The Beach, Fandom, Wednesday Evening

[arboreal_priestess]

Sure, Labor Day had been earlier in the week, but Verity had suggested a trip out to the beach for a last-gasp-of-summer beach picnic date. The weather in Maryland was still plenty hot in the afternoons that even the cooler evenings were still plenty okay for hanging out at the beach after dark.

And, hey, if it happened to be a really romantic evening, with the sun setting and painting the sky in pinks and purples, who was she to complain?

Along with the basket of goodies and food, Verity had brought along a few things. The first were two mice, especially chosen by the High Priest for their ability to stay very still and silent. The second was...

Well, it was the whole reason behind the picnic in the first place.

Liam	Liam, meanwhile, wasn't bringing along much of anything. Well, there was the bottle of wine Verity had asked him to swing by the store and pick up before meeting her at the beach, of course. "Good spot," he commented as he dropped into a sitting position next to her, handing the bottle of wine over to see if it passed muster. "Nice view." From the way he was looking at her, he wasn't just talking about the way the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon out on the water.
Verity	She had picked out one of her prettiest sundresses to wear. Casual enough that it wouldn't raise suspicions about why she was all dressed up, but still pretty cute. "Figured it'd been awhile since we'd been on a date," she said, leaning over to give him a kiss. "Might be nice to pull out all the stops for a change."
Liam	And Liam... Liam had deigned to wear a shirt with actual color. It was dark blue, sure, but a color all the same. "This summer hasn't exactly been conducive to going out anywhere," he agreed, leaning in to that kiss.
Verity	"Or dates or doing anything but waiting for whatever the next fresh hell would be," Verity agreed. "And, you know. Sometimes you deserve to get a little spoiled."
Liam	And accepting statements like that without protesting that he didn't deserve anything of the like was all part of that 'remembering he was a person' stuff that he was working at, so: "I'll keep that in mind; only fair I find a way to spoil you back."
Verity	"Says the man who makes me breakfast every damn morning," Verity said with a laugh. "Half the time without me having to get out of bed."
Liam	Cooking, Liam had discovered, was an excellent way of saying 'I love you' without actually uttering the words. "Yeah, but that's every day stuff. I'll have to think of something special now." He sounded so hard done by, really.
Verity	"Yeah, but it's spoiling me every day," Verity pointed out. "Not that I'm arguing against you deciding to kick it up a notch and surprise me, mind." Speaking as someone who had a surprise in mind, yes.
Liam	"I would be terribly concerned you’d been replaced by a doppelgänger if you did," Liam declared solemnly. "But enough about that," one hand reached towards the picnic basket. "What'd you bring?" His other hand, meanwhile, was in his jacket pocket, fingers brushing against something tucked away in there.
Verity	"Oh, a couple of things," Verity said, reaching down into the basket to make sure that her surprise was prominently displayed on top of the container of cannolis she'd ordered from JGoB. "What am I, your maid? See for yourself." She pushed the basket over towards him, sliding her hand out of the back over while the front remained closed.
Liam	"Okay, okay!" Liam replied, laughing as he reached over to do so. Said laughter trailed off to be replaced by an expression of mild puzzlement as he noticed that prominently displayed surprise. He continued to stare at it for a few beats, and then finally looked back up at Verity. "... What?" he floundered, unable to come up with anything more coherent, one hand reaching out as if to pick it up and take a closer look, and then pausing in midair, uncertain.
Verity	"Gonna make me do everything, I see," Verity said, sighing as if she were feeling all sorts of put-upon. Mostly though, she was just nervous. There was a reason that Liam had been the one to gently nudge their relationship further every time one of those important milestones came up. Verity was absolute shit at this kinda stuff. But hey. Liam was worth the effort. And as stomach-clenchingly terrifying as this moment was, the actual thought of it? Wasn't scary at all. So she picked up the box, popped it open so he could see the ring inside, and said, "Like you, this came from the stars," she said, just like she rehearsed. "And, like you, I'm hoping it'll make my life a million times better by being in it. You're not a perfect boyfriend. You're not even a perfect man. But I'm not perfect either and I think our ways of not-being-perfect fit really well together. So, I guess I'm asking if you, Liam Kincaid, will marry me?"
Liam	"I..." Wide grey eyes continued to flick between that ring, to Verity, back to that ring. And then his brain caught up with what she was saying. "Yes, absolutely, I- yes." What even was a full sentence?
Verity	The corner of Verity's mouth crooked up. "You sure you don't wanna take a second to think about it?" She could make that joke now that Liam had answered. "You seem a little gobsmacked. Not the best brainspace to be making life-changing decisions in."
Liam	"No, nope, absolutely not," Liam shook his head. "No takebacks! I just..." he trailed off again, this time words giving way to a peal of soft laughter. "I can’t believe you planned this!"
Verity	"I mean, it's a picnic and a ring," Verity said, laughing. "Not, like, a hot air balloon ride over the Grand Canyon or something." She held the box up again. "I'm pretty sure it's not legally binding till this goes on, you know."
Liam	"Why would we take a hot air balloon anyway when we've got a perfectly good shuttle?" Liam pointed out reasonably. He took the ring box from her and slid the ring on his finger, beaming the whole time. "It's more that I can't believe-" he broke off. "Wait a second! Did you know? Did the mice tell you? They swore they wouldn't..." he grumbled.
Verity (and the mice)	"Did I know what?" Verity asked, as two mice tumbled out of her bag, whiskers twitching in that way that meant they were laughing. "We were Bade Not to Say A Word!" one cried. "Bound by the Oath of the Pinky Swear!" agreed the other. "...What?" Verity asked again.
Liam	"You really didn't tell her?" Liam checked, not actually all that surprised to see the mice now that he knew what Verity had had in mind for tonight. His hand- the one not wearing a ring- went back into his jacket pocket, and pulled out... Another ring box.
Verity	Of course the mice came. It was their duty and their privilege to witness the goings on with the family. And Liam was family. Even more officially now. Verity looked at the box in his hand. And laughed. "How long have you been planning this?"
Liam	"A while,” he admitted. "Was just waiting for the perfect time to- I can't believe you beat me to it," Liam laughed, shaking his head. And holding the box out to her, an impatient look on his face. "Well, go on, open it!"
Verity	"Absolutely not," Verity said. "You got a whole speech out of me. I demand an equally good ask."
Liam	"That's hardly fair!" Liam tried to protest. "You had a whole plan!" Whereas he'd had- well, the ring, yes, but the decision to ask her tonight had been kind of spur-of-the-moment. Which was a roundabout way of saying he hadn't rehearsed one, yes.
Verity	"I trust you to speak from the heart," Verity told him. "You brought it with you for a reason, didn't you?" Look, it wasn't every day a girl got proposed to. She wanted it to count.
Liam	That was true. Hence the desperate attempt at stalling as he tried to think of something on par with what she'd said to him. "Here goes," he said, taking a deep breath: "Verity, there are lots of things I never imagined myself doing before meeting you, things like falling in love. But ever since I met you, I can't stop imagining a future- our future. Wherever the path leads, I want to walk it with you beside me, and so I ask you, Verity Price, will you marry me?"
Verity	"Yes," Verity said, leaning in to kiss him while the mice cheered. "Though we're going to be the Kincaid-Prices. In case you were wondering."
Liam	"That's perfectly fine with me," Liam murmured against her lips. "Flows better." Truthfully, he would've been more than happy to drop 'Kincaid' altogether; unlike Verity's, there was no family behind that name.
Verity	Verity would be willing to entertain that option, too, though she was pragmatic enough to know that having a second name that wasn't Price would be convenient. "You and me," she said, taking the ring and sliding it over her left ring finger.
Liam	Hopefully the fact that the real Liam Kincaid had given this one his blessing to continue using the name counted insofar as the rules her reality had regarding whether or not a name really belonged to someone. "You and me," he agreed, taking her hand in his and pressing a soft kiss to where that ring now rested on her finger.
Verity	She'd meant legally anyway. You know, in case there was ever a reason they needed to go by different aliases or something. Hypothetically speaking. "Looks like we've both decided we're doing this." Dammit, she couldn't stop smiling. "Instead of flowers, I'm carrying a bouquet of knives. With a nice throwing axe accent."
Liam	Pfft, legal names. Even in that case, Liam’s current last name barely counted. Add in the fact that he'd be moving to a different reality entirely... well, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it. For now, he was just going to beam sunnily back at her. "A bouquet of knives is definitely your style," he agreed. "I love it."
Verity	It would be legal enough in her world. Between Street and Artie, they wouldn't have any difficulty getting Liam the proper documents to make it look like he'd lived in that world his whole life. "Might need to be careful how I throw it," Verity grinned.

[TBC in comments!]

Comments

[arboreal_priestess]

Suuuuuure they were.

"They might bring dates?" Verity pointed out. "...I can't think of anyone whose date would be shocked about that, too, but it could happen."

[firstofitskind]

Listen, Liam's ability to see the future had a very narrow scope. As far as he knew, there would absolutely be a wedding with a guest list.

"Sarah wouldn't be shocked," Liam mused. Because Verity's cousin and also telepath. "But- actually, you know what, no. She may not be much of a fighter but she's got good reflexes," he snickered, remembering the way she'd smashed that vase over Margaret's head. "She'd be fine."

[arboreal_priestess]

It was good to dream!

"And Artie would just sigh and roll his eyes," Verity agreed. "While Elsie would go around and collect money from everyone stupid enough to think I'd have flowers."

[firstofitskind]

"It's almost like your family knows you or something," Liam teased, bumping her shoulder with his.

... Huh. And soon they'd be his family too. That was kind of mind-blowing to think about.

[arboreal_priestess]

She was thinking the same thing, actually.

"Whose family?" she asked, returning that shoulder bump.

[firstofitskind]

"Yo-" he started to repeat, and then stopped as he realized what she was really asking. "Ours. Oh."

[arboreal_priestess]

"That's right," Verity said softly, leaning against him and looking out into the sunset. "Ours."

[firstofitskind]

"And hey, I've already met... most of them? I think?" Liam said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and tugging her closer. "So I don't even have to worry about the 'winning them over' part."

[arboreal_priestess]

"Well, there's my Grandpa Baker," Verity said with a wicked grin. "And my Grandma Alice."

Grandpa Baker was a given, especially with the way Liam had helped Sarah. As for Grandma Alice...well, she was godmode, honestly.

[firstofitskind]

“Think I’ll pass muster with them?” Liam mused.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Grandpa Baker, definitely. Grandma Alice...?" Verity shrugged. "She's...well, I've told you about her, right?"

[firstofitskind]

“A little,” Liam nodded. “She’s the one with the fondness for explosives?” What he’d heard reminded him a little of Renee, to be honest.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Okay so on the one hand, yes, on the other hand, how can you tell?" Verity asked, laughing. "Look at the rest of my family."

Though, even for the rest of her family, yeah. Grandma Alice was especially fond of them.

[firstofitskind]

“True, but, taking you for example; you know your way around them and don’t hesitate to use them, but they’re not by any means your go-to,” Liam pointed out.

[arboreal_priestess]

"They have their uses but there's no finesse," Verity sniffed.

Because that was absolutely the kind of women that Price-Healys were.

[firstofitskind]

“That’s my girlfriend-“ Liam started to say. “Wait, no, that’s my fiancée. Full of finesse.” Yeah, he was going to be giddy about this whole engaged thing for... a while.

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity laughed, a little giddy herself. "Weird how much this would have freaked me out last year," she said. "And it's just...look at us. Why freak out over something that makes me this happy?"

[firstofitskind]

"That's growth, is what that is," Liam beamed at her. "Although," he said slowly, drawing out the vowels. "I'm about to do something, and I understand completely if you want to call everything off after." His tone was absolutely, totally serious. The seriousest.

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity nodded, equally very serious. "I hope that I won't have to," she said, with the appropriate solemnity, "but I will keep it as an option."

[firstofitskind]

"Okay," Liam winked at her, and then stood up, facing the ocean, and shouted: "We're gonna get married!" followed by a loud whoop.

You chose this, Verity. Remember that.

[arboreal_priestess]

She absolutely had her face in her hands, yeah. "Oh god," she groaned, entirely for pretend, "I'm marrying a cornball."

Heeeee. Marrying.

[firstofitskind]

“Sure are!” he chirped as he flopped back down next to her and reached to pull her hands away from her face.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Nooooo!" Verity wailed. "I'm rethinking all my life choices! You said I could!"

And she didn't want him to see her laughing, as if her shoulders didn't give it away.

...Maybe she could pass that off as crying?

[firstofitskind]

"Too late," Liam declared. "The window closed when you said 'I'm marrying a cornball'. No takebacks now."

[arboreal_priestess]

"That was when it hit me," Verity declared, Very Seriously. "And I realized I had to get away while I still could."

Look at all the getting away she was doing. Look at it.