This is dedicated to Measured, who got me into the pairing, and guardians_song, who came up with the idea of Heather bringing Nephenee home.
Of all the crazy things that'd happened to her in the last bunch of years, Heather was just about the craziest. But she was crazy in the best way, Nephenee reckoned; sure, she was kinda shameless about flirtin' with her in public, touchin' her in front of everyone, callin' her honey and sweetie and sayin' all kinds of naughty things. And then there was the thief thing, of course; Heather'd never really been able to cut out cuttin' purses, try as she did. Still, she did it for Nephenee...or for her mama, who'd recovered nicely in the last year.
Was it crazy of her, to thank the Crimea rebellion for the small favor of havin' met Heather at all? But maybe she'd have met her some other way, on the street or in Calill's pub. Yes, definitely at the pub; before she'd gotten all serious about Nephenee Heather loved to check out the girls. Calill, Marcia, Ilyana, Mist, Aimee, Fiona...Soren, before she'd realized he was a man and lost interest. Not that it ever made Nephenee jealous or anythin', but all the same she was glad when it stopped.
"Honey, I'm home!" Ah, there she was now. After the war, Heather'd brought her home to meet her mama, sayin' a good strong country girl like her would be the best bodyguard for the ailin' woman. Heather's place was a lot smaller than the farm, but still nice just the same. Heather's mama was a great lady, a little picky and nervous but Nephenee could tell how much she and her daughter loved each other.
"Hey." Nephenee smiled. "Didja have a good day at work?"
"Same old, same old. Gotta admit the pub aint a bad place to earn a living, Calill's a great boss." Heather smiled as she sat down beside Nephenee on the couch. "And those guys who keep chasing after Astrid weren't around, so it was a good day! Y'know, I think Astrid oughta just marry Marcia, they get along well and Marcia helped Astrid realize she's gotta be her own woman and not just-"
"Aw, Heather." Nephenee laughed. "I know you're worried for Lady Astrid an' all, but a girl's gotta follow her own heart. It worked for me, after all!" Heather actually blushed for a moment as she pulled Nephenee close, nuzzling her cheek.
"Yeah, but you picked me. And I've been nothing but good for you, right?"
"Well, yeah..." Nephenee smiled. "I reckon you have. Can't remember the last time I was this happy. Not that back home was so bad or nothin', but..." She took a deep breath and dug something out of her pocket. She'd had this for a long time, Grandma had given it to her ages ago and she'd been waiting for the right time. And the right person. Now sure felt right.
"What've you got there?" Heather watched her hand. Nephenee swallowed. Here goes.
"I wanna make an honest woman of you." She took Heather's hand and slid the little gold ring onto her finger. A tiny diamond in the center, nothin' fancy, but the gold matched the highlights in Heather's hair real nicely. Heather actually looked surprised, starin' at the ring and then Nephenee.
"You're serious? You wanna get married?"
"Yeah...um, I love you and all, and I can't see myself lovin' anyone else," Nephenee stammered. She'd only managed to overcome her shyness a little, and only around Heather. "So, um..."
"You know what my answer is." Heather swept her into her arms and held her tight. "I already think of you as my cute little wife, now you really will be!"
"Aw, Heather..." Nephenee felt her heart swellin' up with joy, like it might burst. "I'll tell mama and the rest of the family, and we can all have dinner together, and-"
"Let's just elope!" Heather cut in. "Come on, can't you think of anything more romantic than running off together?"
"Ah, well...I was hopin' to wear mama's old weddin' dress. But I suppose I can take it with me."
"Forget that! I'll buy you the fanciest, sexiest wedding dress there is." Heather's hand traveled towards her thigh. "With honest money. Maybe."
"Well, my family's gonna wanna know..."
"They will! We'll just get married first and then tell 'em!"
"Heather..." Nephenee sighed. "We can talk about it later, I guess." Heather mock-pouted.
"Oh, fine." She pulled something out of her own pocket. "For now, I'll just give you this." It was a golden ring even fancier than grandma's, with a huge diamond in the shape of a heart. "Don't worry, I paid real money for this. Well, paid, traded some of my old weapons for it, it's all good."
"It's beautiful..." Nephenee held out her hand and watched Heather slip the ring onto her finger. "Thank you. Wow...this's really happenin', isn't it."
"Sure is." Heather pulled her close for a short kiss. "Later I'm gonna mark today on the calendar as best day in the history of the universe." She moved in for another kiss, and Nephenee let herself melt into the contact.
They'd talk to mama and Heather's mama and the rest of the families when the time came. Hopefully things wouldn't get too out of hand, but Nephenee reckoned she could handle it. She and Heather would handle it together.