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The box felt heavy in his pocket, the weight of it made him acutely aware of its contents. All they had was each other now. The Sanctuary had grown in Hollow Earth in the last 50 years. Their friends and family all growing old or having passed. Helen had taken the loss of Big Guy the hardest, knowing he had many more years in him but she couldn’t save him after the injuries he had sustained from Caleb.
They had retired for a time, allowing Will and Henry to take charge of the Sanctuary. Giving them the time to truly get to know each other, explore each other, learn from each other. Of course, Helen could never truly retire from her work, but he appreciated the effort she constantly made to put him first for a time. They had revisited most of their previous rendezvous points, enjoying them once more. After that, they travelled and created more memories.
But once Will’s health had declined and Henry had a whole litter of children to care for she had to step up. Take charge once more, her youth still her greatest advantage. She hadn't once complained when she took control of the Sanctuary again, in fact, she flourished. Her smile- wider than he had seen in years.
Nikola had also kept himself busy since then, maintaining the Sanctuary’s resources and assisting Helen on their missions. He even occasionally cared for Henry’s wolf-kids. Much to Helen’s amusement.
But when he was rifling through his long lost family heirlooms he had found his grandmothers ring, he had spent over a month telling himself this isn’t what Helen wanted, she didn’t want to be tied down. They had been officially together for 45 years but did that mean she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him?
Yet every time he walked into his own room, the ring box sat on his dressing calling to him. For an immortal, he was afraid of a small ring which didn’t necessarily mean anything… yet.
He took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in his throat before he knocked on her office door. “Come in.” He heard her call out, sounding somewhat distracted, he opened the door to find her typing away on her laptop, fully submerged in whatever email or document she was typing up. He straightened his waistcoat and ran his fingers along the mantlepiece surrounding her classic wood fire.
It was at that moment he realised how much his heart was racing. He had made the decision. The box was in his pocket. He was in the room with the question on his tongue. There was no turning back now.
“Niko?” His name pulled him from his thoughts as he turned to face her, trying to maintain his normally cool composure.
“Are you busy?” He asked, gesturing to the screen. She closes the screen down in response and gives him a coy smile. “I guess not.” He says, his hand reaching up to scratch the back of his neck.
Helen frowns, she could always read him so well, he knew she knew he was nervous and at any moment she would see through him and spoil the surprise. He moved quickly, striding over to her desk and leaning over it to face her.
“I have to ask you something.” He blurted, stopping her before she could say more “Nothing has to change if you don't want it but I thought 45 years is a long enough ‘dating’ period.” By this point, he wasn't looking at her but rather the laptop in front of her as he spoke quickly. When he looked up, a wide smile and sparkling eyes looked back at him. “Will you... “ He pulled the box out of his pocket and set it down in front of her “Will you marry me?”
Helen looked at the box, picking it up and popping it open. Her mouth dropped as she saw the antique ring, the diamonds wrapped in gold, staring back at her. “Oh my…” She gapes slightly before she looked back up him.
His heart was pounding in his chest as he waited for her response. The few seconds felt like an eternity, the sound of his pulsating blood was deafening. So much so that he almost didn't hear her say “Yes.” he shook his head.
“I knew you wouldn't want to, it's triv- what?” He stopped mid-sentence to stare at her “You...you said yes?” He grinned.
Helen nodded, with an amused grin. “Are you going to put this on or do I have to do it myself?” She asked, holding the box up to him.
Nikola took the box and with shaky hands slipped the ring onto her left hand. Not taking his eyes from hers for a moment. Helen glanced down at the ring in admiration before looking back at him and standing to poke him, “It took you long enough.”