fic: Say You Will
TITLE: Say You Will
AUTHOR: Brio
WORDS: 2,851
RATING: G. Seriously. There’s only one swear word, repeated four times.
SUMMARY: Prompt by recall_the_love : Dianna proposes. Everything that could go wrong, does.
NOTES: Written as a distraction for my failing patience with something else that I’m working on. Fluff. Masses of it. Thanks to ilsu for reading it over and whatever. Title comes from Train’s Marry Me. Possible sequel. POSSIBLE.
Dianna paces the floor in Lea’s apartment, frowning at her watch every few seconds; her footsteps echo off the hardwood floors and the almost-bare walls. She reminds herself to buy Lea some new artwork. And a rug. The sound of a key in the door causes her to pause and turn a couple of seconds before the short brunette barrels into the lounge, an apologetic look on her face.
“I’m sorry!” she calls, dropping her bags and running towards the bedroom, “The shoot ran over and the car took forever… and I know dinner is at eight… do I have time to shower?” Dianna sighs and flops onto the couch, creasing her cream dress.
“Sure, babe,” she calls back, closing her eyes for a brief second before grabbing her cellphone and calling the restaurant to see if they have anything available later. They do, but they’d lose their table if they don’t arrive by 8:15.
“You look amazing,” Lea calls causing Dianna to roll her eyes and grin despite being a little ticked off.
“Thanks,” she calls and listens for Lea switching on the shower. ‘Great,’ Dianna thinks to herself, rifling through her bag to make sure the box is still there. She flips the lid and feels butterflies spring to life in her stomach, ‘Great.’
**
Dianna is a little more than ticked off when they miraculously reach the restaurant fifteen minutes late to find that the table, the table she’s specifically asked for, has been given away. The waiter looks apologetic but Dianna can tell he really couldn’t care less about her predicament.
“Di, sweetie, it’s fine,” Lea says, arm snaking around the taller woman’s waist, “We’ll just sit somewhere else.” She squeezes the blonde gently and Dianna acquiesces, smiling down at the brunette.
“Sure, babe,” she says and allows the waiter to lead them to a table, a nice table, but still not the table she wants. From their new table, Dianna can see another couple smiling at each other and admiring the view that the bay window offers. She smiles briefly at the memory of Lea sitting across from her at that table almost three years ago as she had tried not to make a complete fool of herself. Their first official date, a night of many firsts for both women.
Lea picks up her menu and runs her eyes over the list of dishes with a smile playing on her lips. Dianna can’t help but smile back at her. The brunette has the same thing, without fail, every time they come here.
“I’m glad you picked this place,” Lea says, reaching a hand across the table to rest on top of Dianna’s, “Thanks for coming home with me this weekend.” Their fingers link together and they share another smile. A different waiter approaches the table, ready to take their order.
Lea reels off her order after Dianna’s given hers and the waiter’s face immediately falls. Dianna eyes him cautiously.
“We’ve actually just run out of the tortellini,” he says.
“What?” Dianna asks, raising an eyebrow, “You’re out of the tortellini?” The waiter confirms this with a nod, “She wants the tortellini.”
“Di, it’s fine,” Lea says, “It’ll be nice to try something new.” She smiles up at the waiter and lifts her menu off the table, quickly selecting another dish. The waiter speeds away, sensing that the blonde woman is about to tear his limbs off. Lea looks at Dianna curiously, a slight frown creasing her forehead, “Are you okay, sweetie? You look a little tense.”
“I just want this night…” Dianna pauses, “We don’t get many nights like this alone. I want it to be perfect, that’s all.” Dianna smiles across at Lea who beams back at her, teeth running over her bottom lip, brown eyes sparkling.
“It’s already perfect,” Lea says, “You’re here.”
Dianna feels the butterflies in her stomach start to tap-dance as Lea reaches across to cup her face. She wraps her fingers around Lea’s slender wrist and turns her head, pressing a soft kiss to the brunette’s palm.
They talk about Lea’s shoot while they wait for their meals, Dianna becoming increasingly more agitated by the wait; her fingers start to drum lightly on the tablecloth.
“Di, seriously, you’re starting to make me nervous,” Lea jokes, “Let’s get some more wine…” She gestures to a passing waiter who returns seconds later with a bottle of red, one of Dianna’s favourites. He pours Lea’s glass first then turns to Dianna, reaching for her glass as she picks it up to pass it to him. Dianna isn’t even sure how it happens, but the glass drops between them and causes the waiter to fumble with the bottle, it’s contents spilling out, cascading onto the blonde’s lap. Lea’s hands fly to cover her mouth as Dianna jumps to her feet, knocking the waiter back into another table.
Lea breaks the stunned silence that follows, giggles bubbling up from behind her hands. Dianna stares down at her red-stained dress and turns on her heel, marching towards the restroom. The waiter recovers, apologising profusely to the couple who’s table he banged into before turning back to Lea to apologise again. Another waiter is already re-setting their table with a clean cloth and is mopping up the wine that landed on the floor.
“I really am sorry,” he says over and over again. The head waiter is next in line to apologise, offering them free desserts and drinks as compensation. When they’re finished fussing over the brunette, she excuses herself and walks quickly to the restroom where Dianna is scrubbing at the stain on the front of her dress. The blonde glances up at Lea when the door opens and grimaces.
“Are you okay?” Lea asks, wrapping her arms around Dianna’s waist from behind, their eyes connecting in the mirror.
“I’m fantastic,” Dianna says sullenly, “First, they give away our table, then they run out of your favourite meal and now this…” she gestures to her ruined dress. She sighs heavily, “This just isn’t our night at all.”
“Dianna,” Lea says, pressing her lips to the blonde’s exposed skin, “It’s okay.”
“But…” Dianna protests, twisting around to face the brunette.
“Baby,” Lea says, “It’s okay.” She gives the blonde a huge grin and presses her lips against the taller woman’s cutting off any further protestations, “The dress is fine. You look beautiful.” Placated, Dianna slips her hand into Lea’s and allows herself to be led back through to the dining area. Their meals are waiting when they sit down and two very full glasses of wine have been poured.
“Bon appetit,” Dianna says, spreading her napkin over her lap, hiding the red patch on her dress.
**
The head waiter is on hand to apologise (again) as they leave.
“Really, it’s fine,” Lea says, shrugging her coat on, “The meal was lovely. Thank you.” Dianna merely smiles and follows Lea out of the restaurant, happy that the coat she decided to wear covers the stain. She crooks her elbow, allowing Lea to slip her arm through the gap, “Where to next, my lady?”
“It’s a surprise,” Dianna says, grinning down at the shorter woman.
“A surprise?” Lea asks, her face lighting up, “Shouldn’t I be wearing a blindfold?”
“I actually considered it,” Dianna says with a laugh, “But given our luck so far tonight, we probably shouldn’t push it.” Lea giggles in response, her grip tightening on Dianna’s arm causing the butterflies in the blonde’s stomach to reappear.
Lea’s curiosity peaks when they reach Central Park and Dianna stops, glancing around irritably. She reaches into her bag for her cellphone.
“Two seconds,” she says to Lea before walking a few steps away from the brunette, whispering agitatedly, gesturing even though the person on the other end of the call can’t see her. Lea picks up the words ‘horse’ and ‘sick’ and frowns. When Dianna returns, the look on the blonde’s face is thunderous.
“Bad news?” Lea asks, reaching for Dianna’s hand and squeezing it.
“The horse is sick,” Dianna says despondently.
“Right,” Lea says, wondering if this is code for something else. She isn’t sure if she wants to know what that would be code for.
“We were going to take a ride through the park, in a carriage,” Dianna says, “To that spot near the fountain?” Lea grins, “But the horse is sick.”
“Well, we can get a cab instead,” Lea says, “Or we could walk…it’s such a nice night.”
As soon as the words leave the brunette’s mouth, the heavens open and torrential rain starts to pour down. Dianna sends a silent curse to whatever higher power is ruining her night and pulls Lea out of the park, hailing a cab when they reach the street.
“Maybe we should just call it a night,” Lea suggests as the cab hurtles towards another entrance to the park. She brushes the raindrops from Dianna’s face with the back of her hand, sending a shiver through the blonde. A part of her nearly takes Lea up on the offer, but she isn’t going to let a sick horse and a little rain ruin her plan.
“We’ll be fine when we get to the spot,” Dianna says, “It’s sheltered. And the rain looks like it’s going to stop anyway.”
After Dianna pays the driver, she helps Lea out of the car and leads her into the park again. The rain is coming to an end and people are emerging from beneath their makeshift shelters. Lea takes Dianna’s arm again as the blonde follows the path to where they’d sat and watched fireworks the previous New Years Eve; Lea between Dianna’s legs, back pressed up against the blonde, Dianna’s head resting on the brunette’s shoulder, a blanket wrapped around them both.
“It was so cold that night,” Lea comments, breaking Dianna’s memory of the event.
“It was,” she agrees with a nod, “It took me hours to warm you up again.”
“I seem to remember that part of the night more than the fireworks,” Lea says, smiling shyly up at Dianna, “My memory is a little hazy though. Care to remind me?”
“Here?” Dianna asks, raising an eyebrow as she slides an arm around Lea’s waist, drawing the brunette closer to her. Lea rolls her eyes and swats Dianna’s hand away.
“Later,” she says, walking off down the path. Dianna catches up with her, taking her hand again. They round a corner and Lea pulls up short, a smile on her face. On the exact same spot beneath the tree where they’d sat nearly ten months ago, a blanket and a basket are waiting for them. Lea pulls off her shoes and skips across the grass to the blanket, glancing back to make sure that Dianna is following her.
The blonde, however, looks annoyed. Again.
“Baby, what is it now?” Lea calls, sitting down on the blanket and reaching for the basket. She squeals when she finds a box of strawberries and a bottle of champagne inside.
“There’s supposed to be a ba-” she’s cut off by her phone ringing, “Sorry…” she apologises to Lea before answering her phone.
Lea sighs as she opens the box of strawberries, biting into the first one, watching as her girlfriend walks back and forth along the path, gesturing wildly again. This time Dianna ends the phone call with a curse and throws her phone back into her bag.
“Di, look,” Lea begins when the blonde makes her way across the grass.
“The guitarist has broken his hand,” Dianna interrupts, slumping down next to Lea and picking up a strawberry.
“What?” Lea asks in confusion.
“There was supposed to be a band,” Dianna says, “And I was going to ask you to dance… and…” she shakes her head, sighing heavily. She takes a bite of the strawberry and it immediately lodges in the back of her throat.
“Dianna, you need to relax,” Lea says, not looking at her girlfriend as she rummages in the basket for glasses to pour the champagne into, “The more you stress out, the worse things will seem, when really it couldn’t be further from the opposite. We’ve just had a beautiful meal and now we’re sitting in Central Park and you’ve got this whole picnic prepared for the two of us… who cares if there wasn’t a horse-carriage ride or if there isn’t a band for us to dance to? We’re together and that’s the most important thing…” she pulls the glasses from the basket triumphantly, “Baby?” she turns to look at Dianna, “Shit.”
Dianna is turning purple and clutching her throat, “Dianna?” Lea starts to panic, “Shit, shit, shit…” she repeats this over and over as she throws the glasses to one side and moves behind her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around the blonde’s abdomen. She pulls Dianna towards her, moving her arms upwards and Dianna starts to cough, falling forwards onto the blanket.
“Thanks,” she mutters, eyeing the tiny piece of strawberry that caused her to choke. She flicks it away malevolently and turns to face Lea, throwing her arms around the terrified-looking brunette, “Thank you.”
“Are you okay?” Lea chokes out, pulling back from Dianna to press her lips to the blonde’s forehead, her temple, her cheek, her jaw line before moving to the blonde’s lips, though she’s still gasping for air.
“I’m fine,” Dianna whispers between shaky breaths.
“Maybe now we should call it a night?” Lea asks, pulling Dianna back into her arms and stroking the blonde’s back.
“I think that would be wise,” Dianna answers.
**
Back in the apartment, Lea glances between Dianna and herself and starts to laugh.
“What’s so funny, babe?” Dianna asks, as she dumps the uneaten strawberries and unopened champagne on the floor and starts to unfasten her coat.
“Look at us,” Lea says, “You’re covered in wine. I’m covered in mud. So much for a perfect night out, huh?”
“You’re perfect,” Dianna says, her features suddenly turning serious. She slides off her coat and places it on the back of Lea’s couch before reaching into her bag.
“Di, what are you…?” Lea’s question dies in her throat as she watches the blonde retrieve a box. Her eyes go wide and she walks towards her girlfriend, “Yes,” she says automatically.
“I haven’t asked yet,” Dianna says chuckling.
“I don’t care,” Lea says insistently, “Yes.”
“Lea, please,” Dianna says, “Everything that could have gone wrong tonight did. Let me, at least, do this part right.”
Lea feels a lump rise in her throat as Dianna takes her hand and leads her over to the couch. She sits down and watches as Dianna lowers herself to one knee, already feeling tears well up in her eyes.
“You need to do this quickly, I honestly don’t think I can stop myself from crying for much longer,” Lea says. Dianna looks down at her hands, toying with the black box for a few seconds before looking up at the brunette. Lea feels a tear streak down her face and rolls her eyes, “Sorry.” Dianna bites her bottom lip and reaches up to brush the tear away.
“This has been our worst date ever…” Dianna begins.
“There was that time when you got sick…” Lea begins, stopping when Dianna gives her a pointed look, “Not the time for that story, clearly. Continue!” The blonde grins and wraps her hand around Lea’s.
“Tonight was supposed to be about you,” Dianna says, “Your favourite restaurant, your favourite food, in your favourite city… we were supposed to take a carriage ride through your favourite park then dance to one of your favourite songs. Everything that could have gone wrong did but none of it matters, really.”
Lea smiles, biting her bottom lip and squeezing Dianna’s hand. The blonde takes a deep breath, hazel eyes shining as she looks up at her girlfriend again.
“I love you, Lea. I’m completely in love with you and I have been since the moment we met. I can’t imagine spending my life without you, growing old without you. I want to be there to watch you shine and I want to be there to build you up if times are bad. I want to wake up next to you and I want to go to sleep with you in my arms,” Dianna blinks, taking a shaky breath before smiling through her own tears, “Lea Michele Sarfati…”
“Yes,” Lea whispers again, leaning forward to kiss the blonde.
“Lea,” Dianna groans half-heartedly, “Baby,” she pulls back and flips the lid on the box open. Lea’s eyes widen and she watches Dianna pluck the ring from the box, “Will you marry me?” She slides the ring onto Lea’s finger, pleased that it fits perfectly. Lea raises the ring to look at it, words now failing her.
A minute passes and Lea‘s silence causes Dianna’s face to fall slightly.
“Um, Lea?” Dianna asks, resting her hands on Lea’s thighs, an amused expression on her face, “Now would be a good time to say something. Anything.”
“Yes,” Lea whispers and pulls Dianna into her arms, “Yes.”
AUTHOR: Brio
WORDS: 2,851
RATING: G. Seriously. There’s only one swear word, repeated four times.
SUMMARY: Prompt by recall_the_love : Dianna proposes. Everything that could go wrong, does.
NOTES: Written as a distraction for my failing patience with something else that I’m working on. Fluff. Masses of it. Thanks to ilsu for reading it over and whatever. Title comes from Train’s Marry Me. Possible sequel. POSSIBLE.
Dianna paces the floor in Lea’s apartment, frowning at her watch every few seconds; her footsteps echo off the hardwood floors and the almost-bare walls. She reminds herself to buy Lea some new artwork. And a rug. The sound of a key in the door causes her to pause and turn a couple of seconds before the short brunette barrels into the lounge, an apologetic look on her face.
“I’m sorry!” she calls, dropping her bags and running towards the bedroom, “The shoot ran over and the car took forever… and I know dinner is at eight… do I have time to shower?” Dianna sighs and flops onto the couch, creasing her cream dress.
“Sure, babe,” she calls back, closing her eyes for a brief second before grabbing her cellphone and calling the restaurant to see if they have anything available later. They do, but they’d lose their table if they don’t arrive by 8:15.
“You look amazing,” Lea calls causing Dianna to roll her eyes and grin despite being a little ticked off.
“Thanks,” she calls and listens for Lea switching on the shower. ‘Great,’ Dianna thinks to herself, rifling through her bag to make sure the box is still there. She flips the lid and feels butterflies spring to life in her stomach, ‘Great.’
**
Dianna is a little more than ticked off when they miraculously reach the restaurant fifteen minutes late to find that the table, the table she’s specifically asked for, has been given away. The waiter looks apologetic but Dianna can tell he really couldn’t care less about her predicament.
“Di, sweetie, it’s fine,” Lea says, arm snaking around the taller woman’s waist, “We’ll just sit somewhere else.” She squeezes the blonde gently and Dianna acquiesces, smiling down at the brunette.
“Sure, babe,” she says and allows the waiter to lead them to a table, a nice table, but still not the table she wants. From their new table, Dianna can see another couple smiling at each other and admiring the view that the bay window offers. She smiles briefly at the memory of Lea sitting across from her at that table almost three years ago as she had tried not to make a complete fool of herself. Their first official date, a night of many firsts for both women.
Lea picks up her menu and runs her eyes over the list of dishes with a smile playing on her lips. Dianna can’t help but smile back at her. The brunette has the same thing, without fail, every time they come here.
“I’m glad you picked this place,” Lea says, reaching a hand across the table to rest on top of Dianna’s, “Thanks for coming home with me this weekend.” Their fingers link together and they share another smile. A different waiter approaches the table, ready to take their order.
Lea reels off her order after Dianna’s given hers and the waiter’s face immediately falls. Dianna eyes him cautiously.
“We’ve actually just run out of the tortellini,” he says.
“What?” Dianna asks, raising an eyebrow, “You’re out of the tortellini?” The waiter confirms this with a nod, “She wants the tortellini.”
“Di, it’s fine,” Lea says, “It’ll be nice to try something new.” She smiles up at the waiter and lifts her menu off the table, quickly selecting another dish. The waiter speeds away, sensing that the blonde woman is about to tear his limbs off. Lea looks at Dianna curiously, a slight frown creasing her forehead, “Are you okay, sweetie? You look a little tense.”
“I just want this night…” Dianna pauses, “We don’t get many nights like this alone. I want it to be perfect, that’s all.” Dianna smiles across at Lea who beams back at her, teeth running over her bottom lip, brown eyes sparkling.
“It’s already perfect,” Lea says, “You’re here.”
Dianna feels the butterflies in her stomach start to tap-dance as Lea reaches across to cup her face. She wraps her fingers around Lea’s slender wrist and turns her head, pressing a soft kiss to the brunette’s palm.
They talk about Lea’s shoot while they wait for their meals, Dianna becoming increasingly more agitated by the wait; her fingers start to drum lightly on the tablecloth.
“Di, seriously, you’re starting to make me nervous,” Lea jokes, “Let’s get some more wine…” She gestures to a passing waiter who returns seconds later with a bottle of red, one of Dianna’s favourites. He pours Lea’s glass first then turns to Dianna, reaching for her glass as she picks it up to pass it to him. Dianna isn’t even sure how it happens, but the glass drops between them and causes the waiter to fumble with the bottle, it’s contents spilling out, cascading onto the blonde’s lap. Lea’s hands fly to cover her mouth as Dianna jumps to her feet, knocking the waiter back into another table.
Lea breaks the stunned silence that follows, giggles bubbling up from behind her hands. Dianna stares down at her red-stained dress and turns on her heel, marching towards the restroom. The waiter recovers, apologising profusely to the couple who’s table he banged into before turning back to Lea to apologise again. Another waiter is already re-setting their table with a clean cloth and is mopping up the wine that landed on the floor.
“I really am sorry,” he says over and over again. The head waiter is next in line to apologise, offering them free desserts and drinks as compensation. When they’re finished fussing over the brunette, she excuses herself and walks quickly to the restroom where Dianna is scrubbing at the stain on the front of her dress. The blonde glances up at Lea when the door opens and grimaces.
“Are you okay?” Lea asks, wrapping her arms around Dianna’s waist from behind, their eyes connecting in the mirror.
“I’m fantastic,” Dianna says sullenly, “First, they give away our table, then they run out of your favourite meal and now this…” she gestures to her ruined dress. She sighs heavily, “This just isn’t our night at all.”
“Dianna,” Lea says, pressing her lips to the blonde’s exposed skin, “It’s okay.”
“But…” Dianna protests, twisting around to face the brunette.
“Baby,” Lea says, “It’s okay.” She gives the blonde a huge grin and presses her lips against the taller woman’s cutting off any further protestations, “The dress is fine. You look beautiful.” Placated, Dianna slips her hand into Lea’s and allows herself to be led back through to the dining area. Their meals are waiting when they sit down and two very full glasses of wine have been poured.
“Bon appetit,” Dianna says, spreading her napkin over her lap, hiding the red patch on her dress.
**
The head waiter is on hand to apologise (again) as they leave.
“Really, it’s fine,” Lea says, shrugging her coat on, “The meal was lovely. Thank you.” Dianna merely smiles and follows Lea out of the restaurant, happy that the coat she decided to wear covers the stain. She crooks her elbow, allowing Lea to slip her arm through the gap, “Where to next, my lady?”
“It’s a surprise,” Dianna says, grinning down at the shorter woman.
“A surprise?” Lea asks, her face lighting up, “Shouldn’t I be wearing a blindfold?”
“I actually considered it,” Dianna says with a laugh, “But given our luck so far tonight, we probably shouldn’t push it.” Lea giggles in response, her grip tightening on Dianna’s arm causing the butterflies in the blonde’s stomach to reappear.
Lea’s curiosity peaks when they reach Central Park and Dianna stops, glancing around irritably. She reaches into her bag for her cellphone.
“Two seconds,” she says to Lea before walking a few steps away from the brunette, whispering agitatedly, gesturing even though the person on the other end of the call can’t see her. Lea picks up the words ‘horse’ and ‘sick’ and frowns. When Dianna returns, the look on the blonde’s face is thunderous.
“Bad news?” Lea asks, reaching for Dianna’s hand and squeezing it.
“The horse is sick,” Dianna says despondently.
“Right,” Lea says, wondering if this is code for something else. She isn’t sure if she wants to know what that would be code for.
“We were going to take a ride through the park, in a carriage,” Dianna says, “To that spot near the fountain?” Lea grins, “But the horse is sick.”
“Well, we can get a cab instead,” Lea says, “Or we could walk…it’s such a nice night.”
As soon as the words leave the brunette’s mouth, the heavens open and torrential rain starts to pour down. Dianna sends a silent curse to whatever higher power is ruining her night and pulls Lea out of the park, hailing a cab when they reach the street.
“Maybe we should just call it a night,” Lea suggests as the cab hurtles towards another entrance to the park. She brushes the raindrops from Dianna’s face with the back of her hand, sending a shiver through the blonde. A part of her nearly takes Lea up on the offer, but she isn’t going to let a sick horse and a little rain ruin her plan.
“We’ll be fine when we get to the spot,” Dianna says, “It’s sheltered. And the rain looks like it’s going to stop anyway.”
After Dianna pays the driver, she helps Lea out of the car and leads her into the park again. The rain is coming to an end and people are emerging from beneath their makeshift shelters. Lea takes Dianna’s arm again as the blonde follows the path to where they’d sat and watched fireworks the previous New Years Eve; Lea between Dianna’s legs, back pressed up against the blonde, Dianna’s head resting on the brunette’s shoulder, a blanket wrapped around them both.
“It was so cold that night,” Lea comments, breaking Dianna’s memory of the event.
“It was,” she agrees with a nod, “It took me hours to warm you up again.”
“I seem to remember that part of the night more than the fireworks,” Lea says, smiling shyly up at Dianna, “My memory is a little hazy though. Care to remind me?”
“Here?” Dianna asks, raising an eyebrow as she slides an arm around Lea’s waist, drawing the brunette closer to her. Lea rolls her eyes and swats Dianna’s hand away.
“Later,” she says, walking off down the path. Dianna catches up with her, taking her hand again. They round a corner and Lea pulls up short, a smile on her face. On the exact same spot beneath the tree where they’d sat nearly ten months ago, a blanket and a basket are waiting for them. Lea pulls off her shoes and skips across the grass to the blanket, glancing back to make sure that Dianna is following her.
The blonde, however, looks annoyed. Again.
“Baby, what is it now?” Lea calls, sitting down on the blanket and reaching for the basket. She squeals when she finds a box of strawberries and a bottle of champagne inside.
“There’s supposed to be a ba-” she’s cut off by her phone ringing, “Sorry…” she apologises to Lea before answering her phone.
Lea sighs as she opens the box of strawberries, biting into the first one, watching as her girlfriend walks back and forth along the path, gesturing wildly again. This time Dianna ends the phone call with a curse and throws her phone back into her bag.
“Di, look,” Lea begins when the blonde makes her way across the grass.
“The guitarist has broken his hand,” Dianna interrupts, slumping down next to Lea and picking up a strawberry.
“What?” Lea asks in confusion.
“There was supposed to be a band,” Dianna says, “And I was going to ask you to dance… and…” she shakes her head, sighing heavily. She takes a bite of the strawberry and it immediately lodges in the back of her throat.
“Dianna, you need to relax,” Lea says, not looking at her girlfriend as she rummages in the basket for glasses to pour the champagne into, “The more you stress out, the worse things will seem, when really it couldn’t be further from the opposite. We’ve just had a beautiful meal and now we’re sitting in Central Park and you’ve got this whole picnic prepared for the two of us… who cares if there wasn’t a horse-carriage ride or if there isn’t a band for us to dance to? We’re together and that’s the most important thing…” she pulls the glasses from the basket triumphantly, “Baby?” she turns to look at Dianna, “Shit.”
Dianna is turning purple and clutching her throat, “Dianna?” Lea starts to panic, “Shit, shit, shit…” she repeats this over and over as she throws the glasses to one side and moves behind her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around the blonde’s abdomen. She pulls Dianna towards her, moving her arms upwards and Dianna starts to cough, falling forwards onto the blanket.
“Thanks,” she mutters, eyeing the tiny piece of strawberry that caused her to choke. She flicks it away malevolently and turns to face Lea, throwing her arms around the terrified-looking brunette, “Thank you.”
“Are you okay?” Lea chokes out, pulling back from Dianna to press her lips to the blonde’s forehead, her temple, her cheek, her jaw line before moving to the blonde’s lips, though she’s still gasping for air.
“I’m fine,” Dianna whispers between shaky breaths.
“Maybe now we should call it a night?” Lea asks, pulling Dianna back into her arms and stroking the blonde’s back.
“I think that would be wise,” Dianna answers.
**
Back in the apartment, Lea glances between Dianna and herself and starts to laugh.
“What’s so funny, babe?” Dianna asks, as she dumps the uneaten strawberries and unopened champagne on the floor and starts to unfasten her coat.
“Look at us,” Lea says, “You’re covered in wine. I’m covered in mud. So much for a perfect night out, huh?”
“You’re perfect,” Dianna says, her features suddenly turning serious. She slides off her coat and places it on the back of Lea’s couch before reaching into her bag.
“Di, what are you…?” Lea’s question dies in her throat as she watches the blonde retrieve a box. Her eyes go wide and she walks towards her girlfriend, “Yes,” she says automatically.
“I haven’t asked yet,” Dianna says chuckling.
“I don’t care,” Lea says insistently, “Yes.”
“Lea, please,” Dianna says, “Everything that could have gone wrong tonight did. Let me, at least, do this part right.”
Lea feels a lump rise in her throat as Dianna takes her hand and leads her over to the couch. She sits down and watches as Dianna lowers herself to one knee, already feeling tears well up in her eyes.
“You need to do this quickly, I honestly don’t think I can stop myself from crying for much longer,” Lea says. Dianna looks down at her hands, toying with the black box for a few seconds before looking up at the brunette. Lea feels a tear streak down her face and rolls her eyes, “Sorry.” Dianna bites her bottom lip and reaches up to brush the tear away.
“This has been our worst date ever…” Dianna begins.
“There was that time when you got sick…” Lea begins, stopping when Dianna gives her a pointed look, “Not the time for that story, clearly. Continue!” The blonde grins and wraps her hand around Lea’s.
“Tonight was supposed to be about you,” Dianna says, “Your favourite restaurant, your favourite food, in your favourite city… we were supposed to take a carriage ride through your favourite park then dance to one of your favourite songs. Everything that could have gone wrong did but none of it matters, really.”
Lea smiles, biting her bottom lip and squeezing Dianna’s hand. The blonde takes a deep breath, hazel eyes shining as she looks up at her girlfriend again.
“I love you, Lea. I’m completely in love with you and I have been since the moment we met. I can’t imagine spending my life without you, growing old without you. I want to be there to watch you shine and I want to be there to build you up if times are bad. I want to wake up next to you and I want to go to sleep with you in my arms,” Dianna blinks, taking a shaky breath before smiling through her own tears, “Lea Michele Sarfati…”
“Yes,” Lea whispers again, leaning forward to kiss the blonde.
“Lea,” Dianna groans half-heartedly, “Baby,” she pulls back and flips the lid on the box open. Lea’s eyes widen and she watches Dianna pluck the ring from the box, “Will you marry me?” She slides the ring onto Lea’s finger, pleased that it fits perfectly. Lea raises the ring to look at it, words now failing her.
A minute passes and Lea‘s silence causes Dianna’s face to fall slightly.
“Um, Lea?” Dianna asks, resting her hands on Lea’s thighs, an amused expression on her face, “Now would be a good time to say something. Anything.”
“Yes,” Lea whispers and pulls Dianna into her arms, “Yes.”