For Danica

[sexualtourettes]

Since he'd been there, Coop had come to realize that there were two kinds of spontaneous gifts given by the Island: the good kind, and the kind that made people want to curl up in a fetal position and cry.

The only reason he wasn't currently in tears probably had something to do with the fact that, this time, the bad kind of gift had come with complimentary booze. A giant bottle of it.

It also came with a bike taxi, complete with streamers and 'Just Married' sign attached to the back, just in case the suit he'd found in his room wasn't enough of a slap in the face. Or the ring.

A fucking ring.

He was seated in the back of the rickshaw now, fingers curled around the neck of the bottle of champagne, wearing the new suit jacket he'd tried on to get a feel for the fit. The ring was a heavy weight in his pocket, but it didn't compare to the one he felt crushing his chest.

Comments

[sexualtourettes]

Coop hadn't actually needed much time to consider anything, really, ready to fork the ring over almost instantly. Until he remembered it wasn't just another pack of Pop-Tarts or Ho Hos he was about to hand over.

"It's a wedding ring," he murmured against her lips. "We aren't wed... Ing.'

[vvdanicavv]

If anyone saw them right now, they might assume differently, given where they were sat and how Coop was dressed. Whilst Danica was concerned more than most with what other people thought, the image was so ridiculous that it barely bothered her.

She let her fingertips run over the now-faded bite marks on his neck before pulling her hand away and wiggling her fingers. "Semantics," she whispered after one more kiss.

[sexualtourettes]

That was a pretty freaking huge semantic, and as good a kisser as Danica was, he wasn't completely sure it was worth a diamond ring.

Coop's eyes stayed shut for a moment longer, rolling the box over in his hand as he considered it.

Lips pursed, eyes opened again, he slowly began offering the box out to Danica before swiftly pulling it back. "Shit. No. Okay, okay. No, here, take it," he said, offering her the box again, grimacing just the tiniest bit.

[vvdanicavv]

Like taking candy from a baby. That was the first thought that ran through Danica's mind when he held out the box to her. If she were honest, she'd expected to have to work a little harder for it but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Her smile was genuine at least, eyes sparkling almost as much as the ring when she removed it from the box and slipped it on her finger.

She let out a little noise of excitement. "It fits. It fits." If there was one thing Danica could still appreciate, it was beautiful shiny and - most importantly - expensive things. "It's like it was made for me."

[sexualtourettes]

"You and anyone else who happens to have a size six finger," Coop replied. Because even if their versions of New York just so happened to be the same version, it was pretty unlikely that Danica was actually the woman that ring had been meant for back home.

"You're welcome."

[vvdanicavv]

"Way to make me feel special, Coop."

Despite his comment, almost nothing could remove the look of delight from her face. This day had just gotten considerably better. Definitely worth getting up for.

She slipped the hand she wasn't currently admiring onto his knee. "I'm in love with it already. Thank you."

[sexualtourettes]

"At least one of us gets to walk away with something positive out of the situation," he said. He really wished it could have been him, though.

"And I get booze." And a bike...

[vvdanicavv]

"And me in a good mood for the rest of the day." Who could put a price on that?

[sexualtourettes]

"Only a day?" It was Tiffany, not Kay Jewelers; he thought that deserved at least a week.

[vvdanicavv]

"Maybe more," Danica conceded, giving him a pat on his knee. "We'll see." Just to prove her good mood was actual real, she added, "By the way, I like your suit. It really adds to the 'jackpot' look."

[sexualtourettes]

Coop smiled, glancing down over his new jacket and rubbing at his sleeve.

"You should get new jewelry more often." Not because she necessarily deserved it, but because he thought maybe the Island deserved more of this side of Danica.

[vvdanicavv]

"That's why I have you." It was now, anyway. Fitch had raised the bar, so Danica was fully expecting him to live up to it in the future.

If he was lucky, he would have caught a glimpse of her smile before she left another kiss on his lips.

"Let's go." She took the bottle in one hand and his hand in the other, standing and moving to climb back down to earth. "Married men turn me on."