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1. Sugar rush!...and crash — 2022 World cup qualifiers, February
Post qualifying rounds, the French national team were given a free day to wander around the city. Marine and Gabby, freshly together, decided to take the day as their own and run around.
Unfortunately, their ideas of "taking the day as their own" were very different.
Marine's expectations were low. Just walking around, maybe grabbing a coffee or pastry, and taking in the city.
Gabby's first stop of the day was a candy store.
"Mar, please?" Gabby pleaded, squeezing her girlfriend's hand.
"Fine. But you get one bag, you hear me?" Marine warned sternly.
"Yes!" Gabby cheered, running to the entrance and tugging Marine along. The blonde was 100% sure her warning fell on deaf ears.
Gabby stopped at every shelf, except the ones with milk candies.
She then proceeded to buy three bags, mixed with various types of candies, each bag stuffed to the brim and tethering on the edge of explosion.
"Gabby, my love, you are not eating all that candy." Marine sighed.
"I can and I will!" Gabby proclaimed, already shoving a handful of candy into her mouth.
"Oh gosh..." Marine muttered, walking beside her girlfriend, who was less walking and more skipping.
A half hour later, Gabby had officially gone rogue. She'd downed 1 and a half bags of candy before Marine was finally able to confiscate the remainder via threatening to not kiss the sugar-ridden woman. (It worked very efficiently. Marine filed that one away for later.)
And now, she was left with a "fully grown woman" who acted more like a 5 year old on steroids.
"Mari, Mari! Look, look, look!" Gabby pointed at somewhere far away, and when Marine turned to look, her cheek was met with a very slobbery kiss.
"Gabrielle Williams!" She shrieked, wiping the saliva off her cheek.
"Love you t—hey, don't wipe it off! That means you're wiping my kiss away!" Gabby pouted, two hands gripping onto Marine's free arm while she practically leaped.
"Here, have some love." Marine leaned in like she was going to kiss Gabby, and just as she was about to make contact with the Storm player's cheek, she stuck her tongue out.
Gabby jumped back, repeatedly yelling 'ew' while swiping at her cheek. Marine giggled to herself, taking her phone out to snap a photo of the younger woman.
"Karma!" Marine giggled again, pleased.
"I'll show you karma." Gabby muttered. Before Marine could even respond, Gabby's hands were all over her, tickling her sides until she was heaving with laughter.
"You're...evil." Marine panted as they resumed their walk to their lunch spot. "And you aren't getting your candy back."
"But why?" Gabby pouted once more, dragging the 'why' out and not stopping until she ran out of air.
Marine didn't answer, opting to give her pointed stare. Gabby was bouncing on the balls of her feet with every step, hands unable to stay still.
"...Fine." Gabby sighed, sulking next to Marine.
Marine thought that'd be the worse of it.
She was grossly mistaken.
2 hours later came the sugar crash. Gabby's eyes were droopy, her footsteps slowed and dragged across the ground, and she was clinging to Marine like she needed the blonde's help to stand.
"Gabs, are you okay?" Marine's brows furrowed, one hand flying to the younger girl's forehead.
"Probably just sugar crash," Gabby sounded exhausted as if she'd played a full 40 minute game, "I'll be alright."
"You wanna go back?" Gabby nodded against Marine's shoulder. "Okay."
By some miracle, Marine was able to call a cab to get them back to the hotel. Gabby fell asleep almost instantly, head against Marine's shoulder and their fingers intertwined between them.
The moment they reached their hotel room, Gabby crumpled onto the bed, pulling Marine with her.
"Someone's eager." Marine teased quietly, the smallest of smiles on her lips.
"Yeah, to sleep." Gabby mumbled quietly, hands tugging at Marine's sweater to pull her closer.
"C'mon, sleepyhead. Rest up until dinner. I've got you." Marine whispered, pulling Gabby onto her chest and kissing the top of her head.
4. Two sides of the same coin — August 2023, Seattle home game
Gabby wasn't known to be superstitious, never one with many pregame rituals, but the newest one had to be her favourite.
A quick, 5 minute phone call with Marine, who would wish her good luck and tell her she loved her.
Unless, like today, they played each other.
Marine still called, because of course she did, and Gabby still picked up, because of course she did.
"Mar!" Gabby dragged the 'r' out.
"Gabby." Marine smiled with soft amusement. Gabby glanced around the full locker room before grabbing an earbud and shoving it into her ear.
"Can you hear me?" Gabby switched the French because she had very nosy teammates.
"Yes." Marine laughed softly, French rolling off the native's tongue like it was breathing.
"You excited to play us today?" Gabby nodded, one hand out of frame and picking at the stitching of her jersey.
"We're gonna win though." Gabby smiled, but her voice stayed dead serious.
"No you aren't." Marine scoffed, "We're worlds better than you lot."
"No fucking way." Gabby's smile dropped. "We literally beat you guys so many times."
"And we won a championship last year, what's your point?" Marine said pointedly.
"You're going down. And so is your hoodie, because I'm stealing it after the game." Marine raised an eyebrow, moving the camera so her torso was in frame.
"What, you want to rep the Liberty now?" True to her word, the hoodie was a team issued one, "New York Liberty" printed proudly across Marine's chest.
Gabby rolled her eyes. "You know damn well I have, like, 5 New York shirts already. I almost accidentally wore one to practice the other day. Your fault, by the way."
"Hang on, no. It is absolutely not my fault that you stole half my team shirts. Do you have any idea how many times I had to go and ask for more? It reached a point where they just know and have an extra set laid out when I go to take it." Marine bit back.
"You take my shirts too! My national team jersey is missing, and if I'm correct, you wore it last for All-star." Gabby raised an eyebrow.
"...Guilty as charged." Marine admitted with a small smile. "Sorry, baby."
Gabby hesitated before sighing and grumbling, "You're evil."
Marine looked at her with those precious doe eyes Gabby never could say no to, "I have no idea what you mean." But the devious smile plastered on her face told another story.
"You're doing this on purpose!" Gabby yelled at her phone, not even noticing the concerned glances from confused teammates. "You're manipulating me so I go easy on you!"
Marine, on the other hand, giggled. "I don't know, am I?"
"You always do this!" Gabby groaned.
"Have fun being a sore loser, my love. See you on the court!" Marine winked at the camera before hanging up.
Gabby slumped into her seat, sighing.
"Trouble in paradise?" Ezi, who was next to her, poked her side.
"What? No. She's just being Marine." Gabby frowned.
"Really? You sounded pissed, though." Ezi shrugged.
"Did I?" Gabby furrowed her brows, lost in her own thoughts.
"Or maybe I just don't speak French." Ezi shrugged. Dom, who was in the corner of the room, giggled as she looked up.
"It wasn't serious at all. It was Gabby being mad 'cause Marine was smart and using her power over Gabby to her advantage. One of my moms is clearly smarter than the other." Dom explained, laughing.
"...And that was enough to make you yell?" Skylar raised an eyebrow from across Gabby. The interrogated woman raised her hands in defence.
"Listen, if your partner seduced you just so they'd have the advantage against you, you'd be mad too!" Gabby held her hands out as if to say, 'am I wrong?'.
"...Fair enough." Skylar shrugged.
Meanwhile, in the Liberty's locker room, Marine set her phone down with a satisfied sigh, still smiling.
"Still down bad, huh?" Breanna elbowed her side.
"Maybe a little." Marine admitted.
"So, what was that about? You looked ready to jump her bones through the screen." Natasha, ever loud and ever blunt, grinned from Breanna's other side. Marine groaned, burying her slowly reddening face in her hands.
"Just...being good at knowing my opponent's weaknesses." Stewie mumbled an 'oh' under her breath.
"And your opponent's weakness just so happens to be..." Tash trailed off, and Marine looked up with a small devious grin of her own.
"Me."
3. treason! — December 2023, France/Turkey
In the offseason, Gabby had picked up a new hobby: begging Marine to request a trade to Seattle.
Marine had also picked up a hobby of her own: refusing Gabby's pleas for her to request a trade to Seattle.
Gabby had just finished her second season with the Storm, and Marine finishing her own season with the Liberty. Marine had already told Gabby she wasn't planning on returning to the Liberty the next year so she could focus on the Olympics, and all Gabby heard was "I should recruit her to the Storm."
"Hi Gabs. You played good today." Marine smiled as the call connected, Gabby's fact lighting up the screen.
"Why thank you. I'm watching your game tomorrow as well." Gabby mirrored Marine's smile, eyes bright with childish glee (and heart eyes).
"I'm glad." Marine giggled, lying down on her stomach.
"You look so pretty." Gabby sighed dreamily, zoned in on Marine and Marine only.
"Thank you, sweetheart. You do too."
"You know where you'd look even prettier?" Marine groaned. So that's where she was going.
"Gabby—"
"In Seattle!" Gabby interrupted, smile widening into a pleased grin.
"Gabby, come on. I'm not even playing in the W next year, and after that I'll probably go back to New York."
"Or, you could come play with me in Seattle and we could cook all of them!" Gabby countered, frowning.
"My love, I can't just leave New York." Marine sighed.
"But why?" Gabby half whined half begged.
"Just—because!" Marine huffed, exasperated.
"So you have no real reason." Ah. Shit. Gabby caught her.
"Gabs, you know being on the same team as your partner can go terribly wrong." Marine said softly. "I don't want that to be us."
"But it won't be! We don't even fight!" Gabby flopped onto her bed from her side, voice muffled from the pillow beneath her.
"Because we're always so far apart that when we're together, we can't afford to fight." Marine watched as Gabby fell quiet, taking her words in.
"How about this?" Gabby perked up.
"If we win a medal at the Olympics, I'll consider it. But," Marine paused, "it's almost confirmed that I'll be reigned after the Olympics, so...2026. Deal?"
Gabby nodded furiously, a spark firing up behind her eyes.
"We'll win. I know it."
4. Gabby "loser lover girl" Williams — 2024, post-Paris Olympics
Gabby did not get "down bad".
Or at least, that's what she said before Marine Johannès waltzed into her life.
Because now?
Oh, she'd destroy entire solar systems for that woman.
The couple were staying at Marine's childhood home in Lisieux post-Olympics, because Marine missed her family and they had a few days where they were free to watch other sports before returning to their respective teams.
Marine's mom had tasked them with buying groceries, because they were almost out and, in her words, they needed to get out the house because they were being lazy. (They just won an Olympic medal.)
While they were shopping, Marine had innocently pointed at a really fancy stick of butter that was twice as expensive as the next most expensive one.
"That's the fancy butter," Marine explained as she grabbed not-fancy-butter and dropped it in the basket, "allegedly, something about how they churn it makes it taste amazing. I wouldn't know. It's too expensive for me to even want to buy it."
Sneakily, while Marine wasn't looking, Gabby swapped the sticks of butter. By some miracle, Marine didn't notice, not even when they checked out.
Ganby very quickly overtook paying, tapping her own card before Marine could even try. The blonde shot her an odd look, but said nothing.
It took her 3 days to notice.
She'd grabbed butter out of the fridge for her breakfast, pausing when she saw the brand name.
"Gabrielle Williams, get your ass down here now!" Marine yelled (wow she can do that?), voice echoing through the house. Marine's parents had left them alone for the day, and they'd taken advantage of that, spending the morning snuggled up.
Now? Marine was fuming.
Her fiancee scrambled down the stairs, rushing to stand next to her.
"Yes, Mari?"
"Don't 'Mari' me. You bought the fancy butter." Marine accused, brandishing the stick of butter like it was a sword.
"I...uh..." Gabby stammered, watching Marine's reaction carefully.
"We aren't supposed to get this kind." Marine said sternly.
"But—"
"No!"
"Mari!" Gabby groaned. "I just wanted to get you something nice. You never treat yourself, not even for something as small as butter. You deserve every nice thing and I'll give it to you every time because you're the most perfect woman on earth." Gabby said in one breath, grabbing Marine's hands.
"Gabs..." Marine whispered softly, every muscle on her face relaxing at once.
"Too much?" Gabby winced.
"Never." Marine promised, tiptoeing and kissing Gabby on the nose.
"Good. Now eat your breakfast, I have a date planned." The taller girl grinned.
"Gabby!" The girl in question sprinted away at Marine's tone, the blonde chasing after her, stick of butter still in hand.
5. The (not-so) evil Pazzi — 2025, All-star weekend
In bed after, by some miracle, making it out of the party by 12am, Marine and Gabby laid side by side in a room they definitely weren't supposed to be sharing.
Marine was reading some weird niche French literature book, and Gabby scrolled mindlessly on Twitter/X.
And it was quiet. And peaceful. Until Gabby burst out laughing.
Marine glanced over, looking at her giggly fiancee with amusement.
"Yes, my love? What's so funny?" Marine put her book to the side, one hand snaking over Gabby's stomach and resting on her side.
"They're calling me evil Azzi." Marine laughed a little. She had to admit, it was actually rather funny—
"And they're calling you evil Paige." Marine stopped laughing abruptly.
"What?" Gabby turned the phone so Marine could look.
"Bullshit." Marine immediately shot back. "I'm not evil. And I'm nothing like Paige."
"Y'all look pretty similar, actually." Gabby mused.
"Okay, and? Outside of that, we are completely different. We don't even have the same playing style." Marine argued.
"That's kinda what the 'evil' part is implying. Like, you look the same but are completely different." Gabby pointed out. She was...not wrong.
"But I'm not evil!" Marine tilted her head to look at Gabby properly. The corner of Gabby's mouth twitched, her dimple just barely peeking through.
"You're laughing!" Marine gasped, jumping backwards dramatically.
"It's just...really funny!" Gabby giggled.
"First of all, I'm not evil. Second of all, I've been in this fuck ass league longer! If anything, she's evil me."
"Baby, I love you so much, but Twitter doesn't care about seniority." Gabby said gently.
"Well, yeah but—!" Marine groaned, frustrated.
"And also, you're evil because your not-evil counterpart films TikToks with people. You just...say no and strut off." Gabby continued.
"What? I filmed that...TikTok thing with you before! That was even earlier than Stef! I still don't know why you said she won when you did by the way."
"Because she got you to dance, Mari. You don't do dancing. All you did in our TikTok was flip your ponytail and look pretty. Which you already do." Gabby sighed, exasperated. Then, before Marine could interrupt, she quickly added, "And it was 2 whole years ago. No one cares enough to scroll back 2 years."
"...Point taken." Marine grumbled, slumping onto Gabby's chest with defeat.
"It's okay pretty girl," Gabby pressed a kiss to the top of Marine's head, "at least we're evil together."
Marine smiled softly into Gabby's chest.
+1. The sweetest of them all — post-Paris Olympics, 2024
"You okay, kiddo?" Gabby jumped and turned, faced with Marine's dad.
"Uh...yup!" Gabby panicked, momentarily forgetting to respond in French, shoving the small velvet box into her pocket. He caught sight of the red colour and lit up.
"Is that the ring?" Gabby gulped and nodded.
"Show me." Gabby took the small box back out and carefully opened it up. Inside, a ring—the band carved to look like vines—sat safely between two cushions, a large princess cut diamond on top.
"Gabby..." He gasped quietly, reaching out to touch it, hand hovering over like he was scared to do so.
"Too much?" Gabby chuckled weakly. He shook his head.
"No such thing. She'll love it."
"I hope so." She sighed, shutting the box with a small 'snap!' sound. He stared at Gabby, who busied herself with making sure the box was secure in her pocket.
"You're a good kid, Gabrielle. Marine is lucky." He said quietly.
"I'm the lucky one." She replied without missing a beat, looking up with fierce determination burning in her eyes. He just chuckled, shaking his head.
"Relax. You're going to be my daughter soon. Might as well act it, huh?" He gave her a soft, reassuring smile, patting her on the shoulder before walking off. Typical dad stuff.
Meanwhile, Marine was lying on her bed groaning as her mom pulled out outfit after outfit.
"Mama, I love you, but I'm just going on a date. With Gabby. It's not that serious." Marine grumbled in French as her mom through a dress onto Marine's bed—right where she was laying.
"Hush. It's a special date. You just won a silver medal for France, after all." Her mom's voice took on that prideful lilt it always had when she talked about Marine's achievements.
"That's great and all, but it's really—"
"Aha!" Her mom's interrupted, holding up a half suit—a light, almost teddybear-like brown vest with matching pants, a white long-sleeved button down under the vest.
"Too much." Marine immediately shook her head.
"No such thing. Come on, Mari. You rarely dress up anymore, and you look beautiful in suits." Her mother coaxed.
"...Fine. But you curl my hair." Her mom smiled.
"Of course I will."
After Marine got changed and emerged from the bathroom, her mother, who was patiently waiting on the bed, lit up and softened all at once.
"Oh, Mar..." She spoke like Marine was something reverent, something worth caring for.
"Don't make it a big thing." Marine grumbled, but her lips curled into a small, almost shy smile as she held the hair curler up, "Help me out?"
Marine sat at her vanity chair, her mother plugging the hair curler in and watching Marine in the mirror as she waited for it to heat up.
"All grown up now, you are." Her mom said quietly, eyes flickering between Marine's reflection and her blonde hair as she carefully curled the ends.
"Been grown up for a while." Marine countered.
"Still. You're...a woman now. With a life of your own, a job, a home, Gabby." Marine didn't miss the way her mom's voice softened around the syllables of Gabby's name, "She's good to you. Good for you."
"I know." Marine stared at her mom in the reflection. The older woman held a quiet grace that Marine had adopted and made her own.
"She's so respectful, too." Her mom continued, "Listens obediently. Pays attention to you. Makes sure you're alright before checking if she herself is fine." Marine felt a wave of confusion rush over her at her mother's sudden sappiness.
"She's pretty great." Marine said instead, voice thrumming with an energy she only felt with Gabby.
"Be safe tonight, okay? Don't do stupid things." Her mom reminded as she finished the last of the curls.
"I never do." Marine turned to look at her mom when she heard the power switch turn off.
"My little Marine. Not so little now." Her mom sighed, an unnamed emotion shifting like the tide behind her irises.
"I'll always be here, you know." Marine said quietly, staring up at her mom. She stayed seated so her mother would still be taller than her; so she could feel like a child for a little longer.
"I know." Her mom laughed, a gentle glimmer of tears covering her eyes. She leaned down and kissed Marine on the top of her head.
"Mama..." Marine whispered softly. The wind outside whistled faintly, the fan thrumming above them. As the first of her mother's tears fell, Marine wiped them away carefully.
"I'll be okay. It's just a date." Marine chuckled—a warm, reassuring sound that resonated through the room.
"I know, I know. It's just weird to see you all grown up. You make an amazing woman, Marine." Her mother sniffled but smiled nonetheless.
Distantly, she heard Gabby call her name. She glanced back at her mom, worried, but the older woman waved her off with that kind smile. The same one she gave Marine when she fell while playing basketball, or when Marine had gotten a worse grade than usual. The one that said, "I'm right here, you'll be fine."
Marine stood, towering over her mother. She gave her a hug—not quick or rushed. A long, warm, tight hug. She sealed it with a kiss to her mother's temple.
"I love you." She whispered, and her mom just smiled and laughed.
"I love you too. Now go." She ushered Marine out the door.
In the living room, Marine was greeted with Gabby in a sea blue v-neck vest with nothing underneath, exposing the tattoos on her forearms and leaving her bellybutton peeking out. The bottoms were cargos, slung lazily on her hips. Her loose curls were pinned back, tucked near her ears and fanning out around her shoulders.
"Hi Mari." Gabby whispered, eyes shining with quiet pride. "God, I feel underdressed. You look perfect, like always." She laughed quietly as Marine stepped into her space, her head tilted to meet the forward's eyes.
"Blame my mother. Started throwing clothes at me." Marine giggled, tiptoeing to peck Gabby on the lips. "C'mon, let's go."
Lisieux was small, but they made do. Gabby drove with a concerning amount of confidence.
"Why do you know your way around? And where are we even going? There's nothing at this side except—"
"That abandoned chapel. I know." Gabby replied calmly. "And I know my way around. Have some faith in me."
Gabby parked right opposite the abandoned chapel, and Marine could faintly hear her whisper something indistinguishable to herself.
"Okay, so..." Gabby climbed out the car, bolting to the other side to open Marine's door for her, "I know this chapel is...decently significant to your youth." Marine snorted. That was one way to put it. Marine had her first kiss with a girl in that very chapel at the ripe age of 16, and then proceeded to get caught and sheepishly come out to her parents.
Gabby's hand slipped into Marine's. "But I figured if we were gonna do date night, I might as well make it extra special."
As they walked nearer, Marine could see light now—fake candles (because, as Gabby explained, real ones were too big of a fire hazard.) and rose petals lined a walkway to right behind the chapel where a picnic mat, covered in a mix of Gabby and Marine's favourite foods sat waiting for them.
"Gabrielle Williams, you crazy woman." Marine laughed, but she turned to Gabby and kissed her nonetheless.
"I had a little help." Gabby admitted. "But I've been running around the whole day making sure this wouldn't go wrong, so..."
"Congratulations, you did a great job. You planned something without it falling apart." Marine giggled, and Gabby gasped with mock offense, pausing in the middle of the walkway.
"Excuse you, I'm very good at planning things!"
"Just go sit down, Gabs." Gabby obediently did as Marine said, even as she grumbled the whole way.
They settled down, Marine glancing around at the food that was more or less surrounding them. A small bag of chouquettes—a bite-sized pastry Marine was obsessed with—some kind of chicken stew, various fruits—the works.
Gabby grabbed a bouquet next to her and smiled cheekily at Marine as she presented it. "For you, m'lady." Marine giggled like a lovesick teenager as she accepted the bouquet.
"Thank you." She leaned forward and kissed Gabby—gentle, the way they'd always been. The dark skinned girl lit up.
"Ooh, wait! Golden hour. Smile!" Gabby fumbled with her phone before taking a picture of Marine, her white-blonde hair turning amber beneath the sun.
"Your turn, pretty girl." Marine stuck her tongue out, taking her own phone out and snapping a photo of Gabby.
"How do I look?" Gabby cheesed, dimples popping.
"Beautiful." Marine grabbed Gabby's hand tenderly, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.
Gabby's eyes fluttered, staring at Marine like a lost puppy who didn't know what to do.
Marine awkwardly patted the girl on her leg before grabbing a chouquette and tossing it into her mouth. Gabby mumbled something about teasing and dug into the food as well.
"So," Marine started, swallowing her second chouquette, "why the special date, huh?"
Gabby almost spat her water out. "Uh...no reason. Why? Do you know something? Do I know something? Am I supposed to know something?" Marine laughed.
"Breathe, Williams. I'm just teasing. You're acting very odd, though." She gave Gabby a strange look before shrugging.
They ate in a calmer silence after that, only interrupted by Gabby poking Marine and Marine flicking her forehead in response. When the food was mostly gone and the sun was beginning to take its leave, Gabby stood up.
Marine looked up, puzzled. "Where are you going?" Gabby didn't respond, just extended a hand out for Marine to take. The blonde did, letting herself be hauled up. "Gabby?" She tried again.
"So, I might've...sorta...kinda lied. There's more to this." Gabby scratched the back of her neck.
"Gabby, what...?" Marine stared at Gabby.
"Trust me?" Marine nodded wordlessly, and let Gabby pull her along.
They went into the chapel through the backdoor. Despite being abandoned, it wasn't in terrible condition. The stained glass windows that lined the walls let a gentle, colourful glow in. The pews were coated in a layer of dust, similar to the carving of the cross that sat proudly on the wall.
"Gabs, I don't—"
"Shh. Come on." Gabby ushered Marine towards a staircase that led to a balcony facing the setting sun.
"Woah..." Marine's eyes went wide with wonder, "that's really pretty." Gabby beamed with pride next to her, "I know right?"
She felt Gabby shift next to her as she stayed fixated on the sky. A small tug on her arm called her attention, and she turned to look at Gabby.
Gabby, who was on one knee.
Gabby, who was smiling so widely it must've hurt.
Gabby, who was reaching into her pocket with one hand and holding Marine's hand with the other.
The blonde gasped. She could feel tears start to fill her eyes.
"Gabs..."
"Marine," Gabby's smile melted into something warmer, more reassuring, "Since the moment I met you, I knew that I was put here to love you." She squeezed Marine's hand.
"You criticised my French the day we met, then spent a week refusing to speak to me unless I spoke French. You puzzled me, but you never failed to make me feel loved." Marine laughed tearily.
"I would love nothing more than to be able to live forever with you, to be able to make a family with you, and to love you until my last breath. So," Gabby pulled her band back briefly to open the small box before going back to holding Marine's hand, "Marine Johannès, will you marry me?"
"Yes!" Marine laughed again,, tears falling feely as she moved both her hands to hold Gabby's face. She leaned down and kissed her—hard and long like she was pouring all her love into it.
She helped Gabby stand up, and in return, the younger woman helped her put on the ring. Marine stood there, admiring it under the sunlight, and Gabby watched her, eyes full of pride she couldn't put into words.
"You like it?" Gabby prompted softly, arms wrapping around Marine's waist.
"Love it." Marine giggled. "You idiot, this is perfect."
"Okay, good, 'cause I got really nervous when you asked if something was happening today, and I thought you knew but I couldn't give it away, so I just kinda—" Marine shut Gabby up with a kiss.
"Breathe." Marine soothed. "You did perfect." Gabby promptly started malfunctioning, frozen and flushed.
"And don't you worry your pretty little head," Marine continued, eyes sparkling with mischief, "It's your turn next."