𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐝𝐞𝐧 | 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥 |

94 | 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞

July 14, 2017

I pull her gently in an attempt to bring her to our destination, William having given us the day off after some pretty intense months of hard work.

She pushes me slightly, making me halt my step to not fall in a puddle of water, the heavy rain from the morning having stopped just a while ago. I turn and glare at her, a sheepish smile on her lips.

"I would ask what was that for, but I really don't want the answer, do I?." She snickers as she pulls me back by the shirt making me envelope my arms around her.

"Unless you want to hear someone's name, then no." I roll my eyes, Rebecca still influencing her to do pranks against me.

"Okay.. how much?." She presses her lips together and looks down, a shade of pink coating her cheeks.

"Malàka I—one hundred bucks." I scoff and take her face in one hand, bringing her close and kissing her frivolously, a sigh leaving her at the contact.

I let go of her after a few slow minutes and bite her bottom lip tentatively, a rather bolder side of me coming out momentarily.

"Does that pay off her ridiculous bet, or..?." She hums and brings a hand to the back of my neck, fingers playing with the short hair.

"It does. Though you're going to have to give her explanations, I won't say a thing." I grab one hand and kiss it over the knuckles, intertwining our fingers and grabbing her soft and slightly callous hand.

"I will, I promise. Now come on, I've been wanting to see the city at night." We traverse quietly through the streets of Arequipa, a beautiful city in Peruvian grounds.

Most places are closed at this time, the only ones open being high end restaurants with extremely over-reserved spaces, given a mild verbal fight between a server and a customer, Spanish words being flung back and forth relentlessly.

I go around some streets I was able to memorize from Google Maps and quickly arrive to our destination, nervousness consuming my being momentarily.

"By the gods, what is this place? Only in Rome do I remember seeing such big structures." I walk and snake an arm around her waist, admiring the ancient architecture.

"The Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa, the main church in the city all the way back since 1656. A monument prefect for escalation." She whips her head towards me and looks back to the church, an apprehensive look in her eyes.

"Shaun, one thing's scaring children, but a whole different one is scaling a sacred place, moreover one that's not on our birth grounds." I snort at her mentioning of the prank on that baby a while ago, the screams of terror inside the place resonating in my mind.

"Relax, no one's around to witness this. I've checked this time and time again, the church is barely in use, only when a religious ceremony takes place do those doors open. There are no guards and police generally don't bat an eye to this place, since it's a historic site and many people tend to come from all over to take pictures and whatnot." She looks at me while fixing her hoodie, making sure to cover her markings.

"Should I be afraid that you've been planning this for a while?." I shrug and look back to the tallest point in the church, my stomach churning again.

"Follow me and let's see if you should." I look around and let go of her hand, running over to the place.

I hear her footsteps behind me followed by a low 'malàka', the woman secretly enjoying this as much as I do. I look around more when I reach the eastern side of the monument, this spot being fairly hidden by an alleyway thanks to a shop sitting rather close.

I skillfully start to scale the wall, occasionally looking around to make sure we're in the clear. She remains quiet as she follows me, scaling faster than me and passing me by quicker.

I roll my eyes as she looks down at me, wiggling her bottom as I go to grab another piece of the structure, heat coming to my cheeks as she chuckles, her adventurous—and mischievous—side springing up ever since she got rid of that forsaken sword.

A sigh leaves my lungs as I grab on to the edge of the roof, pulling myself up and placing my knees in the safe zone. She helps me to get up and we both admire the night sky, the luminescent contamination not being as strong as any other country like New York or London, letting us see the vastness of the sky.

"Come on, we still have that tower to reach." She looks over to where I signal, smiling softly and nodding once.

I walk over and scale the small distance between the roof and the bell tower, arriving in only a few seconds. I reciprocate the help and grab her hand to pull her up slowly, her eye not leaving the scenery.

"I wonder what the internet search bar looks like if you know where to go." I place my hands on hers and press them, chuckling at her joke.

"So much that the servers crashed for several hours, I wanted this to be special." She brings a hand to me and caresses my face, her delicate fingers going over the still living stubble.

"Everything you do is special, Shaun. I do, however, question what kind of specialty this has to the point of getting to know a church like the palm of your hand." A wave of heat consumes me and my stomach starts to flip around, anxious of what's to come.

"With you I've learned to not beat around the bush, so.. here I go.." She tilts her head and I take one hand back and place it in my pocket.

"Deimos, you've been the most insane and beautiful gift that anyone could've given me. I've never been much of a believer, but I can say you were reserved for me. You've helped me in every way imaginable, hell, I turned from the most brutal crocodile in London to the most pacified house cat in the world." She shakes her head and laughs at my animal joke, knowing that there's nothing but absolute truth there if asked to the right people who knew me before her.

"I never saw myself being with anyone, I was arrogant, self centered, an asshole at best. But all it had to happen was for a tomb to be opened and a thousands of years old beauty walk from it to turn my world around, in every meaning. I don't know what to say other than I love you so damn much, I can't begin to comprehend how and when.. much less why did you set your sight on someone as dull as me." I caress her face with one hand, a thumb on her blind eye as they both close, the action being one of her favorites.

"And I want to find out more about you. But I can't do that properly without.. without making you mine." I take the hand inside the pocket out, trembling slightly as I go down on one knee, her eyes opening and her face going stoic at my position.

"So.. uh.. Deimos, will you marry me?." I can fully see how her markings underneath her baggy hoodie pulsate with her unsaid emotions as I open the box, a small diamond ring lies waiting inside.

What feels like an eternity passes as she brings her hands over to my face, making me kiss them briefly to calm my racing thoughts.

"Yes, I will!." Relief and happiness fill my chest to the point of bursting as I grab the jewelry and place it on her left ring finger, this one fitting perfectly.

I rise and embrace her, delicate face riddled with newfound emotions. I bring my head back and place my lips upon hers, the kiss feeling heavier than the rest.

This moment is unlike any other I have witnessed or formed part of. I'm the one getting married, when I once remember I said I would never join someone in a same household.

Well, how does that saying go?.. ah yes..

Never say never.