"Delphiiinneee," Cosima sang, gently pushing the sleeping woman onto her back and climbing on top of her, lying out above her lover. Cosima moved Delphine's silky tresses away, cradling her face in her hands and gently kissing her as she woke.
"Mmmmm Cosima?" Delphine mumbled against the woman's lips as she grinned.
"Marry me Delphine,"
"Mmerry Christmas to you too Cosima," Delphine sleepily mumbled, not opening her eyes and wrapping her arms around the smaller woman, "Can't we sleep in?"
Cosima grinned and kissed her once more, normally she was the one to ask that but she hadn't stayed awake till midnight just to go to sleep now, "Marry me, Delphine, will you marry me?"
Delphine opened her eyes, a rush of tingles spreading down her arms and legs as she realised what Cosima said.
Cosima sat up, holding out the little blue velvet box to Delphine, "Oh mon dieu Cosima absolument!" Delphine exclaimed, her hand unable to hide her colossal smile, "Yes, absolutely a million times yes!" Delphine answered and pulled the woman back down to kiss her.
Cosima felt she was sinking into a different world with Delphine's soft lips as her portal, a world of warmth, butterflies, tingles and soft touches. A world that doesn't require sight or speech, where communication is almost silent but all about feeling. When Delphine kissed her it felt like she was leaving the physical world and being shown a completely new plane of existence but the voice in Cosima's head told her to she had one more thing to say and so brought her back to the real world with a rush as she opened her eyes and sat up.
It almost startled her to find herself back in her bed.
Delphine looked down at Cosima's hand and took the box from her, opening it with a feeling of Christmas cheer and anticipation, what kind of rings did Cosima like?
A look of confusion crossed her face, "Um," Her brow furrowed, "Cosima… it's-it's empty?"
Cosima grinned again, further confusing Delphine, "That's because I want you to decide what ring you'll wear,"
"Wh- but ma cherie, the shops are all closed tomorrow? I mean today."
Cosima smiled even wider and slid off Delphine, kissing her cheek as she passed over her and stood up, "That's why we're gonna now!" Cosima exclaimed cheerfully.
"Now?!" Delphine repeated incredulously.
"Mhm!" Cosima said, holding out a pile of clothes for Delphine.
"It's midnight, will anywhere be open?"
"I have a friend who's waiting for us."
Delphine raised an eyebrow at Cosima as she took the clothes from her and started to pull them on, "Wow…. Just…." the words to express what she was feeling just weren't there, "Wow…"An excitement ran through her as she shimmed into jeans and a smile grew on her face and seemed to become stuck there as she stared at Cosima, her fiancé, fiancé! The thought astounded her, thrilled her immensely, and sent tingles of excitement down her back and throughout her limbs, "Alright let's go!" Delphine cried, grabbing Cosima's hand and moving towards the door quickly.
The drive was short and filled with Delphine questioning Cosima on what type of rings she thought she might like and asking Cosima her opinion and then following up with what price range they were looking in or what colours she should be thinking about.
Cosima just beamed at Delphine's endless questions till she pulled up out the front of a dimly lit shop and kissed her to silence her, "I've always wanted to do that," She commented.
"What? Kiss me?"
"Kiss you to quiet you for a moment, problem is that I love listening to you speak," Cosima's grin was as wide as Delphine's, "Come on, let's go in," She suggested and climbed out of the car, pulling her coat around herself a little tighter against the chilly wind.
Delphine joined her and took her hand, linking their fingers as they walked hand in hand, heart to heart, into the store together.
"Hey Cosima," A woman called, jumping up from behind a counter.
"Hey," Cosima greeted, "Jane, this is Delphine, Delphine this is Jane."
"So you said yes then obviously?" Jane asked cheerfully.
"Of course she did!" Cosima jumped in, her eyes flickering between Delphine and Jane.
"Well given that's she's here that kinda speaks for itself. So Delphine, what kind of rings take your fancy?"
"Hm?" Delphine's head snapped up from where she had been looking down through the dimly lit counter, "Oh, I don't really know what they are all called but I think I prefer one's without stones or jewels sticking out the top."
"Okay, well over here," Jane leant over to the side and took a box out, laying it on the counter top for Delphine to see, "we have some that might interest you."
Delphine scanned the box quickly and then again slowly so as to take in each one, "That one," Delphine pointed.
"That's one's fourteen karat rose gold with diamond leaf and vinel butterflies, $1220," Jane explained.
"Are you sure you don't want to look at any of the others?" Cosima asked.
"I'm sure ma cherie, which one do you like?"
"I want to have matching rings so I'll get the same," Cosima said with a smile.
"Oh are you sure?"
"Absolutely," Cosima leaned up on her toes and kissed Delphine's cheek, "Two of these," Cosima said to her friend who just winked and put the box back minus the ring they had chosen.
"How long have you been planning this?" Delphine asked when it was just the two of them.
"Um, about seven hours actually!"
"Oh!" Delphine didn't know how else to respond.
"I called Jane up this evening after dinner to ask her if she'd help me out… but I'd been thinking it about it for a few months, I just didn't know how to say it."
"Here we go," Jane interrupted, coming back into the room with two boxes, "Try those on for size," She said, snapping open the boxes and placing them on the counter.
Cosima reached over and took the ring from the box in front of Delphine and then took Delphine's hand, sliding the ring onto her finger, "Merry Christmas Delphine."
"Joyeux Noël Cosima," Delphine replied and pulled Cosima to her, kissing her softly and finding the woman's hand to slip her ring on.
Both were a perfect fit.
"Mm, or should that be Marry Christmas?" Jane piped up and Cosima just groaned.