One more year later...

Ned woke up earlier than usual. He glanced at the clock. 4:56 AM, the alarm wouldn't sound for another hour. He looked over to the other side of the bed. MJ was there, still asleep, her bare back turned to him. They had shared a bed long enough for him to know nothing short of a cannon blast would wake her. He reached out his hand and gently brushed his fingers against her skin. He went through this ritual every morning to reassure himself this was his life. It was his equivalent of pinching himself to be sure he wasn't dreaming.

He knew why he woke early. He looked again to make sure MJ was still asleep then opened his nightstand drawer. The ring was there, as perfect as it had been when he purchased it. Today was the day!

Ned wanted to be the proactive one for a change. MJ was the one who declared them boyfriend and girlfriend before Ned even knew that's what they were. She initiated their first kiss. She made them lovers. This was his time to take their relationship to the next level.

Ned wasn't nervous or worried what her answer would be. He knew she would say yes. He remembered something his father told him about proposing; "That's a question you don't ask unless you're sure to get the answer you want." Ned was sure, as sure as he'd ever been of anything in his life. They were going to the bistro she liked tonight and everything was going to go as planned.

At 6:00 the alarm sounded, blaring synthesized Mozart. MJ groggily reached across the bed to find it empty. Ned was already up, of course. As she dragged herself up to cross the room and turn off the alarm she wondered again how she ever got involved with a morning person.

She put on her robe and came into the main room on her way to the bathroom. Ned, cheerful as ever, said "Good morning!" MJ mumbled something unintelligible in return.

When she exited the bathroom she was a little more coherent. "Good morning Ned." He had breakfast ready, as he did every morning. Her cereal was in her bowl, there was a line of banana slices on the plate, and he'd just gotten the half-and-half out of the fridge so it was still cold. Best of all, Ned had splurged this week and gotten tamarind juice, which she loved. He had tried it once and declared it too sour for his taste. She suspected he liked it but let her have it all. It was one of the little things that made her love him.

"Don't forget, it's date night tonight!" They could only afford to go out every other week. Ned always reminded her in the morning, as if he was afraid she'd stand him up.

"Looking forward to it." MJ managed to sound semi-enthusiastic despite her brain and body not being in gear yet.

Ned knew very well how MJ was in the morning so he understood she was looking forward to their night out. Between bites of oatmeal he went on babbling about the Celtics, the new Captain America, whatever was going on. MJ said little but he knew his prattle was helping her get fully engaged for the day.

At 7:45 they started their walk to class together. They would be on opposite ends of the huge campus all day so they wouldn't be able to see each other until they met at the restaurant tonight.

When they reached her building they shared a quick kiss. "Date night!"; Ned reminded her again. As she got inside she wondered why he had mentioned it again. She didn't need the breakfast reminder. She certainly didn't need a second one.

At lunchtime he texted her another reminder. She didn't have time to ask him for an explanation, he was just getting out of a class and she was two minutes from starting another one, so she just did a quick acknowledgement. It gnawed at her all afternoon. Why was he so hyped up over this particular date night?