Serendipity

[Claire Gallows]

[[Thread is rated 18+ for mature content and language. Cross posted on RDI.]]

January 16th, 2017
After the 88th Diamond Quest

There was a pregnant silence than lingered between Claire and Cooper, having continued from their departure from the Outback to the modest walk back to their apartment above the Owl. The pink-haired winner herself didn't have to walk. In the wake of her victory and subsequent meltdown, he carried her in his arms, big hands clutched easily beneath the backs of her thighs and holding her like one might hold a sleeping child, offering her the reassuring warmth of his presence. Through the back door and up the stairs, he bypassed Cordie and the living room to take them into the bathroom, where she finally found a seat atop the bathroom sink.

With great care, the cowboy wet a washcloth and took his time wiping away the dried tears, the grit and grime of the rings, and drying sweat. It wasn't until thick fingers were tucking errant strands of pink behind her ears that he finally spoke, and when he did, it was with his mouth close to one side of her face. His deep baritone was soft and steady. "Who wasn't there ain't gonna change anything. Who was there changes everythin'. I am so very proud'a what you did, who y' are, and who I see every time I look inta them gorgeous eyes... I love you, Slugger."

The walk home should have been brisk but the cowboy's warmth more than made up for the fact that she hadn't put her hoodie back on before leaving. Though her arms and midriff were bare she wasn't cold. In fact, she felt nothing. After the torrent of emotion had swallowed her whole with the final call of the tournament, it receded just as quickly and left an empty void punctuated only by the most sparing of sniffles. There was comfort in the cadence of his step, one that lulled her into silence as they reached the Owl. Cooperative as he cleaned her up, she still couldn't help but feel like she would benefit from a long shower. It was a desire left unvoiced though, the tickle of his beard against her bruised jaw coaxing her attention to him and him alone.

"I think I'm okay... most of the time. Then other times, it just hits me out of nowhere like a tidal wave... I'm sorry." She said softly, not trusting herself to speak louder lest her voice break on her. "But I did it... and you were there to watch. This is... wow. It's everything I've been working toward since I started dueling and I did it. I couldn't have done it without you, Cooper."

"You did all the work. Mostly all I did was lick yo' wounds. And other things." It wasn't difficult to feel the curve of his smile against her jaw and then the kiss. "M' just glad I could be here fo' it. Fo' you. Good things're comin', Claire. I can promise you that. Now what does the Outback's newest Diamond and the first female Triple Crown Winner wanna do now that she's won it all?"

Her mouth twitched with amusement. He had a way of doing that, injecting levity into otherwise serious situations. It kept her level considering her penchant for taking everything too seriously. Her fingers touched to the side of his neck, cold to his hot as she considered his question. "I meant it when I said I wouldn't mind a night at the springs after all that. Eden's small but damn, that girl hits like a truck."

A big hand rose to cup one side of her face, the rough pad of his thumb teasing against the corner of her mouth. Slowly, he kissed a gentle path from her ear to her mouth, finally engaging her in a kiss that was slow, deep, and more than a little meaningful. It went of for some time, like an unending sweetness before he finally murmured against her mouth. "I'll get the sleepin' bags, you go throw whatever else y' want in your backpack."

He kissed her again and fixed her with a lingering smile as he departed.

A tangle of tongues led to a tangle of limbs, hers around him as she perched on the bathroom vanity. Pliant under his touch, there was a softly disappointed sigh that came when he finally broke the kiss in favor of speaking. Claire nodded her agreement then with no lacking amount of reluctance she unwound from him to set him free, slipping off the counter with a groan. A mere overnight was an easy pack job and she spent more time talking to Cordellia in the living room. For the late hour, the caretaker was remarkably awake and more than amenable to overseeing the twins while the lady and man of the house had a night to themselves. When all was said and done she had a stuffed backpack and a bottle of cold wine by the apartment's front door.

A pair of durable sleeping bags were strapped together and dangled from one set of big fingers when Cooper finally made it to the door, flashing a quick smile to Cordie, and prompting Claire to grab her things with a chuff and nod. Ready as they'd ever be, the cowboy gathered in close to his warrior woman and started to bend the material world around them with a mumble. He kissed her again while he did, deepening the kiss the more the world bent.

His tongue probed her mouth with an ever growing hunger, until he was ignorant of their slowly changing surroundings and only intent on the endless pleasure of her mouth. He hardly noticed the cold whips of the occasional breeze against the new backdrop of warm air thick with humidity or the bubbling babble of the spring, a favored escaped that ranked up there with the beach house.

It was a shift that they had made before but still it made her stomach flip. Or... that may have been the intensity of the probing kiss he delivered en route. She had lifted onto her toes, the position held until her calves ached. Even then she didn't draw away. The only sign that she even realized they had reached their destination was the soft drop of her backpack to the ground, leaving only the bottle of wine in one hand since it would hardly do to go dropping (and breaking) that right off the bat. When she finally needed to breathe, such a terrible inconvenience as it was, she broke away with a breathless gasp.

"S'like being underwater. Damn." Claire exhaled and with it came a soft laugh.

"Not yet but soon," he teased and nipped at her mouth, exhaling a visible cold breath that was the by-product of the traveling process. "You're gonna take some time off." The words were delivered in matter-of-fact tone as big fingers dragged and tugged at her clothes. "Let Gio worry about Dirty. We'll tinker with Hangman, do stuff with the kids, and just revel in yo' accomplishment. You'll work on yo' Christmas puzzle. You're gonna enjoy life thoroughly fo' a bit and not fret over shit. Y' got that?"

"I meant kissing you." She swatted at his bicep with a few fingers. Her knees bent so she could gently deposit the wine bottle. As she straightened, she kicked out of her black and yellow Nikes. Standing on one foot at a time, she peeled her socks off too and dropped them beside the shoes she had worn as a symbol of her tie to the yellow Opal. Now she was Opal-less and in its place, she would have a Diamond. It didn't feel real. "You know... you say that, but you know me, Cooper. Takes a lot to take me out of the game. At the very least I'll have to write my Diamond Rules... then let's compromise and I'll only come out on Wednesdays to support the sport. Deal?"

"Hard t' be in yo' game when you're on yo' back with yo' ankles near yo' ears or bent over some furniture, trying' t' catch yo' breath and beggin'." Teeth raked over a shoulder and one thumb hooked into her shorts. "But m' guessin' I could be persuaded..."

"Cooper Gallows, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were threatening me." She said with feigned shock. "And just what could I do to make you more receptive?"

"You aw'ready do whatever I want." In the bedroom, anyway. "You're mine. Muh prize. Conquered perfection." He whispered the words into her ear.

"I do not." She protested, her chin lifting defiantly. He was right though. There was a subtle hold he held over her behind closed doors and even in some aspects of their public persona. It wasn't sexual there, but it was clear that Claire revered his opinion when it came to things and he was one of the few that could publicly implore her to change her perspective. She even listened sometimes. Not always, but sometimes was more than most got out of the stubborn warrior. "Well if I'm already yours, it doesn't sound like I have a whole lot of wiggle room for negotiating. But maybe if you take your pants off, I can find a little wiggle room, yeah?"

"You wiggle and squirm real good," he conceded. Cooper kicked out of his boots while she toyed with his shirt and when his bare feet touched the warm, damp grass of the little glade, it had a charging effect on him.

"It's an art, really." She deadpanned. Just by proximity she could feel her already accelerated healing kicked into gear further, her bumps, bruises, and aches easing in anticipation of further contact. With a smirk, she pulled him toward the water’s edge. "I'm getting in. Come sit your ass down."

"Mm. Careful what you wish fo', Slugger." Slow, step by step, they descended, bare feet on rough, naturally hewn stone, allowing them to gradually submerge into the hot, hot water.

"I love you, Cooper Gallows. You know that, right?" She mumbled against his beard.

"S' hard t' doubt. But tonight you're gonna try t' make me a believer all over again. S' yo' challenge.”

Claire Farron always rose to the challenge.

[Claire Gallows]

Feb 11th, 2017

Maybe it was the city's political climate, maybe it was the season in general. Whatever it was had Claire wanting nothing more than to curl up and sleep forever. Seemingly endless stores of energy weren't so endless and Saturday night found her not out and about but rather in the apartment above the Owl. Some combination of growing unrest in the city and Claire's general malaise had the warrior mother sending the twins to the watchful eye (and heavy warding) of Caelum Manor well outside of town. Cordellia was more than capable and comfortable taking care of the young heirs of the Caelum line, leaving Claire to a quiet evening with hopes of capitalizing on the quiet. Surely tomorrow she would feel better.

Sure that's what she told herself on Friday night... and Thursday night... and Wednesday night. Maybe there was some sort of stock in the rumor that the non-human movement was trying to make a legitimate move against their so called enemies in the city. Vanion could have done something in the same vein so was it a stretch to think that the non-humans were being targeted? No, that'd be ridiculous. She was Claire ****ing Farron after all. Her sprawl found her feet kicked up on the couch's arm and her head in the lap of a concerned cowboy. For once, there was nothing dirty about the position.

"Casey said she'd take care of interviewing a few more hands to help at Hangman, if we want her to." She said through a yawn, her eyes half closed, unfocused on the ceiling as they were. "I told her I'd see what you thought but it's not a half bad idea."

"Casey's capable," Cooper agreed quietly, thick fingers combing through the wild pink locks of her unbound hair. "M' still thinkin' 'bout seein' how interested Belle is in takin' a bigger hand in the place. I know she's got the actin' and stuff, but it could give us mo' of a reason t' spend time under the same roof."

It had been a quiet evening. Claire hadn't been hungry. Or thirsty. The big cowboy might have been worried over a relapse into old behavior for a short time, like when Noctis had passed, but the lack of alcohol seemed to temper those concerns rather quickly. But there was still something. The pink-haired warrior woman wasn't one to get sick, but something was off. She wasn't well and had been too stubborn to even give Raven a call like she had been asked. So instead it had been a night on the couch, half paying attention to what was on the television screen, and occasionally talking quietly on the random subject.

The calloused pad of a thumb brushed over her lips. "We'll worry 'bout it when you're feelin' better."

"Don't push it on her. I figure Shanachie's probably taking care of her but if she wants to be a part of it, she's got a place there." There was no denying the gurahl's growing affection for his time-displaced daughter, a fact that warmed Claire's heart. It was almost enough to take the lingering sting off of how things with Lila had gone so awry. It seemed Belle was there to stay so Claire tried her best to make it abundantly clear that the young woman was always welcome.

"I'm fine." She harrumphed, biting at his finger as if it would convince him of what she had already told him a dozen times a day over the past week and a half. It was a short lived bite, the effort to try proving more than she wanted to expend energy wise. Instead she rubbed a knuckle at the corner of her eye. "I'm just tired, that's all. We'll sleep in and have waffles for brunch, yeah?"

"Y' sure s' just fatigue. Sometimes y' look like y' drank some sour milk." An errant few strands of hair were tucked behind her ear when she released his thumb and soon Cooper was bending at the waist to lean down and steal a kiss. "We can do whatever y' want tonight and t'morrow. Y' wanna do a hot shower or bath? Maybe a little bamf t' the springs fo' a soak?"

"The city smells funny lately. I blame the protesters and the hippies countering the protesters." She tipped her chin up and stifled a yawn against his mouth, leaving her teeth to graze his bottom lip. "But I kinda don't wanna do anything except maybe sink into the couch forever. Is your leg falling asleep yet?"

"Naw," he murmured. "But m' gettin' the vibe that I should be a good boy t'night." Another kiss touched down on her mouth, his dark brows furrowing. "Y' sure you're aw'right? Seriously."

"I'm fine." There it was again. She kissed him once more then sat up slowly so he had time to draw back. Once he did, she lifted her hips and scooted over to sit sideways in his lap. He made for a perfectly warm chair and like a cat, she couldn't resist the draw. She leaned her head against his shoulder, pressing a kiss to his collarbone. "Really. I'm just gonna doze. You can watch whatev. Except porn, you already poke me in the ass enough on your own."

"Never seen you quite like this. M' allowed t' worry." Big arms slipped around her waist and drew her tighter to his broad frame. His larger body began to emit an aura of warmth moments later, increasing her comfort. "With as busy as we've been and with everythin' goin' on in the city, bad shit's bound t' happen sooner rather than later, and you're not invincible. Slugger."

"You've seen me worse." She cracked a wry grin. It had only been less than three months since her little motorcycle spill and in Claire's mind, what amounted to a little cold couldn't quite compare. Curling against him, she nestled her forehead against the crook of his neck. Like always, she was cool to the touch, neither clammy nor feverish. Comfortable and safe in his embrace she finally let her eyes close, the first light touches of sleep beginning to touch her. "S'what I'm figuring but it'll pass. Always does."

"Obviously, y' need mo' protein in yo' diet," he teased against her ear. A big hand smoothed along her hip and then over a thigh; it rose until it rested along one side of her ribs, beneath her heart. A deep breath was drawn in, a little gnosis flowed through him, and he was letting his senses spread out through her body.

Better safe than sorry.

"I think I get plenty of that thanks to you." She managed half of a snicker and settled in close. It didn't take long for her to drift, oblivious to his subtle probing if only because it involved his senses instead of his fingers or other things. There were signs but they had been ignored so early in the process, it was a little less obvious than it had been with the twins. After all, it couldn't have been more than six weeks. And she had somewhat expected the twins since it was possible. This wasn't meant to be possible, not with the cowboy. It was an unfortunate fact that she had come to accept, content to love their patchwork family as it was. What she hadn't expected was the somewhat familiar drain of once more carrying a budding life. Safe had evidently never crossed their minds.

"But y' never complain," he rumbled. Small kisses touched down on her forehead and temple, along her cheek and then her shoulder. He soothed her as he searched, looking for critical information that might ease his growing concern for her health. Claire was tough as nails, but her body wasn't infallible, and if something bad was afoot, then...

No.

The cowboy's heart nearly stopped when his spiritual senses first touched upon the extra life. It was a faint thing, still so new in the pink-haired woman's womb. Modern medicine wouldn't have felt the heartbeat even when knowing it was there, but the gurahl's gifts made it sound plain as day. A new life. In her. In Claire. Something that shouldn't have been, couldn't have been, unless... For a few seconds, Cooper stopped breathing.

Claire was...

"What in the Hell..." He almost dumped her on the floor getting to his feet. "There's no ****in' way...!"

Thankfully she hadn't fallen deeply asleep enough to be caught flat footed by his sudden rise. She jerked awake and just barely caught herself with a tumble and a sluggish pop to her feet. Confusion had etched itself across her sleepy expression, a series of befuddled blinks fixing him with a look that said she quite clearly required an explanation for his outburst.

"The ****?"

A spectrum of emotions crossed Cooper's broad features in the intervening moments before he finally spoke. Surprise. Pain. Rage. Sadness. And in the end, pure bewilderment.

"You're..." The words came out as half a wheeze, half a breathless growl. "I can't. I couldn't. But you... jesus****ingchrist... I just never thought..."

His dark brown eyes seemed lost when they founds hers.

"You're goin' t' be a mother again."

He couldn't bring himself to say it any other way.

"What?" She couldn't have heard him right. Maybe she had fallen asleep and this was a fever dream. Right, from the nonexistent fever she had. Totally. From a few steps away she stared at him like he was speaking a different language. It took a few minutes but it finally clicked, her squint narrowing further. Less than conspicuously, she lifted a hand to squeeze at her own chest, only to wince in response a fraction of a second later. Her hand dropped back to her side with a slap as she shook her head at him.

"Except... that's not a thing because you can't... so we can't... and..." Suddenly she realized the implications of just what he was saying. Her eyes widened first with disbelief and then anger. "Four hundred seven. That's how many days it's been since I was with someone else. You know, I'm not too good at math but either you're wrong or you're really wrong. So which is it? What the fuck are you trying to play at here."

Despite what had transpired between them before Noct's passing and despite what he had known about her more significant dalliance before that, Claire had never given the cowboy a reason not to trust her. Ever. Every implication ran the gamut between unthinkable and impossible, forcing him to momentarily clutch the sides of his head.

But he wasn't the type to deflate or wilt beneath the agony of a moment like that. Instead, Cooper continued to stare into her eyes and remained silent for a time.

"S' impossible," he told her quietly. "S' ****in' impossible. I can't. What they did t' me... it just... can't. But I know what I felt inside you. S' no game. You're gonna be a mama. But I..."

Could he?

"That's... not... no..." She shook her head, her eyes welling to the point that she had to wipe them with the heels of her hands lest they spill over. Granted she had only cried in front of him a handful of times, she still didn't want to add to the list. Not like this. At first she rocked back on her heels, intent on more space instead of less but after a second though, she lurched forward, closing the gap between them. Standing before him, her lip quivered but she grabbed for his hand to press it against her abdomen.

"You're wrong. Do that thing again... tell me you're wrong." Her tone hitched, cracking midway as her grip on his hand tightened in case he resisted. "Tell me you were wrong, Cooper."

To his credit, he didn't draw away when she approached and didn't deny her the touch of her hand claiming his. Another deep breath was drawn in when she pushed his palm against her taut stomach, his eyes closing when he drew upon the gnosis and let the energy flow through her. A few seconds seemed like an eternity before he spoke again, softly.

"You're pregnant. Almost six weeks along."

"That's. Not. Possible." She said firmly, an instant denial as soon as he spoke. Her hand dropped his and she looked up at him, her brows knitting as she tried her best in spite of her own conflict to read his expression. Rarely was Cooper Gallows an open book in the best of times and this? This was nowhere near the best of times. Her lip quivered so she bit at it to put a quick stop to the wobble before she could speak again, this time in a barely there whisper. "Cooper, I swear... on everything I have, everything I am... is this happening?"

"Diamond Quest was four weeks ago," he said quietly, rational thought seeping back in as time passed. At some point his hands had fallen to her hips, not quite clutching but using the familiar feel to keep them occupied. "We spent the whole night at the springs. S' node fo' Life. Pure life... we did get carried away... We pulled so much and used it, and..."

Cooper looked away from her, his tone lingering in a very sad, gray area between despair and hope.

"Am I...?"

Her mouth had fallen slack, the entire situation beyond comprehension. His hands were an anchor, keeping her in place when she wanted to crumble. Everything he said was improbable, impossible even, but there was no other way unless immaculate conception was a thing and let's be real, nobody was buying what Mary was slinging. Her hands found his but only briefly before they slid along his thickly muscled flesh of his arms then across his shoulders until she could cup his jaw in a softly tentative touch, as if she were worried he might pull away. "You gotta be... there's no other option... But say something... please."

They had told him he would never father children. With the ability to play with the forces of life and death, so had Cooper Gallows lost the ability to make new life. He was a creature of life and of death, no longer wholly one or the other. There had been plenty of years for him to come to terms with it and he had never let the sadness show.

And now everything had changed. Again.

"I'm gonna be a daddy," he told her softly.

The words were powerful enough to bring the hulking man to his knees before her, the heavy weight of his body leaning into her slighter form. He buried his face against her abdomen.

Each word echoed in her head, reverberating with a gravity she thought impossible. Her thumbs stroked along his bearded jaw as he sank and though she was unsteady, she set her stance as he leaned against her. Surely he needed it more than she did. With her lip pinned between her teeth, she curled her hands around the back of his head and hugged him against her. Disbelief had bled into some sliver of relief tinged with a cautious dose of optimism she seldom showed anymore.

"We're sure? We're really, really sure? I... it's not too early to test, if you're right... gods, Cooper, what if you're right. I... you... we... th-this is a thing... holy ****..." The waterworks she had barely restrained broke the levy at last, quiet and silent in their stream down her cheeks.

Tumultuous feelings kept him silent for a long time but for a few fragile moments the cowboy's shoulder shook in what might have been a long suppressed sob. When he finally spoke again, it was cautiously. "S' a thing but... s' early. Somethin' could happen. Maybe the spring wasn't enough, I..."

It was too much to hope that it was all real and that something worse would come crashing down at any moment.

Finally she sank down to his level, wrapping her toned arms around his broad shoulders to pull him back to her. One hand cupped the back of his head while the other gently stroked his back in a slow, soothing passes. Claire sniffed hard, reining in the unrestrained tears thanks to the focus she put upon the vulnerable cowboy. Sliding a hand to his cheek, she touched her fingers to his jaw to prompt him to look at her.

"We'll take it a day at a time... we'll figure this out, whatever it is. We'll be careful, okay?" She whispered as if it were some grand conspiracy between them and only them. "It'll be okay..."

"Yeah," he rumbled and nodded, forcing his expression into a state of calmness. A light lean backwards let him look down at her again, big hands rising to frame her face. "I love you."

Her eyes were wide and red rimmed but they stayed fixed on his face as she nodded. There they knelt on the living room, the entirety of the moment pressing well into the realm of surreal. She forced herself to take a deep breath, her shoulders sagging. "I love you too, more than you know..."

[Claire Gallows]

February 25th, 2017

Date night.

A conventional couple Rhy'din rarely made, a notion that was supported by the existence of the liaison between Claire Farron and Cooper Gallows. Thing was, nowadays, a bare knuckle brawl in the rain and mud wasn't exactly an option. Any manhandling of the pink-haired woman these days usually came with a 'Just so we're really sure...' and a whole different type of physical activity. The range had been ruled out on account of the weather and the pair, sans official public engagements, weren't often seen out on the town for any date nights.

Instead, Cordy had the twins up at the manor and let the cowboy and lady of the house camp out in the guest house alone for the night. There it had been frozen pizza, popcorn, and movies on the couch in the dark, before the scruff of his beard rasped across soft skin during the occasions he was more interested in her neck than what was on the screen. Barefoot in sweats and a wife beater, he kept the heave flannel blanket draped over them, trying to kiss away the anxiety that rolled off of her in palpable waves.

Things had gone from zero to sixty fast enough to give her whiplash and she was feeling it now. Between Cooper's discovery of her condition, the incident in front of the Sassy Owl the next night, and Aemilia's confirmation of their suspicions a week later, she was left to contend not only with the changing hormones but with a mind that often worked against her best interests and in spite of logic. It had just been easier to hole up outside of the city, venturing in only as needed and seldom for leisure. The city was calming but Claire wasn't.

What if. There were so many of those rolling around in her head they all seemed to blend into one giant knot of what will I do when it all comes crashing down. Her stomach was full and though the soda on the side table wasn't as satisfying as a beer would have been, she was mostly content, tucked against him and thoroughly enjoying the warmth he radiated. His mouth was a distracting thing, periodically pulling her attention away from the screen until finally a soft dig of her nails into his thigh said he better finish what he was starting.

If Cooper had been hungry for her before, it had only intensified with recent events and their current circumstances. It had to be real. He desperately wanted it to be real. To be sure. There was one day, she hadn't even been let out of bed, other than to shower; he had shanghai'd her in the shower too, requiring another soap up afterwards. There was an earnest desperation in his love, undoubtedly genuine. Sometimes it was urgent, other times it was tender.

It was somewhere in between when the kisses to her neck started to threaten to leave marks, his teeth worrying at pebbled flesh event as her squeeze prompted a slow push of his massive hand up under her shirt, cool across the warm flesh of her braless chest. "I love you," he told her against her ear. "Told y' that lately?"

It wasn't as though she minded his affections, in fact she basked in them. They were a nice distraction from the reality of their situation. In a rare reversal of roles, he was the hopeful optimist while she was the cynical realist. Within the cradle of her womb she held a spark of light for Cooper's dark, something to reach for when despair seemed too heavy a burden to bear. But, she feared, no matter how bright that flame lit his way, it wouldn't be within his control to continue down that path. Instead he could be taken from her at a moment's notice. Just. Like. Noct. It made her wary of letting him go for too long and it made holing up all too easy.

"All day, every day, and if you aren't telling me, you're showing me," she said with an affectionate smile, her hand having taken to an up and down pass along his leg, fingertips down, nails up. Her rhythm was broken by exploring hands and a squirming giggle. "And I love you, Cooper Gallows."

"This is a thing," he told her quietly. "S' real. You and me. Up 'til a few weeks ago, I kept tellin' muhself it was all just a beautiful dream. That eventually I was gonna wake up and things wouldn't be so great. That I'd be somewhere dark, cold, and alone. But then..." His other hand rose to pass gently over her stomach, even as the first teased her ribcage. "This happened. It happened. T' us. This ain't a dream. S' real. S' gonna happen. We're ground here, in this. It gets t' be you. This."

He sounded so happy. Gods, so ****ing happy. Some part of her roused the quiver of a smile, a barely there thing that warbled with untold weight on the edges. It hurt to swallow, a fact that found her reaching for her drink for a long, slow sip that gave her time to find her words again. One hand settled over his as it teased then slid to lace her fingers with his. "Cooper... I..." Her words caught, lost to a sniff. "Babe, if I'm being honest, I'm freaking out."

The silence hung between them for a time, until the cowboy reached out and took the soda bottle from her hand to replace it on the table. Another kiss touched down just beneath her ear and he quietly whispered: "I know."

The hold on his hand didn't last, as both slipped free of her shirt and caught the faint swell of her hips. He turned her around beneath the blanket until they were chest to chest. Eye to eye. "Y' know muh history. I know yo's. It's always ****. S' never fair. The bad **** keeps pilin' up. Pilin' on. What m' tellin' you is: Not this time. It'll get worse. That I know. But we'll pull through. We. Us. We're mo' or less a team now, Slugger. M' choosin' t'' believe in that. I need you t' do it too."

His forehead touched against hers. "There's a little box on yo' dresser. Inside'a it is everything y' need t' know t' understand why m' so confident in that. Promise."

Of course he knew. Seldom was she capable of hiding anything from him, a fact that simultaneously annoyed and relieved her. For him she was an open book, old pages and new, ready for his perusal with a careful stroke of a spine. Reluctantly she let his hand go and took care not to knee him somewhere sensitive in the process of turning around to face him. The movie on the screen was long lost to her attention, she hadn't the slightest idea of what was happening.

"Say it again, Cooper. Say you promise, because I'm not sure I can do this on my own if you don't promise, so you're not allowed to do that to me. Got it?" It sounded demanding but it was limned with a subtle desperation that said she believed every word she said. Once already in her life she had stared down such a prospect and now, now it would have been ten times worse. Also, "Which box?"

"I promise." The was no pause for dramatic effect. It was delivered and it was meant, sealed with a brief and gentle kiss to her mouth. Big hands rose to frame her face, his gaze locked on hers. "We're in this together. And s' the box I gave you fo' Christmas."

"Wait!" She said suddenly, her eyes going wide with disbelief. "That's a box?! With something in it?!?" The wriggle against him wasn't meant to be teasing but her sudden exasperation needed a physical outlet. "I thought it was just a puzzle!"

"A puzzle box." He laughed and suddenly smothered his bearded face against the side of her her neck. Those big hands raked down over her chest and sides. He squeezed her against him. "Someone's riled up..."

"Had I know that I would have tried harder!" Admittedly she hadn't put a ton of effort into it. The rose in and of itself was too pretty to pull apart and when it didn't come easily, the thought of brute forcing her way into it had her thinking it was better to let it sit and come back to it later. He squeezed her against him with hands big enough she could have sat comfortably in them and in turn she pressed against him, chest to hip and burrowed her mouth to his neck for a teasing bite. "Am not."

"Y' want what's in that box, darlin'. Trust me. As much if not mo' than I want what's in this box." It was lewd, the way one hand slid down her backside. "S' a promise."

"What is it?" She asked, much like a kid on Christmas Eve snooping through presents. The box was so far away and maybe just maybe if she plied him with all the right words and touches he might spill.

"Y' gotta open the box and find out," he told her quietly against her ear. "It'll be worth it. Beyond worth it. S' very special magic in that box. Power." He bit her again. "Better work on it."

"Orrrrrrrr you could tell me and I can open it tomorrow." She mumbled against his neck, growling as he nipped her ear. Her teeth grazed along his shoulder before they came down hard against the firm trap muscle there. "Can the box be put back together afterwards? It's too pretty to leave in pieces."

"M' not tellin'," he rumbled back. "It'll mean much mo' if'n you figure it out fo' yo'self. And m' sure the box'll go back together fine. Don't worry so much."

His body shifted beneath hers, forcing her to sit up. Dark eyes stared up at her by the flickering light of the television, a small, crooked smile slanted across his mouth. He just watched her.

"You're a tease, Cooper Gallows." She fixed him with a pout as he pulled her up. Looking down at him, she even leaned back to cross her arms over her chest. A faint wince came with the motion and then a huff of exasperation. "You know... I dunno what could mean more than what you've already given me. This, us, what's to come, all of it. Sooooooo, maybe you should tell me, yeah?"

"M' not sayin' a word 'bout it 'til yo' box is open, Slugger. You're gonna have t' be a big girl and handle it." His fingers glided over her rear and around her hips to settle at the dip of her pelvis. They smoothed up over her belly after, stroking it with a gentle affection.

"Which box?" She asked with a coy grin. He said until her box was open, he didn't say which one. Not that she was one to try and ply him with sex but hey, the thought crossed her mind. The physical changes in her body were still imperceptible, nigh impossible to tell what would be blatant within the coming weeks. Where his hand roamed would before long forfeit its well earned flat plane. There were worse things in life though and the gym would be there when this was said and done. "And you know I'm good at handling it. Aren't I?"

"Be as cute as y' want, woman, but you're gonna work fo' that magic.”

Her pout didn't last long, not with his fingers roaming and the basso rumble of words that could instantly make her shiver. She nipped at her lip and lowered a sultry smirk his way. "Only because I'm overly indulgent. Try to tell me otherwise."

"Very indulgent." The rise of his fingers saw them hooking into the hem of her shirt. "The woman who's givin' me almost everythin'."

"Exactly right." She smirked. He always offered so much warmth that even on the coldest nights of February she didn't need to wear long sleeves. It made getting out of things that much easier. "It's a joint effort. We're building it together, me and you."

[Claire Gallows]

March 4th, 2017

Saturday night had been a quiet one. Quiet for the cowboy, anyway. Cordy had been kind enough to take Avy and Alex for yet another Saturday night, leaving Claire and Cooper with a free evening together. Together was a generous way of putting it. Competitive and nearly a perfectionist, Claire had taken to the intricate wood puzzle box that had been gifted to her on Christmas with equal parts zeal and frustration, leaving her much larger counterpart to his own devices. For him it had been a time to clean the pistols used at the range the day before and to steal a little time working with a new piece of wood.

Despite her growing frustration, he had been wise enough to leave well alone until deeper in the evening. It was only then that he had stolen her away to mitigate some of her distress by wrestling her away from the task. Quiet words turned into distracting kisses, which led to fervent touches, and then an hour of complete distraction. He had left her then with a slap on the ass and some small encouragement before returning to his own interests and then, eventually, bed.

His sleep had been sparing at best, more an exercise in pretending, but it hadn't stopped him from rising in the predawn hours to manage a few other thighs. The sun was a pale, mist-obscured sliver on the horizon when he took to the kitchen, a small herald to the clang of pans and the smell of frying meat.

Number of hours spent on the wooden puzzle since the previous Saturday: At least 25.

Number of times the whole thing was thrown at the nearest wall: 6

Number of times she considered taking a hammer to the damned thing: 3

Number of F Bombs dropped in the course of dismantling the pieces: ...too many to count.

Cooper had proven a worthy distraction for all of her grumbling beforehand. But breaks were necessary and the cowboy was quite good at drawing her attention elsewhere and leaving her too tired to think about that accursed puzzle. He rose before she did, leaving her slumbering soundly until the rattle of pots and the sizzle of what smelled like bacon roused her from her rest. It meant she still had a little time, just a little bit. The puzzle, tucked away in her bedside drawer, was freed and examined once more. It was less a rose and more an onion, wooden layers that came away in pieces the more she worked at it. The whole thing thrummed with energy, attuned quite well to the gurahl in the kitchen, and she was a woman obsessed with freeing it. Just as she thought she may have it, she hit a dead end. "Gods above, **** me!"

"After breakfast!" he promised her from the kitchen, having heard the tone more than the words themselves. But without her there to see him, Cooper wasn't smiling. He knew opening the box would be a trail, one that would require a little something extra from the pink-haired warrior woman. A little understanding of him and the mystic forces that made up his essence. A little of her and the hurdles it would take to get over things she had buried deep.

The hardest and best thing he could do was stay where he was.

For his answer he got an exasperated huff and a roll of aquamarines that he wouldn't be able to see. Sitting up a bit more, she kicked off the light comforter and crossed her ankles, her back against the headboard as she mulled things over. Ever the brute force sort, her fingers curled as if she could force it open but that seemed to only lock it up tighter. Delicacy was not her forte.

"Okay. So. What're you hiding in here?" She murmured down to the box for what was likely the hundredth time in the past week. Fingers touched the wooden rose's petals, feeling once more for how the puzzle's magic ebbed and flowed. This far into it and she still had little explanation for how the previous pieces had come undone. Breakfast in the kitchen seemed to be progressing quickly if the smells were any indication. She'd need to set the puzzle aside before long unless she figured it out quickly.

"Are you afraid of what might be inside? I'm not. I want it... not just to have it. I want it." More mumbling as she chewed at her cheek. "It's important to him which makes it important to me, so would you just open up? Please? I'm asking nicely. Ask him, I never say please unless it's important."

Footsteps in the hall tugged her gaze away to the shadow that soon loomed in the doorway. Breakfast, the hearty, savory kind that the cowboy was so adept at sweet talking her into eating, was set out on a tray held in his massive hands. It wasn't as though he needed to dote on her in such a way, but that he did despite this fact always set her stomach into flips and her heart aflutter. As soon as she looked up, she caught him smiling, a crooked thing framed by the dark bristle of his beard. This. Mornings, just like this, they were what made her weeks, months even, bearable. With him, with the kids, the quiet little moments where she realized just how lucky she was to have it all, no matter how fleeting any of it may have been. She was destined to live a long, long life and none of it was guaranteed to ever be this good but sure enough as the sky was blue, it was hers. And that was enough.

Click.

Bacon. Eggs. Toast. There was a lot of it piled up on a plate. It was simple fare, but hearty, carried into the bedroom on a wooden tray, wisps of steam trailing by from a steaming mug of coffee. "Okay, Slugger. Break time. Food, shower, and then you can play with that a little mo' befo' we go rescue Cordy from the kids. Y' wanna see if Raven wants t' grab lunch with Addie and whatever whoever the nameless boy toy is?"

He paused just inside the door with the tray in hand when he heard the sound. His heart stopped for a moment.

"His name is Henry and he seems really n--," she trailed off as she felt it disengage in her hands. That was it, that was the final piece and she didn't even know how she did it? How was that even a thing. It wasn't as though the box's energy dissipated but rather changed, a tentatively cautious feeling as she peered down at the little puzzle in her hands. First she blinked up to him then back down to it.

"Did I do it?" Carefully Claire pulled it apart, the contents rattling inside like some mysterious reward for all of her work and frustration. In the dim room, she almost couldn't make it out, but she got her fingertips into it, her mouth going dry as she pulled it free. A perfectly round circle, seemingly made of a dark wood and multi-faceted river rock, the only break in the smooth surface came in the form of an empty gem setting, the prongs bare and waiting. Size seven, or at least close, she estimated, holding it between a pinch of her thumb and index finger. Her lip quivered as she finally looked back up to him. "Is this...?"

Cooper was dead silent throughout her small victory and the confusion that followed; the only sound was the howl of the wind outside, his feet on the creaking floorboards when he moved to set the tray on the dresser, and the sparse smattering of words that escaped her lips when she spoke. Deep brown, black ringed eyes watched her hands, her expression as it started to dawn on her.

"Left a spot open fo' yo' first Diamond. Just somehow seemed fittin'..."

"But..." That didn't quite answer her question. But the first question bled into a second, her confusion more marked than before. "But you gave me the box before I won."

Her gaze fell, tracing the contours of a ring unlike any she had seen before. The wood was perfectly smooth even where it gave way to the river rock, the pad of her ring finger tracing the inside of its lip. For a few moments she was quiet, lost to the wash of her thoughts, and when she finally spoke again, she did so without looking up. "Is it... is it just for that? Or... because I was thinking... that... I dunno... I just... talk to me, Cooper. Please?"

"S' called havin' faith you'd win, Slugger," he told her quietly and then finally moved from beside the dresser to close the distance to the bed. At its side, he knelt down next to her and looked up into her face, his massive hands rose into a cup beneath hers. "So the stone goes in there."

His head tilted to one side, holding her in a solemn regard. His smile was only half there, crooked, but no less sincere. "That's an engagement ring, Claire Farron. S' a little round symbol that says I want you t' be Claire Gallows. Fo' as long as y' wanna be. Y' don't have t' say yes. Y' don't have t' say no. Y' don't have t' make a decision right now. When you're ready, just put it on yo' finger and whatever time we've got, I'll make it the best you've ever had. You and the squirts."

"Yes." Claire said instantly, the words barely out of his mouth. It was a good thing she had already kicked the blankets off or else she would have ended up tangled in them in her burst of motion that saw her releasing his hand to sling her arms around his neck. She cared not if she stayed on the bed as she threw herself at him, repeating the word over and over against his neck, the ring clutched in a tight fist. Yes, yes, yes, yes.

How could she say no? He had been an infallible rock when she was adrift, a beacon to keep her from drowning, to keep her from crumbling. He had loved her selflessly, he had loved her children without expectation, he had pushed her to be better, not for him, but for her family and for herself. He did it all without a single complaint, without whining about his own situation, **** as it may have been. Cooper Gallows had done it all and now he was on one knee asking her to be his. "Yes. I love you, I ****ing love you, Cooper. Yes!"

He was rocked back on his heels beneath the force of the collision and, after teetering precariously, suddenly fell backwards onto the floor. It spilled her slimmer form against his chest and had him wrapping his arms tight around her waist, and laughing. "Y' also love ****in' me but m' gonna happily take both."

His nose nuzzled along one side of hers, his beard rasping against her delicate jaw. "I want this. You. Them. This should be a thing. Just let me make y'all happy."

"That's secondary to this right now." She laughed against his cheek then pressed a kiss against his beard. Held tight to him, she leaned back and stared down at him. In the early morning light, his eyes were still dark but the smile he wore could have lit a thousand nights. Claire kissed it once then twice, the second longer than the first. "You do. Gods, how you do. Them, me, us. Yes. Put it on?"

Carefully she rolled the ring from her palm to held between her fingertips of her left hand. Straddling his hips, she sat up and offered it out.

There were more kisses between the moment of her response and the time she finally pulled away to sit up on him. His grin was wider and crooked as sin when thick fingers took the little hoop from hers and he was sliding it on the ring finger of her left hand. "I know this whole moment should be mo' romantic or somethin' but m' kinda diggin' how this all turned out..."

Snug but perfectly so, she wriggled her finger as it settled against her knuckle. She hadn't expected to ever see another ring there let alone now. The empty gem setting made her giggle, her cheeks flushing with the warmth of the thought that he'd had far more faith in her than she'd had in herself. Cooper Gallows, her biggest fan.

"It's perfect. This is perfect." She mumbled, kissing him again at least another half a dozen times. Across the room, her breakfast found itself taking second place to the man she sat upon. A shame, sure, but this, this was far more delicious. She held her hand in between them and grinned hard enough it hurt her cheeks. "This is real life? Like really, really?"

One of his own hands rose soon after to tangle lazily in the pink mess of bedhead that still plagued her, the tips of his fingers grazing lightly along the back of her neck. "We can do it now, later, whenever. Though, m' thinkin' that befo' we do I need t' take you home t' meet muh ma. M' pretty sure she'd be put out somethin' fierce if'n there was a second wedding she wasn't included in..."

The soothing touch of rough fingers through her hair and along her skin was soon off put by his quiet musings. Her eyes widened slightly as she swallowed. Fingers, one wrapped in an unfamiliar but newly beloved adornment, curled against his chest. "I've... um... I've actually never met a mother of a man I was seeing. D-Do you wanna maybe... I dunno... do that this summer? Maybe? Would that be weird? 'Hey Mom, it's been forever but meet my pregnant fiancee'-- Oh that's... that's a weird word, whew, um, oh! Right. 'Meet my pregnant fiancee and her kids.'"

"You're overthinkin' it," he murmured quietly into her jaw. "One: Muh old man is dead and in the ground and, as good of a man as he was, he was the only one besides muh older brother worried 'bout public perception and the propriety it expects. Mom comes from old Sioux stock. Pretty sure she'd take t' you and the twins like a duck t' water and she'll be over the moon 'bout bein' a grandma again."

"I can do dads." She said quickly, only to realize just how that sounded. Making a sour face, she grazed her nails up the back of his neck and along his scalp. "I mean, I can handle meeting them, regardless of their expectations." Her heart slowed from its brief pitch, steadying out to the equilibrium he brought out so easily in her. "You think so though?"

"Two: You're amazin'." To emphasize that, he kissed her again, long and slow. The murmur that followed came against her lips. "This is gonna be one time that you're gonna fret fo' nothin'. The worst y' might get is some commentary from muh older brother Tanner and if'n that happens, you've got free rein t' set him straight. She's gonna love you almost as much as I do, Slugger."

"Hopefully not as much." She grinned against his mouth, using the opportunity to catch his lip with her teeth to give it a teasing tug. Letting it go with a pop of her own lips, she drew back just enough to fix him with a furtive look. "This summer then. Deal?"

"We'll figure it out," he promised her and used the grip of her hair to give him access to her neck for a gentle bite. "We'll make plans. Whatever plans y' want. One way or another, you're gonna be the future Mrs. Gallows..."

"Mrs. Gallows." She repeated with a breathy laugh. "Claire Gallows... that's... that's gonna be a thing." Laughter turned into kissing, her fingers catching at his jaw to bring his mouth back to her. When she finally had to breathe, she didn't pull back far. "I mean, unless you wanna be Mr. Claire Farron."

"Gallows." He said it firmly and then slapped her sharply across one ass cheek. "You'd make a hot ass Gallows."

"I dunno..." She clucked her tongue reluctantly, pressing against him with the slap of her rear. "I'd have to compete with you... that's a tall order." Quite literally even.

"Nothin' t' compete with." He capped it with a squeeze. "You're mine. I do what I want with what's mine, lady. S' no competition there."

"Yeah? Prove it." She challenged, sure to make her cold breakfast a mere afterthought by the time she got done with him.

[Claire Gallows]

April 7th, 2017

How much can change in a year? It was a question she asked herself often these days, often marveling at just how much of a one-eighty things had taken. A year ago they had escaped to the safe haven of Rose Cottage, well away from the city and the pain it held for her. It was there that she drowned herself in her sorrows and it was there that Cooper had forced her to reckon with devastation if not for herself than for the twins. Instead she had done it for them all, little by little, baby steps that eventually brought her to here and now. First it had been her sobriety, then it had been the slow processing of grief for her loss, for the twins' loss of their father, for the family that was, for the future that would never been.

Next it was a matter of getting back to normal, resuming the routines that had run her life almost seamlessly before. That wasn't the easiest thing, full of ups and downs and potholes as it was, but somehow she made it.

And then there was Cooper. In ways she had never expected she had fallen and fallen hard. That had been easy. Now she looked to the future not with dread but rather hope and as she emerged from the second bedroom of the Caelum guest cottage, she couldn't help but smile at the new foundation she was building just as spring began to break over the compound like acreage. Even if it meant feeling tired all the time and cutting out not only alcohol but a lot of other good things too. It was only for now. The pay off in the fall, that would be worth it no matter their worries now. Barefoot, she ventured down the hall and into the kitchen for drinks. Beer for him, Broot for her. Lame, but sacrifices had to be made. Before heading back to find him, she paused on the edge of the linoleum and snickered. "Barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen."

Someone was easily amused to say the least. With a chuckle, she continued on her way. "And they're out. Hard. The pool was evidently a good idea."

Acceptance had seemed to be a common theme for the pair, though his own had involved far less needling. Claire couldn't truly push on issues she didn't fully understand the gravity of. At first, the cowboy's introspection had been a matter of habit; a matter of acceptance of things that were beyond his control. Enjoy what you have before you while you have it, he had been told by a close confident. Accumulate those good memories and take them with you.

Cooper had never counted on his attachment to Claire and the twins going as far as it had.

It had kindled something within him. It had stirred a fire, a crackling hearth in the dead of winter that played the part of a balm to soothe his damaged spirit. From it he had lit a single, brightly burning torch and even now, though he seldom spoke of it, it was being used to illuminate his path. He sought a better end.

It was thoughts like those she had torn him from when she spoke, hands reaching for her instead of the beer to pull her down into the familiar comfort of his lap. One hand smoothed over the small swell of her stomach and he greeted her with a kiss to the neck. No jokes about her little quip. "They're waterbabies like their mama."

Claire relied on him to keep her from falling in a physical sense. It wasn't as though her center of gravity had changed much yet but it sure as hell felt like it. Of course she blamed the Gurahl, after all, wasn't all of this his fault? Seeking comfort over fashion, after time in the pool and before dinner, she had changed from a swimsuit into form fitting yoga pants and far less form fitting hoodie. It wasn't as if she were hiding things, not here at least, but it was likely one of his and as such, she swam in it. As he tugged her into his lap, she grinned at the bristle framed lips to her neck and touched the cold glass of his bottle to the side of his neck in trade.

"I learned how to surf before I ever learned how to ride a bike," she shared that tidbit with him with comfortable ease. Her past, and more precisely her childhood prior to losing both parents, was something she seldom spoke up to anyone other than Serah. But it came with a smile as she settled on his lap, one hand over top of his. "I'll do the same for them if I have my way. Think this one'll be the same too?"

He squirmed briefly for the feel of the cold bottle against his neck, causing him to bite hers gently before taking the bottle from her. "M' sure the kid'll be a natural born swimmer and surfer. Wouldn't worry much 'bout that. M' sure big brother and big sister'll see t' that."

The bottle was tipped back, half of the beer drained in two quick swallows before he was leaning to the side to set it down. Both arms curled around her possessively.

"Belle too, you think? How's she taking this?" She asked, quietly this time as she handed the bottle off. For all of Claire's bravado, there was a certain amount of hesitation in much of what she did, especially when it came to Cooper's daughter. That was a whole new territory for her. A scary one at that. She took many of her cues from the mountain of a man himself which served to mitigate some of the worry. Staying upright when he leaned, she opened her Broot and set the cap on top of his head when he sat back again, taking a sip before she ventured down another line of thought. "Oh, and um, I sort got you something."

"She's... excited." He had thought the young woman would have been more apprehensive, given their rocky start, but when the cowboy had gone all-in on the notion of her being a part of his life, an ever more important one, she had gone all-in too. The awkward moments had become much fewer and farther between, leaving a wide opening for Belle to be as integrated into their odd family unit as she wanted to be. "She gets t' be a big sister and her family, small as it was when comin' here, is growin'. We all get t' be happy and mo' whole. Can't ask fo' mo' than that. I think y' two should get out t'gether some time. Would be good fo' the both'a you."

A dark brow rose for the statement. "What'd you get?"

"Oh," she said, exhaling a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. The apprehension bled away in subtle degrees that left her sitting upright with a smile on her face. "She's an amazing young woman. Someone somewhere did something right."

Wriggling about on his lap, she first set her root beer aside then tucked her hands into the hoodie's deep pockets to find what she was looking for. "Well. It's a thing. You gotta pick a hand first. Left or right?"

"Yeah, she is. She comes from good stock." Another kiss was dropped to her shoulders, dark eyes tracking the movements of her hands. Dark brows knit together. "I don't care. Pick a hand and take it. They're yo's t' do what y' want with anyway, Slugger."

"You're no fun," she huffed. Both hands slid free of the pocket, one opened, one clutched tight around something small. Her teeth worried at her bottom lip as she looked down at it, her jaw working for a brief moment as she tried to relocate her words again.

"But I got you this." Claire turned her clutched hand over and opened it. In her palm, a resin ring and within the resin appeared to be predominantly wooden though accented with two orbs of polish black that framed a chip of purple-black that seemed to vary in appearance with the light, shifting through the physical phases in slow succession, solid as stone, liquid as water, and gas like smoke before it did it all over again, alive in its own right. She took a deep breath before speaking again.

"It's been a year, Cooper. A year since I opened my eyes even though I thought I'd never again see the light. A year since I was convinced that I could carry on when such a thing seemed impossible. A year since I felt butterflies tie my stomach in knots. Those butterflies died eventually... thank the gods or I'd never get anything done, but in their place, birds were born, and it was on their wings that you lifted me out of the darkness. I may've come kicking and screaming all the way but you proved even I can be outstubborned. You bring balance to this chaotic heart of mine and for that, it's yours. Entirely, unequivocally, irrevocably yours." Only briefly did she pause to take a breath. "So... I thought I'd give you a piece of it right here, wrapped in little things to temper it. That's, um, Rocky Mountain Juniper bark... it came from a forty year old tree on a, uh, little mountain in Wyoming called Spirit Mountain. Those little dark bits on the sides are Apache Tears obsidian, which is a calming stone that, ummm, well, it's good stuff. And that in the middle... this sounds really stupid, gods. But it's a little piece of my heart."

"Well," he said, hesitant for a moment. "I was hopin' t' get a piece t'night... and I did." His smile spread, slow and warm, crooked and far from tentative. He took the special little hoop and slipped it over the middle finger of his right hand. If the universe had an issue with the direction he had turned his life, his ultimate fate, in that moment Cooper would have been happy to show it the ring, complete with the finger bearing it. "I can't imagine life bein' any better than it is right now, Slugger. You. The twins. Belle. The little one on the way. This... s' the best gift. All'a it. This? It just symbolizes it."

In the wake of his, her smile lived once more. It had been hesitant at first, caught in her rambling in much the same way her words had as well. He slipped the ring on and she slid her hand over top of his, her fingers tracing the new weight set on his middle finger. It seemed strangely suiting as far as positioning went, her smile growing as she leaned to touch an almost chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth. "It took me... well, not me, but people for me like... a month and a half to find the right tree. Evidently it's possible to get lost in caves and... yeah. Good help is hard to find."

Realizing she was rambling again, she flushed and waved a hand. "We've got this. And this is just me saying that... um, I'm grateful for you. And for the last year you've given me and other lame squishy shit like that. I love you."

"I've got a hot future Mrs. Gallows, who lets me do terrible things t' her, and a bunch'a kids. M' pretty sure I'm the one who's grateful. A full house and everything t' look fo'ward to. And I love you, as much as you'll let me."

A finger turned her face back up towards his, his nose nuzzling along hers until their foreheads touched. "I want it all."

"Life didn't really go the way we planned, but I think I'm alright with where it's going." The touch of his forehead to hers seemed to center her and her shoulders dropped slightly. Her fingers stroked over his hand for the handful of moments she let silence linger between them. "You've got it, as much as I can give. And you've got me always. This," she tapped the new addition to his hand, "can always find me. Here, Eos, Valhalla, anywhere. Just... just don't lose it. That'd be bad and I've already had to find all the pieces once before. I'd rather not do it again."

"Won't let it out'a muh sight. Promise." One big hand lifted to stroke the side of her face, his thumb worrying lightly at one corner of her mouth. "Man, now I feel like I should be givin' you somethin'. You, with the gift givin' and all."

"Gonna hold you to it." She pursed her lips to threaten biting at his thumb but never followed through, her eyes instead on his as he spoke. A soft chuckle passed between them before she gently shook her head. "You've given me a lot, Cooper. More than I could've ever asked of someone, let alone someone like you. But..." she paused, her smile tugging crooked, "I wouldn't mind a weekend at the beach house soon. Me, you, the kids. Like it was last year?"

"Could always invite Belle and Oz," he added. "They might enjoy that and we could saddle them with the twins while we sneak down the beach t' reenact yo' birthday celebration." His crooked smile widened, dark brows bobbing.

"You don't think that'd be weird, do you?" She tipped her head to one side, brows lifting. Rose Cottage was a three bedroom, more than comfortable to sleep six when two of them were pint sized. "The whole them going with us thing, not the sneaking off to do terrible things on the beach thing. But, who knows, maybe they'd like Icarus Cove... it's got that almost trendy sort of hipster vibe thing going on. After Easter then, let's do it."

"I dunno 'bout Oz, but I think Belle would like it. Family stuff and all. Might give the two of you an opportunity t' bond and it might warm me up t' Oz a little. Instinct demands I maul him." His nose nuzzled along her jaw to her ear. "S' worth at least offerin' t' them."

"I can try... I'm just not very good at it." Case in point, Serah. But for him, well, she had shown time and again she was willing to step out of her comfort zone at his request. Tilting her head just a little further, she let her eyes close as she laughed. For the sake of his ears, she kept it quiet, a breathy little thing between them. "He seems nice and she's definitely capable of handling herself if he isn't. You'd likely not have much left to maul, Papa Bear."

For the tease she kissed him, her head turning to catch him on the cheek. "We'll ask, it's all gravy. But for now, the heathens are down and you oughta be up so we can pretend we're celebrating almost a year of boot knockin' or something, yeah?"

"Maybe. But I can still be protective." Chortling quietly. "How 'bout a hot shower and then we see where it goes from there?"

Without awaiting her answer, the cowboy scooped her up and rose to his feet, all but putting her over a shoulder to carry her off towards the bathroom.