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 Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 2:49 pm
A sigh puffs out of him at her laugh, relieved that he didn't actually upset her. It's a bit foolish of him -- Gee had pointed it out the other night -- but he ain't nivir been so worried about what somebody thought've him. He knows she's fond of him, knows she's happy to have him courting her, but nobody told him he'd be so damnfool worried about saying or doing the wrong thing. Not so's she'd leave him, but just making her unhappy, even for a moment, has become somehow terrifying. Even the mention of Rajani doesn't hurt his mood none, with the relief to bolster him, and Rosa's smile to hold him steady.
"Yeah. Charlie don't follow the family business, though. He's off at boarding school." He seems a bit embarrassed, glancing away at this particular description, and the idea that a Grimm might be ashamed of a family member -- a family that contains a pirate, a pair of matching ruffians, a little girl that dresses like a boy and wants to be a doctor -- is somewhat novel. Perhaps Charlie doesn't approve of the rest of their occupations? "He's a bit .. odd. Druther introduce you to Gee, and Ferdi when he comes. You'll like Ferdi, I'll wager. He's the cheerfullest person I know. Clever, too. Even Jay lissens to him, when he's got something to say."
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Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:04 pm
She can only smile to try and reassure him more. She's not upset, why should she be? Frankly it only makes her that much more excited, that she's important enough to him to be worthy of mention. Though, she would say he's not foolish at all about his worrying. After all, she's been much the same, always concerned about if she's done anything to upset him, especially in light of more recent events. She cares about him far more than she's willing to admit some days, and she can't even bear to imagine what it would be like to suddenly lose him because of something she's done. It is already hard enough knowing that things are strained between him and his brother, because she knows even if he's content to just sit and talk with her right now, it still hurts. But for now, at least for now, she's determined to at least distract him from it.
"Oh..." Well, that certainly was unexpected. She's never seen anything of this reaction when she's talking about his other siblings, and gets the feeling it may be best to leave alone. Perhaps she can bring it up with someone else, though then again, it may not be the best idea. She's closest to the twins, she knows them the best, and they know her, and bringing it up to anyone else might not be met with warm feelings. "You think Ferdi could get Jacob to stop being such a sourpuss?" She grins, trying to bring his spirits back up.
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Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:15 pm
He laughs again at that, leaning back in his chair — and finally seems to realize that they’ve entirely forgotten their dinner. He reaches to retrieve it, offering her the bowl and the spoon, and taking up the dress so that he can get it nicely folded and back with the rest of her things. “Nah, not Ferdi! He makes Jay go serious, all worried-like. He thinks Ferdi ain’t nivir gonna marry, so he worries like an old mama. But I forget, you ain’t nivir seen Jay with Georgie — you want somebody who can make him stop being so sour, wooo-eee! When Georgie were little, he’d come home of a day and he’d sit and play with her on the floor. At tea, with her tin soldiers, talkin’ to her dolls .. you ain’t nivir seen something the like, ‘cause his tone don’t change none, but there he is on the floor of a nursery, stacking blocks and lettin’ her use paints all over the sleeve’ve his coat.”
"He's a right cad sometimes," Last admits, running one hand up the back of his head with a grin. "But he'll do anything fer Georgie." He keeps an eye on Rosa as he talks -- if she's not eating, or if she's having trouble, he's of a mind to take over and start feeding her. The doctor had given him quite a lecture about it, along with one of the grannies that had reacted poorly to him being behind the counter, and he rather agrees with their advice: how can Rosa get well if she doesn't eat?
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Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:28 pm
She snorts at the mention of marriage, trying to contain a little smile. Oh yes, marriage. She wasn't going to forget that discussion with Jacob. "Aww, why's that? Surely if he's as handsome as you, he shouldn't have any trouble finding someone. Plus, if Jay is as picky as he seemed when I met him? I'm sure he'll find someone. 'Selecting brides for my brothers', all of that..." She trails off just a little bit, taking a few spoonfuls, each careful and the slightest bit shaky, to keep him appeased. "But Georgie, huh? I wouldn't have expected that..." She trails off with a frown, thinking it over. "But then again, you said he's sweet on Welly too. Maybe it's something to do with the ladies in his life? I get the feeling he and I are just never going to get along, though. He doesn't like that I'm of a mind to fight."
She does, at the least, keep eating, though keeps an eye on him too as he talks. It has brought up something interesting though, considering the nature of her talk with Jacob months earlier....But she's not so sure she wants to hear the answer if she does ask. They've got plenty of time, no need to rush through anything. "...Still love me? Even though I get into trouble?" It's asked with a grin, she already knows the answer, but it doesn't mean she doesn't like hearing it.
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Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 3:42 pm
“He ain’t much for courting,” Last says with yet another grin — not so much ashamed as uncertain exactly how to phrase it. Ferdinand isn’t exactly considered as much of a catch as First, Last, Jay, and even Ghastly; he isn’t really considered a catch at all. “Gee says we just gotta put up dowry for him, but Jay told him not to say that no more, after Ferdi started asking if he would.” Maybe Ghastly had been joking, at setting up Ferdinand like a sister instead of a brother, with a dowry and a dress, but even so that should give Rosa a fair idea as to why Jay is worried about Ferdinand being wed, when he doesn’t appear to have similar concerns regarding Ghastly or the twins.
As to her final question, he actually snorts a brief laugh. “ ‘Course I do! I wouldn’t brave them down in the shop if I din’t!” He actually gets up again, and kisses her cheek: ready to answer not just the spoken question, but the unspoken request for reassurance. “I ain’t nivir loved nobody like I do you."
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Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 4:00 pm
"Oh really?" She can't help but be interested at all this talk, quick to take another few spoonfuls before he gets on her case again, listening to him talk. Huh. Setting up one of his brothers like a girl? That was interesting. She couldn't help but wonder why, slowly starting to put things together. While she certainly won't get it right now, it might take meeting the young man to fully understand why. It does, however, bring up an interesting question, and she can't help but frown after a while, though is more concerned whether she should bring it up or not... "I hope he doesn't mind I don't come with a dowry. I just come with a forge and the skills to run it." She's never had too much spare money, just enough to get by and occasionally treat herself. It's enough, really, which is why Last's treats only mean that much more to her.
She can't help, however, but absolutely start glowing again, laughing and closing her eyes as he kisses her cheek. It means so much to her just to hear him say it, something he surely knows by now. "I love you so much...You and First. But, you'll always be my first love, alright? Nothing's going to change that." Nothing ever could.
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Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 5:57 pm
“I don’t ‘spect it could,” he tells her cheerfully, with a kiss to her forehead, another to her nose, then a final one for her lips, long and slow. Only when they’ve both had their fill of that will he sit back again, with a slow stretch. “Don’t worry none about a dowry. If jest a dowry was what I wanted, there’s plenty of less comely wenches I coulda courted.” He shrugs, giving her a wink. “I figure I got the best of the deal — ain’t many barkeeps as can get swords custom-made for ‘em.” He’ll talk to her while she finishes off the stew, and for a while after that, until he slips something else in a refill of her tea, something to dull the ache of her healing skin and let her sleep.
The next day passes much like the ones before, with Last bringing her meals to her and making sure she eats them, spending most of his time in the shop downstairs, with Shuu to come and fetch him if Rosa needs anything, or if he’s upstairs with her and a customer comes in. But instead of going out to fetch dinner once he’s closed the shop, he comes upstairs with as big a grin as he’s ever worn, and a big pan of water, sending Shuu back downstairs to keep company with Aelius.
“You ready to meet Gee? I tol’ him to give us just a bit and fetch us a late dinner, so’s you could freshen up some.” He’s helped her clean up before, with water and a cloth, even washed her hair in this basin, though that’s a procedure that usually ends up soaking them both and the bedclothes besides.
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Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 6:25 pm
She can't help but smile through each of them, happy to close her eyes and let him take his time, finally breathing out slowly when he pulls away. "I'll just make up for it in steel." She agrees, laughing the slightest as she finally gets back to eating. She's more than aware of him slipping things into her food and drink, he's been doing it for a while, but this time she'll allow it, feeling she needs the extra help to just help her get her strength up for the next day. However, even as she falls asleep, it might have slipped Last's mind that she's got hold of his shirt sleeve, having wanted him to stay the entire night instead of running off to do god knows what.
Needless to say, she sleeps well. There's not a thing that could have awaken her, not until the morning sun finally rises, light pouring in through the windows. The day itself is spent as per usual, with Rosalie staying where she's supposed to be, though every now and then having to call him up for another book. She's working on some sort of list, something for Rajani, apparently, though can't really explain what it is, not yet.
It's not until the evening that she's finally sick of being stuck in bed, very much so ready to at the least go downstairs, and can't help but grin at the pan of water. She'll let him wash her, yes, but it may prove difficult given the state of her arm. For once the two may miss the warmth the forge provides from below, if Last has let it extinguish, and the usual fashion they both end up soaked and red cheeked from laughing. It won't be until he's got her hair brushed and her in her brand new dress that she'll finally fuss a little, offering a grin.
"Well...." She starts, "It can't be as bad as Jacob..."
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Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 6:50 pm
“Nah. It ain’t gonna be.” He’s got her on the edge of her bed again, and he tweaks her nose gently, before sliding his arms up under her. Carrying her down the stairs will prove an interesting proposition, with not a great deal of space to allow him to maneuver, but he’ll manage step by careful step, murmuring reassurances should the movements shift her hurts or cause her pain. In fact, he’ll try and press her head against his shoulder, so that when they get to the bottom of the stair she’s got time to recover, to catch her breath and show Ghastly a face that ain’t twisted with pain.
.. and of course, so that when she turns around and sees her forge, she can adequately appreciate the surprise he’s laid out for her. Because it isn’t just Ghastly that’s waiting downstairs, nor just Aelius and Unwanted and Shuu, either.
For one thing, he’s covered the whole shop in flowers: bursting from the boxes, a huge bouquet by the forge, all in reds and oranges and yellows, taking the place of the fire that’s normally there, and hanging from the ceiling. The Guardians wear big golden bows, the same color as the trim on her dress, and even Shuu has one, with a little bell at its center. The table that they’ve eaten their simple meals at, so many times over the past year, has been covered with white linen and there are flowers there, too, and not just mugs but glasses, fine enough to have come from a noble’s table.
Sitting in one of the chairs, his feet propped up on a toolbox, a bottle of wine cradled against his chest, is a man — and it’s surely Ghastly, can only be Ghastly, because she can see something of Last in his features and form, even though he’s a good bit bulkier than the twins. He’s older, too, with lines on his face that the Freds don’t have, and salt in his hair, and if his clothing is absolutely outrageous, he’s changed out his sash for a new one, of the self-same gold as the Guardians and Shuu are wearing.
“Hullo, lass!” His voice is warmly cheerful, and he’s got a grin on him that’s much the same as the one Last wears, when he’s been up to mischief. “We done up a likkle surprise for ye!”
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Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 7:27 pm
She's absolutely grateful that the chest of the dress isn't fit too tightly, though being picked up causes the fabric to shift in interesting ways. She'll hiss every now and then, trying to keep her arm from getting the same treatment, even if the bandages under the sleeves provide a nice barrier. It helps that he's taking everything so slow, that the shifting is kept to a minimum, but there's one or two times she'll barely muffle a curse into his shoulder, probably loud enough for her guest to hear.
Having a few seconds to collect herself is nice, especially given the few more intense of the unexpected jolts of pain, so she'll slowly breathe before finally looking about. Though she can't say she's really surprised by Ghastly, there's plenty more to be shocked by.
Flowers. Flowers everywhere. What is she going to do with all these flowers. There's a ridiculous number of flowers, this is almost as many as he's given her over the past year all at once. She can not possibly save all of these, not like she's done with every last one he's given her, and she's just beyond words. There's even flowers hanging for gods sake! And as if that wasn't enough, there's her table, and she feels as if she's not in her own shop, if it wasn't for the remainders of the splattered metal on the floor. There's glasses, there's a tablecloth and she can't help but make a choked noise at seeing all the matching ribbons on her companions, and dearest Unwanted of course.
And then, there is Ghastly, who is so obviously a Grimm that there's no mistaking him. He's so different from the others she's met, and she's trying to keep her composure so badly, but she can't help that she's tearing up. It's all Last's fault. She's going to blame this one on him.
"...Why did--....You didn't have to--.....Last." And it's so clear there's a lot left unsaid in there, so much she can't seem to choke out, and the way she says his name might as well be a confession of love.
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Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 7:49 pm
“Rosa,” he says, and his voice is gentler than it ever is in public, that soft tone that he saves for when they’re together, when he’s trying to tell her not to be afraid. It’s the tone he used on the rooftop, under the stars: the tone he uses when she can’t sleep because of the pain, the tone he uses when he tells her that she’s still beautiful, will always be beautiful to him. “I bin thinking lately. About you and me and tomorrows.”
Across the shop he moves, bearing her gently along, until he reaches the table where Ghastly’s pulled out another chair, and is able to lower her down into it. His brother’s gotten up, standing off to one side — he grins over at Aelius and Unwanted, as if to share his mirth with the two Guardians, who have had the whole of this scene carefully explained to them.
Last didn’t want them to worry, after all, if Rosalie started to cry. Jay’d warned him that sometimes that happened with girls.
Once he’s got her settled, the chair facing out, he sets himself down before it, on one knee, and takes something out from where it’d been hiding under the table. It’s a box .. not a little one, not like she’d expect, but a bigger box, the size of two fists together, and it’s heavy, much heavier than it should be.
“I bin thinking,” he says again, just as gentle. “That maybe you could spend some time designing something other than weapons. That maybe we could use a pair of rings.”
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Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2014 8:29 pm
She's completely unsure why he's using that tone of voice with her, even with all of these beautiful wonderful flowers, and she's pretty sure her cheeks are redder than they were upstairs, and the last thing she really wants to do is cry in front of him again, much less the sibling she's just met. She doesn't even have a clue why he's done this, why he's done this for her, and it doesn't help she's just trying to still get past all the flowers. And then, then he has to say those few words, and while she's so sure she already knows where this is going, he couldn't possibly be.....could he?
She can't even say anything, she's pretty sure she's quite a sight, absolutely wide eyed and just watching him, trying to figure out if what she thinks is happening really is. She just sits there, swallowing hard, feeling so nervous (oh god, why is she nervous, is this really happening? Is she dreaming?) that she's sure she's trembling, and just trying to keep a tiny squeak in, she raises a hand to cover her mouth, and it doesn't help when he's down on one knee before her and oh god this is really happening.
She can't bear to say a word to interrupt him, she's so scared she's going to mess it up if she does, and her heart just feels like it's about to break from how happy she feels and how much she loves him, and she's fairly sure she chokes up just a little more when he offers that box to her. She knows what it is already just by the weight, this is something she works with on a daily basis, and nothing, absolutely nothing, can prepare her for how those next few words make her feel.
Maybe we could use a pair of rings.
Ever since she'd gotten that letter from Jacob, ever since she'd spit out the tea she was drinking at the very word brides, she'd been nervous. If Jacob thought Last loved her that much, if he thought it important enough to visit her, then he had to be very serious indeed. But that had been months ago, and so much had happened since then, and she'd just been happy to take things as they came and try and fix everything that had just happened, it had slipped her mind until last night. She had thought about asking about it, but hasn't pushed it any further than she had, and she wasn't regretting a thing in the least.
This was why he'd gotten her that dress, this was why her shop was full of flowers, and she can't help the way the tears are just rolling down her cheeks even though she's nowhere near upset.
"Are you sure?" She sounds so tiny, and she keeps on choking up, "Are you really really sure?" Rosa knows the answer to that question, she's known ever since he held her and they cried after Jacob visited. And, frankly, he should know her answer as well.
Setting down those precious bars in her lap, no matter if they're gold or silver, she can't help but draw him up closer, choking up little by little.
"You're a damned fool. Why are you even asking? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes." She can't help but cover his face in kisses, still crying and still shaking. He's made it clear he wants to be hers, the least she can do is make it clear she's absolutely his in return.
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Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 5:39 pm
No wonder, then, that Last had been so certain that Ferdinand would be coming soon: even if they didn’t hold a big gala, he’d want to have his brothers here to meet her when the big day came. At least he’d been sure enough of her answer to make those plans, to write to the brothers that haven’t already come to the city and say: be prepared. I’ll need you here soon. From her chair he scoops her right back up in his arms, letting the bars fall back to the ground — it doesn’t matter, does it? It’s not as if they can be broken — and sweeping her around in a circle with a whoop of joy that’s probably heard three shops over.
“I knowed you would! I did! I told you, Gee, din’t I tell you? I knowed you would!” He sounds exuberant, only belatedly remembering that he might hurt her in his excitement; he lowers her carefully back down into the chair, returning her kisses by the dozens, brushing her hair out of her face, stroking her side and grinning in a way that says he may never stop.
With a whoop of his own, Ghastly stabs the cork of the bottle he holds, and has it off in a trice: with a gurgling pop the cork shoots off into a corner, a foaming liquid spilling from the top of the bottle: champagne, no sort of beverage that would ordinarily find its way into such a small shop as this. “To ye, then! Fer th’ Grimm as weds afore any of us, and th’ lass as is mad enough t’take ‘im!”
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Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 10:25 am
There is absolutely nothing else that has made her quicker to forget her own injuries than him. She can only laugh, absolutely high on life, as he picks her up and whirls her around. Even now she's having trouble believing he's asked, that she's going to be his wife and he's going to be her husband, and frankly she feels like she doesn't have a worry in the world, and nothing is ever going to bring her down. For a moment, just a moment, she wonders if Jacob knows, if all of the brothers know, that he was going to ask her, that there wasn't a doubt she would say yes, but it's only thrown back out of her mind by the way he's smiling at her, and she's pretty sure her cheeks have never hurt so bad from smiling. "You'd be stupid to think I wouldn't! After all we've been through? After every single time I've told you I love you?" She laughs, finally set down only to be showered in affection. She's crying still, but it's certainly coming from nothing bad, only from the sheer amount of joy she can't seem to fully express. "See, now you have to let me work when I'm up to it! I have to make wedding rings the queen will envy now! Gods, yes, there's no one else I'd rather--...I love you so much." She'll only be torn from his kisses by a jump of surprise, having not expected a cork to go flying off into the corner, though can only laugh a little more. "Mad? You don't give him enough credit! He's the one who was mad enough to start courting the toughest blacksmith in Palisade! And then the fool went and asked her to marry him! Though I couldn't ask for a finer husband. Never. No one else I would ever consider." She's more than happy to stroke over his cheeks, to pull him close enough that their foreheads touch, anything just to be close to him right now. "You're a fool. But you're my fool. Mine, forever mine, no one else can ever have you." It takes her quite a while, just so content to run her fingers through his hair, to finally retrieve the bars, carefully unwrap them and look them over, eyes wide. "....How in the hell did you get these?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 7:55 pm
“That’s why I done it now,” Last tells her, with a grin like he knows he’s just won the biggest score of his career: a bride, the cleverest beautifulest woman in the whole of the great wide world. “So’s you could have time, while you’re healin’ up, to plan it all out.” He doesn’t seem to want to let her go, to take his arms from around her: as if he wants to hold their happiness between them, without letting it escape. Only when she goes to look at her prizes will he draw back, and drop himself with a grin and a contented sigh in the chair beside her, completing their table of three — Ghastly has poured them all glasses of the champagne in the meantime, and he takes one with a nod.
As to the metal, well .. He glances sidelong at his brother before he looks back at her, and while Ghastly is intently examining the rafters, Last lets his shoulders lift and fall in a little shrug. “Weren’t no trouble. Gee, he works shipping. Found ‘em ashore one day, when his ship were laid up to get hove down. He figures it come up inna shipwreck. Lotsa stuff comes up from the sea.”
“Hove down be when ye turns yer ship up aside on shore, and clean off the bottom, like.” This additional tidbit of information is offered cheerfully by Ghastly, with the bottle of champagne held up and tilted over for a further visual. It is accompanied with a grin that’s quite a good bit better than the careful look Last is giving her — why, if she didn’t know the family very well, she might even have believed him!
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