AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey readers! Thanks for taking the time to check out my Valentine tale! And I wish to acknowledge TitaniumMasterOfAquaLightning, lovesgod12, Kairocksrainbow, Princess Bunny, and FirstFandomFangirl for your encouraging comments about the previous chapter!
Flashbacks to measuremesky's The Fire Within abound in the chapter below. To see the original accounts of things referenced below, see The Fire Within - chapters 5, 2, 46, 20, and 27.
I've got a new story! Look for the first chapter of it to be published sometime next week. It takes place soon after the end of this story.
Enjoy the conclusion of The Fire Within: The Valentine Incident. Have a great Valentine's Day, everyone! - MNC 2/13/2016
Chapter 10 - A Valentine's Day to Remember
Sam sat up straight on the bench after leaning against Kai. "Is everything OK?" she asked him, since he seemed so serious all of a sudden.
"Yeah." Kai put his hand in a pocket of his suit coat, the pocket which held a certain object. Just like on that second day he had seen her at the grocery store last year, adrenaline was coursing through his veins - both his mind and his heart were racing. Now or never...now or never...
Kai cleared his throat. "I just need you to close your eyes," he instructed her.
"Um, OK," she said as she complied in quizzical amusement.
When he saw her eyes were closed, he continued. "So, Sam, I want you to think back to the day we met. Remember what aisle of the grocery store we were in?"
"Yep," she smiled. "The toilet paper aisle!"
"And the next day at the grocery store, what sweet food did we talk about?"
"Bunny's Marshmallows," she chuckled.
"So you might say that, in a way, toilet paper and marshmallows are symbols of our relationship, right?"
"I guess so," she laughed, thoroughly confused.
Though her eyes were closed, she could feel him get up from his seat on the bench next to her. The next time she heard him speak, moments later, his voice came from directly in front of her.
"Well, I have another symbol," he said quietly. "Open your eyes."
When she did so, she saw he was bent on one knee in front of her and holding up a red velvet box. His soft brown eyes were filled with love for her as he said...
"Samantha Rose Miller, I'd be the happiest man in the world if you would accept this ring as a symbol of my love for you. Will you marry me?"
Sam's hand covered her mouth as he opened the box to reveal...
a diamond engagement ring.
Tears of happiness began to flow down Sam's cheeks.
"Oh, Kai!" she breathed. "YES!"
Kai's heart leaped with joy.
The girl he had accidentally bumped into at the grocery store those many months ago was now going to be his bride.
While Kai removed the ring from its box, Sam fanned her face with her hands in an attempt to compose herself. Then he gently took her left hand and carefully slid the ring on her finger. The diamond sparkled.
Sam briefly held up her newly adorned hand to admire the shiny piece of jewelry before redirecting her attention to the man who gave it to her.
"I love you, Kai," she whispered.
"I love you, too, Sam," he responded as he returned to his seat on the bench next to her and put his arm around her.
Their first kiss as an engaged couple was sweet and slow.
Kai and Sam smiled as they eventually pulled apart and looked at each other with new eyes, absorbing the reality that they were each now looking at their future spouse. Kai used the thumb of his free hand to brush away the remaining tears from her cheeks.
After a minute, Sam could trust herself to speak in a normal tone of voice without bawling. "This is certainly a Valentine's Day to remember!" she chuckled, sliding her arm across his waist as she nestled under his shoulder.
"I know, right?" Kai agreed, guiding a loose tendril of her golden blonde hair behind her ear. "Well, you've known how I've felt about you for quite a while now. But something you did last week really touched my heart."
Sam's uncertain look told him she couldn't guess what she had done, so he continued.
"I know it seems kinda wrong to bring a scumbag like Sebastian into the conversation now, but last week, after you chose to stay with me in the concession building instead of escaping, I figured that a girl who would stick by my side in a burning building against an angry madman is a girl who would stick by my side all my life."
Sam recalled the moment. She had not hesitated to make that decision to stay with him. It just came naturally.
Kai absentmindedly took a hold of her left hand and began fiddling with the engagement ring. "So, on Sunday, after Cole and I got back from escorting you to your dorm in the taxicab, I had a long talk with Nya about me and you. She said that ever since last summer, she'd secretly hoped that you were the one for me."
He continued. "On Monday I had a long talk with Sensei Wu about me and you. Of course, nothing I said was a surprise to him," he grinned, recalling how the wise teacher had remembered that Kai had skipped several training sessions without permission last year to meet the blue-eyed beauty at the grocery store.
"Then on Tuesday, after I knew you had left on the train for Chitow City, I called your parents to ask for their blessing before I proposed."
Sam gasped. "I talked to them this afternoon to wish them a happy Valentine's Day, but they were acting weird, and now I know why! They knew what was going to happen tonight!"
Kai chuckled. "They said they could come to Ninjago City next month, when you have your spring break from your classes and the weather is better, so that we could all meet in person. Unfortunately, with me being a ninja and all, obviously I'm not able to take a lot of time off to travel 'cause I'm helping to keep Ninjago safe."
"But don't worry - Sensei Wu said we'd be able to take a honeymoon trip!" Kai quickly assured her. Sam rolled her eyes and chuckled, blushing deeply.
Kai continued. "Then on Wednesday I told the team. They said they wanted to start right away to plan the bachelor party."
"I can imagine how that conversation went!" Sam laughed.
Kai kept fiddling with the ring. "Nya went ring shopping with me on Thursday. She and I agreed that this one reflected your personality the best."
"It's beautiful," his fiancee nodded.
Kai stopped his fiddling and wrapped his hand around hers. "So, Sam, how would you feel about having the wedding this summer, like maybe August?"
Sam tilted her head in contemplation. Unless there was an extreme heat wave, the weather in August would be decent. And she supposed six months was enough time for planning, if things like her wedding dress were kept simple - simple was more her style anyway.
But she had a concern. "Well, as of this summer, I'll only be halfway done with college…"
"And you WILL finish," he interrupted her with a firm voice. He was well aware that Sam was a very goal-oriented person, especially in her academic career, and that her dream job was to someday be a top executive at Borg Industries. "I promised your parents that I would make sure you get your degree. They felt very strongly about that."
He continued. "And if you're worried about expenses, well, at least we won't have to be concerned about housing. Sensei told me he'll likely retire in the not-too-distant future and open up a tea shop. So he's thinking of buying a parcel of land that would be big enough to hold the tea shop and the Bounty and some other buildings."
"And one of those buildings would be a little cottage for us," he smiled. "Sensei's been holding some money in trust for me and Nya - an inheritance from our parents' blacksmith shop - so I'll use some of that to build our place. I figure that if we did that, we'll be living close enough for me to keep being an effective member of the ninja team...and far enough away to have some privacy with you!" he grinned, giving her shoulders a squeeze. She blushed again.
"Oh, and just so you know," Kai said, clearing his throat. "Sensei told me that traditional protocols for the wedding of a ninja say that certain dignitaries across the land of Ninjago should be invited as a matter of courtesy, so that means we'll probably have to have the ceremony in Ninjago City at a place that's big enough to hold close to a thousand people."
"A thousand?!" Sam exclaimed. By her nature she was a somewhat private person, so being the center of attention of a group that size was a bit daunting.
Kai sensed her apprehension and rushed to calm her. "Just for the wedding ceremony, though! They don't all have to come to the post-ceremony celebration."
Sam thought a minute. "Well, maybe we could ask Pastor Neuman to officiate at the university chapel," she mused. She thought highly of the clergyman, who pastored the small church she attended on Lotus Street. Sam liked the cozy, old-fashioned architecture of the 100-year-old building and the small-town friendliness of the congregation in the middle of the big city. Because the church was close to the university chapel, Pastor Neuman sometimes served as a substitute pastor for the university chaplain.
"Sure," Kai concurred, patting her shoulder. "We could make an appointment to meet with him when your mom and dad come to Ninjago City next month."
He stretched his legs, noting that his foot felt better. "What time is it?" he asked her.
Sam checked her watch. "About nine o'clock."
"I was instructed by Nya to bring you to the Bounty at ten o'clock."
"For what?"
"Just a little Valentine party," he smirked. "With cocoa and s'mores."
Sam laughed. "I sense a marshmallow theme!"
Kai stood up before pulling Sam off the bench and wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Yeah, we might be celebrating something else besides just Valentine's Day," he grinned. "Oh, and Cole is bringing Brooke. He was gonna wait till tonight to tell her about us 'cause he wanted to spare her the agony of keeping the secret."
"That was good thinking," Sam chuckled. "Hey, can we stop by my room first? Let's give my parents a call, and then I can gather up the museum souvenirs I brought back for the team."
Kai gave her a quick kiss. "Whatever you want, future Mrs. Smith!"
One kiss wasn't enough, however. He stole another one. And another.
"Happy Valentine's Day," he murmured.
"Happy Valentine's Day to you, too," she whispered back before his lips overtook hers once again.
Kai and Sam continued exchanging kisses as the fire within - otherwise known as the love in their hearts - burned strongly on Valentine's Day.
*** The End ***