A/N: Hello again, another day, another update. :D... I really appreciate the feedback, it lights a fire under me to continue with this thing. I can already see the conclusion. I just don't know how many chapters it will take to get there. Feel free to leave suggestions.
"What!"
She was numb, the feeling in her limbs deserting her as she stared wide eyed at Ben. Had he really just said what she thought? It didn't seem possible.
She'd walked through the door, determined to start anew, to give this relationship the attention that it deserved, a fighting chance. "Ben, we need to tal-"
But Ben had darted from his position by the bar, and come up on her suddenly, a desperate expression on his face, words shooting out of his mouth, the rapid fire overwhelming her.
"Is it really that crazy, Riley? I mean, we've known each other our whole lives, it's not like we're strangers."
"We've only been dating for a couple months, Ben. It is crazy."
"This is the longest relationship I've ever been in, that has to mean something."
"Saying you've never been in a long term relationship is not a great advertisement for what you're trying to sell here. Marriage is 'til death,' Ben, not 'till we get into a fight and take a break'."
He shook his head, ignoring what she was saying. "And the whole family loves you, even mom, which you know is a huge feat. She still gives Tucker the side eye sometimes."
"She doesn't love me, Ben. She tolerates me. Which is fine, she's Bonnie Wheeler, the only people she loves are the ones she gave birth to." The words didn't seem connected to her mind. Why the hell was she rambling about Bonnie when her mind was racing, panic building in her chest?
Ben just ploughed on, his hands lighting gently on her shoulders as he spoke. "And, Riley, I see the way you are with Emma. You'd be a wonderful mother to her, you already love her. I can see it."
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to decipher the information coming at her like a runaway train. She grasped at his arms, pushing him slightly. She felt like she was drowning. Her lungs drew in a very slow and deliberate breath before she opened her eyes again. "Ben, where is this coming from?"
Suddenly he deflated, whatever spastic energy possessed him released its hold. "You haven't been happy, and I thought… Riley, I just wanted you to know how much I care about you, and the things I can see for us. I'm willing to take this leap… you're the only person I ever even considered asking."
All of her grand plans for telling Ben the truth crumbled. Somehow, and she couldn't begin comprehend it, their roles had reversed. Ben was now hopelessly in love, the feelings he was vocalizing sounded exactly like her teenage infatuation.
She pondered his words, all the reasons for wanting to spend the rest of his life with her. There was no denying how tempting it was to accept this, to find oneself the object of boundless affection.
But it was all happening too fast. It didn't seem real. In fact, everything around her had a strangely dreamlike quality. The colors around her suddenly vivid, edges somehow crisper than they should have been. "I think I need to sit down."
He nodded eagerly, guiding her to the couch as his hand drew gentle circles along her lower back. Ben loved her and wasn't afraid to say it, and even though she was worried that he might not know what love really was, it was more than she could say for anyone else in her life. She knew she was capable of loving him, probably even able to revive that hopelessly breathless feeling she'd once felt when looking at him. Things like that couldn't simply be lost forever. It had to be in there somewhere.
The insanity of his impromptu proposal began to wear off, and Riley was finding herself returning over and over again to one repetitive thought. Why not? Why not marry the guy she'd been infatuated with for so many years?
She knew exactly why not, but it hurt to much to contemplate, and the wound buried deeply in her chest ached, it's bleeding exactly as profuse as before. The heat of desperation crept through her, setting her skin ablaze. She just wanted the ache to stop, to cauterize the gash and move on with her life.
Her head snapped up, teary eyes bottomless pools, resolve painting her features. "Yes."
"Yes?"
"Ye-."
Her affirmative reply was cut short by Ben's lips on hers, the breath slightly knocked out of her as he exuberating embraced her. She smiled against his kiss. There was hope, with someone this enthusiastic, someone so willing to try. And he was right, about his family. They were already her family, it would be like slipping into a comfortable pair of shoes.
People already mistook them for a married couple when they were out with Emma, people even making matter of fact statements about how the little girl looked like both of them. She could step right into a ready made happily ever after.
Love wasn't this magical mystical thing. It was practical, it was necessity, it was finding someone to make you as happy as you could be. Why did this feel like a mistake then?
"How soon can we do this?"
