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All in all, it had been a pretty good day.
Elle’s valedictorian speech had gone off without a hitch, Warner had managed to refrain from hitting on anyone he shouldn’t...and Emmett had agreed to marry her.
It hadn’t been easy, waiting to give the ring to him, making sure it was hidden somewhere he wouldn’t find it, resisting the urge to pull it out and ask him every time he did something vaguely cute – which was incredibly often. Ultimately, she was glad she’d waited though: finally getting to see the look of surprised delight on his face when she knelt down and pulled out the ring, hearing him say yes, was one of the best gifts she’d ever received, and when he pulled her to her feet and into a tight hug, it felt like they were the only two people in the room.
Then the dam broke and the collective held-breath silence around them gave way to hugs and tears and squeals of delight: her fellow graduates were cheering, leaping up and down in their seats, her mom looked dangerously close to tears, and Margot, Serena and Pilar were already barrelling down on them to laugh and cry and exclaim over Emmett’s ring.
“Do you like it?” Elle asked, a little anxious. Emmett never wore jewellery, so she’d agonised for quite a while over what to get him, and had taken the precaution of calling in Vivian, Paulette and Emmett’s mother Dana for their advice.
“Are you kidding?” Emmett held out his hand to inspect the simple silver band, a huge, dopey grin on his face, “I love it.”
Too happy to speak, Elle pressed her face into his shoulder, smiling when he put his arm around her waist and gave her a little squeeze.
“Well!” They looked up to see Professor Stromwell back at the podium, a distinctly bemused smile on her face as she surveyed the scene before her, “That was one of the more unexpected endings I’ve seen to a valedictory speech, but I must say I rather enjoyed it.” Elle grinned, blushing, as the professor favoured her and Emmett with a warm smile, “Congratulations to you both. Now, if you’d all like to retake your seats…”
The rest of the ceremony passed with more or less the usual degree of decorum, besides the deafening cheer that went up when Elle stood to collect her diploma. She waved as she flipped the tassel on her cap, and she didn’t think that she could have felt any more lucky or loved than she already did, but the look of fierce pride on Emmett’s face as he gazed up at her proved her wrong.
When it was all over, Vivian was one of the first people to come and find them, her expression glowing with warmth, “Congratulations!”
“To you too,” Elle said, reaching out to squeeze her friend’s hand. Now that she thought about it, it occurred to her that high-jacking the end of their graduation ceremony to propose to her boyfriend might have come across as a little self-centred, like she was trying to steal the show from everyone else. It was just that Harvard had been so important to her and Emmett’s relationship, and she wanted to acknowledge that in her proposal-
“I can literally see you overthinking right now,” Vivian said, evidently amused, “relax. We’re all just relieved that one of you managed to pop the question before we all left Boston, not to mention, at least three people owe me money now.”
Emmett raised his eyebrows, "Why?"
"Oh, there was a very competitive betting pool on which one of you would propose first." She flashed a grin at Elle, "I told Aaron he was crazy not to back you, Woods."
Elle laughed, “Well, glad I could help.”
"Got any big plans for this evening?” Emmett asked.
“Not really,” she said, with a shrug, “Enid’s mom couldn’t make it in the end, so she’s joining me for dinner with my parents.” The three of them glanced over at Enid, who was over by the drinks, gesturing emphatically as she talked to a smartly dressed and slightly uncomfortable older couple, “I think they’re more nervous than she is.”
“I’m sure you’ll have a great time,” Elle said, crossing her fingers behind her back.
Vivian turned back to them, her lips curling up in a sly smile, “I’d ask you what you’re doing, but I don’t think I want to know.”
Emmett snorted, and Elle smacked her playfully on the arm, “We’re having dinner with our parents, thank you very much.”
“Well, I guess that’ll be nice too,” Vivian said with a grin, leaning in to kiss Elle on the cheek, “I’d better go rescue my parents. Congratulations again.”
“Thank you, Viv, for everything.” Elle waved as her friend disappeared into the crowd, then turned to Emmett, her eyes wide, “That reminds me, your mom doesn’t know the good news yet! Do you want to call her now?”
Emmett’s mother had been one of the first people that Elle asked to attend the ceremony today, but sadly she hadn’t been able to get time off work to come, and though she’d known that Elle was planning to propose, Elle had kept the exact date a secret from everyone.
Emmett smiled and kissed her temple lightly, “It’s okay, I’d kinda like to surprise her at the restaurant. Speaking of which,” he glanced at his watch, “do you wanna get going? If we head home now, you’ll have plenty of time to get ready.”
Elle grinned mischievously, bumping her hip up against his, “Maybe there’ll even be time for a shower?”
Emmett’s mouth twitched and he ducked his head so his lips were just brushing her ear, “If you’re saying you’d like to go home and have sex in the shower, then absolutely, I think there’ll be time.”
Snickering, Elle pulled him in for a kiss which was perhaps a bit hotter and more breathless than was entirely appropriate for their current setting – but hey, they were newly engaged. She thought they’d probably earned the right to be a little inappropriate.
It took a little while to make their goodbyes to everyone, but soon they were out and on their way back to their little apartment, Elle’s law degree tucked securely in Emmett’s old leather satchel.
“Do you think there’ll be time for one of us to take Bruiser for a quick walk as well?” She asked as she pulled the door shut behind her, dumped her purse and started kicking off her heels, “He’ll get antsy if we’re out too late this evening.”
To her surprise, Emmett didn’t answer immediately. She looked up, but he had disappeared somewhere deeper into the apartment. “Em?” Following the faint sound of rustling, she went to their bedroom, “Hey, I was just thinking-”
She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.
Emmett was down on one knee on their bedroom floor, a little velvet box in his hand, his blue eyes tipped expectantly up to hers. He smiled at her reaction, and gave her a tiny, apologetic shrug, “I was planning on asking tonight after dinner. Should have known that you’d be two steps ahead of me.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, too dumbstruck to think of anything else to say.
He laughed warmly, and God, she loved him so much. “That’s okay, I really don’t mind.” Opening up the box, he held it out towards her, “Elle Woods, you already know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He said it so simply, so sincerely that Elle immediately felt her eyes welling up. Now that it was her turn, she was very impressed by how composed Em had been at the ceremony earlier; it turned out it was surprisingly hard to keep your cool when being proposed to by the love of your life. “But I wanted to tell you that you are the most incredible, kind, brilliant person I’ve ever met, and nothing else has ever felt as right as being with you. Will you marry me?”
She couldn’t hold the tears in any more. With a sob that was mostly laughter, she threw her arms around his neck and clung on tight, almost dizzy with joy, “Of course I will, Em.”
He pressed his lips against her hair, and feeling his heart pounding against hers, she couldn’t believe how lucky they were, how easily they might never have met.
“So, do you want the ring, or…?”
Giggling, she sat back, dashing the tears out of her eyes, “Yes, I do. Please.”
With endearing solemnity, he took her left hand in his and slid the ring onto her fourth finger. For a moment, Elle just stared, holding her breath. Like Emmett’s ring, the band was silver, but hers was set with diamonds – not large and ostentatious like the ring she might have wanted three years ago, but elegant, understated and perfect.
“Oh Emmett, it’s beautiful,” she said, looking up just in time to catch his slightly anxious expression before it melted into a broad grin of relief. “What,” she teased, poking him in the chest, “You didn’t think I wasn’t going to like it, did you?”
He shrugged nonchalantly, “If you didn’t, I’d just blame Vivian – she helped me pick it.”
Elle’s mouth fell open, “She did?” He nodded, amused, and she let out an outraged gasp, “She helped me pick your ring! And she didn’t even hint that you were getting me one!”
“Well,” he said, level-headed and reasonable as ever, “if it makes you feel better, she didn’t drop me any hints either.”
“Give me your hand,” Elle said, whipping her phone out of her pocket and sticking out her own left hand, “I need to send her a picture.”
Emmett obligingly held his hand out next to hers to show off his ring, and Elle snapped a picture to send to Vivian.
A few minutes later, her reply came through with a ding:
“Like you said earlier, glad I could help!” ;)