A/N: So, this is my second entry to the Christmas Contest on Deviantart. It's also a prequel to the previous chapter. Thanks to Jett-Wolfe98 and Second Daughter of Eve for the reviews, I'm glad you share my sense of humor. Awesomegoat and Frogster, I hadn't thought of that! (facepalm) I will begin writing a Deryn and little Deryn fic immediately!

Disclaimer: I AM NOT ! NOR WILL I EVER BE!

Remember to read and review!

In London, it doesn't normally snow during the winter. Rain is always a great possibility, in fact, it almost always a certainty that it would rain. On Christmas day 1921, two years after the end of the Great War, Deryn stood atop the Tower Bridge. She was not on the observation deck, which was directly above her, but rather on the pedestrian walkway. Cars and carriages rushed behind her as she leaned on the rail, the only solid separation between her body and the air above the murky water of the Thames.

Deryn looked at her wristwatch. The ticking, turning cogs showed that it was five-ten in the evening. She supposed the habit of wearing the watch never did wear off, but then again, neither did the habit of wearing trousers and keeping her hair short. He was supposed to be there ten minutes ago. The winter sky was already becoming dark. Behind her, the sun was being engulfed in a bright red sea, which was fading into the colors of the now inky sky. The moon was shining above her in a waning crescent, eerily looking like the grin of the Cheshire cat.

Alek walked up from behind her and tapped her shoulder. She was not surprised. She did not jump or twitch from his sudden touch. Deryn simply remained leaning on the rail. "You're late." She said in a clipped voice.

"I'm sorry, liebe." Alek replied solemnly. He was wearing only a simple button-down shirt, crossed over by the straps of his suspenders. He was not fazed by the cold bitter wind blown across the Thames. Being Austrian, he was accustomed to much colder and harsher winters, and London seemed like nothing more than the spring of his home country.

"Don't 'liebe' me!" Deryn snapped, turning around to face him. His green eyes looked spent and tired, their brilliance more subtle than normal. "I've been waiting here, looking like a fool I might add, for twenty minutes."

Alek's eyebrows furrowed as he took out his pocket-watch, opening it to look at the time. Above the face of the watch, on the underside of the lid, there was a picture of Deryn, hair much shorter and her face grinning. "I am only ten minutes late." He observed.

"I was worried you would be here early!" She exclaimed. "I know how you are when you're nervous!"

"How did you know that I was nervous?" He asked, a smile creeping up onto his face.

"Because I know you." She said, her face did not bulge from its angry, impassive expression. "And your voice betrays you." She added.

"I love you." He said, inching closer to her. His arms crept around her waist and he pulled himself towards her. Deryn's face lifted up and accepted his kiss.

Alek broke off the quick kiss, but their foreheads were still touching. "I know you do, dummkopf." She smiled.

Alek knelt down to the ground and ignored the cool, damp feeling that crept up his knee the moment that it touched the ground. "Deryn, I love you. My life would be a lost, winding road without you. I would've had no direction whatsoever. I—I—" His throat seemed to close up sporadically, unable to keep making out the words that he had so carefully rehearsed. He cleared his throat anxiously. "What I'm trying to say is that— that—I feel like we've done—I mean we have our whole lives ahead of us—and—"Alek's speech stopped. He looked down at the ground, not being able to bear looking her in the eye. "Schieße! Warum kann ich dieses nicht sagen? Dumm! Dumm! Dumm!" He swore under his breath, and slapped himself in forehead repeatedly.

Deryn chuckled lightly and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. She knelt down to the ground in front of him. The loose rocks on the pavement dug into her exposed knees, but she paid them no notice, and grasped Alek's hands in hers, marveling at their warmth, despite his lack of suitable clothing. "Alek, dear. Breathe. Deep, calming breath." She ordered him, and he did as he was told, inhaling and exhaling deeply. His face was visibly more relaxed. "Aye, that's it. Now, think of what you want to say." He closed his eyes in response to her command. "And, when you're ready, say the words that are going through your head."

He cleared his throat once again. "Deryn Sharp. Liebe." His hand traveled to his pocket and he slowly withdrew a small leather box, opening it to reveal a ring. Deryn gasped at its beauty. It was simple, yet so intricate. The ring was a single silver band, inlayed with three polished, circular stones, two sapphires and one diamond set in between them. The color of the sapphires shined out like eyes in the middle of the night, matching the hue of her own. "Deryn, will you marry me?" Alek asked.

She smiled at him broadly and laid her hand out for him. He carefully took the ring out of its box and slid it onto her long, slender finger. It slid past easily, ignoring the old calluses and rough patches of her overworked hand.

Alek got up from the ground, and then, as gentlemanly conduct dictated, pulled Deryn up to her own feet. She did not waste a second once she was up, and smashed her lips up onto his.

To the odd passersby, there were no words to describe the odd sight of the young couple passionately kissing on the pedestrian walkway of Tower Bridge. No words to describe their urgency to be together. But then again, no words were truly needed.