One year later…
Once Danny had moved out (I had promptly moved in a short three weeks later), Tom wasted no time in popping the question to Giovanna. She had called me in the middle of the night to scream about how shiny her ring was and how he went about with the proposal while Danny sat beside me, on his own phone, trying to talk Tom out of making the wedding a cross between Glee and Star Wars with a dash of Disney thrown in.
Eventually -and with some enforcement from his fiancé- Tom handed the main planning over to Gi and simply signed his name to the check when money was needed. It was his goal to give her the wedding that she wanted, the one that she deserved, and he was sparing no expense.
Despite the grandeur of it all, it was a very intimate wedding with close friends and family in attendance. The two decided to wed in late August when the weather was still comfortably warm on a small, secluded beach that sat surrounded by high cliffs that shielded them from the public's prying eyes with the reception taking place in the hotel at the top of the cliffs. Giovanna wanted a simple ceremony with most of the budget going into the reception. The girl did know how to throw a party.
Danny and I stood as joint best men, beside our best friend, as he watched his bride walk down the aisle. I couldn't stop myself from smiling as two of my closest friends committed themselves to each other. Looking out into the crowd of friends and family, I noticed Harry sitting in the middle of the fifth row on Tom's side. He was smiling softly at Tom before leaning over to whisper something to the person beside him and my heart leapt when I saw that he was with Aaron.
Aaron's band had been in the middle of recording their second album. The success of their first number one album and sold out arena tour made his schedule jammed packed and to see that he made the time to attend meant a lot to all of us.
The two smile at each other and I show just how happy they looked, their hands clasped together between them. It didn't surprise me when Aaron first told me that he was seeing Harry. When Harry wanted something, he went for it with all he had. I warned him that Harry wasn't the 'settling down' type but after nearly a year, he had shown that he was loyal to the newly crowned 'Most Desired Man In Britain'.
It was amazing how much our lives seemed to intersect with each other from that day on. Danny worked with Aaron and Harry as their producer, I was always there to visit at the studio and Tom hosted the band's first ever meet and greet at his shop during their album release.
Things weren't a hundred percent forgotten, though, they never would be but we had all reached a common ground and the word 'friend' was no longer a forbidden word when he came to the drummer.
Fingers brushed over mine and I looked down to see Danny reaching behind him, lacing his fingers with mine. He didn't look back and kept his focus on the pair exchanging their vows in front of him.
"I think that was the nicest wedding I've ever been to." I said, walking hand in hand with Danny, our dress shoes held in our free hands as we walked barefoot down the beach. We had snuck out of the reception while everyone was too distracted with dancing, Danny wanting to take advantage of the beautiful scenery and the setting sun for a walk.
"I really was." He sighed, swinging our hands lightly between us, looking out over the ocean. "Though, leave it to Tom to be the one to cry during the vows."
I chuckled, closing my eyes as the cool beach breeze blew across my face. With Aaron's presence at the wedding, security was tight to stop any paparazzi or fans from crashing in so the beach was deserted, making it feel like Danny and I were the only two people in the world.
We strolled aimlessly for a while, making small talk about the wedding and what we were going to say once we got back, having to make our Best Man speeches before they cut the cake. Danny led me over to an abandoned lifeguard tower. "Come on." He said, letting go of my hand and climbing the ladder up to the benched area. "We can watch the sun set from here."
I climbed up after him and couldn't stop my laugh as he pulled me down beside him, his arms instantly wrapping around my shoulders and waist. Sighing contently, I laid my head on his shoulder and stared out at the setting sun, casting it's burning orange rays over the ocean that looked almost black without the sun's light above it.
My mind seemed to drift off into thoughts of how perfect the whole moment was. I was sitting on a deserted beach, watching the most beautiful sunset beside the most wonderful man I could ever have hoped to meet. How did I become so lucky?
When I thought back to all of things that Danny and I had gone through. Our first time together, the break up, the years apart and then the agonizingly long struggle for us to get back to each other. It all would make someone give up but something in me just couldn't let that Bolton boy go.
It was as if fate was saying that we needed to go through all the heartache and doubt and fights, the tears and worry, the discovery and admittance in order for us to realize that we were meant to be. That were was never going to anyone on the planet that would make us feel as whole as we did than when we were together.
I was drawn out of my thoughts as Danny began to fidget, his arm leaving my waist so that he could pick at a piece of the wood bench beside him. "What are you doing?" I asked, picking my head up a little so that I could try and see what he was up to.
"Look at this place." He said, looking over his shoulder and then down at his feet with a childish enthusiasm. "It's covered in carvings."
I looked around and saw that there was quite a bit of messages written out in the wooden bend and walls of the look out post.
'Roger was here! '05'
'Michael and Tiffany 4-eva!'
'For a good time, call Amber at-'
Danny's arm withdrew from my shoulder and he lifted his hips up, digging through his pockets, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth slightly in concentration as he search for something. "What are you doing now?"
He pulled out his car keys and held them up to me. "We can't leave without letting people know we were here, now can we?" He slid off the bench and crouched down and started etching the beginnings of a heart into the bench.
"You're the biggest dork that I know."
"And that's why you love me." He said in a sing song voice, falling silent as he worked on his masterpiece.
I rolled my eyes but smiled none the less. It was the reason why I loved him so much. His spontaneity and childish spirit never left me bored with the relationship and kept me wondering where the next day was going to lead us.
He always had some dream, plan or scheme in mind that he was always bursting at the seams to tell me about. All these trips and adventures he wanted to go on and sights he wanted to see. We would lay in bed for hours on Sunday mornings and just daydream about traveling the world. Together.
"Should I make this a 'P' or a 'J'?" He asked suddenly, breaking the silence between us.
"Hmm?" I asked, glancing down to see him looking at his carving questioningly.
"Should I make this a 'P' or a 'J'" He repeated, leaning back so I could see exactly what he meant.
I looked down to see that he had carved out a heart and in the center had written 'D.J + D.' and a line, as if he began to carve out the 'P' for Poynter.
I pouted slightly, my eyebrows creasing as I struggled to understand what he meant until I looked back at Danny and my breath caught in my throat.
Danny was kneeling there in front of me, on one knee, a small black box on his hand. "Dougie, I love you so much." He said, dropping his keys and taking my hand into his. "I knew that you were someone special the second you walked into that audition room all those years ago. I knew that you would forever change my life, for the better." He broke eye contact with me for only a moment, taking a deep breath and clearing his throat. I could feel his hand shaking in mine. "When everything happened with Harry, I felt like I had let you down because I should have fought for you but instead, I let you go and then you came back, like some miracle, you came back to me and I almost let you get away from me again. I want to make you a promise right here and now, that I will never let you go again.
You are the love of my life, Douglas Poynter. I can't imagine going to sleep at night with out you beside me and I don't want to wake up another morning without your face being the first thing I see. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy and showing you how incredible you truly are.
I want to take you to all those places we dreamt about and make a lifetime of memories that we can laugh about when we're all old and wrinkly. I just want you, Dougie. You and only you." He let go of my hand and opened the box he was hold to reveal a stunning ring nestled in the velvet. It was a simple silver band, there was nothing special or extraordinary about it but it was absolutely perfect. "Will you marry me, Dougie?"
It wasn't until I felt something wet fall onto my hand that I realized I had been crying. There were so many emotions flowing through me all at once and it felt as if my heart was about the burst through my chest. My mouth had gone completely dry and all I could do was nod frantically as I struggled to get enough saliva back into my mouth to form the words. "Yes! Of course!" I choked out, finally.
Danny's face lit up like fireworks against a night sky. "Seriously?"
I found myself laughing hysterically even though I was already short of breath from forgetting to breath through half of Danny's speech. "Yes, you adorable fool!"
He sat back down on the bench and pulled me to him, kissing me lovingly. "We're engaged." He whispered, his voice sounding as if he didn't quite believe it himself.
"Not until you give me my ring." I whispered back, biting my lip to stop the girly giggle that was bubbling up in my throat as he removed the ring from the box and slid it gently onto my left ring finger. I held my hand out to admire the way the sliver glistened in the final rays of sunlight. "Now we're engaged." I declared.
The sun was barely visible on the horizon anymore, the pink hue of the sky was the only thing that remained of the day. In a couple of hours, the sun would return to start a new day. The start of my life with Danny. Together. Always together.
"I love you, Dougs." He said, wrapping his arms around my waist once more and pulling me close.
I kissed the tip of his nose and snuggled up to him, knowing that we would only have a few more precious moments before we had to return to the reception. "I love you too, Dan."
The end