[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

[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.

[sciencesaggressively]

Newt forgets sometimes that Elizabeth isn't entirely accustomed to some things that might seem so typical. He's happy to explain it to her, of course, and his smile broadens as he gestures at the rings. "Well, it involves these." He bites his lip, feeling his cheeks flush a little from the sudden bubbling excitement in his chest as he says his next words. "I want to buy one of these and then I want to ask Kate to marry me. It's a thing, the thing with the rings, it's a thing people do."

[cagedlamb]

"Oh, oh! You meant a ring. I wasn't sure what you were meaning to buy," she realized. Elizabeth might have been completely cut off from people, but her books hadn't only been academic. She had read quite a few stories that explained, somewhat, how courtships worked. "This is wonderful, Newt! I'm happy for you both! Have you found any you think she would like yet?"

[sciencesaggressively]

He kind of feels like a dick now, for assuming she isn't familiar with the whole ring shopping tradition, but she doesn't seem all too bothered by it so he laughs sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Hey, thanks, it's definitely not like, y'know, for sure. There's that whole part where she has to say yes first. Minor detail, right?"

He scans the rings again, shaking his head with a sigh before moving on to the next case. "I mean, there are some nice ones, but nothing that's really screaming for me to buy it yet. I don't want just a generic diamond for her, y'know? She deserves something awesome."

[cagedlamb]

"I'm sure she will," Elizabeth said, with not even a moment's hesitation. She had seen how Kate spoke of him. She might not know as much about how people interacted as the next person, but she could see plain as day how much she cared about him. Walking over to take a look at the rings herself, she glanced at him. "Do you know her favorite color? That may be a good place to begin."

With so many available, she couldn't imagine him not finding something.

[sciencesaggressively]

Newt's cheeks flush a little at how quickly Elizabeth voices her certainty of Kate's answer. It's not like he's insecure about their relationship, not even remotely--if that were the case, he sure as hell wouldn't be here right now with marriage on his mind--but he has to admit, it's really nice to get such support from a friend, from someone whose opinion actually matters to him.

"It helps," he tells her. "That you'd say that, I mean." He wants Elizabeth to know that he values what she thinks, that he's actually quite grateful that she'd caught him during his little excursion because going at it alone hadn't been working out so well anyway. He quickly moves on, though, sidestepping to another case and pointing out the colored gemstones. "Well, I think she'd like this kind of deal," he says, gesturing at the sea of blues and purples. He zeroes in on one in particular, bending down to get a closer look at the blue stone surrounded by smaller diamonds. "I can see myself giving her that."

[cagedlamb]

Elizabeth eased closer to get a better look. The jewelry was beautiful all around, but she could see why he chose that one in particular. It was as blue as the ocean, and very beautiful.

"I often find my first choice with gifts is often my best," she offered. Ultimately it was his decision to keep looking, of course, but she felt like it was a good one. "It really is stunning. I know I would be excited to receive it."