365 Hours with Rufus Shinra (FFVII: Rufus x OC)

ch20. I finally reached the fucking epilogue

HE COULDN'T take his eyes off of her the moment she walked down the staircase. Her dress, and her hair, and her makeup were all very simple. But he had found, over the months they had spent together, that it was the simple things that suited her. Hannah was already too beautiful. She did not need to fix her face with thick layers of makeup, nor did she need some extreme dress to make her body appealing.

He had fallen deep, hadn't he? His hand reached the pocket of his black pants, making sure that he had taken that velvet, small box with him. It was right there and now he just had to make sure she wouldn't notice it. He knew Hannah was smart. She could see from miles away what he was planning to do because only a few months together were enough for her to learn reading the most unreadable man on Gaia. It both frightened and impressed him.

He couldn't have it any other way.

"You're staring," It was the next thing that he heard coming from her and he'd realised she was standing right before him. Her hands gathered in front of her, both holding on her purse. Her hair was picked in a bun with a couple of forelocks falling on her forehead. Her dress was a dark blue that reached just beneath her knees. A small V on the chest and a slightly exposed back. The sleeves were long and it made sense that they would be. It was December.

Even the outskirts of Mideel were slightly covered in a thin layer of snow and it was cold outside. It was going to start snowing again. She was holding his coat in her hands, alongside her own. He had barely noticed, but the more she stayed with him, the less work she left for the maids and the butlers to do. She had almost brought up the fact, that she didn't want to have people do chores for them, and that she'd rather do all these herself. He had declined, of course. No -soon to become a Mrs. Shinra- was fit to do such chores.

But he hadn't told her yet. He was going to propose tonight. Tonight was that wedding that they had to attend, and at first, he thought it to be a useless way to waste his time, but after Hannah insisted they go, and after Tifa offered the idea to steal away and propose after the wedding, he had backed down. He was -honestly- out of ideas. He could arrange the biggest of shows and festivals and parades, but he was sure, that Hannah wanted none of these. She wanted him, not his money and what he could do with them, and that was one of the many reasons he had fallen for her.

She had saved him from both certain death and his own lonely, insufferable self. How could he not stare at that gorgeous woman who was now standing before him? She had that smile. Those beautiful light-green eyes of hers found his own and he instantly knew he was making the right choice. No, making her his wife, was probably the only right decision that he had made in his life and was so sure about. He instantly knew that everything about that ring in this pocket, and everything about them both, it was everything so, so, right.

He just gave her a smile. He couldn't explain all of these. He didn't know how. She brought up his coat and helped him put it on. He was handsome. Perfect, as always. She could stare at him, and she'd never get tired of it. A grey tie -that she had knotted for him- rested on top of his black shirt, and a white jacket on top, with black pants and shoes. His hair, perfectly set on one side of his forehead. How did she want to mess them up with her fingers, once more?

He took her own coat from her hands and he walked behind her, settling it around her shoulders. His hands found their way around her. Warm palms pressed flat on her belly as he leaned from behind and his lips found her cheek. He pressed a warm kiss there, and he could even feel the heat of her blush beneath his lips. She was his, alas, no matter how beautiful were the previous women he had dated, none were like her, and he didn't care about looks as much as he cared about inner beauty. The one that he had once given up to find. Actually, he had never even intended to search, but there it was.