[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.

[spirit_of_vitriol]

She follows him over to the case, giving the spread of colorful stones due consideration. "That one," she says after a minute, pointing at an ivory teardrop-shaped jewel glittering in a circle of diamonds.

"I think she'd say yes to that one." Flavia smiles up at the man, curious to see if her lightning-quick deduction was right.

[sciencesaggressively]

He nods his approval, eyebrows raised in pleasant surprise at how great her taste is for someone so young. He can't imagine that she spends much time thinking about engagement rings, after all. Still, he leans in to get a closer look before giving her a smile. "I think she would, too."

A blue stone a few rows down from the ivory ring catches his eye in that moment and he tilts his head at it, gesturing at it. "Hey, what about that one?" He knows he doesn't need anyone's approval for this, not really--he wouldn't buy something that doesn't feel like it's right--but he wouldn't mind a little validation, either.