Eventually everyone filed in for dinner. I was just about to go looking for Ian myself when he strode into the kitchen. His dark hair was still dampened and his skin slightly red from cactus soap.
Despite the fact that multiple times I had offered to pick up some soaps for the male population of the cave on raids, every single one of the vehemently refused to succumb to such behavior. Jeb even claimed that he enjoyed the sting of the soap when he bathed because it made him feel more alive or something like that. It didn't make any sense to me, as Jeb never really does anyway. However, any man who wasn't, in Jeb's own words I quote, "a yellow-bellied sissy" wouldn't use any of that processed, nutritious, good smelling soap. And no man wanted Jeb to think he was losing his edge because it resulted in nonstop teasing from all the other guys. Long story short, Ian used cactus soap when he bathed. And I didn't really understand it.
"Hey Ian," I greeted him as he strolled over to me, wrapping his arm around my waist. I moved to pick up two bowls, one for me an the other for Ian.
"Put those down, we don't need them," he said slyly, a smile in his voice. I looked at him questioningly, but set them down.
"Why not?" I retorted. He laughed at my skepticism.
"Come with me, let's eat dinner somewhere else tonight," he said casually, but I could tell he had something else planned.
"Alright.."I simply said, not sure what else to say. I noticed a backpack on Ian's shoulder. Mel gave me a rueful smile from across the room as Ian and I left. I rolled my eyes in her direction. She so obviously knew what was going on right now, I'm sure. I hardly paid any attention to where we were going as Ian asked me about what I did today. I filled him in on the monotonous nothingness that my day had consisted of, as well as my recent encounter with Sunny. However I left out the part about me worrying about him. Ian would take it upon himself to feel guilty for causing me any discomfort and I didn't want him to have to deal with that. Everything was good now, anyway.
I didn't even know where we were until we reached the rooms with the rivers. I gave him a confused look but he simply smiled in return.
I barely even notice the tunnel on the far wall opposite the entrance to the bath and latrine. That tunnel had definitely not been there before. It was easy to tell how new it was from the freshly cut rock that was still jagged and sharp around the entrance, versus the worn and soft walls that came with age and naturally formed tunnels.
"Ian, when did that get there?" I asked accusingly, more then positive that he had something to do with this.
"Today," He shrugged, acting as if it were no big deal and that new tunnels randomly sprouted up out of nowhere everyday. I raised my eyebrows.
"C'mon I'll show you," and with that he slipped his hand into mine and led me down the darkened passageway. The turns and twists were entirely unfamiliar so I stayed close behind Ian, out bodies a mere inches apart. We were only in the dark for about 30 seconds before we emerged into one of the most beautiful places these eyes had ever seen.
What lay before us shouldn't have existed. It contradicted every notion that we were in a cave buried below the earth. Before us stretched a clear, untouched lake. It was about 50 feet in diameter with a shore surrounding the entire thing. I could see the bottom, and it didn't look all that deep. The prettiest part was the reflection of the moon and stars on the surface of the water. Between the cracks and holes in the ceiling there were beautiful snapshots of the bright desert sky, untouched by light pollution. I could barely tell the difference between what was real and what was a reflection. The walls surrounding the lake projected their image onto the water, eventually leading up to the sky. The image and reality mirrored each other perfectly. I was speechless.
"Good or bad?" Ian whispered into my ear.
"Good, definitely good," I said smiling. And with that he took the backpack off.
"How about a picnic?" He asked happily. I watched in utter bewilderment as from his bag he pulled out an old sleeping bag which he spread on the ground next to the water. It was zipped all the way open so that there was a decent sized space to sit on for both of us. He then sat down and pulled me down with him. Then out of his bag he got two thermoses and a bag of Cheetos. I knew exactly what was inside the thermoses.
"Ramen!" I cried in delight, as he passed a thermos to me. He laughed at my reaction. That was another quirk of this new body, Pet had some strange obsession with noodles. Ramen in particular. And ever since, it has quickly become my favorite food. Second only to Cheetos, which I don't think I would ever grow tired of. We both dug into our dinner, talking about everything and nothing at the same time.
"When did you find this place?" I asked between bites of food.
"Awhile back actually," he confessed, "Even before you came here in Mel's body. I had just taken a bath and Kyle was teasing me for actually washing my hair. We ended up getting into a small hustle because of it. I would punch him in the arm, he would tackle me to the floor... Something like that." I could tell he was skipping over the vital details so that I wouldn't have to hear about violence. I appreciated his effort. "Long story short, he ran me into this wall and we both fell through it and down a small shaft. About halfway down it we were able to stand up and and walk down to here. It took us awhile to get back up, but we were able to climb back up the shaft and into the room with the rivers. We told Jeb about it, and it's always been a project we've been meaning to get to anyway. But then you showed up and it was completely forgotten. With Jeb constantly keeping you from getting killed, and me trying to kill you.." He said quietly with a grimace, "we never really got around to it. Until today that is. We spent the day just hammering through the entry way, since the rest of the tunnel was already here naturally." He looked up to gauge my reaction. I smiled.
"It's wonderful Ian," I said quietly, setting down my half empty thermos There was no way I could finish the whole thing. I nonchalantly scooped the rest of my noodles into Ian's thermos and he laughed.
"You sure you're not hungry anymore?" he asked halfheartedly, already knowing what my answer was going to be.
"Of course not," I laughed. Ian set down his thermos too and then reached over to pull me onto his lap. He was sitting Indian style with his legs crossed and I was cradled in his lap like a small child would be. Ian then picked up his thermos and wrapped a bite of noodles around his fork.
"Choo-choo," He teased, moving the fork closer to my mouth, "Here comes the Choo-Choo train! Open up, it's going through a tunnel." I giggled but obediently opened my mouth and swallowed the noodles.
"Ian," I protested lightly, still laughing at the fact that he was treating me like a little kid to make me eat more, "I'm really not hungry. If you really are so inclined to do that kind of thing, we should have a baby instead." I didn't even realize what I was saying until it was said. A heated blush spread across my cheeks like a wildfire. I could barely look up to see his face, embarrassed at what he might say at my off-handed suggestion. But when I finally did look up, all I could see was his smoldering, midnight eyes and a toothy grin.
"I would love to, Wanda," he said quietly, tenderness burning in his voice, "But I want to do this the right way. Actually that's why I brought you here tonight."
"What do you mean?" I asked, not sure at all what he meant by that. In response he set down the fork, reached into his pocket, and pulled out something. I couldn't see what it was. I then felt a small, cold chain around my neck and then Ian fastening it in the back. I looked down to see, on a small, linked, silver chain around my neck, a silver ring, with a bright blue sapphire in the middle of it. The exact same color of Ian's eyes.
"Wanderer, I know this may seem a little silly of me to ask, since you already consider us the truest of partners, but I'm going to ask it anyway, because I am human and this is something I would like. I'm not saying that I don't consider you my partner already, because that would be a lie. But I want you to know, by my own human tradition, that I am always going to be here for you, no matter what, until the day I die. Will you marry me?" he finished, his voice a whisper.
"Of course I will Ian," I responded without hesitation. His lips crashed down on mine. I was long past the point of being shy about kissing Ian anymore, so I tangled my fingers into his dark hair. We made the kiss last for more then a moment, until I finally pulled away.
"Ian, I love you," I said, as it was the truest statement I had ever made in my life.
"I love you too, my Wanderer," He said softly, planting a trail of kisses down my neck. All of a sudden I was overcome with a wave of exhaustion. Ian chuckled, as I'm sure he could tell from my droopy eyes and slap-happy grin. He must have laced those noodles with No Pain or something...
The rest of my thoughts were incoherent jumbles of Ian packing all the stuff up in the bag again and then carrying me back to our cave. The last thing I remembered was Ian setting me down on our mattress and then turning around to walk out the door. A stupid wave of fear struck me that he was leaving and wouldn't come back. It was probably just my extreme fatigue that I was ever that delusional. Or maybe it was premonition for what was soon to happen.
But regardless, I called out, "Ian?" He turned around and walked over to the side of the bed.
"Yes, love?" he asked tenderly.
"Please don't leave. You can put everything away tomorrow. Will you please just stay with me right now?" I asked, hysteria edging into my voice.
"Of course, Wanda," he said, setting down his backpack and crawling onto the mattress with me. He wrapped me in a loving embrace that soothed my nonsensical fears.
"Are you alright love?" he said, concern heavy in his voice.
"Yes..." I said quietly, "I just... I have this silly fear that I'm going to lose you one day. Life is so unpredictable, and you are undoubtedly the best thing in my life. How do I know that fate won't be cruel enough to take that away from me? You really never know how much time you have. I know that more then anyone may." Even in the stronghold of Ian's arms, fear was beginning to overtake me again.
"Shh. Hush now Wanda. I promise you that nothing can tear me away from you. Not even an entire alien race or millions of other planets that you could wander off too. I'm always going to love you, and no matter what happens, I promise on my life that I will come back to you."He ended it with a light kiss on my lips. "Sleep now, love. I promise everything will be alright."
His words worked like medicine through my veins as I automatically relaxed. I snuggled closer to his chest, closed my eyes, and drifted into a peaceful sleep.
A/N Guess whose boyfriend is out of town for spring break? That's right. Mine. So guess who will be most likely writing and updating a ton this week? That's right. Me. Thank you to all those wonderful people who reviewed. You guys are awesome
Response to 4-Eva-Bookworm: I had Sunny working in the fields for two reasons. 1, she never wants to leave Kyle and is even more clingy to him then Wanda is to Ian. Kyle isn't overprotective over Sunny the same way Ian is over Wanda, therefore Kyle doesn't mind as much if Sunny is wearing herself out to be around him. It's sad, but I feel like it fits with everything. 2, just because Sunny is petite doesn't necessarily mean she isn't strong or can't work, Wanda just happens to have a body that can't work at all, possibly due to being 17 and the body never having worked a day in its life. Hope that makes sense.
Please review and tell me what you all think!
Yours truly, Bae