If You Must

All That We Are Is Frozen

Penny

I'm waiting on a stiff bench in the airport, coffee in one hand, my phone in the other. Every few seconds I compulsively check the time, willing it to move faster. Every second brings Micah a little closer to me-- to England.

Simon offered to come with me, but he didn't sound overly enthusiastic about the offer (which is odd, because he and Micah get along well. Maybe he and Baz are up to something?) and anyway, I want to be alone with my boyfriend. I've got something important to ask him.

After what feels like an eternity (but is really only about half an hour) my mobile starts to ring, Micah's smiling contact photo popping up on the screen. Grinning to myself, I accept the call.

"Hey!" I say into the receiver.

"Hey, Penny! Where are you?" Micah's voice is warm and familiar.

"Over by the Starbucks. You?" I glance around, looking for him.

"Oh, I see you. Stay right there!" He hangs up, and I continue to search the crowd around me. There are too many people moving too quickly to easily make out individual faces.

Finally, I see him. He's walking quickly towards me, a grin on his handsome face, those onyx eyes lighting up. Tossing the last dregs of my coffee in a nearby rubbish bin and stuffing my mobile into my pocket, I stand up, making my way towards him.

And then he reaches me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me in for a kiss. I normally detest making a scene, but somehow that rule doesn't apply when I'm with Micah. I think I love him too much to care.

I smile against his lips, my stomach bubbly and full of butterflies. I think my heart is trying to burst through my chest, it's beating so hard.

"I missed you," He says against my lips. I run my fingers over his short-cropped hair.

"I missed you too. So, so much." Micah pulls away just far enough to look at me. A smile dominates his entire face.

"So. You said you had something important to talk to me about?" There's this impish, knowing gleam in his eyes that tells me he's probably figured it out all by himself. Nevertheless, I feel a blush rise to my cheeks (Micah's the only one that's ever been able to make me blush).

"Right. I've got something to ask you."

"Ask away."

Here we go.

Taking a deep breath, I disentangle myself from him, stepping backwards until I'm about five feet away. Raising my arms, I close my eyes, casting a line deep into my reserve of magic.

"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."

Around us, the world slows to a stop. People freeze in their movements, and silence completely overtakes the noise and battery. A deep, unending silence. Through the windows, the sun slows in its ascent across the pale blue sky. Micah looks around in delight, stepping towards me, closing the distance between us. When he's standing a few inches in front of me I take his hands, looking up into his face.

"Micah..."

"Penny..." He's smiling at me, and it bolsters my courage.

"Will you marry me?"

Micah cups my face with one gentle hand, bringing his lips down close to mine.

"I will."

And then he's kissing me again, and I swear it stops time more effectively than any spell.

—

Hey guys,

Sooooo the chapters I write today may or may not be the last I'm able to write for a few days. My laptop has a virus, and I'm taking it in to get fixed today. I don't know how bad the virus is (my guess, unfortunately, is that it's pretty bad), so I don't know how long it will take to fix it. Hopefully, they'll be able to fix it on-site and I'll have it back by tonight. I'm crossing my fingers that it won't be too difficult.

-Lefty