Today was the big day for Joey. Kaylee was oblivious of the whole evening he had planned for them, but she likes this kind of stuff, so it'd work out smoothly. It was only him and Luke who were home, and all he was waiting for was for Julia to come over before Kaylee came home so that she could drop off the outfit the girls had planned for her. Only Julia and Joe knew what was really going on, and thankfully he could trust them both to keep their mouths shut about it.
His palms started to become slick with sweat as he thought of the possibility of her also saying no, making things very tense between them and awkward. He hit his head off the closest wall to him and closed his eyes. His thickly brimmed glasses fell off his face at the contact and he groaned under his breath as he bent down to retrieve them. He hasn't worn his glasses in a very, very long time so he needed a lot of getting used to. Eight knocks on the door confirmed that Julia was now waiting outside with Kaylee's clothes ready. Fixing the glasses back onto his face, Joey opened the door to let her in.
"I came early enough, right?" She panted and walked in, setting the thin, white cardboard box onto the kitchen table.
"Yeah, you're right on time. Thanks so much for watching-"
"No need to thank," Julia held up a hand and shook her head. "We're all family. If anything, it's my pleasure to babysit. Jaime and Meredith should be by soon; Lauren was busy and couldn't make it tonight."
Joey suppressed a smile about Lauren and her "business" and took a peek inside the box. "Ooh, she's gonna love this…" Joey ran his hand lightly over the off-white colored dress with tiny red and pink roses on it. The vintage look it had made the outfit seem more realistic to what it was supposed to be like and Joey couldn't have been more impressed with the work they had done. "Thanks, Jules." He squished her in a giant bear hug that made her choke.
"Okay, okay, Jesus. You're killing me." She breathed as he let go. "By the way, these are what we all thought would go nice with it."
A plastic bag hung from around her wrist and she pulled out a light white jacket with a pair of red flats and a white wide brimmed hat. Once again he rewarded her by crushing her ribs. "My god, Joey. Hopefully you won't hug your son like that when he's big enough."
Joey smiled and rubbed the bridge of his nose where his glasses sat. Now remembering the reason why he had them on, he began to put on his outfit. Julia went to go check on Luke since he started his babbling and now he was dreading to have to put on so many layers. He had to put on a buttoned long sleeve shirt, a wool sweater vest, a tan leather coat, and jeans. He knew at the end it would be all worth it, so with a reluctant sigh he threw on his clothes.
Luke could be heard throughout the apartment, gurgling eagerly at the company. Adjusting the collar of his coat in the mirror, he then ran his hand through his hair and double checked if the box was in his pocket. He let out a shaky breath and answered the door as the bell was rung. Checking the peephole, he could see Jaime and Meredith making faces back into it. "Hey guys," Joey greeted and opened the door for them. The three of them shared a big group hug. "Snazzy outfit you got there," Jaime complimented, noticing his new attire. Meredith abandoned the trio as soon as Luke was in sight with Julia.
"My turn!" She whined to Julia, who reluctantly handed over the baby. "Jesus Christ, Joey! What do you feed him?" the curly haired brunette asked, bouncing and rocking while she smoothed a hand over his full head of hair. "A lot of food. I think Lauren has been watching him one too many times." Joey replied, already beginning to sweat with all the layers on and no air conditioning. "You guys know where everything is, right?"
"Yeah, we've been here plenty of times. Calm down; everything will be fine." Julia put emphasis on the last word to assure him that the baby would be fine as well as his date tonight. Joey pressed his mouth into a thin line and nodded. Taking deep breaths and studying the linoleum tiles beneath him, he tried to calm himself down before he would pass out from the combination of heat and anxiety. His thumb nervously twitched and he chose to hide it in his pocket to make it less noticeable to him.
Keys jingled outside of the front door, which meant Kaylee was home. Joey went to go open the door for her since they had to be out of the house in an hour and couldn't waste any time. "Hey Gorgeous," He opened the door to see Kaylee still fumbling with her keys which had many Star Wars and Doctor Who key chains dangling from it. Her tongue stuck slightly out of her mouth as she focused, which Joey thought was the cutest thing. Looking up at him through her ginger bangs, she shoved the keys back into her tote bag. Joey noticed the crimson blush that crept onto her cheeks and couldn't help but to grab her face and give her a big kiss. "Well hello to you, too." She took a good look at his clothing choice for the night and raised an eyebrow, "Why are you dressed like Br-"
"No time for questions, Leia; we're on a time limit here." Joey said, pressing a kiss onto her forehead before ushering her inside.
"Here you are," Jaime took the tote bag from her and placed it on the table, replacing it with the box and plastic bag that held her outfit for the night. "Joey, where are we going?" She asked her boyfriend before being directed to their bedroom. He closed the door behind her so that she could change in peace and talked to her through the door. "That would ruin the surprise, now wouldn't it?" He started to relax a little, knowing that the real worrying to do would be at the very end of their night, so he should enjoy it while he can.
"Wha- Who picked this out? I demand an explanation, Joey." She squeaked, and could be heard picking through the contents of the plastic bag.
Joey stifled a chuckle at his girlfriend's attempt to be serious. The door opened again and she stepped out in her floral dress with the jacket tied around her waist. The hat was held in her hand and she gave a playful glare to Joey for laughing at her. "Hey, hey, hey," He got defensive and put his hands up in front of him, "I am not the droid you are looking for!"
"You're so freaking adorable when you get wary." She grinned and smooched him on the cheek.
Joey checked his watch and cursed under his breath when he realized what little time they had left. "We have to go, Kay. In like, the next thirty seconds."
She nodded back and gave Luke a kiss on his little nose and a hug to all the girls with a "thank you." Joey did the same and added an "I owe you." When he hugged Julia. Jaime closed the door behind them and Joey took Kaylee by the hand, jogging down the stairs so that they wouldn't be late. "Jesus, what's the rush?" She asked once they burst out through the side exit of the complex to the parking lot. "It's a surprise, darling. Trust me; it'll be worth the wait." He winked and opened up the passenger door for her. He was rewarded with a sweet smile that made his heart skip a beat. Walking over to the driver's side, he got in his own seat and began to drive to their destination. It was only 6:12, so they would have plenty of time to find parking and get snacks before the show actually started. At the red light, he shoved his hand into his pocket to make sure he had everything he needed. Tickets? Yes. Wallet? Yes. The big surprise? He took a deep breath when he knew he still had it. Yes.
The local theater was just about a ten minute drive from their little home, in a convenient square which they never really got around to exploring often. Joey had been planning on how to ask her for a little more than a month now, and cruised around to see where he could possibly do it. The little theater wasn't his first choice but when he heard they would be performing Rocky Horror, he knew that was it. She made him watch it twice before and he remembered how it fucked up his mind so badly the first time he watched it, but now he just looked back and laughed; understanding that that was just one the little things that made up his perfect, nerdy, angelic girlfriend.
He decided to take the side streets so that she wouldn't see the flashing lights outside the theater, which would spoil the surprise all too easily. The sudden lightning that illuminated the night sky made them both shake in their seats, and weren't as surprised when the boisterous clap of thunder. Fat rain drops splatted onto the windshield two by two, then by seven, then nineteen, and then to some kind of infinite number. "You've got to be kidding me," Joey's jaw went slack and he knew neither of them had an umbrella or some sort of hooded article of clothing.
"What's wrong, Joey?" Kaylee asked, completely unfazed by the sudden weather change.
"It's pouring out and- oh wait you love the rain."
"I sure do!" she exclaimed and checked the backseat to see if they did possibly have anything. "And I don't think this hat would do much, but it's a nice accessory."
She dug around in the back, and pulled back an old newspaper Joey had been meaning to read yesterday. "Newspapers it is," She smiled, prying the pages apart in half for each of them to use. Joey shook his head and told her to keep it for herself. Parking the car on the block next to the theater, Joey stepped out first in the pouring rain to go open the door for Kaylee. "C'mon," He flashed a crooked smile and held out his hand for her to take.
Holding the large sheets of newspaper over her head, she grabbed his hand and followed his lead as they ran down the middle of the street. "Please tell me where we're going?" She begged, having a feeling that the bright flashing lights around the corner were what they were heading to.
"It's right around the corner, actually." Joey raised his voice a little so that she could hear him over the thunder. Kaylee raised her eyebrow, still holding the newspaper over her head and decided that they should start to hurry before they got completely soaked. Turning the corner, she squinted to read the sign through the rain. "Rocky Horror?" She turned back to her boyfriend who gave a sweet smile and now understood why he had been dressed like Brad; also why she looked something like Janet.
"I didn't expect it to rain, so that's why it's the outfit from the beginning, when they were at that wedding." Joey explained, using hand gestures in the most darling way. She gave him a bone-crushing hug and a kiss onto his mouth. "Thanks, Joey."
"Not a problem, my Janet," He noticed that the newspaper probably wouldn't last for much longer, so he grabbed her by the hand as they entered the theater. "I think it'd be best if we found seats, right?"
She nodded, discarding the dripping newspaper at the first barrel she saw. Joey held open one of the double-doors for her, which led them into the dimly lit theater. The show hadn't actually started yet, but it would be in less than five minutes. "Thanks again." Kaylee whispered once the lights went out and the show started.
"Jaime!" Jaime looked up from Luke to see Julia towering over her. The three of them had agreed to order some Chinese takeout for dinner and ate on the couch. Jaime was the last one still on the couch with a tiny pile of rice, which she gave Luke small bites of. "What the hell are you doing? He's hefty enough, and Joey made note not to feed him anything but his actual food."
"It's only rice, Julia. And watch, all of this-" She patted his round stomach, "will keep him warm in the winter."
Julia shook her head and tried to contain a ridiculous grin. She turned to go help Meredith with dishes, still shaking her head at Jaime's words. Jaime shrugged, yet feeding Luke more food off of her plate.
"Did you enjoy yourself?" Joey asked as people started pouring out of the theater. The rain had stopped, but left little rivers streaming on the sides of the streets into the sewers.
"Did I enjoy myself? It was freaking fantastic, Joey! Thank you so much!" She squeaked and threw her arms around him. He was glad that he made his girlfriend thrilled with that surprise, now only the hard part was left for him. "You want to walk around? Find something to eat?" Joey suggested as Kaylee let go, fixing the hat adorably over her wavy ginger hair. She smiled and nodded back, snaking both of her arms around his left one as they strolled around, searching for a place where they could get a snack for a reasonable price at 8:12 at night.
His phone buzzed against the little box in his pocket, making an odd sound. He promptly checked his phone to find a text from Julia. "Did you ask her yet?"
"No, I'll tell you when I do." Joey discreetly tapped out a reply with one hand and put his phone in his coat pocket instead so he wouldn't have that awful noise make Kaylee too suspicious. They passed the little common where he wanted to ask her, but he figured that they would pass it again on their way back. "You okay, Joey? You look worried." His eyes met his girlfriend's and he nodded, plastering on a smile to keep her from dwelling on his nervousness for too long.
"I'm fine, Kay. Don't worry." Joey looked back ahead and was glad when he saw a glowing Starbucks logo hung from the side of a building. "Do you want Starbucks?"
Kaylee eagerly nodded and thanked Joey as he opened the door for her. There was no line and only two baristas, looking quite bored and tired. "Can I get banana bread?" She asked, eyeing the display case with hungry eyes.
"Sure," He kissed her cheek and made her giggle and blush. Since it was only them, one of the baristas already took a piece out of the case and bagged it for them. Joey paid for the snack and gave all the change as a tip (which was only 50₵, so he didn't have much to lose). Holding the door open for his girlfriend again, she thanked him with a kiss on the cheek and then took a monstrous bite of her bread. "I'm so freaking hungry," She sighed, locking elbows with him before taking another bite.
"Yeah, we should've gotten dinner first. Sorry about that." Joey scratched the back of his neck and slowed down a little so she could finish her food first. Kaylee shook her head and grunted with a full mouth, leaving a little less than a half left of the bread. "It's fine Solo, this is great. Today was great. It couldn't get any better."
He let a nervous laugh escape from his mouth and then stopped at an unoccupied bench. "Do you want to sit for a bit?" She nodded and took a seat next to him, scooting in to close the gap, and leaned her head onto his shoulder. "So, what was your favorite part?" Joey questioned, and she let out a sigh.
"I honestly can't choose. I just like… everything. I think the best one they did was Dammit Janet. Did you enjoy yourself?" Taking the last few nibbles of her bread; she crumpled the paper bag up into a ball and successfully tossed it in to the barrel beside them.
"Yeah," He stood and held out his arm for her to take when he noticed she had finished. "You ready to get back?"
His voice wavered slightly because now he was really starting to freak out. Thankfully, Kay didn't notice anything, and latched back onto his arm. "The road was long but I ran it," Joey sang to himself now that he had the song stuck in his head. A smile crept onto Kaylee's freckled face as he continued, saying the "Janet's" when necessary. Joey's palms started to really sweat as they crossed the street and began heading towards the middle of the common. "Now I have one thing to say and that's dammit, Janet, I love you." He left Kaylee singing the last verse by herself and let her walk a few steps forward as he took the blue velvet box out of his pocket.
"Here's the ring to prove that I'm no joker," She stopped and turned to see why he had stopped. "What's wrong Solo? You've been a little off tonight."
He gaped for a second, trying to find out how to say it exactly, but couldn't. He held her close and gave her a kiss, which she gladly returned. "Why are you so nervous? Your heart's beating really fast, Joey. Try to take it easy, okay?" He nodded dumbly to his girlfriend's request and finally got some kind of courage to start to speak again.
"Look, we've known each other for almost six years now. We've been acquaintances, friends, good friends, best friends, boyfriend and girlfriend, and even had the best freaking kid together. You have no idea how much you mean to me, like GOD, I don't think I can imagine what I'd do without you." He took a breath and held the box tightly in his right hand. Kaylee gazed up at him with her glassy brown eyes, completely mesmerized in his. "You mean everything to me. You and Luke are like, I don't even know how to put it… the best things that have happened to me."
He stopped for a second to take everything in, a few breaths too. "That is why," Joey loosen his grip on the box, "I want you to be the Janet to my Brad; the Sally to my Joey; the Hermione to my Ron; my February; my Leia." Abruptly slipping on the ground (which had become slick from the rain) when he tried to get onto one knee, he made Kaylee laugh when he let out a loud "Oh shit!"
"Do you need help up?" She held out a hand and used the other to press her hat down on her head as the wind started to pick up a little. "No, I was kind of on my way down here anyways."
Before he could get too anxious and give up, he snapped open the lid and held it up to her face. "This is for you. I promise to take care of you and Luke, to love you and… you know be a good husband I guess." Joey spat out with his eyes squinted shut so he wouldn't have to deal with the horror flashing before Kaylee's eyes. Silence followed and that really started to make him even more frantic. Mentally slapping himself for forgetting to actually ask the question, he opened his eyes and looked up at Kaylee. "Will you marry this dumbass that you proudly call your boyfriend?"
Her brown eyes were wide as she stared at the ring and then at Joey. Her tiny hands clasped over her mouth and everything went completely still for the both of them. After she slowly blinked her eyes twice, she grinned ridiculously with misty eyes and nodded. "Really?" Joey felt a heavy weight lifted from his shoulders, surprised that she actually said yes. Kaylee nodded again, squealing and letting her tears fall. "Hey, there's no need to cry, Leia." He smirked and slid the silver ring onto her left ring finger.
She spent a good minute admiring the way it shone under the dim lighting, pouncing onto Joey as soon as he stood back up. "I love you, Solo." She sniffed and made sure he choked slightly when she squished him. "Love you too, Kay." He could imagine how everyone else would react when they found out, especially how the guys would all tackle him to the ground.
"Is it nicer than what Betty Munroe had?" Joey murmured, knowing she'd pick up on the Rocky Horror reference. Kaylee looked at him with her now reddened eyes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Yes, yes it is."
~fin
I think you know what's next :P fluff for all unless if you're not Kaylee