padlocked-tongue:
Alistair closed his eyes as she consoled him. If only she knew how much he would be willing to sacrifice for her. All she ever needed to do was ask. He felt the bed shift and reopened his eyes, only to find her warm hand cupping his face. Had her palm always felt so soft? He allowed himself a degree of freedom and leaned his head into her hand, an almost dreamy smile on his face.
Her touch alone could ruin a man.
“You’ll never lose me, Ginevra. Never again. Not like that.” He whispered, daring to turn his face and press a soft kiss against her fingertips. “I’ll always be here as long as you still want me. I’ll read you stories and wander the forests alongside you. I’ll rub your back and tell you jokes. I’ll–” He cut himself off, realizing he must’ve sounded like some starstruck fool. He leaned away from her and reached back towards the night stand for the forgotten sandwiches, which he presented to her now with a beaming smile. “I’ll make you the world’s best tea sandwiches at any time! Day or night!”
Listening to the other it was hard for Ginevra not to smile, everything he said had always reassured her, made her feel wanted but she had to wonder, did ever think about the kiss as often as she? Because just his promise of the things he’d do for her - it was enough for her to lean over and kiss him but she didn’t and because she didn’t her heart ached for it. Instead, her eyes just concentrated on his lips instead of just dreaming that maybe one day she’d be able to kiss him. It was when he pulled away from that her smile dimmed and she sat up, turning towards him when he brought over the sandwiches. “Guess it’s really been five minutes then.” She joked as she got a piece of sandwich and took a bite - making sure not to get anything on the bed. “You do know how to make amazing sandwiches.” Ginevra flashed a smile up at him before looking back down at the sandwich in her hands then looked over to the books piled in the far corner and could only laugh at the previous things he promised her. She truly tried her hardest to not get her hopes up - to not read too far into things. To not just assume something and make a total ass of herself if she ever did act before thinking. “You have no idea how fortunate I feel to have bumped into you the first night we meet. To still have you in my life even after years of not. I’d do anything for you just as well.” She said looking back over at the other but just as before, her eyes feel his lips and she could only bite her lip just to contain herself. “I’ll never not want you part of my life, even when you get tired of me….” She cleared her throat and adjusted her legs to sit criss cross but still kept the blanket over her lap. “Do you promise to read me stories?”
“Well, it does help that Cilla and Alyssa only asked me to make dinner every other night. Turns out I’m horrible with a stove, though, so I mastered the art of the sandwich at a very young age.” Alistair let out a bit of an anxious laugh as he rubbed the back of his head, purposefully keeping himself from eating one of the sandwiches. He was too busy chastising himself. It would be just his luck that he’d forgotten to turn the tray at the right angle for her to see the note sticking out from underneath the lettuce. God, what if she accidentally took a bite of it? That truly would be the end of his life. He’d already spent all day making sure to have picked up all the notes he’d balled up and thrown across his room while desperately searching for the perfect wording. When he hit 3 in the morning, everything he came up with felt like wordy trash, so he simply wrote,
‘Would you join me at the ball?’
Alistair had been avoiding most public appearances since he came home, particularly high activity ones like the festivals. The last thing he wanted to do was get in the way with his cane, but he’d be damned if he wouldn’t get to at least try to take the girl of his dreams to one just once. He’d even been practicing.
“I had no idea how lucky I was to have met you that first night. There was no way that I could ever even dream of being so fortunate.” He forced himself to place the sandwiches back on the table to give himself something else to do rather than nervously await her reaction. He settled back onto the bed, his bad leg straightened out to the side. “I promise to read you stories anytime you wish... if you’ll promise me something back.” Unable to contain himself, he glanced down to her sandwich and then back to her eyes, biting his lower lip to keep his expression somewhat normal.


















