dallas martinez § will scarlett (whatisyourcrime) wrote in thereincarnates, @ 2010-05-17 00:00:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | dallas harper, rick martinez |
Who: Rick and Dallas
What: It's a surprise....
When: Backdated to Friday evening.
Where: Sherwood!
Warnings: Less than usual.
Finding Sherwood had been one hell of a surprise. She'd been pretty gung-ho about stomping around the English wilderness, but she'd never actually expected them to stumble across anything. Yet here they were, in what was definitely Sherwood, complete with the Outlaw Camp. They'd had to abandon that, though, whenever Phin showed up. Him and Betty had some...catching up to do, which she approved of completely. So Dallas and Rick had wandered off in to the woods, to amuse themselves until the coast was clear.
There was still plenty of exploring to do, too. Will knew just about where everything was, but she wanted to see it for herself. It was a little strange, actually being there, standing in the middle of the place that occupied so many of her memories. There was no denying that it was beautiful, even if she was kind of freezing. The one thing that she hadn't exactly counted on was how cold it was. This was definitely not California, and Will had obviously had a much higher tolerance to the chill than she did. Despite that, she was enjoying herself, one hand wrapped in Rick's, the other resting on the hatchet she had strapped to her hip. There was no way in hell that she was going to come here unarmed, after all. She had too many memories of the Sheriff's men thundering through to do that.
She kicked at the leaves, taking her sweet ass time. It wasn't like they were going anywhere in particular. Just killing time, for the most part. "You remember where the traps are, right? I don't want to end up dangling from a tree..."
---
It was surreal, actually being there in Sherwood Forest. It was real. Well, obviously it was a real place, but this was their Sherwood, exactly how he remembered it, not whatever sad set of trees was supposedly still left in the modern day. Even the camp was there, complete with Robin and Marian being complete idiots together, so really nothing had changed. He and Dallas had been perfectly happy to give Betty and Phin some space. There was a lot of forest to explore anyway.
He felt a bit like a little kid, wandering through the forest with his bow on his back. As much as it brought back all of Allan's memories, it also brought back Rick's memories of running around in the backyard as a kid, playing outlaws. He'd always been Robin back then, because he was the oldest and he got to pick. If only he'd known then what he knew know, he probably could have avoided a lot of fights. Not that fighting over who got to be who wasn't part of the fun.
Here in the real Sherwood he and Dallas walked down well remembered trails for the first time. "Yeah, I know where they are. Some kinds of paranoia you never shake. Besides, we built most of them, didn't we? Or you did. I'm pretty sure I mostly hung around and distracted you." Not all of his memories of this place were happy, but that was. Those were good times.
---
Dallas laughed, but kept a close eye on the increasingly familiar trees. “Okay, true. You got pretty good at holding stuff, though.” She gave him a nudge. Those had been good times, mostly because Will was so damn patient with everyone, even when they were getting in his way. If it had been her, she’d have strung Allan up by the seat of his pants until she was done. Luckily, the voice in her head was a whole hell of a lot nicer.
“It’s so quiet here.” She squeezed his hand. Being in Sherwood was kind of awesome. Being there with Rick was even better. They had, for the most part, the same memories. They’d shared the same experiences here. Will was enjoying himself, too, a little closer to the surface than he was back in Los Angeles. That made it a bit strange, considering she was walking the paths while holding his best friends hand, but they’d gotten over that, for the most part. “But I like it. At least for a little bit. Don’t think I could live here, permanently.”
--
He grinned. "Everybody has something to contribute." Rick would have strung up Allan too. Or laughed. Probably first the one, then the other, in either order. It was a good thing Will was as nice as he was.
It was quiet there. No traffic, no radios, no people all over the place. Rick didn't think he'd ever experience quiet quite like this. It was like it was just the two of them, in the entire world. Which wasn't the worst thought ever. "I like it too. I'm not quite ready to settle in a built a little treehouse for two though. It's too cold, for one thing." He let go of her hand and instead put his arm around her. They could at least keep each other warm.
---
“Mmm. Way too cold.” She leaned against him, ignoring the way she could feel Will roll his eyes. He was tolerant of the whole romance thing, but he couldn’t understand her intolerance for the weather. The man had his priorities skewed, that was for sure.
“Might not be a bad place to spend the summer. If it’s ever summer here.” Even if it was, she doubted it would be the kind of summer she was used to. She liked blistering heat and endless sunshine. Not…whatever the English equivalent was. “And if you thought you could live with me for that long.” Dallas grinned, mostly teasing. They’d never so much as hinted about living together, probably because it had taken them this long to admit that they were dating. It wasn’t like it would have changed much, anyway. They spent enough time together that it hardly mattered that they both had their own space. Most nights, they were at each other’s place anyway. “Well, with me, and without running water.”
--
"It must be, at some point. Maybe we can find out just which week is summer here and take a vacation." He might not want to live here, but he wouldn't mind spending more time here. It was so different from LA, where he'd spent his entire life, and yet it also felt like home. He guess that made some kind of sense. If you could have two people in your head and two sets of memories, you could have two homes.
"Living with you I could handle. I think I'd miss having a shower though. That's a deal breaker." They practically lived together as it was, just with two different places. He had to wonder why they'd never talked about actually moving in together. There were so many things they'd never talked about. They'd just gone on obliviously for ages, not changing anything or saying anything, and now they had a lot of catching up to do.
---
“Now that sounds nice. Just me and you out here, without anyone to bug us. Or to kick us out of the Camp.” She would have liked to have a longer look at that place, but Betty and Phin had obviously needed some time to themselves. Wasn’t it nice that they had friends like Dallas and Rick, who could take the hint and leave them be? Still, at some point, she wanted to nose around a little. Will wanted to make sure everything still worked correctly. Dallas was simply curious about what sort of things had turned up along with the forest.
Plus, having Rick all to herself for a week didn’t sound half bad either. “I wouldn’t want to share a bed with you if you hadn’t had a shower, myself. Which would ruin the whole living together thing.” Now that she was thinking about it, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t mind living with him. But it didn’t matter that much. She was content enough as it was, and technically, they’d only just started dating. “Besides, you already bitch about me coming over when you’re not home and drinking up all your beer. Imagine doing that every day.”
---
"Our own private forest. That does sound pretty good. We'll just have to leave the starcrossed lovers at home next time." At this rate, that camp was going to see a lot of action. More than it had before, anyway, unless Robin had managed to sneak away with Marian at some point. Or with Isabella. Or Kate. Robin was kind of a slut, wasn't he? Then there was Will and Djaq, but Rick really didn't want to think about that. It would probably break his brain in some way.
"That would take most of the fun out if." If they weren't going to share a bed, there wasn't much point to the whole living together thing. "And you should stop doing that, with the beer," he said, half teasing. She'd been showing up at his place whether or not he was home almost as long as he'd known her. He'd given up on getting her to stop, and would be pretty disappointed at this point if she actually did. "Of course, if we lived together, it wouldn't be a problem. It'd be our beer."
---
“If we can get them to leave, anyway.” Betty had been pretty stoked about the whole thing. Then again, she’d had the same issues as Dallas had with being there full time. The whole ‘no shower’ thing was going to end up keeping most of the outlaws away from Sherwood on a permanent basis. They all loved modern luxuries way too much to go on some sort of extended camping trip.
She sighed dramatically. “I should. But the thing is you can afford better beer than I can, so...” Other than her mooching habit, it was kind of nice to know that his door was always open. If she was sick of staring at her own four walls, she could go stare at his. It wasn’t like she’d never come home to find him crashed on her couch, eating whatever was in her fridge. That was just the way they worked, as odd as it was.
Most of the time, she could tell when he was joking. Right then, she had to pause, stopping both of them in their tracks. “You’re not asking me to move in with you, are you?”
---
"No, I'm not." Rick bit his lip nervously, pausing to think for just a second. Asking her to move in with him would have been the next logical step, wouldn't it? Not that it mattered. They did things their own way. He took a breath, deciding to go for it. He was going to plan a whole big thing, some elaborate night out or trip so that he'd have the perfect opportunity to ask. This was a trip though, technically, and he would probably never find a better place to do it. He certainly couldn't find anywhere more private, or more beautiful.
He cleared his throat. That was all the preface he had. There was no speech to make, no bold declaration. Not even, really, a question when it came down to it. "Actually, I think you should marry me."
---
“Oh.” Was she really disappointed? Only a little. It would have been kind of nice to take a step forward in their relationship, even if she was perfectly happy with the way things already were. She did feel a little dumb for asking, but it was easy enough to drop it and move on.
She wasn’t going to let it get in the way of their adventure, though. When he cleared his throat, she turned to look at him with a smile. A smile that quickly faded. “You…” Slowly, the cheerful rustles and creaks of the forest were replaced with an odd sort of buzz that seemed to be coming from between her ears. She hadn’t heard right. She couldn’t possibly have heard right. He’d just said he didn’t want them to move in together. Why in the hell would he….it didn’t make any sense. None at all. Her mouth moved, but it took her a few tries to actually get the words out. Well, word. It was all she could manage. “What?”
---
That shocked look was pretty much what he'd expected. He was trying to shock her, really, or he wouldn't have bought the ring already, he wouldn't have done this so soon. He liked surprising her. They weren't boring, that was for sure. She kept him on his toes enough, it was only fair to return the favor whenever he could. He just hoped it was a good surprise. If she said no he wasn't sure what he'd do.
"Yeah." Okay, he was going to have to do way better than that. He reached into his coat, praying that the ring was still there in the inner pocket, otherwise this was going to go downhill fast. It was there, in the traditional little velvet box, and he took it out. Then he got down on one knee, because, what the hell, he might as well do something right for a change. "I love you, Dallas. Marry me."
---
He had a ring, a beautiful ring. It didn’t really click that this was really happening until he knelt down. He was asking her to marry him. So maybe technically he hadn’t asked her anything, but that didn’t matter. The question was implied. And he loved her. How long had she been waiting to hear him say that? She hadn’t even known until right then, in that exact moment, that she’d been waiting, but she had. Rick loved her, and he wanted to marry her. All she could do was stare at him while she tried to make sense of the whole thing. Too bad it didn’t make sense. None of it. They’d taken the natural order of things and reversed them all to hell. Maybe that was the best part. It definitely explained why she was so fucking shocked.
She would have stood there for the rest of the day if a voice hadn’t broken her out of her thoughts. Well, what are you waiting for? Tell him yes. “What? Right.” She ran a hand over her face, trying very hard to keep from bursting in to tears. Like there was ever any doubt about what her answer would be. All that hesitation had been her own inability to work out what was going on. This was the one thing that she didn’t have to think about. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you. Of course I will.” Dallas laughed, a few of those happy tears leaking through. “Now stand up. You look like a jackass.”
---
He wondered if she was going to say anything at all. She was just standing there, not moving, not speaking. He wasn't going to move either, not until he got an answer. When the answer did come it was exactly right. He smiled, and then he laughed. That sounded exactly like Dallas.
"Good answer." He stood up, and then he kissed her.
---
It was a little difficult to maneuver around the various weaponry they were strapped with, but she still managed to cling to him when he stood up and kissed her. If she had it her way, she’d never have to let go of him again. This was all so…perfect. There was no other way to describe it. It may not have been what she’d daydreamed about when she thought about the distant ‘one day’ when she might get engaged, but it was so exactly right. Just like him.
Dallas pulled back for long enough to look at him, then leaned in again and gave him another quick, hard kiss. She couldn’t have smiled any wider if she tried. At no time in her life had she been quite this happy. She could practically feel it oozing out of her. “I love you, Rick. I really do.”
---
He wasn't a very sappy sort of guy, but right then he could have melted. How had they waited so long to do this? How had he managed to go so long without hearing her say that? Nothing else, no one else, could ever make him this happy. He'd never felt about anyone the way he felt about Dallas, and he couldn't think of anything better than spending his life with her.
Tell her you think she's perfect. Women like that. Rick nearly laughed again. Sure, now he was getting advice. It wasn't terrible advice, at least, and it was true. "I love you. You're perfect." He pulled away, even though she seemed like she might not ever let go of him, there was still something he had to do. He took the ring out of the box and took her hand, slipping it onto her finger. "This is for you."
---
“As long as you think so.” She may have been self-centered, but she knew that she was far from perfect. That didn’t matter, though. Because he thought she was, and even if he was just caught up in the romance of it all, she couldn’t say that she didn’t like hearing it. Or hearing that he loved her. That would never get old. She felt like saying it another couple hundred times herself, just to make sure she’d gotten the point across.
That would have to wait, though, because he pulled out the ring again and slid it on to her finger. It was so pretty, and absolutely perfect. He hadn’t gone traditional and gotten a diamond. The ruby was brighter, flashier, and much more her style. The light pattern on the metal was like some sort of inside joke, a reminder of their reincarnate roots. He couldn’t have picked anything better. She threw her arms around him again. “It’s perfect.”
Slowly, another thought came to her. “How long have you been planning this?” It was definitely sudden, and there was no way he could have known Sherwood would appear. But he already had the ring. Sneaky bastard, he’d been up to something right under her nose, and she’d never even suspected.
---
Maybe she wasn't perfect in a general sense, but she was perfect for him, which was what counted. "I think so." They couldn't have been better matched, or mismatched, in all the ways that counted. Maybe none of it should have worked, but it did. Perfectly.
"Glad you like it." The ring looked even better now, on her finger. And here, in the forest that had in some ways inspired him to buy it. Mostly on her though. Everything looked better on her. Or off of her, but that was another story.
He wasn't sure if she'd like the answer to her question about how long he'd been planning this. He hadn't exactly put a load of thought into it, it had all just happened. He'd seen the ring, they'd had their talk, he'd bought the ring, and then, well, they'd ended up here. All in a little more than a week all told. It was their date that had made up his mind though. He could almost pinpoint the exact moment when he'd decided he wanted to marry her. He smiled slyly. "Not too long. Just since our first date."
---
“I do like it. I love it.” If she kept staring at everything, her eyes were going to fall out of her skull. She couldn’t stop, though. Him, the ring, the forest that shouldn’t exist in their world but did….all things considered, she was having one hell of a day. If it got any better, she was going to pop. She didn’t know if she could take any more fantastic surprises.
He had to of meant their first date last week. Otherwise, he was even more twisted than she’d ever given him credit for. That didn’t matter, though. In fact, it made her laugh. Right about the time she’d finally admitted to herself that she loved him, he’d decided to marry her. That lined up pretty neatly, considering how chaotic the rest of their relationship had been. “Hell, you don’t waste time, do you?”
---
"Nope. You know me, I'm a man of action." He smiled smugly. It was somewhat true? He did run into most things without thinking, and he wasn't the sort who could sit around and do nothing for long. Of course, it shouldn't have taken them almost two years to get around to that 'first date' if he was really going for action, but you can't win them all.
"Besides, I don't think I could have found a better time or place if I tried." As settings went, it was pretty unbelievable. That's what you got with a forest literally right out of a story. No pristine beach or fancy LA restaurant could have compared to this. Nowhere else would have meant as much.
---
“No, you couldn’t of. This…was right.” Maybe it was fate or something that had Sherwood showing up when it had. That was a nice thought. Like maybe it had popped up just for them, so they could do this, have this moment. That probably wasn’t the case, of course, but she could entertain the idea that the world revolved around them, just for a little while.
Since there was never a more appropriate time to get handsy, she grabbed him and dragged him in for another kiss. “You’re pretty fucking amazing, Ricky.”
---
"Like it was meant to be." Maybe it was meant to be. They never would have happened in the first place if there wasn't fate, or the universe, or a god with a really warped sense of humor, or something behind it. Whatever it was, Rick was glad it had, because life without Dallas wouldn't have been half as fun or as interesting. This was how his life was supposed to be.
"You're pretty amazing yourself, babe." She grabbed him and kissed him, and he kissed her back, taking hold of her and pulling her close. It quickly went from a 'happy to be in love and engaged' kiss to something more like a 'hey, have you ever done it in Sherwood?' sort of kiss. They couldn't let the other outlaws have all the fun, right?