Nightingale (Sequel to Solider Boy)

Sixty-Eight

Melody couldn't stop staring at the ring. On the surface, it was nothing incredible at all. A thin gold band that grew thicker at the center to hold a small, square diamond (or at least she assumed that was what it was) but despite it's simple appearance, it's effect was monumental. She was getting married-and the thought of that had been keeping her awake since four o'clock that morning. S

he'd initially been asleep, but a sound from the jungle outside had startled her awake for a moment and even as she'd laid her head back down against her pillow, eyes drifting shut into sleep, an unfamiliar weight on her left hand had confused her and the events of the night before had come rushing back to her and effectively woken her up.

And now Melody had been laying awake ever since, James out like a light beside her and her mind swirling with hundreds of thoughts as she looked at the piece of jewelry. Well, more like one thought, that she was engaged but that one thought brought on a hundred different, contradicting feelings. First and foremost, Melody was just stunned by the turn of last nights events. She'd been reviewing notes from the bus crash sim, waiting for James to return, but as hours had ticked away, she'd fallen asleep and then woken up to find out James was free and been proposed to.

Just that was enough to confuse and shock the hell out of her. Melody had never given any thought to her getting married, not once in her life.  All she'd dreamed of was becoming a surgeon and down the line, getting involved in some research or clinical trials that would make a significant impact on modern medicine. Until last night, marriage had never been a thought, it was merely an abstract concept that other people wanted. Now it was her reality. 

The man next to her was her future husband. The thought sent a fluttering warmth through Melody and she turned her head to look at him. Whether it was the strain of the previous day or the excitement she didn't know, but James had been sleeping like a rock all night. Even now, as the sun was creeping up on the east horizon, he was still knocked out. His shaggy hair was obscuring his face, mussed around by sleep, one leg kicked out from under the blanket and his right arm sprawled in her direction, though they were no longer touching as James was a bit of a restless sleeper, even on good nights. He looked comical, but also peaceful and Melody felt a smile pull at the corners of her mouth. 

He was the reason she'd said yes. Marriage she didn't really understand (and she was still trying to work it out) but she did fully comprehend one thing; she loved James, loved him in ways she didn't think she was capable of loving anyone and when he'd been looking at her with that nervous smile, telling her that the first thing he wanted now that he was free from Hydra was to be with her and there had only been one answer for her to give. She'd figure out what marriage  meant to later. 

"Morning beautiful,"his arm shifted towards her, curling around her thigh. "Stop rolling your eyes."

"Sorry," Melody laughed. "I just think 'beautiful' is-."

James's was fast, his fingers crawling across her stomach and Melody erupted into laughter at the sensation. Damn him,  he'd learned one of her biggest weaknesses. "You promised," he reminded her, letting his forehead rest against her shoulder.

"That wasn't what I meant," she replied, breathless. "Which you would've known had to you let me finish talking."

"Sorry," he said with a grin, indicating that James was not at all sorry. "Knee jerk reaction. What did you want to say?"

"It's a bit early in the morning to call me beautiful," she finished. "My hair's a mess and my breath could probably knock you out."

"I know," James said, grinning as he brushed a kiss against her shoulder. "It's the reason I haven't kissed you yet." Even saying that, his mouth brushed against her neck. "You're still beautiful." She felt his smile and couldn't stop one from forming on her face as well. In five minutes, with about three sentences or so, James had already made her smile. A feat that usually took a great deal more to accomplish, especially before coffee. "Are you hungry?"