"It's pouring!" He stated the obvious, but he'd never experienced rain like this on Skyloft. They were above most of the clouds, after all. This was a downpour. He and Karane had been exploring a deeper part of the forest. They hadn't tried to be placed together. All the knights had been paired up, when they went to the surface. In the past they'd been told they 'shouldn't patrol together' because they could 'distract each other'.

But they had been sent together this time. They needed a night flyer, and a swordsman. Two people who would work together flawlessly. Who could keep each other safe in the dark forest, and come back in the night if necessary to escape.

And who better to do that than the two best units in those categories? However in the pouring rain a night flyer was more than useless. Obviously Pipit could still use a sword like any other knight, but no amount of skill was going to make a loftwing fly in that.

"Thanks for the update!" Karane shouted back over the storm, sarcastically. Her hair was already matted to her face with water, and their clothes were soaked through. She put up her hand to shield her eyes and then looked around in the darkness. It wasn't until a flash of lightning came that they spotted a cave.

Of course the lightning was startling. It was much brighter than it had ever been up on Skyloft. The two of them began to run to the cave in the distance, and when the thunder struck they both jumped. Pipit had never, ever, heard thunder that loud. He instinctively reached out and took his girlfriend's hand while they ran.

When they made it into the cave they stumbled a few feet from the sudden stop and then met eyes to laugh. Pipit was more than aware that he was useless in this mission now. His whole job was to bring them back to safety if things got out of hand—but he couldn't fly them in the rain. But he was less than inclined to care when he realized how much fun they were having.

She was giggling and wringing out her hair when the words slid off his tongue. He squeaked them out nervously. Unsure.

"Marry me."

She stopped what she was doing and stared at him with wide, blue eyes. Familiar words spilled out of her mouth. "What did you say?"

The same words that she said when he first said I love you. Then he had been tired. Able to say it without fear because his brain wasn't willing to argue. Now he was a little nervous. Sure, he'd been planning to ask. It didn't come out entirely on accident. He'd been planning since that day he spoke to his mother. Since the day she'd bloodied his nose, a number of months ago.

But he hadn't been planning to ask here. Not like this. Not in the rain. Not while they were soaking wet, in the cold. But he couldn't very well unsay it. Could he?

"Nothing. I didn't say anything."

She slammed him against the wall faster than he could process what was happening. "Don't play with me Freckles. What did you say?"

"M-Marry me!" He sputtered nervously. "I want you to marry me, Rane."

"Are you messing with me? Why did you try to back out? Don't mess with me!" She still had him pinned to the wall, and it didn't matter that he could probably dominate her in this situation. She had a power in her eyes that kept him floored.

"What? No! I just got nervous! I even have a ring! I-I mean, not here… I didn't bring it on the mission, but…"

She raised an eyebrow at him, but stepped back. "So you're serious..?"

"Totally serious." Without her pinning him to the wall, he almost felt like he would collapse against it. "I want you to be mine—really mine."

And when he looked back up at her she was smiling a smile he was sure he would remember for the rest of his life.