Welcome to Gaia! ::

Flipping the page over revealed the inside of the back cover. And on it, the rest of what he'd wanted to ask her.

His brow furrowed a bit, the smile having thinned into one of nervousness as he shifted away from her, still holding her hand in his as he rose to one knee before her, his eyes on hers in what was his best imitation of a 'proper' proposal.

What he had not used from the first revenue his photographs had generated for him taking his parents to dinner, he had spent on the ring that now hung suspended from the scrap of silk ribbon, winking in the late morning light. It had seemed fitting to him, as she had been the one to suggest in the first place he ought to make a career out of his hobby.

"I...." he paused to clear his throat. ".....I didn't see the point in waiting anymore, knowing what we know now. I want to be there for you, Nani, every day. No matter how good or bad things get."

He swallowed around a lump in his throat, trying to chase away the last lingering worries that she might say no. ".....will you?"

Apprehension dissolved quickly into elation at her answer, as he tried to keep a reign on the flood of relief that spilled forth.

He hugged her to him with arms that trembled. "I didn't want to push things." he replied, keeping his voice as steady as he was able as he whispered against the side of her head. "I didn't want to ask until I was sure. I just--" he cut himself off before he kept rambling like an idiot.

He couldn't help it. Drawing back from her, joy still evident on his features, he kissed her deeply.

"And I love you." he whispered, looking back at her steadily. His eyes did not glisten so much as glowed with unshed tears. "So much."

It would mean a lot of changes, he knew that much, but they were changes he felt more than ready to embrace. His call to Krista had not been solely to ask for photographs. She had wanted to know, of course, why he wanted them, and then had been curious as to what he would do with the album after it had been made as it seemed a bit much for a simple gift.

What had been meant to be a brief request had become nearly a two hour phone conversation that had spanned everything from his month-long absence to what his intentions with Nani truly were to a brief glimpse into Nani's past that did not reveal enough that it would betray her daughter's secrets, but enough that he felt he had a better understanding now.

He had finally gotten up the nerve to ask what her reaction might be to his asking her daughter to marry him. To which he'd been told that it was not HER reaction he ought to be worried about.

He remained slumped against her in a happy daze, overcome with joy. Overcome with RELIEF. No more dreading, no more going around behind her back on little cat feet trying to plan things with the hope they would unfurl the way he wanted them to.

"....I don't think I can move right now." he admitted after a long moment with a chuckle.

"Uhh, let's see...." he said, moving to prop himself up under an elbow. "Your mom, and....the lady at the jewelry counter who had to talk me down from the ceiling when I came in." he grinned.

And speaking of jewelry...

He reached over Nani to where the photo album laid beside her in the grass, carefully undoing the loose knot he'd put around the ring. Holding her gaze, he took her hand, slipping it onto her finger properly.

"Yep, soon as they're tired of hunting eggs." he told her, sitting up to scoot over and then stretch out at her side, draping an arm over her as he did so. "As far as my parents go...." he began, chewing his lip. ".....if they DIDN'T see it coming by now, I'd be surprised."

He'd been spending more and more time at Nani's place, coming back only when asked, or if he needed something from his room. He had, more or less, already moved out without officially having packed and been done with it yet.

And the scary part was, they had seemed to understand just fine.

"My family isn't too big, but I'll tell who I can get ahold of." he said, nuzzling her as he nestled his head on top of hers. He was sure, if anyone happened to look over at them, they would see only a couple of silly young people who had decided a warm morning in the park was the perfect excuse to neck, oblivious to the enormity of what had just passed between them.

It made him grin all over again. "You'll be glad to know that none of them are anywhere near as uptight as my dad." he added.

Sellexi was not far off, retrieving a lavender egg she'd found without either Ren or Seiji's help from the base of a spindly tree. This one had been shaken in glitter and sparkled brilliantly as she laid it in her basket and turned to grin at the other two, only to find them no longer running around collecting eggs.

Aw, tired already...? She crawled back toward them....or inched, rather, as her burden of eggs held her back.

Looking up, she saw Nani and Zhane approaching them and gave her parents a smile and a small wave with her free hand. They looked happy. Much happier than she recalled them being when they'd first arrived.

....maybe they'd found a special treasure today as well.