May 4th, For Izzy

[sayshazam]

Billy clutched nervously at the bouquet of flowers in his hands, shifting from one foot to the other. This seemed like a totally good idea when he was planning it but now he worried if it was too cheesy, too over the top romantic or something just for a one year anniversary for dating. You'd think after all this time Billy would be more sure about the sort of stuff that Izzy liked but nope, a part of his brain wouldn't stop worrying that he was screwing up. At least he didn't freak out anymore that Izzy was going to leave him or actually be upset. At worst she'd probably be amused and tell him it was a sweet effort.

But still, he really wanted her to like his plan. He'd put a lot of work into it but it was worth it. When you loved someone it was worth doing extra work just to make them happy. Billy had even talked to Izzy's boss to let Izzy have the day off without Izzy knowing so that he could surprise her at work that morning. Which is why he was here, in the fancy store, wearing jeans and a t-shirt holding a bunch of orchids (why couldn't she likes carnations, they lasted longer, smelled better, and were way cheaper) while waiting for his girlfriend to show up at work so he could surprise her.

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[sayshazam]

The way she smiled at him made Billy's stomach do flip flops but before he could do anything about it she was handing him clothes and pushing him back into the dressing room. For a second he thought maybe she was going to join him and tried not to be too sad when she didn't.

Instead he just started taking the suit off, careful not to wrinkle it or anything and started to put on the new clothes. The new shirt was easy enough but the pants were a bit of a struggle. They weren't so tight they hurt or anything, just snug in the areas that Izzy liked his pants to be snug. He threw on the jacket and then stepped out of the dressing room.

"What do you thi-"

He didn't get a chance to finish what he was saying though because once he saw Izzy he couldn't form words. He made a noise though, once that Izzy was pretty familiar with. It was the "Billy's mind is broken" noise. He made it the first time he saw her naked (and every time after that first time too) or when she touched him in certain ways or even just sometimes when she smiled at him or said "I love you".

This outfit definitely broke his brain though. The white contrasted perfectly with her skin and hair and it revealed... okay it showed off her totally amazing breasts really well. He kind of didn't know where to look though because you couldn't just ignore her hips. And he couldn't help but look at her lips or eyes too so... brain broken.

"Uhh.... wow."

[seveninches]

He looks good in those, too, Isabelle decides. Definitely a better fit for a night out, and she's already made up her mind that they're buying them. Billy, for his part, seems suddenly much more interested in what Isabelle's wearing than the clothes he has on himself. She plays it up a little, leaning against the opposite wall and cocking a hip out, giving him a slow smile.

"No good, right?" she teases, making a show of shaking her head. "You're right, forget it, it's terrible. I'll just get changed again."

She turns, makes to go back in the dressing room. She still doesn't know where he's planning on taking her exactly, so it could be that this dress is a little bit much for it. It shows off a little skin, but that's never bothered Isabelle before. She'll make it work, it just might mean buying a nice jacket or a scarf to go with it, and she's hardly opposed to more shopping.

[sayshazam]

When she cocked her hip like that Billy almost whimpered a little. It was really, really not fair for her to have curves like that. She looked to... sensual? Yeah, sensual was definitely the right word.

When she acted like the dress wasn't any good, and she totally had to know what that it was good, he didn't say anything at first because he wanted to see what it looked like from behind. And it looked amazing. He wasn't surprised at all though, because Izzy had the best ass in any world ever.

"No no!" he said, stepping forward and putting a hand on her hip to stop her, biting his lip to keep from pressing that much closer to her. They could do that later. "It's- please get that dress!"

[seveninches]

She almost thinks he's going to let her go and her fun be ruined, but then his hand lands on her hip and she turns, a teasing smile on her face.

"Really, you think so?" she asks, feigning innocence. She's already had the sales girl ring the dress up, she'd just wanted to test out the reaction. It was definitely worth it. Now that she's chosen her own outfit though, she turns back to the clothes she's put Billy in, sizing him up.

"How do you feel?" she asks, giving him a once over. He looks good, better than, but she doesn't want to force him to go out in an outfit he's not comfortable with. Isabelle learned a long time ago that confidence is key, and that she always looks her best when she feels her best. It might be fun to dress Billy up some more, but she's happy with what she's picked out and she doesn't want him to feel self conscious at all, that would ruin the whole thing.

[sayshazam]

"Uhhh, like I can't decide if I want you to wear that dress all the time or to rip it off of you?" he said, completely misunderstanding the question. It was hard to think of anything else though when how he felt was "super turned on". He was still just sort of staring at her with a look of worship on his face when he finally understood what she was talking about.

"Oh! Uh, better than I thought I would? I mean, it's not as comfortable as my hoodie but I kinda like the jacket? I'd probably wear the jeans pretty often too. I, uh, I don't mind how tight they are as much as I used to and I like how you act when I wear them," Billy said. He figured that if he admitted how much he liked when she did that she might do it more. "Do you want to pick out another one just for me to try on? One that you really like but know I probably wouldn't like wearing?"

[seveninches]

She grins when he misunderstands, doing a little twirl for him in the dress, just because. Both of those options are acceptable to her, but only one is going to be suitable in this shop. Isabelle doesn't intend on being banned for life, so she settles for giving Billy a chaste kiss.

"I definitely like them," she assures him, nodding. She doesn't think she can be blamed for that, really. For a moment, she considers whether she wants to dress him in anything else, but she's not sure that she does. Dressing him in something he wouldn't normally wear might be a bit of fun, but she gets more enjoyment out of seeing Billy happy.

She smooths her hands down her dress, giving him a bright smile. "I think we look pretty perfect as we are, don't you?" They certainly look good enough to turn heads in the street on the way to dinner.

[sayshazam]

"I always think you look perfect," Billy said, smiling back at her. It maybe sounded like flattery when he said stuff like that but he always meant it, was always completely genuine about it. She totally looked better sometimes than others- like right now she looked way, way better than she did in her work clothes. But to Billy she always looked perfect. It was hard to explain so he just figure it was one of those "I love you" things. He liked it.

"But yeah, I like these outfits. Can they just scan the tags for this without me having to change and then we can go to dinner?"

[seveninches]

From anyone else she might think it sounds like a line, but with Billy Isabelle always knows he's genuine. She's happy that they're in a place now where Billy doesn't question what she's doing with him anymore or anything like that, but she does like that she still has the ability to make him do a double-take.

"I think so," she agrees, taking his hand to lead him towards the counter. Isabelle knows for a fact that if this were her workplace, she'd be more than happy to scan clothes already on a person if it meant a sale. It's not that Isabelle is particularly concerned with the money, but she likes her job and she likes Kate, so she doesn't want to give her any reason to doubt her.

Just to help their case, Isabelle flashes the girl a bright, friendly smile as they approach, and politely asks if they can wear the clothes out of the store rather than getting changed.

"Where are we going to dinner?" she asks Billy while she fishes her purse out of her bag.

[sayshazam]

Billy felt the butterflies in his stomach flutter when she took his hand (every time that happened, it was probably ridiculous) and he gave it a little squeeze. It was kinda hard to believe that it was a year already. Izzy was such a part of his life, such an important part of his life that it seemed like longer. In a good way, though.

When the girl at the counter said it was fine if they wore the clothes out of the store Billy was relieved that they wouldn't have to find someplace else to chance. He also grabbed his wallet and pulled out his credit card before Izzy could get her money out. This was his treat tonight and he would cry about how expensive it was later.

"And we're going to a nice restaurant near here... but we're going someplace else first. Just a quick stop though, I promise."

[seveninches]

Billy moves to grab his wallet before Isabelle can pay for anything, and she lets him, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. She's more than happy to pay her own way, but she knows that part of this is Billy wanting to spoil her, and she's happy enough to let him.

She does borrow a bag from the girl at the counter so that she can fold up and put away their old clothes, and then she links her arm back through Billy's, the bag and her flowers in the other. He's already taken her shopping and is promising a nice restaurant, so Izzy isn't sure what else he could possibly have in mind.

"What's the stop?" she asks as they head out of the clothes store, grinning a little in anticipation. Generally speaking, Izzy isn't a huge fan of surprises, but Billy has so far managed to surprise her in all kinds of ways that she's enjoying. "What else could you possibly have up your sleeve?"

[sayshazam]

"It's a surprise, you'll have to see if you can figure out when we're there," Billy said, grinning as he fought back the urge to let her in on the secret right then. It would be more fun if she could work it out on her own since it wasn't anything special to anyone except them. Walking arm in arm he thought he did pretty good not glancing over at Izzy's outfit too much. Mostly just when he turned to talk to her his eyes... wandered and lingered. But only a bit.

It didn't take them long to get where he wanted to go. It was where they had first met, when the sight of her distracted Billy from his parkour and he totally fell off a fire escape. Izzy had been nice enough not to be too amused by the fact that her appearance had literally made him fall. He was pretty sure she would recognize the place.

[seveninches]

They don't have to walk for very long, and as they get closer it starts to click in Izzy's mind exactly where he's taking her. She spots the patch of grass in the park she remembers laying on, remembers the throbbing ache in her head and the confusion of turning up in this place. It feels like an entire lifetime ago, but she smiles when she thinks about it.

When she spots the fire escape, Isabelle gives out a small laugh, nudging Billy in the side. "Are you going to fall off another fire escape for me?" she teases, looking at him fondly. She hadn't expected him to bring her here, and she knows that to anyone else it would be a completely inconspicuous patch of grass. She remembers that day as vividly as ever, remembers how adorable she'd thought he looked after she was done pointing her knife at him.

They've come a long way, but Isabelle's never really stopped to consider it until now. She moves in front of him, stopping him walking with a hand on his chest so that she can lean in and kiss him, slow and proper. They're in public but she couldn't give a damn. "I love you," she says when she pulls back. "Even though you're terrible at parkour. Maybe because of that, actually."

[sayshazam]

Billy watched Izzy realize where they're going. She looked over at the grass and the fire escape and he knew that she remembered it too. It didn't surprise him, not really, because Izzy remembered that kind of stuff. Even though Billy had been with someone else at the time it was impossible not to remember Izzy. She was unforgettable.

"I'm pretty sure I never stopped falling for you," Billy told her with a grin. It was a totally cheesy like but he thought he should get some credit for the fact that he came up with it right on the spot. But then she was kissing him, slow and deep and he didn't care about anything else in the world. His entire world was Isabelle Lightwood and how she was kissing him, how her lips felt against his. It felt like little electric sparks moved through him when he wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her close, only pulling back and starting to walk to the restaurant again when he realized if he didn't stop kissing her then they'd never make it to the restaurant.

"I love you too. Even if you're better at me than parkour. Definitely because of that actually. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. No friends or family or magic could make me feel better than being with you does. I just wanted to say.... hold on," Billy told her. One of his shoelaces had come untied, probably because he thought he'd be taking his shoes off constantly and trying on lots of outfits so he didn't really tie them tight. Stopping, Billy got down on one knee so that he could get it tied and wouldn't fall on his face while walking.

[seveninches]

It's totally a line, but she laughs at it anyway. Billy has a way of saying completely cheesy things and still sounding entirely genuine, which she doesn't think she's ever heard anybody else be able to pull off. Isabelle moves into his arms easily when he tugs her closer, sliding a hand up his chest as he kisses her back. It would be easy to just stay here like this for the rest of the night, but eventually he pulls back and keeps walking, and Isabelle follows, trying not to be too put out.

She's definitely better at parkour than him, but she thinks that's what comes with a lifetime of training, so she can't really hold it against him. He's being ridiculously sweet and Isabelle doesn't really know what to do with all of the things he's saying, but then he gets down on one knee and she feels her stomach twist into knots. Oh, no. She loves him, really she does, and Alec is getting married so maybe there's just too much wedding in the air, but this is not how she wanted this night to go. Isabelle doesn't even know if she ever wants to get married at all, and it's going to make things really awkward in a moment.

"Billy, no," she says firmly, shaking her head and reaching out to try and pull him back up. "I love you, I do, but this is not--" She's not sure how she's supposed to say I don't want to marry you without sounding horrible, so she trails off instead, the look on her face about as panicked as Isabelle ever gets.

[sayshazam]

Billy's head was suddenly spinning. It wasn't like he hadn't said any of that stuff to her before. Maybe not all at once or in a setting like this but she knew how much she meant to him, right? And he totally got that he probably wasn't doing this "love" thing right. Isabelle had other people that she also loved. She had family an close friends that she loved and Billy didn't.

Izzy was the first and only person Billy could ever remember loving so she kind of got the brunt of his affection. So he knew sometimes he probably said stuff that she couldn't say back, like how he loved her more than anyone else. Billy never expected her to say stuff like that but he didn't think she had a problem with her saying that or just him rambling on about his feelings for her.

He was pretty sure he was going to throw up though, hearing her say those words. "Billy no." "I love you, but..." For a moment he felt dizzy and thought he was going to pass out. He tried to stand up but his body just wouldn't move.

"Izzy... Izzy what are you saying?"

[seveninches]

His face falls and he looks for a moment like he's been crushed underneath one of her heels. All of a sudden she feels like the worst person in the world, but this really isn't how she expected this to go. There are probably a thousand better ways to handle it, plenty of girls who would be over the moon if this happened on their anniversary, but Isabelle isn't one of them.

"Just--" she makes an impatient gesture for him to stand up, desperate for him to get off his knee. At least then she can look him in the eye while she tries to explain. "I'm not exactly wife material, Billy," she says after a moment, frowning. She's a Shadowhunter and that's always going to come first. She thinks he understands that, even, so maybe that's not an obstacle the same way she sees it. Or maybe she's got this completely wrong, but now that she's started she feels like she has to see it through to make sure they're on the same page.

"This is all really sweet and I'm sure if I was anybody else this would be perfect, but it's just not me." Not now, anyway. She doesn't want to say she's ruling it out for all eternity, but it's not something she ever really saw on the cards.

[sayshazam]

It was almost hard to hear her through the ringing in his ears. He didn't even know it was possible to have your ears ring like that without being punched in the head or something. The was emotionally the same as being punched in the head though. Billy would rather Izzy had punch him in the head.

What did she even mean about wife material? Billy definitely couldn't ever see him wanting anyone else than Izzy, it wasn't like he was in this just for a temporary thing, but he'd never said anything about it. He figured it was implied that he wanted to be with her. Where had she gotten all this marriage talk from? She was definitely spending way, way too much time with Alec and Magnus and all their talking about weddings. It wasn't like he was going to get down on one knee anytime soon and-

Oh. Oh.

"Izzy, I'm just tying my shoe!" he said, gesturing down at the shoe that he was kneeling down to tie, showing her the laces were undone. "I'm not proposing! Holy crap, I'm only 18! I'm just trying to not fall on my face!"

[seveninches]

"Oh, thank the Angel," she breathes out, half laughing in relief. The last thing she wanted was to ruin the night they've been having by making things awful. She looks at his undone shoelace, and she'd feel a little embarrassed if not for the fact that Isabelle refuses to be embarrassed about anything.

This will be something that Alec teases her about mercilessly if she tells him. She's pretty sure that once Billy gets over the shock of it he's probably going to make fun of her too, but she doesn't mind that much. She lets him tie his shoelace, and then she tugs him back to his feet again.

"Okay, good," she says, kissing him quickly again. "Not falling on your face is good too, but maybe give a girl a warning before you get down on one knee." She raises an eyebrow at him, a bemused smile on her lips. "On one knee on our anniversary, where we first met." She's pretty sure she's not the only one who would have jumped to that kind of conclusion, given when and where they are.

[sayshazam]

"No way, you totally freaked out and it was amazing. I'm going to start proposing all the time now. If you're going to completely reject my not-proposal I'm going to make sure I get a lot of fun out of this," Billy said, grinning at her. He figured that the best way he could deal with the whole thing to treat it like it was hilarious. It was hilarious, no doubt about it, but some of the stuff she had said bothered him a little. Yeah, it would have been stupid for them to get engaged right now but it still sucked to hear she didn't want to. Feelings totally didn't have to make sense.

"Also, we definitely need to revisit 'not wife material' at some point. But it doesn't have to be right now."