White columns towered above him as Alek exited Columbia University's Engineering and Applied Sciences division, hoping to go home and relax after a long day full of long lectures, resulting in long homework assignments. The mid-afternoon sun was a blinding orange, flickering in and out as a few lazy clouds covered it.
"Well, I feel quite enlightened after today's lecture, don't you, Your Highness?"
A familiar figure fell in step with. He, like Alek, wore a collared shirt with a tie hanging loosely from it. The man looked utterly bored with the world, with his sarcastic comment only punctuating his irritation.
Sighing, Alek turned to his friend and asked, "Good grief, Nathan, stop sneaking up on me!"
The black-haired boy chuckled and slapped Alek playfully on the back. "I'm just kidding. What's got you wound up as tight as a spring?"
"Exhaustion," was all that Alek could manage, raising his hand to block the sun from his eyes.
Nathan grunted in agreement as the two engineering majors descended the stairs. As many lectures were ending, both for engineers and doctors-in-the-making, the plaza around Columbia was crowded. Most of the people who made up the crowd were men, but quite a few female students milled about as well. Something, Alek noted, Deryn would appreciate.
"So, any plans?" Nathan asked as they continued to make their way onto the street.
Alek shook his head, but quickly added, "I have too much to do, Nate. My desk has becoming the leaning tower of unfinished essays."
Nate laughed softly at the witty joke, but otherwise remained silent.
Above the bustle, in the center of the plaza (a few yards in front of the boys), a loud, and commanding voice screamed, "DUMMKOPF!"
In shock at hearing his nickname, Alek tripped over himself, nearly taking Nate with him. Attempting to regain his bearings, Alek scoured the crowd in search of the only woman he knew who could scream that loud.
Speak of the devil….
She marched out in front of the crowd, her hands on her petite hips, glaring daggers at her boyfriend, who looked simultaneously irritated, exhausted, and terrified. A bag was clutched in his hand, threatening to spill out its contents onto the ground.
"Who in God's blaze's is that?" Nate asked, glancing at the approaching woman.
A voice, much louder and commanding overshadowed the question as Deryn Sharp called, "Oi! Alek! Get your sorry bum here right now!"
Nate giggled under his breath, bursting into full-blown cackling when Alek sent an angry look his way.
The crowd obediently parted as the quite irritated woman pushed past them, hands on her hips. It had taken quite a lot of arguing and convincing, but Alek had been able to convince Deryn to wear slightly more feminine attire. She was wearing long pants, that when she didn't move, almost looked like a skirt. As a top, a white, sailor-like blouse hung loosely at her sides, similar to the way her hair hung around her head. It was combed and parted to the side for a change, making her look quite adorable. Of course, the angered expression didn't fully fit the description Alek had just mentally run through.
Nate, however, being a blind fool, looked absolutely horrified and confused. Craning his head to the side, he softly, with a strained calm, "Who, um… is that, Alek?"
"Why didn't you tell me you were the top of your class?!" she demanded.
Alek was taken aback by the violent yet proud demeanor Deryn currently had. She was clutching a letter in her hands, one he had read earlier that morning. It was from the university, congratulating him on his exemplary grades. Alek, having never participated in a regular school setting before college, was ecstatic. However, Deryn tended to ignore any of his academic achievements. Her excitement and anger were both surprising (and confusing. Why was she so angry?).
Without warning, she launched herself at him in a tight hug. Her lean arms wrapped around his waist, lifting his feet a few inches off the ground and spinning him around in circles.
Nate cleared his throat. "I didn't know you were into…" he trailed off, staring awkwardly at the ground. He, however, was not the only one looking red in the face. Others cast their eyes down, trying to look away from the couple. Deryn looked up. Her face had buried in the crook of Alek's neck, and being removed from said location by an American's irritated cough made her feel...irritated.
"What are blethering on about?" she demanded, glaring at the boy. She untangled herself from Alek's arms. Despite his bright, tomato-shaded face, a ghost of a smile danced on his handsome features. His heart may be in the right place, and he may be kind and loving, but physical relationships (or physical contact, for that matter) still left him blushing.
He quirked his head to the side. "Nate..?"
Nate was unable to articulate and instead gestured to Deryn. "Of course, no one would judge you…" he promised, though his eyes told a different story. "You can love whoever you want to…"
She was the first to realize what he was mumbling about. The realisation caused her to laugh hysterically. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she doubled over as wave after wave of laughter coursed through her. Both Alek and Nate stared at her with a dumbfounded look on their faces. It seemed like everybody but Deryn was confused beyond belief in those few moments.
"He… he thinks you like men!" she gasped in-between breaths.
Alek's eyes widened and Nate blushed once more. The saying may be cliché, but he looked like a ripe, red tomato fresh off the vine. Like his girlfriend, he too began to chuckle.
Slapping his hand on his friend's shoulder, he said, "Nate, this is my girlfriend, Deryn Sharp. She has a tendency to dress and act like a person of the male gender but I swear, on my life and hers—" she grunted at this—"that she is female."
— — — — — — — — — — — —
Most of the roads were empty. It was a few hours after lunch, so most people were back in their offices, suffering through the last few hours before they could finally head home. A few women and children were heading towards the park as well. Most were dressed in evening attire, probably stopping off to keep the children in check: "But mother, I don't want to go to ball!" "How about we stop at the park, pumpkin?" "Really? I'm too old for playing, Mom."
Deryn scoffed at the exchange as she and Alek entered the park. Well, to be truthful, Alek was mostly being dragged. His book bag was clutched to his chest as they went deeper and deeper and found a fairly empty field. She gave it a once-over and decided that it met her standards. Suddenly, she whipped her head around.
"I have brought you here today," she whispered, dead serious, as she walked around him, "for a challenge."
"Excuse me?" Alek asked as she slowly circled him, forcing him to crane his neck.
"I challenge thee, Aleksander formerly of Hohenberg, to a tournament, in which we determine our strength. agility, and intelligence!" She would have gone on, but due to her lack of fancy vocabulary, she left it at that.
Alek amusedly quirked an eyebrow. "Really?"
Deryn nodded confidently.
A dark smile grew across the face of the "formerly Hohenburg", as Deryn had put it. "Bring it," he muttered, his feet in a stance similar to that of one used in fencing. In some silent agreement, the couple raced off, each pushing to stay ahead of the other.
Both racers—or competitors—were extremely well-matched. Both were lanky and tall (despite Deryn's two-inch advantage), with their own share of impressive muscle mass. Years of fencing and months of engine work had definitely paid off for Alek. However, Deryn had been a midshipman, and had been subdued to rigorous beastie-feeding and ratline-climbing. Nothing, however, Deryn was unprepared for her boyfriend—her shorter boyfriend, mind you—to beat her to the tree across the park.
"Not...fair…" she heaved, bending over to catch her breath.
"It is not," Alek calmly explained, pretending not to be exhausted himself, "my fault that your running skills are egregious."
"Stop using big words or I'm going to hit you." This was punctuated with a rough punch to his shoulder.
"Redo!" she shouted, bolting off.
Eyes widening, Alek stumbled after the blonde, who was already a few lengths ahead of him. Arms pumping, he steadily caught up to her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back, effectively tripping over himself then landing on her.
He landed on top of her, forcing the breath out of her lungs. Looking down to see her flush against him, breathing heavily with a dusting of red on her cheeks from exertion, Alek blushed and froze in fear.
Deryn, being the biologically savvy Darwinist, found the compromising situation entertaining, rather than embarrassing.
Feigning fear, she exclaimed, "Help me! I am being sexually harassed! Dear God and Huxleys above, someone help me!"
Alek scrambled of, rolling to the side and onto the grass. She sat up and laughed heartily, literally rolling on the grass at Alek's tomato-red face. After glaring angrily at a beetle in the grass, he too chuckled lightly.
— — — — — — — — — — — —
Stumbling back into Deryn's apartment was a bit of a hassle, considering that both Alek and Deryn were unable to repress their giggles long enough to stick the key into the lock. Alek, being the more mature of the two, took it upon himself to calm down for a few seconds, unlocking her home. They plopped down on the couch and laughed for awhile longer.
"I'm going to wash up," Alek promptly said upon concluding in his horsing around. Deryn pouted angrily, to which he smiled. "Make us some tea, hm? It's what you British Darwinists like anyway."
Before she could rebut the jab, he was in the bathroom, the door locked, abruptly ending their conversation. Sighing, she walked to her tiny kitchen which contained only the basic essentials to survival. A cupboard nearly empty with the exception some bread and some crackers. However, if there was one thing her house never ran low on, it was tea. Two large boxes held a variety of herbal, black, and fruit teas. None were exactly expensive, but they satisfied her tea-cravings.
The stove was promptly lit and the kettle, full to the brim with water, was placed on it. Her water was usually boiled in a pot, but she managed to rustle up something for the man washing in her bathroom…
Pulling her head out of the gutter, Deryn walked back into the main room. Alek's jacket had been casually tossed on the armchair, slightly moist from the drizzle that had sent them running home from the park. Alongside it was his book bag, packed to the point of bursting with textbooks and notebooks. Curious, Deryn withdrew a particularly bulky one and flipped open to a random page. A painstakingly careful diagram of some Clanker machine was inscribed, along with neat swoops of a the pen labeling all the parts. Alek was no artist—he was far from it—but these drawings were impressive, for a novice. Deryn didn't like drawing such structured and flawless machines, huffing and puffing out their smoke and screeching against one another… And yet, Alek had brought such grace and beauty into them. Each tooth of the gear that overlapped with another, in such perfect harmony…
In her vigorous flipping, Deryn didn't notice all of Alek's stuff toppling onto the ground. The contents of his bag spilled onto his leather jacket. Ink leaked from an uncapped ball-point pen, threatening to ruin the jacket. Deryn scrambled to pick up the jacket. It still bore his family crest on the breast pocket. Shaking off the windbreaker, as if getting off any ink that got on without her knowledge, she scrambled to clean everything up before Alek got out and started about her clumsiness.
A clunk resonated as she was hanging the jacket back up. Something had fallen out of his pocket. Due to the lateness of the hour and lack of light in the room. Deryn was not quite able to make it out on the floor. She picked it up gently and appraised it from different angles. It was a small, brownish box that fit comfortably in her palm. The velvet over it was fuzzy, borderline-itchy on her skin. It was obviously a jewelry box, probably for a ring….
Letting out an extremely uncharacteristic girlish scream, Deryn fell back. The box fell onto the ground. The water from the bathroom immediately stopped. Within a few seconds, Alek came out, water glistening in his sopping wet hair, the water turning it a dark reddish-brown color. (Kind of like rust on a bike. Okay, maybe that sounds too unappealing… Let's just say that it looked like a red velvet cupcake, then!) A towel had been wrapped around his waist and a determined expression was set on his face.
"Deryn? Deryn!" he rushed to her side, dropping to his knees and grabbing her trembling hand. Her breathing was sporadic and her eyes were trained on something on the floor.
"Is the great Midshipman scared of a bug…?" Alek teased, leaning over to see what had frightened his girlfriend.
Through the faint light streaming in from the bathroom, he was able to make out a box-like outline.
"...Oh…" he whispered.
"A-Alek…." she managed, her voice barely above a whisper.
He nodded dumbly.
"Is...is that what I think it is…?"
Again, a nod.
"Barking spiders!"
She scrambled up, backpedaling until she was on the other side of the room. She was breathing hard. Thoughts were flying through her head so fast. Even in battle, Deryn had never been so confused, scared, but exhilarated. The former prince was left on the ground, looking miserable. Somehow, however, he was able to straighten his back, stand up and walk over to Deryn. Carefully, as if trying to soothe a startled animal (she did resemble one, at this point in time), he took her small hands in his and, looked into her eyes.
"I wanted it to be more of a surprise…" he chuckled at that, averting his gaze for a moment, before he steeled it and looked back at Deryn. "But I guess this will do."
He sighed. Much to her surprise, he didn't drop to his knees, like so many stupid movies depicted. He continued to hold her hands, and started a somewhat frantic speech:
"Deryn Sharp, I met you, freezing in the snow on the outskirts of Switzerland. I wish I could say it was love at first sight, but...well, you do make quite the convincing boy. I saw another world, through the view of a Darwinist. Never had I thought trapezing around on a whale would allow me to meet the love of my life…. And getting caught up in a war? On the Darwinist side of all things? It still astounds me.
"Since meeting you, I've seen the farthest reaches of the world and met so many wonderful people. My shell had been broken and I was finally able to see a completely different world. If that weren't enough, I met the most beautiful, confident, headstrong woman ever, who was willing to risk her life to fulfill her dream of flying as well as defending her country. It took me a few months to figure that you were actually female, but in the end, it doesn't really matter, does it?
"Anger and betrayal were the first things I felt upon learning the truth, but afterwards…." he trailed off, his eyes briefly flickering down. "I love you. I love you more than I ever thought I could. I need you by my side. I am willing to follow you to the ends of the earth, which I have already proven on multiple occasions. For you, I am willing to be dragged and yelled at and teased as long as you are the one doing it. At first, I was going to do some extremely standard proposal, but life just likes to bite our bums. It's not like we were ever normal anyway. So please, Deryn, may I have the honor of calling you my wife?"
He didn't know what to expect. He had never really...confessed to her. She was the one that grabbed him by the tie after a particularly heated argument, screaming, "I love you, Dummkopf!" She just stood there after he finished his speech, staring at him with the mouth agape. Alek's palms began to sweat, and he was tempted to put down her hands down. However, as he un-wove his fingers from hers, her hand tightened on his.
Deryn was always quick with her comebacks. To be a gal impersonating a lad in the military, she had developed and extremely sharp tongue. This speech was something different. Despite her Darwinist background, any romance made her feel too mushy and gooey. It was why she chose to confess; she wanted to be in control. Alek's words, the proposal, the fact he had allowed her to drag him to the park, despite his obvious exhaustion….
"I—" she tried, unable to form a coherent sentence.
Much to both members of the couple's surprise, tears began to fall from Deryn's eyes. Her thin hands were shaking, as was her body. In a rare display of weakness, she leaned against Alek's bare chest; not before, of course, quickly wiping the tears away.
Slowly, she leaned back and gazed into his eyes, something they had been too often. Nonetheless, their eyes stayed on each other for quite some time before Deryn broke the silence.
"I never thought anyone would ever love me, let alone propose…"
Alek was ecstatic. "You mean you agree? You will be my wife…!"
She sadly shook her head and averted her gaze. "I'm sorry, Alek. You took too long."
"Pardon?" he released her hands and backed away.
"I've waited for months for you to make a move, any move. Eventually, I got tired of you dragging your bum on the ground. I found someone else. He used to fly in the Air Service, and I can actually understand what he's talking about. Your Clanker talk… I just can't stand it, how boring it is..."
He backed away, as if he were slapped. Unable able to keep the crestfallen expression from his face, he plopped down on the couch, placing his head in his hands, only looking up when he heard a giggle.
The light chuckling quickly morphed to full out laughter.
"You dummkopf!" she managed through gasps. "Sure, I'll marry you! As if I'd wander off to some veteran! God knows if my personality is anything go by, I do not want to spend the rest my life with a sassy, cocky, and sharp-tongued Air Servicemen. And don't forget handsome..."
"Of course you'd think your male counterpart would be handsome," Alek mumbled angrily, glaring at his now fiancee.
"I was my male counterpart!" Deryn responded, casually checking her nails.
"Fair point…" he couldn't keep a smile from ghosting his lips.
She scoffed: "I always have a fair point."
"I hate you," Alek murmured.
"I'm sure you do," she agreed, slipping the modest engagement ring onto her finger.
Hello! Sorry, I was going to update over the weekend, but it was break for us, Lady Cocoa was lazy and I was out vacationing in sub-zero weather. I hope you enjoy this humorous and fluffy chapter regarding our two favorite Europeans and their relationship as it progresses. If you enjoyed it, leave a review!