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After a much needed trip to a tailor, and a lunch with his aunt and uncle, Ben finally asked you.
He dragged you to the other side of town to the quiet coffee spot that you had your first date at.
It was a little shop a few blocks down from where his folks were buried. Cozy, warm, best cup of coffee he could get in New York. And the best cinnamon roll he’s ever had in his life.
Ben glanced at the cemetery as you two walked by it, his mind wandering back to the first time he’d seen you there.
He had been visiting his family’s plot on a whim.
He’d stopped by to see his mom and brother, doing his best to avoid looking at his dad’s headstone while quietly updating them on his life.
“Reed’s getting really close to getting us into space,” he said quietly, barely smiling to himself. “I think he’s gonna kidnap me once he’s got it done.”
He wasn’t always overly fond of talking to headstones, it made him feel crazy at times. But, people said it helped to move through your grief, so he forced himself to do it anyway.
He hadn’t even noticed you initially. Though, he became acutely aware when he heard you sniffling a few plots down. He tried not to stare, you were standing in a cemetery for God’s sake. But, he thought you were pretty.
And he was a little excited when he saw you there a few more times.
You shared silent eye contact, awkward waves, hushed “good mornings”. Eventually, he got the courage to introduce himself, and he was beaming at the fact that you didn’t think he was being weird.
The two of you didn’t get any traction until he went there one gloomy morning.
He hadn’t visited as often as he wanted to, and the weather wasn’t helping. He definitely didn’t expect to see you standing there in the rain.
Shivering, coat pulled up as high as it would go.
Ben moved without thinking, umbrella tight in his grip as he came to stand next to you. He didn’t care if he got soaked as a result, he just couldn’t stomach the thought of you being miserable.
You looked up at him as his umbrella shielded you from the downpour, relieved that it was him.
“Thank you,” you smiled, hugging yourself as you looked down at the headstones in front of you.
He hadn’t really noticed who they belonged to until then. Your mom and dad, gone, just like his.
He didn’t dare move. He would have stood there the entire day if you needed.
“No problem.” He stuffed his other hand in his pocket, his eyes raking over your features. Just trying to make sure you were okay.
The rain occupied the lapse of conversation between you, white noise as you stood in respectful silence.
After a while, you pressed the pads of your fingers to your lips, your shoes squishing into the grass as you bent down. Your fingers slid over the wet marble, the carved names of your mother and father each getting a kiss. You let your palm rest there for a moment, the warmth of your skin dwindling with each rain drop.
They had been gone for a long time, which Ben hated to notice.
His jaw tensed as you stood up, turning around to face him. You were standing close, close enough that he caught himself holding his breath. He told himself it was just the umbrella, but he wished it wasn’t.
Your face softened as you met his gaze, rain drops sliding down your temples. Ben offered you a lopsided smirk, too caught up in his thoughts to realize that you were smiling at him too.
“Let me buy you a cup of coffee or something.”
“Oh, you don’t have to-“ he blurted, not wanting you to think he did this for something out of you.
“No I insist,” you grinned, tucking a wet strand of hair behind your ear. “This isn’t exactly the best place to get an in for a first date, so I’ll take what I can get.”
His eyes widened. He’d never allowed himself to ask before, didn't feel it was appropriate to ask a girl out when she’s in mourning.
He couldn’t help the grin that formed on his face after a moment. “I know a good spot near here.”
“Perfect.”
You two had sat in that shop for hours, in the exact same spot you were now.
The set of chairs by the window that had seen better days, but that was the charm of the shop. Authentic character. Ben was just glad they seemed to handle his weight just fine, he might have cried if he couldn’t go to your favorite spot anymore.
His hand was stuffed in his pocket even now, but for a different reason. He anxiously ran his thumb over the ring box, trying to shake the anxiety because you technically already said yes. But, even then, he found himself tapping his fingers against the table, abandoning his coffee a long time ago.
He had mentioned his proposal plan to Reed and Sue, trying to get some help on the whole thing.
Surprisingly, Reed was the calm one when it came to picking Ben’s tie that morning, Reed reassuring him that anything he picked would look dapper.
Sue had to passive aggressively tell you to dress nice, made sure you looked as prim as you would want if you knew the occasion.
Johnny threw a slight tantrum that he didn’t get to help with anything, so Ben promised he could pick up the cake from Maisie’s. He was satisfied enough with that.
His only solace was watching you be just as effortlessly beautiful as always.
Ben loved your dresses. His knees buckled every time you bought a new one, he always insisted you showed them off, gave him a twirl. He loved the soft femininity you carried in everything you did. The way you picked your outfits and slowly made them into your own. Today was no exception.
Green plaid gingham and pink accents, even the matching headband you were so excited about. It just made his heart swell knowing he was gonna marry someone so adorable.
Well, he needed to actually do the damn thing before saying stuff like that. And he needed to ask someone before he finally got down on one knee.
With one final breath, he gathered his courage through a fit of nerves.
“Stay here,” Ben stood, squeezing your shoulder as he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?”
“I gotta go get someone’s permission,” he smirked, loving the warmth that filled your face.
You watched him go a few blocks down, munching on your strawberry cinnamon roll as he disappeared into your place of first meeting.
He had no idea why he was actually nervous about talking to a headstone.
He knew your parents were watching over this whole day, as they always were. It was just something about walking up and asking for something so sacred. He didn’t want to mess it up.
He fumbled through some weird small talk, shaking his head in frustration. After a moment of trying not to sound like an idiot, he found his words.
“I love your daughter a lot. I’m sure she’s told you about me plenty,” he sighed, pulling the box out of his pocket. “I know you both mean the world to her. And, I didn’t wanna do this without talking to you first.”
He found himself rambling about you for a while. He found some comfort in knowing he was talking to people who felt the same, people who shared this unconditional love for you. The longer he rattled off about how much he loved you, the more he felt assured in his decision. It helped scrape together the final piece of courage he needed.
After spending a few minutes with his folks, he meandered back to the shop. He took you on a walk down to the seaside, his thumb running over the velvet box in his slacks. He was unusually quiet, you noticed pretty quickly. You thought it was incredibly endearing.
When the two of you settled along the pier, Ben hopelessly listened to you talk about something, he didn’t really process what. Just trying to breathe through the pounding heartbeats in his ears. Your hand was so tiny in his now, so soft and delicate, he couldn’t help but hold it every chance he got.
He knew he was procrastinating, waiting for the right moment that never seemed to actually come. Luckily, he got an impatient message on his watch.
Hurry up, I wanna eat the cake -JS
Ben just rolled his eyes, squeezing your hand one more time for a little reassurance.
The biggest grin formed on your face as he got down on one knee beside you. One hand holding yours, the ring box in the other. The second he got situated and looked up at you, he had less of a grasp on the English language than Johnny.
The sea breeze caught your hair, blowing it out of your face. The sun shone on your skin and brought the perfect glow to it. Your eyes crinkled at the corners, showing just how much you smiled, his heart warming at the fact that he was the reason for some of them.
You were genuinely the most perfect human being he’d ever met.
Whatever he did to have someone like you in his life, he’d never know.
In the least eloquent way possible, Ben told you how much he loved you, how much he loved being with you. He lulled halfway through, letting out a long sigh and complaining about how poorly this was going. You shook your head, reassured him that he was doing great. He loved you even more for that.
He seemed to forget the speech he had practiced in the mirror for weeks, and after fumbling through a few thoughts, he just went for it.
“I love you so much, and I really wanna marry you,” he breathed, opening the box with one hand. He just needed to hold your hand through the whole thing. He thought he would freak out if not. “Would you do me the honor of marrying me?”
Your cheeks were starting to hurt from how hard you were smiling. You nodded before he even finished his sentence, a burning excitement running through your veins as he gently put the ring on your finger.
It was a gold band, timeless and elegant, a few intricate flower engravings wrapping around it.
You quickly grabbed either side of his face and crashed your lips into his, Ben chuckling between kisses as he shoved the ring box in his pocket again. He pulled you nearly flush against him as he stood up, wrapping his arms around your waist.
You giggled as a few people who happened to be nearby started clapping, your nose nudging against his as you pulled away. Just enough to look at him.
You made him feel like the only man on the planet. Like he was someone worth all the love in the world. Like someone who deserved it.
“God, you’re fuckin’ adorable,” he beamed, pressing his lips to yours hard, picking you up off the ground.
You tried not to laugh as he spun you around, arms locked around his neck as you kissed him again and again and again.
The two of you had a very warm welcome back to the Baxter building. Hugs and cake, Reed giving Ben shit for forgetting everything, Sue teasing him for doing the same exact thing.
“He barely got through the actual question,” she snickered, laughing with you and Johnny.
Ben was attached to your hip for the rest of the night. Always touching you in some way, or holding your hand in his.
He just couldn’t believe he was gonna marry the love of his life, or that he even found you in the first place. He still couldn’t believe that you could love him when he was like this.
But, with the way you looked at him, the way you still looked at him with the look of love, he started to care a little less about the thing he had turned into.