Title: An Unexpected Surprise

Pairing: Willie Loomis/Maggie Evans

Fandom: Dark Shadows

Theme: #4 Our distance and that person

Willie watched from outside Maggie's bedroom doors as she continued to make out the invitations to her wedding, his heart heavy and molten like lead within his chest as he realized that it wasn't her wedding to him, but to Joe Haskell.

Pressing his palms longingly against the glass, the sandy-haired blonde felt himself rapping against the slick surface before he could even stop himself, his throat forming into a tight knot when Maggie looked up from her work and smiled.

"Willie…hello!" she greeted, her smile only widening as she opened her French doors and gestured him inside. "Come in, won't you? I never got to stop by the Old House for the visit I promised Barnabas, so is that why you're here?"

"Uh…no" Willie admitted, swallowing heavily. "I, uh…well, uh…I-I just wanted ta talk to ya, is all."

"Oh…well sure" Maggie agreed, giving an amiable shrug of the shoulders as she turned toward her bedroom door and smiled. "Shall we go into the living room?"

Willie immediately shook his head. "N-no, no, what I gotta say won't take up too much a' your time, so there's no need."

"Oh…well alright" Maggie acknowledged, motioning for him to speak. "What is it you wanted to tell me?"

"Um…t-ta ask ya, actually" the blonde anxiously corrected, his hands shaking as he jammed them into his pants pockets. "I-i-if there was somethin' good playin'…uh…w-wouldja maybe consider goin' ta the movies with me, or somethin'?"

Maggie faltered at this unexpected request, her eyes flitting to the floor as she returned, "Well…I-I don't think that Joe would like that too much."

"Did I sound like I was askin' Joe?" Willie shot back with a confidence that highly surprised both Maggie and himself. "You're a big girl, Maggie Evans, and I'm askin' you, so will ya go or not?"

"No."

Willie felt as if he'd been burned. "N-no?"

"No" Maggie reiterated, by this point rather annoyed. "To be perfectly honest, I'd much rather go out to dinner – didn't I ever tell you that I'm not much of a movie-goer?"

Willie balked. "Uh…w-what? Y-y-ya mean…you'll go?"

"Well sure! Does that surprise you?"

"Uh…um…no" the blonde lied, feeling his cheeks flush with pleasure as Maggie laughed softly. "I-I just thought ya said Joe wouldn't like it, is all."

Maggie smirked before linking her arm in his, her tone full of jest as she returned warmly into his ear, "Joe doesn't have to know."

A/N: Ha, like THAT would happen…but this is MY drabble, so therefore it can! Yay! lol