Notes: Luka's a man with a plan. Marinette always has a plan and is annoyingly good at foibling his. (Which, honestly, is probably why he usually leaves the planning to her…)

I Pick You

Chapter Four: Picking the Moment

In the morning, Luka's alarm went off before the sun had even cleared the rooftops. He was quick to silence it, hoping to give Marinette some more time to sleep in, but he couldn't leave without at least dropping a kiss against her forehead. His eyes caught on the picklace they'd both been a little too…preoccupied to remove the night before, and his fingers lingered against her neck.

She hadn't actually said he could take it this time – she had, in fact, asked him to leave it. She had wanted to keep it, worried about an upcoming presentation, but before he could press the issue she'd started kissing him and…it was only three weeks. Barely a month. He'd be back soon enough, and he could sneak it away then, and…but if he had it with him, that would give him time to plan and…

…and no. He couldn't take it with him. Marinette wanted to keep it with her, and he respected that. Besides, three more weeks wouldn't really hurt, right? He didn't physically need the pick to plan how he'd use it for a proposal. He could easily plan without it, and then once he knew what he was actually going to do he could sneak it away. He'd have time to get everything ready when he got back, once he knew for certain what he was actually going to do.

God, no wonder Marinette was always so stressed, if this was the dizzying loops planning made your brain run.

"…Lu?" she mumbled, pulling him out of his thoughts as she shifted and blinked sleepily at him, and he brushed his fingers against her neck as he bent to kiss her. She sighed, her hand reaching for him, but he shook his head as he pulled back. "Time's it?"

"Early," he murmured. "Go back to sleep, darning. I'll call you later, ok?"

"Stay safe," she said. He kissed her again, a bit deeper that time, which was kind of a mistake. It was harder to pull away from her after that.

"I'll be home before you know it," he whispered, kissing her cheek. Her eyes were already closed, her head back against the pillow. God, she was beautiful.

His bracelet felt weird when he climbed on the bus twenty minutes later. Lighter. Strange without the feeling of the old, familiar plastic plectrum hanging down against his hand.

It was only three weeks. Barely a month.

Still…it felt like he was leaving a part of himself behind. More so than usual. And he wasn't sure he liked that.

– V –

But, just as they'd both said, those three weeks flew by. It didn't mean he missed her any less, especially when he walked on stage and didn't feel the comforting presence of worn plastic against his wrist, but he knew that was just him being silly (a superstitious old bilge rat, his Ma would say). She still called him every night, and sometimes through the day, and that didn't count all of the texts they sent each other throughout the day. He missed her, but he knew she missed him, too. She was thinking about him, too.

It stung a little less when, halfway through the second week of tour, she sent him a snapchat where she was blowing him a kiss and the picklace was on proud display above her shirt. She'd aced her presentation – just like he knew she would – and her designs had been selected for use in the spring fashion show. She was going to be busier than ever, but it was a huge step forward in her career. He sent her a snap back, along with a text telling her how proud he was of her. She was still typing when Penny swiped his phone and ushered him on set for a performance on a morning talk show.

In the end, he had been right about the pick, too. Even if he missed having it with him, he didn't need it physically with him to plan the…anniversary dinner. Which is what he referred to the proposal as in his text exchanges with his ma, Juleka, Rose, and Dingo. The only time he actually called it a proposal was when he had called Tom and Sabine, and he hadn't had the courage to text them anything beyond can we talk about something important? They had been ecstatic as he told them of his plans, and before he could even ask Tom was shouting out his blessing.

"About damn time, son!" Tom laughed, and Luka had to hold his phone away from his ear before his future father-in-law permanently damaged his hearing. "I didn't think you were ever going to ask!"

"Tom, please," Sabine sighed wearily. "They're still young."

"Oh, he should have proposed four years ago and you know it!" Tom shot back, and Luka could only smile as he listened to them argue in the background about how Tom had only waited six months before proposing (at least the first time), and they had been much younger.

…Tom was right. Sort of. Luka wasn't sure why he had waited as long as he had, honestly. Yeah, they were still young, but…they'd been together forever already. He didn't see them splitting up any time soon. Would it have really made a difference?

"We won't tell her anything, dear," Sabine said, bringing his attention back to the phone. He smiled gratefully, even though he knew she couldn't see it.

"Thanks, Ma S," he said. "Tom."

"That's Papa to you, son!" Tom called, though he sounded farther away from the phone that time. "Welcome to the family!"

His plan was simple, in the end: he would take Marinette to the Liberty, the place where they had first met, where a picnic dinner would be waiting for them. His ma had already agreed to clear out that night, giving them some privacy, and Juleka and Rose had agreed to help him set up (and possibly even cook, as Rose still didn't fully trust his slapdash culinary skills – despite Marinette's best efforts to properly 'train' him). He would sneak the picklace away and give it back to her (just like he'd given it to her when they'd first met), except on the back of the pick he would write the proposal. The actual pick was small, but he figured 'marry me' would get the message across while being small enough to fit – and after years of scribbling liner notes, he was confident he could make the letters tiny enough. (And hopefully legible enough – which is what made him buy a cheap pack of picks at one of their stops about a week in and start practicing…) And Dingo…Dingo would be hiding and would record the whole thing. He wasn't crazy about Dingo being there, but Rose had insisted Marinette would want the moment filmed – even if it meant inviting Dingo to what he'd been hoping would be a private moment between them. But Rose had insisted it would be romantic, and Marinette would want the moment on film, and he couldn't very well record it himself, could he? (And she certainly couldn't do it, as she was likely to start squealing and give the whole thing away!)

…by the time the plan was in place, he was beginning to realize why he had always left the planning to Marinette. Winging things was much easier.

But, ultimately, he was happy with the plan. It was perfect. It was simple, it was foolproof, it was guaranteed to work…as long as he could get the picklace away from her long enough to actually follow through.

Which, in the end, proved to be a lot harder than he had originally anticipated…

The problem started when he was about three days away from home. Even though their anniversary wouldn't be for another two weeks after his return, he had wanted to be prepared. If he was going to plan it out, he was going to make sure it went off without a hitch – perfectly, just like Marinette deserved.

So he called Juleka and asked if she could maybe pilfer the picklace for him, so it would be ready when he got home.

"…you want me to what?" she asked, blinking slowly at the phone. He rolled his eyes and picked his own phone up from where he'd had it propped against the bus window.

"Get the pick for me," he repeated, "so I can get it ready."

"…yeah, no, I'm not doing that," she snorted. Some of her bangs had fallen into her face, and she rolled her eyes as she pushed them back behind her ear. Before he could even ask why, she leveled him with an annoyed stare. "Luka. If you take the pick now, she's going to figure it out."

"But –" he started, but she just groaned and tipped her head back.

"Why was I cursed with such an idiot for a brother?" she sighed dramatically. He rolled his eyes again. He was glad to see her acting career was working out. "You are so dumb sometimes. How has she not dumped your ass yet?"

"Not helping, Jules," he said. There was a knock on her end, and she turned as one of the stagehands popped their head into her dressing room to tell her something. She nodded and thanked them before turning back to the phone.

"My point, dear brother, is that Marinette is smart," she tutted. "If you really want to surprise her, you'll have to sneak it away from her the night before. Otherwise you might as well paint her a neon sign saying you're gonna propose."

"But –" he tried again, but she was already shaking her head.

"Luka, you're overthinking this," she said, and while she sounded exasperated she was smiling kindly at him. "Don't freak out. Your plan is perfect, she's going to love it, and she's going to say yes. Besides, even if I did ask her, if you write the proposal on the pick this early you can't give it back to her, and don't you think she's going to want it back right away? Now look, I was supposed to be back onstage two minutes ago – stop freaking out!"

"Break a leg!" he called as she ended the call, and when the screen went black he groaned and dropped his phone onto the table. He leaned back against the bench he'd been occupying the better part of the afternoon and looked out the window, frowning as the road sped by.

He knew Juleka was right.

He knew he couldn't sneak the picklace away too soon.

He knew Marinette would figure it out if he tried.

…and yet none of that stopped him from trying anyway as soon as they rolled back into Paris.

"Luka!" Marinette cried the moment she heard their front door close. He barely had time to drop his bags before she was barreling out of the kitchen and crashing into him, pushing him against the door as she hopped up to wrap her arms and legs around him. He laughed as he caught her, tucking his head against her shoulder even as she pressed her face into his neck, and he smiled as he breathed her in. She'd had a shower recently – her skin was still slightly damp and the scent of her bodywash was strong.

She smelled like home.

"I missed you," he whispered, kissing by the strap of her tank top. She nudged her shoulder, encouraging him to lift his head, and once she could see his face she was cupping a hand against his cheek and pressing her mouth to his own. He sighed into the kiss, leaning back against the door and squeezing where his hand was holding onto her ass. The kiss ended as she giggled into his mouth.

"I was in the middle of cooking dinner," she laughed as his fingers continued to knead her ass. "Can you wait?"

"Can dinner?" he asked with a grin, throwing a bit of a growl into his voice. She rolled her eyes and hopped off of him, grabbing his hand and pulling him after her as she made her way back to the kitchen. His eyes moved appreciatively along her back – she was dressed simply, in shorts and a tank top – as she walked. "Hey. I wasn't done with you."

"I told you you have to wait – dinner will burn," she said, turning back to him and tugging his face down for a quick kiss. "But come talk to me. I want to hear all about your trip."

She squeezed his hand and let go, grinning as she stepped away from him. His eyes dropped down to that smile, and then lower, and then paused as he realized she wasn't wearing the picklace.

"Hey…your necklace," he said, leaning against the counter across from her as she went to stir the pot on the stove. She hummed, her eyes on their dinner, but didn't answer. He stepped up behind her and ran his fingers along her neck, smiling when she shivered. "You're not wearing it."

Maybe sneaking it away from her would be easier than he thought, if she wasn't even wearing it now…

"The air broke at work – it was boiling in there today. The repair guys were still trying to fix it when Audrey sent us all home for the day," she said. He snorted, and she stuck her tongue out at him. "I told you she has some heart."

"Some," he agreed. She laughed when he held up his fingers, a fraction of space between them. "Little bit, though."

"Honestly it was either send everyone home or risk someone passing out from heat stroke," she sighed. "And with this current line we're working on – the fabric we're using – we couldn't risk running fans. It would have been a disaster. Anyway, I was disgusting by the time I got home. No way was I welcoming you back smelling like that, but I still had to start dinner."

"You didn't have to go through all that," he said, resting his chin on her shoulder. "We could have gotten takeaway. You know I don't care."

"You don't – I do," she tutted. "Pizza is not a suitable welcome home dinner, star."

He pulled a face and mumbled, "Pizza is not a suitable any time dinner."

"Watch it, or next time it will be," she laughed. She turned the heat down on the stove and turned in his arms, wrapping hers around his neck and grinning up at him. He bent down to steal another kiss. "Anyway. So yeah. Rushed shower, rushed dressing, less-rushed dinner."

"…you could have skipped the dressing," he murmured. She rolled her eyes and pushed him back, ignoring the grin he sent her.

"Ok, that's it – go put your bags away. You are banished from the kitchen and distracting me until dinner's safely off the stove," she said. He laughed and nodded, but she called out for him before he could leave the kitchen. "And…Luka? Can you go get my necklace for me?"

…she was fingering at her neck, right where the pick charm would rest, and biting at her lip. His expression softened as he watched her. When she looked up and caught his eyes still on her, a lovely pink dusted her cheeks.

"I know you're home now, but…it just feels weird, y'know? Not having it on," she said. He smiled and nodded, understanding perfectly. The past few weeks had been weird, being away from her and not having it on his bracelet.

"I'll be right back," he said with a smile, quickly dismissing any plans he had of sneaking the pick away while she wasn't wearing it. At least for tonight. He grabbed his bags from the door and took them to their room, where he dropped them by the closet to unpack later when he was less road-weary. He found the picklace easily enough, sitting on their dresser by her jewelry box. He paused when he picked it up, reminding himself that Marinette had asked for it.

Which meant Juleka was right, damn it.

Marinette would notice if he snatched it now.

He brushed his thumb over Jagged's grinning face and glanced at his guitar case. He wondered if he could switch it, maybe with a pick just similar enough…

But then she was calling for him that dinner was ready, and he closed his fist over the picklace and took it back out to her. Of course she would notice. It was Marinette – she noticed everything. It was part of what made her such a great Ladybug, that attention to detail paired with her creative genius. He scrapped the idea before it could fully take root, and the smile she gave him when he slipped the picklace over her head made him think maybe it didn't really matter anyway.

Even with a plan, he wasn't a planner. Juleka was right. He needed to let it go, try and snatch it the night before, and stop overthinking it.

It would be more of a surprise that way, right? If Marinette didn't suspect anything beyond a standard anniversary dinner?

With the picklace back where it belonged, he kissed her cheek and took the plates she had just dished up from the counter.

There were still two weeks until their anniversary, anyway.

He had time.

– V –

Except, of course, once he had resigned himself to worrying about the most crucial part of his plan last-minute, he found actually procuring the picklace day-of damn near impossible.

It all started early in the morning – well. Early for him, at least.

The sun was barely up, its hazy golden glow trying to filter through the crack in the bedroom curtains, when Marinette had to leave for the day. Her mornings were usually earlier than his, and he didn't often wake up when she left anymore, but he'd been nervous for days now. Which was stupid, because he had no doubt she was going to say yes, and yet. There was still that stupid, anxious little voice telling him she wouldn't, that this was all going to blow up in his face. He was just jittery enough about the dinner that he'd found sleep the night before damn near impossible. It had felt like he was waking up every twenty minutes, so when she had kissed his cheek and left the bed to shower of course he'd woken up again. And he would have just tried to go back to sleep, but she'd left the bedroom door open, and he could hear her singing from across the hall, and it was just enough to keep him up (in a good way, though – in a way that filled his chest with warmth as he listened to her). By the time she padded back into their room, still humming lightly as she rubbed a towel through her hair, he was watching her with a lazy, sleepy smile.

She moved through her routine, completely ignorant of his being awake, until she went to put the picklace on.

And, just like that, he was wide awake again.

Because he needed to get that necklace from her, and the time before he needed it ready could now be measured in hours, not days.

"Hey, darning?" he called, his voice low and gravelly with sleep. He chuckled when she jumped, spinning towards him with a hand over her heart. The picklace was fisted in the hand she'd braced against the dresser.

"Luka!" she gasped, her tone scolding. Her expression softened at the smile he shot her, and she laughed as she shook her head. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

"Nah," he said. He made a show of considering it for a moment before nodding. "…yeah. Bed's too cold without you." He patted the empty spot beside him and grinned. "Come back? Anniversary snuggles?"

"You'll have to manage," she snickered, turning back to the mirror resting on the back of the dresser. She caught his eye in the reflection as she lifted the picklace over her head. "I have to get to work. You'll get your anniversary snuggles tonight. Maybe more, if you're good."

And while he loved the sound of that, it didn't help him right now.

He sighed, putting some effort into sounding dramatic and miserable, and hunkered down in the bed. He grinned at her over the pillow he was hugging – her pillow, she noticed – and she rolled her eyes.

"You have me most of the day," she said, turning back towards the bed. She knelt down beside him and bent for a kiss, but she didn't let him deepen it when he tried. She smiled at him as she pulled back, but she was still close enough that he could reach up and finger the pick charm. "And happy anniversary, star. Audrey's letting me take a half-day. She seems to think you have something planned and I'll need the time. Any clue what could have put an idea like that in her head?"

…luckily for him, he was a Couffaine, and he had an excellent poker face.

"No clue," he said, tugging gently on the picklace to pull her down for another kiss. "You know me, darning. Besides spending the night with you, no plans at all. Well. Maybe dinner, but that's a given."

"I told her she was crazy," Marinette giggled. She sat up beside him and stretched, pausing with her arms still above her head to fix her hair into a bun. She looked over her shoulder at him and grinned. "Besides, we both know I'm going to be the one with the plan."

"Oh?" he asked, his fingers tracing lazy little patterns by her hip. "Anything I should be aware of?"

"Nope," she said. She patted his hand, still grinning. "Just take care of dinner. I'll handle the rest – and dessert! I already have dessert planned!"

He chuckled and nodded. He knew she had dessert planned – but technically so did he. She stood up and did a final check in the mirror, nodding when she was satisfied with her appearance.

…shit. She had completely distracted him from his goal, the little minx.

"Hey, darning?" he called as she turned to go. She paused and turned back to him. His eyes dropped down to the picklace, and he bit at the inside of his lip. There was still just one snag in his plans… "Can I use the pick today?"

"What?" she asked, frowning. He shrugged a little, scrambling for any excuse she would believe. His mind was drawing a blank, though, especially when she looked at him like that. "But…you're here. What's up, Lu?"

"It's stupid," he said, shaking his head. She frowned at him. "I just…I dunno. Wanted to wear it on Alec's show today?"

"…it's three minutes at the end to play an abbreviated version of your new single," she said, laughing slightly as she shook her head. He rolled his eyes and flopped onto his back, staring at the ceiling. He tried to look offended. "…Luka."

"New single. No one but you and the label has heard it – Penny's not even releasing it to radio until after the show debut. Guess I'm just nervous," he said. He glanced at her quickly before looking back at the ceiling with a pout. "Just wanted my lucky…Marinette Charm."

"You don't need it, doofus," she said. It was hard not to smile when she crawled back onto the bed and kissed him. "I kinda wanted it for the meeting with Audrey this morning."

…shit. He'd forgotten about that, too.

"You're right," he sighed, leaning up to kiss her again. "You need it more. Forget it – I'm being stupid."

"You are – you don't need a lucky charm, you superstitious pirate," she said. His arms had wrapped around her middle, and he squeezed her to him. She giggled and squirmed, and he pressed his face against her neck to hide his smile. "Luka! You're gonna get my clothes wrinkled!"

"Your fault for getting back into bed," he chuckled. He kissed her again and let her sit up. "You know you don't need a lucky charm either, right? You're crazy talented, and Audrey knows it. She's a bitch, yeah, but she'd be an idiot to not acknowledge that. You're her best employee, Marinette."

"Nah," she said, squeezing his hand before getting back up. "That's Todd the coffee guy. He's the one that keeps us going."

He fell back into the bed, laughing. He almost missed her wink.

"Tell you what," she said, straightening out her skirt. "The TVi studios are close enough to our offices, and my meeting is first thing. Swing by on your way and we can both use it today?"

He smiled, admiring the way the morning light seemed to make her glow. She had to get going – he was going to make her late.

He really wanted to make her late.

"Sounds perfect," he said. "See you in a bit."

Except it didn't quite work out that way.

Her meeting ran late, and then there had been an emergency call, and she texted him while he was pulling on his boots to let him know she couldn't get away. She didn't even have time to leave the picklace with the front desk – Audrey was yelling at her just for sending him a message. He was quick to tell her it was fine, he'd be ok, she needed to get back to work – but he couldn't shake the anxiousness as he realized he wouldn't be able to get the pick from her yet.

He tried to remedy that after the talk show. Penny hadn't actually been in on the proposal plan (and there was no way in hell he was breathing a word of it to Jagged, who was worse at keeping secrets than Sass), but he'd made her aware enough that there was a general Plan – enough to keep his schedule clear past that one gig. So, knowing Marinette was having a pretty chaotic morning, he swung by their favorite café, ordered her favorite drink (and a pastry that wasn't as good as her parents but pretty darn close), and surprised her at work. She'd barely had time to give him a quick kiss in thanks before she was rushed back to the labyrinth that was the Bourgeois offices, and he'd left the building empty-handed.

He was due at the Liberty after that to set up, which took…longer than he'd hoped, given he was actually trying to make the deck look nice and not cluttered. He wasn't as worried when Marinette sent him a text saying she had to stay an hour longer than anticipated, then two. He let Rose know they might be a little late and asked if she could drop the picnic basket off later, and she sent him a thumbs up in reply.

He made it home barely before she did, and by then…he was getting a little desperate.

Desperate enough that he was willing to enlist some outside help.

Some Miraculous help.

"You're going to WHAT?!" Tikki shrieked, her tiny paws clapping over her mouth as she stared at him through wide, glittering eyes. He nodded, smiling at the kwami, and Tikki let out a squealing giggle as she did an excited little backflip. He laughed and held a finger up to his lips, shushing her before she attracted the attention of the other kwamis. He knew he could trust Tikki, especially if she only had to keep the secret a few hours. The others…

Well. There was a reason they never told Sass anything.

"I just…I need your help," he said. "I still need to write the proposal on the pick. I haven't been able to sneak it away from her yet. Think you can help a guy out?"

"Oh, yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Tikki cheered. "Whatever you need, Luka – oh, this is so exciting!"

"Ok," he said, nodding, "so here's what I'm thinking…"

Marinette walked through the door fifteen minutes later, looking exhausted and apologetic.

"Ok," she said, kicking her shoes off before she could get much farther than the entryway. He looked up from the couch, where he was already dressed and ready to go (except for that one minor detail), and she paused to admire his outfit. It wasn't much, not really, but the button-down was a little dressier than his usual band shirts – and she'd told him ages ago how much she loved playing with the buttons when she undressed him. She bit her lip and swallowed, and he chuckled as he dipped his head towards her.

"Like what you see?" he teased, and she rolled her eyes as her cheeks pinked. They both knew exactly where her mind had gone when she'd seen the shirt.

"Shut up," she said. There was an iced coffee in her hand, and the ice rattled in the cup as she gestured at herself. "I just need to change, and then I'll be ready. I am so sorry, Luka. I meant to be home hours ago. Audrey is such a –"

"I know," he chuckled. He stood and walked over to her, bending down to kiss her forehead. "Major bitch. It's fine, though. We have time."

She paused at his gentle reassurance, smiling gratefully at him.

"…yeah," she sighed. "We have time."

He took her hand in his own, lacing their fingers together.

"Sure you don't want to shower first?" he asked. She groaned and shook her head.

"Yes, but…" she started, whining again when he kissed her cheek.

"We're in the middle of a heatwave, and even if they fixed the air at the office you just walked home," he said.

"…are you trying to tell me I stink?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. He laughed and shook his head.

"Never," he said. He squeezed her hand and kissed her. "I'm saying I know you'll be more comfortable if you take a nice, cool shower before we go. And we have time."

"We won't miss a reservation because I zoned out in the shower?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. He just smiled and kissed her again.

"Where we're going they're a bit loose with reservations," he said. "We'll be fine."

She looked like she was honestly considering it for a minute before she shook her head.

"No," she said. "I'm fine. I just –"

…it was a dirty trick.

It was a little mean.

But he was desperate.

He caught Tikki's eyes over Marinette's head, and the kwami nodded. The next thing they knew, she had started a scuffle with the kwamis she'd been playing cards with, and then she was giggling and flying away as they chased her – straight into Marinette's hand, knocking the iced coffee out of her grip. There was more shouting as the drink flew up and, with a bit of maneuvering on Tikki's part that was too fast for either Luka or Marinette to see, onto Marinette. She stood there, blinking and spluttering at the kwamis, who were suddenly crying out apologies and fluttering over her in an anxious tizzy. Tikki had fetched a dishtowel from the kitchen and busied herself with dabbing at the stain, and Luka watched in (admittedly slightly impressed and slightly horrified) wonder as another round of 'accidents' had Tikki catching the picklace on her paw and snapping the cord.

"STOP!" Marinette screeched, jerking away from the flurry of kwamis. Five repentant kwamis hovered between them (well, four – and one who, judging from the wink she shot him, wasn't very repentant at all). Marinette closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, her hands held up to hold them off. After a moment had passed, he cleared his throat.

"…Marinette," he called, and her eyes snapped open. He gestured to her chest, and she reached up to find her necklace was missing. Her eyes widened, and Tikki gasped as she looked at the towel in her paws. The picklace was fisted in her grip, too.

"Oh my gosh, Marinette! I'm so sorry!" the kwami cried, and if Luka hadn't known better he might have believed her. He sighed and took the picklace from her, shooting her a look.

"It's ok," he said. "These things happen. Mari, go grab that shower. Calm down. I'll fix this."

"But –!" she cried, but he kissed her head and nudged her towards the hall.

"I've got this," he said. "Go take a minute. Or ten."

When the bathroom door had slammed behind her, he turned towards Tikki with a glare.

"I don't know if I should be impressed or pissed," he said. She giggled, smiling innocently.

"You got the pick though, right?" she asked. He sighed and flicked at her, making her giggle again.

"I didn't think you'd break it, though," he said. She followed him into the spare room they used as a studio. "I just needed her to take it off. Figured if I could get her in the shower…just find me some string, Tikki."

Five minutes later, Luka sat at Marinette's desk with Tikki proudly perched on his shoulder, both admiring the back of the old Jagged Stone pick. Across the black back, scrawled in shiny silver letters, he'd written possibly the most important question he'd ever ask Marinette in their entire lives.

Well.

One of the most important questions, at least. There were still a few more he could think of for later, but for now this one was topping the list.

marry me?

…he just hoped she said yes.