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Derek had spent way too much time preparing for this- he’d anxiously checked the news, weather reports and Avery himself over and over and over again, hoping that everything would go well, and that the other wasn’t aware of what Derek had planned.
From what Derek could tell, Avery had no idea.
Good.
He wanted it to be a surprise- maybe Avery didn’t even know what was going to happen tonight- maybe he didn’t know what sort of phenomenon was going to occur. Derek really hoped the other was completely oblivious, that would make everything so much better. He wanted to see Avery’s reaction- he wanted to see surprise melt into awe.
He wanted Avery to realize that Derek remembered that single, off-handed comment he made when the two first started dating.
Avery had thought the idea was silly- or at least he said it was a silly idea, but Derek had seen right through the other; Derek knew Avery really wanted to experience something like that, at least once, and what kind of boyfriend would he be, if he didn’t try to make the blonde’s dream come true? So for months, Derek had waited, paying close attention to the news, and planning ahead when he first heard a date.
A week ago, Derek had told Avery to make sure that he’d have tonight off so the two of them could spend time together. The other immediately asked if Derek had any big plans for them, which Derek denied.
They weren’t going to be doing anything too big, but it would still be special.
Derek hadn’t noticed anything off about the other in the days leading up to the event, though Avery did get more and more curious about what Derek had planned. Normally, Derek would tell Avery as soon as the other said ‘please’, but this time he stayed quiet.
Something Avery hadn’t expected, but was forced to endure until the day was there, and Derek finally took Avery out for a car ride, smiling as the blonde was trying to figure out where they were going.
They already had dinner, Derek ordering Avery’s favourite food, so they weren’t gonna go to a restaurant, and with the direction the two were going it was pretty clear it wasn’t anywhere in the city. The two eventually stopped near a field, Derek quickly unbuckling, though telling Avery to stay put- they weren’t quite at their destination yet, but the other needed to open a fence.
The dark-skinned man was back in the car before Avery could really begin to wonder just where he was being taken-
If it was anyone else with him, he’d fear for his life, but…
But this was Derek.
The car soon stopped in the middle of the field, Derek getting out of the car again, promising Avery that he had gotten permission to be here, and that he just needed a little more time to finish setting up.
Avery trusted him.
When Avery finally got to get up, Derek was quick to lead the blonde to the truck bed, showing his boyfriend what he had been working on.
The truck bed had been filled with pillows and blankets, there were a few bowls of popcorn, candy and other snacks.
“I… remember you mentioning something like this a while ago” Derek chuckled. “So… yeah. I figured we could… stargaze tonight…?”
Avery looked at Derek, expression a mixture of awe and… something else that neither one of them could name yet.
“I’d… love that.”
Derek helped Avery onto the truck bed, the two needing very little before they were both comfortable, cuddled up together as they looked at the endless sky above, Avery talking about the constellations he knew, and Derek adding onto it with his own knowledge of the night sky.
It was perfect.
“...It should start any second now.” Derek hummed, checking something on his phone before quickly putting it away.
“What should start?” Avery asked, curious.
“Just keep looking” Derek chuckled, looking up again.
The blonde was about to ask when he noticed something-
a shooting star, soon joined by others.
Avery’s eyes widened, before looking over at Derek.
“...There was supposed to be a meteor shower tonight.” The dark-haired man chuckled. “And I remember you telling me you’ve always wanted to see one.”
The blonde’s eyes widened, before looking back at the sky, pressing himself even closer to Derek, who felt very, very satisfied with himself.
He had done well.
Avery had spent months quietly preparing for this. He’d talked to people, gotten estimates and made sure to pay attention to what Derek said whenever Avery brought up geology, listening closely to what the other said.
It helped that the blonde’s sister was planning to propose to her boyfriend, and she was more than ready to talk about ring options while subtly prying into Derek’s preferences.
What sort of rings he liked, what sort of style, what kind of gemstone-
It was… enlightening, though most of the answers were so…. Derek.
He enjoyed gold- specifically rose gold, hated how expensive diamonds were, when moissanite was right there, a lot cheaper and in the dark-skinned man’s words ‘even prettier’.
Avery’s wallet wept in joy when the blonde checked for himself; There were so many options for a mere FRACTION of the price of diamonds, and the less money he needed to spend on the stone, the more money he could spend on the rest of the ring.
Meaning it’d be easier for Derek not to notice.
Avery owed his sister so many favors; she figured out Derek’s preferred style, what he looked for in a ring and what was most important to him, all the while pretending to only ask him about it because ‘her brother has no sense of taste and I’d rather ask a smart guy’.
Avery would let her insult him if it meant she got Derek to tell her exactly what kind of ring he’d want, so she could ‘help steer her brother in the right direction when the time came’.
Working with the goldsmith must’ve been hell for the poor guy with how Avery was anxious to see the final result of the other’s hard work. He had bought a loose gemstone, dug into savings that were meant for things Avery had long since lost interest in, and spend days looking through reviews to find someone he was confident could bring the blonde’s vision to life.
But now? Under the shooting stars?
It felt like Avery hadn’t done enough, and maybe this wasn’t the right time to ask.
How… could he ever do enough? Would anything ever be enough for a man who deserved the world and more? And when would the right time to ask even come?
At one point, Avery would’ve been insecure about everything he had done, would have looked at the months of work and picked out flaws and mistakes. But Derek had changed that; shown Avery that his imperfections and flaws were still a part of something special. Something Derek deemed on par with all the beauty of the universe.
Even the parts Avery hated about himself… were parts Derek adored.
And Avery loved Derek just as intensely.
“...You’re perfect” Avery breathed, looking up as his boyfriend. “You are so perfect- just… you remembered me talking about this”
Derek chuckled. “Anything for you.”
Avery paused.
“...Would you… let me ask you a question right now? It’s… I… kind of feel bad asking when you’ve gone out of your way to do all this for me.”
Derek chuckled, smiling at the blonde.
“You can ask me anything, anytime.”
“You sure?”
“Yes”
“...All right…”
Avery took a deep breath, before sitting up, much to Derek’s quiet confusion. Avery took the little box out of his pocket, and opened it up, showing Derek the ring.
“...Will you marry me?”