Disclaimer: I don't own anything I swear!!
Panda Note: So there's this song, it's country. It's called 'Nothin but the taillights' by Clint Black. It inspired this little one-shot. No, it's not a continuation of Birdhouse, just so you know. Enjoy!
Taillights
He couldn't figure out what he did to deserve this.
There he was standing on the side of the road, somewhere in Kentucky, alone. His oh-so-darling girlfriend decided out of nowhere that he was a jerk and needed to walk a mile to the gas station. There was no hint that she'd be there waiting for him when he got there, but he had no other choice.
There was no way he was going to hitchhike, that's what all those horror movies are made of. Stupid and trusting people got into strange vehicles with people they don't know. In this day and age you couldn't be so sure.
No part of their whole road trip gave a hint to this behavior—when he thought about it. The woman was nuts!
They'd been heading to Sam's mother's wedding, the woman was onto her third husband, whose family wished them to marry in Kentucky, in some little town he couldn't remember or pronounce.
They'd just got word before departing from Seattle that Carly was also recently engaged. The whole trip he carried the conversation, mostly about how happy he was for Carly and her beau and Sam seemed to become more and more agitated.
He couldn't understand where all her anger was coming from at all.
The two had been dating for a good five years and things were much the same, like when they were friends except that there were real feelings involved.
The taillights were becoming harder to see in the distance, as they drove farther away from him. There he stood in the middle of the highway, thinking about shoving his thumb out and fetching a ride. The problem with this idea was that there were no cars out at that hour. Only the gravel and the occasional bird were there to keep him company.
"What did I do?" he asked the darkened sky above him as the little dots of his taillights vanished completely. "Did I just imagine this amazing relationship?" he shook his head and continued to walk down the lonely highway. "Did I say something wrong?" he continued to ask aloud to no one. "Look at me, she's got me talking to myself!" he growled and kicked a rock out of his path.
A highway sign informed him that he was only halfway to his destination. Half way!
By the time that reached the gas station he was tired from his walk and agitated by the woman who used to reside in his dreams.
He could just imagine her laughing it up to herself as she waited for him to slowly walk a mile. Not that she promised that she'd be waiting for him there, but there was the possibility that she was. He hoped anyway.
It wasn't until he spotted his pickup truck that the rest of his annoyance bubbled up. Seeing Sam leaning against the driver's side door, smirking, with her arms folded over her chest.
"Enjoy your walk, Freddison?" she asked, tauntingly.
"That was so uncalled for!" he snapped, stopping the rest of the way towards her.
"Hardly. You needed the workout." the smirk never leaves her face.
"This isn't a joke. What the hell was that even about?"
"Do I need a reason to leave you in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night?"
"YES!" he yelled, face turning red.
She sighed and shook her head at his clear obliviousness.
"You don't even realize what's wrong…"
"I would if you'd just tell me." he felt himself calming down a bit, seeing her falter.
"We've been together how long?" she asked pushing herself from the door and walking closer to him, eyes on fire.
"About five years." he answered, confused by this conversation.
"In all that time you never thought once to ask me to marry you? What, is Sam Puckett not good enough to be apart of your psycho family?"
"What?"
All anger inside of his being left him at that moment.
"You heard me, I didn't stutter." she glared at him, hands on her hips.
"So you're mad that I haven't proposed to you?" he asked, making sure he completely understood what she was trying to get across to him.
"Pretty much! Five years is a long time you know. What were you expecting? That we'd just continue to live together and play house? I expect more than that."
He frowned a bit and touched his coat pocket lightly, out of reflex. Inside was a small box, waiting to be presented.
"Sam…" he sighed. "You ruined my surprise."
"What are you-"
"I was going to pop the question after the reception tomorrow, but if you want me to do it here in the middle of nowhere, with some dirty guy staring out the window of that rundown gas station, then I can." he shrugged. "Who wants to be proposed to properly anyways?" he continued, smiling at this point. Sam's domineer changed in an instant. The very thought of what he had planned had caught her off guard. She wouldn't have made a big deal about it if not for all the weddings coming up. That is to say, it had been on the backburner in her mind for a while and she just never had the nerve to move it there. Worrying that suggesting it would make him run for the hills. It took him three years just to ask her out for goodness sakes.
"Alright, alright, I get it. I messed this one up." she waved a hand at him dismissively. "But you're an idiot. Why'd you wait five years to ask me? You could have asked a long time ago you know?"
"You aren't the easiest person in the world…" he started. "But I was waiting for a sign that you wanted that sort of commitment."
"And I gave you this supposed sign?"
"Yep!" he grinned, forgetting the fact that he was left on the side of the road. "You practically had big flashing lights and large arrows pointing towards it."
"You're such a dork." she deadpanned and turned back towards the driver's side of the truck.
Taking it as the end of the conversation he walked over to the passenger side and slid back into his seat.
"So…" he asked with his eyebrows wiggling a bit, after being on the road for a good thirty minutes. "What's your answer going to be when I properly propose?"
"You'll just have to wait and find out…if you live long enough." she smirked and kept her eyes focused on the road.
She said yes.