Work Text:
You were outside tending to some plants when you first felt it. A crisp breeze that made goosebumps appear on your skin. That tell-tale sign fall was beginning to arrive. It made you smile from ear to ear before quickly finishing what you were working on. The sun was still warm but every time the wind picked up you shivered slightly. Now that you were looking closer, some of the leaves were beginning to change colors, just further exciting you. After you finished you quickly cleaned up and without washing, you set out to find Francis wherever he was within the house you shared.
A few minutes of searching found him in the library reading, “Francis!”
At the sound of his name, the blond looked up and smiled at you, putting his bookmark in and closing his book, “Yes, dear?”
“It’s fall!”
“Is it? I thought it was still summer for a few more days…,” his voice was playful as he teased you, really only wanting to see the adorable pout that overtook your expression.
“Oh please, like days on a calendar actually mean anything to the weather? It feels like fall outside! And plus, it’s close enough, isn’t it?” your arms crossed over your chest and he laughed softly.
Francis stood up and crossed the room to pull you into a hug, he always was the physical affection sort, “I suppose you’re right. The apple orchard is opening tomorrow. And by the looks of the calendar… neither of us has anything going on. What say you and I spend a day doing fall things while it feels like fall?”
“Really?! Yeah of course!” Immediately your pout disappeared in favor of excitement, now you could barely wait for tomorrow to come.
The rest of the day you pestered Francis about what else he was thinking about doing for your fall day out. He never planned anything small or simple. When you two went out you were going out for the day, not just a couple of hours. But, no matter how much you bugged him he wouldn’t divulge his plans to you, driving you further into curiosity. Your only other option was to suffer through the day and wake up with every inch of you consumed with anticipation. Francis tried to play it cool, simply telling you to dress comfortably and of course in your favorite fall sweater. He did the same and you had to admit, he looked best in cozy sweaters.
“So, where are we going?!”
“Patience, love. Perhaps we’ll start at the apple orchard?”
“Okay,” you didn’t have many other options other than agree, but you already knew you were going to the apple orchard, leaving that feeling of curiosity still coursing through you. Regardless, you weren’t going to let that get the better of you and ruin your date to the apple orchard.
Francis knew just how much you loved fall activities and nature, so the two combined were a sure-fire way to make your day. And seeing you smile was worth everything in the world to him. You two sang songs in the car together on your way, every time Francis forgot the lyrics made you laugh as he ad-libbed his way through the song. The orchard was roughly an hour away, giving you a good chance to look at the scenery, appreciating how much more it looked like fall out in the countryside. The trees were varying shades of oranges, reds, and even purples against the backdrop of green grass and a clear, blue sky.
When you finally arrived you got out of Francis’ unassuming SUV and stretched your legs a bit. The apple orchard was a mildly commercialized one, or at least, one that knew its audience. It boasted a corn maze, a cider mill, and even a pumpkin patch in one convenient location. Since you both only had a light breakfast it was easily decided you’d hit up the cider mill first, browsing through the endless apple-themed foods. You settled on an apple cider donut and pumpkin muffin with a glass of warm cider while Francis picked himself an apple fritter with an apple dumpling and glass of cider. The food was out of this world and almost literally the epitome of autumn flavor. You made a note to Francis that you’d have to stop on your way out to purchase a gallon (or two) or the cider to take home. And maybe a dozen of those doughnuts…
The trees that surrounded you in every direction were full of apples, some so ripe they already tumbled to the ground. You two busied yourselves with picking the red fruits, filling your barrel with them, and chatting gently about all the different things you could possibly make with the apples. The chilling breeze you felt yesterday intensified today, but you were far from caring, wrapped up in your favorite sweater while Francis’ arms surrounded your upper body. Warm was the only thing you could possibly feel in this moment as kisses were pressed gently to your cheeks, the full bushel of apples being dragged behind you both.
With the apples secured in the trunk, you wandered through the pumpkin patch and pointed out all the cute decorations they had hidden throughout. Hand in hand you walked, chatting about whatever came to mind. And when nothing came to mind the most comfortable silence washed over you two. Comfortable silence where you simply took the moment to appreciate the person standing next to you. Appreciating their presence, their mere existence, and the fact that they were there next to you instead of someone else. Never before you met Francis did you experience such a calming silence. It still felt a bit unreal that you could understand everything he wanted to say without him even speaking. The adoration he held for you shone brightly in his eyes and you only hoped yours did the same for him. Heaven knows you couldn’t live without this man now that you had him in your life.
Francis gladly bought you several pumpkins to help decorate the home you shared, even though you both knew it was too early for them to last until Halloween. The bottom line was you both just didn’t care. You felt the first breeze of fall which means Francis and you were in full-blown Fall Mode now. Pumpkins filled in the spaces around the apple bushel and you both joked that if you bought any more you’d have to strap pumpkins to the roof. Next, the corn maze. It was just a beginner, small corn maze so you guessed it wouldn’t take more than an hour to complete it. Boy, you couldn’t have been more wrong. The maze looked simple on the map you were given but when trying to figure it out in real life it was so much more difficult.
One wrong turn had you heading towards a dead end and it was all downhill from there. You couldn’t find yourself on the map therefore rending it useless. So, you resorted to just picking and guessing, only turning back when you hit a dead end. The failure didn’t get to you, both of you rationalizing that you wouldn’t have to worry about anything until it began to turn dark and you had quite a while until it would begin to do so. Two hours later, you finally found yourself sprinting for the exit in view, laughing all the way. Francis ran after you, easily keeping up and laughing himself, thankful to finally be free of the endless rows and rows of corn.
The apple orchard was explored to the fullest, both of you experiencing everything it had to offer you. Like you suggested earlier, you stopped and grabbed cider and donuts on your way out, having to place them in the back seats instead of the trunk thanks to the pumpkins and apples. When your butt made contact with the passenger seat exhaustion quickly overtook you as you realized just how tired you and your body was. The same look was faintly evident on Francis’ face as he started the car and played your favorite playlist. Sheesh, if he kept this up you were no doubt going to end up sleeping.
Sleep you did! You’re not quite sure how long you were sleeping, but when you woke up to Francis’ gentle coaxing, you found yourself in the parking lot of a quaint looking cafe.
“I thought we could get hot chocolate,” he smiled softly and you nodded, stretching in your seat to help you wake up.
The inside of the cafe was indeed quaint and relatively busy considering the small town it was located in. Francis led the way inside, choosing a booth towards the corner of the restaurant, giving you more privacy than most other tables had. When the waiter came over he ordered you both hot chocolate and a couple of slices of pie. Still, you were in a drowsy daze making you yawn and wait half impatiently for the warm cup of sweetness. Not even five minutes later and the large mugs were placed in front of you, your hands slinking around carefully to warm your palms.
“Did you enjoy today, my love?”
“Yes, of course! It can’t get any better than this!”
“I think it can.”
Your eyes met his as you raised an eyebrow, confused as to how the day could possibly get any better. Just what else did this man have up his sleeve for you? Hopefully, it wasn’t another maze… Instead of saying anything, Francis slipped his hand beneath the table, presumably rummaging around in his sweater pocket for something. When his hand emerged with a small box your eyes went wide, face immediately heating up.
“Darling, would you marry me?” his voice was gentle and quiet, most likely so the whole restaurant wouldn’t hear and then get involved.
Following that logic, you nodded, breathing out a ‘yes’ and allowing him to slip the elegant ring onto your finger. Leave it to Francis to make an amazing day even better than you possibly thought it could get.