If you don't instantly start singing High School Musical then I'm not sure I can't talk to you right now.

The chapters: The Proposal, Asking Permission and Conflicted is referenced in here in case you want to refresh your memory.

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Donovan took a deep breath but it did nothing to alleviate the pressure inside his chest. Though he already knew the outcome, something about the step before him felt terrifying. It felt solid in a way that made him feel like he couldn't move. He pulled out his phone and sent a message.

Are you coming?

The responses were instant.

James: A couple of minutes out.

Clint: Pulling up now.

Brock: There in a minute.

The reassurance helped Donovan take another breath, this time the tightness eased a fraction. Clint walked up to him and squeezed his shoulder, somehow able to see his state in a single glance.

"This is a formality," he said.

Donovan ran a hand through his hair. "I know. But it's not at the same time."

At this, Clint merely nodded, not saying anything to try and dissuade otherwise. Donovan appreciated his brother more than ever at that moment.

James jogged up to them, a wide grin on his face.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Donovan nodded but James laughed, jostling Donovan which brought out a smile from him.

"Liar. You look more terrified now than you did when you went to talk to Steve."

He felt terrified that day but this... This was different.

Brock strode up to the trio and took in Donovan.

"You have this," he said, simply. "Let's go."

He led the way into the store and Donovan barely made it beyond the doorway. Rows and rows of counters filled with hundreds of rings stretched out before him. How could there possibly be this many options? The amount overwhelmed Donovan and he took another breath. Clint again squeezed his shoulder.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

He thought that this was real. He was seriously taking this step. He'd imagined it for so long. He'd planned for it since their twelfth date. She'd already said yes. Steve had already given his blessing. But this... It was permanent in a way he hadn't expected.

It was only a ring.

But it wasn't.

It was a sign to the world that Carter was promised to him.

That thought elated him and made him stressed.

Did he really deserve her?

"Yes," Clint said as if reading Donovan's mind. "Now, what are we looking for?"

Donovan took in a breath and let it out.

"Something simple. Nothing flashy. Not delicate. No raised diamonds. But something complex." He smiled softly. "Something like her."

"You got it, boss," James said, taking the left side.

The brothers all fanned out, peering into display cases. Attendants took out and put back selections. Finally, Donovan spotted something that he knew was perfect.

"Found it!" he called out.

The brothers all huddled around him as the attendant lifted the velvet tray from inside the case and set it before them. On it was a silver woven band with diamonds embedded in it. Donovan reached out and picked it up. It was simple but not, the woven pattern a subtle complexity.

"It's her," James said.

Donovan grinned as he looked at his brothers. James laughed and shook Donovan, Clint beamed, and Brock ruffled Donovan's hair.

"The first of us to fall," he said.

"I don't think I mind," Donovan said.

"Not when it's Carter's arms your falling into," James teased.

Shaking his head, he held the ring out to the attendant. "I'll take it."

After guessing Carter's size, Donovan paid and slipped the small velvet box into his suit pocket. The pressure in his chest vanished at the feel of the box resting over his heart.

The brothers exited the store and turned to Donovan.

"Are you going to do it tonight?" Brock asked.

"I can't imagine sitting with this," Donovan said. "I know where I want to take her."

"You're going to dress up, right?" James asked. "You're giving her a ring, go all out. This is your girl. Make her feel spoiled."

"You have your tux," Brock said. "James is right. Every girl should feel special while being given a ring."

"Okay," Donovan said, grinning. "Wish me luck."

"She already said yes," Clint said. "You don't need luck, you already got her."

Donovan nodded and hurried to his car. The ring in his pocket made him want to run the whole way to his apartment, something about driving felt too slow. But he held the impulse in check.

Showered, shaved, and dressed in his tux, Donovan opened the ring box and looked at the ring. He couldn't help the rush of nerves and excitement that built inside him. As he snapped the box closed, a knock came on his door.

Standing on the other side was Mason. Mason eyed Donovan's attire.

"Hot date tonight?" he asked. He then cringed and grimaced. "You're dating Owens, never mind. I take back what I said."

"What do you want, Mason?" Donovan asked, confused by Mason's presence.

"You took the Howard file home," Mason said. "I need it and so stopped by to get it."

"All right."

Donovan retreated into his apartment and Mason took a couple of steps inside. Donovan retrieved the file and walked back to Mason. When Donovan handed it over, Mason glanced down, noticing the ring box. He jerked his head up, eyebrows raised.

"I see," he said. He eyed Donovan again, his expression turning skeptical. "A tux, to propose to Owens..."

"I already proposed," Donovan said. "This is me giving her a ring."

"And she knows that."

"No. It's a surprise."

"But she knows you're going somewhere fancy."

Donovan crossed his arms, not sure where the pointed statements were coming from.

"Mason, what are you getting at?"

Mason shrugged but looked doubtful. "You're overdressed. I've known Owens for years and I've seen her in a dress, what, once? Maybe. Do you really think she wants James Bond when she's dressed...well how she normally dresses?"

Annoyance flashed inside Donovan and he turned Mason around and pushed him towards the door.

"Thank you for your opinion which I didn't ask for. Good night."

"Good luck," Mason said. "I'm sure it will go well."

Donovan shut the door in Mason's face. He stood there for a long second. Eventually, he walked back into his bathroom and inspected his reflection. He did look like he'd walked about of a Bond film. And what would Carter be dressed in? She didn't know the importance of tonight. That meant it would be any normal night to her: joggers and a t-shirt most likely.

Growling in frustration, Donovan undid his bowtie and quickly started undressing. He hated that Mason was right. He should have seen this before, but he knew some part of him wanted to do the grand gesture, be the debonair man coming to sweep Carter off her feet.

But this night was about her, not him.

Changed into a pair of jeans and the blue t-shirt he knew she liked so much, he left his apartment.

The drive to her place felt like it took ages and no time at all. As he climbed the stairs, he kept touching his pocket as if afraid the ring box would jump out on its own. At her door, he knocked.

She called out for him to come in and Donovan entered.

Carter sat on her couch, one leg tucked under her, the other dangling off the edge as she leaned over the coffee table cleaning her gun. Her computer lay open, playing a sitcom. She wore a pair of jean shorts, an old t-shirt, and her hair down.

As Donovan stepped inside, she looked up.

"Good you're here," she said. "I'm in desperate need of ice cream. Have you come to take me away and get some?"

She started packing up her knit and assembling her gun before Donovan even opened his mouth.

"I am," he said.

Carter efficiently put everything away and tugged on a pair of shoes. She gave him a quick kiss and headed for the door.

"Come on," she said. "Or I might leave without you."

Smiling at her eagerness, Donovan closed and locked the door behind him. As they headed towards the stairs, Donovan took her hand. She looked at him but said nothing.

They got ice cream, but Donovan didn't let them settle, instead telling her he wanted to go somewhere. Carter didn't argue.

As they drove, Donovan stole glances of her. She sat with her legs on the dash, leaning back in the seat, eating her ice cream as she watched the world whirl by. Something about seeing her like that made him smile. He realized it was the ease of it. This was natural to her. To him.

When they got closer to their destination, Carter lowered her feet and sat up. She peered around and looked at Donovan.

"Why are we here?" she asked.

"Reasons."

Donovan pulled the car up to the sidewalk and parked. Carter set her empty ice cream cup in his cupholder and climbed out, taking in the playground she'd grown up on.

She looked to Donovan for an answer. Instead of giving her one, he simply took her hand and led her through the gate. Carter instantly took a seat on one of the swings and Donovan took the one next to her.

He felt grateful it was late enough that no young kids were running around and screaming. It would have ruined the whole thing.

"Why here?" she asked him, twisting on the seat and curling one leg under her.

Donovan found he couldn't look at her, overwhelmed by all that he felt and all he wanted to say. He clasped his fingers and swayed gently back and forth with his feet on the ground.

"Did you know this is the place where I made a mistake?" he asked.

Carter didn't say anything and he wondered if she could tell from his tone that this was more than a simple question.

"I wasn't here when I made the mistake," he said. "You were, actually."

This got a curious head tilt from her.

"You called me because you'd just found out that your mother was in town to have your father sign the divorce papers."

He looked at her, but he didn't see any sign of past hurt or loss. That wound was healing.

"You called me," he said again because even years later he felt the importance and weight of that moment. "You could have called Link or Maggie. But you called me."

He remembered the surprise he felt. The twist in his gut when he heard the pain in her voice. Remembered the ache in his chest at imagining her all alone.

"I asked you if you wanted 'us' to come over. Not me, us." He shook his head. "It took all my willpower not to say me." He smiled at her. "I don't know if you've noticed this but I have a protective nature."

At this, Carter quirked her lips in a teasing smile.

"I wanted to rush over here and help you. Already you meant so much to me even though I worked so hard to keep a wall between us. I didn't know what college you'd be going to. I still had two years of protecting Link. I knew that getting involved would be a mistake."

Donovan gazed at her and she stared back, not saying anything. She watched him with those beautiful eyes.

"I fought so hard against how I felt for you. But it was impossible not to fall for you. You were this fiery, brilliant, beautiful, guarded, loyal, flawed girl that drove me crazy in the best possible way."

He dropped his eyes, almost bashful at all he was admitting even though this was the girl who knew all his secrets. The only one he wanted to tell them to.

"And then you decided to change the game on me. When you kissed me... I never wanted anything more. I got to be with you."

Breaking from her gaze, Donovan looked over the playground.

"I knew you as this fierce, strong girl but again it was this place that you let me see the vulnerable side of you. Once more your mother was a part of your pain, only this time I got to hold you while you cried. I got to make up for not doing it the first time."

Donovan stood and tugged the velvet box out of his pocket and knelt before Carter.

She didn't make a sound or even move and that told Donovan exactly how surprised she was by the sight of it.

"Carter, you already said yes but I realized that I didn't get to tell you all I wanted to. All that usually goes along with a proposal. But I get to tell you now."

Slowly, Carter shifted, setting her feet down, facing him.

"When I'm around you I get to be the kind of man I've always seen my father be and the type of man I want to be. You've given me the honor of being there for you when you feel weak, scared, or vulnerable.

"Even with how amazingly strong you are, I get to be the one to rise up and shoulder your burdens at times. And you trust me to be there for you. A trust that sometimes I feel I don't deserve. Your love is something I don't feel like I deserve. But yet, you've given it to me."

He opened the box and held it up to her, the diamonds glinting in the streetlights.

"You never gave me the chance to say the words and so I'm saying them now, will you marry me and let me spend the rest of my life getting to hold you when you need to be held?"

With the softest of nods and a quiet smile, Carter slid from the swing and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him. Donovan stood and lifted her off her feet, holding her as tightly as he could.

He kissed her, knowing that he would get to hold her for the rest of his life.

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How's it hangin' bacon? 🦥

(Don't ask me what that means, I don't even know)

You know I always ask for your thoughts on the chapter and you always give them. Thank you. Now please 🤲🗯💭💬

Not going to lie Donovan in a tux, goodness me that would be a sight to see! But Mason does have a point. Below in photos you'll see how unbalanced it would look.

Funny enough, when I got this idea I thought Carter would come back with this whole response but instead she didn't. I think it's the first time Carter has ever been made speechless. But it was a good time for it.

Also the inspiration for the place and the speech came from the countless comments of readers being mad that Donovan said 'us' and 'we' instead of 'me'. 😂😂 See for yourself.

Here is the ring Donovan choose.

And here is how different their appearances would be. Mason is a wise man.