Chapter 90

Maggie's breath whooshes out of her as she is knocked onto her back yet again. She lets out a quiet groan at the dull throb of her spine. Alex's concerned face comes into view when she opens her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Alex asks. "You've been so distracted lately, babe. And this is the third time today I've been able to knock you on your back. This isn't like you."

"I know. Sorry for worrying you." Maggie apologizes. Alex extends her hand and Maggie grasps it, using it to pull herself up. "Thanks. There's just..." She gestures to her own head. "A lot going on up here, you know?"

Alex nods. "Yeah. Do you want to continue training? Or are you done for the day?"

"Let's keep going."

Alex purses her lips, her eyes still soft with concern. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'll try to focus." Maggie promises, giving Alex what she hopes is a reassuring smile.

Alex still doesn't seem completely convinced but nods anyway. Maggie picks up her sword and wipes the dust from the training field from it. Alex had taken advantage of her distraction earlier and hit a pressure point on her arm that caused her to drop her sword and then gotten kneed in the chest. Of course, with this being a training session and with Maggie being Alex's girlfriend, she wasn't hit too hard, but the wind was still knocked out of her and her arm still tingles a little bit.

Their swords clang together and the training picks up a notch when Alex realizes her girlfriend is actually focusing again. Maggie dodges Alex's sometimes brutal attacks. Well, they aren't brutal attacks with her, but with someone Alex is fighting for real... Maggie almost has pity for them. But not really, because the only people Alex fight-fights are bad people.

Maggie grits her teeth as a particularly hard swipe's impact feels like it's reverberating through her bones. Maggie can feel the thin sheet of sweat covering her body as she moves and it makes her stay focused, that and Alex's sword and limbs coming at her.

But the thoughts of what she plans on doing tonight invade her mind and she's distracted again. She hasn't even asked Alex about having dinner tonight. It's mostly set up but-

Maggie's staring at the sky again, a small cloud of dust rising around her from her impact with the ground. She blinks in surprise, feeling the training sword still in her hand.

"Oh shit." Alex curses and kneels down beside her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hit you that hard. I thought you would notice it. Are you okay?"

Maggie sits up, grimacing at the dull but throbbing pain in her spine. "Peachy, Danvers."

Alex helps her up again and takes the training sword from Maggie's hand. Maggie stretches out her arms, grimacing at the twinge it sends down her back.

"Are you sure? I can take you to a DEO doctor, or I can check you out, or Mom." Alex rambles.

"I'm okay, Allie." Maggie says, reaching out to take Alex's free hand. "I'll just be a little sore. It's my fault for being distracted again."

"No, I should have noticed. What's gotten you so distracted, anyway? I mean, you don't have to tell me if you're not ready or if you don't want or..." Alex takes a breath. "And I'm rambling again."

Maggie gives her that dimpled smile she knows Alex loves. "It's cute, Danvers. And, um. Dinner tonight? I promise I'll tell you why then."

"Of course." Alex smiles softly, squeezing Maggie's hand. "Where and when?"

"Seven pm, and it's a surprise." Maggie says, her eyes twinkling.

Alex lets out a good-natured groan. "Mags, you know I hate surprises."

"Well, I promise you're going to love this one."

Alex shakes her head, still smiling. "Fine. But if I don't know where we're going, how do I know what to wear? We could be going somewhere fancy and I'll show up in jeans."

"Babe, you look classy in everything." Maggie says without an ounce of doubt and Alex flushes, ducking her head shyly. "Besides, you can always just ask."

"Just ask?" Alex says and Maggie hums in response, raising an eyebrow at her girlfriend. "Fine. What should I wear?"

"Preferably nothing," Maggie begins and Alex chokes on nothing, her eyes wide. "But really, anything works. Wear what you're comfortable in."

Alex huffs. "That barely narrows it down. And nothing? Really Sawyer?" Alex sounds more amused than anything.

"Hey, I happen to have a gorgeous girlfriend who looks great in clothes and out of them." Maggie shrugs and kisses Alex's nose.

Alex huffs and wraps her arms around her waist. "You're too cute sometimes, Mags."

Maggie just hums and leans in to capture her girlfriend's lips with her own. They sink into the kiss, both dirty and dusty and sweaty, in that training field.

***

Maggie had left their room an hour and a half early in order to find somewhere to change and finish setting up. Her nerves are back, a constant warmth and fluttering in her stomach.

Maggie takes a deep breath and looks around again. It's as perfect as it can be. She just hopes Alex likes it. She nervously fiddles with her sleeve and jumps when she feels a hand on her shoulder.

"She's going to love it." Winn promises and Maggie smiles gratefully at him before turning back to what they've managed to do. "She'll say yes."

Maggie looks back over at him, startled. How did he know what she was thinking? "How do you know?"

"I've known Alex for a while, and I have never, ," he stresses. "Seen her as happy as she is when she's with you. She loves you, Maggie. And I would bet my everything I have on her saying yes."

Maggie smiles softly, letting his words sooth some of her worry. She affectionately ruffles his hair.

"Thanks, Winn."

Winn grumbles as he tries to straighten out his hair again, but is smiling. "Yeah, yeah. Now go get your girl."

Maggie lets out a shuddering breath. "Yeah. Okay. I can do this."

"You can totally do this!" Winn calls out as she walks back inside the castle.

Maggie gives him thumbs up without turning around, knowing the temptation to just sit and stare at the sky until the morning might be too much.

Maggie stops outside Alex and her door, nervously straightening her clothes. She takes a feel breath and knocks on the door, trying to seem more confident than she is.

The door opens just enough for Alex to look through, then pulls it open enough for her to shyly lean on it, giving Maggie a warm smile. Maggie smiles back and notices how Alex is breathing slightly harder than usual. She's nervous too.

Maggie bows to Alex. "Milady, your coach has arrived."

Maggie straightens back up to see Alex's amused grin, some of the anxiousness fading from them both.

"A coach? Fancy." Alex raises an eyebrow at Maggie with a smirk. "Does that mean I should ride you?"

Maggie chokes on nothing and takes a moment to gather her wits. She clears her throat and gives Alex her own smirk. "If that does happen, it'll be later tonight."

Now Alex is blushing. They grin at each other and Maggie feels much more relaxed. She looks at Alex's outfit and bursts out laughing.

Alex looks confused. "What? Is there something on my shirt?" Alex looks down at herself.

"No, babe. Nothing's wrong. Just... Look at our outfits." Maggie says.

Alex looks at Maggie again and laughs delightedly. "We're matching."

Alex has on a plain white scoop neck and a black semi-formal jacket with black pants. Maggie has black pants, a white button up, and her favorite leather jacket (for comfort and confidence).

"We're just meant for each other, Allie." Maggie chuckles and extends had hand. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Alex says as she takes Maggie's hand, closing the door to their room behind her. "Are you finally going to tell me where we're going?"

"Nope. It's a surprise for a reason, Danvers."

Alex sighs but concedes, letting Maggie lead her through the castle. They make a couple turns and Alex tries to figure out where they're going.

"Are we headed to the library?"

Maggie shakes her head. "Nope, that would have turned into a date between you and the books instead of you and me."

Alex groans. "That was one time, Sawyer."

"Three, actually. Lunch dates turn into you satisfying your appetite for reading instead of actually eating food." Maggie says, amused.

Alex sticks her tongue out at Maggie but she's smiling. "Okay. Um, the garden?"

"Ding ding ding! We have a winner. Yeah, we're going to the garden."

"Is it okay for us to be there? It's been closed for the past couple of days." Alex worries.

"The perks of dating the Princess."

Alex gives her a surprised look. "You've been planning this for a couple of days? You only asked me to dinner this afternoon! What if I had said no?"

"I would have pouted."

Alex sighs. "I am a sucker for pouts."

Next chapter, this continues! I don't think I've explicitly said what she's going to be asking? But a lot of you have gotten it already... ;) For those of you that haven't (unless I did mention what it is and completely forgot about it), you'll find out next chapter! Thank you all for reading and for your amazing comments! Stay awesome!