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The room was overfilled with cold air, but Michael’s heart was blazing with fire.
Biting back a growing smile he hoisted his pale blanket over his shoulders, dipping his chin to his chest as his temple brushed his pillow. Within the black interior he tried accompanying it with the darkness behind his eyelids, but the day’s gigantic moment replayed itself vividly within his sights, a constant burst of color that made him golden in every which way.
She said yes…
It was a phrase that looped in his thoughts, overcoming his sense of self as he buried his side against the mattress. Lifting his attention, he discerned the golden ring coiled around his finger, nails scraping at the blanket as it carried his eagerness to burst. His racing thoughts caused goosebumps to race beneath the thick sleeves occupying his body, and he felt the warmth pool in his cheeks as his dimples indented the sides of his winning grin. As he motioned on the bed he tried to slightly adjust the ghost of a feeling that was tracing itself over his hands, the outline of her fingers as he slipped her own ring on her.
The futuristic sight had been one to behold, a city’s combustion of colorful lights as the sky faded from lavender to maroon. They had been on a mountaintop, a monument of sorts, her hold intertwined in his. A mask of blue and gold donned over his anxious eyes, sweat clinging to the texture of his time suit as they stared out into the sunset. A gentle breeze sent her curls into a dance, her red skirt whipping between her legs as her bronze hand pushed it down to avoid conflicts. But she was happy—her dark eyes were oversaturated with life, dusk reflecting over them. Her ruby red lips parted in satisfaction, watching Gotham City bathe in the golden hour.
Little did she know, this was also going to be their golden hour.
Michael gulped once, exhaled, trying to eject the nerves that were turning his stature into an ice sculpture. He ran his free hand over his blonde locks, slicked with extra gel to correspond with the momentous occasion he was preparing for them. Skeets had been sent off somewhere, within the bulks of trees surrounding the mountainside, silently observing them in accordance with his master’s order. The robot was likely anticipating for a long time by this point, as Michael’s procrastination was slowing time down all too much.
And that was an ironic idea, as Michael Jon Carter was the master of time travel. But perhaps that was the charm of her, how she could make him fumble over something he was supposedly an expert at. But waiting only geared towards misfortune.
So he puffed his chest, clutched the box resting inside the back pocket of his suit.
“Margot…” he started, releasing her grip, and aiming a trembling hold towards a button beside his mask. His visor vanished with technical tactics, and she was exposed to his tight brows and his closed eyes, the pressed lips that crumpled his chin. He was no longer the time hero Booster Gold, but Margot Montgomery’s boyfriend, Michael Jon Carter. “There’s something I want to ask you.”
“Yes, of course.” Margot, on the other hand, was only puzzled. She cocked her head sideways, moving a stray hair from her face. She was stunning, as always.
“Margot…” It was now or never. Being a time traveler did nothing to change that fact. “When I first met you, I was a bum. Hauled out of a proper education because my life was a pure circus of unfortunate events.” He saw her snort, and he felt amusement filter through his serious state. “But when I met you, life changed. Visiting you was always the highlight to all of my days working at the museum, and days as a superhero always just boiled down to us hanging out and being another lovey-dovey couple after getting my butt beaten. It made me really happy, like there wasn’t anything wrong that could possibly happen anymore.”
An eyebrow lifted. “Okay…?” she prodded. “Where are you going with this, MJ?”
“Therefore, life for me became great!” he said more excitedly, then cleared his throat. “So, I was thinking, because of all this happiness, and because you make me the happiest man in the entire time-space continuum…!” He went low, and her confusion shifted to awe as her hands flew to her lips. He felt his shoulders shake with a laugh as the box bearing her ring presented itself in his gloved hands, and he lifted the cover to reveal a ruby ring glinting under the sunset highlights.
“Michael…” she rasped. Her gaze was huge.
“I was wondering if you’d say yes to becoming my wife, for every timeline imaginable.” He snickered a little at that, swallowing the nervous lump in his neck. “Since, well, I may be the time guy, but when I’m with you, life feels absolutely timeless. It’s like I can do everything and anything, because you’re perfect to me. Like, traveling back to the 21st Century’s got nothing to visiting Pluto with you, or having parties in an attic, or mining for gems in new volcanoes! So I wanted to request the thought that…you’d feel the same. So…” He pushed for more confidence. “Will you marry me?”
Shines reflected over her lower lashes, scarlet rushing over her nose. Her hands over her jaw tightened, knuckles going albino from the effort.
Panic immediately flooded his guts. “I-I don’t have some huge elaborate speech planned, sorry!” he quickly stated, perspiration blotching his mask’s sides. “B-But if you ever want a do-over I’d be more than happy to and we co—”
“Yes.”
He had to clear the rest of the world first in order to properly identify if what he heard wasn’t an auditory mirage. “Huh?”
“Yes, Michael. I’d love to be your wife.”
Back in the bedroom, Michael hummed, and he rubbed off the mist overtaking his eyesight as he turned on the mattress.
Her face was a tranquil beauty that rested over her pillow beside him, her curls collapsing over her forehead as steady, sound breaths kissed the edge of his pillow. Her ring circled her finger as it lay between them, a perfect fit of wondrous ruby that matched the powerful, passionate, and remarkable woman that was wearing it. A relaxed, almost joyous pattern set itself over her muscles, matching the tiny hint of a smile that followed her as she dreamt.
He lowered his own hand over hers tenderly, lightly following over the curves of her ring. He tickled the details of the item, unable to keep his focus off all the magic that occupied it. His heart was still speedy as it hammered against his ribs, and as he lovingly gazed down at her it was a reminder that their proposal was more than just a mere daydream he’d bombard his co-workers and close friends with. Heh, he hoped Skeets managed to grab a good picture of that moment, even if both he and Margot were tomatoes of happy crying.
Because, she said yes.