In the End

Gently brushing her fingers over the engagement ring which now sat on her finger, Ariella turned her head slightly, trying to stifle the wide smile she wore behind her pillow. She still couldn’t quite believe it, the idea that Gerard had actually asked her to marry him was one that she still couldn’t wrap her head around, but whilst it felt a little surreal, she couldn’t stop herself from grinning or giggling in amazement. She knew that it had been coming, after the previous conversation that they had had about the topic, she’d known that it was likely to be a case of when, not if, Gerard proposed, but she couldn’t quite believe that he’d actually done it, or that she had managed to get a coherent answer out. For a moment, when he had been looking up at her hopefully, she had been worried that words would fail her entirely.

Staring at her ring for a couple more seconds, she grinned to herself giddily before the sound of the bedroom door opening reached her ears, causing her to lift her stare, settling it on Gerard who stood in the doorway, grinning down at her softly. “Hey, you” he greeted softly.

Ariella waved back at him, still trying to hide her giddy smile with the pillow. “What are you doing up?” she murmured “It’s still pretty early, isn’t it?” she posed as she turned slightly, peeking at the alarm clock which sat on the end table on the other side of the bed.

“It is” Gerard confirmed as he padded back into the room, plopping down happily on the bed “But Toby woke up and needed a nappy change so I went and checked on him. You didn’t hear him?” he quipped.

Ariella shook her head. “I didn’t” she mumbled “Is he OK?” she asked.

Gerard nodded. “He’s fine” he mused “I mean, I don’t think he’ll sleep for too much longer, but I wanted to settle him back down for a little while. He had a pretty late night last night” he added, a faint smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Ariella admired his smile for a moment, her teeth gently nibbling on her lip, before she shook her head, grinning to herself. “Last night really happened, didn’t it?” she babbled giddily.

Gerard arched an amused eyebrow. “What?” he asked.

Ariella’s cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink before she gently shook her head, tucking her dark hair behind her ear “I mean, you...uh...you really...”

“I really asked you to marry me” Gerard finished for her “And you really said yes” he added, gesturing towards the ring which sat on her finger.

Ariella followed his gesture, glancing down at her engagement ring for a few seconds, before she turned her head slightly, shying away into her pillow.

Gerard watched her for a moment, amused by the awe in her voice and the excitement on her face, before he leant closer to her, pressing a soft kiss against the end of her nose. “You’re adorable” he mumbled “You know that?” he added, peppering her face with soft kisses.

Ariella wrinkled her nose slightly, trying to swerve his kisses slightly, before she gently leant into him, resting her head against his chest as a couple of beats of silence passed between the two of them. Gently shifting her hand, she traced the pattern of the t-shirt he wore for a few seconds before she leant her head back, smiling up at him softly. “You really asked me to marry you” she breathed.

Gerard beamed down at her. “I really did” he quipped.

Ariella let out another soft laugh before she dipped forwards, kissing his chest gently. “I don’t know if I said this to you last night” she mumbled “But the proposal...it was really something, Geri” she fussed quietly.

“Something?” Gerard asked teasingly “Something good or something...”

“Something wonderful” Ariella cut in “I mean, I know we talked about it before, but you actually asking, it was even better than I thought it would be and I loved it. I really loved it” she fussed gently.

Gerard smiled at her gently, a little amused by her fussing, before he lifted his hand, gently brushing a few loose hairs off of her forehead before he leant forwards, kissing the skin softly. “I’m glad that you loved it” he murmured “I mean, I don’t want to ruin the moment, but I put a lot of effort into it. I even spent time alone with your madre to ensure that I came up with the perfect thing” he added, his voice lighthearted and teasing.

He liked the conversation that they were having, he liked the bubble that they seemed to find themselves in, and he was keen to enjoy it whilst he could, knowing that eventually, they’d be bought back down to earth. He knew that it couldn’t last forever, the novelty of being newly engaged was something which would probably wear off sooner rather than later, and he wanted to make the most of it, wanting to bask in the moment of their engagement before they even started to think about the inevitable next step.

Ariella rolled her eyes. “You ruined the moment” she mumbled, trying to stifle her smile.

Gerard chuckled softly before he leant into her, pressing a soft kiss against her lips. Ariella smiled into the kiss, returning it happily for a few minutes before the soft sound of Toby’s cries filled the air, causing Gerard to let out a soft groan as Ariella pulled away from him. “He ruined the moment” he grumbled as he rolled onto his back, watching as Ariella pushed herself up to her feet.

Ariella shook her head. “It’s about time for his breakfast” she mused “And we should probably think about getting up too. I mean, we’ve been engaged for almost twelve hours and I am guessing that my mother’s probably already called at least five or six times with venues ideas and date suggestions” she added with an amused laugh as she moved to wrap her dressing gown around her body.

Gerard, who was watching her, smiled to himself before he shook his head. “You meant yes, right?” he posed.

Ariella, who’d moved to pull her hair up into a loose ponytail, turned back to look at him before she nodded, offering him yet another bright and excited smile. “I meant yes, Geri” she cooed softly before she padded out of the room.

Gerard watched her out of the room before he quietly shook his head, still not quite used to the idea that they were engaged to be married.