log; closed

[bequiet_hescreamed]

When; Sunday, March 20th. Around 4 in the afternoon.
Rating; G
Characters; pharles_at_life and conductyourself
Summary; Presea proposes to Clef, and all manner of fluffy cuteness ensues.
Log;

The buds on the trees were just beginning to open, and new grass was just poking out from beneath the thick, composting cover of leaves on the forest floor.

Spring.

Just barely - winter still lingered in the cool shadows and the wind as it prepared to bring in the dusk. In a mere six months this entire area would be floating in green that would well up luxuriantly from the ground like a thick fog while the canopy overhead replaced the sky with twilight and accented the wildflowers below in natural spotlights. Clef silently led the way to a clearing crowded on all sides by the grey trunks of trees. Although there was no canopy above at this time of year, looking up one could see that the branches overhead did not quite meet in the middle. On a sunnier day, midsummer, a wide shaft of sunlight would filter into the clearing.

Clef said nothing, but stole a glance at his companion in lieu of asking what she thought.

Comments

[pharles-at-life.livejournal.com]

Presea took a few steps forward, into the space. She turned in a slow circle, taking it all in, and as she did, a smile spread across her face. It was perfect. Today was perfect. She was really going to do this.

It was amazing how much life had changed in a year in the City. There were new normals. There were different friends. And there was -- well, no one stayed here forever. But there was no reason not to enjoy what time they had.

"Clef," she said softly. "This is wonderful."

[bequiet_hescreamed]

He couldn't help it - he had to smile at that reaction. It stirred something in him and brought an irresistible sense of warmth bubbling to the surface.

"It can't be very large," he remarked, gesturing with one hand around the clearing. "But if it's only the two of us and Eclat, it won't really need to be.

"There should be room for a forge."

[pharles-at-life.livejournal.com]

She laughed, pleased by his consideration, and knew this was the right moment. Her heart started pounding loudly in her chest. Even though she felt confident about this, she was still a little nervous. This was right for them, she felt, with a surety that had been with her ever since she began to carefully craft the ring (http://pics.livejournal.com/pharles_at_life/pic/0000hc0e) in her pocket. Her hands had been firm, then, when she was making it, her tools steady. She'd worked on it on and off for the better part of the month, setting it down and coming back to check each detail, to make sure that the metal was firm and wouldn't break. This was a forever ring. She wanted it to last that long, even if they didn't have forever. No one was guaranteed it, after all. Not here, not at home. But metal lasted. She thought it made a nice metaphor.

She laughed again, out of pure joy, and then she turned back to Clef. Leaning down on both knees to be at eye level with him, she pressed their foreheads together a moment and took both of his hands in her left one. With her right, she drew the ring from her pocket.

"Clef," she said, "Please be my life-partner. Accept this ring as a token that I would like to be bound to you for the rest of my days."

With that, she placed it in his hands. It was a short speech, one that she had secretly practiced several times in this past week. It had felt like nothing then, like it wouldn't be difficult to say at all. It felt like everything now. The blood was rushing in her ears and she could hardly hear herself speak, she was so focused on the expression on his face. Her nerves were on fire. She held her breath without realizing.

[bequiet_hescreamed]

He was a little surprised when she pulled him to her, but smiled and relished the closeness, breathing in her scent. Even if the City wasn't 'real' as far as their lives back home were concerned, he thought of building this house as a step towards making a life together - no matter how brief that life was.

So, it almost didn't register as anything new when she proposed. Of course - wasn't that the point? To be together for as long as they could. Yet, this was more than that. What she was offering was a bind that crossed time, dimensions, death itself. She was asking to become two halves of the same whole with him.

"Yes," he replied simply, even as a small part of him wondered what people would think. Seven centuries seems like too much to belong to anyone - but it's not, it really isn't. She didn't need to know and love the person he was five-hundred years ago in order for them to be partners now. Most people didn't understand that.

"Please." He smiled a little, gazing right into her warm and gentle brown eyes.

[pharles-at-life.livejournal.com]

She smiled brightly, every inch of her person betraying joy. She slipped the ring onto his hand, secretly pleased at how well it fit. She'd borrowed some of his jewelry to size it, knowing that his delicate hands would be difficult to estimate. It looked like it belonged there on his hand. She guessed that it did now, and that just made her want to smile more.

"I'm so glad!" she said, breathless, and then she hugged him tightly, grinning into his shoulder. "I'm so glad."

She'd run out of eloquent words, but it didn't matter now. It really hadn't mattered before. From his tone, from his face, he would have said yes no matter how much she stumbled over it. But that was love, wasn't it?

And this was definitely love.