"Do you have any fives?" Ivan looked across the table at her, three cards held at a careful angle in his hand. A three, a five, and a ten. He would win this, he was sure. The deck was nearly gone, and his wife still had six cards left. Surely there was a five in her hand.
Lilli shook her head with a giggle. "No. Go fish!" She grinned as he reached over with an exaggerated sigh and drew a card—a seven. He added it to his hand and shook his head. So much for that.
Peeking over the tops of her cards, she watched him, a glimmer in her eyes which meant that she was smirking at him. "Got any threes?"
He handed it over with a chuckle. Their matching pairs were even now. "Are you cheating?" he asked her, reaching over to take a sip of his iced tea. It was hot and muggy out, the sunlight still fading from the sky.
"No!" Lilli laughed, adding the threes to her collection. "I'm just lucky! –Oh!" she gasped, quickly setting her cards face-down on the table and putting a hand to her belly. "…That was a big one."
"Why does he only kick when I'm not close enough to feel?" Standing, clutching at his cards, he hurried over to her side of the table and knelt beside her, placing one of his too-large hands on her growing stomach. A look of concentration came over his face, and she chuckled, placing one of her smaller, delicate hands over his.
"I think it's because you calm him down." She smiled at him. "He knows his father, and he knows that everything's okay when you're around."
Slowly, the look of concern was replaced by another smile, and he nodded. "Da…perhaps you're right." Leaning up, he kissed her softly, smiling against her lips. "I love you, Lilli."
"And I love you, too." Chuckling softly, she lifted her head and looked around.
"…It's getting late. I think we should probably go inside now, don't you think?"
Ivan nodded. "I suppose so. Heh…we'll have to play again tomorrow. You know you won't be able to beat me, Lilli." He straightened, grinning, and began to gather up the cards. "Why don't you go inside and get ready for bed, dorogaya? I'll only be a few minutes."
"No, that's okay. I'd rather stay out here with you." Leaning back in her chair and folding her hands across her stomach, she looked out at the night sky, smiling her sweet smile. "…Do you remember when you proposed to me…?"
He let out a soft chuckle, carefully sliding the cards back into their box. "Of course I do. How could I forget?"
"…I was just thinking that it was a night just like this one…warm and just barely light out." Turning her head, she looked to the east, where the silver disk of the moon had already risen a good distance into the sky. "…The moon was just that size, too."
He followed her gaze, smiling as well. "Are you sure? I thought for certain that it was a crescent that night."
"No! It was full. Like it is tonight." She shot him a Look, about to reprimand him for his forgetfulness, when she saw his teasing smile. "…Of course you wouldn't forget that…hee…"
Ivan shook his head, tucking the box of cards into his pocket and moving to stand behind her, his arms wrapping around her slender shoulders. "Of course not. I remember every detail of that night. I think…. Hmm..." Reaching down, he placed his hands over hers on her belly. He still couldn't get over the fact that in a few short months he would be a father. "I came to your house at half-past seven, because I was running late. …Heh heh. Your older brother threatened to shoot me for making you worry."
She giggled. "You could have called, you know." She spoke in a gentle tone, leaning her head back against his chest.
"I know. I should have called…but I didn't, and I was running late. …And then, after I had everything sorted out with your brother, you came to the door, in your little pink dress, and I took you by your elbow—"
"—and I pulled my other arm out of Basch's hand, and we started walking down the street." She giggled. "I thought we were going to take your car, but we walked all the way there instead."
He nodded, leaning forward and kissing the top of her head. "I was trying to earn back some points with your brother, for not wasting gas money…" He smiled into her hair, inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo. "…And then I led you to the gazebo."
Sliding one of her hands out from underneath his, she placed it on top and gave him a squeeze. "And you had it all decorated—really badly decorated, too. The streamers and things were all lopsided and twisted. Candles were melting all over, and it looked terrible—but I still loved it."
"Heh…I know you did. And then I sat you down at the table and we ate the dinner I'd made. Your cooking is still better, by the way."
"Yes."
"And then, when you were almost done eating, my heart kept pounding harder and harder…I didn't think I could go through with it." Reaching back up, he began to run his fingers lightly through her short blonde hair. "But there you were, sitting across from me, just...smiling. And you always seemed to radiate such…such a…such a pure joy, I think. A joy with life that made me love you even more. And you tilted your head, and you asked me what was wrong—"
"You were bright red, and you kept clenching your fist."
"And then I brought out the ring, and I got down on one knee and I was in such a hurry that I almost knocked everything off the table. And you looked at me, and you just looked so happy, and then you said yes. And I'd never seen you look so happy, and I'd never been so happy."
Tilting her head back further to look up at him, she smiled widely. "Of course! That was the happiest day of my life—right up until we were standing at the altar, and we said our 'I Do's. Heh heh…that was the first time I'd seen you in a tux…" Frowning, she slapped at her arm. "…I think we'd better go in now, Ivan…the mosquitos are coming out…"
"Alright. Come on, then." Pulling away, he allowed her space to stand, and then scooped her up into his arms, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Time for bed, I think. Hm?"
"Oh, Ivan, the tea. Don't forget that…"
"The tea can wait. But you need to go inside now. Rest and sleep…hmm." He leaned down again and kissed her, holding her to his chest. She was perfect in every way, his Lilli. She'd never judged him for his past, had always been there to cheer him up or cheer him on. She was what had brought light into his world again, after so many lost friendships, so many failed relationships. "There are plenty of fish in the sea," his sister had told him.
Well, they could keep their fish. He had his Lilli.
CanaDERP: Hello hello hello, lovely readers! Er..we are-
Angry German: WE ARE SO ****ING SORRY THAT WE HAVEN'T UPDATED OUR OTHER STORY IN FOREVER, PLEASE FORGIVE US.
CanaDERP: *grovels* Yes, please forgive us! ;A; We promise that it WILL be updated! At some point. We will NOT leave you hanging! Forever.
Angry German: Hope you like this random one-shot that CanaDERP randomly wrote in the middle of the night and that was inspired by an RP that we did together.
CanaDERP: *whispers* That we're still doing. That we've been doing for months.
Angry German: Also, I'm working on like, THREE OTHER FICS right now, and I'm stuck on FudT, I'm sorry.
CanaDERP: And this was the first story I've been able to write in a long while, thanks to writer's block. :T Anyway...RussLiech is an adorable pairing! fdbinvkjcdsbnjk *HUGS RUSSLIECH* Almost as precious as PruCannnnn!
Angry German: Psh, you and your PruCan... *writing a Prucan fanfic as we speak* I don't get WHY you're so obsessed with it!
CanaDERP: ...Because. They are my presh babies. *whispers* Babieeees. And they're your babies too so shush. *jumps out window in search of more PruCan*