Those Four Words
"Will you marry me?" Elsword knelt down on one knee, the dark velvet box opened in his hands. The ring was nestled in the folds of white silk, the stone in the middle cut and polished until it sparkled and the white gold band tastefully embedded with smaller diamonds and El gems.
"Um, Elsword…" the blond hesitated. A look of uncertainty flitted across Chung's face as the redhead gave him an intense stare. A pink tint slowly appeared on Chung's face.
"Just reply!" Elsword hissed through gritted teeth. The knee he was leaning on was starting to get sore.
"… I think you need a better person to practice with."
"Like who?" The redhead straightened up from his position on the ground, stretching his limbs. He had been doing this all day since he arrived at Hamel Palace in the morning, desperate to perfect his proposal. "You're the only option left!"
"How about Rena?"
"That elf can't keep a secret. Her squeals would be loud enough to alert all of Hamel."
"Eve?"
"I tried. That feisty fiancé of yours… I just can't. My face still throbs thinking about it."
Chung grinned cheekily. "Well, I'm sure you deserved it. Have you asked Raven yet?"
Elsword stared at his blond friend, eyes wide with terror. "Eve is one thing, but do you want me to die that much?!"
"Good point."
"And, thus, you are my final hope."
Chung sighed. Why did he have to be such a good friend? "Just do what you need to do," he heard his mouth saying.
"Alright, from the top then." Elsword got down on one knee again. "Will you marry –"
"OhmyLadyofEl!" Rena's high-pitched squeals could have shattered glass had they been a tad bit higher. She rushed into the room, suddenly shoving Elsword aside. "Chung, you wouldn't cheat on Eve just a few weeks from your wedding?"
Chung immediately froze. "No way! It-it's just a m-misunderstanding!" he managed to stammer under Rena's intense, green-eyed stare.
"Oh?" a soft voice lilted from the doorway of the room, drawn in by Rena's loud shrieks. Eve glided in – after all, walking was for creatures of lower status. Excluding Chung, of course.
"Eve, I swear to Lady El that this isn't –" Chung's voice was cut off by the sound of skin meeting skin.
Or, to be exact, Nasod machinery skin meeting human skin.
"What was that for?" Elsword yelled, holding his injured cheek. It was the very cheek that Eve slapped for, roughly, at least a hundred times before.
"For being an overly assertive idiot," Eve replied simply. "You will never achieve anything through practice. If Aisha loves you, she will agree, no matter how big of a mistake you will make."
"… that sounds like you expect me to make a mistake, you know."
Eve gave him a pointed look before grabbing Chung's hand and leading him out. "Because you will, you idiot."
"Sorry, Elsword. Good luck?" Chung called back as he followed his fiancée out the doorway.
"Wait, Chung! You still haven't told me how you got the guts to ask that scary – I mean, amazing – girlfriend of yours to marry her!" For a dramatic effect, Elsword got down his knees, stretching his hand out in pretend grief as Chung moved further away. "Don't leave me alone. What happened to bros before hoes – I mean, girls," he corrected himself, noticing Rena and Eve's sharp glares.
Chung waved at him, a knowing smile on his face before disappearing.
"You know, you can always ask me for help. I'd be glad to," Rena sing-songed into the redhead's ears.
"Uhh..." He hesitated, knowing that Rena would be stricter than any military general with anything related to romance and relationships.
Rena's bright smile twitched as a vein on her temple began to visibly pulsate, which was never a good sign.
Elsword quickly swallowed his fear. "Okay, okay, I really need your help!"
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. Congratulations, you may kiss the bride," the minister droned in a monotonous voice despite the festive occasion.
The guests cheered and whooped as Chung and Eve leaned in for a kiss. Once the couple broke it off, Eve slapped Chung lightly as the guests swarmed to congratulate them, showering the newlyweds with confetti.
The chapel that was part of the Hamel Palace grounds was elegantly decorated with a light pink and white theme, chosen specifically by Eve herself to ensure absolute perfection. However, the blue of waters would sometimes cause the translucent white decorations to appear light blue.
Elsword and Aisha, who were sitting in the front, waded backwards through the crowd in an attempt to escape. They, along with a few other special friends, had sat through a private, official marriage ceremony, where they had formally witnessed the creation of a long-lasting alliance between Hamel and Altera. This public display of vows was only for show.
"Do you want to go somewhere quieter?" Elsword yelled into Aisha's ear, afraid that she wouldn't be able to hear despite being less than a foot away from him.
Smack! Aisha's staff quickly snaked out from El-knows-where and whacked Elsword in the head. "I'm not deaf, you know!" she shouted. "But let's get out of here before Eve tosses her bouquet and causes a stampede."
"Ouch…" Was it just him or was he always being smacked around lately?
He slipped his hand into hers, a movement so natural to him now, and, together, they made way through the crowd and out the back door where fresh sunlight awaited them. The running fountains sang their bubbly tunes, splashing water in the same neat manner they always did and drowning out the celebratory noises coming from inside the chapel.
The couple walked slowly, silently admiring the beautiful craftsmanship of the fountains and the meticulous care of the garden like they always did. They stopped in their favorite spot, in front of one of the less grandiose fountains but surrounded by the heady perfume of roses and the light scent of camellia blossoms. A small wooden bench had been placed in front of the fountain, always slightly damp from the constant splashes, and they sat, hands still connected.
"They're so perfect for each other," Aisha said in an attempt to break the comfortable, yet unnerving, silence. She could feel Elsword's hand grow damper though it wasn't hot enough outside to cause his excessive sweating.
"Mmm, I'm pretty sure Chung's the only one that can put up with Eve's slaps." Not only was his cheek still protesting from the traumas it had to endure for such a long time, but his head was also throbbing with the recent blow it took.
Well, he was thick-skulled for a reason.
Also, how did such a petite person reach so high?
Aisha snorted. "Your head puts up with my abuse perfectly fine though." She smiled, mirth sparkling in her violet eyes. "I guess you're just especially dense in the skull," she said softly.
Elsword blinked. He hadn't been paying much attention, his free hand flipping the velvet box in the pocket of his trousers nervously. He had been carrying the tiny, somewhat ominous box around with him every single day, hoping for an opportunity.
And praying to any of the deities out there that he wouldn't screw this up. After all, Rena would have his head if he did.
"Erm, ah, well," he found himself saying to fill the gap in the conversation.
The mage frowned slightly, noting Elsword's weird behavior only getting stranger in the past few days.
"Are you sick?" She stopped walking, turning abruptly to face him with worry written all over her face.
"N-no, I'm fine!"
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. He might not be sick, but something was definitely up. There was a visible sheen of sweat on his forehead at this point though he made no move to wipe it.
"Is there something you want to tell me?"
"N-no?" His tone suddenly rose so high at the end of his statement that his voice slightly cracked. He quickly cleared his throat.
"You're hiding something." While she wasn't quite forcing him to tell, she stared into his eyes so intensely that he innately understood that he might lose a vital body part if he didn't give a satisfactory excuse.
"Uhh…" He racked his brain, trying to come up with something that might appease her exponentially growing suspicion. He could've sworn he was better at communicating, but his current anxiety had him completely tongue-tied.
Without giving Elsword even a few seconds, Aisha changed tactics. "Fine. Be that way. If you're not going to tell me, then I'll just guess and judge your reaction." She didn't even need to take a second to think before she came up with, "You're cheating on me."
The sudden accusation threw the redhead completely off. "W-WHAT? I would NEVER! What — h-how did you — I mean — "
In contrast, the purple-haired mage was calm. She shrugged nonchalantly, trying to hide her fear if the accusation were true, but Elsword could tell from the way she looked away that she was afraid to hear the answer. "You've been over to Chung's place a lot lately. I've barely seen you around during the past two or three weeks, and now you're trying to keep secrets. From me. Maybe you found a — I don't know — more voluptuous friend or something." She vehemently spat out the last part of her sentence, her irritation now open. She pulled her hand out of Elsword's and folded her arms across her chest, lips pressed tightly together.
"Look, Aisha. I would never — never — do something like that and not admit to it," he said with as much conviction as he could muster. "I swear it on everything I value. J-just give me a little time to figure out things, okay?"
"Fine." Her tone was still that of annoyance, but it was slightly abated due to his earnest response.
"So are we good now?" he asked nervously.
"I suppose," came the terse response. She turned away from him, staring intently at a camellia plant with tiny, red blossoms as if it held all of the answers to life.
Elsword, his hand suddenly feeling empty without her smaller one to fill it, didn't know what to do. He put his now-free hand into his pocket, unsure of how to solve the predicament he now found himself in.
"Eve's dress was gorgeous," Aisha suddenly mumbled in a bad attempt at breaking the awkward, tense silence. Maybe Elsword would respond if they talked about something mundane.
And respond he did.
"But she won't be nearly as lovely as you in your wedding dress, I'm sure." Elsword took a deep breath, putting all of his failed practices into this one moment.
"Wha – "
He knelt down, fumbling slightly with the velvet box in his pocket before proffering it to his girlfriend of three years, nine months, and twenty-one days.
"Iloveyouwillyoumarryme?"
A/N: /cue massive vomiting.
I don't do fluff very well, but thanks for reading and bearing through that. Ending was intentionally left open, but I personally like to imagine Aisha turning into her April Fool's form and throwing Elsword into a fountain before agreeing. c: