A/N: For those of you who may not have noticed, I broke 100 reviews. I know this might not seem like a big deal to some of you, but for me this is huge! Delicate means so much to me, and to read all of your kind words throughout this process has been incredible. No, this is not the last chapter, but I feel like this is a huge milestone for me. That being said, I hope you keep reviewing and keep letting me know what you think.
Daphne Greengrass was impossible to live with, and Astoria didn't even live with her. Pansy had once again reported that Ulysses had been seen in a jewelry store, this time in magic Milan, and although the last few times Daphne had gotten this report it came to nothing, she insisted that this time she had a "feeling" that it was serious. Of course, Daphne didn't want to seem anything but confident in front of her friends, which left Astoria to bear the brunt of her fretting. So, for lack of anything better to do, Astoria was once again sitting down to tea with her cousin.
"Daphne, darling, what if he was just buying you a gift?" When Astoria had written to Chloe to complain about Daphne, Chloe had suggested compliments. She'd meant it as a jab at Daphne's intelligence, but Astoria secretly thought it might work.
"Oh!" Daphne flushed a bit.
"I suppose that could be it. Milan is supposed to be very romantic, and they have beautiful jewelry of all kinds. You don't suppose that could be it, do you?"
"Well I don't know if I can say for sure, I don't know him very well,"
"So you do. Oh, Astoria. I feel like I've been waiting forever for him to propose. I really do. There have been plenty of other men who have asked me to marry them and here I am like an idiot waiting for Ulysses. You're really rather lucky"
"Daphne, I really do have to get back to work. You're so lucky you don't have a job." Astoria did not want to hear whatever snide comment she was sure Daphne would make about Astoria and Draco. She left a couple galleons on the table and walked out of the door before Daphne could get in whatever jab she had prepared.
Later, she sat with Nicole. At Chloe's wedding, Nicole had been offered a contract yet again to model as her mother had. However, it was for some small designer working out of a tiny flat in Diagon Alley. Nicole had fallen instantly in love with the clothes. Rather than just taking some pictures, Nicole had taken over the young witch's business. Paichelle designs was run by Michelle Paisley, a softspoken witch with a talent for Charms and, in Nicole's opinion, an eye for clothes. So far she'd bought some simple fabric and was making simple designs, however Nicole had agreed to help her fund her business and model for free. Astoria was happy that Nicole had found something to be passionate about, although it meant she had to hear Apollo complain about Nicole always being busy.
"Are you alright?" Nicole asked as soon as they sat down. Astoria had met Nicole in her and Apollo's flat rather than going out.
"Oh, I. No." Astoria confessed, sighing. Nicole had never been that good at reading people, leaving her to wonder if her friend had matured or if it was obvious.
"Is this about Draco leaving the country?" Nicole asked. Astoria's sighed.
"Maybe, but not how you think. I'm really very excited for him. I think he misses France, and although he wasn't really in Paris, I think he's excited to practice his French again and see the city. He really wanted me to come with him but we're preparing for the next round of Healer trainees coming in and everyone needs to be briefed again. It's just, well, I feel like I've been waiting to feel like I want to get married. Now I do, and I feel like everyone has beat me to the punch or they're talking about it. I don't even know if Draco wants to get married, but I don't think I can bring it up." Astoria wasn't expecting Nicole to cut her off, and she certainly wasn't expecting Nicole to cut her off by laughing.
"Astoria, Draco would probably marry you tomorrow if you asked. He would probably dig up the one licensed official who would take his bribe and marry you today if he could. Everyone knows that you two have been waiting for you to feel like marrying him. Now you do. Tell him."
"I just, it's not that simple Nicole." Astoria was beginning to feel like it was that simple.
"I feel like our relationship has settled. I spend as much time at Malfoy Manor as I do at home, even though we don't see each other every day any more. When we do go out, I feel like we have a routine. But it's not just Draco. My whole life is a routine. And when he's gone to live his exciting life in Paris, it'll be just me here and my predictable life. I'm scared I'm going to miss him and" Astoria took a deep breath
"As daft as it sounds, I'm afraid I'm not going to miss him. He'll go have an adventure working in Paris. My life will just re-sort itself around him being gone and go on being mundane."
"Oh." It wasn't a particularly good sign that Nicole had nothing to say. Astoria waited for her to chime in, but Nicole took a long sip of her drink, and then bit slowly into a biscuit. Finally she sighed.
"If I told you to break it off with"
"No!" Astoria had to fight to resist glaring at Nicole.
"Why would you even suggest that?"
"If you won't even consider leaving him, then I doubt you'll just forget about him when he's gone."
"The truth is, I just, everything in my life is so stagnant. I guess I just had a picture in my head that one day I would know that I want to marry him and then he'd propose and we'd get married. We haven't even spoken about getting married recently. What if,"
"What if somehow Draco Malfoy has managed to see something else other than you? I hope that's not what you were going to say Astoria because I think we both know that you are being ridiculous. Draco would marry you tomorrow, he would marry you right now. This is about you. Please tell me what's wrong?"
"I want to get married Nicole but, I want it to come from him. I don't know. I want him to just know that I want to get married. I feel ridiculous but," Astoria sighed.
"I don't know how to tell him that I feel that way now. I have no way of knowing if he's even still thinking about it. We're really different now, our lives and who we are as people. I'm not the same Astoria that couldn't marry him, I trust him so completely now. But how do I know if he wants to get married now? I have no doubt that he wants to marry me, but his life is taking off. A wedding takes a lot of planning, and he's just transitioning into having this job. He's been promoted twice already. The ambassador really likes him. Who wants to take time out of that to plan a wedding? Back then the only thing he had to worry about was me and him, but things are so different now. He has real things to occupy his mind."
"You're being really ridiculous Astoria." Astoria had never seen Nicole look quite so hurt, and she didn't understand why until Nicole spoke.
"Do you think Apollo only wanted to marry me because his life was going nowhere?"
"No, he married you because he loves you, Nicole that's not what"
"Oh, but your friend Catherine. Engel only married her because his little job at the daycare wasn't real work so he had time to plan?"
"Nicole, stop, I understand. I didn't mean to"
"And I suppose that even being an international Quidditch player isn't as exciting as, you know, working in the ambassador's office in the ministry?" Astoria felt terrible. She didn't even try to argue, she just shook her head. Nicole didn't anger easily. She hadn't been angry with Astoria since they were still at Beauxbatons.
"If you're afraid to tell him that you want to get married because of his job Astoria, then you're every bit as weak as you're always saying your family makes you feel. You don't have to say the words Astoria. If you're really ready, he'll know. I suppose he might even squeeze you into his busy job schedule." Nicole stood abruptly, and then turned back.
"By the way, when Draco proposes to you, I don't suggest you tell him that you thought he wouldn't propose because he thinks work is more important than your relationship. I know you fought for this relationship Astoria, but so did he. I can't even believe that you would accuse him of being too busy to want to marry you. He has been waiting to marry you for almost three years. You must really be in a rut if you would think that Draco could ever put anything above you. If you asked him he would quit that job today, which is more than I can say for you." Nicole went to her room and shut the door, leaving Astoria at their kitchen table. She made her way out of the flat and without thinking about it apparated to the manor. She knew Draco wouldn't be home, but it wasn't him she was looking for.
"Astoria, dear, are you crying?" Astoria hadn't realized that she was. Narcissa frowned, putting an arm around Astoria's shoulders and leading her to one of the sitting rooms.
"Why are you crying?"
"I'm terrible." Astoria explained the whole conversation, and then ended it, still crying, with
"I don't doubt that he loves me. I know that he loves me. He makes me feel loved every single day. I know he wants to marry me, and I know I want to marry him. I'm just, afraid. I don't want to want it too badly, because I feel like if it doesn't happen this time it'll be my fault. But I can't help it. All I think about is getting married to him." To her credit, Narcissa Malfoy was not even half as offended as Nicole had been. She understood, she thought, where Astoria was coming from.
"When it came time for me to marry Lucius, you know what my mother's advice to me was?" Astoria looked up.
"Don't do anything that will make him change his mind. Keep it exciting. Remind him why he chose you. But you know what Astoria? My son will never change his mind about you. You don't need to make him ask you to marry him. All you need to do is relax. He will notice the change in you. He will ask." Hearing Draco's mother say it so absolutely made Astoria feel more settled than she had in a long time. When she finally got to bed she dreamt of flowers and white dresses.
~~~~Delicate~~~~
Draco Malfoy was headed to Paris. Draco Malfoy was headed to Paris without his girlfriend. Draco Malfoy was abandoning his girlfriend in London, again, to go to France. Needless to say, there were some mixed emotions on his part. In an odd way, Draco had missed France. He missed the orphanage and the children, but he also missed the atmosphere. Since he'd taken Astoria there, he'd been eager to go back. It hadn't occurred to him until the opportunity arrived that Astoria couldn't exactly just take leave from St. Mungo's to vacation in France for two weeks.
If he was being honest with himself, it probably only bothered him because of how anxious he was. When he told Astoria where he was going, and realized that she couldn't come with him, he'd felt a shift in her mood. At first she'd been a bit withdrawn and sullen, and then the entire opposite. She'd been very present, spending most of her time with him. It was the best kind of torture, because he knew he would miss her while he was gone. He knew she would miss him too, which made him feel guiltier. However, there was another reason he was eager to go to France.
When Draco had told Astoria that he would wait forever to marry her, he meant it. He would wait until she was ready. He'd thought maybe she was ready when she'd finally confessed that she loved him, but he knew the timing was wrong. After Chloe's wedding, things felt different. He knew she trusted him again. So, he had a mission. When he got back from France, at the beginning of June, he was going to propose to her. He was going to keep proposing to her until she said she was ready. All he needed from France as the ring.
That thought, the mission he'd given himself, made it just a bit easier to leave her. It made it a bit easier to settle into Paris by himself. It made it a bit easier to stroll through the streets of wizard Paris in the dead of night and the early morning, the only time he had free to himself. It made it easier to go from meeting to meeting to ring shop to ring shop. The rest of his life was beginning, starting with finding the perfect ring. And then, one day, he did.
~~~~Delicate~~~~
Astoria still felt a bit awkward any time she was asked to visit the Bulstrodes. Millicent still didn't like her, and she didn't know how to feel around Ulysses now that he was so involved with her cousin. Still, her mother would kill her if she turned down an invite to the party that they were throwing. Now that nobody in her family was entering their season or single, there was no reason for them to go to the parties. It had been a long time since someone had thrown something lavish for the sake of it.
Astoria especially hated the idea of going without Draco, but he wasn't going to come home from France for one night to go to a party. As such, Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy weren't going at all. The only friends Astoria would have there were Nicole and Apollo, who had been roped into going too. Nicole and Astoria were still in an awkward place after their argument, although Astoria had thanked Nicole for being blunt and telling her the truth. Daphne would be there, but Astoria did not expect to see much of Daphne amongst all of her friends and Ulysses.
Still, Astoria was forced to put on a gown and make her way to their home. Astoria personally loved seeing men in well-tailored dress robes. There was something very regal about it. Until her brother and Nicole arrived, she was doing her best to move around alone without seeming out of place. But she was very happy when she spotted them in the crowd.
Astoria had been walking around with Apollo and Nicole for what felt like forever before everyone was asked to sit. Then, instead of dinner, the lights dimmed and music began playing. Ulysses walked to the center of the room and extended his hand towards a very pleased looking Daphne. She stood to join him, and the two of them waltzed about while everyone else looked on.
"Are we supposed to dance too?" Nicole leaned in to whisper in French. Astoria shrugged. It seemed like the dance was just for display.
The couple danced their way to the middle of the room, and then just as suddenly paused. The music, everything, came to a halt. Right in the middle of the floor, Ulysses knelt and Astoria felt everyone in the room inhale deeply.
"Daphne, when I met you I swore you were the most beautiful, radiant woman I had ever seen. The more I got to know you, the more I wanted to continue getting to know you. You are not only stunning, but your heart is endless. Since I have known you, you have made me a better person. You have not just opened yourself to me, you have opened yourself to my entire family. My siblings love you almost as much as I do. My parents adore you. Everyone I know has seen what a positive role you have played in my life. I can't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone but you. Daphne Greengrass, will you agree to become my wife?"
Immediately Daphne burst into tears, nodding and thrusting her hand towards him. Still kneeling Ulysses slid the ring onto her finger, a ring Astoria could see from her seat, before standing and pulling Daphne in for a deep kiss. The music picked back up, and the newly engaged couple danced again in front of everyone they knew.
On the one hand, Astoria thought it was incredibly sweet. On the other, she also thought it was very Daphne. A very public proposal in front of everyone Daphne interacted with and then some, followed and preceded by a chance for Daphne to have everyone's eyes on her. Ulysses clearly knew Astoria's cousin very well.
As the night wore on, Astoria was sure to congratulate her cousin. She couldn't begrudge Daphne her happiness, and Daphne seemed happier than Astoria had ever seen her. Rather than an heirloom, the ring was clearly new, and was larger than any ring Astoria had seen before. It was something of a statement, and she knew Daphne must love it. Nicole rolled her eyes at the extremely public proposal, but she still congratulated Daphne with a smile. The rest of the evening was very pleasant. Still, when Astoria went home, she missed Draco so much she felt emptied.