#So the desserts on offer in a restaurant have to truly tickle my fancy

[forestlion]

person who orders another appetizer/starter for dessert

[broken-stardust]

The Sweetest Thing

Summary: Spencer plans on proposing to Reader, but the night has something else in store for the two of them.

Category: Spencer!POV x Male!Reader Fluff!

A/n: I had this idea suddenly and I thought it would be so cute so I just had to get it out there

Word count: 1.9k

It's not every day that you get to wake up next to the love of your life, seeing their hair fall into their face as they snore softly, smiling to yourself and thinking about how you're the luckiest man in the world. But, if you play your cards right, it can be the rest of your days. That's what I was planning on making happen tonight. You only get to propose once in your life - if you're not David Rossi - and I was going to make this one count. I was going to make it something so special, it would be a story to tell our grandchildren.

I'd bought the perfect ring with JJ's help, and we were set to go to the fanciest new restaurant that had just opened. I'd made the reservation six months in advance. Tonight would be perfect. We'd have our dinner, and when the waiter asked if we wanted dessert, I'd say "No, thank you. I already have the sweetest thing right in front of me" and get down on one knee. Y/N was a sucker for clichés, so I was sure he'd love it. 

It was almost time to go, so I took one last look in the bathroom mirror to fix my hair and my tie. I shook my nerves out and smiled. Everything was going to be perfect.

I quickly shuffled over to my sock drawer before my boyfriend could see what I was doing, hoping to slip the ring into my pocket clandestinely. Except there was one problem. The ring was missing.

My breath caught in my throat as I struggled to comprehend the reality before me. How could the ring have gone missing? Did I misplace it? I couldn't have. I had an eidetic memory. I knew where I put it. My head spun with improbabilities and possible outcomes for the coming night. As I caught my breath, I resolved to call the only person who could rationally get me through this: JJ. I dialed her number, and after two and a half rings that felt like two and a half eternities, she finally picked up.

"Hey Spen-" I didn't even let her finish her greeting before telling her what was wrong. "The ring is missing," I whisper-yelled into the phone. "What?" I could practically hear her jaw on the floor.

"The ring is missing," I repeated in a panicked frenzy. "I went to get it from my sock drawer, and it wasn't there. How am I supposed to propose with no ring?" I was pacing around the room and running my hand through my hair every two seconds. I was sure that it was a mess by now.

"Are you sure you didn't put it somewhere else?" JJ asked. I glared as if she could see me, but she still somehow got the message. "Right, sorry," she apologized. 

"What do I do, JJ?" I pleaded.

She took a second to think before replying. "Just act like it's a regular date. Y/N doesn't have any reason to believe otherwise, so just pretend you wanted to spoil him tonight. Tomorrow when he's at work, I'll come over and help you look for it, okay?" I let out a sigh and nodded before remembering that she couldn't see me. "Okay," I replied.

There was a knock on the door and I jumped in surprise. "Darling?" I heard Y/N call. "Are you almost ready? Our reservation is at seven so we have to get going."

"I'll be right out, Love!" I called back. Then I turned back to my phone. "I have to go. Thanks for your help, JJ." I hung up without giving her a chance to respond and rushed to fix my hair. I stared at myself in the mirror, trying to calm my racing heart.

It's fine, I told myself. Everything is fine. It probably just fell behind the dresser. There is nothing to worry out. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. I smoothed my shirt down before exiting the bedroom and meeting Y/N in the living room. I grinned bigger than I thought possible when I saw him.

In front of me stood the gorgeous man that I had fallen in love with. It wasn't even his physical features that made him beautiful to me. No, it was more than that. It was that smile that he was wearing now, the same one that he wore every time I tickled him until we were both out of breath. It was those mesmerizing eyes that glistened when he cried during a movie that made him too emotional. It was the soul behind the body that I was in love with.

"Are you alright, Dear?" he asked me. I cleared my throat and nodded, trying to avoid any further questions. I didn't want him to know that I had lost his engagement ring. "Alright... You just look a bit upset."

"I'm fine," I assured him, taking his arm and leading him to the door. "Let's get going. We don't want to be late."

The ride to the restaurant was quiet, but not in an uncomfortable way. I drove with one hand resting on Y/N's knee. He had put on his favorite radio station, and he was humming along quietly to the songs as they came on. It was moments like these that I loved the most. Moments where we could do nothing together and still enjoy each other's company. But all too soon, the moment was over, and we arrived at our destination. I gave up my car to the valet, and my beautiful boyfriend and I made our way into the overpriced establishment.

"This place is nice," Y/N commented once we were settled at our table. He took a look at the menu while I just stared at him like a lovesick puppy. The dim lighting cast shade in just the right direction to accentuate his sharp features. The quiet music in the background was just the perfect noise to accompany the beautiful sight before me. Eventually, he looked up and started to laugh at my expression. "What is it?" he giggled.

"Do you remember our first date?" I asked dreamily. Of course, it would have been difficult to forget, being the disaster that it was. He laughed incredulously at my question.

"How could I forget?" His smile stretched so wide as he laughed, I wondered how his face hadn't ripped open. "You scared all those poor people by walking into that museum with your gun!"

My face turn red at the memory. It was true. I had messed up pretty bad, but if I hadn't, maybe we wouldn't have still been together now.

"I didn't mean to," I defended myself. "We had just gotten back from a case and I was not canceling on you for a second time." I looked down at the table and bit the inside of my cheek as I added "I just got a little too excited to see you, I guess."

"So excited that you ran into a museum with a gun holstered to your belt," Y/N scoffed. He let his head fall back as he laughed, and my heart fluttered at the sight. I felt heat begin to rise over my face, and he reached over and put a hand to my cheek, slowly rubbing his thumb over it. "It's okay, though," he whispered, leaning in. "Because that was the moment I knew that I'd fall in love with you."

I was so smitten that I could die right then and there. How had I ever gotten so lucky to meet a man such as Y/N? He was truly the love of my life. I couldn't wait to propose to him. I was just disappointed that tonight wouldn't be the night.

We enjoyed our dinner together, sharing laughs over old stories long forgotten. At least, they were long forgotten by Y/N. I, of course, could never forget, and there were no better times to be grateful for my eidetic memory than when I was reliving my favorite memories with him. He recounted the days of his puppy Winston, and all the trouble that they'd get into together, and I mused about all the books that I planned on reading to him. It really was the perfect date.

I hadn't even realized we had finished our dinner until our waiter came by. Truthfully, I was disappointed. I knew that Y/N and I would be heading home together and that we'd get to be able to continue our conversation, but something about this just felt different. I never wanted the moment to end.

"May I offer you gentlemen any dessert?"

That was the phrase that caught my attention. Well, not so much the phrase, but what came right after. Y/N's eyes glistened with an emotion I couldn't quite name, and he started speaking before I had a chance to say anything.

"No, thank you. I already have the sweetest thing right in front of me."

My heart stopped dead in its tracks. I looked into the eyes of the man who sat before me. No, he stood before me. He stood up in front of the whole restaurant and raised his glass. I knew what he was doing. I was supposed to be doing this. What was going on?

"Spencer Walter Reid," Y/N started, winking at me as he saw the confusion cloud my face. "From the moment I met you, I knew that you were special. It wasn't your fancy memory or your three PHDs, either. You saw me like no one else had seen me before, and you showed me what love is. You showed me what it's like to look forward to going home because the love of your life is waiting for you there. You-" His voice cracked as tears slid down his cheeks. "You are my soulmate. I know you don't believe in that, but I do. And that's why I want to ask you..."

Y/N dropped to one knee as he pulled a small box out of his pocket. Opening it up, he finally popped the question.

"Spencer, would you do me the absolute honor of being my husband?"

Through joyous tears, I could barely make sense of anything. All I felt was pure love and ecstasy at that moment. And then I saw the ring, and things started to make sense.

"Is that my ring?"

Y/N let out the biggest, happiest laugh is ever heard come from his mouth. People were now staring at us, but I didn't care. I was too happy. But first I wanted answers.

"It is if you say yes," he answered with a devilish grin plastered to that gorgeous face of his.

I let out a laugh of my own this time, allowing the relief of knowing I didn't lose the ring wash over me. Even when he was being such a child, Y/N had this effect on me.

"I can't believe you did that," I sigh, taking his hand and pulling him up to his feet. I wrapped my arms around his neck as I continued to speak. "I was absolutely terrified that I lost it. I wanted to propose to you tonight."

In typical Y/N fashion, he ignored all of the worrisome bits and went straight to the point. "Is that a yes?" he asked.

"Yes, it's a yes," I laughed as I leaned in for a kiss. He placed the ring on my finger and pulled me in for a hug. "Never do something like that again," I giggled in his ear.

"You know you love me," he quipped back.

"You're right," I hummed, placing another kiss on my fiancé's lips. "I do."

[styleandthensome]

I go to France every year because my dad lives there. This is great, because I am guaranteed a visit filled with good wine, even better food and stunning coastline every year. But it tends to mean I miss out on exploring the rest of our continental neighbour. France is lovely and enormous, and for someone who goes every year, I’ve seen very little of my native country

This year was time for a change. And so, to Bordeaux. And I can tell you exactly why… Cite du Vin. Yes that’s right… Wine City folks. A city, of wine.

Cite du Vin opened a couple of years ago. It was dubbed a wine theme park at the time and I imagined slides you could ride and tumble into a ball pit where all the balls looked like big purple grapes, and I thought it might have a wine bottle-shaped mini train that took you from St Emillion land to Medoc land while you supped on merlot. I can tell you it has none of these things but it’s one of the best museums I have ever experienced and if I didn’t have a hundred other reasons why I’d recommend a trip to Bordeaux, I think this would warrant a day trip regardless.

Wine cities aside, Bordeaux is really worth a long weekend… and longer if you have time.

Here’s why…

Wine

Bordeaux region is famous for its wine, but it’s not until you get there and take a trip out to the vineyards that you learn just how complex and intricate it is. We went with Winerist on an afternoon to explore St Emillion; it took in the ancient village as well as two beautiful chateaux, and of course, lots of wine tasting. The two vineyards we explored, Chateau Fombrauge and Chateau Siaruac, both had marvellously eccentric owners. The latter is related to the famous Rothschild family. The vines are two minutes drive from Chateau Petrus vineyard and bottles go for upwards of £10,000. Tours of both revealed the complexity of classifying wines and the myriad methods used to cultivate the grapes; the age of a vine to where it is in proximity to tree roots will affect the taste. It’s fascinating stuff.

And away from the vineyards, there are many many wine bars to appreciate the fruits of these fields. We liked:

Rue Saint Remi, Rue Parlement St Catherine and Rue Parlement St Pierre are worth wandering down – these streets, the squares in between and the surrounding winding roads are buzzing in the evening. The Bordelais spill out onto the street with glasses in hand. Have a drink at the small and quirky Contesse cocktail bar

A bit futher south and you’ll find the relaxed Place Fernand Lafargue and the Apollo bar (friendly bar staff, truly convivial crowd and watch out for the live music events) while round the corner down Rue Saint James you’ll find the cavernous wine bar, Wine More Time

And of course, Cite du Vin. Your entry includes a free glass of wine on the eighth floor wine bar, which has stunning views over the city.

Food

Most cafes will offer a ‘formule petit dejeuner’ that includes fresh orange juice, strong coffee and a croissant, which is plentiful and much cheaper than a buffet breakfast at the majority of hotels. Books and Coffee on Rue St James served its formule with a side pot of homemade apple compote  along with coffee that was thick and flavoursome. Another great breakfast spot is L’Ombriere in Place du Parlement – the square is bathed in sunshine during the morning. In fact many of the old squares are great spots for a leisurely petit dejeuner.

In Books and Coffee we picked up a delicate financier to share later as an afternoon snack, and would recommend doing that whenever you see something in a window that tickles your fancy… you’ll find endless chocolatiers with gloriously tempting windows and you must try the famous Bordeaux canele.

You can’t go wrong for lunch and dinner in Bordeaux. Honestly we didn’t have a bad meal. But in particular, we liked:

Plume (Rue Cheverus) is the essence of relaxed French style. 40 euros bought us a beautiful warm chicken and coconut salad, fresh pasta with pulled beef, two fresh ginger and apple juices plus two coffees. We resisted the homemade cakes… although for the life of me I can’t remember why.

The sun was out in force when we visited Cite du Vin so we had lunch on the terrace. For a museum we didn’t have high expectations but this was Bordeaux – the cheese and meats platter was incredible, as was the fresh salad with smoked salmon and asparagus spears.

We reserved dinner on the first evening at La Tupina (Rue Porte de la Monnaie). It was widely recommended before we travelled, particularly for its traditional Bordeaux fare. It was expensive, but the lamb shoulder with cassoulet was so full of flavour and the tender duck with seasonal veg and hand cut chips were cooked to perfection, so it was worth it. Portions were enormous and unless you’re really swayed by the dessert, they do give you little caneles to enjoy at the end of the meal.

Our hotel, Mama Shelter, is a great spot for dinner and has some interesting dishes. We shared a whole globe artichoke, lentil salad and a plate of confit tomatoes with burratta.

Saturday night needs booking if you want somewhere particular – Bordeaux gets busy. We had hoped to get into La Brasserie Bordelaise on Rue St Remi, but with an hour wait, we ended up in Le Bistrota few doors down – the food was fresh, modern and tasty.

Just like Londoners, it seems the Bordelais like queuing for good food. We spied enormous queues for Entrecote, which is said to have the best steak in Bordeaux, and for Guy & Sons, which admittedly was serving free burgers as part of its launch weekend, but seriously, the queue was at least 100–people deep and after seeing its menu of burgers with fillings like blue cheese with balsamic figs or porcini mushrooms with melted comte… I can imagine there’ll be queues whether the burgers are free or not!

And if you want posh nosh Place de la Comedie is where you’ll find upmarket restaurants like Le Pressoir d’Argent and Le Chapon Fin

Shopping

Given the sumptuous wine and food on offer in this city, Bordeaux is actually a shopping haven too. There are so many affordable and original boutiques that line the streets of the old town, you can pick up some really beautiful pieces – we particularly loved the bags, jewellery, kitchen items and local produce on offer. For designer junkies, you’ll find the usual luxury boutiques lining Cour de l’Intendence, while Galaries Lafayette is perfect for mainstream and unique French brands (the underwear section is stunning… they simply do lingerie better in France).

Essential tips for Bordeaux…

When you arrive at the airport, head to the information desk and ask for a city map – they don’t display them but they have a stash, trust me

Take the bus into town – it’s 1.50 euro (compared with a 30-40 euro taxi) and only takes about 45 minutes to get you to the centre

We stayed at Mama Shelter, which was really reasonably priced design hotel with a roof terrace, ping pong tables in the basement, super hero masks for you to play with in the rooms, and live music and DJs in the evenings. It’s centrally located with good access to the old district and buses

Take the tram to Cite du Vin but walk back to the town centre along the river – especially if it’s sunny. The riverbank has been recently renovated and the majority of the shops (some discounted outlets), bars and restaurants are now open

When you stumble on a mini supermarket (look out for Carrefour Cite or if you stay at Mama Shelter there’s a handy Monoprix opposite) go in and stock up! We found it impossible to find somewhere that sold a decent cheap bottle of water and an apple

A lot of Bordeaux is a UNESCO world heritage site. I have to admit, we didn’t have time for much art and historical culture but did do our fair share of exploring the old streets and the cathedral

If I went back to Bordeaux, I would take the hour-trip to the spectacular-looking sand dunes at Arcachon and treat myself to some local oysters. This can be done in a day or an afternoon in summertime

http://www.bordeaux-tourism.co.uk/Discover-Bordeaux/Must-See/Bordeaux-a-World-Heritage-Site

Three reasons to book a weekend in Bordeaux I go to France every year because my dad lives there. This is great, because I am guaranteed a visit filled with good wine, even better food and stunning coastline every year.