|
|
Post by Riley Neves on Dec 12, 2009 16:07:52 GMT -5
Maybe she did need to hear him say that she was beautiful. It meant the world coming from him, and she only ever really felt beautiful when it was for him, or coming from him.
She smiled, blushing slightly. "Stop it. We're never going to make it out of here."
She came forward and took his hand, and the two of them left the hotel- again. On the short distance to the beach, Riley kept an eye on the sun, telling Roland about it. "When it sets over the water, it looks like it sets the whole ocean on fire. It's so beautiful."
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 12, 2009 22:03:20 GMT -5
Roland was quiet as they walked, just taking in the sights and trying to see them through her eyes. It really was beautiful here, and he hated to think that such a beautiful place, a place that was such a deep part of her, was such a source of unhappiness for her. He could picture her as a young girl, seeing these sights, and he wished that those memories were happier ones for her. That was why he was so determined to make her happy, to change all the negative of her past into positive.
"I can imagine," he said at last, squeezing her hand. "Is that why you like the colors red and orange so much?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Riley Neves on Dec 12, 2009 22:33:51 GMT -5
Riley shrugged, unaware of his thoughts about her. She hadn't really run into anyone from her childhood, which was a good thing, but apart from being nervous about that, Portugal wasn't as terrible as she remembered. As a teenager, all she wanted to do was leave this place and never come back. Now, she realized it just represented what she wanted to leave. There was a difference, even if it was a small one.
Shr shrugged to his question. "No, not really. I just like the colors. They're bold and very pretty." Although the country was very much a part of her, even down to her favorite colors, Riley didn't quite realize it. "I've always kind of liked firey things."
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 12, 2009 23:07:54 GMT -5
Roland's lips quirked up in one of his crooked grins. "So that's why you love me," he teased, leaning in to kiss her.
He couldn't deny that was what had attracted him to her in the first place. All those arguments, her stubborn nature, it had caused something to build between them long before they ever realized it. He didn't care for the sweet, meek type of girl... he always liked girls with opinions and minds of their own. Someone who would challenge him and keep him on his toes. She did all that.
He glanced ahead at the beach and saw only a few people still lingering. Most probably wanted to get back before it got dark, but there were a few that were clearly waiting to see the sunset. "How about that spot over there?" he suggested, pointing to a spot away from the other people.
|
|
|
|
Post by Riley Neves on Dec 12, 2009 23:27:22 GMT -5
"That's exactly why I love you," Riley said in all seriousness. "Well, one of the many reasons, really. Even if you can be kind of combative sometimes. But I'm not saying that's a bad thing... Merlin knows I can be as well."
She followed the direction of his gaze and glanced at the people lingering. They were spread out pretty well, and mostly couples, it looked like. She had to admit, it was romantic.
Turning back to him, she nodded. "That looks perfect," she said, smiling at him before they started through the sand to their proclaimed spot.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 12, 2009 23:45:51 GMT -5
"Personally, I hope most of our big arguments are behind us," he said. "I'm sure eventually, as we settle in, we'll have silly arguments about whose turn it is to take out the trash or something, but I never want to argue like we did before. I never understood why, but I always hated when you were mad at me. I felt like my stomach was in knots."
It had been frustrating, because the more they fought, the more tense he would get, and the more tense he got, the more they fought. It had been an ugly cycle and he was glad they were past that now.
"I always liked fiery things, too," he added with a grin. "It wasn't interesting unless there was a risk of being burned."
They reached the spot he had pointed to, and he reached into her bag and pulled out one of the blankets to spread it out over the sand.
|
|
|
|
Post by Riley Neves on Dec 12, 2009 23:56:02 GMT -5
"You know, to avoid even the silly little arguements, you should probably just always take out the trash," Riley teased before she broke into a smile. "Speaking of turns... I had a dream about us last night. A good one. We were asleep and our baby was crying and I made you go fix it." She shrugged. It was nothing fancy, and part of it terrified her, to be honest. Was that sign she was a horrible mother? That she would always make Roland take care of the child, or that she wasn't able? She didn't voice this, of course. The other part of her was sort of touched by it.
She took the other end of the blanket, dropping the bag on the sand, and helped him smooth it out. One of the things she liked was that while England was still cold, Portugal was somewhat warm.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 13, 2009 0:21:02 GMT -5
Roland laughed. "If that's what you want, you know I'll do it," he told her. "And when the baby's crying in the middle of the night, I promise I'll take care of her whenever I can. Unless she's hungry... that will probably be your department."
He was getting excited about the prospect of being parents, but he also knew that a lot of things were going to change very quickly. Still, he was more than looking forward to experiencing it with her. And while she may have had doubts about her abilities as a parent, he had complete confidence in her. Together, he believed, they could do anything.
Sitting down on the blanket, he leaned back for a moment, just taking it all in. "It's much prettier than what passes for beaches in England," he commented. "The only really beautiful beach I've ever been on was in Italy. Of course, that was on the Mediterranean, not the ocean.... but it was very beautiful. Maybe I'll take you there sometime."
|
|
|
|
Post by Riley Neves on Dec 13, 2009 2:24:19 GMT -5
"Just for a couple of months," Riley replied. "She'll have to go on a bottle at some point. But you can have diaper changes to make up for it." Again, she was teasing. For a while, she imagined that she would want to get up with Roland, at least until she got used to having someone else around. They were about to have a very full apartment... maybe they should really look into buying the safe house from the Ministry. The two of them, a baby, and a dog who was growing bigger every day.
But all of these thoughts made her smile. Terrified or not, she was getting a little excited, too.
She waited for him to sit on the blanket, then sat next to him and leaned against him. "I would love for you to take me," she replied. "I'd love to go anywhere with you, really. I would say to the end of the world and back... but look, we've already done that."
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 13, 2009 12:30:56 GMT -5
Roland rolled his eyes at the mention of diaper changes. He knew a little bit about that, having been old enough to remember when Amandine was a baby. Magic only helped so much. "Yeah, I'll be looking forward to that," he teased.
But even his complaints were half-hearted. He really was excited about all of it. Having a life and starting a family with Riley... he couldn't imagine anything better.
He turned to look at the ocean. "It does feel like we're at the end of the world. I can see why they say that. It's like... if you just go out far enough into the water, you'll just drop off the edge or something."
|
|
|
|
Post by Riley Neves on Dec 13, 2009 21:52:38 GMT -5
"You and me both," Riley laughed.
She sighed, content, and looked out over the water. The sun was quickly sinking and would hit the water soon.
"Maybe you can," she mused. "I never made it out that far, but maybe you can just slip away like that. Time kind of slows down here, and no one ever rushes to do anything because maybe they all know... that when you need to, you just have to swim out far enough."
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 13, 2009 23:51:28 GMT -5
Roland leaned closer to her, so that he could feel the rising and falling of her chest as she breathed. Why did that sound fascinate him more than the rhythmic crashing of the ocean waves in front of them? "Tell me more about when you were a little girl," he said softly. "What did you wish for? What did you dream of? What did you think your life would be like when you got older?"
He knew these questions wouldn't be easy for her to answer, but he wanted to know. He wanted to understand everything that made her into the woman he loved.
|
|
|
|
Post by Riley Neves on Dec 15, 2009 14:09:20 GMT -5
Riley sighed at all of the questions, wholly unsure how to answer them. So she was quiet for a minute, just thinking.
"When I was little, when I first found out that I could do magic and that unicorns and things were real, I wanted to be a dragon handler. I'd threaten to tame one and bring it home." She smiled to herself and shook her head a little. "When I was I was in third year, McGonagall kindly told me that I should choose a less... volatile career, considering my personality at the time. I had all these grand plans about how things would be when I was older... grand, silly plans."
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 15, 2009 16:23:56 GMT -5
Roland’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding, right? You thought about being a dragon tamer?” He pressed another kiss to her lips, and when he pulled back, he was smiling. “We really are perfect for each other… I wanted to be a dragon tamer, too, for a while. That was how I got to be friends with Hagrid. I was seriously looking into it, in fact… but the pull of the so-called family business was too strong. In the end, I went where I thought I could do the most good.”
He looked at her and shook his head. “I still can’t figure out how I missed you in school. I really must not have been paying attention… but I feel like I should have noticed you, at least. Not that it matters. We were both wild in our own ways… I’m sure our battles would have been epic.”
|
|
|
|
Post by Riley Neves on Dec 23, 2009 13:47:11 GMT -5
"Our fights would have been the stuff of legends," Riley agreed, laughing slightly. No matter how much Roland wished things had been different and they would have known each other in school, Riley was glad that they did not. She had a feeling they would have fought too much, and they probably wouldn't be here now. Those epic battles would have been the end of them, before they even started.
"It's awfully coincidental, isn't it? That we both wanted to be dragon tamers and we both ended up as Aurors. You know, I keep saying I don't believe in fate... but something wanted us together."
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 25, 2009 16:36:17 GMT -5
"I think we found each other at just the right time," Roland replied. "As much as I wish we could have known each other when we were younger, I think you're right.... we never would have been able to get along back then. We needed to grow up a little, and experience a little bit of life. I honestly think I needed to have my wild days, so that when you came into my life, I would be ready to settle down."
He had once thought of "settling down" as being boring. He had liked his freedom; he liked the idea that he could do whatever he wanted and not be tied down to other obligations. But now, the idea of settling down with Riley seemed exciting. He couldn't imagine that they would ever be bored together.
The sun was dipping down lower in the sky, and the very first hints of orange were beginning to streak across the sky. "So did you really want to swim? I don't know about you, but I'm kind of content to just sit here and watch the sunset in your arms."
|
|
|
|
Post by Riley Neves on Dec 26, 2009 2:07:22 GMT -5
The thought of settling down used to terrify Riley, and it still might have in certain aspects. But there was no one else in the world she would rather settle down with than Roland, and he made the idea seem more welcoming. It was a shame they couldn't be young and reckless together, but they had a child on the way. And then, anything after the stunt they pulled would hardly seem reckless anyway.
.
"We can stay here," she replied softly, her eyes on the horizon, watching the water for the first signs of the light to dance on the surface. "We can do whatever you want."
By now, there were only a handful of people left on the beach, and Riley barely noticed them. Right now, all she really registered was Roland's arms around her, and she was content to keep it that.
"Look," she said after a few moments, and smiled. "It's starting." The sun had just touched the horizon line, and it looked as though the ocean lit up, ignited by the fire of the sun.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 26, 2009 23:04:57 GMT -5
While she was watching the sunset, he was watching her. It was as if he could see the light reflected in her eyes and glinting off of her skin. While he was sure the sunset was beautiful, to him, she was the most beautiful thing in the world. He wasn't sure when it had happened, but it seemed as though she was the sunrise, the sunset, and the glow of moonlight to him.
"It's beautiful," he breathed at length, though he wasn't talking about the sky.
He began to trace his finger across her face gently. "Riley, look at me for a minute."
|
|
|
|
Post by Riley Neves on Dec 26, 2009 23:15:06 GMT -5
Riley's eyes danced over the horizon, watching as the sun slowly sank lower and lower. Merlin, it was beautiful, and she was thinking about the sunset. She kind of missed this, to be honest. London just seemed so black and white sometimes.
Riley turned towards Roland when he asked her to, concern flashing in her eyes. "Is something wrong?" she asked, almost involuntarily. Her breath caught at the end of the sentence, though. "You're giving me that look again," she commented, a slight smile on her lips.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 26, 2009 23:52:38 GMT -5
"Nothing's wrong," he assured her with a small smile. "In fact, everything is perfect."
The sun was setting over the water, there were only a few other people still on the beach and they were very far away from them. The only thing that could have made it any better was if music had been playing from somewhere.
He slid his hand down her cheek and threaded it through her hair. "Riley," he began, taking a deep breath. He could feel his heart speeding up, and something seemed to be dancing around in his stomach. This was the perfect moment, and he just hoped that this time, he would manage to get it right. If she still said no, of course he would keep trying, but he would have to start getting creative.
"I can't ever seem to find words that are strong enough to tell you just how much I love you," he began. "I keep trying, but everything just seems inadequate. I feel it so deep inside me that sometimes I feel like it's burning me up from the inside out. You've made me see a different side of myself, you've changed all of my goals, and all I can think about is trying to make you feel happy, secure, safe, and loved. I never thought I would ever fall in love... that I'd be able to let anyone get so deep inside of me. But from the first time we argued with each other, everything started to change. Now I can't imagine my life without you in it. You're my heart, my soul.... you're my forever. So, Riley.... will you marry me?"
At this, he slipped his other hand into his pocket and pulled out the small black velvet box he had hidden there. His smile was somewhat uncertain as he opened the box to reveal the ring, with its oval-shaped rubies surrounding a small white diamond.
|
|
