cheesy romance stuff -paisley-

It had been about a month since the official end of the Amelian war. Nils was pretty much healed up from his stab wound, and was back on his feet at Nadar. Paisley was pretty busy these last few weeks. Apparently the end of the war didn't mean that all the chaos was over, and now she was busy trying to help reunite a fractured Amelia, figure out what to do with dozens of war criminals, and a ton of other stuff that Nils couldn't even wrap his head around. He had no idea how she did it all, but she did it.

With all that going on, Nils was starting to have a lot of doubts that now was the best time to propose to Pailsey. He'd been wanting to do it for months now, and he'd finally saved up enough money for a ring. It wasn't a diamond, but a little blue-green stone that the jeweler told him was an aquamarine.

So now the war was over, and he had the ring, and today Paisley had a rare day off. So why did it still feel like it might not be the right time?

If you wait for a time that you're not nervous, you will NEVER ask, Tanith kept telling him, which he had to admit was true. Maybe it wasn't the wrong time, maybe he was just trying to talk himself out of it because he was nervous. If he didn't do it today, he might completely lose his nerve.

So with a new resolve, he decided to ask Paisley if she wanted to work on the garden today. Their little patch of it, the one she had lovingly dubbed The Nilsley Garden. It seemed like a good place to ask. The garden was Paisley's pride and joy, and held only happy memories for both of them.

So that's where he was this morning, in front of Paisley's door, waiting for her to answer, trying to look as casual and not-nervous as possible, as if he didn't have an engagement ring in his pocket.

I won't get into all the details of everything Paisley had been doing the last month or so, but it was a lot. It was infinitely better than the things she had been doing prior to a month or so ago, though, because finally Amelia was in peacetime. Both Max and Nils were on the upswing, and Paisley could breathe lighter because of it (even if she did still have a million other things to worry about).

Today, however, was different. She'd set aside time yesterday to delegate all the important tasks that were scheduled for today, and then had instructed her advisors to leave her absolutely alone unless something urgent happened. Today would be peaceful. A day off, finally.

Despite being exhausted, Paisley didn't let herself be lulled away by the vision of resting all day. She wanted to do something she hadn't had the time or emotional energy for over the last few months. Garden. She had just finished getting ready into her gardening clothes, and was about to leave her suite to go see if Nils wanted to join her, when she opened the door to find the very clio she was looking for.

"You!" she said, smiling immediately. Her happiness at seeing him caused her to completely miss any nervousness he was showing. "I was just about to go looking for you, you little mind reader," she told him, wrinkling her nose. She leaned over and kissed him. He must have remembered when she told him she was taking the day off!

Nils had been waiting for a while now, and I was just about to knock again when Paisley opened the door. Despite his nerves, he smiled as her face lit up and she kissed him. It made him feel better, and a tiny bit less nervous, about this. "You were?" he asked. "Were you also maybe gonna ask me to go garden with you?"

He knew the answer, she was already dressed in her gardening clothes. Plus, Paisley never said no to gardening, unless she was too busy with work.

Paisley stuck her tongue out at him. "How did you ever guess?"

She hadn't felt this good in what felt like forever, but today she finally felt like everything was going to be okay. It was so refreshing to feel this happiness and relief. So freeing. She grabbed Nils' hand and held it as they walked to the garden.

"I haven't been out here in ages," she said as they exited the estate. "I really hope the weeds haven't taken over!" She had gardeners around the estate, of course, but they generally kept away from the special spot in the back where Paisley and Nils spent the most time.

"I've been keeping an eye on things while you were busy," Nils said. To be honest, with Paisley gone nearly 24/7, Nils didn't have much to do besides write and come to the garden. Not that he minded it, he liked how peaceful it was, though of course he had missed Paisley. He also wanted to keep their part of the garden looking nice for her return.

When they arrived at their spot, Nils took a moment to look around. The first time Paisley had brought him here, it had just been empty plots of dirt. He remembered being so scared he would somehow ruin everything, but now the garden was thriving. They even had some tree saplings beginning to thrive among the flowers and shrubs.

"Remember when we first started this?" he asked her.

The Nilsley Garden. Even just being here made her whole body relax--the trees and the flowers and the fresh air. Looking at it, of course she'd had nothing to worry about. This garden was just as special to him as it was to her, and it had flourished under his care. The senna bush they had planted together, in particular, was flowering beautifully; its yellow buds bloomed brightly, drinking up the sun.

"Of course I remember," she told him, squeezing his hand. She'd loved him before the garden, but after that day she'd walked away completely smitten. She couldn't take her eyes off it. She wanted so badly for him to know how much it meant to her, that he'd been so careful with it. "Thank you," she told him, finally turning to look at him. "It's perfect. Look how happy all these plants are! It couldn't have been better taken care of if I'd been doing it myself."

Nils was so gentle and caring. Every single day Paisley loved him more and more.

"Well, I did learn from you," Nils replied, returning her hand squeeze. He never would have learned how to garden if it wasn't for her. As easy as Paisley made it look, and as much as she insisted no one could ruin a garden, it did take a lot of care and knowledge to make all these plants thrive. And this was just one tiny section of the estate, Paisley had somehow been taking care of acres of garden for years without fail.

"So, Paisley. Um, there was actually another reason I wanted to come here with you today," he said, reaching over and taking Paisley's other hand as well. He felt his heartbeat start to speed up in his chest. Oh gods. I'm really doing this. "I wanted to ask you something."

For the first time that afternoon Paisley finally noticed Nils' nervousness. As he grabbed her other hand and pulled her closer, she could almost hear his heart beating quicker. Suddenly she felt nervous too, though she didn't know why. Her vision tunneled and it was just Nils in front of her; the garden had faded away to a green haze that surrounded them.

"What is it?" she asked him, her voice soft.

Nils looked at Paisley. She had never looked more beautiful to him, in her permanently dirt and grass stained gardening clothes. She was looking at him so expectantly, he almost lost his nerve right then and there. He looked away.

"I wanted to know," he said, letting go of Paisley's hand and reaching down into his pocket. He paused and took a breath. Just do it. Just ask. He shakily pulled out the little box, opened it and held it out to her. "I-if you would marry me?"

He kept his eyes on the ring at first, too nervous to watch Paisley's reaction, but then made himself look back up at her.

The words had barely left Nils' mouth before Paisley exclaimed, "Yes!!" She threw her arms around his neck, not giving him a chance to put the ring on her finger. There wasn't a moment of hesitation as she kissed him, whispering more yesses as she did so. The ring was forgotten, so in love was she with the man who had just asked her to share forever with him.

She pulled back, and blinked away some of the tears that glistened in her eyelashes. He'd loved her enough to propose, known her well enough to do so here, in the place she felt most at home; here in the place they had built together, surrounded by plants that had grown strong and beautiful because of their combined dedication and passion.

Here was the man she had fallen hopelessly in love with, for more reasons than she could put names to, someone strong and gentle, brave and tender. Someone who made her feel alive.

"I love you."

The second Nils' eyes met Paisley's to see her reaction, she threw her arms around him with a cry of "Yes!!" and kissed him again and again.

Yes.

Yes yes yes.

She said yes!

When she pulled away, both of them were blinking back tears. She wanted to marry him. They were going to get married. Nils was going to spend the rest of his life with this beautiful, compassionate, perfect woman. "I love you too," he said. He smiled a genuine smile and shook his head. "You have no idea. My whole life I never thought I could be this happy."

He looked down and realized he was still holding the ring and gave a small laugh. "Should I...?" he asked, taking it out of the box and holding it out towards her, to put it on her finger.

Paisley nodded, laughing too. "Yes," she said again, holding out a shaking hand for him to slip it on as she used her other to wipe her eyes. "It's so beautiful, it's perfect," she told him as she finally got a good look. It was the most gorgeous shade of blue-green, which also happened to be her favorite color. "You're perfect."

She was engaged! She couldn't wait to tell everyone!

Nils just shook his head, still smiling and still a little teary, when she said he was perfect, but wasn't in the mood to voice his disagreement. He was just...happy. So, so happy. He didn't know what he had ever done to deserve someone like Paisley, but he wasn't going to question it. "It looks perfect on you," he told her. "It's not a diamond, but I thought maybe you'd like the color." She seemed to like it.

"I can't wait to tell Henri," he said. "He'll so be excited for us. And your family too." He wondered what kind of wedding Paisley would want to have, and how soon.

"Oh, they're going to be so happy!" she said. "Max and Pay love you, and Mom and Dad, too. And yes, Henri! I get another brother!" Paisley already loved Henri like he was her own, but now it would be official!

"Nils, we are getting married," she told him as if he wasn't as ecstatic about it as she was. She kissed him again and looked back at her ring. "Let's go tell everyone!" She meant their families, of course. Maybe they could tell everyone else (everyone else being her overloridian peers, she didn't have many other friends) at the overloridian party they had planned for the beginning of summer.

"Oh, they're going to be so happy! Max and Pay love you, and Mom and Dad, too. And yes, Henri! I get another brother!"

Paisley's family had always been welcoming to Nils and treated him like one of their own, but he hadn't thought until now about how he and Pailsey getting married would make it official. He'd be part of a family. A whole, normal family. He started getting emotional all over again.

"Let's go tell everyone!"

"Wha--everyone? Right now?" he asked. She sounded serious.

She'd meant it when she said it, but truly all she wanted was exactly what she'd had planned: to spend the entire day with Nils, here in their garden.

She shook her head. "You're right, we should wait. Today I just want to be with you, here." She squeezed his hands, and looked down to admire her beautiful ring shining in the afternoon sunlight. When she looked back up at him she had to catch her breath. She could spend forever with Nils, gardening the days away in each other's company. And now she was going to get to.