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He was so fucking nervous that he was pretty sure he was going to vibrate right out of his suit, his collar a little damp with sweat. It was a little gross if he were honest with himself. He’d been planning this moment for months, making sure he had everything right. There was always a slight chance that he was going to fuck this up, though, or that Connor was going to say no. Will would say no if he was Connor, looking at himself proposing the rest of their lives together. But, no, Connor loved him against all odds and he would say yes. They'd even talked about marriage. They'd talked about their future, marriage, and kids, the whole thing, and they were both on board for it.
He had nothing to worry about but statistically, his track record for proposals going well was not stellar.
This was Connor though.
Connor Rhodes who held him against an elevator wall and reminded him how to keep himself level, who held him up when he wanted to collapse, who caught him after every stupid go-round with Natalie, and gave him a home when he wasn't sure he could even stand on his own two feet.
Connor had given Will so much, and Will just wanted to do one thing in return, the biggest thing he could do, promise Connor that he loved him so deeply that he wanted the world to know it.
Connor who was walking towards him with a smile that still belied his confusion. Will was standing outside of their apartment, with a bouquet of flowers he’d picked himself with the help of the florist, and he was dressed in a suit on a random Thursday night.
“What’s this?”
“Thought I’d surprise you today,” he replied, and Connor took the flowers held out to him. “How was work today?”
“Longest day of my life,” Connor groaned, falling into Will’s chest and hiding his face. “So glad to be home with you, though.”
“Glad enough to get dressed and come out with me?”
“For you, I’d do anything,” Connor murmured into the material of Will’s tie, the tie that Connor had bought him all those years ago when they’d barely known each other, barely liked each other. Will had wanted Connor from the moment he’d seen him riding into the ED on top of a patient like some dramatic medical show with a cocky lead. He fit the role perfectly, and Will had wanted that energy, especially to bend him over things and give him a just punishment, but he hadn’t let himself like Connor for a while. The tie, though, it was special to him, because Connor had gone out of his way to follow through on a playful comment he’d made, picking out a tie just for Will.
“I thought it would look good against your skin,” he’d admitted the first time Will had worn it out with him, touching the soft fabric almost reverently, “and it turns out that I was right.”
“Don’t worry, all you have to do is relax and I’ll take care of everything,” Will assured him then, standing outside their apartment, holding his boyfriend in his arms. Connor tipped his head to the side and arched an eyebrow at Will. “I know, I know, I’m usually a pillow princess, but just for tonight, I want to do something nice for you. Can you handle that? Letting go of the control?”
“After today? Yeah. I think I can manage that.”
“Good boy. Now, I’ve got an outfit laid out on the bed for you, so you don’t even have to worry about that. Head in, get dressed.”
“Yes, sir.”
Step one of his plan was going well enough, he thought as they stepped back into the apartment and Connor headed for the bedroom, stripping his street clothes and dropping them into the hamper just inside the bedroom door. Will double-checked that he had his phone and wallet, the keys, the ring. It would be so embarrassing if he’d picked out a ring just for Connor and left it somewhere on accident. It was in a slim case that wouldn’t spark any curiosity when Connor was close to him, folded flat almost like a card wallet in his pocket. He checked his reservation again and nodded just as Connor stepped out of the bedroom.
He always looked incredible in a suit, even the most off-the-rack, ill-fitting thing, but this one was well-cut, fitting his frame perfectly. It was a blue so dark it was almost black except in the right lighting, tailored to show off shoulders and hips almost teasingly. It was one of Will’s favorites, particularly because he loved to peel it off Connor piece by piece. Plus, the dark metal of the ring he’d bought for Connor would complement it, but that was more of a plus than anything else.
“Fuck, you’re pretty,” Will breathed, his mouth moving without his say so.
“Mmmhm,” Connor hummed to agree. “So, I know I didn’t forget your birthday, and our anniversary was last month.”
“Can’t I just want to do something nice for the man that I love? You get to do cute shit without needing a reason.”
“That’s true,” Connor said, and he looked Will over carefully with that surgeon’s attention to detail that made Will feel stripped naked even fully dressed. “Your socks match.”
“Oh my god, that’s what you’re focusing on?”
“Must be special, that’s all I’m saying. You really want to do something nice for me, out of nowhere.”
“I do!”
Connor nodded and said, “alright, but if you’re going to ask for a puppy after this, you’re going to need a better payment than just a nice dinner and matching socks.”
“That’s a lie and you know it,” Will said, opening the apartment door and guiding Connor out with a hand on the small of his back. “You’d give me anything I wanted just because I asked, and a puppy is exactly one of those things. You can’t trick me, mister.”
“You’re not getting a puppy until we have less hectic schedules and can be there for them, train them, take care of them the way they deserve.”
They’d had this argument before, and they’d probably have it again, but Will was determined to win at some point, and if he couldn’t, he was sitting firmly in the belief of begging for forgiveness after the fact. He was raised Catholic after all, he was very good at confessing his sins and saying his Hail Marys when he was supposed to.
Step two was the restaurant, a fairly nice one, nothing too extravagant since Will was still paying off his medical school loans and anything more would tip his hand a little. He drove them, holding onto Connor’s hand out of habit, although he was usually in the passenger seat while Connor was behind the wheel. He was also usually asking Connor a million questions, trying to suss out where they were going or what he was up to, but Connor was pleasantly quiet the entire drive. At the restaurant, Will was pretty sure that’s when Connor started to sense something was up.
The table he’d reserved was tucked back away from everyone, in a cute secluded corner with the lights turned down low with a candle set in the middle, flickering away to give a romantic, intimate atmosphere. They tucked themselves into a seat and the maitre d’ poured them each a glass of water and set menus down in front of them.
“Maxwell will be your server this evening, but if you need anything, just let us know,” he said with a little tip of his head, and then he disappeared around a corner back to the host stand.
“What’s going on?” Connor asked.
“What do you mean?” Will asked, fluttering his eyelashes at Connor teasingly.
“You brought me to a Lincoln Park restaurant on a Thursday, and you bought me flowers. What’s going on? What’d you do?”
“You’re so suspicious, you know that? If you were to do this, I wouldn’t question it, because you like spoiling me.”
“Uh-huh, and usually I do it when you’re feeling down and need cheering up. That’s not the case here.”
“No, but I don’t necessarily need to have some reason to want to, do I?”
Connor chuckled and picked up his glass, sipping from the water with all the upper-class refinement his nanny had managed to impress upon him. Will almost looked like a neanderthal next to Connor at restaurants like this, or he had before they’d dated and Connor had shown him which fork to use and how to sip from a glass the expected way. He never called it correct or proper, which Will found sweet because when they were elbow deep in wings during a Blackhawks game on Jay’s couch, he never sipped delicately. It was endearing to see both sides of his boyfriend, the refined rich boy with the silver spoon in his mouth and the foul-mouthed cretin he became when they were alone.
“Just so I’m ready, is this a ploy to get something out of me?” Connor asked, setting his glass down and picking up the menu. It was small and it didn’t list prices anywhere, but Will had gotten some inside information from Ruzek who had brought Kim here recently about what to expect. “Because I’m getting the wagyu if you’re asking for something big.”
“You’re really stuck on me wanting something out of you, huh?”
“Just want to be prepared, that’s all, and sufficiently plied with good food and drink to give you what you want.”
“I’ll remind you that you enjoy spoiling me, and treating me to all kinds of expensive dinners and experiences, so I don’t know if you need to be plied for anything.”
The waiter, a young man named Maxwell who was dressed in a neat button-down shirt and a black waist apron, appeared at their table with a winning service smile.
“Good evening, gentleman. My name is Maxwell, and I’ll be serving you tonight. Can I get you started with something to drink?”
Will gestured to Connor who had his eyes narrowed at Will for a moment before answering, “I’ll take a scotch on the rocks, Johnnie Walker if you’ve got it.”
“Perfect, and for you, sir?”
“I’ll have a Lagunitas IPA,” he said, and the waiter nodded, jotting their order down. “I’ll be right back with those.”
Will looked at the menu again, always a little out of his depths at what to order at a nice place like this, even if he looked ahead of time.
“You should get the steak frites,” Connor said gently, and Will looked up at him. “Can’t go wrong with steak and fries, right? And this place has parmesan-rosemary frites.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“And you can try some of what I get, just to see if you’d like it next time,” Connor said, and Will looked across the table at him. The candlelight left shadows across Connor’s face that Will wanted to trace with his fingertips, discovering every dip and plane all over again, silhouetted in this brand-new light.
“What are you getting, then?”
“Most likely, the salmon tartare,” Connor replied. “I’d get the shrimp but I don’t feel like hosing my mouth out with mouthwash before I kiss you.”
“I appreciate that,” Will said with a chuckle. He hated that his allergy to shellfish stopped Connor from getting what he wanted at a restaurant, but he also appreciated how much care he took in making sure that Will wasn’t going to get exposed, however indirectly. “I already asked when I booked the reservation if they cook their stuff separately, too, so you don’t have to come to my aid on that.”
“I still would,” Connor said, “just to make sure they’re not lying.”
“They wouldn’t lie,” Will assured him. “Besides it’s not like I don’t have the world’s hottest trauma surgeon to rescue me if there is a little bit of cross-contamination.”
“I’d still rather not jab you with an epi-pen,” Connor replied. “And then rush you to the hospital when we could be going home at the end of tonight.”
“It’s not the first time we’ve fucked in the hospital, though,” Will said with a sweet smile.
“Shut up,” Connor scoffed, but his smile betrayed his amusement. He was usually the one that started it, anyway, dragging Will into closets and pressing him into the elevator wall. “If this is just an elaborate play to get me into bed, you didn’t have to. All you’d have to do is undress and I’d be all over you.”
“It’s not an elaborate play to get you into bed.”
“Okay.” He paused and looked Will over. “Then, why are we here?”
“Oh, my god! Connor.”
“Fine, fine, I’ll stop, but I’m so curious.”
“I know.”
Dinner was nice, and Connor was right. The steak frites were perfect, and the bites he took of Connor’s salmon were incredible. It was certainly the most expensive dinner he’d ever paid for, but it was worth it, especially if the night ended where he wanted it to. He took Connor to Lincoln Park next, and they walked along the lakeshore hand in hand.
“You know,” Will said, looking out at Lake Michigan, so large that they couldn’t possibly see the other shore, an ocean to the human mind, endless water that might as well pour off the side of the earth with how large it was. “When we met, I was pretty sure that we were going to kill each other at some point.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, I really thought that we were going to destroy each other before we got to know each other, just because of ego or whatever.”
“I never thought that.”
“Of course, you didn’t. You were the one that offered an olive branch, with the tie.”
“I just wanted to see you smile.”
“You did?”
“I always want to see you smile, Will. It makes my day, especially when I know I’m the one that’s making you happy enough to smile.”
“You’re so sweet,” Will muttered and he nudged Connor playfully with his elbow. “I’m glad you did, though, because you literally changed my life. You made every day so much better, and I’ve never been happier than I am with you. I don’t know where I’d be if you hadn’t stepped up and shown me a better life than I was living. You gave me so much more than I can ever mention, ever say, and I know –”
“Marry me,” Connor blurted, and Will paused.
“What?”
“I don’t – sorry, I probably stepped on your whole thing, but – marry me, Will. That’s all I want from tonight.”
Will laughed and shook his head, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the ring box folded flat.
“Will,” Connor breathed.
“I guess I have my answer, but – Connor Rhodes, will you marry me?”
“Fuck, yeah. Yes. Of course,” Connor breathed and dragged Will in for a long kiss in the moonlight shining off the lake’s surface. Will slipped the ring out of the box and lifted Connor’s hand from his waist to slip it onto his ring finger. “Fuck, you did all of this for me. You planned a dinner, and a cute little walk, and – I’m so fucking in love with you, sunshine. I’m in love with you, and I’m always going to be. I’m always going to love you, I promise.”
“Hey, Connor?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Can I get a puppy?”
“For you, Will, you can have absolutely anything you want.”