Summer was in full bloom, with August reaching its peak and rolling over to its second half - and, like many things reaching and passing their peak, it was slowly losing its former appeal. The days were still long and sunny, the flowers were blooming and animals lazing about without a care. But for the human residents of New York City, worries and decisions were sure to start as soon as September, and it was clearly in the minds of both the children and the adults that the little respite they were currently enjoying from real life would end abruptly and land them, face-first, exactly on the spot they were before whether they liked it or not.

School was to start in early September, and while Alina was already used to what that meant it nevertheless came with plenty of stress and work to do - repeating final exams for children who didn't pass in June, organizing enrollment procedures for new students and generally preparing the materials she would need in the first month of her classes. It was hard to balance it all with her home life and the fact she'd done it all before only meant it wouldn't take up all of her time, only most of it. Her roommates, so to speak, gave their best to help her out as much as they could - but, this time around, they also had plenty on their minds.

If Alina was used to the madness that came with the start of the school year, Erik was decidedly not. Even though he had plenty of knowledge of how musical performances were organized, having watched many rehearsals and preparations before, he had absolutely no firsthand experience with it. All the little details Heidel constantly mentioned to him as "things that would have to be done, and soon", would have occurred to him before when he was watching Antoinette from afar, but now that he was on the inside of it and constantly overwhelmed by the sheer fact he had to walk, talk and act like a semi-passable illusion of a normal human being it was a miracle he even remembered to bring his own sheet music to work, most of the time.

Amelija, seeing the change in her new family's behaviour, was becoming actively aware of the fact she wouldn't stay here forever. Her first response to that thought was to push it down - it was not something she could change, so the best thing to do was probably not to think about it until the time came, and try to enjoy her stay as much as possible for as long as she could. Of course, it would have been easier if not for one tiny, nagging detail in the back of her head that made the thought resurface at least thirty thousand or so times in a single day, every time with equal gut-wrenching fear.

And what are you going to tell Jack?

Amelija initially had absolutely nothing special to tell Jack; she liked him, they had their fun, and now it was time for her to leave as she had promised her family to come back in fall. It would be absolutely, terrifyingly selfish of her to simply stay here and send a "goodbye" to her family as nothing more than a note in Nikola's pocket - or so she saw it. It was even worse now that Alina was obviously not coming back to have their parents go through the same loss without closure for the second time; and even that aside, Amelija (unlike Alina) did have a life back home - one she enjoyed and one that promised a good future.

Even her favourite dresses and hats were back home.

It wasn't Amelija's first time away from home and certainly not her first time pursuing a fun, sweet little romance on her travels - she never made any promises and never left any strings attached, and the whole thing would usually end amicably for both. She'd never felt the need to leave her home, her family and her future for some man she knew for a little while. Amelija thought herself smarter than that.

I suppose I am dumber than that after all.

It was even dumber to postpone any conversations and decisions until last minute, which Amelija knew very well. It was inevitable, and she had a very hard time dealing with that fact but any decision she made would likely rip her heart in half - and the only thing she could do was probably just deciding which half she would keep and which she would throw away.

"There is a conversation we've been putting off", Jack said, looking innocently at his nails. He'd come to pick up Amelija and take her out on another date; he'd started putting more and more effort in their dates as of late, and seeing as it happened to be Amelija's birthday that day, he came equipped with presents, flowers, and wearing his best non-work clothes. The only things that stood out were his messy wavy hair, and his insistence to keep his hands casually in the pockets of his expensive-looking trousers as he strolled next to her.

"I'm aware. There's a very good reason I've been putting it off", Amelija replied, struggling to hold the paper bags with everything she had along with the flower bouquet - Jack tried to help, but as Amelija said, those were her presents and he was not going to take them out of her hands just yet.

"Of course", Jack grinned. "And, since I am, unlike you people, someone who likes to deal with problems, we will have to have that conversation. But", he shrugged, looking at her with the corners of his eyes wrinkling slightly, "we won't have it today. We deserve to have a little more of the care-free summer days. And you deserve a lovely birthday. For today, I will avoid this issue with all my might, for you. Well. What would you like to do?"

"I thought you had something planned", Amelija admitted as she sat down on the nearest park bench in the shade of a large oak. She put her things next to her and leaned back, sighing.

"No, I have some ideas, but since it's your birthday, I thought you might want to decide what you're in the mood for. I am really fine with anything."

Amelija looked at him sideways.

"I had no idea what you would want and didn't want to risk making a mistake in this grave matter", Jack clarified. "But the day is long. We can stay here for a little while and think about it."

"It's not enough to just pretend everything is fine", Amelija sighed again. "What, are we going to sit here and try to think about something else? No, no, we need a distraction."

"I think you might be onto something, miss", Jack jokingly scratched his chin in deep thought.

"I think, in order to avoid unpleasant things that loom in the future, one must have the most fun possible while they still can", Amelija raised her eyebrow at him very seriously.

"And what do you consider good fun for your birthday?"

"Oh, I don't know. I can have fun in many ways. What do you usually do for fun?"

Jack coughed. "Mostly what you've already seen me do."

"Drinking a lot of beer and playing games while having very loud conversations?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Have you never been on a date before me?" Amelija laughed. "Or is that how you think ladies should be treated?"

"No, no, I'm well aware of how ladies should be treated and have in fact been on many dates", Jack said jovially, not appearing confused or embarrassed by that question. "However, I find that when I spend the whole time wondering how a lady wants to be treated, that's not very fun to me, at least not for longer than a couple of weeks. You did ask me what I do for fun, not what I do to win over a woman."

"So, the point is that you're not trying to win me over?" Amelija's smile seemed to grow a little sharper.

"Exactly. I respect you too much to do that. I'm trying to get to know you, which is much harder when we're both acting out a play. Which is why I took you with me to do things I genuinely consider fun, but you have yet to tell me what you genuinely consider fun."

Amelija turned from him and looked ahead for a while. Several children were chasing after pigeons in the park, with their mothers and nannies running after them and shouting to come back and not soil their clothes. "Well, you won't like this, but I find pretending to be genuinely fun."

Jack raised his eyebrows wordlessly.

"Yes, when I'm with Alina or Nikola we mostly do stupid, everyday things. We gossip and play cards. Sometimes sneak into places or drink together. But that's different. I do like going on old-fashioned dances and dates and pretending to be a princess, meeting new people and chit-chatting with them, trying to charm them and playing out some scenario from a romantic novel." she rolled her eyes. "You can call me shallow if you want. I don't care. I also like solving puzzles."

"Hmm." Jack bit his lip. "You're yourself a very interesting puzzle."

Amelija rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure you think I'm judging you right now, but I understand", Jack continued. "I haven't told you this, and I'll get in trouble if you tell anyone else, but long ago when I was a journalist, even before that, I had to lie and act my way into many shady organizations in order to do what I had to do. I was just so good at it, they kept paying me for it, and after a while it became second nature - but I also grew sick of it. It's something I've learned to view as necessary, but disgusting, part of survival for myself. It's unlikely to change as long as I live here, but it feels like a breath of fresh air to just be myself sometimes." he paused for a second. "However, since it's your birthday - it would be nice, for a change, to pretend everything is going to be fine. I'd like to take you on one of those old-fashioned dates that you like so much, with dinner and wine and a play or concert. I think it would be fun for me to watch you have a good time. If you're up for it, of course."

Jack was more than happy to walk Amelija home after the dinner and concert, and Amelija was more than happy to allow him. As the effects of red wine started to subside a bit, their cheerful chit chatting subsided as well to be replaced with thoughtful silence. Jack looked at his pocket watch - it was thirty minutes after midnight, which meant his vow of silence was officially over.

"You're going back home in September", Jack remarked gently, turning to Amelija.

Amelija kept walking in silence, thrown off-balance by the directness of that remark.

"I've been thinking about that, even though I tried not to", he continued. "It's a fact we'll have to face soon. At some point, this September, we'll have to say goodbye."

"Well, that's settled then", Amelija managed through tears that she barely kept contained.

"Nothing is settled", Jack shook his head. "Nothing. But I have no intention of keeping you here, no matter what I want. I have no claim over your future; we've made no promises."

"Isn't that very gentlemanly of you?" Amelija finally turned to him as tears spilled out of her eyes and across her cheeks. "Very polite, very fair, and I'm sure, very convenient." It wasn't like her to cry. It had never happened to her before. Amelija was a proud woman, and she would never cry over some man she just met a few months ago. Why was this happening to her?

Jack stared at her for a second, studying the tears streaming down her face. "It is fair. I would say it is. You value your independence, and I value your choices. I value you enough not to try and talk you into something you're not sure about. However", he raised his hand at Amelija opening her mouth in obvious fury, "I'd like to hear it from you - that you wouldn't hate it very much if we stayed together."

Amelija closed her mouth.

"If you don't say anything, I won't say anything else either", Jack put his hand back in his pocket. "But, if you give me at least a little sign that this is more than just a fun little affair to you, and that you would like me with you again someday, you'll find out just how persistent I can be and just how far I can go to make that happen. I won't stop you from going home now - I won't snatch you from your family without a warning; I hope we can find a better solution to this. I have no idea how I'll make it happen, but I want you to know that I can wait a very, very long time and go very, very far for those I care about, if I think there's any point in it. That is all I'll say for now. You have until September to say something."

Amelija said nothing, she just looked at him for a few more seconds, blinking more tears out of her eyes that streamed freely down her cheeks.

Jack watched it happen, then took his right hand out of his pocket slowly. He lifted it to her cheek, and gently wiped the tears out of the way.

"There will be enough time to cry", he whispered. "We have better things to do still."

Jack lowered his head and his messy brown locks fell forward and onto his face; Amelija noticed that from up close he seemed to have several tiny brown birthmarks around his right eye, or were they just freckles? She felt her heartbeat in her ears as he closed the distance between them and softly pressed his lips to hers.

Erik woke up, as usual, to see Alina sleeping peacefully in his arms. Her fingers were tangled up in his, her hair was tangled up around her face - everything seemed to be in its rightful place.

I wonder if I'll ever get used to this.

He looked around, reminded himself as usual - that the door was locked, the window curtain was drawn and his mask was within reach if he needed it. Alina next to him looked peaceful. She told him she loved him just before she fell asleep.

I'm safe.

Alina stirred.

"There was something I was hoping to do today", he said looking at the ceiling. "If you don't mind getting up a little earlier."

"Hmmm?" Alina looked at him with half-opened eyes, confused. "Y-you're going someplace?"

"We are, I mean, if you'd like."

"There's a storm coming today", Alina remarked, peeking through the curtain just a little bit. "Heavy clouds. Air's all wrong. I told you last night." she let the curtain fall back and plopped back where she was laying, that is, straight onto him.

"Ow. I believe you, witch-woman. That's why I wanted to go earlier, so we can avoid it."

"Mmmmmsure." Alina stretched like a cat, rubbing the corners of her eyes. She then looked up at him and gently brushed his lips with her own. "Where are you taking me?"

"Oh, nowhere special", Erik said, feeling slightly self-conscious. "I was just hoping to have some time with you, alone, before we both have too much work to do again." he shifted onto his side to face her; his thumb traced along her lower lip.

"Well, then I'll be right up", she smiled.

"No, actually, you're right. Another minute or two won't kill us."

"I like Oliver", she remarked. They walked along the shore in peace and quiet - it was still too early for tourists - and enjoyed the early sunlight that burst across the still-gray sky. "He sounds wonderful."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"No, no. I'm very happy for you, that you've found some musician friends. You seem very happy."

"In any case, I'm not working this week. Oliver asked for a week off before the autumn semester starts and we begin rehearsing for real - he wants to go on his yearly vacation with his wife. I gave Daniel the week off, too, I think he's starting to overthink himself into madness from all this. He's really not used to working hard."

"Will you be very bored this week, then? Without someone to discuss music and art with?" she teased, but there was a definite hint of something serious underneath.

"Is that it, Alina?" he asked. "Are you scared you might not be enough for me?"

"It crossed my mind", Alina said very casually, looking to her other side. "That you might find a lot of people who understand you better than I do. I just think - if you'll be constantly surrounded by beauty and artistry from now on, the ordinary might start to seem… ordinary."

"And you are incapable of beauty or artistry? That's what you think?" He laughed with a combination of shock and amusement.

"I'm capable of it, yes. But it's not central to my life. I'm just a teacher." Alina said with the same offhanded tone, until she was stopped dead in her tracks by Erik who stepped right in front of her and took her face in his hands.

"My darling, my dearest, my lover" he breathed, "whatever made you think I didn't like the ordinary parts of you? After the things I've seen, what made you think I wouldn't cherish it all - ordinary days, ordinary life, ordinary love? As proficient as I am - and you are - at bringing chaos into our lives, I am not so far gone to not be able to stop and look around. And when I look around, the only thing I want to see is you next to me, always."

"...alright." Alina blushed, looking embarrassingly relieved. "I - I mean I love you too, I'm just a bit- surprised you said that. It would've been fine either way."

"If it makes you feel better", he added after a pause, "Oliver asked about you. He claims I talk about you a lot."

"You do?" she blinked. "You told him about me? Whatever for? What did you tell him?"

"I mostly don't remember things I tell him", he admitted. "He rambles a lot and I just… join in. I'm surprised he remembers it all."

"You're not getting away that easily! Tell me what you said about me!"

"Let me think", Erik scratched his chin, careful to smile only with the side of his mouth Alina couldn't see. "I may have told him you were loud and talkative."

"I knew it! You've been complaining about me to your... fancy music friend!" Alina exclaimed, poking his shoulder.

"No", he bit his lip, barely keeping it together now, "I said it because you fit right in with New Yorkers, and I'm very glad we're living somewhere you can be happy. Besides, don't forget, Oliver is loud and talkative as well, so I find it hard to believe he considers it a negative trait."

"Ah", Alina raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Nice save."

"I also may have told him, once or twice after Daniel drove me to the brink of my nerves, Alina would know how to handle this, and now he thinks you're some kind of angel."

"He's right. I am", Alina remarked dryly.

"You're not fooling me, witch", Erik finally looked at her, breaking into a grin. "But back to the point. I also told him you were lovely."

"Ugh, men", Alina rolled her eyes in pretend annoyance as her cheeks obviously blushed. "Really? You did?"

"Well, he asked me", Erik shrugged. "I'm suspecting he was trying to make me uncomfortable. I think this is the sort of banter he has with people regularly."

Back in their home, after her birthday celebration Amelija woke up later than usual to an empty, unexpectedly quiet house. She looked through the window - it was hard to tell what time it was exactly, she could only presume it was still forenoon. The sky outside was a murky, dark grey. Obviously, the pent-up tension in the air for the past few weeks had decided to release itself through a truly majestic storm, if the sky was any indication. She could feel the heavy, tiring pressure in the air. It would probably start by today's evening, maybe tomorrow morning. Until then, she would probably have to put up with this slight headache and sleepiness.

She got dressed and went out of her room - indeed, she was alone. Alina was nowhere to be seen, or heard - the house was usually echoing with her soft singing in the mornings as she cooked or cleaned or watched Piotr, and being alone for the first time Amelija realized just how much the house and its mistress seemed to go hand in hand.

On the kitchen table she found a few sandwiches, some fresh fruit, and a note.

We'll be back by evening (hopefully before the storm). Here's your breakfast, and I left you some coffee on the stove. If you go out, leave a note so I can pick you up if the storm comes.

Well, alright. Amelija could amuse herself for half a day; it wouldn't be a problem. It would be easier now that she knew people around here aside from Alina, Erik and Yana - for example, some people with normal socializing habits who could keep her company, usually Jack and his friends - but she could always find them on her own. Alina did introduce her to a few of her acquaintances, so she would simply take a walk around the island and see if anyone she knew by name would be open to chat and walk around. Amelija was always good at simply walking up to people and befriending them before they had a chance to think twice about it.

At least her mother wasn't around to tell her it wasn't exactly proper behavior.

Chewing her sandwiches relaxed in her favorite chair, Amelija noticed something else in the room, on one of the shelves - it was a little package with another note, placed just so that she could easily see from the very spot she was sitting on. The wrapping paper was quite nice, with little pastel-colored stripes and white daisies, and she was fairly certain she would have noticed something so cute if it had been there before.

Curiously, she walked over to the shelf. The package was placed right there under her nose, exactly where she could grab it easily.

It wasn't right. Who knew who it was for - what if she was intruding on somebody's privacy?

Perhaps she could just open the note and see who it was for, then she'd leave it alone.

Reading the note somehow seemed even worse.

Amelija paced around the room, looking at the package, walking up to it then walking away again, biting her nails nervously. Curiosity was threatening to kill her. She never could stand just being around closed packages and secrets. Especially when something looked to be so temptingly placed for her.

Perhaps if she just opened the note and saw who it was for, then she wouldn't feel so bad. If it's a present for Alina from her darling, she won't snoop around anymore - first, because she was fairly certain he would be extremely upset at it, what with his weirdly stiff behavior with Alina whenever she was in the room - and second, because Alina would definitely not resist telling her anyway if it turned out to be anything interesting.

She unfolded the note, and stared for a moment in surprise. It wasn't Alina's handwriting; it was slightly messy and unusual - it was Erik's.

I don't know the customs of Croatian people but Alina told me you would like this.

Well, now she was positively going to die of curiosity if she didn't open it right away. She ripped the beautiful paper.

As she opened the box, she saw a faint glint of something sparkly. She put her hand inside the box and took out a little silver-colored metal figurine of a curled-up snake, with its head raised, its mouth open to reveal tiny sharp teeth and two brilliant-green pieces of glass as its eyes. The whole thing was no bigger than her index finger.

She set the snake on the table before her, looking at it. It was puzzling. The snake looked back at her, its forked tongue flickering, intricately-carved scales on its raised back reflecting the light in the room.

Amelija looked around at the equally intricately-carved desk, the bookshelf, the paper stars above her head. She wondered if she should be offended that her sister got everything carved and embroidered with flowers and stars, and she got a very beautiful and delicate viper.

"What a pretty, useless thing you are", she cooed out loud at the snake figurine, then as she finally realized the meaning of it, burst into laughter.

The snake's green eyes seemed to flicker somewhat mischievously.

"We're not going to make it back home before the storm starts", Alina yelled against the strong wind. The waves crashed onto the sand and rocks of the beach around her, spraying her dress and face with saltwater.

Erik cursed.

"It's fine, it's nobody's fault. We couldn't have known", she held her hat and hair in place with her hands. "The rain's not a problem; it's not that cold. Even if we get soaked, we won't get sick."

"No, I don't care about the rain. I'm not too eager to get struck by lightning", he looked around. "You're right; we're too far from home. We're going to have to find some sort of shelter until it passes."

"Some house?"

"The village is far away. The caves are closer."

"What if they flood?"

Erik rubbed his temples. "I- yes, you're right. Some of them flood with the tide." he cursed again.

"Remember the one where we went when - uh, recently? That one is quite high up. I don't think it would get flooded."

"Can you climb up in this rain and wind? It's going to be slippery."

"We don't have much choice", Alina said. "It's that, or running back to the village. Don't worry. It'll be fine."

Erik sighed, took her hand and hurried her across the beach to the cave. He tried to remember if there was an easy path that would still be passable now that the tide was rising- but when they reached the entrance, all his hopes sunk.

"So I'll be climbing some rocks today", Alina concluded. "It's not the end of the world."

"I should have-"

"We should have predicted this. I don't intend to lose a single second regretting how stupid we were. We have things to do." Alina took off her hat and tied it around her neck, then quickly took off her shoes and socks - they were dainty little things, but would pose too much of a risk on the slippery rock. Erik kept his own shoes and gloves as he looked at her - he, for one, was always dressed to climb, run or do anything needed to escape.

"Thank God I took my big bag today", Alina remarked as she stuffed her shoes in her bag, then tied the bag around her shoulder. "Let's go- lead the way."

"Absolutely not. You have to go first."

"Why?"

"So I can catch you if you slip."

"But -"

"I'll navigate you from below."

"Fine", Alina sighed. She grabbed the nearest rock with her bare hands and started to climb, finding support in the natural dents in the rock as she stepped onto the next one. It wasn't quite as steep as she feared it would be looking from below; the rocks were close to each other - the only danger was slipping and falling if one of them was wobbly or slippery. It shouldn't be this hard. The wind screamed and howled in her ears and kept sending her hair over her eyes, and the few meters of rocks she would normally be over in a few minutes now seemed like a mile.

"It's not that hard", she heard the voice from below. Erik was constantly two steps below her. "You've climbed much worse. It's just windy and loud, and that's distracting."

"It's -" Alina's foot slipped and scraped against the rock. She sighed, steadying herself, and kept climbing.

"You're almost there. Just a little more. I won't let you fall."

Alina climbed the remaining two feet of rock to the cave entrance, Erik following closely behind her. She sat down on the ground, took a deep breath in, and laughed. "This stupid island. Just when you think it's perfectly boring and family-friendly, there's still something left to surprise you."

"We, uh, do steer clear of the boring parts, sometimes too diligently-" Erik looked outside. Rain was starting to pour; thunder and lightning was still quite far away but approaching quickly. "I'm sorry. This was my fault - I didn't want to go home yet, I thought it would be fine, and I put you in danger."

"I'm not really made of glass", Alina remarked, putting her socks back on. It was somewhat colder than it should reasonably be. "We've done plenty of things like this, except this time it was a little more- spontaneous." she let down her hair and squeezed out the raindrops. Erik noticed she'd started shivering. It wasn't cold at all, but the damp air, rain and wind were not helping.

"Come here", he sat and leaned against the cave wall, gesturing for her to join him.

Alina scooted over and nested comfortably next to him, leaning her head on his chest as he put his arms around her. The storm outside would probably subside in an hour or two, Erik thought, and they would be able to go back. The steady, constant hum of the rain lulled them both in a sort of trance, and they sat for a while without saying anything. Alina seemed to be dozing off, her breathing slowing down as she leaned into him. Erik appreciated the moment, he truly did - but his restless mind couldn't help it at times, and the things that kept bothering him, thoughts that probed the inside of his brain would always seem to find their way out of his mouth, however long it took, when he was around her.

The thunder cracked somewhere in the distance as Erik whispered, "I have nothing to give you."

He paused. "I seem to have some money now, but you don't appear to care about that. It would be easier if you cared about something so simple; I could simply get it for you and that would be it. I'd have been alright with it, you know. I would have settled for so much less. And now that I got everything, I feel as though I have nothing to give back."

Alina made no sound; she simply kept breathing deeply leaned on his shoulder with her eyes closed. The image of serenity. She didn't appear to have heard him at all.

"I have myself, of course, and as ridiculous as it is that's what seems to be making you happy, but I'm already yours. Nothing will ever change that, no human or Godly law, no condition or tradition, no circumstance or distraction. I cannot be yours any more than I already am. It was decided the moment I met you, I just wasn't aware of it yet. It will be the last thing I'm aware of before I die, how much I love you."

Was he imagining it, or was Alina's breathing growing quicker? He must have been imagining it.

"You don't seem to care about tradition that much either; I doubt any sense of propriety would ever steer you in any direction where your own heart wouldn't guide you. I suppose that's kind of comforting, even if it's terrifying."

He was definitely imagining it. Not only was Alina not stirring, but she seemed to be sleeping so deeply that even her breathing barely made any sound. Her chest barely moved.

"I don't care about any of those things either, really. It horrifies me that I might - I know what the world is like, you know, even if I haven't seen that much of it aside from what I saw through the bars of a cage. It horrifies me I might put someone else in a cage, whether it be a gilded cage or not. I'd like to be someone's wings. It's all I ever wanted. I never thought it was meant for me. I still don't think any of this was meant for me. I feel like every day with you is trickery, stolen out of some sleeping god's vault. I dread the day you might decide you don't want me anymore - even if every grain of my body tells me it would be the right decision - but I can't live with myself if I take that decision from you."

He kept silent for a few minutes, deep in thought. The rain poured outside, and the hypnotic sound seemed to blur the difference between "now" and "eternity". Erik swallowed.

"I'd still like to marry you, even though I know you probably don't want to. If you wanted marriage, you'd have done it by now. I - I don't mind it, you know. It does bother me somewhat, but I don't mind it. I would have settled for so, so, so much less. But I'd like to - I'd like to, I don't know, I don't care about churches or laws or witnesses. I'd just like to say the words to you and hear them said to me. I don't know why. I wish I could know it's what you want, but I will never be sure I didn't accidentally trick you somehow."

"You could start by telling me these things when you don't think I'm asleep", he heard a soft reply from his shoulder.

Erik jolted back as if struck by a literal lightning. Alina narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're-"

"Yes."

"How long?"

"The whole time."

"Why didn't you tell me-" Erik started raising his voice, embarrassment threatening to turn into anger.

Alina looked at him with calm, cold eyes. "Was I supposed to know I was not meant to hear it? By the time I realized, it was too late. Or did you expect me to stop you? Do you realize how you're sounding right now?"

"You were eavesdropping-"

"On my own goddamn marriage proposal!" Alina hissed, crossing her arms. "And, yes, I'm sorry for embarrassing you! I'm also sorry for myself, because I think I'm worthy of hearing it directed at my awake and conscious person!"

"I don't want you to hear my ramblings-" at least now he was too confused to discern if he was actually angry, annoyed or embarrassed.

"Quiet!" Alina snapped in a tone he hadn't heard from her before. "Oh, I am so angry with you right now!"

Erik blinked once, twice, then raised his hands in confused annoyance. "Why, exactly? None of this was meant for you to hear, so you're not obligated by any of it. You don't even have to react."

Alina looked like fumes might soon start coming out of her ears. "I can't believe I have to explain this to you, but fine. I'm angry at you because I wanted to hear it, and I wanted to react, and I didn't want to - steal this moment from you, I wanted it to be meant for me! And now it's not! Fine, you know what, I won't react! You can save your most precious moments for when I'm asleep, if you'd like, even if I'd die to hear something like that from you. But if you'd like to marry me, the only way you'll get a response is if you actually ask me to my face, you coward!"

Erik looked to be somewhere halfway to panic, staring at her motionless with his eyes widely open. Alina kept silent, although she did have quite a few more things to say.

"I think I've just explained the problem -" he started, waving his hand in hope all that nervous energy would get conducted out of his body somehow.

"Yes", Alina nodded coldly. "And it's your problem, for you to resolve. Has it ever occured to you I also don't want to be the one pressuring someone?"

It had not occurred to him, ever, but it was occurring to him at this very moment. Alina could see it as he stood petrified and blinked once through the mask, and she gave her absolute best not to roll her eyes.

"We're not in a hurry", she added slowly.

He nodded.

Alina scratched her head, looking away. "That - that was beautiful, nevertheless. It was the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me. I wish I hadn't - stolen that moment from you. I didn't mean to."

Erik wanted to point out that he was more likely the one who ruined it, but he bit his lip and stopped himself on time. She wanted to hear something different from him for a change, instead of self-deprecating cowardice. Didn't she say so just now?

"I", he started, pulling every word out very slowly and quietly, staring at his hands. "I would have said all of it to you eventually. I mean every word of it."

Alina nodded, following his gaze. "I've always liked your hands. When we met you always kept them hidden in gloves, or pockets."

They're objectively less horrible than the rest, yes, he barely managed to avoid saying. "Thank you, I suppose?"

"I love you", she said with sudden tenderness and sincerity that knocked the air out of his lungs. "You're everything to me, and I love everything about you. But how can I possibly show that if you're always hidden?"

"I'm really not." he swallowed. I'm horrifyingly exposed, to be honest. "I'm doing my best."

"I understand." she said quietly.

"Perhaps I could do a little more", he added.

Alina smiled at him, then at the storm outside, then at him again. "When I met you, I felt something I had never felt before. For the first time in my life, I felt understood. I can't quite explain it - it gave me so much more confidence when I was around you, even if I didn't understand you at all, that I felt like you understood me. I really am yours, you know. I was always just my own - and there was a certain strength it gave me - but now I'm also yours, and I'm stronger. It really is more like a wind in your back - or wings, if you will - and nothing like being in a gilded cage, you know. I know you think I'm just saying what you want to hear, but it's true, I really do feel like… oh, nevermind." she chuckled a little bit, blushing and smiling with embarrassment. Erik could remember the first time he saw her like that, cheeks red and voice growing frantic, as if saying the right words could mend all of the world's wounds and it was her personal failure that she couldn't find them.

"An eternity of it sounds… sort of lovely, to be honest. But that's all I'm saying for n-" she tried again, only to be interrupted by a pair of hands cupping her face and a pair of lips being pressed to hers.

"You can stop talking", he said gently, brushing his lips over her cheek. "I understood you the first time."

"Well, see, that's actually exactly what I meant -"

"My dear, beautiful, endless torrent of words", he ran his fingers through her hair, "my darling sweetheart, please do shut up. I love you. I - will - always love you, no matter what you say."

"You're right. We have better things to do than talk right now."

Amelija paced around the little living room, slightly worried. They said they'd be home before the storm. Now it was quite obviously during-the-storm-o'clock, and Amelija had no idea how long these storms would normally last in this part of the world. She didn't like being alone during thunderstorms - but she could endure it, seeing as she was inside. She was more concerned about Alina who was possibly still outside, caught in the midst of it and unable to come back.

She finally saw them after the rain settled into a steady, rhythmical hum. As she looked nervously out through the window, she saw two figures in the distance- a very tall man wrapped his jacket around the woman's shoulders; completely unnecessary seeing as it really wasn't cold now that the wind had stopped - as they ran through the muddy street, skipping over the puddles. Alina slipped and laughed, barely keeping her balance as her foot splashed directly into a puddle, which Erik apparently didn't think very funny as he grabbed her hand and led her more carefully to the house. Amelija sighed.

The world is always moving on, all you can do is try to adapt.