Frost & Flames | Soulmate AU 2 |

Twenty-Six

Rowan and I fall asleep after that, sinking into an unintentional midday nap. He wakes me up an unknown amount of time later by pressing delicate kisses on various parts of my face.

"It's party time, baby," he says, the words a fan of warm arm across my face. His breath smells like chocolate, likely from the bar he had pulled seemingly out of nowhere after we were done with the Chinese food.

"Mm, it is?" I hum, obnoxiously stretching all of my limbs.

"Indeed it is, birthday boy," he says, getting up from the couch and leaning forward in front of me. I'm being thrown over his shoulder before I even realize what's happening.

"Rowan!" I shout, punching him lightly on the back.

"What?" he says innocently, marching us towards the elevator. "I'm just being helpful, carrying you to your party."

I huff, but slump a little, allowing myself to be carried into the elevator and then out of it when we reach the common floor.

The common floor is a little more dressed up for the party than it was for my birthday last year. The lights are turned lower than they normally are, and there are some areas lit but different colors, red and blue and green. Music is playing through the AI system's stereo, a low but present sound that's not doesn't assault the senses but sets a laid back mood.

Rowan sets me down on my feet right behind the biggest couch of the three set up in front of the TV. Max is sitting practically on Damien's lap in one corner of it, a sight that's more common with their roles reversed, but adorable nonetheless. Flint and JD are sitting side by side directly across from the TV in their usual spot, playing video games with their usual overwhelming enthusiasm. Atlas is sitting on JD's right with a controller in his hand, as well, but he shoves it into Maggie's hands when he notices that me standing nearby. It's hard to miss the glint of a silver ring on Maggie's finger when she takes the controller.

Rowan had already managed to disappear without me noticing him slip away. Atlas rounds the side of the couch to get to me. We step back towards the unoccupied dining room table.

"I see you've already popped the question," I say, smirking slightly. He smiles sheepishly, running a harsh hand through his already tangled hair.

"I just got too excited. We were getting ready at our place, and I was gonna just put the ring box in my pocket and wait, but I just...couldn't wait," he says. "It was a good thing, too, because it was so embarrassing."

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad," I say, but I can't keep the smile off my face. Atlas is normally a cool cucumber about most things, but his awkward side comes shining through when it comes to serious things that involve feelings. I can only imagine the stammering and strange pauses between the overly sweet words he no doubt rehearsed over and over for weeks leading up to the big day.

He smiles weakly, which tells me it was exactly as awkward as I'm imagining it as.

"Who cares if it was awkward?" I say, clapping him on the back. "She said yes either way. I'm sure she thought it was really cute."

He kicks a little at the floor.

"She did," he admits, cheeks flaring pink. "It's probably gonna be a little while before we actually get married because we kinda just wanna enjoy being engaged before adding the stress of planning a wedding."

"Makes sense," I agree. I glance behind me, watching as JD flails a little and curses loudly. "You better get back over there before your woman makes JD have a breakdown."