Of Space and Time

Tony and Jaxin walked the whole mall, end to end, trying to figure out what to get Kate. With Jaxin constantly stopping to look at baby items, Tony was growing frustrated with everything. “You could always pop the question?” Jaxin suggested as the pair walked around, looking for a place to get lunch.

The thing was Tony had contemplated this already. Not counting the three years they were apart, Tony and Kate had been together almost three years. He was still so in love with her that it scared him to bits, but with everyone he knew getting married and now his best friend having a baby, it made him want all that. But Tony also didn’t know how keen on getting married again.

Jaxin could see his best friend thinking this over in his head. He had only been joking when he suggested it to Tony, but now he realised it wasn’t half a bad idea. “You want to, don’t you?”

Tony nodded then sighed. “It’s just complicated.”

“How so?” Jaxin asked. To Jaxin, it was all simple. Because everything had been pretty straight forward with himself and Natalie, the fact that Tony loved Kate seemed like enough reason to ask.

“She had a shit time the first time she got married, why would she want to do it again?” Tony explained. “I know after that, I wouldn’t. Not matter how much she cares about me, it’s a big step.”

“Maybe I could get Natalie to talk to her about it?” Jaxin suggested. “That way you could see where her head is at and then decide.”

“That would be good, actually,” He smiled. “It just means I’m going to have to figure out a birthday gift for her, now.”

Jaxin smiled back at his best friend. He was stoked that Tony was as happy as he was. While he wasn’t a tragic mess when Kate was gone, he wasn’t really his normal self either. “You really do love her, huh?”

“More then you could imagine.” Tony sighed.

Back at Jaxin and Natalie’s place, Kate was feeling extremely impressed with the amount of work her and Natalie had done since the boys had left for the mall. Most of the decorations were up, they had done a light clean up and the place was looking pretty good. It was clear that Natalie had needed a hand because there was very minimal she could do, but she still tried her hardest. “I think everything is done besides food.” Natalie breathed a sigh of relief. “But I’ll do that tomorrow so that it’s fresh for the day.”

“Mission accomplished!” Kate smiled, taking a seat opposite where Natalie was seated. “I’m pretty proud.”

“We did a good job.” Natalie laughed, resting a hand on her stomach.

“I bet you’re more then excited for baby Hall to be here!” Kate smiled. “It’s gone so quickly!”

“Not quick enough!” Natalie smiled. “What about you and Tone?”

“What about us?” Kate asked, confused.

“Marriage, babies?” Natalie asked. “Any plans for that kind of thing.”

Kate shrugged. She hadn’t really thought about it all too much. While that would all be great, it still made her nervous after what had happened with Jared. She realised that Tony was completely different to her ex husband, but Kate felt content with the way things were right now. It scared her too much to change it up. “Maybe one day.”

The day had gone fairly quickly for both Tony and Kate, both of them having enjoyed spending the day with their friends. That night Jaxin and Tony cooked up a barbeque for the four of them. The night’s conversation was mostly about the baby and baby shower plans. With Natalie’s due date only a week or so away everyone was getting excited. Just seeing Jaxin and Natalie so excited made Tony think about his future with Kate. After talking with Jaxin today, he wanted it more then ever.

After helping clean up, Tony and Kate happily headed home, both feeling tired from having such a full on day. The pair showered, got changed and jumped into the comfort of their bed, cuddling in against each other. “How was your day with Nat?” Tony asked, running a hand over his girlfriend’s hair softly.

“Good.” Kate smiled, letting her eyes close. “How was present shopping? You find anything?”

Tony smiled. “Don’t even think of trying to get it out of me.”

“I totally wasn’t!” Kate scoffed, smacking him playfully. “I was making conversation.”

“Of course you were.” Tony laughed. “But yes, I did find something for your birthday. Having Jaxin their helped. I must say, I’m pretty proud of it.”

“See now you are just teasing!” She groaned, rolling over. “I’m not talking to you.”

“So mature.” Tony laughed again. When there was no response from Kate, he turned the lamp off and kissed her cheek softly. “Goodnight, Kate.”

“Don’t talk to me.” She poked her tongue at him before letting herself fall to sleep.