His palms were sweating and his breath caught in his throat. How was he going to say it? How was he going to articulate a lifetime's worth of feeling by saying three little words?

"I love you." The words came tumbling out of his mouth, so softly that Peter wasn't sure that she heard them. "I love you," he repeated, louder this time. He held her hand more gently now and kissed the back of it. "I love you, Sophie Andrews. I have since the beginning of our days in Narnia and I always will."

Sophie did her best not to sigh with relief as the frown on her face morphed into a smile so wide that her cheeks began to hurt. She had been waiting too long to hear those words. But what happened next was something that she most definitely was not ready for. With a smile on his face, Peter bent down from standing to get on one knee. Time seemed to slow as he reached into his pants pocket and kept his hand in a fist when he removed it. Sophie's eyes widened, her heart skipped a beat, and her brain tried to understand what was about to happen before it actually took place.

"Peter, what are you—" she began to ask, but he silenced her with a look. She bit down on her lip to keep herself from chattering mindlessly, her smile still in place.

To say that Peter felt bad for making Sophie wait another moment to hear his next words would have been the understatement of the decade. Still, he needed the time to calm his nerves. It would be horridly embarrassing for him if his voice cracked while he proposed to her. He took a deep breath before looking her straight in the eyes. This really was all it would take to fix years of things unsaid. Four more words.

"Sophie Andrews, will you make me the happiest man in Narnia and take me as your husband?"

Peter stared at his reflection in the mirror as he let the words hang in the air. That didn't sound quite right. How did one go about asking the person that they loved to spend the rest of their lives together? He frowned and turned away from the mirror, then proceeded to pace. It made him feel old, but it was something that he found himself doing frequently. There was a lot on his mind after all.

"Sophie, will you—"

"Yes?"

And there she was, standing in the doorway, her hand poised to knock. Well didn't Peter feel silly with his mouth opening and closing noiselessly. He had nearly forgotten that he had sent for her. Now that she was here, though, he felt all of his self-confidence leave him. She was looking at him expectantly, so he cleared his throat and said, "Will you please look over this month's expenses with me?"

"Will you marry me?" His blue eyes locked with her grey ones as he waited, fighting to maintain his courage. It felt as if a large weight had been lifted from his shoulders and he literally straightened up. He had done his part; now his fate was in Sophie's hands, however cliché that seemed.

The girl in question found herself at a loss for words even though she knew her answer. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest as she continued to stare at Peter. The look in his eyes was expectant but Sophie's mouth had gone dry. It was hard to believe that this was really happening. They had just been fighting moments ago and now he was asking her to marry him. She felt her eyes prick, the sensation that told her she would soon be crying, but this time, they would be tears of joy. There was only the matter of her actually saying something…anything.

"Marry you?" she asked, feeling her heart leap into her throat as she watched him nod. Her brain was finally managing to wrap itself around the present situation and she said, "We can't be married!" rather brusquely. The way his face fell made her instantly cup her hands around his cheeks. Her voice was tender as she continued, "At least not right away. Not now. We're too young here. In this world, we've known each other for, what? Two months? What would people say?! Never mind the fact that it most likely isn't even legally possible…I'm fairly certain there's some sort of age before which you cannot be married."

"Soph."

"I love you, Peter, forever and for always and I have dreamt about marrying you more times than I care to count. But we can't get married. Not yet," she finished. She inhaled deeply, surprised that he had only interrupted her once.

He was looking at her with such uncertainty that Sophie feared for the worst. "Is that a yes, then?" he inquired, his face still in her hands.

"Yes, Peter Pevensie," she answered. "A thousand times yes," she added with a grin.

A matching grin adorned his face as he opened his hand to reveal the ring that Susan had given to him earlier. It was simple and elegant; in short, it was perfect. Sophie pulled her left hand away from Peter's face, allowing him to slip the golden band onto her ring finger. They breathed in quiet admiration of the single pearl that ornamented the piece of jewelry. Complete and utter contentment radiated off of them, making their eyes shine. Blue met grey and Peter got to his feet, feeling pleasantly lightheaded. He knew what he wanted to do next, but wasn't entirely sure how to do so.

In the moment that he hesitated, the door behind which Susan, Edmund, and Lucy were hiding swung open with a noisy creak. The three other Pevensie siblings lurched forward at the sudden loss of support. Susan looked sheepish, but Edmund and Lucy were positively beaming. Quiet filled the room as the two parties stared at each other. Sophie certainly hadn't been expecting that, even after all of the unexpected things that had just transpired. Peter had hoped they would have waited to reveal themselves. After he kissed his new fiancée for the first time ever would have been nice.

"Well aren't you going to kiss her?"

Five pairs of eyes bulged and turned to see Professor Kirke enter from the hall that connected the dining room to the kitchen. The Professor seemed completely at ease, holding a pipe in one hand and a plate bearing a slice of cake in the other. He looked into the face of each child before giving a shrug and leaving the way he came.

Sophie was the first to react. Her laughter filled the room as she brought her hands over her face in embarrassment. If the hot feeling on her cheeks was an indication of anything, she knew that she was blushing a vibrant shade of red. Susan and Lucy were laughing with her shortly thereafter. The sisters smiled at each other, glad that things were finally starting to work out for their brother and their dearest friend. It had taken long enough but perhaps it was all for the better. Ed didn't join the girls, instead shaking his head and rolling his eyes. He was, without a doubt, just as happy as everyone else. He simply hoped that they would all think twice before accusing him of being thick or stubborn or slow in the future.

Peter was the last to react. He knew that the Professor certainly meant well but at times he was more than the oldest Pevensie could fathom. Even after the amount of conversing he had done with the old man, he constantly found himself wondering if Professor Kirke was touched in the head. At any rate, he did have a point, so Peter reached out and pulled Sophie into a warm embrace. She wrapped her arms around him in response and leaned her forehead against his chest. Edmund cleared his throat as he stood up, before ushering his sisters out of the room. Over the top of Sophie's head, he winked at his older brother.

This was a moment that the two had imagined for too long, although never in a scenario like the one they were currently in. Sophie inhaled, relishing in the feeling of Peter's arms hugging her close to him. He exhaled quietly, gathering his courage. She looked up as he looked down. He leaned towards her and she rose up on the balls of her feet. Their eyelids fluttered closed when their lips finally met and they smiled into their first kiss.

Author's Note: Wow. I can't believe that it's been almost four years since I started writing this silly little story. I've got one more chapter to write, but before I get to that, I'd like to say thank you to all of my readers and reviewers. Lots of thanks to my wonderful betas as well. Please go back and re-read the previous chapters, as I've edited them with the hope that they don't sound too much like they were written by a fifteen-year-old.

I'm going to write one more chapter for this story, so if there's anything that you would like to see happen, please feel free to leave a review or message me. Also, I'll be writing a sequel to this set during Prince Caspian, so be on the look out for that~!