HEART OF GOLD | CORIOLANUS SNOW

Epilogue

"Purple becomes you," remarked Lilith, smiling cheekily. "You should consider changing your surname."

He didn't respond except to take her into his arms and kiss her like they hadn't just seen each other thirty minutes ago. When his lips left hers, they quirked into a smirk as he tucked a piece of her chestnut hair behind her ear.

"Oh, I don't think you'll want that," he murmured.

With his gaze fixed on hers, his fingers lingering on her skin, and all that had just transpired, it took Lilith a second to recall what the subject was.

"Why not?"

"You'll see." He kissed her again, a short one by comparison but sweet nonetheless. "Are you ready?"

"I want to give you your present first."

After she had, and he had put it on at this own insistence, he threaded her arm through his and escorted her up to the top floor. The observation deck had been transformed to resemble a garden, and with live projections of the sky beaming onto the tall ceilings, it truly lent the impression of being outdoors.

By the end of the night, they were no longer waltzing, she was no longer twirling, but Lilith was completely content to rest her head against his shoulder as he swayed her to the gentle music with their arms around each other. She liked it here. She liked to be surrounded by his warmth and his smell. She liked to feel the rise and fall of chest and listen to his heart, which seemed to be pounding...really fast. 

The thought made her giggle.

"What?" he asked quietly.

Lilith only smiled against his jacket. "I love you."

His arms snaked tighter around her, and she felt him peck her hair.

"I love you more." Then he peeled her off, staring at her with a serious expression. "Thank you for tonight."

"It was my pleasure," she replied, smiling. 

For a moment, he just gazed at her, and her entire body invariably ceased to function as it should. Her breath caught, her heart raced, her brain turned to water, and her voice disappeared. After all this time, he still had the power. 

"I love you, Lilith," he said, in a low, slightly tremulous, almost desperate tone. "You are so good, so pure, and so kind. You bring out the best in me. When I'm with you, I feel like a different person: I want to be better; I want to be able to match up to you.

"And then I look at you, and I see the way you look at me. So warm and tender and generous, like I'm already there. And then I see the way you look at the world—with so much faith and so much hope—and nothing else matters.

"All I want is to hold on to you and protect you, so that you never lose that look in your eyes, because when I don't see it, it's like I've lost all the light in my life—it's dark, it's cold, and it's torture. 

"I don't ever want to be without you again, Lilith. I love you, and I want you in my life, always and forever."

Now she understood why his heart was pounding.

Now she understood why her heart was pounding.

It was a miracle Lilith remained upright when he was lowering himself gracefully onto one knee and presenting her with what had to be the world's most beautiful diamond ring. 

"Lilith Aurora Gold, will you marry me?"