polaroid. (h. ransom drysdale) |UNDER REVISION|

Quinze (15) ~ Diana of France

A/N: Italics mean a flashback!! Enjoy!!

" Kiss in the kitchen
like it's a dance floor "
~ Sunflower, Vol. 6, Harry Styles

Another day had passed that Antoinette opened her eyes and her first instinct was to form a smile. She turned to a side to face Ransom, placing her hand on his toned abs and caressing the naked area.

When Antoinette noticed he wasn't waking up, she started kissing up his collarbone, making her boyfriend shuffle in between the sheets and her sheer touch.

"5 more minutes" Ransom half groaned, half moaned, slowly waking up to kisses peppered all across his neck and jaw. He didn't know why he was complaining, being woken up like this was beyond glorious; His girlfriend, whom he loved very much, caressing his body, kissing some really sensitive spots and whispering sweet things in his ear. What a heavenly way to die that would also be.

"C'mon, you promised we would get up early to grab some Christmas presents" Antoinette whispered back. "Besides, I never wake you up. Not even when I need to leave for work"

"Babe, last night I had the most incredible idea" Ransom told Antoinette while they had a lazy sunday, both were wearing sweats and large hoodies while eating Chinese.

Doing this sort of stuff made Ransom realize how much Antoinette had changed him. Before, he rather die from starvation than find himself eating take out from a street food place. But he didn't complain now; it was good food. Really good food.

Antoinette's head leaned to a side, like a curious puppy "What's going on in that head of yours?" She asked, laughing a little, picking some of his noodles.

"Oh, pfft— nothing too important" Ransom shrugged, looking away "Just that I was thinking you should move in with me..."

So she did. Antoinette sold her old apartment and moved everything she needed to Ransom's place. And honest to God, Ransom was loving all the changes. Her presence just made the house less cold and stale. She was also very good with the decorations. For once, his house finally felt like a home

"Fine" Ransom agreed, yawning loudly and rubbing his eyes before these fluttered open. A smile grew on his face when Antoinette was looking back at him tenderly, caressing his cheek. "Well, good morning beautiful"

Antoinette just laughed, joining their lips together in a soft kiss. "I'm gonna go shower" She smiled, pulling away ever so slightly.

"Have I ever told you that I love you?" Ransom hummed, kissing the birthmark on her shoulder

"Maybe" Antoinette laughed, smiling brightly "By the way, I can't wait to see what you're giving me for Christmas" She kept her smile even before getting inside the bathroom.

"Yeah... me neither..." Ransom stared up at the ceiling. As the days passed and more time they spent together, he kept staring at the diamond ring at night, while she was working late shifts or asleep by his side.

"So you're my sister's boyfriend..." A woman acknowledged as Ransom approached the table she was sitting on the luxurious Bagatelle NYC Saturday Party Brunch scene. The woman had an accent, similar to Antoinette's but leaning more towards the British side rather than a soft French. She took off her sunglasses, revealing shining hazel eyes that complemented perfectly her bronze locks. A shiny necklace that hung around her neck matched her smile. "I'm Diana"

Ransom took her gloved hand to kiss it gracefully, surprising the woman. His goal was to impress her enough that she would agree to accompany him in choosing the ring. "Hugh Drysdale. It's a pleasure"

From the few stories Antoinette had told him, Diana was a classy woman. She knew about high society and designers. At some point, that came to a disadvantage because it all made her very vain, selfish and dramatic, which resulted in some family issues in the past that got resolved with time. Antoinette was very close to all her siblings, but the two of them thought more alike. So Ransom didn't hesitate in contacting her when he found himself stuck deciding what ring he was going to get.

Brunch there was more festive and less annoying than Ransom thought it would be. After all, the food was exquisite. The two chatted between plates and mimosas like some friends who went out for a casual brunch splurge.

"I'm sure you're not just here because you wanted travel company and french toast. Please tell me what's happening" Diana cut a conversation short, seemingly exasperated. She started to clean her lips delicately with the cloth napkin. Her brother, Antoinette and her were the most people person in the family, so Diana was reading him like a book. She found hidden intentions that could seem shady.

Ransom just sighed deeply "Look... I need your help. I have an appointment at Harry Winston at 3 o'clock. You and Marie have similar tastes and even though I know her well enough I don't want to screw up. Could you please come with me?" He asked, in all sincerity.

At the mention of the jewelry store, Diana froze. She signaled him to come closer as she moved her napkin away from her face "Are you planing on proposing to my sister?" Diana whispered slowly, eyes wide, like it was the biggest secret in the world and Antoinette was in the room.

Ransom, unsure of how she might react, nodded carefully and swallowed hard slowly. Being with Antoinette had really changed him, before, he was never showing his reactions and feelings, and much less when it came to women. She was teaching him sense and sensibility without even wanting to.

Diana pushed away from him and squealed like a child who just got told she was going to Disneyland. "Of course I'll go with you, you big, handsome dummy!"

Ransom was confused "Wait... so you approve of me?" They met like two hours ago. He had prepared a series of events he would have to go through to impress the woman that sat in front of him. His face scrunched up a little more when he realized he still had to impress Antoinette's big brother and both her parents.

"Ma sœur told me the stupid things you did... but that's all in the past. Did you notice I asked a lot about her? I talk to my sister almost every single day, I know how she's doing, I just wanted to see how you spoke about her" Diana smile, recalling how his eyes shined every time either of them mentioned her "You've passed the test successfully"

"You're not ready yet?!" Antoinette peaked in the bathroom, fully clothed in her winter clothes, snapping him out of thought. "Hurry up!" She closed the door after her.

The truth was, Antoinette loved Christmas. Seeing all her family was very rewarding and the emotion of giving is just incredible. Ransom, on the other hand, hated the holiday, but he didn't want to disappoint his girlfriend. One day, he was tired and said in a not so nice way to turn off that Michael Bublé song that was playing. Antoinette did so and fell silent for the rest of the trip, driving quietly with a stiff expression. That honestly broke his heart so he never did it again, but hey, he's never had a proper or rather success Christmas, so this year he was a little more positive on everything, even though he still doesn't believe in Jesus.

"I'm ready, I'm ready" Ransom spoke in a whiny voice, mocking Antoinette's tone earlier while he wrapped his arms around her bony frame. She was reading something, leaning up against the kitchen marble island.

"I don't speak like that!" Antoinette rolled her eyes at him with a smile while he energetically kissed her whole face. "Aw stop! It tickles a little!" She laughed softly, cupping his face in between her small hands and smiling before giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Let's get going. You get all cranky when you can't find any good parking spots"

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A/N: Hi everyone! I haven't been able to write a lot lately since I got a bunch of stuff to do, plus I updated like 3 chapters one after the other the last time I updated so my mind was drained. Hopefully I'm back with more content now, this chapter is more of a wholesome filler where we start to meet Antoinette's family. Btw, I was listening to Christmas music last month, weird, right?