Just One More Thing

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Then we can go home." Alric confirmed as she slipped her hands into the jacket and pulled free the box. He smiled slightly, being almost as proud of the box as he was of what was inside of it. The case had been designed by a very cafty Verpine on Roche, it kept most everything inside of it safe and was also a lot less conspicuous than most other ring boxes. That was why he had chosen it, why he had decided it was just the thing to fool Danger until the last second.

When she asked for confirmation, he only nodded.

The old man would have spoken, but he was preparing himself. His eyes closed for a moment, his heart began to beat faster and faster. This was going to be difficult, if not impossible. For a moment more he lingered, and then he pushed all of his strength into avoiding the pain that was about to come.

"Okay." Slowly Alric began to sink to down, his hand slipped down on the cane, supporting himself the entire way. Before Danger could catch him Alric was positioned on one knee in front of her. There was a mixture of pain and anticipation on his face, though the latter shone through far more than the former. Shock pulled on on Danger's features, and Alric could only smile. "You can open it."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

But she didn't.

Open it that is.

Instead her immediate response was to exclaim out in stunned exasperation,"What are you doing!?" Her right hand went tightening around the box, forgotten in the midst of her leaning down towards the Old Tetan. Both hands went curling around his good arm, attempting to help him get back to his feet.

This is exactly why she had told him they needed to go home. That he needed to rest. Now he was fumbling around and collapsing to the floor, likely because he was in no condition to be out and about the way he was.

"You gorram old fool!" she cursed out at him, all the while he was trying to get her attention, a growing stubbornness lancing through the pain and anticipation that carved his angular face. A grimace slipped through, and the former Titan spoke over Danger's censure. His good hand suddenly caught hers. She resisted at first, but his palm gently clasped around her in an unwavering grasp.

"Danger," Alric said quietly, squeezing her hand gently. Alric looked deep into her eyes, his own bright blues eyes almost glittering with determination. He shook slightly, and one would believe it was due to the pain, but there was something more to it than that. Despite that, there was a certain vibrance around the Old Tetan; an air of calm, of want, and most importantly of love.

"Open it." He said it again. "Please."

Danger stood there gaping at him, flabbergasted. The steely resolve, conviction, and tenacity that radiated from the former Titan said there was no quarter going to be given. She straightened, letting go of his shoulder with an exasperated sigh.

"Alright!" she told him, her voice edged with chagrin as she adjusted the box within her grasp. Both thumbs would find the small tabs, and a faint clicking sound came as she pressed down. What in the nine hells was so important that --

Danger gave a startled gasp.

It was the soft glowing amber light radiating from within the box that cut off her thoughts. And as she folded open the two halves, under the light of the holograms that surrounded them, the bask of warm light only grew brighter. It was a deep, almost alluring glow from two tiny focal points reminiscent of dusk falling on Tatooine.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He smiled at her expression.

It was exactly what he had been hoping for. Shock, perplexity, confusion, and just a hint of delight hidden deep within her dyes. Alric could see it all in her, carry through her in emotional waves. She wanted to say something, she wanted to keep speaking, to call him an idiot, to do something, but she was simply frozen in place. Her lips stuttered, her eyes fixed steadily on the Twin Suns of Titan, the ring that Alric had worked so hard to create.

"I could make some grand speech." He started, his voice firm an unwavering. "Talk about all we've been through, all we've experienced, all that's happened, but in the end none of it matters. All that matters is that I love you. I know I love you, and I don't need more than that, I don't want more than that."

He smiled as he did in fact break into a bit of a grand speech. "Dangeruese Rose Arceneau, will you marry me?"

She hated that middle name, he knew that, but it seemed fitting to use it now. The ring, the room, everything that had lead up to this was about acceptance, about acceptance of who Danger was and who Alric was. They had come together finally, and it only seemed right to ask all of her, every bit of her.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Danger was thunderstruck.

Everything just seemed to suddenly slow, time coming to a stop as Alric's proposal registered in her mind. Everything was just an emotional hovercoaster. The past day -- no month, had been an emotional hovercoaster. For a brief moment, her mind went blank. This couldn't be happening. There was no way. It didn't make sense.

Why would he...

But the amber glow of the ring was real. Tangibly real as her arms and the rest of her body began to shake. Once again, her vision began to blur. Yet the ember-like light from the twin sunstones did not wane. Tears were quickly blinked away, and Alric's beloved face peered up at her with such vivid clarity. The knot in her throat grew larger, and it was a struggle to breathe.

Her attention fell down to the ring. Every little detail, every brushed bit of the Aurodium, the way that the glow of the twin sunstones would hit against the ripples of electrum made her think of the sand dunes of the Western Sea. It was as if Alric had managed the impossible, capturing the Twin Suns as they sank into the horizon at dusk on Tatooine.

The one place in the 'Verse that Alric despised the most. Her homeworld.

It all suddenly made sense. His distance the past month, the quiet conversations, his departure. This was no retail piece simply taken off the shelf of a Hapan jewelry shop. It was lovingly custom made with a wealth of thoughtfulness behind it. A wealth of consideration. Of commitment.

That both frightened her and made her weak in the knees at the same time. So much she gave a slight sway. Were it not for the tightening of his hand upon hers, she'd likely found herself sinking onto the ground in front of him.

Mouth dry, she licked her lips. It was hard to speak, harder still to process it all. Because ultimately, this was all about a singular thing that even in her shocked state she could recognize.

Acceptance.

He loved her. Loved her. He really did love her. Despite everything. How she was, flaws and all and everything that they'd experienced these long years. Decades really, that culminated to this singular point in time. One she never expected nor would have demanded from the Old Tetan at all.

Her heart was pounding beneath her chest, and her lips gave a trembling exhale. She was standing at a precipice, and she knew she had to come to a decision.

But could she do this? Could she really? Truth be told, marriage had never been a part of her plan. Not since the innocence of youth culled that with Noxu Za'tire. Ever since Alric had come back from the dead, she had settled herself into simply enjoying the time they had together. She was okay with just that.

Alric now told her differently. This ring, this archive, everything, said he wanted her. To have, to hold. It was in the way he took her in, no questions asked. Stripping away the ugliness that had surrounded her. It shown in the vibrant blue of his eyes, in the way he gently squeezed her hand, supporting her despite the fact he was in pain, standing on one knee for her. Because he loved her.

It wasn't so difficult after that.

Throat thick, Dangeruese gave Alric Kuhn, the only family she'd ever known, her best friend, a trembling answer.

"Yes."