Sometime after a calm afternoon in their seaside home. The war is far behind. The world is quieter now.
It started with something simple.
Bea was reorganizing the maps. Nico's coat — the one he refused to throw away no matter how many rips it had was slung over the back of the chair, half-forgotten. She smiled at it, shook her head, and picked it up to fold it properly.
It clinked.
Frowning, Bea reached into the inner lining, the place he always kept hidden things, usually stupid things, like bottle caps he said were "lucky," or smooth stones that "looked like a bird's skull if you squint."
But this wasn't a stone.
It was a ring.
Old. Heavy. Beautiful. The gold was worn, but the etching inside caught the sun just right.
To my star, no matter the sea.
Bea didn't breathe for a full second.
Her thumb brushed over the words.
Slowly, she sat down, coat still in her lap, the ring gleaming in her hand. Her eyes blinked fast.
He'd been carrying this. He'd been keeping this.
And he hadn't told her. Not yet.
"Looking for treasure?"
Nico's voice came from the doorway. Playful. Easy.
Bea looked up, caught. But instead of hiding the ring, she turned it in her fingers and asked gently,
"What were you hiding, pirate?"
He stopped. For once, caught off guard.
His eyes dropped to the ring. His mouth opened, then shut again.
"You weren't supposed to find that yet."
She smiled but it wasn't smug. It was soft. Deep. Quiet.
"Was it for me?" She already knew. But she wanted to hear it.
He stepped closer, kneeling beside her. His voice was low.
"Always."
There was a silence between them — thick with salt air and heartbeat and years of surviving.
Bea leaned in, resting her forehead against his. "You're lucky I didn't throw it into the sea thinking it was cursed or something."
"You still could," he whispered.
"Not a chance."
She curled her fingers around the ring.
No proposal. No big moment.
Just two people, already belonging to each other and the quiet discovery that love had always been waiting.
YOU ARE READING
𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘, 𝖺 𝗀𝗅𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗅𝖻𝗎𝗆
General Fiction𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗦; 𝗚𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 got me falling apart 𝗕𝗘𝗔, 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗛𝗢, 𝗙𝗥𝗬𝗣𝗔𝗡, 𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗦 stealing my heart 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗧, 𝗡𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗬 you make me howl at the moon 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗔, 𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗬 you're the finest fish in this lag...
