17.
Sydney got out of her car and smiled as she saw Vaughn step out of the shadows, wearing a black suit and holding a single red rose. He held out his arm to her and she linked her arm through his before entering the restaurant together.
The waiter smiled at them, loving this couple. They were definitely his favorite customers; he loved the way that from the moment they walked in here, they belonged to each other and no one else. He had been rooting for them and to know that they had made it, that they had met and flourished under this roof. . . he was happy. "Ahh, Ms. Vaughn. Mr. Bristow. How nice to see you again."
She beamed at his honest face. "Hello again."
"Your usual table?"
She was about to nod when Vaughn cut in. "No, not the corner table. Can we have one. . . more special? It's our three month anniversary today."
He nodded. "Of course. Come right this way." Sydney looked at Vaughn quizzically. Sure it was their three-month anniversary but she had always been partial to their table. For obvious reasons. But he merely shrugged and followed the waiter.
They walked up the winding staircase to the second floor. "Wow, I didn't even realize that there was a second floor."
Vaughn laughed. "So all those times when you commented about how beautiful the architecture was, you were never really looking?"
She flushed slightly. "I looked. Just not as hard as I might have let on that I was." She laughed with him.
The waiter gestured, "How is this?"
Sydney looked around her and felt herself take a sharp intake of breath. "Absolutely perfect," she heard Vaughn whisper, almost as much in awe as she was.
The room was softly lit, the shadows of candlelight lightly bobbing and giving the small almost-private room a peachy glow. The table for two stood in the middle of the room, the balcony only a few feet away looking over the night and the twinkling lights of the city.
Sydney took Vaughn's hand in hers. "Oh Vaughn. It's absolutely gorgeous." She reached out with her free hand and fingered the petals of the rose that stood in the tall glass vase on the table.
"Just like you," she heard him murmur, his voice right next to her ear. She got shivers from the sound. "But I hope you like my rose more than you like the other one."
She turned and grinned before giving him a quick kiss. "Of course I do. It's just. . . it's all so wonderful. I didn't know that three months was such a marker."
He smiled. "Well, for this relationship it is. Not to say that I didn't think it would last. It's just that this one. . . you are. . . this is all so special that I keep thinking that if I don't celebrate every moment of it, it will all vanish. Does that make sense?"
Oddly enough, it did. "Yeah," she whispered, trapped by the gaze of his eyes. He reached behind her and pulled out her chair for her.
She sat down lightly in it and waited for him to sit before reaching over the table to catch his hand in hers. "Did you do this? Did you arrange all this?" She didn't remember feeling so happy.
He raised his eyebrow at her in mock seriousness. "Don't be silly. Even I wouldn't build a whole room onto a restaurant. Not in a week anyway."
She laughed. "You know what I mean."
Vaughn grinned at her. "Yeah. But it was easy, this room was already beautiful."
The soft strains of music wafted up to their ears. Sydney smiled and softly rubbed his hand with her thumb. "Violins."
He nodded. " It was all worth it. Just to see the look on your face.
" I love you, Sydney."
She gulped and didn't hesitate at all this time. "I love you too." She felt like her face was stretching from her smile. He leaned across the table and kissed her softly on the lips.
Still in a daze, she barely heard his next question. "So, how was your day?"
"Oh, hmm? Oh. . . umm, I worked on my dissertation and I went to a couple of meetings." At the question in his eyes, she nodded slightly. Yes. SD-6 meetings. Yes. They gave me a new mission.
And then the conversation changed. Work didn't exist. They didn't exist. "And you?"
"Well. . . I tried to work." Vaughn looked pained. Sydney looked at him, concerned suddenly.
"Why couldn't you? Is something wrong?"
"Well. . . " he paused, looking unsure. "It was just that I couldn't stop thinking about you-" He burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I just wanted to. . . I don't know what I wanted to do."
She removed her hands from his in a mock-haughty way. "Well, I am offended Mr. Bristow. I am not a thing to be toyed with."
Vaughn laughed at her. "What can I do to make you forgive me? What if I get down on my knees and beg? Will that make you forgive me?"
Lifting her face, she closed her eyes and sniffed. "I'm not sure that that will be enough."
Their plates arrived and the waiter set down their glasses in front of them and filled them with wine. Sydney grinned at the service. They hadn't even ordered yet but the staff had remembered their dishes.
"Oh my god! Vaughn, did you have them freeze cranberries and cranberry leaves into the ice cubes?" She looked at him, not sure whether to laugh at his slightly smug expression or just completely lose all ability to talk.
So this was what it was like to be speechless. Such a little thing, freezing cranberries into ice cubes. But it showed that Vaughn had thought of all the details. And that was what touched her.
He grinned. "So, I suppose the ice cubes are enough to make you forgive me for my grievous mistake?" He slapped a puppy-dog look on his face.
Sydney grinned and got back into the game. It didn't even make much sense but she was enjoying herself. "I think you are getting too cocky, Mr. Bristow. I think you were closer to forgiveness when you were willing to get down on your knees and beg." She flipped her hair and picked up her sparkling white wine to her lips to take a sip.
Her eyes widened as the ice cubes moved out of the way and revealed the ring lying at the bottom of the glass.
She looked up at him in wonder but his chair was empty. She felt a hand take the glass from her hands and she looked down. Vaughn was on his knees, fishing the ring out of the glass.
"I can do that." Do what? Was he actually going to beg?
Sydney's hands went up to her mouth, shock registering in her eyes. The room, the music, the rose. . . she should've figured it out. She looked at him looking up at her, ring held up towards her in his fingers. He took one of her hands and brought it to his mouth and gently kissed her fingers. "Here I am. I am on my knees and I am begging you. To marry me. It's not complicated. I'm not going to confuse you with pretty words. Because this question is simple. I love you; I want to be in your life for the rest of mine. I want to be allowed to get jealous when other guys look at you in a funny way. I want to be allowed to kiss you in public or wrap my arms around you in the doorway of our house. I want to go to sleep with you in my arms and I want you to still be there when I wake up. . . I know that we can't get married right away. I'm just asking. In advance."
His eyes never strayed from him. It felt as if he was looking into her soul, seeing all her secrets, loving every piece of her. Silently she nodded, tears springing to her eyes. She dropped down on her knees beside him and watched in fascination as he slipped on the ring in the light of the candles surrounding them.
Sensing her next question, he turned it around so that the gem faced the inside of her hand. "Until you're ready," he said to her.
And then the tears did fall.
He chuckled softly, wiping them away with his thumb. "Oh, Syd. Don't cry,"
"I'm. . . I'm not sad. I'm just so- so happy." She could barely get the words out.
He laughed them and pulled her close to him and kissed the top of her head. "All right Sydney, all right. Be all the happy you want."
He slowly got up and pulled her with him. She was still leaning on him, almost unable to hold herself up. He wrapped his arms around her, loving the way she felt against him, wondering how she could fit so perfectly into him. And then he rocked her gently to the music.
She lifted her head from his shoulder, eyes glistening with tears and happiness. "Do you realize what this is?" she asked softly.
He grinned at her. "Our first dance as an engaged couple."
Smiling, she nodded and looked at him, amazed that he wanted her. Amazed that he wanted to be hers forever. "Ready for our first kiss as an engaged couple?"
"Always."
Lifting her chin, he met her lips with his.
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~ ~(review~) -Jenn warning: next chapter = the smut you guys have been waiting for. . . if you don't want to read it, skip it. I promise nothing important (to the plot of the story anyway) will occur. But I can't make it too graphic or they (fanfiction.net people) will completely erase my story and that would suck. (Only 3-4 chapters until the cliff-hanger~ dun-dun-dun)
Sydney got out of her car and smiled as she saw Vaughn step out of the shadows, wearing a black suit and holding a single red rose. He held out his arm to her and she linked her arm through his before entering the restaurant together.
The waiter smiled at them, loving this couple. They were definitely his favorite customers; he loved the way that from the moment they walked in here, they belonged to each other and no one else. He had been rooting for them and to know that they had made it, that they had met and flourished under this roof. . . he was happy. "Ahh, Ms. Vaughn. Mr. Bristow. How nice to see you again."
She beamed at his honest face. "Hello again."
"Your usual table?"
She was about to nod when Vaughn cut in. "No, not the corner table. Can we have one. . . more special? It's our three month anniversary today."
He nodded. "Of course. Come right this way." Sydney looked at Vaughn quizzically. Sure it was their three-month anniversary but she had always been partial to their table. For obvious reasons. But he merely shrugged and followed the waiter.
They walked up the winding staircase to the second floor. "Wow, I didn't even realize that there was a second floor."
Vaughn laughed. "So all those times when you commented about how beautiful the architecture was, you were never really looking?"
She flushed slightly. "I looked. Just not as hard as I might have let on that I was." She laughed with him.
The waiter gestured, "How is this?"
Sydney looked around her and felt herself take a sharp intake of breath. "Absolutely perfect," she heard Vaughn whisper, almost as much in awe as she was.
The room was softly lit, the shadows of candlelight lightly bobbing and giving the small almost-private room a peachy glow. The table for two stood in the middle of the room, the balcony only a few feet away looking over the night and the twinkling lights of the city.
Sydney took Vaughn's hand in hers. "Oh Vaughn. It's absolutely gorgeous." She reached out with her free hand and fingered the petals of the rose that stood in the tall glass vase on the table.
"Just like you," she heard him murmur, his voice right next to her ear. She got shivers from the sound. "But I hope you like my rose more than you like the other one."
She turned and grinned before giving him a quick kiss. "Of course I do. It's just. . . it's all so wonderful. I didn't know that three months was such a marker."
He smiled. "Well, for this relationship it is. Not to say that I didn't think it would last. It's just that this one. . . you are. . . this is all so special that I keep thinking that if I don't celebrate every moment of it, it will all vanish. Does that make sense?"
Oddly enough, it did. "Yeah," she whispered, trapped by the gaze of his eyes. He reached behind her and pulled out her chair for her.
She sat down lightly in it and waited for him to sit before reaching over the table to catch his hand in hers. "Did you do this? Did you arrange all this?" She didn't remember feeling so happy.
He raised his eyebrow at her in mock seriousness. "Don't be silly. Even I wouldn't build a whole room onto a restaurant. Not in a week anyway."
She laughed. "You know what I mean."
Vaughn grinned at her. "Yeah. But it was easy, this room was already beautiful."
The soft strains of music wafted up to their ears. Sydney smiled and softly rubbed his hand with her thumb. "Violins."
He nodded. " It was all worth it. Just to see the look on your face.
" I love you, Sydney."
She gulped and didn't hesitate at all this time. "I love you too." She felt like her face was stretching from her smile. He leaned across the table and kissed her softly on the lips.
Still in a daze, she barely heard his next question. "So, how was your day?"
"Oh, hmm? Oh. . . umm, I worked on my dissertation and I went to a couple of meetings." At the question in his eyes, she nodded slightly. Yes. SD-6 meetings. Yes. They gave me a new mission.
And then the conversation changed. Work didn't exist. They didn't exist. "And you?"
"Well. . . I tried to work." Vaughn looked pained. Sydney looked at him, concerned suddenly.
"Why couldn't you? Is something wrong?"
"Well. . . " he paused, looking unsure. "It was just that I couldn't stop thinking about you-" He burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I just wanted to. . . I don't know what I wanted to do."
She removed her hands from his in a mock-haughty way. "Well, I am offended Mr. Bristow. I am not a thing to be toyed with."
Vaughn laughed at her. "What can I do to make you forgive me? What if I get down on my knees and beg? Will that make you forgive me?"
Lifting her face, she closed her eyes and sniffed. "I'm not sure that that will be enough."
Their plates arrived and the waiter set down their glasses in front of them and filled them with wine. Sydney grinned at the service. They hadn't even ordered yet but the staff had remembered their dishes.
"Oh my god! Vaughn, did you have them freeze cranberries and cranberry leaves into the ice cubes?" She looked at him, not sure whether to laugh at his slightly smug expression or just completely lose all ability to talk.
So this was what it was like to be speechless. Such a little thing, freezing cranberries into ice cubes. But it showed that Vaughn had thought of all the details. And that was what touched her.
He grinned. "So, I suppose the ice cubes are enough to make you forgive me for my grievous mistake?" He slapped a puppy-dog look on his face.
Sydney grinned and got back into the game. It didn't even make much sense but she was enjoying herself. "I think you are getting too cocky, Mr. Bristow. I think you were closer to forgiveness when you were willing to get down on your knees and beg." She flipped her hair and picked up her sparkling white wine to her lips to take a sip.
Her eyes widened as the ice cubes moved out of the way and revealed the ring lying at the bottom of the glass.
She looked up at him in wonder but his chair was empty. She felt a hand take the glass from her hands and she looked down. Vaughn was on his knees, fishing the ring out of the glass.
"I can do that." Do what? Was he actually going to beg?
Sydney's hands went up to her mouth, shock registering in her eyes. The room, the music, the rose. . . she should've figured it out. She looked at him looking up at her, ring held up towards her in his fingers. He took one of her hands and brought it to his mouth and gently kissed her fingers. "Here I am. I am on my knees and I am begging you. To marry me. It's not complicated. I'm not going to confuse you with pretty words. Because this question is simple. I love you; I want to be in your life for the rest of mine. I want to be allowed to get jealous when other guys look at you in a funny way. I want to be allowed to kiss you in public or wrap my arms around you in the doorway of our house. I want to go to sleep with you in my arms and I want you to still be there when I wake up. . . I know that we can't get married right away. I'm just asking. In advance."
His eyes never strayed from him. It felt as if he was looking into her soul, seeing all her secrets, loving every piece of her. Silently she nodded, tears springing to her eyes. She dropped down on her knees beside him and watched in fascination as he slipped on the ring in the light of the candles surrounding them.
Sensing her next question, he turned it around so that the gem faced the inside of her hand. "Until you're ready," he said to her.
And then the tears did fall.
He chuckled softly, wiping them away with his thumb. "Oh, Syd. Don't cry,"
"I'm. . . I'm not sad. I'm just so- so happy." She could barely get the words out.
He laughed them and pulled her close to him and kissed the top of her head. "All right Sydney, all right. Be all the happy you want."
He slowly got up and pulled her with him. She was still leaning on him, almost unable to hold herself up. He wrapped his arms around her, loving the way she felt against him, wondering how she could fit so perfectly into him. And then he rocked her gently to the music.
She lifted her head from his shoulder, eyes glistening with tears and happiness. "Do you realize what this is?" she asked softly.
He grinned at her. "Our first dance as an engaged couple."
Smiling, she nodded and looked at him, amazed that he wanted her. Amazed that he wanted to be hers forever. "Ready for our first kiss as an engaged couple?"
"Always."
Lifting her chin, he met her lips with his.
~ ~
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~
~ ~(review~) -Jenn warning: next chapter = the smut you guys have been waiting for. . . if you don't want to read it, skip it. I promise nothing important (to the plot of the story anyway) will occur. But I can't make it too graphic or they (fanfiction.net people) will completely erase my story and that would suck. (Only 3-4 chapters until the cliff-hanger~ dun-dun-dun)
