Gian Mariani was not typically a frantic person. He usually threw himself into his studies, true, but he was never truly frantic.
Until today.
He knew that Riggs was supposed to be home at six-thirty that night, and there was still so much to do. Alright, not that much, Gian wasn’t going too crazy. The most stressful part was definitely the whole romantic dinner thing. He was trying to make lamb to have a fancy dinner, but he probably should have practiced first. He made the seasoning mix for it.
Calm down, Gian. You still have an entire hour. The lamb was set to be ready before Riggs got back so it could be served right away. He prepared the potato puree when suddenly a noise spooked him. The door opening. What?! No!!
Gian hurriedly threw off his apron, running out to the living room.
“Babe!” he said, trying not to sound overly frantic to allow him to be surprised. Riggs could not go into the bedroom though. “What the hell are you doing back so early?!” I should have known.
Riggs raised his eyebrow at his boyfriend’s tone. He was used to being greeted with a kiss, or at least a quick hello if Gian was busy with homework or something. “Cullen got a text from his friend asking if he’d help her with applying for some university scholarships tonight. Apparently, and I quote, she’s cute and so he just couldn’t say no. So we decided to cut the evening short.” Riggs paused. “I could go back and see if Maxen still wants to hang though, if there’s some reason I shouldn’t be here or…” He trailed off, unable to hide his confusion over Gian’s unusual reaction to him coming home.
“Uh… That’s okay. I was just going to surprise you with dinner, and it’s still in the oven. But… You can’t peek at anything because I’m going to surprise you. So… If you just want to hang somewhere…” he gave Riggs a desperate look to please not snoop and let it be a surprise.
Riggs grinned, not suspecting a thing. “Unexpected date night, huh? Well, I’m down. I’ll just chill in here.” He leaned forward to kiss Gian’s cheek before sprawling lazily on the couch, turning on the tv to mindlessly flip through the channels. He wasn’t really looking for something to watch, but what else was he going to do? Just sit there and twiddle his thumbs until dinner was ready?
Gian checked the lamb in the oven, sighing to himself at the mess he made when he tossed the apron aside. He picked it up, finishing the work on the puree and nervously checking the meat. He was glad that he calibrated the lights and the speaker before Riggs got there… He suddenly became nervous again. Stop it Gian, it’s not like he’s going to say no. But there was always a fleeting chance. When the meal looked like it was ready, Gian dimmed the lights in the kitchen, setting up the plates as gracefully as he possibly could, trying to imitate the picture from the cookbook he was using. He put the plates out, lit the candles on the table, and took a deep breath. He took off his apron, sighing and wiping the sweat off of his forehead. He got out two nice glasses and filled them with nice wine. He snuck around the living room to the bedroom, where his navy suit was laying on the bed, ready to be changed into. Gian nervously put it on, smoothing out any wrinkles and checking his appearance in the mirror.
“Alri-” he started to say, before he realized that he had one more touch to add. He had to go pee first.
Once the business was done (and the flowers were hidden under the bed just in case Riggs went back there to change), Gian came to the living room, turning off the lights to get Riggs’s attention. “Right this way, good sir,” he said politely.
Riggs blinked at Gian, soaking in his appearance. Man, there was something incredibly attractive about Gian all dressed up in a suit. Of course, he was incredibly attractive all the time, but damn he cleaned up nice. He looked down at his own casual t-shirt and jeans. “Wow babe… I didn’t miss an anniversary or a birthday or something, did I?” It was purely a joke, Riggs never forgot special dates like that. Other birthdays slipped his mind at times, but he was always so careful to remember every important date with Gian. “I feel underdressed.”
“Oh, it is truly not a bother,” Gian said with a smile. “But whatever you want.”
Riggs laughed. “Truly not a bother? Clearly I’m dining with a gentleman tonight. I have to step up my game. Give me a minute?”
“Of course,” Gian said with a smile. “Meet me in the kitchen.”
“Yessir,” Riggs said, then hurried to the bedroom, not wanting to keep Gian long. He briefly combed through his side of the closet before choosing his best pair of pants and a dress shirt. He even picked out a tie from his drawer, and he wasn’t exactly a tie person. Gian had put in the effort to make a nice, romantic dinner, though, and Riggs was more than willing to do his part. He checked himself in the mirror before heading into the kitchen.
Riggs’s eyes widened slightly at the scene in front of him. It barely looked like their kitchen, with the lights dimmed and what was probably the fanciest meal Riggs had eaten in… well, he couldn’t even remember. “Wow… this is amazing, Gian.”
“It’s been a while since we’ve had a fancy date like this,” he said, smiling over at his boyfriend. “Please, let’s have a seat and eat before the lamb gets cold.”
“Where do you even find lamb in District Six?” Riggs asked as he shook his head in amazement before taking his place in his usual chair. “I didn’t even know you knew how to cook lamb!”
“I… May not,” he said, laughing sheepishly. “This is my first shot at it.” He cut into the meat. It looked like the lamb he had in the Capitol. And it smelled good too. “I hope that it’s good. Should we try it at the same time?”
“Well, if it tastes as good as it looks and smells, it’s going to be delicious,” Riggs said, slicing a piece of lamb for himself. “Let’s do it.”
They both took a bite, and Riggs could have melted in his chair there and then. “This tastes amazing, Gian!”
Even Gian was surprised at how well it came out. This proposal was going suspiciously well… “Thanks,” he said, but he couldn’t hide the pride in his grin as he took another bite.
“You definitely need to make this again,” Riggs said between bites. He was such a lucky man to be spoiled with such good cooking from his boyfriend. Who needed fancy Capitol meals when Gian could cook like this?
“I do!” Gian tactlessly agreed, eating more of the lamb. “It actually isn’t as hard as it looks,” he added. “I think I saved some over there if you want seconds, or we can keep leftovers.”
“Thanks, dear. I don’t know if there will be any leftovers, this is too good to stop eating.”
“I’ll go bring over the platter,” he said, getting up to bring it over, and the two of them finished the lamb and most of the puree.
After they ate to their hearts’ content, Gian smiled. “I hope you saved a little bit of room,” he said, getting up and walking to the pantry, where he had hidden creme brulees that he made special for that night.
“For dessert, two creme brulees,” he said, carefully bringing out the torch to caramelize the sugar on top of the desserts. He overdid it just a little bit, but not so much it took away from the dessert as he placed one in front of Riggs and put one in front of his own place.
“... What are creme brulees?” Riggs asked, eying the desserts curiously. He’d never even heard of such a fancy dessert before. “They look good, anyway.”
“It’s a creamy dessert with caramelized sugar on top,” he said. “I tried one on my Victory Tour because Nerrah insisted I try something fancy.” He smiled a little at the fond memory. “I hope you like it. If not, there’s chocolate bars in the fridge.”
“You know me, I’ll eat pretty much anything. Especially anything made by the love of my life,” Riggs grinned at him and scooped some of the light dessert into his mouth. “Oh, it’s good. Really sweet.”
“Oh, it is!” Gian said, cracking the sugar with his spoon. “I hope you like it. If you don’t, you don’t have to eat it.”
“No, I like it! It’s different!” Riggs said truthfully, eating another spoonful.
“It’s sweet, just like you,” teased Gian, winking at him as he took another bite.
Riggs grinned. “Always.” Eating dessert didn’t take long as Gian kept the portions fairly small, but his heart was fluttering with nerves. He slid the remote for his home system out of his pocket. It worked this afternoon but that didn’t mean it would work now… He held it under the table so that Riggs couldn’t see, pressing play as the familiar song started over the speakers in the living room, the lights changing in that room to multicolor.
“What’s that?” Gian asked innocently as the song played through the speakers. “I think my speakers are malfunctioning or something. We should go look.”
Oh don’t you dare look back,
Just keep your eyes on me,
I said, “You’re holding back,”
She said “Shut up and dance with me!”
“It’s our song, or one of them, at least,” Riggs said fondly. His mind drifted back to the party before the games, when he had fought so hard to get Gian to dance with him. He finally did, and the feeling had been so exhilarating, Riggs would never forget it. This was the song that played when Riggs had pulled Gian onto the dance floor, and he was brought back to that night, the good parts of that night, whenever he heard it. “I think the speakers want me to shut up and dance with you.”
“I guess we might as well take advantage of it while it’s playing,” Gian said, taking Riggs into the room in the empty space by the doorway so they would have some room to dance together. He couldn’t stop smiling at the man he loved so much… The man he wanted to marry… The proposal was getting less and less scary with each passing moment. He wanted to marry this man for a reason, and that reason was because he was the love of Gian’s life. He had a good feeling about it as the playlist he so carefully made for tonight continued on as planned.
As Riggs twirled around with Gian, he could feel his grin widening with every second. Some days, he felt like he was living in a dream. Here he was, dancing with not just his cute mentor he felt the strong need to chase after, to get to know, to hold in his arms, but his boyfriend, his best friend, the man who was the center of his whole world. Going through the arena was the worst experience of Riggs’s life, but if he hadn’t been reaped, he never would have met the caring, incredible man in his arms. Very little good came out of the Games, but Gian was the one thing that did. Riggs couldn’t imagine what his life would be like without him. Damn, he loved him. He didn’t need steroids or hormones to tell him that. His feelings were so strong and very real, and no one could ever argue otherwise.
The slow dance song started playing, and Gian smiled at Riggs. “What a coincidence,” he said quietly. “Please, won’t you share a dance with me?”
“Do you even have to ask?” Riggs replied, pulling Gian closer to him and leaning his head on his shoulder. There was no better feeling than holding Gian in his arms, close enough where he could hear his heart beating.
Gian’s heartbeat was steady as he was calm, not at all nervous for what was coming next, even if he should have been. It was perfect: the colorful lights, the music that meant so much to both of them, being close to each other… Gian closed his eyes, absorbing every second they got to be together, even if it was slightly awkward because of his arm which was still in the sling from when he was shot.
“I love you,” he said quietly.
“I love you, too,” Riggs whispered. “So much. My Gian.”
“My forever,” whispered Gian.
Forever. Riggs smiled and kissed Gian’s neck, right under his ear. How lucky he felt to be a part of this man’s forever. They may have been young, but Riggs knew he didn’t want to ever live in a world where forever didn’t include being with Gian.
The song ended, and Gian leaned forward to kiss Riggs softly, but not for too long. He pulled back slowly. “Excuse me for a moment.” Make him believe I didn’t pee first, Gian thought as he went towards the bedroom with the connecting bathroom. From the bedroom, he pressed the button to shut off the colored lights and bring back the dim, peaceful lighting from before as Hero started to play a second time in a row.
Riggs glanced towards the speakers, confused. He loved this song, it definitely fit his and Gian’s relationship. But why was it playing again? His questions were soon answered as Gian walked into the room holding the bouquet of red roses, the blue and gold one in the middle of them.
“It’s the same one,” he said quietly as he held them out to Riggs with a teary smile. “I kept it.”
Riggs took the bouquet, his heart rate picking up at the sight of the flower that had started it all, the one he had stubbornly refused to give to anyone else but Gian. Even then, Riggs had known no one else would ever be as deserving of the token of his love as Gian was. Riggs blinked back tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes. “You kept it… I thought… you left it on the roof. They were still there when I came back down. You went back for it?”
Gian sniffled a little bit. “By the time I did, the roses around it were withered and brown… But… when I sent you that sponsor note… you know which one... I came back. That was when I decided that whether you lived or died, just those few days of being with you were worth being remembered…” Tears rolled down his cheeks. “You can… Take it out and look at it to check. You’ll see…”
Check? Check for what? Riggs stared at Gian for a moment before it clicked in his mind. The fancy dinner, Gian being frazzled that he was home early, the music, the roses… it was all falling into place. It was so obvious. Let’s get married, he had said to Gian impulsively when he was shot in the arm months ago, catching him completely off guard. He hadn’t meant to blurt it out, and clearly Gian hadn’t been expecting it, but the words were what he truly wanted, no doubt about that. He wanted to marry Gian Mariani. And now… shit, he was definitely crying now. That didn’t matter though, Gian was crying too, and if anyone was worth getting emotional for, it was Gian. Smiling widely, Riggs gently pulled the blue and gold rose out of the bouquet. He wasn’t at all surprised to see a beautiful, shiny piece of metal attached to the pin of the rose. An engagement ring.
“Gian…” Riggs said, blinking tears out of his eyes as he glanced down at his love, on his knees on the ground. There was so much he could say to him, yet for once, he was speechless.
“Riggs, I knew for a while I wanted to marry you… But I was waiting for a special time to ask. There was always something special about you… At one time, I denied that because you were going to be put into a scary situation… But now, I will never do that to you again. You are worth every moment we have together, and my life has become so much better since I knew you. I am so proud of you for how you have grown and matured, and I hope we will continue to help each other grow forever. I would have happily married you when you asked. I always knew… But I wanted to wait. I wanted to wait until I could do this.” Gian un-did the sling that was holding his arm and dropped it to the floor, using it to open the ring box, despite the fact it was empty as Riggs was holding the ring in his hands. “Riggs Fidler… Will you marry me?”
Riggs dropped to his knees beside Gian, wrapping his arms around him gently and kissing him before breaking away to give him his answer. “You know I will.”
Gian took Riggs’s face in both of his hands and kissed him again, very briefly as he was fully crying at this point. His arm still felt weak, but he would be starting PT before the wedding. The wedding… He smiled up at Riggs, taking the ring for him for only a moment to slide it on his finger.
“This was a much more romantic way to ask then when one of us is in a hospital bed,” Riggs said, laughing a little as tears of joy continued to roll down his cheeks. “I thought my impulsivity had gotten me in trouble again.”
“Never,” Gian said quietly. “I’m never going to leave your side.” He sniffled and got some tissues off of the coffee table for them to share.
“Good,” Riggs said, taking the tissue and wiping at his eyes. “Because I’m not going anywhere either. Blurting out that I want to get married may have been sudden and impulsive, but that doesn’t make it any less true. I’m ready to spend the rest of my life with you, Gian.” He kissed him again, feeling so giddy and overwhelmed with love for his fiance. Wow. This was really happening. He was engaged to Gian!
Gian smiled and stretched out his arm from where it was in the sling. “In case you didn’t know, my speakers aren’t actually broken. Now I think I should put on the He Said Yes playlist for us to celebrate? How does that sound?”
Riggs laughed, smiling at him. “That sounds perfect.”
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