Yes, yes, I know this is how I ended my other fic too but I can't help it. Many thanks to justkillingtimewhileiwait for all of her help and patience throughout my writing of this fic. And thank you all for reading :D
Pinning back half of her curls, Erin took one final look at herself in the mirror and nodded, satisfied with what she saw. It was the night of the Policeman's Ball; an annual event which they all managed to avoid if they had an active case. But for the first time in four years, the Intelligence unit would be making an appearance.
Erin could hear Jay shuffling around in the living room, having been ready for the past 20 minutes. A stickler for punctuality, he had given her a deadline of approximately 3 minutes ago before he would leave without her. Which they both knew was a lie, evident by his presence still in her apartment.
Slipping on her shoes, she headed out of the bedroom and blushed lightly when Jay turned towards her to take her in.
"Wow, you look beautiful," he uttered, eyes travelling appreciatively from her black heels and up her floor-length midnight blue gown to her modest cleavage and finally to her face. He met her eyes with a naughty gleam in him, licking his bottom lip as he approached her.
"Had to make some effort to look good on your arm," she teased. Dressed in a tuxedo, Jay looked the epitome of a gentleman, if it wasn't for the look on his features betraying him horribly.
"You'd always look good on my arm, sweetheart," he told her, stopping a couple of feet in front of her and too far for her liking. He eyed her again critically, hands casually slipping into his pants pockets before frowning slightly. "But there's something missing."
Brow furrowing, Erin did a quick mental rundown of what it could possibly be. Her hand automatically went to her throat, touching the simple silver chain she wore before reaching for her ears to feel the small hoops she had slipped in.
"What?" she asked, unable to determine what it was that he saw, or didn't see.
"This," Jay said, dropping to one knee with a box now in his hands.
Gasping, Erin faltered for a moment, a hand coming up to her lips. "Jay…"
Opening the box, she watched as he smiled softly at her, the look in his eyes shining nothing but love anymore. "Marry me, Erin."
It took a few seconds longer for her to process what was really happening, that her boyfriend, her partner, was proposing. Her attention was claimed fleetingly by the mesmerising way the light glinted off the diamond ring, reverting back to the man kneeling in front of her, still awaiting her answer. "Yes."
"Yes?" Jay repeated, making her laugh. She wasn't sure where the tears swarming her eyes were coming from, but the familiar feel of butterflies in her stomach along with the rapid beating of her heart told her they were happy ones.
"Yes!" Erin emphasised, matching his wildly ecstatic grin with one of her own as she leaned over to kiss him. Pulling him to his feet with her hands on either side of his neck, she sighed contently at the feel of his arms wrapping around her waist to hold her close. They broke apart to breathe, foreheads resting against one another as she murmured against his lips, "Yes, a hundred times yes, Jay."
"I need to put the ring on you," he laughed lightly as he unwound his arms from around her which forced her to drop her hands too.
"It's so beautiful," she whispered in awe as he finally slipped it on, loving the way it fit perfectly against her knuckle and the new weight of it. "I love it. I love you."
Jay brushed back the curl she had left loose,taking hold of her chin gently and kissing her again. "I love you, too."