WHO: Betty Braithwaite & Joe Bell. WHAT: A lunch date! WHEN: 29th May. WHERE: The Beacon warehouse/office. WARNINGS: None!
It was still odd, getting used to the fact that the war was done. It was odder, still, knowing that he wasn't around for a good portion of the last part of that time, and yet, here stood Joseph Bell, alive and well. His fingers tapped against the desk in front of him, his girlfriend on the other side. Betty looked like she was made to be sitting in that chair, an editor of The Beacon.
His other hand held half a cold cut sandwich, as he had tried to squeeze in a quick date with his girlfriend during their lunch break. He took a bite, and chewed on it thoughtfully.
Finally, Joe spoke up. "Have you got a lot of Howlers and/or fan mail recently? Now that people know who you are?"
“Can you believe that some people still think being under Death Eater control was better? I got a couple of those Howlers, and some angry Prophet readers,” Betty rolled her eyes. It was good to be there, good to be back to something that she knew and loved. The warehouse wasn’t the ideal location, they didn’t have much so far but she was certain that it would come. Letting go of her dream of the Prophet had been difficult, but it had brought her to a different thing entirely. Getting this venture off the ground was certain to be difficult at times, but so far — “A lot of people are really supportive, though.”
She smiled over at him, picking up her coffee and taking a careful sip. They’d even reconfigured the warehouse into a couple of makeshift offices, with some of that support. She couldn’t have asked for better friends, or a better person to go into business with. Even the Boot family giving their blessing had gone smoothly, a small factor that had been especially important for Betty. “The support makes it all better.” Her biggest support was him.
"Good!" Joe exclaimed, matching Betty's smile with one of his own. He really was proud of her, for having done this and sticking to her convictions. It hadn't been easy and Joe knew that, but at least things had worked out okay for her. At least she was here.
He curiously glanced over at the door, as though he was expecting another round of owls and/or Howlers to come in at that precise moment. Nothing of such nature occurred and Joe settled for nibbling on his sandwich again. He sat in silence, somehow lost in his own thoughts. Having gone through so many things recently, it was nice to sit there. Quiet. Not worrying about a whole host of things.
And just like that, a few owls did come in, heading straight to Betty's desk and dropping all the letters. One in particular, Joe recognised as a Howler. Both of his eyes widened and he curiously glanced at Betty. "Uhoh…," he trailed off.
“I’m going to have to hire someone to do this for me as soon as I can afford it,” Betty commented, picking up the red envelope first. She held it gingerly at arm’s length, dark eyes watching the faint bit of smoke that was already issuing from it. “You don’t need to hear this,” she told Joe apologetically, standing up and turning away from him to open it as far away from his ears as possible.
"Hm, don't mind if I do," Joe replied, surprisingly calm for what was about to come. He, too, had gotten up from his chair, leaving his half-eaten sandwich on the desk.
The Howler started off slowly, the voice not quite matching the sender's original voice, but distinct enough that one could have narrowed down who the voice belonged to. "You might have thought this was meant to be an unpleasant message, as Howlers tend to typically used for such purposes. However, I want to rain my praises for you. You, Betty Braithwaite, are the love of my life and I can't begin to express just how proud I am of you and what you've accomplished. I admire your ability to stick to what you believe is right and I love that you were unafraid of standing up to getting the truth out there. You make me want to be a better person for myself and I genuinely believe that you are an inspirational figure, in general."
There was a lull for a second, before it spoke again. "I could have done this differently. I could have done it over dinner or at our flat or involved our family or a whole host of other things, but I felt this was the most appropriate." Another pause later, "Elizabeth Cooper-Braithwaite, Journalist, will you marry me?"
The Howler had stopped speaking then, disintegrating moments later. And when Betty turned around to look at Joe, he was down on one knee, holding open a small box, displaying a simple, diamond-encrusted engagement ring. And a nervous smile on his lips.
If possible, Betty might have thrown the Howler at him as an initial reaction once it was done talking. Because of course he was asking about the post because he’d sent some. It was one of those little Joe things, a quirky surprise, something to make her smile and make him laugh about his joke. Except the words — the words weren’t some silly joke or bad pun. In the moments it took to recognise the voice she forgot her initial response, and listened to the words. With her back turned, her cheeks flushed, she was suddenly very aware of the fact that her heart was thumping wildly in her chest and she couldn’t form words.
And she turned to see the ring.
Her breath caught in her throat, and when she finally exhaled it was with a few words. “A Howler because you wanted to shout about it?” Betty asked haltingly.
Nervously, Joe replied, "Something like that." Each moment that passed, all Joe could now focus on was how there was no reply to his question yet. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe this was too fast. Maybe it should have been somewhere private, and not at her office. Maybe everything about this was bad.
Still, Joe remained rooted, and he gulped nervously, waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
Betty considered his answer for a moment, considered if she had further questions as the surprise started to wear off. There were no questions, no hesitations. She smiled slowly, meeting his eyes.
“Yes.”
"Oh thank God," Joe stated, without realising just how quickly he responded to that. He got up to his feet, removing the ring from its case, setting the case down on the desk and walking over to her. Reaching for Betty's hand, he slipped the ring onto her finger, and finally looked up at her face, grinning stupidly. "I remembered your ring size!"
Betty reached for the collar of his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. “You’re ridiculous, Joseph Bell, and I adore you. I love you,” she murmured against his lips before drawing back so she could briefly admire the ring. She was still at work, after all, and her small office didn’t exactly give her much privacy. “It’s the right size and it’s beautiful.”
His hands settled around Betty's waist, and he kissed her back momentarily, before she had pulled back. He kept looking at her face, though, mostly because he couldn't really believe all of this was happening and yet, it was all very much real. "I love you, Betty Braithwaite," he grinned, affectionately pressing his lips against her cheek.
“I love you too,” Betty repeated softly, unable to stop that ludicrous smile. Of all the things to come out of a lunchtime together. Of all the things to have come out of this war — the realisation of how precious their relationship had been. How strong it had been when they reconciled, how much they cared for one another. Her heart seemed too full in that moment. “And I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you.”
"No taking it back, you're stuck with me forever," Joe mumbled quietly, resting his forehead against hers, eyes closing for a moment. Despite knowing what Betty's answer would be, he still entertained the possibility of her choosing a 'no', but now that everything seemed to be working out, he let out a relieved sigh. "Me and my puns."
She kissed his nose briefly. “You and your puns,” she told him. “Better think up a good one for when we tell everyone.”
"I'm sure I'll think of something," he replied, wrinkling his nose momentarily, as he pulled back just a bit. "And if not, oh well. We can still tell everyone without being punny."
“I just want to share it with everyone,” Betty admitted. It wasn’t a Howler, but she was ready to shout about her fiancé. She took his hand gently. “I don’t know how I’ll get through the rest of the day, feeling like this.”
"Maybe you could take the afternoon off?" Joe suggested, his tone full of cheek. "We have to share the good news with Drogon and Lola first and see how they react, after all."
Betty shot him a look, but somehow relented quickly. “Perhaps we can take a little longer for lunch.” She smiled. “This is a moment worth celebrating.”