab their brooms and head outside earlier, this was the very last thing that she had expected. Which, honestly, was what made it so them. Nothing about their relationship had ever gone quite the way she had expected. Scorpius was watching her carefully, his expression unsure. The mere fact that she could put that look on his face, when there were so few things that could break through his air of confidence, spoke volumes. The depth of his love for her was readily apparent, and Rose felt her heart swell even further as she gazed at him.
Finally, she couldn't hold the smile back any longer. Letting out a joyous laugh, she launched herself at him, swinging her leg over his broom so that she was seated, straddling his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and crushed her mouth to his. Scorpius's arms came around her, encircling her waist and pulling her body flush to his. His lips devoured hers and he couldn't tell if the swoop in his stomach came from the fact that Rose was kissing him senseless, or from their sudden and rapid drop in altitude.
Scorpius opened one eye to see that their combined weight was a little too much for his broom. He leaned backwards to even out their dive, taking Rose with him and, without separating their mouths, somehow managed to drift them slowly towards the ground. When his feet were firmly planted in the grass of the clearing, Scorpius stood. Rose was still wrapped around him, her fingers tangled in his hair, and her tongue doing amazing things in his mouth.
"Rose," Scorpius gasped, between kisses. "Is that a yes?"
Rose pulled back, her eyes jumping to his. "Yes! Of course it's a yes!" she laughed through the tears that had somehow appeared on her cheeks.
Scorpius's face lit up. He reached back, pulling her left hand from behind his head and extracting the ring box from her fingers. Rose loosened the grip that her legs had on his waist and let herself slide to the ground. Her gaze locked with his as he gently slid the ring onto her finger.
"I love you, Scor," she whispered, before jumping back into his arms.
Thank you for reading! Now don't forget to check out "A Fine Line," and my other one-shots. I should have the next story posted soon. Hope to see you next time!
