I'm exhausted, stressed, and sick, so I haven't been able to focus very much on my other works in progress (I think I have ... four?). But I spotted a post on Tumblr that inspired me to write this little story, and I couldn't resist.
"Oh my god, yes!" Emma gasped.
"Love, at least let me finish." Killian said, sounding amused and a little embarrassed, just like they'd practiced.
"Am I interrupting?" the server asked, approaching the table.
"I think we just got engaged," Killian replied brightly.
"Yes!" Emma said, nearly squealing. She hated how girlish she sounded, but she needed to really nail the effect.
"Congratulations!" the server said. "Why don't I give you more time with the menu?"
They made sure to have the ring on her finger by the time the server returned. "I spoke with my manager and we'd love to offer you your meal gratis as our way of saying congratulations."
"Oh wow," Emma said, breathing out forcefully, trying to sound surprised. "Wow, that's so nice of you!"
"Thank you so much, mate," Killian said. "You've made an already perfect night even more unforgettable." Emma had to refrain from snorting.
The server took their orders and left them to excitedly discuss their upcoming wedding plans.
Emma couldn't stop giggling as they made their way home after dinner. "I can't believe it worked!"
"I know," Killian agreed. "I told you, the beard really sold it."
"That's true." He was normally pretty babyfaced, but with the stubble, he looked like he was at least twenty-one. And the place they'd picked was one of those nice ones, where they just assumed all their customers were old enough to drink.
"And I can't believe how much food they gave us," Emma said as Killian opened the door to their tiny apartment. The door was stuck in the frame yet again, and Killian had to really push with his shoulder to get it open.
"I know, love. I told you I'd pick a great place. Some of the nicer restaurants will comp you a dessert or a bottle of champagne, but I knew this one would do the whole meal."
"And what a meal!" she exclaimed, hurrying to shove their leftovers into the miniscule refrigerator in the studio's kitchenette. "I swear, I don't think I've eaten so well in my life."
"Neither have I," Killian admitted, throwing his coat on the arm chair. "Oh, do you have the ring? I don't want to lose it."
"Yeah, hold on." She pulled it off as she walked over to him, examining the piece of jewelry. Up close, it was obvious that the center stone was plastic. "Where did you get it?"
"That obnoxious tween-populated accessory store in the mall." He put it in the small wooden box they kept all their keepsakes in and moved over to the couch.
"Claire's?" she asked skeptically. It was hard to imagine Killian in that store. "Tell me you at least bought it."
"Swan, of course I bought it." He quickly pulled out the sofa bed, which creaked noisily, and started grabbing the pillows to make up the bed. Having their own place was much better than sleeping in the car, but she couldn't wait till they had an actual bed.
"I mean, I know it's not a real engagement ring, but …"
"Love, listen to me." He put down the pillows and took both of her hands in his. She shivered; she loved when he got so intense. "You and I made a decision to start a new life together. To find a place to live besides the backseat of the Bug, and to find a source of income that didn't come directly from other people's pockets. And that's exactly what we're doing."
"Besides scamming a restaurant by faking a proposal," she said, but she was grinning.
"Well, it is our anniversary," he reminded her. "We'd have paid if it had come down to it. And we tipped the waiter well, did we not?"
She kissed him gently on the lips before grabbing the pillows he'd set down. "We did. Now, come on. Let's finish making the bed. So we can, you know ... " She winked. "Go to bed."
After all, it was their anniversary. She'd never had one of those before—a celebration of being a part of something for a year, and the promise of that something continuing. She liked it. And that it was something happening with Killian? That made it even better.
"Oh my god, yes!" Emma squealed, getting the attention of the surrounding diners.
"Love, at least let me finish," Killian said patiently. The surrounding patrons applauded as the server approached. He hoped those patrons wouldn't be suspicious when he inevitably didn't finish the romantic fake proposal. He could improvise if necessary, of course, but it wasn't as though he had anything planned and ready to go.
"Is everything all right, sir? Madam?"
"Oh, we're so sorry," Emma said effusively. "We just got engaged!" She held up her bare left hand before gasping theatrically. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry!"
"That's all right, my love," Killian said with a smile, shaking his head. He pulled the ring out of his pocket. "Got it right here."
"Well, congratulations," the server said. "If you'll excuse me, I'll see about getting you a bottle of champagne to celebrate."
"Wow, thank you!" Emma replied.
"Yes, thank you," Killian echoed as the server left. He turned to Emma. "Got a little ahead of yourself there," he said with a chuckle.
"Sorry," she whispered as he slipped the ring on her finger. "I didn't time that very well. I should have interrupted you sooner."
"It's all right, love. Do you think it'll just be the champagne?"
"Probably. That's okay, though. I meant to tell you, the job I finished today paid better than expected. So we should be fine."
"Brilliant!" They had enough to pay if necessary (they always did), but this was a much swankier place than they typically went to. Knowing that they could rely on a little extra cash from Emma's successful job helped him relax a bit more. And besides, it was their five year anniversary; they could afford to enjoy themselves a little.
In the end, only the champagne and dessert were gratis, but they managed to order entrées that were relatively inexpensive and large enough for them to bring home leftovers. "That could have been worse," Killian commented apologetically as they entered their apartment.
"It's really fine," Emma reassured him as she took the take-out bags from him and went into the kitchen. "You and I both knew that place was a little riskier. And we still paid less than I expected. Thank god they comped the champagne."
"Agreed. It was an excellent bottle." He hung his coat on the back of the door and went to the kitchen to get hers. "And it was a meal worth paying for."
She grinned at him as she shut the fridge and removed her jacket. "Thanks. And you know, we're both doing better than we were a few years ago. It didn't hurt us to spend a little money."
She was right, of course. She was quite talented as a bail bonds agent, as though she had a magic power that allowed her to find people who didn't want to be found. She was the primary wage-earner for the time being; he'd been lucky enough to stumble into an apprenticeship at the local shipyard and was in the process of earning his degree in mechanical engineering.
"True." He went back to the living room to hang up her coat. "Got the ring still?"
"Yep." She pulled it off and walked over to their wooden box of keepsakes and put the ring back. "Safe and sound for next time. Would it be okay with you if I just went to bed? I'm pretty exhausted from catching that bail jumper today. I know it's our anniversary …"
"Love," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Yes, it's our anniversary. And yes, I would love to throw you down on that bed and make love to you to celebrate. But we have all the time in the world for that, and I know how exhausted you are. So, my love, go get some rest. I'll try not to disturb your sleep."
She smiled sweetly at him before kissing him softly. "Happy anniversary. I love you."
"And I you," he replied. As she got ready for bed, he settled down on the couch and began flipping through the TV channels, making sure the volume was low enough that she wouldn't be able to hear it in the bedroom.
After she went to sleep, he stayed up a bit, wondering what he would say, if he ever had to finish the proposal. Probably some stuff about how they'd met, and how happy he was that they had this life together. But wouldn't she think they were too young? She was definitely phenomenal in bail bonds, but he had barely gotten started on finding something to do with himself besides working odd jobs. And he still had a couple of years to go before he finished his apprenticeship. They were doing better than before, but they weren't really secure yet.
Besides, neither he nor Emma appreciated the glances and whispers and well-intentioned but definitely inappropriate comments that they got when people learned that they'd been foster kids, that they'd been runaways, that they had GEDs, that they'd been homeless for a time. If they got married so young, they'd just face even more stigma.
But still … it was enjoyable to think about.
"Oh—oh my god, yes!" Emma was a bit flustered. Why hadn't he warned her they were doing the fake proposal con? They hadn't done it in a while, not even on their last anniversary.
"Love, at least let me finish," Killian said, but he wasn't smiling.
"Is this a bad time?" At least he'd timed it right; the server had just come to the table.
"I think we just got engaged!" Emma said as brightly and happily as possible. At least her confusion and shock were genuine this time around.
Killian chuckled nervously and pulled out the ring. "And to think, I had a whole speech prepared."
"Well, congratulations!" the server said. "I'll give you a few minutes."
When she'd left, Emma let Killian put the ring on her finger. It felt tighter than it had in previous years. Then again, they weren't on a hardcore budget anymore; she'd probably gained some weight since the last time she'd put the ring on. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't realize we were doing this tonight."
"It's all right, love," he said, smiling reassuringly in reply, but she could have sworn she heard him mutter something to himself as he took a sip of water.
After the server had come back, happily informing them that their dessert would be comped, Killian still seemed tense. "What's wrong?" Emma asked. "Bad day at work?"
He shook his head. It had been a long shot anyway; the man loved his job as a marine engineer and rarely had a bad day. "It's nothing, love."
The server came back with their bottle of champagne and she tried to relax a bit. It was their tenth anniversary, and their night out at a fancy restaurant was supposed to be fun, not stressful. Clearly something was bothering Killian; she just wished he'd spill the beans instead of keeping whatever it was bottled up.
She'd get him to admit it eventually. He always came clean on his own time, and clearly, that time wasn't while they were out in public, trying to celebrate their anniversary.
As they entered their apartment after dinner, Killian went to put their leftovers in the fridge while Emma hung up her coat in the entryway closet. "Hey, where's the keepsake box?" she asked; Killian had done most of the unpacking when they moved in last year, and she still didn't know where to find everything.
She tugged at the ring. Damn, maybe she had gained weight; the ring wasn't too snug, but normally, it was practically falling off her finger. She examined it more closely; it wasn't the right ring at all. In fact, it wasn't even close to the right ring. The band was white metal, not yellow, and the stone was definitely not made of plastic. And this ring had two tiny blue stones sitting next to the center stone.
"Killian, where did you get this ring? It looks … well, real."
He emerged from the kitchen and pulled off his own jacket. "It looks real because it is real. Well, that's a white sapphire; I know how much you dislike diamonds."
"Why did you get a real ring? It's just a con for free food, Killian. It's not like anyone's ever checked to make sure the ring isn't plastic."
"Because this wasn't a con," he said, shutting the closet door. "Admittedly, I probably picked the worst time to do it, but it's been a few years since we did that con, and I didn't count on you jumping right in."
"What are you even talking about?"
"Here, give me the ring." She tugged it off and handed it to him. "All right, let's go in the living room."
"No," she said, shaking her head. "You were weird all night, and you're not making any sense. I want an explanation now."
"Very well," he said, before dropping to one knee and raising an eyebrow at her.
"Oh." She blushed; she was an idiot. "Okay."
He grinned up at her. "At least now you get to hear the end of the speech I've been starting all these years." He winked. "Emma Swan, when I first met you ten years ago, when you broke into my car—"
"Stolen car."
"—my stolen car, I knew my life was about to change. But I had no idea just how dramatically it would change. It would have been enough for us to have simply fallen in love, two homeless high school dropouts living in the backseat of a Volkswagen. It would have been enough had we pooled together enough money to make an attempt at an honest life."
"Mostly honest."
"Mostly honest," he agreed. "It would have been enough for you to support me through my apprenticeship and my degree. It would have been enough for us to build this life together. And it would still be enough to just have this life. But it would mean the world to me if we could continue on together as husband and wife. For I love you dearly, and I'm ready to take that step with you."
He held up the ring. "The reason this ring is real is the same reason I didn't warn you about doing the proposal con tonight. It's because this isn't a con. I'm really asking. Emma, will you marry me?"
"Oh my god, yes!"
Thanks for reading! I'd love to know what you think.
I am no longer posting stories to FFnet. For new stories, check out my page on AO3 (same username, phiralovesloki; there's a link in my profile as well).