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Notes: Dawson's Creek belongs to other people. I thought it was the WB, but maybe not anymore. Ah well. The point is, I'm not making money from this, and I don't pretend to own the characters. Please don't sue me.
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Doug, Jack thought, was really a hopeless romantic at heart. In public he had a tendency toward the sarcastic, and he could be scary as hell when confronting someone down at the station. But it private, once he let his guard down, he was sweet, unsure of himself, and entirely eager to please. Jack cherished this insight into Doug that no one else ever got. It reminded him that he was the most important person in Doug's life; there were very few people who even knew Doug had such a soft side, let alone got to see it.
Jack took a deep breath and let it out in a contented sigh. He was sitting on the beach with Doug, nestled between Doug's legs with his back pressed firmly against the sheriff's chest. Doug's arms gently encircled his waist and his stubbled chin rested on Jack's shoulder. The stubble was scratchy, but the feeling was not unpleasant. In fact, it was oddly comforting.
They were watching the sunset while they still could; it would be getting cold soon, too cold to go outside in the evenings, and so they wouldn't be able to spend time like this much longer. But while they still could, it was good. Amy was home asleep in her crib, and Jack knew from experience that she would sleep through the night. Just in case though, they were close enough to the house that they could hear her if she started to cry.
Jack felt Doug nuzzle against his neck as he shifted his body into a slightly more comfortable position. They had been out here for nearly an hour, and hadn't spoken much. But the silence was comfortable and easy, and Jack felt unbelievably secure wrapped in Doug's arms, so he was in no hurry to go anywhere. He was loathe to break the air of peace around them, and it was so simple to just sit and listen to the soothing sounds of the surf, and watch the brilliant dying fire of the sunset.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Doug murmured in his ear, echoing Jack's thoughts.
"Mm," Jack agreed, too relaxed to go through the effort of forming actual words.
"I love you," Doug said softly.
Jack smiled. He could no longer remember how he had ever managed to live without this man. Doug was the center of his world, along with Amy. He offered a silent thank you to whatever god might be watching and lifted a hand to stroke Doug's cheek. "I love you too," he replied.
"I'm glad for that," Doug said, and Jack felt him shift as he reached to take something out of his pocket. When Doug's arms returned to their place around Jack's waist, Jack saw that he was holding something. "Because I wanted to ask you something." Jack felt the warmth of Doug's breath against his ear as he spoke, and shivered. His heart started to beat a little faster.
Doug brought out the object, and Jack saw that it was a small box. His eyes widened and his pulse quickened further. Doug opened the box and Jack inhaled sharply at the sight of its contents.
A small diamond ring lay nestled softly in its center.
"Will you marry me?" Doug asked.
Jack felt dizzy, as though he couldn't get enough breath. "Oh, Doug..." he said softly, feeling emotion welling up in his throat, choking off his words.
Doug chuckled and again Jack felt the warm breath by his ear. "Should I take that as a yes?"
Jack turned around in Doug's arms and hugged him desperately, as the tide of his emotions threatened to sweep him away. "Of course!" he gasped out. "Of course I will, Doug. Of course." He thought he might be shaking from the sheer intensity of the feelings, which were so overwhelming that he could not even begin to register which emotions they were.
Doug smiled and drew back enough to clasp Jack's hand between them and slip the ring onto his finger. They kissed and Jack wondered somewhere in his mind if he was crying.
He must have been, because Doug lifted one hand to each side of Jack's face and gently wiped at the corners of Jack's eyes with his thumbs, meeting Jack's gaze with one that was gentle and full of warm love.
"I love you," said Jack again, fiercely.
Doug just smiled and leaned down to kiss him once more.
Author's Note: It occurred to me as I was writing this that, 'Hey! They don't even have to go anywhere! They're already in Massachussettes!'