[insert diamond pun here]

[sciencesaggressively]

He has no idea what he's doing.

He's standing in the middle of this store, hands stuffed in the pockets of his leather jacket, and nobody's offered to help him yet probably because he looks awfully shady. He feels kind of shady, actually; he keeps glancing over his shoulder to make sure nobody he knows is around, which is a tough task when he's in a busy shopping mall but maybe the hustle and bustle of the weekend crowd will make it that much easier for him to blend in without getting caught in this shop. He keeps telling himself he's only here because he's curious, he has no intention of actually buying anything, he's just here to browse and get an idea of what he should look for in the future.

Then there's that really big, much louder part of him that's laughing at that bullshit because he's almost definitely going to walk out of this place with a shiny new engagement ring, assuming he finds one that's right. Yeah, he's going to do it. He's going to propose because even though it had been on his birthday that he'd really admitted to himself that Kate's the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with, he's pretty sure he's known longer than that. They've been together for only a few months but he's never been more sure about anything in his life--well, it might be on level with how much he'd wanted to join the PPDC and work with kaiju guts but whatever, whatever, that's business and this is personal.

That's why he doesn't want anyone to see him here, he doesn't want any of his friends or her friends or anyone to try to talk him out of this--not that they could--when he doesn't even have a single doubt himself, not even a doubt of her saying yes. Even if he does walk out of here with a ring, it's not like he's going to propose right away anyway; but he'd really like to be prepared. Just in case.

Comments

[spirit_of_vitriol]

Flavia had never before wanted pierced ears. It hardly seemed appealing, shoving a pointed needle into one's ears for the opportunity to hang sparkling jewels or finely-wrought gold hoops from them. And as any decent scientist would argue, they were a possible safety hazard in the laboratory.

But now, looking at the darling silver bicycles, with Gladys half a world and more than a half-century distant, the notion didn't seem quite so abhorrent any longer. She's almost managed to convince herself of the decision, almost justified the expense of the earrings and the cost of the piercing, when she notices the scruffy, lost man at the other side of the store. She wanders closer, sparing idle looks at the necklaces and rings in the display cases.

[sciencesaggressively]

He's peering at a row of enormous diamond rings and seriously, who even needs a diamond that big? Wouldn't one way a person down? The price tag doesn't help, he has no clue who the hell would pay that much for something that's actually so impractical, not that he has room to talk about material practicality but he's also never bought a giant sparkly rock for himself, so there. He sighs heavily, taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose, before glancing sideways at the young girl who's appeared in his peripheral.

He can't help the little smile that plays at his lips as he turns his attention toward her. "What do you think?" he asks, gesturing at the rings before them. "Little too much, right?"

[spirit_of_vitriol]

If he was a jewel thief, he was an exceptionally poor one. In Flavia's estimation--as well as any of the detective stories she'd ever read--most thieves just went on with the stealing of things, not calling attention to the sparkling diamond rings that served as the target of their ardor.

"Most of them do seem rather...heavy," she agrees, sidling up next to the man to peer into the case with him.

[sciencesaggressively]

Newt sighs heavily, nodding at her assessment because she's totally right, that's such a good word for these rings--heavy. As in a burden, something he wouldn't want to give to Kate when, y'know, asking her to marry him. And oh god, that feels so weird to even think, it makes his stomach turn a little bit but not in a nauseous way, more in that good freaking out kind of way because that's totally a thing.

He shifts awkwardly from foot to foot, biting down on his lip as he moves his gaze between the girl and the rings. "Kind of boring, too, right? Plain old diamond." He wanders over to a cse with more colorful stones--champagne and pink and yellow--and gives her a questioning look. "What about these, better? Worse?" He can't believe he's doing this right now, asking a kid who looks like she's maybe ten for her advice on ring choice but whatever, he needs help and he'll take it from whoever he can.

[beyoncepadthai]

Mindy practically shrieked as she spotted Newt, at first with sheer recognition and then from the deduction of why-the-hell-he-was-in-the-jewellery-store anyway. "Oh, my god," she said, heading closer and hushing her voice at the awkward glances of the shop attendants. "Okay, don't worry, guys, he's not proposing to me, alright? But he could be. I am a... you know what? Nevermind. NEWT. What are you doing here? Is this what I think it is? Oh my god."

[sciencesaggressively]

Oh, fuck. His hopes of going unnoticed have clearly not worked out because there stands Mindy and while normally, seeing her would make Newt pleased as punch, it's really quite alarming right now. He flashes a tight smile at the attendants before making a beeline for his friend, putting his hand on the small of her back and steering her off to the side. He opens his mouth but he's so caught off-guard that he barely even knows what to say before deciding on a simple, "Don't tell anyone. No, seriously. Not anyone. Most definitely not Kate. I will like, uninvite you over to my place for a whole week maybe less depending on my mood if you spill on this, I swear."

[beyoncepadthai]

"Okay, relax, I have some self control, okay? I went to medical school, thank you very much," Mindy said, fully aware that was more or less entirely unrelated to the topic at hand but pulling her favourite card nonetheless. "I will not tell her. But only if you tell me absolutely everything."

"Oh my god. My first Darrow wedding. What are you looking at?"

[norelief]

It's days like this Finnick wishes he kept his rope with him, starring into the store's window at a platinum ring embedded with green jewels that are almost the colour of Annie's eyes, but not quite as beautiful. He's not thinking about marriage or anything grand like that, just her, just missing her, just the fact that Darrow is just another place keeping him from the love of his life. He turns to leave but instead spots a man inside, hovering over the displays. He nods in acknowledgment.

[sciencesaggressively]

He's about to throw his hands up in the air and give this whole thing up because ring shopping is way harder than Newt would have thought. He hasn't yet spotted one that distinctly screams Kate, and he doesn't want to buy her one just to buy her one. He wants the ring to be specific to her, one that's special like everything else about their relationship. Now, if one could just fall right into his lap, that would be super ideal. He pulls his glasses off to rub at the bridge of his nose because he feels overwhelmed by the options that just aren't good enough and when he puts them back on, he notice the guy on the other side of the store window.

He nods back, offering a small smile because maybe this guy's in the same boat. Maybe he gets it. He'd really like to talk to someone who gets it because he's sure as hell never done anything remotely like this before and he could use a pep talk.

[norelief]

Finnick's first thought is to leave. Despite the his confident and charismatic Capitol personality, he's really not the type to just go up and start conversing with someone unless it somehow works in his favour. Still, the guy looks more than a little lost, and with a slight sigh, he heads inside, pretending to look at some earrings in one of the display cabinets (as if his loved one is here, and not far away and perhaps forever out of his grasp.) "I take it you're not shopping for yourself?" He asks nonchalantly.

[jianhuo]

Saffron isn't planning to go inside. She likes expensive jewelry, of course, but historically that's the kind of thing she's gotten by stealing it, not buying it, and she's on a budget in Darrow. She supposes she could try stealing something, but she hasn't been in that life for so long, and besides, with the amount of hero types running around the city the chances of her getting caught, no matter how good she is, are pretty high. She definitely doesn't want to see the look on Russell's face if she gets brought into the police station in cuffs. She's never been bound by law and she's not about to start now.

So she's just taking a casual look in the front window, admiring all the pretties, when she glances up and sees a guy in the store who makes her do a double take. She could be wrong, of course, but she can only think of one reason why Newt would be in a store like this. Ducking inside, she slips up behind him with a sly little grin. "Well," she says once she's at his shoulder. "Fancy meeting you here, honey."

[sciencesaggressively]

He jumps what feels like a full few feet in the air when he hears the voice in his ear, earning some baleful glares from the nearby attendants--which he has no qualms about returning because they're being the opposite of helpful, okay--before he turns, breathing a sigh of relief when he sees it's Helen. He's been nervous about getting caught in the store but there's something about her presence that suddenly puts him at ease. Maybe she'll even be able to help him pick the right ring.

"Fancy, indeed," he replies with a sheepish smile, rubbing at the back of his neck as he gestures to the case before them. "Guess there's really no point in saying I'm browsing for a friend, right?"

[jianhuo]

"Sorry," she says when Newt looks over at her, in a way that suggests she's not actually that sorry, though she does reach over to give his arm a reassuring squeeze. "No, honey, I think that ship has sailed, especially considering the case you're standing in front of."

She makes a pointed glance down into the display case, filled with rows of sparkly diamond rings, then looks back up at Newt. "So how serious are we talking, here? Just taking a look for a potential purchase sometime in the vague future? Or is it bust out the credit card now time?"

[a_capella_boy]

When Jesse spotted Newt at the jewelry store he figure it wasn't because the guy was looking to get himself a diamond stud earring. It didn't take a huge leap of logic to realize that Newt was getting something for Kate. He thought about just letting him be but then realized that maybe if both of them were there he could provide some camouflage of sorts.

"So," Jesse said, moving over to the ring section, which was apparently where Newt was shopping. Very interesting. "I figure if we're both here then no one can just assume that you're here shopping for Kate and accidentally ruin whatever surprise you have planned."

[sciencesaggressively]

Oh, this is great. This is really great. Newt sighs in resignation when he recognizes Jesse's voice and closes his eyes for a long moment before turning to face him with a sheepish smile. "Caught me red-handed. Thanks for the extra cover, obviously I'm not doing a very good job being incognito on my own. Baseball cap, I'm not wearing a baseball cap, I knew I was forgetting something."

Truly, he's kind of glad for Jesse's company, though he glances him over because Kate had mentioned something about Jesse having a rough time of it lately. He's not sure if it's his place to ask about it, whether Kate wasn't supposed to mention it or whatever, but then again, maybe it's even ruder not to ask. "I could use some help," he admits, nodding toward the unhelpful shop attendants who are mooning over a much more distinguished looking dude on the opposite end of the store. "I'm not getting it from anyone else. I, uh, heard that like, stuff happened with you. Holding up okay?"

[a_capella_boy]

"Well enough," he said, running a hand through his hair. That was mostly a lie because he was still doing pretty shitty and he wasn't sure if Newt actually wanted to know or was just being considerate. There weren't a lot of people he could talk to about it but this probably wasn't the time or place.

"So is this the ring you're looking to get?"

It didn't really surprise Jesse. Newt and Kate were pretty amazing together and it was obvious that they made each other extremely happy and he thought it was pretty cool that they were looking to take the next step. Or at least Newt was.

[fightthehurricane]

Raleigh's not exactly a mall crawler, but wandering the city gets old after a while and he still, amazingly, has managed to stay out of the building. Might as well explore. He grabs himself a big cup of coffee before he starts to wander the shops, staring in windows and stopping outside of stores because hey, what the hell does he really need in the mall anyway?

The jewelry store stops him, though. Reminds him of all the tourist traps in Ketchikan, actually. The ports always had enormous jewelry stores, all the gems that the cruise lines would tote as being 'exclusive' to Alaska before people stopped wanting to take ships out onto the open ocean for fun. It's weird, but it reminds him of home.

He comes to a stop at the window, peering in, when his eyes drift past it to the inside of the store and he sees Newt. Huh. He takes a sip of his coffee and walks in, coming up behind Newt and lightly hitting the back of his shoulder in greeting. "Newt, hey man." He'd ask what he was doing here, but... well, there are only so many things, right?

[sciencesaggressively]

Even though the force that comes down on his shoulders is considerably light, Newt still buckles a bit out of sheer surprise under what he soon discovers is Raleigh's hand. His first instinct is to want to brush this off as totally not even a thing, he's looking just to look, he's just on his way out; but Raleigh's expression is kind--thought it damn well better be considering Newt had spent the better part of a day unscrewing the guy from his suit, not that he's looking for any return favors except for maybe Raleigh's thoughts on ring choice now. Neither of them are quite cut out for this particular mission, he suspects, but a former K-scientist and Ranger walk into a jewelry site, what could wrong?

"I could totally be here just because I like sparkly things," he says indignantly before offering a sheepish smile. "But that's not the truth. I mean, sparkly and shiny things I do like, just not enough to hang out in a wedding ring shop." He rubs a hand over his stubble and looks back at the case or rings. This time last year--hell, this time six months ago--he'd have laughed his ass off before going back to crying tears of joy into his kaiju entrails if anyone had told him he'd be ring shopping today. "Never thought this would be a thing I do," he admits. "Newt Geiszler, married man? Clearly the last thing on my mind back at the 'Dome. Even when I got here, I thought for sure I'd make it back. But now, I'm not so sure I'd still want to. Not without her, at least."

It feels strange to be spilling like this to Raleigh, to a guy he'd been pretty sure only viewed him as a kaiju groupie, as Hermann so gleefully had liked to call him--or maybe that had only been up until the point they'd all put their asses on the line to save the goddamn world. "Anyway. I'm guessing you didn't come to the mall just to run into me."

[fightthehurricane]

It didn't take any PhDs to know that Newt is head over heels for Kate. And while they haven't really hung around each other much, except for their, er, quality time on his first day, Raleigh still is definitely in Newt's court - Newt's a good guy, and hey, it's not like they don't have a mutual understanding of... well, all the shit that they've been through. It's not like there's a shortage. He claps Newt on the shoulder again, standing next to him and looking into the jewelry cases as he does, trying to figure out what Newt's been zeroing in on.

"Maybe it's just right, then." Raleigh's never felt that, but he's never given himself time for it. If it's anything like how Newt's face says it is, then it's gotta be worth it. "Maybe you don't question it and you just let it happen. You pick one out?" He jerks his chin toward the rings.

Newt asks what he's doing, and he shrugs a shoulder, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. "Eh, you know. Nothing special." It's nice, that he's asking about what he's doing when he's obviously in the middle of a major life decision. It feels strange to even talk about; his life has felt strangely normal and unsettlingly... aimless. He was a Ranger before; he was around for a reason. Now he just exists: wandering the mall, looking for work, living off of the allowance that they're given. It's not much to talk about.

"So?" He raises his eyebrows, returning his focus back to the case and gesturing. "Does she know?"

[cagedlamb]

After the time Elizabeth had in the hospital, she was glad to have things back to normal. She was already caught up with her classwork she had missed, she was back working - things had fallen back into place nicely. It was one of her days off that day, and she decided, instead of staying inside, she'd partake in a normal activity just because she could.

The mall was a place she could get lost in for a while. Walking about with not much of a destination in mind, it was almost chance that she happened to glance in the jewelry store and notice Newt standing there. It was enough to make her curious, and she wandered inside as well.

"Hello, Newt," she greeted with a smile. It was a strange place for him to be in, but she was happy to see him all the same. "How are you doing?"

[sciencesaggressively]

He doesn't know why he'd thought he'd be safe from being seen in this store when the location is in a fairly prime spot in the mall--wishful thinking, he supposes--but when he turns to see Elizabeth, his initial worry at being caught disappears. "Hey, look at you!" he says with a grin. "This is a much better look for you than bed-ridden was, we have that in common. Actually, I think everyone has that in common."

He turns back to the rings and heaves a dramatic sigh. "I'm okay. In the middle of making one of those, y'know, huge life decisions. Well, no, I've already made the huge life decision. This is more like, the Part B of the life decision."

[cagedlamb]

Elizabeth grinned at his enthusiasm. She had, of course, been happy to be out and about. Even moreso now that she had some company, even for a little while. His response to her question did make her pause, though, if only because she wasn't sure what he meant by it. He seemed fairly calm for someone apparently doing something big.

"What decision is that?" she asked, glancing around briefly before looking to him again.

[beat_death]

Owen's really not a fan of the mall in Darrow. Perhaps it's the unfamiliarity of it, or the fact that none of them can seem to get a straight answer on where all of the products come from. Still, he only goes when he really needs something. This time, it's shoes. Though, he hasn't made his way all the way to the shoe store before he spots Newt.

With a long-suffering sigh, he walks in, despite his best instincts, and approaches.

"Please tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing," he says.

[sciencesaggressively]

Newt doesn't have to turn around to know it's Owen, that voice and accent are pretty distinct. He smiles to himself when he hears the words, though, because he wouldn't expect anything less from his friend--though he's not sure Big O is ready to use that 'f' word with him yet, at least not out loud because Newt is certain the guy feels it on the inside.

"I'm not doing what you think I'm doing," he counters, glancing over his shoulder and grinning broadly. "I'm planning on proposing to myself. I've been in love with me for years."

[beat_death]

"Not sure that's legal, even here," is Owen's response, and the very fact that Newt says the word 'proposing' without being prompted answers his question. in an odd way though, it reminds him of Torchwood back in Cardiff, of Gwen and how she'd managed to find the time for Rhys.

Eventually, anyway.

But Darrow isn't Cardiff, and they're not exactly up to their ears in work. There's not much comparing the two.