Juice was sitting on his elbows, staring at her with a big smile on his face when Ana woke up a few mornings later. Ana returned the smile hesitantly as she sat up, looking at the clock as she did. It was seven in the morning, early for Juice, and way too early for him to be this happy.
"What'd you do?" she asked, only half kidding.
"Oh, nothing," he said, in a sing song voice. "I was wondering if you ever remembered when our anniversary was, though."
Ana thought about it, and laughed when she realized that she couldn't remember it. They never kept track of dates, she never felt the need to. She didn't realize that he did, though.
"No," she said guiltily, which just made Juice laugh and kiss her sweetly.
"I don't know, either," he admitted. "But that's why I say today is our anniversary. Today, September 16th. It's our third anniversary. So happy anniversary, baby."
Ana laughed as he kissed her again. She was engaged to one of the sweetest and goofiest men in the world. From the outside looking in, it wouldn't look like the most romantic gesture, but for Juice, it was more romantic than a tub filled with rose petals.
"Is that why you're up at the crack of dawn, grinning like an idiot?" she asked, getting up and grabbing some clothes for the day. He came behind her and pulled out a red polka dot sundress, and lifted his eyebrow, a questioning smile on his face.
"Part of it," he answered, grinning as she undressed and took the dress from him. "Other part is that since it is our anniversary-"
"-that you spontaneously decided would be today," she interuppted, turning her back to him so he could do the top buttons.
"Not spontaneously, you snarky little devil," he said affectionately with a kiss to her shoulder. "I decided it yesterday. Anyway, we need a Juan and Ana day again."
Ana turned quickly, a big smile on her face.
"Really?" she asked hopefully.
"Yep," he said, nodding over to the outfit he had out for himself. A black t-shirt with a black beanie and baggy blue jeans. "Beanie's to cover the head tattoos."
"Jax's okay with this?" Ana asked in disbelief as Juice got dressed. He nodded, putting his kutte in her closet and grabbing his tennis shoes.
"He encouraged it," Juice replied, tying them quickly and grabbing a black sweater for her before taking her hand and leading her out the bedroom, and the house in general.
"No food?" Ana asked, seemingly devastated for the moment. Juice stopped for a moment and pondered that before shrugging.
"Fuck it, we'll get breakfast on the way there," he said, tugging her hand again. With a laugh, she let Juice lead her to the car, and their mystery vacation was underway.
Juice grinned as they passed the Charming sign, ready for the two day break he was getting from Jax. Things were getting crazy around town, and Juice felt like he was losing it. He didn't want to be the guy that lost it and made bad decisions, so he told Jax what was going on, and how he wanted to get away with Ana. Thankfully, Jax was in an agreeable mood.
So, after spending a few hours the night before researching what to do, Juice had narrowed it down to going to the Point Reyes Seashore near San Francisco. He'd already packed Ana's clothes (and his) while she slept, and he was excited to spend this time with her while he could. He knew that between the club, and the baby coming, these trips would be hard to come by after today.
He took her hand as they got on the interstate, and the smile Ana shot him was almost heartstopping, as always. In this life, a woman had to be as tough as nails, but Juice knew that no matter what front they put on, women like Ana, Tara, and Gemma liked to be treated like the queens that they were. They wanted to have dates with their husbands, be romanced properly. Juice wasn't going to give up a chance to see that smile come across his fiancee's face. She deserved someone who could treat her right. Someone who knew how to protect her, but also who could show her the love she needed.
"What's on your mind, babe?" she asked as he drove on.
"You, as always," he said, grinning a little at the blush that creeped up her cheeks.
"Smooth talker," she joked a little, squeezing his hand. "However did I fall for that?"
"You didn't," Juice said plainly, with a big smile on his face. "I think it was the elevator."
"No, it was some time before that, I think," Ana admitted, giving him a guilty smile. "I was attracted to you before I left for my dad's funeral."
Juice laughed triumphantely.
"I knew it!" he exclaimed. "When, exactly?"
Ana was sitting at a bar, nervously tapping her foot as she waited for him to show up.
She'd called Juice, mainly because she didn't know who else to call. Gemma was tied up with Opie's kids, and Juice was the only other person she knew well enough who would tell her what she needed to do.
She spotted those stupid head tattoos come through the door, and she nervously took a shot of whiskey before he spotted her, then winced when she realized she had to drive later.
"Hey," Juice said, taking the seat next to her. "You sounded really desperate on the phone."
"I am," Ana said, brushing her hair behind her ear and looking around. "I don't think I can do this."
"Do what?" Juice asked, shaking his head when the bartender went to refill Ana's glass.
"My dad's funeral. What if I do some stupid shit, like cry? I hate him, I'm not sad he's gone. So what if I cry? People are going to feel sorry for me, and tell me they're sorry for their loss, and I'll just say I'm not, then I'll look like a bitch. But they'll excuse it because I just lost my dad and I'm not thinking right, except I will be thinking right and-"
"Whoa," Juice said, putting a finger over her lips. "Calm down. Take a deep breath."
Ana did, and Juice grinned when she started to relax listened to the music playing and looked back where he saw some people dancing and smiled again.
"Come on. Let's dance," he said.
"Excuse you?" she asked, surprised.
"You need to relax and not think about your dad for a few minutes, and it's not like you can drive right now, so let's dance. Friends dance all the time."
"Not to slow songs," Ana protested.
"Well, we can be the first," Juice said, unaffected. He held out his hand and she sighed and took it. He led her to the dance floor and placed his hands lightly on her hips as she wrapped hers around his neck.
It was nice, Ana thought, as she just quit thinking and moved with Juice. He was looking at her and the concern melted away to happiness when he saw she was beginning to enjoy herself. She felt like she could do this every day. Vent to Juice, and then do whatever crazy thing he suggested to take the edge off.
Ana was a little put off when the song ended, but then Juice pulled her closer as another one began to play. This song was had a little more tempo, and Juice let her follow his lead as he danced with her again, grinning as he watched her worries fade away.
And as they danced in a small Lodi bar, Ana began realizing just how much Juice was beginning to mean to her. And it scared the hell out of her.
"I can't believe you remember that," Juice said, laughing again as Ana recounted the memory to him. "We should do that more often. Can you believe that I've never danced with anyone before then?"
"You were good, babe," Ana said. "So no, I don't believe it."
"Well it's true," Juice protested with a smile. It was. He'd recognized Ana's breakdown, and just did the first thing he could think of. He was improving that entire night, doing what came natural to him, just to make sure Ana was out of the scary place she was in. It was the night before she had left for Seattle, and he'd already been halfway in love with her. He had no clue she'd been feeling the same way before she left, and it made him happy to know that was the case.
Juice continued to drive, and the smile on Ana's face when she saw the ocean made everything worth it. She actually squealed with happiness and thanked him so many times as they drove to the place where they'd be spending their newly appointed anniversary.
"We're going camping?" Ana asked in disbelief as Juice passed the sign pointing to the campgrounds.
"We're going to try," he admitted with a grin. "I was hoping you knew how to put a tent together."
"Wow," Ana asked, a look of playful shock on her face. "My bad ass biker boy can assemble guns and bikes, and can hack into the US Government just for fun, but give him a tent and he is clueless."
Juice parked the car in the spot he'd reserved and grinned as they got out. They were on a bluff that overlooked the ocean. The bluff itself was beautiful, with red and yellow wildflowers scattered everywhere. That, with the green grass and the blue water, made a beautiful place for him to bring his beautiful fiancee. He felt in his pocket for something and, feeling it, took Ana's hand and led her to the edge of the bluff.
"Beautiful, right?" she asked, happiness exuding from her.
"You got that right," he said, not taking his eyes off of her. "Hey baby?"
"Yeah?" she asked, looking up at him. Juice smiled and kissed her softly.
"I love you," he said. "And I mean that. Like, every part of me loves every part of you."
"I love you, too, Juan," Ana replied, confused. "And all of your parts."
Juice grinned but kept her hand in his.
"I know that you kinda asked me to marry you already, but I was thinking I wanted to do this, and do it right."
"Do what?" Ana asked, then gasped as Juice got on one knee, pulling another ring box out of his pocket.
"Ana," he said softly. "I love you. Will you marry me?"
Ana looked at the ring in the box he had opened and gasped. It was a white gold band with a sapphire heart.
"Yes," she said tearfully. "Of course."
Juice grinned, and got up to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around him, and sighed as he pulled his mouth away from hers.
"You're not mad are you?" he asked.
"Hell no," she said, looking at the ring that was still in the box questioningly. "Where'd you get that?"
Juice smiled softly as they walked back to the car.
"It was my mom's," he explained. "Jenni sent it to me. If you want, you can put it on your chain, or your ring finger. It doesn't matter."
"My chain," Ana decided. "It was your mom's. I wish I could have met her, but since I couldn't, I can wear her ring, close to my heart, on my own mother's chain. That fair?"
Juice grinned as he watched her unclasp her necklace to slide the ring on. He helped her put the necklace back on, and kissed the back of her neck when he was done.
"We should get that tent up," he whispered in her ear as he trailed kisses up her neck.
"We should," Ana said, pulling away from him and going to the car. She gave him a sexy smile as she did. "You just going to watch my ass, or are you going to help me?"
Juice shook his head as he took off after her with a smile. He couldn't wait to marry that woman.
A completely fluffy chapter. I got all sappy listening to love songs, and I wanted Ana and Juice to have some time to themselves. Plus I needed to have a Juice proposal. Don't ask why, I just needed it.
Next chapter we get back to Charming, and all the bs that comes with it.
And thanks to all the Tumblrites that gave me happy birthday wishes! Today (yesterday?) was my 24th birthday. It was great. I got an SOA shirt.