Almost six months had passed in Joe and Aria's relationship. Every day he noticed she became more confident in herself. He'd get flowers delivered to her almost every day at work, or a small present like jewelry or something. Just something to let her know he was thinking of her. Things were going great for them. She was back at work fully, she had been brought up to a second grade teacher. She loved her class. They always asked to see and meet Joe and hold his newly acquired tag team belt. She would always laugh it off and tell them they'd have to wait.

They rarely got to see each other and she felt bad each time when he came home. He was worn out, burned out from being on the road for so long. She'd rub his back at night, working out the tense knots embedded in his tanned skin. Joe hadn't tried anything sexually with her since that night in the hotel, where she broke down mentally. He feared she'd just think of him as Aaron, and that wasn't something he wanted. He would push his needs aside to make sure she was safe, that she felt safe with him, and content in being with him. She'd let him know when she was ready. After all, sex wasn't always the most important thing to him anyway. He felt honored to be able to have someone such as Arianna in his life, there was no way he'd push her to that level of uncertainty just for his own desires.

Truth is, she missed him so much. His schedule was really, really demanding. He got maybe a day out of the week at home. She missed him the most at night when he would hold her. She felt safe with him. That had never happened with anyone else to her. It's only ever been Joe. She smiled as she ran her fingers over the picture of them that sat on her desk. Her children were taking their daily naps while she filled out paperwork when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned around to see the most beautiful sight she could ever see. Joe smiled down at her, his hair falling everywhere off his shoulders. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in the crook of his neck. "Hi baby."

"Hey beautiful," He whispered into her ear.

"Oh my god, I've missed you." She mumbled and squeezed him tighter.

He pulled back and kissed her sweetly, "Missed you too."

"What are you doing here?" She smiled, "I thought you wouldn't be home until tomorrow?"

"Nah, they didn't need us tonight so I've got three days off."

She couldn't help the tears that brimmed her eyes. She rubbed his back as he kissed the top of her head, "God, I've missed you."

"Missed you too, pretty girl." Joe whispered before quickly pecking her lips, saving any romance for later in case there were peeping kids, "I'm going to take you and Jessica out after work, okay?"

"I'd much rather just have a night at home with the two of you," She smiled softly, "But okay."

"I've got big plans and your shyness isn't going to ruin them!" He grinned, "Plus, I owe it to you."

She smiled up at him. He was too good to her. She bowed her head as the blush rose to her cheeks and heard him smirked, "After a year and you still blush around me."

"Well, you make me!" She laughed, hearing the timer go off, "Gotta wake the kids up. You want to stay around or want to meet me afterwards?"

"Afterwards, I'll pick Jessica up from school and head over to get you."

"Sounds good to me." She grinned.

Joe had something up her sleeve, and it worried her to be honest, he seemed sneaky around her these past few days over the phone. She watched him walk out the door with a wave goodbye, his long hair sort of fluttering behind him as he did. The rest of the work day was long for her, but she endured it. She was ready to get home to her boyfriend and daughter.

When she got home, she was delighted to see Jessica and Joe playing in the front yard on her newly acquired swing set. Her squeals filled the air as Joe pushed her higher and higher, a little too high for Aria's comforts but she trusted Joe with her. The both of them looked up upon hearing her shut the car door and smiled broadly as they both walked up to her.

"Mommy!" Jessica squealed.

"Hey, baby." Aria smiled, bending down to pick her up. Jessica seemed oddly happy today, and the smile that matched hers belonged to Joe. She knew something was up between the two.

"Mommy, Joejoe is taking us out on a family date. I don't know what it is, but I hope there's pizza there." The little girl grinned, obviously pleased that Joe was including her in something again.

"A family date, hmm?" Aria smiled up at Joe who just shrugged nonchalantly.

"It starts now." Joe smiled, "So I guess you might just need to turn back around and get in the car."

"Joe, I haven't changed!" Arianna protested.

"And? You look beautiful. Get in the car. We're starving." Joe quickly pecked her lips, getting a shrill squeal from the small girl and a devastated 'YUCK!'.

Arianna was against going out in her work clothes, but she had to admit that she definitely didn't look too bad. She let Joe drive, and the sniggers shared between the man and small girl worried her even more. They knew something but she decided to let the two keep their secrets. She'd obviously find out soon enough. They passed all the restaurants and now she was even more confused but when they pulled up into the park, she decided it was obviously a picnic, right?

She finally realized that this was where the two of them took their first walk down by the creek that night at her mothers house, she only realized it once she saw the white picket fence surrounding the tall three story house. She had no idea there was a back way to get to the creek. She was still confused as she watched Jessica skip away from them, submersing the two of them in the twilight era of the day. She felt Joe's muscled arms wrap around her waist from behind and he kissed the nape of her neck softly, breathing in the scent of her, happy to have his woman back in his arms.

"It's been almost a year, Ari." Joe mumbled against her skin "And I've grown to love you more and more every day. I don't know what I would be without you, you know? You're beautiful. And perfect. And all these other things that I can't really put into words right now. But I think maybe, for us as a family, to step up to the next level."

With that, he let go of her. When she turned around, he was down on one knee, holding a small black box in his large palm. He took her hands in his before he continued, "If it wasn't for you and Jessica, I wouldn't have a reason to come home. I wouldn't have anything. You're my everything, hell Ari, there could be sun, there could be stars, there could be air, but I don't want it if I don't have you. Everything you've done for me, what we've done for each other, it means something. We crossed paths again for a reason, Aria. And I love you, so much baby girl. So," He popped the top to reveal a beautiful diamond ring, "Will you marry me?"

She covered her mouth and nodded, she was trembling too hard to form sentences. All she could do was shake her head yes. He smiled and slid the ring on her finger, the crowd from the inside of the house consisting of her mother and sister coming out to clap for them. He stood up and pulled her to him, capturing her lips in a sweet kiss, before once again hearing the shrill 'YUCK!' ring through the air from Jessica's mouth.

The rest of the day was spent with her family. Joe knew it would mean a lot to have them with her on a day like this, so he had made arrangements with them on the way home. It was almost seven before they decided to head back home, Jessica was too tired to even walk to the car from playing with her cousins. The ride was quiet back to their house, other than the soft snores coming from the young girl in her car seat.

Arianna couldn't believe it. It's like she was in a dream. She was engaged to Joe, the man of her dreams, and she couldn't have been anymore happier. It was a start of something new for the two of them, and she was beyond happy to live out this chapter of her life, and hopefully the rest of her life, with her man and her daughter, together and happy.

Arianna put Jessica down as soon as they got into the house and made sure she was good and asleep before walking out, shutting her door behind her as she did. She snuck into her old room that was mainly her clothes now, she had been sleeping in Joe's room lately, and slipped into her silky white night gown before walking to his room to find him digging through his bags. She took in his form, eyeing the toned back of him. He was wearing only grey sweatpants, his hair tried messily at the nape of his neck. She watched the muscles move underneath his bronzed skin before slowly walking over to him and running her hand over the smooth skin, placing a soft kiss just below the base of his neck. He jumped a little but his heart lurched, he hoped she didn't mean that they had to have sex tonight just by proposing.

She noticed his stoic expression and stopped, pulling her hand away from his skin. Her cheeks burned red and her heart pounded. She was disgusted in herself, and maybe Aarons words rang true. Maybe no other man would want his sloppy leftovers.

Her quiet voice whispered, "I'm sorry, Joe…"

"What? Why are you sorry for?" He asked, walking quickly over to where she stood.

"I…shouldn't have done that, I guess." She shrugged, lowering her head to hide her embarrassment but he quickly cupped her jaw and tilted her head back, placing a soft kiss to her lips to show her that wasn't what he meant at all.

"You know, I didn't propose to you just to make you think you had to have sex with me, right?" He mumbled against her lips.

"I know that, Joe." She nodded.

"Good," He whispered before kissing her a little bit harder this time, leaving her breathless as his tongue tentatively swiped over her bottom lip. Her lips parted slightly, allowing him any entrance he desired. He lifted her up to his hips, smiling as he heard the soft gasp leave her lips, and sat down with her in his lap on the edge of the bed.

He left kisses all over the sides of her neck, feeling her nimble fingers work at the hair elastic to free his strands of damp hair and then shove her fingers in the soft black locks. He softly sucked the area around her pulse point, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. She cradled the back of his head, feeling him grow a little harder underneath her straddling hips when she grinded against him. Throaty groans left his mouth at the sweet friction in his pants.

It wasn't like it was the first time they had sex, and she wasn't sure why he made her so nervous. Maybe it was because he was god-like in looks and she was just a plain Jane. His hands skirted up her sides underneath her dress, indulging in the feeling of her skin against his palms. She hadn't realized until that moment how much she needed him, how much she desired him, and it felt like it burned through her entire core everywhere he touched her.

"Aria," Joe mumbled against her neck, "You sure you're okay with this?"

"Yeah," She whispered, "I'm okay."

"I love you," He whispered back, "You know that right?"

"I know," She smiled, "I love you too."

Awh.
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