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You groaned as a soft hand on your shoulder gently shook you awake.
“What?” you growled with more venom than you intended.
“Come with me on my swim, it’ll do you some good,” Dick’s gentle voice swirled in the air.
“No way, I’m staying put, you go.”
“Please, it will help you clear your head a little.”
“Dick, I don’t need to clear my head. The war’s over, we’ll be going home soon,” you mumbled into the pillow.
“Then why were you crying in the night?” he asked, brushing the sweaty hair from your face with a gentleness only Dick possessed.
“You heard?” you turned away, embarrassed, your cheeks heating up.
“Yeah… the war might be over but I don’t think any of us are going to forget in a hurry. Now please come with me, I promise it will help clear your head,” Dick lightly pulled your hand. You acquiesced and got up.
You had to admit that the Austrian lake was the most tranquil place you had ever seen. The sun glinted on the water, which rippled softly. The lush green hills surrounding the calm lake made it seem even more heavenly. It made your heart burst to see that there was at least a little pocket of the world untouched by the brutal war. And, of course, the view was certainly enhanced by Dick in nothing but his bathing shorts.
“Are you coming in then?” he asked from the end of a craggy little pier, holding out his hand for you. You merely nodded and walked towards him, taking his big, soft, warm hand in yours. Together you jumped into the water. After a short swim in the fresh, chilly water, you were sat together on the little pier, legs dangling over the side.
“Nix said something interesting to me yesterday, or rather asked me something interesting,” Dick broke the companionable silence. You turned to him, interested; Dick normally got straight to the point and never required baiting to get there.
“Yeah?”
“He offered me a job at his family firm,” Dick looked down at his legs, as he swung them like a child, the only hint of his nerves as he waited for you to say something.
“Do you think you’ll accept?” you replied, gently wrapping your hand in his.
“Yes, I think I will,” silence fell upon you both once more, with the only sounds the gentle rippling of the water and the birds singing a beautiful morning melody in the trees. “I want you to come with me, Y/N.” You turned to look at Dick sharply, shocked and delightfully surprised with his statement. Sure, he’d told you he loved you, but people say and do all sorts of things to get them through a war, and Dick was always so impossible to read.
“Do you mean we’d get married?” your question was barely audible and if it wasn’t for the tranquil calm quiet of the lakeside Dick wouldn’t have heard you.
“You don’t think I’d ever live in sin do you?” Dick grinned, a smile that lit up his eyes and stretched to every corner of his face. You giggled a little, still slightly stunned by his unconventional proposal.
“Surely you know by now that I’d go with you anywhere, be it Europe, New Jersey or Timbuktu,” you leaned in slowly and kissed him gently, blissfully happy in the knowledge that you and Dick would grow old together away from the horrors of war.