The Perfect Proposal

Prom, senior year. Mari jokingly complained, “What would it take to get my handsome boyfriend to ask me out to the biggest dance of our high school career?”And Hero had stuttered— “Oh—uh—do you want to—” before Mari laughed and cut him off, asking if he wanted to go with her.And of course Hero had said yes, but he can still remember the way Mari’s hands were twisting in her skirt as she asked, like a part of her was actually nervous about it. Like a part of her actually doubted how absolutely crazy Hero is about her.But why wouldn’t she doubt it? Since they were little kids, it’s always been Mari taking the initiative, Mari making the first move—and Hero likes that about her, he loves how assertive she is, but… He can only imagine how exhausting that must be, having to pick up his slack all the time. Hero is supposed to be the boyfriend, isn’t he? And of course she would feel insecure that Hero doesn’t really want to be with her, if he’s never even showed her how much he wants to be there.---Hero plans to propose to Mari for their tenth anniversary, but can't seem to calm his nerves.