RP: Gen, you're a fine girl Who: Coop/Gen When: Wednesday, July 12, evening Where: London What: Having found the ring, Coop proposes. Warnings: None
Cooper had gotten the text while they had been out to dinner that Hyperion and Fitz were done with what he had asked. The entire night had gone smoothly, he had started the night by taking Gen out to dinner to celebrate the fact that he was alive, they were back together, and everything was going to be okay. It had been a long couple of weeks for the two of them. Cooper had tried his best to act normally while at dinner, though only because she knew him so well would she notice that he was nervous. While he knew that she was going to say yes, he still worried that she might say no. He had a list of reasons that she could still turn him down for, though he kept redirecting his thoughts anytime his thoughts drifted that way.
After the couple had finished dinner, he had walked her to the spot they had apparated to. After kissing her for just a moment, he had her clear her mind before he apparated them. Instead of going back to his flat or her home however, he apparated them to the bottom of the stairs. It was where they had met, just outside this very building. He was lucky they hadn’t actually met inside the building, he wasn’t sure he would have been able to get in if it had been inside. It was a magical building after all, generally used to house the big fashion show that came through every year, as well as a few other random big events.
The grand stairs that led up were filled with brightly colored flowers making the smallest of passageways up to the top of the stairs. It was there that there he was intending to propose, in the middle of all the flowers. Just as he had asked, the boys had even put up the magical floating fairy lights all around so that it bathed the entire area in a soft glow. Now was Cooper’s time to add the finishing touch, he pulled his wand from his pocket and with a flick the song “Brandy” by Looking Glass started to play around them. He knew it was cheesy but the song had always reminded him of her for some reason, which had been the point. It wasn't the fact that the lyrics fit them, it was that it was the song that he always associated with her. Even if he only generally sang the chorus to her.
Coop was in no rush to propose, he sort of wanted to trick her into thinking this might not be the moment, so as the song started he slipped his hand into hers and twirled her out before in against his chest. He chuckled as he started to move them to the song, singing along as he did so. The only difference being that he changed ‘Brandy’ to Gen, even if it didn’t really fit the lyrics as well.
♡
It had been a wonderfully stress-free sort of night, and after the last couple of weeks, that was exactly what Gen had needed. She'd just smiled and relaxed with Coop, talking as they had dinner out, feeling relaxed and comfortable with him in a way they'd been missing toward the end of things last year. It truly felt like they were back and better than ever. Oh, she knew that there was still some risk involved, that there were still things they needed to work through, that their rekindled relationship hadn't been really tested yet.
But none of that mattered to her. Because she loved him and knew that there was no one else for her. Sure, she was sure she'd have found a way to be happy with someone else, but she believed with her whole heart that it would have never felt quite right.
She should have known there was more going on that just a dinner date night out, but she'd been enjoying simply living in the moment, that she hadn't been thinking critically about it all. And so, when he apparated them to just outside the building where they'd first met, and she spotted all the flowers and fairy lights, she was absolutely surprised. She gasped, her lips parting before spreading into a wide smile. Of course her first thought was that he was going to propose. And so, she was surprise when he magicked some music to play and then swept her into a dance while he sang instead of taking her up the steps to propose to her.
Gen laughed in delight as he spun her around. They'd done this a million times before, but it felt even more significant tonight. Even the song and dance wasn't making her think he wasn't going to propose tonight--the setting was just too perfect for it--but she wasn't going to rush him in it at all. She still wanted to stay in the moment with him.
♡
The nerves that he had felt bundling up in the pit of his stomach had started to uncoil as they danced. He continued his little song and dance until they were at the circle near the top. He gave her one last spin and when the song came to an end, another started though this one seemed to be strictly instrumental.
It was the moment, he could feel it in his bones just then. His hazel eyes were on hers, he held her left hand in his since it had been the one that he had twirled her with just a moment before. Everything narrowed down to just the two of them, this was how it should have been all along, he thought. “You are my soulmate, that’s something I think I’ve known from the second I met you.” His other hand slipped into his pocket, pulling the small ring box out of his pocket and tapped the spot on the side to make it pop open.
As the ring box opened, he got down on one knee and held the ring up to her while his other hand held her hand still. “I’ve never been one who was good with words, last time I had an entire speech that was rehearsed but I realized that’s not us. We met and within hours of knowing each other knew there was something special here. I know I want to marry you, Genevieve. I also know that I want to have children with you and build you the house of your dreams in the middle of nowhere.” Or wherever it was that Hyperion found.
He cleared his throat then, this had to be official. “Genevieve de Blacas d'Aulps, will you do me the immense pleasure of being my wife and growing a beautiful, loud, amazing family with me?”
♡
When he spun her one last time as the song changed to something softer and without lyrics, Gen was sure someone had released the butterflies in her stomach. It felt significant, and she was certain her suspicions were right. But this time, she felt nothing but jittery excitement and love for the man she knew wanted to marry her. And then he was speaking, and she kept her eyes on his, smiling at what he'd said. The day they'd met had changed her life, she knew it just as surely as he did.
Once he had the ring box out and he was bending down on one knee, even though she'd expected it on some level, Gen's heart skipped a beat. Her lips spread to the widest smile they could, not even bothering to try to contain her joy at finally having this moment with him without the fears plaguing her mind. She wanted to be his wife and the mother to his children, she wanted that loud and crazy life with him. She didn't interrupt him, though, wanting to give him this moment as much as giving it to herself. He deserved to be able to ask her, and she deserved to be asked.
"Oui," she answered first once he'd finished asking, her eyes shining with the joy she felt in that moment. "Yes, yes of course I will!" She nodded her head and squeezed his hand. The ring was absolutely stunning, and she couldn't wait to see it on her finger, to feel its weight there as a constant reminder that they'd found their way back together.
♡
Even though he knew she was going to say yes, he still felt that rush when she said it aloud. It was real, official, and a thing. This was something that was going to happen. He would have passed out if he had stood just then, he would have fallen straight on his ass with vertigo. Instead he was pulling the ring from the box, slipping it on the correct finger. He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand then before he moved to stand up.
Coop kissed her then, it was all moving in slow motion for him. He brought his one arm up to slip around her waist, while the other still held her hand. As he kissed her, he felt that sensation he had only felt twice in his life. He felt that pit of his stomach, ready to jump off into the next big thing without a safety net. He felt it on the pitch and with Gen, it was how he knew she was the one.
He dipped her as the song changed, a Dean Martin crooning and it had just felt right. He chuckled as he righted them, after maybe pretending to almost drop her. That Gen-inspired smile was larger than ever as he held her close. “Whenever you want, I don’t give a shit if you said tomorrow.” He kissed her passionately again, his eyes fluttering closed as his arm gently squeezed around her waist. He was happier than he had ever been.
♡
Gen was laughing when he stood and kissed her, but she quickly melted into it, her right arm coming up to curl around the back of his neck. Just two months ago, she realized, he'd been out of her life and she'd deluded herself into thinking she was okay with that and could move on. She couldn't have been happier to have been proven wrong, to have him back and know that this was right.
When he dipped her as the song changed, she laughed again, feeling a giddy delight at how perfect this moment was. And when he brought her back up, she pressed close to him again. "I don't want to wait," she breathed before he kissed her again. His kiss made her dizzy in the best way, and she had to break it after a minute, pressing her cheek against his as she let out a breathy laugh.
"I was thinking Aruba," she told him, pulling back just enough to look at him again. "August 12th. Our closest friends were already going to be there, it shouldn't be too difficult to arrange for others we really want to be there, as well. And I've already looked into the requirements for getting married there." Her stomach was positively fluttering at the thought that in one month they could be married.
♡
Cooper didn’t know why but a small part of him hadn’t expected her to say that. A small part of him had assumed that she was going to wait until they had proof he was actually better, or maybe some breakthrough in therapy, something. His smile was completely transparent, giving away that he was thrilled about this and likely that he hadn’t really expected her to be ready so soon but he was thrilled she was.
“I think that you’ve had this planned since before I bought this ring.” He said with a chuckle, before sweeping her up into his arms in one of those chest crushing hugs that he loved to give far too often. He spun her around before setting her on her feet again. “Aruba. What do we need to do to be legal there? Think Hype could still marry us? He’s sort of got his heart set on it, since he’s giving me away to you and all.”
That goofy smile just wouldn’t dim, not even a little. He could feel it, that overabundance of energy. He wanted to run, he wanted to scream, he wanted to burst. It was the same feeling that he’d had when he found out he’d made the Magpies. That celebration had lasted for weeks. He had no idea where to start with Gen, but he had the wild look in his eye as he squeezed her again. “We have to celebrate or I’m going to explode. You have to dance on tables, I need to shout this from the rooftops, we need to celebrate and just...” Coop chuckled then, dipping his head almost bashfully. “I’ve never been happier than I am in this moment right here. Not when I made the Magpies, not when Wishes came by the flat, not when Em moved back home.” Nothing felt like this, nothing would ever feel like this again.
♡
The impish expression on her face should easily have given credence to his assumption, though she wasn't sure when he'd bought the ring. It couldn't have been more than a day or two though because she knew how much trouble he had waiting to gift someone with something once he'd purchased it. "We'll just need to bring some documentation and inform them in advance. It's a bit different than their Muggle government's requirements, thankfully, otherwise we'd have to get married legally before having the beach ceremony I want," she explained. "So yes, Hype will absolutely get to officiate for us, he'll just need to bring proof of his qualification."
Her smile matched his, and she was definitely feeling the energy as well. She laughed at his hyperbole, shaking her head. "We will celebrate, mon coeur, I promise!" she assured him. And when he dipped his head, she tapped a finger under his chin so she could look more fully into his eyes, her stomach aflutter all over again at his words. "That's because it's right, because we're meant to be together, because I'm the mother of your future children, because you're the one I will grow old and grey with. I love you, Cooper Vipond, and I can't wait to be your wife."
She leaned in to kiss him, slower this time, deeper. "We can celebrate loudly and publicly another time, but tonight, I want you to take me home and make love to me," she murmured against his lips sometime later. "Repeatedly," she added, pulling back a bit with a wicked expression.
♡
Cooper loved that she knew him well enough, and that he knew her well enough. Her face was giving her away, she had known because she knew him. He always had to buy Christmas gifts just days before or else they would never make it to the damn holiday.
His head bobbed happily, grinning as he kissed her. “We’ll bring all the things. Hyperion will bring all the things he needs. We’ll be married on the beach in Aruba with everyone we love surrounding us.” He was ready to burst, he knew he wanted to tell everyone right that second but it was wildly inappropriate. He had a feeling she might be a little upset if he whipped his phone out to call Hyperion and Fitz, though he was sure they both already knew what her answer was going to be. The people that knew them best definitely had known what her answer would be.
Hearing her words made his heart soar in a different way, hearing her say those things that he had known for so long… It felt good. He had held out hope while they had been apart, he had always known that she was his soulmate in the same way that he had always known Hyperion and Fitz were to be his closest friends. He bent his head to steal a kiss from her as she ended saying she couldn’t wait to be his wife. “I love you too, Gen. I’m so glad you finally realized I was your soulmate, I didn’t want to wander this earth without you.” There was a genuine, though soft, tone to his voice. He had barely been able to say that above a whisper, he knew it was ridiculous but it had been how he felt. While he had toyed with the idea of asking Ginny on a date, it had been Gen he had wanted and he hadn’t been able to shake it. Hell, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her while having sex with Ginny, that wasn’t a good sign.
Confusion colored his expression for all of five seconds, it was that glint in her eye that had him smirking and nodding his head. “Which home? Let’s go.” He didn’t need to be told twice, he wanted to celebrate very loudly with her.
♡
It was going to be perfect, she knew, and she was thrilled with how happy he was; though she'd known he would be happy, the level of his enthusiasm superseded even her expectations. Gen laughed lightly, nodding her head in agreement. His next whispered words took her by surprise in a completely different way, and her lips turned down in a faint frown as she shook her head. "Don't talk like that, mon coeur," she murmured in reply. The last thing she wanted was to imagine him miserable and alone for the rest of his life should, heaven forbid, anything happen to her.
"Surprise me," she decided, not sure at all which home she'd meant. And that was something they were going to have to sort out soon, too... but not tonight. The details could wait--for tonight, it was just about celebrating their love and upcoming marriage.
♡
Cooper knew exactly where he wanted to go just then, he wanted to go back to his flat, which had at one point in time been their flat. He wanted to make love in their bed. He kissed her again quickly, breaking the kiss a moment later as he whispered “Clear your mind,” just moments before he was apparating them back to his flat. He made sure they were at the end of the bed, he wanted to start their celebrations here. Besides, they had discovered ages ago that you could call for the chocolate syrup from the bed and it would come without you having to leave it. It was going to be a long, messy, night.