First Things First

Puck stared, and stared...and stared. He'd pretty much gone cross-eyed just staring at what could've been the smallest diamond ever.

Fuck. What if she says no.

He'd sunk the last of his savings into this ring even though he was pretty sure she wouldn't give a fuck about the actual stone in it. If he'd learned anything in the last seven years, though, it was that Lauren Zizes demanded quality because she was quality. And even if she'd gotten less vocal about it as she got older - or maybe he'd just gotten use to treating her like she deserved the best without her having to say anything - that didn't change the fact that she would expect...something. He couldn't come at her with a proposal of marriage empty handed. He really couldn't do it half assed either.

He sucked in a deep breath as he pulled back the glass door of the display and placed the black box on the red velvet pillow.

It had taken a little finagling on his part to get permission to make this happen. He hadn't left this place on the best of terms - he'd just barely graduated and it had took a lot of arm twisting on Mr. Schue's part with both his European geography teacher and Figgins to let him retake that test so he could pass - and he'd really had to amp up the whole 'marriage was the ultimate commitment in God's eyes' stuff just to get the principal to even listen to his pitch. The 'okay' took him agreeing to some premarital counseling with a pastor. Puck hated the idea but if it meant getting what he wanted and being able to do something kind of special for Lauren, he was willing to suck it up.

Now to wait.

He nudged the brick closest to floor with the toe of his boot and glanced at his watch every few seconds. The minutes ticked off - 1, 2, then 5. She was a little late, which hardly ever happened. In the 5 years that they'd been together - the last 3 of those they'd been 'shacking up,' as her dad liked to say just to get on Puck's nerves - she'd only been late for one or two things. So the fact that she hadn't shown up yet made him nervous.

"Okay, Puckerman. What am I doing back in these halls? I was done with this place ages ago."

Puck looked over his shoulder, catching her walking towards him, her skirt sweeping around her legs - god, he loved those legs - as she moved. Her hair was long now, hanging down almost to the middle of her back. It was in these loose waves that hung around her face and even though she looked kind of annoyed, and unsure of why they were there, it was like her face glowed a little bit.

No doubt about it. Still the prettiest girl ever.

Turning his back on the display case, he grinned at her as she stopped in front of him, hands on her hips. Her eyebrows were sitting mid-forehead and her lips were pursed and a bit twisted. That was her '...well?' look. Usually, she saved it for when he did dumb stuff, like buying a flat screen with the money they'd been saving for a dishwasher and trying to defend it by saying they'd both enjoy the TV. Or right after she got off the phone with the electric company the time he'd forgotten to pay it. The 'well' face was rarely ever good.

Puck wasn't shaken though. Not yet anyway. Taking a step closer, his hands found their rightful place on her hips. "Remember the last time we were here together?"

She made another one of her faces. One he couldn't remember seeing before... and he'd seen them all. It was like everything softened, even her eyes. The blue seemed like the shade changed, even though he knew that wasn't possible. Then again, it was Lauren. That girl made all kinds of impossible things happen. "Sure. I told you about my days as the reigning queen of the baby pageant circuit and you told me that the jewels in the crown weren't actually real."

Puck scowled at her, mostly because she was smirking at him in that way that said she'd probably never let him live down some of the dumb stuff that he'd said. "That was more of a joke."

Lauren reached to stroke his cheek. "If you say so, babe." Her lips tasted like sweet cherries, which almost made him forget all about the teasing, and the reason they were there when she got them close to his, coaxing them into a kiss.

Focus, Puck.

Her lips were always distracting and it never took much. Even just thinking about them when he was at work or driving home or...wherever... got him completely off track. Not today though. She wasn't going to kiss him out of his nerve to do this. So he gently tangled his fingers in her hair, wrapping his other arm around her as he removed himself from the kiss. "You wanted to be queen back then, and I was gonna be your king."

"Mmm...yup. I was all about that. Especially when I saw how into making it happen you were." Lauren's hands slid down, tugging on his collar lightly. "I wasn't going to say so back then, but it meant a lot that you believed in me as much as I did."

"That's how it's always going to be, babe. At least if you want it to be."

The look on her face changed again and Puck realized he'd probably said the wrong thing. Like he was suggesting something between them had changed. It made him tighten his embrace and kiss her forehead. "I just meant that like...I always have your back and I always want to. That's if you'll let me."

She still looked confused and Puck shook his head. This had all gone differently in his mind, specifically that part where he didn't suck at something simple like proposing. So in a last ditch effort he eased her around, and moved out from between her and the glass. Now she could see the red pillow and the crown that was sitting on it. The ring box was sitting in the middle of it.

"What...what's that?" She looked at him. "Is that..."

He nodded towards the case. "Open and find out."

Lauren did what he asked. But he saw her hand jump a little, almost like she was shaking as she eased the glass door back and reached in for the box.

His heart felt like it was slamming against his chest as she opened the box and saw the ring. Everything seemed like it had started to move in slow motion. Her eyes moved from the box to him, then her head came up and he wasn't sure what her face said then. He'd always planned to get down on one knee, even if it was super lame, because it had got her to say yes to their first date when he'd asked all those years ago. But his knees didn't want to cooperate. It was actually like his whole body was betraying him. He couldn't talk, and he couldn't even get his eyes to focus on her. His stomach felt like a boulder, dropping out of his body with a hard thud.

"Yes."

The word snapped him so hard out of his shock that he thought he heard it wrong. "What?"

"If this is what I think it is, and I'm pretty sure it is, then I know my answer and it's..."

"Wait! Let me at least ask you the question before you go answering it. Jees, you always have to take charge don't you." He was loud and he knew he sounded angry. He wasn't, really. Not with her anyway. He was for sure frustrated, but mostly with himself. If he'd had any hair, he'd probably be pulling at it. Instead, he just raked his fingers over his scalp.

He could tell she was itching to roll her eyes at him, then tell him that he was being a total drama queen about it. But she didn't. In fact, what she did next was probably the coolest thing she'd ever done for him. Closing the box, she gently placed it in his free hand and stood with her hands folded in front of her. The surprise that had been there when she first opened the ring was back but it was softer.

There was no more time for him to be annoyed that this wasn't going like it was suppose to. She was offering him a do-over. And he was going to jump at his chance.

Turning the box in his hands for a moment, getting his thoughts together and make the words count. "Laur." His head came up and his eyes were locked with hers. They made his insides turn to complete mush and he had to take a deep breath, raising his shoulders and all, just to keep it together. "I suck at words, you know that. That's why I brought you here. I was gonna be all smooth and say something about you being my queen again. But now that I'm standing here, looking at you waiting for it, and actually paused. "Well, I'm a freaking mess on the inside. I get like that sometimes when it comes to you. I wonder how I got so lucky, or I wonder why you love me and stuff like that. It totally works out though because all I have to do is look at you and forget all that crazy stuff. You're like the only person who wasn't just all talk when it came to believing in me and loving me."

He dropped to his knee without really thinking and offered the opened box to her this time. "Marry me. Marry me so I can do all the things for you that you've done for me."

Lauren's head shook a little, but there was a smile tugging at her lips. "Get up." Puck, a little confused, did what she asked. "You really went all out with this whole thing." Her hands came up to his face, pulling him in for a sweet kiss. "And even though it was a bit chaotic, you for sure get an A for effort."

"So is that a yes, or are you just teasing me because you like to?"

"I already said yes." Lauren kissed him again, this time offering her hand when she broke away.

Puck fumbled with the ring a bit before sliding it onto her finger then twisting their hands together. "I'm just making sure." He grinned. She looked even better wearing his ring, which was saying something since she looked pretty great anyway. "So now what, fiancée?" Damn, he liked the sound of that.

"Well, since we're here...I think there's a supply closet with your name on it."

Puck smirked. "I'm so gonna love being married to you."

Lauren cocked an eyebrow, offering a hand. "Yeah, you will. But first things first."

Note: Written for Day 2 of Pizes week on Tumblr.