The abrupt knock at Mineral Blacksmith jolts Gray upright from his bed, clutching his bone white sheets. After his breathing becomes steady again, he looks around the room. He wants to close his tired eyes and go back to bed, walking into his previous dream, where he and Claire were on a gondola in Venice, and he proposed to Claire, and she said yes, and they kissed like people always in the romantic, cliché movies, and everything was perfect.
Of course, it's not real. Why would life give him a break?
"Claire Grace Day." Gray quickly takes out a beautiful blue feather from the front pocket of his bomber jacket. He smiles as Claire's expression goes from expressionless, to a tearful grin. "Will you marry me?"
Claire puts a hand in front of her mouth, and stifles a cry, then wraps Gray into a long, amazing kiss. "Oh Gray, of course I will!" she cries with a girlish squeal.
His dream felt so real. It could have been real, and he'd never know. It might be real. It really could be real. But he knows it's not. Why? Claire. Doesn't. Squeal.
The knocks become more insistent, and Gray groans. He's not going to answer the door. He will go back to his lumpy, uncomfortable bed and his sweet dreams will return.
"Claire Grace Day, will you marry me?"
"Oh Gray, of course I will!"
Just as he is about to shut his bleary eyes, he hears that signature knock, and he knows who's at the door. Da-da-da-du-da, DA-DA!
He grinds his teeth, hops out of bed, racing towards the door, and opening it in five seconds flat. There is that familiar blonde he sees everyday, her arms spread wide out vertically, grinning her white grin from ear to ear.
"SUR-" Before she can finish, Gray slams the door as quietly as he can, leaning on the wall, his head banging into it harshly.
Quickly, the rosewood door is pushed open, and the blonde returns, in her same position as before.
"SURPRISE!" Claire yells, proud she has finally gotten her sentence in. Gray shoots her a frosty glare, and covers his calloused hand over her mouth.
"Will you shut-up?" he snaps groggily. "If Gramps wakes up he's gonna kill me."
To his surprise, Claire throws he arms around his neck, her small figure nearly bringing his tall frame off balance. "Happy Birthday!" she exclaims, as softly as she can.
After holding onto him for quite some time, his bare chest pressed tightly against her silky pyjamas, proclaiming STAY UP LATE!, she finally lets go, holding out a basket, searching for his reaction.
"Claire," Gray says, as politely as he can.
Claire brightens. "Yeah?"
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT DAMN TIME IT IS?" Gray screams, so loud, Claire's twin gold braids have swayed a little from the projection of his voice.
A smile plays on her naturally coral lips. "Time to get a new watch?" she jokes, trying to get a laugh out of him. He is unimpressed.
"No," Gray corrects sharply. "It's 3 A.M."
"Oh," Claire says, plainly. "My bad."
Gray sighs, running a hand along the pattern carved onto the door. "Go to sleep Claire. We'll deal with this in the morning."
Claire fake-pouts. "No, we're gonna deal with this now." Her face splits into a grin, and she takes Gray by hand into his small living room, with it's medium green couch, tiny orange furry rug, and television. Claire sits on the floor, while Gray flops onto the couch with a whooshing sound, mumbling complaints about how early it is.
"Claire, you know I hate birthdays," he mutters, wondering if she'd mind if he went to sleep right there and then. "Can't I just go back to bed?"
"Claire Grace Day, will you marry me?"
"Oh Gray, of course I will!"
Claire frowns. "But it took me forever to weave this basket with my bare hands," she whines.
Gray stares at her for the longest time, arching an eyebrow, waiting for her to crack. Finally, she adds, "Okay, so I bought it from the supermarket." With another groan, Gray lies down on the couch, nearly shutting his eyes. He can deal with this in the morning. All his birthdays are terrible. They're always spent alone. People always forget. Winter 6 is just another day of the year. It doesn't matter.
"But Gray," Claire starts, shaking him so he has no choice but to sit up. "That's not the point. The point is, it's your birthday, you're 19 now, and your best friend walked here in the cold snow." Gray smirks, because he knows she's just being dramatic. The cold doesn't bother her. "Just to give you your present at 3 A.M. Now, open your damn present," Claire commands with such force, Gray has to give in and untie the ribbon that holds everything together, looking at what Claire has done for him. She shouldn't have done this, he thinks a little guiltily. I've been acting grumpy around her lately. That is, whenever he got to see her. Most of the time she was out with Trent, and when she was with him, somehow the topic of how in love they were came up.
"Claire Grace Day, will you marry me?"
"Oh Gray, of course I will!"
He holds up a small package. It's hard to see anything since it's so dark, but the moon has bathed both of them in light.
"Coffee beans?" Gray asks, reading the package. Claire giggles.
"Yeah. You say you can never function with your coffee, so." She makes a dramatic pause, and a smile creeps across Gray's face. "Ta-da!"
With a chuckle, he looks at the next item, yellow with flecks of bronze, a wafting aroma wrapped around it.
"Baked corn," Gray says with a chuckle. "You know me well Clairedy-Cat."
She joins in with him. "One of my favourite things to grow in the summer."
"Wait, if it's winter, how do you still have these?"
"Don't worry about it."
With an eye roll, he looks at the last present, and his smile freezes. "Where did you find this?" he whispers. He holds in his hand a piece of what looks like a black piece of charcoal, but is really so much more.
"In the third mines," Claire replies curtly. "You said you needed a 'Mythic Stone' for something, but I wasn't sure what." She smiles reassuringly at him, trying to read his expression.
His fingers curl around the rock. He's been looking for it for nearly 4 years. To get it, you'd have to go deep in the mines. Like Claire did. All this time, he's been snapping at her, and wanting to go back to sleep, while she's been preparing this. And he is sorry for everything.
"Claire," he mumbles, and wants to cry. Instead, he holds her close to him, feeling her beautiful heartbeat, and says, "Thank you. For everything you've done." Claire smiles, relieved, and hugs him back.
"You're my best friend Gray, it was nothing." He releases her from his hug, and watches as she rises from the floor. "Well, I better be going. You need your beauty sleep," she laughs, and stops when Gray seizes her arm.
"Claire Grace Day, will you marry me?"
"Oh Gray, of course I will!"
"Claire Grace Day, will you-" he says, and puts his free hand in front of his mouth, not believing he said nearly everything he was thinking out loud.
Claire looks confused, and tilts her head. "Yeah Gray?"
"Will you... stay with me, for a little longer?" He hopes his face isn't red. Though he knows it is. He hopes he can say those words out loud. Though he knows he won't.
Claire grins. "Oh Gray, of course I will."