Happy Little Accidents

i think i wanna marry you

With spring warming up the coast, an outdoor farmer's market set up shop on the weekends. Zak took to shopping there instead of the grocery store. Having grown up on a farm and going to farmers markets throughout her childhood, it gave her a comforting sense of nostalgia and she looked forward to bringing Buddy one day. 

"What do you think about bringing fruit salad tomorrow?" Zak asked Bob as they ambled through the maze of stalls. Sunday mornings meant sleeping in and brunch with whichever Dagger’s and their significant others were available. Tomorrow, Penny and Maverick planned to host the squad for a day of games and grilling out, only asking the squad to bring side dishes or drinks.

“Sounds perfect.” He agreed, pulling their little blue grocery cart along behind him. 

The belly band her sister sent helped, but Zak still held her bump with one hand, holding Bob’s hand with the other when she wasn’t picking through produce. 

Bob’s phone rang and he gave her hand an apologetic squeeze before dropping it to answer.

“Hi, Mrs. Harris.” He offered a cheery greeting to their elderly neighbor. Winne Harris and her husband Lou lived just across the street and while kind, they were nosy and Winnie loved to gossip. When Winnie offhandedly mentioned that her sons didn’t visit very often, sweet Bobby didn’t hesitate to share his phone number and to let him know if she needed any help around the house or getting groceries. 

Zak watched as Bob frowned, his brow knitting together as he listened to what she had to say. She squeezed his bicep as he tried to placate Winnie with hums of confirmation that he was listening. 

“Wait, what?” He gasped, “What do you mean there’s someone at the house? …Okay. Okay… We’re at the farmer’s market right now… No, don’t call the police, we’ll be back soon… Of course we can grab those for you… Yep… Okay. Alright… Bye.”

Bob sighed and took off his glasses to rub his eyes. Placing them back on his nose and running a hand through his hair, he opened the security camera app on his phone to see who was ‘lurking’ - as Winnie put it - around their house.

“What’s wrong, Bobby?” Zak asked, peeking over his shoulder to look at the camera feed he pulled up. Maverick and Phoenix had keys in case of emergency, but they - and the rest of the squad - had been over enough times for Winnie and Lou to recognize them.  

“Mrs. Harris said there’s a strange woman poking around outside the house.” He explained.  He groaned when a familiar face appeared in the video, trying to look in their windows and knocking hard on the door.

“Is that…?”

“My sister? Yep.”

“I thought you told her she couldn’t stay with us.”

“I did.” Bob sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Zak reached up and gently scratched at the base of his skull, hoping to ease some of his stress. He all but purred at the sensation, leaning into her touch and sighing again through his nose. 

Trust Mal to throw a wrench in their plans for the day. After the farmer’s market Bob had planned on taking her down to the beach to propose properly. He had Payback’s wife Michelle on standby with her camera to take pictures and a simple sapphire ring hidden in the glasses case in his truck’s glove compartment. But with Mal poking around… They probably should go right home. Make sure she wasn’t getting into anything or trying to break in. 

“Do you want to go?” Zak asked gently.

“No.” He shook his head, “She should know better than to show up unannounced. Let’s at least finish up here first. We need groceries anyway. She can wait.”

“Okay.” She smiled and his heart fluttered. Tucking his phone away, Bob took her hand as they continued wandering the stalls and buying groceries for the week.

-&-

Mal’s rented camaro was gone by the time they got back to the house. Bob helped Zak step down out of his truck, giving her a playful swat on the ass as she walked up the driveway to unlock the door while he gathered their grocery bags. He watched her through the front bay window - dancing around the kitchen and pulling a pot roast out of the fridge to make for dinner - and wondered how he got so lucky. 

Sure, she was stubborn and organized in the most unorganized way and her projects often took over the kitchen table. And she could be loud and opinionated. But she was smart and creative in ways he wasn’t. And she was kind and funny. And yeah, the Dagger’s were like his family, but she was the piece he didn’t know he was missing. 

Obviously he was a whole person - single or otherwise. But being with her just… made sense. Made him feel whole. He’d tried explaining it to Fanboy once but he’d just looked at Bob like he was nuts. Maybe being in love was like losing your mind a little bit. And he was definitely okay with that. 

Bob pocketed the glasses case from the glovebox and made his way inside, heart pounding in his chest. He wouldn’t say he felt nervous. Just excited.

It wasn’t going to be the beachfront proposal he planned, but it would still be better than the first awkward proposal outside the Hard Deck.

Setting the bags on the kitchen counter nearest the fridge, Bob took Zak’s hand and twirled her away from the InstaPot. She grinned up at him, winding her arms around his neck and swaying in time to the music on the radio.

“Got somethin’ for you’.” He said, mimicking the same words she used to tell him she was pregnant. He fished out his glasses case and held it up.

“What am I gonna do with your backup glasses?” She teased. His prescription lenses were so thick they instantly made her dizzy the one time she tried them on for fun. He smiled fondly, though his eyes were serious. “Bobby?”

Bob slowly got down on one knee, sliding Zak’s hands from his shoulders to hold in one hand while he popped open the case with his thumb.

“I’m a by-the-book kinda guy and we’ve, uh, done things really out of order. I knocked you up and you moved in with me before I could even take you on a proper date. We just bought a house and I kinda hope we can get a dog after Buddy’s born. And there’s probably so much we don’t know about each other.” He sucked in a breath, trying to stop himself from rambling, “But I don’t care. You came into my life like a tidal wave and knocked me sideways. But there isn’t anyone I’d rather swim the current with. I love you. I love waking up next to you. I love going to the farmers market and I love it when you explain color theory and feng shui for the third or maybe tenth time even though I’m probably never gonna understand it because I just love listening to your voice. Marry me, darlin’. Please?”

“Of course I will, you big dummy.” She said it like it was the most obvious answer to the most ridiculous question ever. But there was no hiding her watery grin or slight sniffles as he slid the ring on her finger.