The Very Big Question (Veronika & Jake)

Subject: The Very Big Question (Veronika & Jake) Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:57 pm

April had rolled in from seemingly nowhere, if you asked Jake, both his jobs were hectic, and by the time he came home most evenings he was beyond exhausted. He felt terrible for being not a very good boyfriend in that respect, because he was barely home since the attack, and when he had been home, Jake had been way too exhausted to do much.

Of course, even through the exhaustion, Jake had put Veronika first, making sure she had everything she needed to be comfortable with her stomach now growing quicker than he could have imagined. But her growing stomach was only something Jake admired, marveled and worried over in equal measure.

It was now that Jake realised how young he was, or rather how naive her was. When he'd first found out he'd been filled with joy of the situation, and he was still over joyed with the situation. But, it frightened him too. He was going to be responsible for a child's life. Not in the same manner of being a professor, but for a minimum of eighteen years, his child was going to be a commitment he could not back out on - and maybe not even after those eighteen years.

It was scary, but also something Jake was convinced he wanted to do.

But, first, there was something much more important to do.

Taking a weekend off from work, Jake had whisked Veronika away for the weekend. They both needed a break, of that much he was sure. An exotic holiday might have been more to both their taste, but with Veronika being pregnant, Jake simply could not risk it. So, he'd booked them two tickets down from Scotland to Oxford for the weekend.

Being American, Jake had not spent much time site-seeing, he'd always been too busy, or it just never occurred to him to explore the country in which he now lived, but with Veronika... well, they could do anything and he would be happy.

That day they'd spent milling through the streets, visiting the university gardens, and taking in the beautiful architecture of the city. They'd walked through the streets and popped in to various shops. Jake had made sure Veronika rested enough to not exhaust herself for the day, and then they'd headed back to their hotel, The Randolph Hotel, Oxford. Jake had booked out their presidential suite, simply because he could, and Veronika deserved everything he could ever afford and more.

After changing for the evening (black tie, of course!) Jake had escorted Veronika down to dinner with a smile firmly on his features to hide the nerves he was feeling. Despite the tourist season growing, the hotel was relatively quiet, and for that much, Jake was glad.

Once they'd sat down for the dinner, Jake moved in to a conversation about the baby - about what they should do with the spare room, whether Veronika wanted to go with neutral colours, or not, what furniture they would need, and anything else he could think about for the baby. There was no denying that Jake was nervous about it all, and he knew Veronika could tell even though he didn't expressly say it, but he was thankful that she didn't ask him.

His conversation turned to work, informing Veronika of how well her students had done in the classes he'd covered for her, because Jake knew how much the kids meant to her, and he hoped he'd done well enough on her behalf so that the kids learnt nearly as much as they would have with Veronika at the school.

"They'll be glad to have you back though." Jake told Veronika softly, smiling to himself. "I think we all will." He added, because Jake definitely missed seeing her at work, that he could admit. And, poor Professor Jameson looked like he was going to tear his hair out if he had to deal with anymore missing teachers.

Finishing up his main just ahead of Veronika, Jake took a sip of his wine, waiting for her to finish her dinner.

His nerves were building, but Jake kept his hands beneath the table so she couldn't see the small shake in them. Of course he was nervous, this night meant a lot to him, he wanted it to be perfect. Not because his father wanted this, not because society expected it, but because he loved Veronika, more than he could say, and he wanted to make her happy.

Once Veronika laid down her cutlery, and their waiter had taken their plates away, Jake took a deep breath. "Veronika, there's something I've... wanted to tell you for a while now." Jake explained, smiling a little in her direction. He was anxious about saying the words that he hadn't said in many, many years, was it right to?

"I... I love you." Jake told her softly, a small hint of a shake in his voice in that moment. "I know I haven't told you that before now, I... it's a nerve wracking moment for me, but I do, I do love you.

"I tried to tell you on Valentine's Day... but I got called away." He continued, slipping from his seat and moving to his pregnant girlfriend's side. Kneeling before her, Jake took out a small, blue velvet box, not trying to hide his nerves now. Opening the box carefully to display the ring he had chosen for this moment, Jake looked up to the beautiful witch before him.

"Veronika Hollands, will you do me the honour of becoming marrying me? Not because you're pregnant, but because I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to marry you, and show you that I'm not going anywhere." Jake told her, his eyes hopeful as he looked up at her, his heart hammering in his chest as he waited for her answer.

One that he hoped would have him smiling for the rest of his life.

________________________________________________
~ Auror ~ Profile ~ DADA Professor ~
~ In a Relationship ~ 36 ~ Father ~ 6' ~ American Accent ~

Guest

There were certain issues that came with being pregnant. Everyone knew that, and over the past five months, Veronika had been well acquainted with that fact. For one thing, her usual routine of sleeping for five to eight hours had change because now she woke up in the middle of night to pee or to vomit or woke up in another three hours to eat something weird and disgusting like pickles and jam or orange juice with whip cream at the top. For instance, it was currently six in the morning on the Friday before they leaved before their trip and she was eating waffles with chicken sauce flavoring. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and pushed the extra tendrils from her face as she thought about what to pack and how to plan for their trip.

She pressed a kiss to Jake’s cheek when he left for work and set for packing their bags. For three hours she packed the bags before taking an hour nap. When she woke up again she made lunch for herself and started circling maps and making time tables. She ran her fingers over the little bump, the babies was up and moving. She was so relieved when a week or two ago they’d started feeling the baby move. She’d been freaked out when they’d passed twenty-five weeks without feeling the baby. The Healer showed her with a spell, let her feel the energy of the baby and she instantly fell even deeper in love with their little bump.

Veronika let out a happy sigh as they’d set down to dinner. The whole weekend had been one of the most enjoyable of her life. She told him she wanted the room to be neutral colors, she didn’t want the baby to be tied down to gender roles (she’d been reading so many books on babies and psychological subtext choices that determined the course and personalities early in life). And she told him with a shy smile that with all the free-time she had lately she had catalogues of furniture magazines with images circled and a list of necessities for not only the current apartment, but also listings for six or seven houses for them to check out when he had the time.

She loved hearing about her students, loved that they were all good and stubbornly wiped the tears that fell down her face; happy tears even though she did miss them a lot.

“Oh?” She asked around her cup of tea, it settled the bump quite a lot whenever she had earl grey; chamomile riled the baby up. “Oh.” Her mouth made a little ‘oh’ at the words he said. Her words were caught in her throat. Relief filled her system at the words her said even if a bout of nervousness filled her up just as quickly.

When he dropped to one knee, she let out a louder gasp as her eyes became watery. She let him talk before nodding quickly. She sucked in a deep breath, not trusting herself to speak before urging him up so she could fling her arms around him and hold him tight.

“I’ll marry you, of course I will,” she tightened her arms around him, as much as she could before baby bump starting fussing around. She buried her face into his neck and let out a shaky, breath. She’d trust herself later to say sweet words of gratitude but for the moment she could only hold him as her strong, happy energy spilled from her body.

Subject: Re: The Very Big Question (Veronika & Jake) Sat Nov 14, 2015 8:01 pm

Jake felt like he'd been waiting for ever for her to reply - even if it was only a few brief moments - he studied her face, making sure that she wasn't saying yes to make him happy, but all he could see was her own happiness in her features. As Veronika pulled him up to her, Jake pressed a light kiss to her lips, so pleased she'd agreed to his proposal in that moment that he could feel relief rushing through him.

And joy, that dared to bring tears to his eyes, though he didn't let them fall.

Jake held her close for a while, knowing by now that pregnancy made emotions larger than ever. Veronika needed the moment, and it allowed him to compose himself again. "Thank you." Jake whispered in response to her statement, belated though it may be. Pulling away gently, Jake took her hand in his, and kissed her fingers affectionately. "I promise you that you won't regret those words, ever." He assured her, slipping the ring in to place for her and grinning to himself at the sight before him.

Leaning up, Jake pressed one more kiss to Veronika's lips before moving back to his seat, reaching across the table for her hand. It could not, and would never, be denied that he was the happiest man in the world right now.

And, with the fact he'd now successfully proposed, a waiter brought them some non-alcoholic champagne to celebrate the moment. "To us, and our family." Jake toasted softly, still beaming at the idea of being engaged.

________________________________________________
~ Auror ~ Profile ~ DADA Professor ~
~ In a Relationship ~ 36 ~ Father ~ 6' ~ American Accent ~

» What We Are (Jake & Veronika)
» First Dance (Jake & Veronika)
» Waiting (Jake & Veronika)
» Where the Heart Is (Jake & Veronika)
» Domesticity (Jake, Veronika + Ivan)