The Adventure Continues

[abrightboy]

For thatsfascinating.



The villa Malcolm rented was in the Languedoc, not far from Marseilles, south of Avignon. It was a very historic region, though Malcolm was particularly not interested in visiting Marseilles again. There was a charming village nearby the villa and if they were going to go to an historic city for a day, he'd rather make the trip over to Montpellier, where he'd never been at all, much less with Dr Whitly.

The villa had six bedrooms. As the driver brought their luggage inside the bright and spacious main room, Malcolm handed him some folded Euros and thanked him and shut the door behind him.

"First choice of a room is yours," he told Edrisa with a smile. "But you might want to explore first."

Comments

[abrightboy]

He mulled that over and then looked at her.

"I think I'd like that. Every time I try to make something elaborate happen, it goes wrong."

[thatsfascinating]

"Awww, Bright..." She kissed him gently. "I love it when you make elaborate things happen. Like this trip. It's been amazing. The fact that something unexpected happened doesn't ruin that, at all. Things don't go to plan, life is just like that. I'm sure your proposal would have been perfect, and we would have had a big, beautiful wedding in New York. That's not what this is about."

[abrightboy]

He returned the kiss and nodded.

"I think it's a good idea. I just... hadn't considered it."

[thatsfascinating]

She smiled at him, pleased he thought it was a good idea.

"Ask me," she said softly, her eyes shining.

[abrightboy]

He looked at her.

"You still want me to?"

[thatsfascinating]

"I promised," she said. "And yes."

[abrightboy]

Well, if he couldn't even get down on one knee, he was sure as hell going to at least sit up. He struggled to push himself upright, dizzy as soon as he was somewhat vertical, but he didn't care. He almost got her arm tangled up in the strap from his restraint when he tried to take her hand, but he managed that in the end, too.

"Edrisa Tanaka... will you marry me?" he asked, with an earnest that suggested he didn't even really believe the answer was a given.

[thatsfascinating]

She sat up with him, watching him carefully in case he got too dizzy and needed to lie down again, and helped him keep her arm from getting tangled as he took her hand. She listened intently as he said those words, those words she had been longing to hear for a while now, and her excitement lit up her face as she nodded eagerly.

"Yes!" she answered joyfully. "Nothing would make me happier!"

[abrightboy]

He hugged her tightly and then, as he held her, in a moment that he knew he could not make even the slightest bit romantic at all, he admitted "I have to lie down now."

[thatsfascinating]

She hugged him just as tightly, utterly overjoyed. Then he spoke and she quickly pulled back, moving her hands to grasp his arms and steady him. "Of course! Go ahead, I'll lie down with you."

[abrightboy]

"Thank you," he murmured. "This isn't going to kill me anymore, right? You don't want to get married right away because I'll probably die in a week?"

[thatsfascinating]

"Oh, god no," she said. "You're going to be fine. Even if the worst happens, you're going to be fine. They're going to take good care of you here." She nodded slowly. "That said...we have a dangerous job. You more than me, usually." She touched his cheek. "I don't want something to happen and to always regret never having been your wife."

Or to regret it as she died. But she wasn't going to say that.

[abrightboy]

"I tend to scrape by," he mused wearily. "But you're right. We've had some close calls now."

[thatsfascinating]

"Well." She kissed him gently. "No more close calls for now. The rest of our vacation is going to be way calmer. With, like, the most laid-back wedding ever."

[abrightboy]

"It would have to be. My parents won't be there," he pointed out glibly.

[thatsfascinating]

"Not that your father would be there anyway."

She brushed a lock of hair back from his face.

"Do you want to go visit your father together when we get home?" she asked softly.

[abrightboy]

He hesitated.

"I don't know. I don't know if I want to see him."

[thatsfascinating]

"It's okay, we don't have to. Or we can if you want. Whatever you want to do is fine." She smiled. "We should probably see your mother right away, though. She might be a little less upset if she's the first person we tell."

[abrightboy]

"I wouldn't count on that, but we can try it," he conceded. "How long am I going to feel tired like this?"

[thatsfascinating]

"A couple days," she said. Then frowned. "You don't think they'll think I took advantage of your concussion and convinced you to marry me while you were cognitively compromised, do you?"

[abrightboy]

"What? No. First of all, they're not going to know about my concussion; no need to go oversharing."

[thatsfascinating]

She nodded solemnly. "Got it. Don't tell anybody about the concussion." She tilted her head. "Should we tell them what happened? In the stone building?"

[abrightboy]

He studied her face.

"Do you want to?"

[thatsfascinating]

She frowned.

"I don't know. Maybe we could talk to Gabrielle?"

[abrightboy]

"Oh, yeah, if you want to talk to someone about it... yeah, she's the best," he agreed.