Picture Perfect

He stroked his fingers through her hair. "We don't have to do this."

"We're doing it, Kai."

"We can just stay inside all day and make out instead."

She buried a smile. He could be so convincing sometimes. "As nice as that sounds, I think making out at the top of a mountain sounds so much better."

He linked his hands around the small of her back and pulled her flush against him. She screwed up her lips in response. "Think about me, Cinder. Haven't you considered that I don't like hiking?"

"This was your idea! We didn't drive twelve hours here and take a few days off work just so we can lay in bed and make out. We can do that at home, you know."

He smirked. "Yeah, but there's nothing wrong with a change of scenery." When she rolled her eyes, he pulled her impossibly closer. Cinder loved when they were this close–two years later and she still couldn't get enough of him. "The sun isn't even up yet," he pouted.

She leaned forward slightly and planted a kiss right between his eyebrows. "If we want to get to the summit by noon, we need to leave soon."

Kai grimaced. "Can we sleep in tomorrow?"

She rolled out of his arms and flipped her legs over the side of the hotel room bed, stretching. "Maybe you'll like it so much that you'll want to get up and go again!"

"I doubt it," he said, chuckling.

She picked up their prepared hiking packs from the floor and tossed a protein bar onto his stomach. "Let's go, Kai!"

"Oh my god, I'm dying. Do I look like I'm dying? I think I'm dying."

She paused and turned around to glare at him. "Kai. We've been walking for fifteen minutes."

"You know," he said, panting, "the offer to go back to the room and stay there all day is still on the table."

She grinned. "If you weren't so cute, I'd tell you to walk back by yourself. But you're coming with me. It's only a couple more hours, Kai."

"But–"

"–You'll live. According to the map, there's a waterfall that's about a mile into the trail."

"How much further away is that?" he asked, desperation in his tone.

She glanced around. "A little less than a half mile. We'll be there in no time!"

Cinder thought Kai might've started crying had he not just heaved a sigh and started walking again.

What a weakling.

When they finally got to the waterfall, Kai was hunched over his knees and digging through his pack for water and another protein bar. Cinder snapped a photo of the nature.

"How far up is the summit?"

She pulled the map from her pack and studied it for a moment. "About another four miles. The summit itself is only about a mile and a quarter high, but the hike is five miles altogether. We should make it there by noon if we don't take too long here."

Kai moved to stand next to her, taking in the view of the waterfall.

Cinder smiled, glad he was enjoying some part of this. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

He looked at her, raking his gaze over her form. "Yeah, it is."

Rolling her eyes, she punched him lightly in the stomach. "There's a small trail we can take to get behind it. Apparently it's really cool from over there."

"Won't we get wet?"

"Not if we're careful!"

She led him carefully around the stream and over rocks and across the thinnest line of passable stone possible before they were behind the waterfall, the sound of water on rocks pounding in their ears. She snapped a picture.

Kai planted his hands on his hips. "This is… wow."

"Worth it?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. I'd still rather be hiding under the covers together."

When he winked at her, she reached over to playfully punch him again, but he stopped her with a gentle hand around her wrist, pulling her in for a kiss. She slid her arms around his waist and savored the moment–it was rather romantic, after all. He tasted like oats and sweat and water droplets, with the waterfall on one side of them and a natural wall on the other, and all the privacy in the world.

"I love you," he whispered against her lips.

Her heart thumped in response. "I love you, too."

She stepped away from him and pulled her ponytail taut against her scalp. "Now, to get back out of here."

She took his hand as they made their way back out, and almost didn't stop herself from thinking that heading down to the hotel wouldn't be such a bad idea….

She picked her pack up from where they tucked them behind a tree, slung it over her back and shuffled it around her shoulders. "Okay. Gotta get moving!"

He groaned, but picked up his pack and followed her back up.

The scenery was absolutely marvelous. They lived in a city, and it didn't smell anything like this. Kai eventually sucked it up and stopped complaining. It was nice when it was so peaceful, with nothing but the birds chirping and the leaves and sticks crunching beneath their feet.

After a while, they came to an outlook point. All that was below them was trees, and in front of them, mountains.

"We're on our last mile," said Cinder. "And it's only 11:15. We're making pretty good time."

Kai hummed. "Does this mean we can take a picture here and then I can kiss you a few more times before we get to the top?"

She shot him a look. "Pictures, yes. But goodness, Kai. We're not the only ones here, you know."

There were only a few people around them, mostly couples and a single, small family, but Cinder wasn't much for showy amounts of PDA.

"How did they get up here before us?"

"They probably took the tram."

Kai scoffed. "You mean we could've just taken a tram up here? Instead of walking?"

Cinder gave him a look, feigned being hurt. "You mean you would've traded making out under a waterfall for a cramped trip in a glorified cart with loud little kids?"

He scowled, but there was a hint of amusement behind it. "Okay, okay, fine. But when we get to the top, I expect to be rewarded."

"Oh, you expect it, huh?"

"You know what I mean."

She pulled her phone out and opened up its camera. "Yeah, I know what you mean." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Now, come on, the summit is calling our name."

They took a few pictures with the mountains behind them before she tucked her phone away again and they made their way to the last leg of their trip.

"As far as tomorrow goes, I think we'll have to stay in bed all day. I won't even be able to move," Kai complained.

"Don't worry," Cinder said, smirking. "We could always put that huge tub in the bathroom to good use. We did pay extra for it, after all."

His returned grin was full of mischief. "Now that I can really appreciate."

Cinder shook her head and led him back to the main trail. Her legs were starting to ache, too, but the descent would be far easier than the climb.

Not twenty minutes later, a sign along the trail indicated that they were a mere quarter mile from the summit. Excitement started to roll into Cinder's nerves. "We're almost there!" she announced.

Next to her, Kai sighed. "Thanks, sweetheart, but I can read."

She bumped him with her hip, nearly knocking him into a tree trunk, but he only laughed it off.

They didn't speak at all as the top of the mountain came into view. Cinder was absolutely elated as they stood on a rock slab and stared out into the vast world below them. It was beautiful and breathtaking by every meaning of the word.

Cinder slipped her phone out of her back pocket and took a few pictures, making sure to turn on the HD setting so that she could capture as much of the beauty as a smartphone camera could, and then stuck it back in its place.

She twisted to assess Kai's reaction before realizing she didn't see him at all. She stitched her eyebrows together and started to look for him, before a beam of noontime sunlight glinted off of something that was about stomach-high.

Glancing down, Cinder's heart caught in her throat and her hands clamped over her mouth, because Kai was on one knee with a hopeful smile on his face and holding out a velvet box with a ring nestled inside of it.

"Cinder Linh," he said, his voice a bit shaky. "Will you marry me?"

She thought she felt her heart swell two times its size, threatening to take over her lungs, stealing her breath and her words all at the same time.

He was patient as she stared down at him in utter amazement. Sure, she'd figured a long time ago that they would likely marry, but this was still so unexpected.

She hiccuped. "Oh my god, Kai." His smile grew. "Oh my god! Yes, yes, of course!"

In a single, fluid movement, he pulled the ring from its resting place and slid it onto her finger. He then stood up and embraced her. "I love you," he whispered.

She let out something akin to a squeal before bouncing up and down a bit. "I love you, too. I can't believe–oh my god."

He pulled back and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "So, about making out on the top of a mountain…."

She let out another small squeal again before pressing her lips against his, losing her hands in his hair, the rock on her ring finger seeming to weigh it down just a bit, though it hardly held any weight at all.

She leaned away and chuckled, a stray tear slipping down her cheek. Kai swiped at it with the pad of his thumb. "This was the best idea I've ever had," he told her.

"For once, I think you may be right."

Too bad this feeling wasn't something with a beauty that could be photographed.

Author's Note: So much for the whole "putting off posting things for when my creativity gets killed". It hasn't happened yet and I'm stupid enough to be hopeful that it won't! Anyway, this is hella cute. Thanks lovelunarchron for being like 'hey, you should write A Thing". I have to go read a french book now. xoxo