Until You Met Me

Tucking his pillow beneath his head a little more, Gerard’s lips curved upwards slightly, his eyes settled on Molly who was still sound asleep next to him. He knew that he had to wake her. With a day full of Sofia’s wedding jobs ahead of her, she needed the early start to make sure that she was at the other woman’s house on time, but for a moment, he couldn’t bring himself to do it, a little caught up in just watching her.

They were in a good place. After the Tiago bump, it had taken them a little while to grow into things again, but the previous few weeks had been good, and it had only made Gerard surer of the request he had made of Poppy, so much so that he had arranged to meet her that morning. He still planned on waiting. He knew that he and Molly were still learning about their relationship, and he had no intention to making things feel more pressured by asking the question that they had talked about, but he wanted to be ready for if the moment arose. The more time they spent together, the surer he got that the moment would arise sooner rather than later.

Watching her for a moment longer, he shook his head slightly before he leant over, gentle pressing his lips to Molly’s shoulder. “Molly” he murmured softly “You missed your alarm” he added.

Molly grumbled, huddling up against her pillow a little more. “You’re lying” she muttered.

“I am really not” Gerard replied with a laugh “It went off about ten minutes ago. It woke me” he added.

Molly shook her head, drawing the duvet over her head. “You get up, then” she said “You can spend the day helping Sofia with her wedding jobs. I am sure she won’t mind” she added.

Gerard rolled onto his back, smirking up at the ceiling. “As fun as that sounds, I have plans this morning, too” he quipped “And I am pretty sure that Sofia would want the input of her maid of honour, not her maid of honour’s boyfriend” he added.

Molly didn’t say anything for a beat before she pulled the blanket off of her head, frowning up at Gerard slightly. “You have plans?” she asked.

Gerard laughed. “Am I not allowed to have plans?” he quipped.

Molly shook her head. “I am just surprised” she replied “You didn’t mention having anything planned for this morning” she added.

“It’s nothing particularly exciting” Gerard said, shrugging nonchalantly “Just a meeting. I’ll still be able to meet you for lunch like we planned” he added.

Molly’s eyes studied his face for a moment before she slowly nodded her head, a slightly sceptical look on her face. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she had a feeling that there was something she was missing. “Alright” she said “Just make sure you’re not late for lunch. I love Sofia, and I love helping her with wedding stuff, but a morning is a long time. I am going to need something to look forwards to” she added.

Gerard lifted his head, pressing his lips to hers, before he leant back, a grin on his face. “Are you saying you look forwards to spending time with me, Molly?” he chirped.

Molly gently shoved his shoulder before she climbed out of the bed. “You’re an idiot” she called over her shoulder, leaving Gerard smirking behind her.

~#~
“So, have you thought about how you’re going to do it yet?”

Gerard, who had been surveying the contents of a glass case, quirked a slight smile before he shook his head, not looking back at Poppy who was stood behind him, trying to coax Imogen back to sleep. He had been waiting for the questions to start. He knew that Poppy would have them. After he had dropped the news that he wanted her help to try and find a ring that he wanted to use to propose to her sister, it was impossible for her not to, and he was more than happy to answer them, more than a little excited to talk about it with someone. It was still a way off. He hadn’t figured out all of the details, but he knew that he wanted to wait, but it didn’t mean that he wasn’t excited. It was a big thing, and he didn’t quite know how he would manage to keep it to himself.

“I have a few ideas” Gerard replied.

“Like?” Poppy prodded “Are you a traditional, do it at dinner type, or is it going to be a little more unique?” she asked.

Gerard gestured to a ring in the cabinet, asking the store clerk for a closer look, before he turned to look at Poppy, offering her a slight shrug. “I was thinking about making it unique to me and Molly, but I haven’t quite figured out how to yet” he answered “We’ve got a lot of good memories” he added, flashing her a slightly bashful smile.

“Don’t overthink it” Poppy said “It’s a big deal, of course it is, but it’s the asking that matters. All of the other stuff is just dressing” she added.

Gerard offered her a slightly sceptical look. “How did Felipe ask you?” he asked.

“He took me back to the place that we had our best date at” Poppy replied “It was just a random date night, and we taking a walk through this park we both love and then he just...he just dropped to one knee. It wasn’t some huge, flashy thing, but it was perfectly us, and I loved it” she added, a soft, nostalgic smile softening her features.

Gerard watched her for a moment, marvelling at the warmth on her face, before he shook his head. “What do you think Molly would like?” he asked, his voice slightly shy.

“Something perfectly you” Poppy replied simply.

Gerard let out a slightly sheepish laugh. “You make it sound so simple” he quipped.

Poppy shrugged, lowering Imogen into her pram. “Who knows her better than you, Gerard?” she asked “You’re her childhood best friend who became her boyfriend and is looking to become her husband. Just...Just think of a moment, a moment when you were both really happy, and focus on that. See where that gets you” she added.

Gerard nodded his head slightly before the store clerk cleared her throat, causing him to turn and look back at the counter, his eyes widening a little at the sight of the ring that she had put there. Gesturing to Poppy, he wordlessly asked her for her opinion, something she gave him with a small smile and a nod that caused him to grin at the clerk, telling her that it was the one.