Through A Different Lens {Marina/Maya & Carina}

The Weight Of January 2nd (Chapter 24)

“Hey, Andy. Can I talk to you for a minute?” Maya whispered after she laid a double knock on the lieutenant's bunk door. 

“Maya, it is four AM” Andy spoke as she opened the door. Maya stood uncomfortably against one of the lockers in her station crew t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants, a booklet grasped between her hands. “What's up?” Andy questioned back once she noticed the dejected look on her friend's face. 

“Okay, so i'm not sure if this is a touchy subject or not” Maya began, entering the brunettes bunkroom.

“Yep, come in, make yourself welcome” Andy followed the blonde, closing the door quietly, attempting to not wake any of the other firefighters.

“When Robert proposed to you, did he give you a ring?”

“Uhm…yes? Why”

“Before or after the wedding?”

“After, it was a spontaneous marriage. Maya, what's going on?”

“I'm going to propose to Carina, but I can't decide what ring to get, and i'm thinking I should just get one for the engagement, and one for the actual wedding…that's if she says yes” Maya's words came out fast, but it truly didn't matter, Andy's mind halted the moment the words 'propose to Carina' came out of her mouth. “Or is that too much, like, would that come off as desperate?”

“Maya”

“What?...You think it's desperate? I knew it. But now which one do I return?” She questioned, pulling two velvet boxes from her pockets and opening them to the bewildered brunette in front of her. “Also, is proposing on Christmas too much of a cliche? Should I wait for the new year?-” 

“Maya!... You're going to propose to Carina!?” Andy cut her off, eyes widened, not really knowing where to fixate them. There were two rings in front of her, one sat deep into the cushion of the velvet box. It was a gold wedding band with a minimal sized diamond in the middle, two smaller sized gems on either side that looked more engraved into the ring.

While the other ring however held a miniature ruby, surrounded by smaller speck like diamonds. It was a silver wedding band this time which made sliming down the decision even harder. She knew that a diamond was a classic gemstone, so that's why she bought the other one also, but she also liked the ruby, it symbolised compassion, love, protection and prosperity, and when Maya saw the meaning, she was sold almost instantly.

“Yes, I thought that was clear?” Maya shook her head, obliviousness evident on her face. She had been running through the process of marriage alone for some time now, that she had completely forgotten the topic of proposing was a big deal. Of course, she still panicked at the idea, nervous about what Carina would say. She knows Carina’s views on marriage, her parents didn't make it look very appealing, which soon convinced Carina to not believe in it.

But a lot has changed in the last year, and even though it's a stretch, Maya was hoping, praying that Carina's views would have also changed. Her own views have changed, from having kids, to saying 'I do' …so she's hoping the growth of their relationship has convinced the Italian to see that not all marriages and relationships are the same as what both their parents mirrored.

“Oh my god!” Andy exclaimed, her tone climbing an octave, causing Maya to look back at the door, making sure no one was about to storm in and complain about them being too loud and disrupting their sleeping time.

“Hey, volume. You can't tell anyone-” Maya thought for a second. “Other then Travis, he knows” 

“You told Travis before me?” Slightly insulted by her friend's lack of information, Andy's head snapped back playfully, now completely awoken from her deep slumber.