A laugh bubbled out of Petra at his joking, eyeing the shelf named ‘Henry’ with a smirk. “Well, Henry can only blame you know. You put me in this position…I can’t help and pulling out his books on a regular basis is part of my job description.” She played back, winking at him when he spoke of them forgiving her. “I’m happy to hear it. Who could hold a grudge against me? I’m so forgivable.”
He must be over tired, that was the explanation for his seeming excitement, it had to be. She gave a soft sigh as she half imagined they’d go out on the balcony and he’d fall asleep, and she was glad she left a blanket there earlier. She’d need it she had no doubt of.
Another kiss, which took her by surprise and pulled a hum out of her, though it was over too quickly, leaving her somewhat confused. It wasn’t that he didn’t kiss her often, it was the fact that she had a feeling that something was going on– especially when he said he didn’t plan. Her gaze leveled on him with more suspicion, apart from things thrown at him from outside sources. Edmund was a planner. It was how he worked. To say otherwise was a laughable idea.
But she said nothing, gathering data subtly now that she was keyed into something going on.
Led onto the balcony, she joined him per his request, turning her body to face him as a hand reached out to stroke through his hair. Whatever was going on, she wanted to help calm him, otherwise it was possible he might not tell her whatever was on his mind. “Yes it is a beautiful day. I was contemplating suggesting a walk before I planned in tucking you into bed.” She replied with a chuckle. “Which, I will inform you, I still intend to do.” Two days without rest insisted upon such a thing.
Looking out on the horizon, she hummed “it’s nice, though I cannot say ‘better’ that was a very nice night as I recall, and despite the concern of my situation I quite enjoyed it.” Turning back toward him, she examined his face… it was only a matter of waiting now.
“I promise that I will try to sleep in a little while.” He replied, knowing that he had no choice but to give in. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could stay awake. Fog weighed down his mind and gravity called down his eyelids. It took so much energy to collect himself, but the plan made itself easily the focus of his thoughts.
She looked beautiful in the light of the sun. The golden rays bounced off her hair and it looked so glossy and smooth. He fought the urge run his hand through it. There would be time for such later, because right now, he needed to focus on the item in his pocket and how much he couldn’t wait spend every moment with her: the good, the bad, and the others.
He grasped her hand gently, intertwining their fingers in a playful way. “I remember, the first time I held your hand, I couldn’t believe how well our fingers fit within each other.” He spoke softly. “It was so different than anyone else I had ever been with, like nothing was wrong. No little details that I had to overlook and convince myself would get better. It simply was better.”
He paused, using his free hand to finally run his fingers through a little bit of her hair as he brushed strains out of her face. “Because you were you.”
Suddenly, he turned back towards the scenery, but didn’t let her hand go. He sat in silence for a few moments, recalling the details of the wee hours of the morning. The fragile state that both of them were in, the stories shared for only the other to ever know. What that dawn brought to him.
“I’ve been wanting to bring you out here for a while now. I kept thinking up ways that wouldn’t make this feel wrong, but kept it as it always is. You and me.” He began. There was no turning back now. Determination took control, waking him up from the fogginess of his mind.
“I keep thinking back to that moment, especially in the light of everything that has happened, and one thing keeps cycling through my mind. In fact, it’s already broke into my conscious, leading me on a daily basis, and convincing every part of me that I never want to go back to how I was before.”
His heart sped up again. He wondered if she could hear it, but didn’t mind that thought at all. She’d know how much this meant to him. How much she meant to him. And somehow, looking back at her again, he didn’t need her words to know that she felt the same way. He knew her. She knew him. Just like fire knew ice, and ice knew fire.
They could’ve torn each other a part, immediately aware of the other’s weakness, but they didn’t. They came together and became stronger.
He adjusted his position to the side of the bench. He balanced carefully, not quite ready to plunge down yet. Soon though. The right timing would come. He turned towards her and kissed the back of her hand.
“I wanted to bring you here because that night was the first and only time I’ve ever opened up about my version of the past. The first time I realized that I didn’t need to keep everything bottled inside, but that there was one other person in this world that understood. That would be there to warm me up when I felt frozen. That person is you Petra, and I never want to be without again.”
He took a breath, in small disbelief that this was happening. That he was going through with it. “Here is where you showed me that I wasn’t alone. And now, I never want to be alone again.”
He pulled a necklace gently out of his pocket. It had a silver chain that connected to a crystal that looked like a small gem of ice. Inside of it was a small fire gem, locked inside the ice gem.
Finally, he knelt upon his knee, still holding a hold of her hand. He took a breath and held out the necklace. “I want you to know that forever, you’ll be the flame that continues defrosts my heart. Even in ice, I will never be cold again with you by my side.”
His face flushed slightly, as the words and emotions came out easier than he had expected. He tripped over it a little, as he realized this wasn’t a ring- not protocol. But it felt much more them. He cleared his throat.
“I know that this isn’t customs, but I saw this the other day at the shop and new I needed this for you. I promise you a ring one day but for now, this is all I have. I didn’t think this part all the way through actually.” He paused, looking up and locking eyes with Petra. A smile tugged at his lips.
“What I’m trying to say in all this rambling is, please take this necklace, not as my girlfriend, but as my future wife. Will you marry me?”