Oh, I'm so sad! After this just one more chapter, dear readers and followers! I hope you enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed writing it. Keep the thoughts and reviews coming, my lovelies!
Worst Proposal in History
At ten in the morning cycle, a breakfast celebration was planned. Just a small do-over of the night before, so the persons who hadn't joined then still had a chance to celebrate. Everyone was there. Needless to say, the mess hall was a bit crowded.
When Dani arrived with Garrus at her side, cheers erupted.
"There they are!" Joker cheered. "Have a nice cup of coco!"
When she looked at the smirk on his face, Dani had a growing suspicion the hot coco was spiked with something a lot stronger.
"No thank you, Joker. I'd rather keep a clear head for the rest of the day."
"It's just coco!"
"Sure . . ."
"Say what you want, but you look like you could use a little pick me up. You look like hell. What have you been up to?"
"Well, ah . . ."
"Take a wild guess, genius," Jack smirked. "Just look at them, they've been going at it like a pair of starved jackrabbits."
"Okay, it was nice seeing you all but I think that's our cue to leave . . ."
If turians could blush, Garrus would be red like a tomato. He did twitch his mandible in a peculiar way though. Dani just hid her face in his casual fatigues, not sure if she should snort with laughter or scream in outrage.
"Thanks Jack, thank you for a mental image I can never unsee again. Just what I needed," Joker grumbled.
Laughter flowed easily between the people present now the immediate threat of the Reapers was gone. They were still coming of course, but for now, at least they could celebrate.
Several people scooted closer together to make room for Dani and Garrus.
"We missed you at the party last night, Dani," Samara settled her kind eyes on her.
"Oh, I um – wasn't aware a party was planned. I took a long hot shower and didn't bother with my omni-tool again. Besides, I had to deal with my angry boyfriend," Dani finished with a smile, though she felt her cheeks getting hot.
"Ooooh, they had angry sex!" Jack exclaimed with a grin.
Dani covered her face with her hands in embarrassment but couldn't refrain from snickering.
"Dani, if you wouldn't mind, please refrain from further comments that might toss Jack's mind straight back into the gutter?" Garrus nearly pleaded.
"When does it ever leave the gutter?" Miranda muttered.
"Don't you start with me, cheer leader!" Jack's biotics flared.
"And . . . calm down ladies. Save that for the Reapers."
Shepard didn't say it like an order, but it definitely was an order. Both Jack and Miranda retracted their claws and stopped snarling at once.
"So, did you guys kiss and make-up?" Kasumi asked with a huge grin on her face.
"Oh, hell, yes," Dani replied.
"Was it any good?" Gaby Daniels asked with a waggle of her eyebrows.
"Guys, please!" Garrus cried out in dismay. "Surely you can find a more interesting topic of conversation than our love life!"
"Actually . . . No, we can't. This is definitely the most interesting. And fun, I love seeing you squirm."
"Thank you, Tali. So much. I thought we were friends?"
"We are, best of friends! I'm even holding off missions and social events until I know the date of the wedding ceremony. Have you guys settled a date already?"
Dani's hand froze mid-air, holding a cup of coco that was just passed to her. All eyes snapped to her and Garrus. The silence that fell was nearly tangible enough to grab and whip around Tali's helmet.
"Oh crap," Garrus muttered.
"Wedding ceremony?" Thane asked with his strange raspy voice. "I had no idea you were that serious. May I congratulate you both?"
"That might be a bit premature . . ." Garrus mumbled.
"Oops," Tali said. "Did I spoil the secret?"
Garrus was silent.
Butterflies fluttered like crazy in Dani's stomach, or maybe they were bats. Or tiny sneaky Collectors had invaded her body and were now zooming and zipping around in miniscule little spacecrafts. . . Okay, stop with the weird analogies! Stop spacing out! Dani shook her head, still feeling a bit queasy and light headed.
"You were . . . planning on asking me to marry you?" she asked him with a quiet voice, ignoring the stunned expressions all around her.
"Well, I ah . . ." Garrus spluttered, obviously feeling very self-conscious with all those eyes trained on them.
"Yeah, I was actually, uh, I still meant to watch some vids . . . you know, on the proper way to propose a bond mating, for humans I mean. I – I know there's usually a ring involved but other than that . . . And I still needed to buy one. . . Never got a chance for . . ."
"Yes." Dani blurted out. She wasn't sure if it was appropriate, considering all the detail Garrus had wanted to plan, but yes was the only thing she wanted to say.
"What?" Garrus asked confounded.
"Yes!" She said again, a little more forceful.
"I don't . . ."
"She wants to marry you, asshole!" Jack exclaimed. "Use your bird brain!"
"Hey, is someone making a vid? This is just history in the making, right here in front of us!" Joker said with glee.
"Already on it." Kasumi smirked and winked at him.
Dani had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Poor Garrus . . . He looked so utterly stricken, she just wanted to drag him back to the Main Battery and kiss away his worries.
"Garrus, here quick!" Tali motioned for him and sent him something via omni-tool. He looked a bit puzzled, but then checked the data he received and tapped the plug in his ear hole to listen to something.
After a while his mandibles fluttered in the cutest way and Dani wondered what it was that Tali had sent to him. Then she heard someone whisper - Pass along to Garrus, – but when she looked, everyone sported a suspicious angelic look on their face. Suddenly Garrus jumped in his seat and then coughed suspiciously.
"Sorry, I ah . . . never mind."
Silence grew heavier, but this time everyone seemed to look expectantly at her boyfriend.
"What are you guys up to?" Dani slowly asked her friends.
Silence. You could probably hear a pin drop all the way down to Engineering.
"Right," Garrus finally said while he moved from his seat. Tali, Jacob and Miranda scooted out of the way to give him more room.
"Look," he muttered awkwardly. "This was not what I had in mind, but it looks like it's happening like this anyway . . . "
Dani looked on in surprise when Garrus slowly lowered himself to the floor, until he was right in front of her, on one knee.
She started to tremble when he took her hand in his and fixed her with his steady gaze.
"Dani Pryde," he started slowly, as if he was testing the words. "Uh, how did it go again. . .
Ah, yeah. . . Would you do me the great pleasure of – No, no – the great honor of making me the luckiest, ah, happiest man in the galaxy and consent. . . to be my wife?"
It wasn't a great speech and he blustered through the words, but Dani didn't care. This was her Garrus and he was making her the happiest and luckiest woman in the whole wide universe right now.
"Yes," she said breathlessly. "A thousand times, yes. . ."
When Garrus opened one hand, she saw a garish, kitschy ring in his hand and she bit her lower lip to keep from laughing.
"This is just a temporary one," Garrus vowed. "I swear I'll buy you a real one later."
Her hand was trembling when he placed the heavy metal ring on her finger. It was shaped like a smirking skull, wearing a helmet engraved with a big rose.
Garrus' hand was trembling too and he put the ring on the wrong finger, but she didn't correct him. The moment the ring slipped on her finger, a loud cheer erupted all through the mess hall.
Dani launched herself into Garrus' arms so they both landed in a heap on the floor. She was right on top of him and grinned when she heard several wolf whistles.
"Where did you get this?" she asked, ignoring the commotion while waggling her finger with the smirking skull ring at him.
"Oh, he got that one from me, sweetheart," Zaeed said, leaning back in his chair while crossing his arms. The tell tale sign he was getting ready for a story.
"Funny story. A true one at that. You see, there was this stinky fat pirate who thought he could double cross me. He seemed intent to separate me from my worldly goods, but I turned the tables on him, didn't I? Yeah, I took everything he had, to the last dime hidden in his stinky socks. But I couldn't get the ring off his hand. Didn't even like the rotten thing, but it was a matter of principle, right? So, I chopped his damn hand right off" Zaeed told them while Dani helped Garrus get his feet from under him again.
"Then, I had to use a lubricant to pull it from that fat finger. It was that stuck!"
Joker shrieked in a keening laugh, "This is priceless! A gift that just keeps on giving. Best proposal ever, Garrus, honestly!" he hiccuped, rubbing his thumb at the tears that had started rolling down his cheeks.
Garrus groaned. "I'm sorry," he said, lowering his voice so only Dani could hear him.
"This is so not how I planned to do this."
Dani bit back a smile.
"Garrus, if you'd showered me in diamonds or sprinkled me in gold, I couldn't be more happy than I am now. And we just put smiles on a lot of faces, that has to count for something, right?"
"I don't know, but if Joker keeps this up I'm going to –"
She silenced him by pulling him down by his collar and placing a kiss on his mouth plates.
Suddenly their friends started to chant – kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss! - as if they were goading on a fight. Dani felt his mandibles flare slightly and briefly she saw a wicked glint appear in his eyes before he wrapped his arm firmly around her waist, dipped her low and kissed her again. . . thoroughly.
When she lifted and settled her knee against Garrus' hip spur and grabbed him by his mandible to reciprocate with enthusiasm, applause erupted all around them.
"Now that, gentlemen, is how you kiss a girl," Kasumi said and Dani smiled against Garrus' mouth plates when she heard the warm fondness in her voice.
