InsaneJournal

Max had been waiting for this moment the entire trip. To say he wasn’t nervous would have been and understatement, but he was so incredibly certain of his future with Danielle that his nerves felt like a nonissue. Of course, there was the fact that they were in a very public place. It had been his bright idea to coordinate with a cast member--in Disney World of all places--to do it in front of the hundreds of thousands of other people visiting the Magic Kingdom that day. There was obviously a part of him that wondered if doing this so publicly was even fair, or right, but he was so sure that he knew Danielle well enough to know that she would love this as much as he would, if he was right about them being on the same page despite the work they were going through together.

But here they were now, walking hand-in-hand through the Magic Kingdom, surrounded by their friends, with the ring Kiera had helped him pick out burning a hole in his pocket. It was honestly a testament to his ability to put on a show that Max had been able to keep their conversation completely normal, his features schooled even as they came upon Cinderella’s Castle and he spotted the cast member he’d planned to meet there.

Turning his head to smiled down at Danielle as he used his free hand to poke lovingly at her mouse ears, he said, “We should get our picture taken in front of the castle. What do you think?” It was happening. No turning back. There was no part of Max that even wanted to.

This trip to Disney hadn't been one that she had originally been anticipating, but the moment that the idea had been presented to her, she had agreed immediately. Now having been wrapped up in all that magic for nearly a week, Danielle was certain it had been the right decision. She had breathed easier since her conversation with Max, opening up about how they both felt. This just solidified the fact that they were going to be just fine. Her heart hadn't felt quite this full and light in quite some time. There would be bad moments, but she hadn't experienced any of them here.

Danielle wasn't ready to leave yet, honestly. She was glad they still had another day in the park. Walking with Max into Magic Kingdom hadn't gotten old yet, and the sight of Cinderella's castle still made her heart squeeze happily. A different kind of princess…a different Queen, but she still somehow felt a kinship anyway.

She looked up as though she might be able to see her sequin blazed mouse ears with a grin when Max poked at them, "I think it's your best idea of the morning! Are my ears on straight?"

Max turned toward his girlfriend--hopefully one of the last times he'd call her that--and dropped her hand in favor of reaching up to shift the ears to the side. "They're perfect," he teased, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and steering her toward the cast member, a young woman with red hair done up in what looked to be Leia buns--April was her name. He dug into his back pocket and pulled out his phone, swiping a thumb across the screen to unlock it as he approached the girl.

"Hey, sorry to bother you, but would you mind taking a picture of us?" he asked holding the phone out toward April.

She beamed, nodding as she took the phone. "Absolutely! Do want to just--" she gestured in the direction of the castle.

"Yeah, in front of the castle would be perfect, I think. Does that work for you?" He asked, glancing over at Danielle. Hopefully she wouldn't question why they have just gotten one of their friends to take the picture.

She stood dutifully straight as Max checked her ears, a bear permanent grin on display now. She let him steer her towards the castle, though she didn't notice that they were aiming for the cast member until Max was asking her to take their picture. Danielle didn't really think anything of it. The cast members were there to enhance their experience. As it was, their friends were chattering about what they wanted to do next, or taking selfies of their own.

"Thank you so much!" she told the girl, nodding along at the suggestion to stand with the castle in view, "Just let us know if we're off center!" She took Max's hand and took several steps ahead, looking back at the castle and then turning towards the redhead who had Max's phone held aloft in her hands. She stood there with Max, slipping her arm around his waist and tucking herself there against his side comfortably, "Is this good?"

April seemed to consider them for a moment before gesturing them closer together and then holding the phone up to snap the picture.

Max complied, shifting closer, hoping that he hadn't gone for the wrong cast member, that she was the one he'd remembered from earlier. But just as he started to worry, she lowered the phone and tapped her chin.

"Actually," she said, "I'm having trouble getting you both in the picture with the castle. Could you maybe…crouch a little?" She pointed at Max and, unable to help the grin that start across his face, he let his arm drop from around Danielle's shoulders and bent his knees.

"Like this?" He asked, raising an inquisitorial brow.

Her palm face down gestured for him to go lower. "You're still blocking one of the prettier turrets, and you definitely want that in the picture. Could you, I don't know, kneel, maybe?"

Max knelt down and, using the screws in his knee as an excuse, said, "Ah, actually, I don't think I can hold that pose with my knee. How about this?" He got down on his one good knee.

"Oh, yes! That's perfect, actually! But now you kind of look like a random stranger photo bombing your lovely companion here, so maybe you could hold her hand so that it's clear you're here together," April said, smiling mischievously now.

Reaching out with his right hand, Max took Danielle's hand in his own, unable to take his eyes off of her now. "Anything else?" He asked, the question intended for the cast member.

"Hm. The photo is missing something. The ears are nice, but do you have any other props just to jazz it up a little?"

Max's lips quirked up into an uncontainable grin as he pulled his left hand from his pocket, the ring securely between his thumb and forefinger. "Will this work?"

April just smiled and held the phone back up, her part of the script now complete. Max took a deep breath, letting Danielle catch up to him before he dived into the speech he'd been rehearsing all week. As he looked up at her, he could no longer even see the crowd that was gathering around them.

Danielle was surprised when the cast member instructed Max to crouch down. He seemed to be perfectly fine with it, but she was - as ever - concerned with making certain he didn't bother any old injuries.

The suggestion for him to kneel brought a protest to her lips, but he was already kneeling anyway. She was short enough to have switched places with him. Perhaps that wouldn't have brought her as low as he was now, but she did care more about his knees than a pretty turret.

Danielle was determined to smile and take this picture so that he could stand again, and hope that they'd gotten a decent photo or two to make it worth his efforts. She took his hand, though it hadn't quite registered to her mind exactly what position he was in. Maybe being on one knee could be passed off as being gallant. Professing his love. She gave him an almost apologetic smile, though the picture had been his idea and he was being so decent about all these instructions.

At the mention of a prop, Danielle had to properly bite her tongue to insist they didn't need any more props. That was, until Max pulled a ring out of his pocket and held it up towards her...from down on one knee. She was certain that for a few seconds, while her heart was in her throat and her brain fired on all cylinders, she must have looked absolutely perplexed. A small squeak of surprise escaped her, one trembling hand raising to her lips. She bounced on her toes, but not enough to pull away from him. Despite the crowd milling around them - shouts and whispers, laughter and gasps - Danielle could hardly hear them at all. She squeezed his hand tighter with her fingers, barely refraining from blurting out an immediate yes before he'd asked her anything at all.

Max let out a small breath at Danielle's reaction, assured by the fact that it didn't seem like an unhappy or reserved one. His fingers curled around hers as he said, "Danielle Drake, I feel like I've known you my entire life and I think you know me better than anyone else. You understand my past, you brighten my present, and you make me look forward to stepping into the future with my hand in yours. And I know you, too, and I love every part of you that's molded you into who you are. I want to be here everyday to celebrate your successes, to honor the journey your heart's been on, to hold you through the struggles I know we'll both face, and show you the love that I have for you with every word, every action, and every breath. You are my Queen, Dani, and I am here on willingly bended knee, asking you if you would do me the honor of allowing me to be your King."

His words were perfect, and she was glad that she had waited for them after all. Even though they were things that she knew, she still needed to hear them. He had been the right person since the beginning...the one who had shown her that it was OK to love again, while never wishing for her to forget - or forfeit - the love she had before. She could tell him of her previous marriage without fear or reservation. She never compared the way that those two men loved her.

He was there before her, bending the knee and promising to be the King to her Queen. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was exactly what she wanted, and all she could ever need. She squeezed his hand again, tears welled in her eyes, "Maxon Winters, yes. I will marry the hell out of you…my love…my King."

Max let out a low, rumbling chuckle as his relieved smile split across his face and the lingering crowd erupted in whoops and cheers. He slipped the ring onto her left hand, his thumb brushing across it as if committing the proof of its tangible existence to memory. And then, with a swiftness he was no longer usually blessed with, he was pushing himself to his feet and sweeping Danielle--his fiancee--into his arms as his lips found hers. He could kiss her every moment for the rest of this life and the next and still it would never be enough.

With a steady hand, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, careful not to further jostle the mouse ears atop her head. He pulled back just enough to say, "I can't wait to marry the hell out of you, either, Dani." And then, his grin shifting into something more mischievous, he asked, "Are you properly surprised?"

Though she’d worn wedding rings once, this still felt different. She was easily swept up into his embrace, melting into that kiss. Her hand lifted to his cheek, the band of that ring still cool and new. Her heart fluttered happily behind her ribs. Though she registered that people had gathered to watch them, there was no one else on her mind except for Max...the man who would someday be her husband.

She grinned, laughing softly at his question. Nodding - mouse ears bobbing gently - she let out a breath, “Very surprised. In the best possible way. We officially have the best engagement story to tell people.”

Max held her close, unable to stop grinning like an idiot as his arm tightened around her waist. “Well, you can thank April over there for humoring my idea, though I’m sure I wasn’t the first to think of it,” he said, kissing the tip of her nose, the corner of her mouth, and finally her lips, again. “And you can thank Kiera for helping me pick out the ring and Niall for distracting you with baking cookies while we did so.”

“I was initially pretty put out with April, to be honest. Because I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable,” she admitted, able to laugh at it now. Her smile only broadened with each of those kisses, though her eyes widened almost comedically when he admitted he’d gotten the Malones in on helping him prepare for this engagement, “You know, I might be fussed about you all conspiring against me if it weren’t for the fact that I very much loved the outcome. I was totally fooled by the cookie baking.” She pressed three kisses in slow succession to his lips, “You picked beautifully, with or without Kiera’s help.”

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Max knew he was keeping the people with them waiting, and April was probably ready to give his phone back so that she could get back to her job, but he didn’t care about anything that didn’t exist inside the circle of his arms around Danielle. “I hope you know that I would have knelt on that knee for an hour for you if I needed to. There’s nothing I can’t or won’t do for you, not here.” And then with a sly grin, he added, “And I think this means I officially got the Malone Stamp of Approval.”

Danielle wasn’t in any rush, but she knew that this moment would pass by before long. Their day would go on, but her excitement wouldn’t fade. His promises just served to make her heart swell behind her ribs. Her head tipped back with a laugh and she agreed, “Oh, most certainly. They’re probably waiting very impatiently to hear the news officially announced. It’s quite a feat, too. My Malones are very particular.” She adored the way that her best friends looked out for her. They were her family in a way that her blood relatives never had been, and their opinions mattered the most to her. She had eagerly introduced them to Max in the beginning, and their verdicts had not disappointed her, “We’ll have to send them a picture.”

“Don’t worry,” Max said, “April’s been recording this whole time so we can send them the whole thing.” But it would have to wait--just a little longer--because the only thing Max could really think about in that moment was the fact that Danielle had said yes. They’d been through what had felt like the worst with each other and come out of it, even if they were still working through it, more sure about one another than they even had before. Letting out a small breath, Max brushed Danielle’s hair back and then kissed her again. He loved this woman with everything he had to give her and he was looking forward to a lifetime spent holding her in his arms, telling her how much he loved her, kissing her. He would never, ever tire of this life they had ahead of them.

She relished that moment, savoring the kiss that he gave her and the closeness that they shared for those few stolen - if public - moments, “I may just watch that video on repeat once we get back to the hotel for the night. Just so you know.” She was grateful that it was recorded. They could relive the moment themselves, and share it with their loved ones that weren’t present. It would be sent to the Malones, Aria, Lyllianna and Rhys, and Bea, too. They all would get to share in at least a little bit of the magic, even if they hadn’t been there physically.

“Think we could get April to take just a few more engagement celebration pictures before we let her get back to her day?”

Max kissed the tip of his fiancée's nose and said, "I think we can do exactly that." This was their day and if this remarkable woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with want more pictures, then he would do anything under the sun and then some to make it happen.