Chapter Text
Garreg Mach City, present day
Annette beams to herself as she, Marianne, Mercedes and Ariel leave the cathedral in that late afternoon. It is a chilly day so they are huddled in big, beautiful coats in tones of blue and silver that also represent their hopes for the new year that would start in a few hours from then.
It feels amazing to stroll beside her family on the way home, after a great mass, a very nice welcome back into the church and the three women being openly accepted as a polycule by their religious folk. While it isn’t as if Annie stopped being faithful at some point in her life, she did lose both the time and the motivation to attend services somewhere around her teen years. She didn't instantly follow her partners once Mercedes and Marianne started going every Sunday or so; it was reassuring when they told her she was welcome to join them whenever.
That “whenever” happened on that special day, the last of a year that marked them being together as lovers for a total of three years. And what amazing three years it has been, Annie thinks, walking beside Ariel on their way back home as the sun shyly starts making its way to the edge of the horizon. Since it is winter, days are shorter and bring with them an extra chill to the air once it’s dark, something that has been making the four of them huddle closer together each and every evening.
Not that she is against the closeness, or the mere thought of them sprawling on the couch after some tiresome days and taking comfort in each other, Mercedes and Marianne often standing on opposite ends while cuddling both Annete and Ariel, who would be lying in the middle.
“How did you feel back there, sweetheart?” Mari inquires once they turn into a street and the cathedral is out of sight, the worshippers who stood there for some extra blessings or words of advice from the bishop also vanishing from them.
“It was really interesting,” Annie replies with a hum. “I was scared they would look at us all weirdly for the entire time and yeah, it did happen until the bishop said that really beautiful thing.”
“Love can come in many forms and those who have a heart big enough to love more than one are just as valid, just as welcome into the Church of Seiros and the heart and arms of the Goddess,” Mercie recites, beaming softly at that while readjusting her royal blue coat over her shoulder. It is colder out there than in the cathedral, where she felt good enough to take that fluffier jacket off. “I should have expected as much from Bishop Flayn, she’s just the sweetest and the nicest person ever.”
“But even so, it’s good to be… understood, I guess. Validated?” Marianne frowns, settles for it. “And people think religion is too narrow-minded to accept other family structures, but that isn’t always true.”
“Eh, I’ve seen some pretty awful ministers out there, though," Annette reminds them with a shrug. "So it’s more about who you’re talking about than the Seiros faith after all. You did hear her speaking about the Goddess’s love being in everything and how it's abundant enough for more than one person, right? Well, another bishop could have said that we’re just mistaking sisterly or friendly love with romance.”
“Love is love,” Ariel shrugs and yawns - they aren’t sure if they want to go back to church so often and at least find it nice that they aren’t forced into it. Services made them sleepy and more than once they leaned into Annette for a nap. “But mommies, will we have sweet buns for the new year tonight?”
“Absolutely, dear,” Mercedes answers, ruffling their hair and giggling at how they wiggle out of her grasp. “The dough is ready and only needs to be baked too. Same with the other goods.”
“Yeah, but you will stay out of the kitchen while Mari and I get the rest of things ready, ok? You’ve done more than enough for the last few days and most of all this morning. No more cooking for Mercedes von Martritz or else you get no kisses for the rest of the year,” Annie says, crossing her arms over her chest in annoyance.
She never likes it when either of her partners goes above and beyond by themselves on some festivity like the new year, something that has happened in past years and became almost a tradition between them. In those days, Mercedes would rise earlier than ever and make sure the meat she had been seasoning through the week was ready and tender, only needing to be placed in the oven and baked. She would gather vegetables, mince and boil them in preparation for a filling or some side dish, depending on her mood and what amazing recipe she had seen as of late.
Then, she would make sure they had enough wine or champagne (and grape juice for Ariel) for the night, get started on rice and at least two types of dessert, one of which being the sweet buns that their kid loved more than anything in the world. By then usually Marianne and Ariel were both up, the former helping her while the latter tried tasting everything they could put their hands on. So after some nudging they would both be banned from the kitchen before more havoc could be done.
She would emerge from it a few hours later, when the house was smelling of cooked goods and almost everything was already in order… to the rage of her partners, who would forbid her from making breakfast and lunch on that day and any meal at all for the next week or so.
It has already happened so many times, it almost feels like the year wouldn’t end without those scenes repeating themselves.
“Hm I might challenge you there, I’m fine with not being kissed for a few more hours,” Mercie giggles when the smaller woman finally realizes her mistake and protests at it, trying to make it all sound more threatening - and of course failing entirely, to the point that even Ariel is laughing and making fun of her.
That mood persists as they not only get home, but also tend to the few preparations that are needed until night falls and the few hours between that year and the next ebb away. The TV is blasting a movie or another that they promptly ignore while going through some cooking, some cleaning - they have always believed it a good omen to clean one's house before the new year - and getting ready for a ritual that, although silly, is one they have been doing for the last few years.
Said ritual consists of them having dinner whenever they want to, tasting the delicious food they (though it was mostly Mercedes) have made and pour extensive amounts of whatever wine and champagne Annie got for them beforehand. Then, they usually sit or lie on the couch for cuddling, speaking about the year ahead and what they want for it - though they don't exactly think resolutions work, Annie did talk them into buying pretty notebooks to write theirs down.
And just as it always happens, this year they also end up falling asleep on the big sofa with Marianne and Ariel huddled between Annette and Mercedes, the four of them the picture of peace and quiet until fireworks start and they wake up with a start, giggling at Annie's little yelp of surprise at the sudden noise.
In the end they move to the window and watch together as blues, reds, yellows, silvers and golds travel through the sky, illuminating parts of the city and making pretty designs of dragons, eagles, lions, deers and warriors that are part of legend, of stories that have been told and repeated since times immemorial. The cathedral shines the brightest in green and silver, visible from Ariel's bedroom as it faces the other side of town. After kissing each other, another good omen for the coming year, they finally retreat to their own huge bed and fall asleep again.
The next day happens to be a Sunday, one that Annette wakes up to with a mixture of excitement and anxiety that have nothing to do with the fact that it's the first day of the new year. She has been anticipating and planning for that particular Sunday for weeks on end, making sure the date aligned, that everything would be perfect and that the weather would be favorable too.
Everything has to be flawless, after all.
They can't really remember when this little habit has started, but Sundays are usually reserved to a little afternoon stroll in the park after a very indulgent lunch of pasta and cakes for dessert - two things that began before Ariel was adopted, but surely didn't end there. So once the meal was done with and they had a bit of rest, they would let one of them decide where they would go, with the others happily following along.
Luckily for Annie that weekend is her time to choose and she does so without a second thought, something that already surprises Marianne and Mercedes since she always takes forever to decide on a destination. They also note how there is an anxious smile on her face and her hands shake all the way there or even before, trembling as she put on a long sleeved dress that feels at odds with how cold it was just the day before.
Yet the beginning of the year has blessed them with a slightly balmier, sunny morning and afternoon, one that seems to invite people outdoors and into the beautiful world around them that will, in a few months' time, shed away the cold and welcome the light once more.
The sunlight that falls over Garreg Mach on that day is a good enough start anyways, the way it shines down the streets and over trees already a delight to see even before they reach the park, politely salute some people here and there for the year to come. They didn't expect to see so many neighbors and others they know out there, but then it makes sense for that to happen - it's the first day in almost a week that they have seen the sun, as that winter started out surprisingly cold and bitter for Garreg Mach's standards.
Marianne smiles once they reach the park and she realizes that it is the same one they have first visited as a polycule so many years ago, the same park where she told them her life story. In a sense it has kind of become an important place for them, the one they go to when huge talks need to be had and their homes feel too stuffy, too limiting to the decision they have to take.
It was the case while they were discussing Ariel's adoption, the changes to their routine and home, future plans to move, maybe adopt a dog and four cats (as per Annette's request) and who knows, start their life in a city that isn't so full of memories that can be unkind to some of them.
That is only conjecture for now, but only time and some more talks in that nice park would tell how that will go.
"Aw you should've told me we were coming here, I wanted to bring my bike," Ariel pouts once they realize they're back to the place in which their moms taught them how to ride a bicycle a year ago.
The ample space is fitting for that and many kids can be seen on their bikes, scooters and roller skates too. Treetops shine emerald under the beautiful, meek sunlight that graces them on this day, some leaves already returning even though spring is a few months away. There aren't many flowers in bloom, but the few spots of blue, lilac and red that resist such low temperatures add to the idyllic beauty, decorating the park that has seen gloomier days and emotions etched on the faces of those three women and the kid that now walks alongside them.
"We forgot to mention, sweety, apologies." Mercedes affectionately pats their shoulder, eyes roaming through the expanse of rocky floor that greets them on the main gate, then branches into paths and gives away to trees on the right, left and above them. "We can grab some ice cream later in retribution."
"Don't complain later if they don't want dinner though," Annette says as a way to distract herself from her racing heart. There is a smile on her face that downplays the sentence, showing she doesn't want to chastise her partners at all.
"I will have dinner later, momma! I wouldn't miss pizza night for anything in this world," Ariel chimes in, puffing their little chest in defiance as if that is a life and death issue.
The three women laugh at it, squeezing their hands and tousling their hair while strolling languidly through the park. Their eyes note the changes they can see in it, how there used to be flowers on that part of the place during summer and how they withered and faded in autumn, though they are sure that come spring, vibrant yellows, whites and violets will blossom once again to color their days.
"It's quite pretty today, isn't it?" Mercie comments with a beam, her eyes flickering through the rather crowded park, watching the families that are there as well, how similar and how different from theirs, three women with a child in tow.
Yet she's quick to notice how ok her mind sees those contrasts, how ok the three of them are even if some people are staring at them and maybe judging her, her partners and the kid proudly trudging between them, hand in hand with Mari and a fidgety Annette.
Now that bit about Annie bothers Mercie way more than whoever that may be watching them, to the point that she turns and asks: "Is everything ok, my love? You look antsy."
"You've been like that for a while too, before we left the house. Did you want to stay indoors today?" Marianne inquires once Annette falters and takes too long to answer, blue eyes wide and face contorted in a frown.
It looks a lot as if she has been caught in the act and her true intentions have been completely exposed - even if her partners have absolutely no idea what is going on at all.
Though perhaps, just perhaps, something similar and just as secret is hiding in their pockets and their hearts for that day.
"Hm? There's uh, there's nothing wrong! And no, this is a really beautiful day that we shouldn't waste inside the apartment, haha!" Annie says, almost trips in a loose rock on the path and catches her balance while Marianne and Mercedes exchange a troubled look.
Ariel almost stops walking in order to glance at her, head tilted to the side, freckles shining when sunlight slants over their face. "Momma, you're… really weird today. Did someone eat your slice of pie?"
Annie giggles, then Mercie and Mari follow suit due to how sweet and innocent that thought is. If only the worst, most anxiety-inducing thing in her life was to have her dessert stolen like that…
For a second she just laughs and shakes her head, though she wishes she could agree and lay the issue to rest - or at least let her own heart rest and beat easier instead of painfully so.
"No, sweetie, no one ate my pie. Your moms know they'd be killed on the spot if they did something like that without getting me an entire cake as payment," Annie retorts, squeezing their joined hands with affection. No matter how many months Ariel has already been with them, it's still a delight to see them there, how great the four of them have been working together thus far.
It always makes her smile when she remembers what Ariel says if someone asks them about what it's like to have three mothers. They usually just shrug, smirk and go: "It's the best! It means I'll have more love, food and gifts on my birthday."
And the camaraderie they share with Annie when it comes to sweets is completely blatant in what he utters next, after the three women are done laughing for some reason. "Yeah that's fair. No eating momma's sweets - or mine!" They stuck out their tongue to make that point very clear, eliciting more giggles from them.
"I wouldn't dream on it," Marianne answers, winking at the kid after clearing away some tears of joy.
It amazes her to recall how much she has enjoyed raising that child with the help of her partners from moment one. The entire thing is completely unlike her childhood, when as a kid she was constantly tired, overloaded with responsibilities and insults thrown at her on a daily basis. Now she has support and love from both Mercedes and Annette. Tasks are shared, meals are cooked sometimes by everyone (including Ariel), so on and so forth.
Sometimes in the past Marianne was even left wondering if she was doing too little or wasn't helping enough, doubts that were put to rest by kisses and reassurances the moment they were timidly voiced, as she started getting more and more open to discuss her true thoughts and emotions.
“Is there anywhere in particular you want to go?” Mercie asks, trying to change the subject, eyes still lingering on Annette. Would they ever get to hear the reason behind her jumpiness?
“How about uh, those picnic areas beside that trail? I know, we have no food on us,” she adds once Mari opens her mouth to protest, “but I don’t know, they always look so cozy, even more so with the sun being out today.”
Marianne and Mercedes share an intrigued stare due to how quickly Annie answered that - again, it’s almost as if she thought about something beforehand and made a plan they were completely excluded from. They shrug, deciding it would probably be better for them to play along and nod at the smaller woman, who smiles and leads them through the main part of the park. Her steps are stiff and more prone to trips and stumbles on the tough stone floor, quicker than they have ever been.
“What is going on?” Mercie muses out aloud as she and Marianne end up behind Annette and Ariel, the child happily rushing after the faster of their moms and cheering her along as if it were a race.
“Should we be scared?” Mari whispers back, beaming once they pass by a small, colorful playground and thinking about how nice it is that they can take their kid there too. “That’s not like her at all.”
“I don’t think we should be afraid, dear. She’s nervous about something, that much is clear, but it doesn't seem that it's about a bad thing,” the other woman answers after a few moments in silence, as she pondered over it. She has been with Annie for years and has learned to read her mood throughout that time too.
Knowing that is exactly the case Marianne relaxes a bit, her left hand fiddling with something small in the pocket of her light brown pants. She grips it for a second in order to gain some motivation, letting it ground her.
The thoughts that maybe she is being too hasty, that she has probably read too much into their dynamics and her feelings are still there, like they have been for literal months. Yet she finds some hope in the small, cool metal object in her grasp, hope that it isn’t the case. That Annette isn’t about to ask for a timeout or, what would be worse, to kick Mari out of their polycule too.
So she is somewhat tense when they finally catch up with the smaller woman, who is already lying down sprawled over shiny green grass, a tiny beam on her sun-kissed face. Ariel is dashing around her, edging close to the trees behind her and the rocky trail ahead.
Her face is inviting while she sits back up, blue irises shining as she runs an accessing gaze over them and pats the places beside her, a gesture that puts Mari at some ease due to how soft and innocent it is, regardless of how unreadable her face is. Even so both her and Mercedes relent, doing as it was silently asked, then wait to see what is going on with their partner.
It takes a while for Annette to stop following Ariel with her gaze; she picks up a hand from each woman and starts toying with them, caressing knuckles and fingers. Her expression is still emotionless and the small beam plastered on it can be read in so many ways that Mercedes and Marianne decide it would be best not to start thinking about what can be behind it, or else they would more than likely go crazy.
In any case it is always better to listen than to assume, a lesson they have learned over the years they have been together and everything they went through during that time. So they wait, giggling as their kid jumps to the floor and rolls, gathers leaves and throws them around, gets a branch and brandishes it like a sword or lance. Some adults that pass by glance at them with surprise or thoughtfulness, but by then they have grown used to that - even if some days it’s harder to not give in to that judgement and feel bad about themselves.
Yet, as Mercie liked to say from day one, happiness comes in different ways and no form of love is universal. And - the girls’ favorite add-on - those people could take their thoughts about their relationship and shove them elsewhere that isn’t in their faces. No matter what would be thought of them, they all hope they will never let something so petty ever produce a chasm between them.
That is exactly why Annette took them there, to a park that has seen so much of their story as a polycule, so many important moments in those last three years. So of course, from the second that idea presented itself in her mind, she wished for it to happen there. For them to make another memory in that place, in that incredible afternoon that seems like a respite from winter and a prelude to what spring will bring.
She can only hope their response will be a positive one, all things considered.
“S-sorry for the suspense,” she says, turning to face the two women who placed surprised eyes on her the second her soft voice rang through their clearing. Ariel stops and lies down on the grass as well, almost sensing the tension in the air. “I just wanted… for us to be in a meaningful place when it happened.”
“When what happened, Annie?” Mercedes prompts when too many seconds are spent in complete silence, as she feels and sees Mari growing restless on Annette’s other side.
“Just… give me a moment to- to find the right w-words.” She pauses, looking up at the shining blue sky as if for inspiration, something to ground and guide her. “You mean more than the entire world to me,” she begins, glancing at each of them. “I’ve been thinking about this more and more as of recent, but I’m sure adopting Ariel and uh - getting to care for them in your company has helped a lot. Those have no doubt been the best days of my life, even when we burned those brownies because we fell asleep on the couch the other day.”
They chuckle, remembering the incident and how they managed to both salvage some ok-ish slices for Ariel and eat the charred portions themselves, to the kids’ dismay since they wanted a lot more than the little part they were given.
Even so the laughter is tense and borders on uncomfortable, expectant. It is like Annette to come with soft, fluffy declarations of love every now and then, but this one has something different to it, in a sense. Something heavier or too important to be disregarded. It is in her tone, in her hunched shoulders, the stiffness with which she is sitting down on the soft, yielding grass.
However, somehow it isn’t in her eyes when she meets their gaze with warm, loving irises that flood their worlds with adoration, almost completely drowning their doubts and fears of where that is leading.
“I uh… never thought I’d really want to form my own family, what with how my father was dismissive of me and all the years that mom and I suffered because of it. Mercie knows this best, she’s heard me grumble and cry about it waaaaay too often -”
“And that is more than ok, love,” Mercedes intervenes, rubs Annette’s arm up and down in an offering of solace. “I’ll never judge you for expressing your own feelings and thoughts.”
Annie smiles, leans into the older woman’s shoulder for comfort. Her hands are threatening to shake, her heart is beating so fast she thinks she will faint at any point in time. “This means a lot to me, truthfully. Ever since the three of us met, back when we were kids, I felt like you were my real family, not those… people that were at home - or more than likely weren’t - with father being gone for months without an explanation, leaving mom sad and broken. When I was with them I felt so alone and small and -” she shakes her head, interrupting that thought process before it can take a bigger, better hold of her. “But whenever I was - am - with both of you…
“I feel like I can take on the world with you by my side. And that nothing, no one can really stop me no matter what.”
“You always could, dear,” Mari says, smiling at the strength she sees in those eyes, the resolution instead of the sadness that would so often color them with dull tones whenever Annette spoke of her father and parents in general. “You have always been more than enough on your own.”
“Exactly. You were so fierce back as a kid and this never stopped while you were growing up,” Mercedes agrees, patting the smaller woman’s shoulder. “You just forgot about your own strength, I suppose. But that doesn’t mean it has ever left you.”
Annie nods, pensive. That isn’t the route she wanted that conversation to steer to, but it’s not an unwelcome one anyways. Her cheeks are flaring due to all that praise, to her being the center of attention, though her brain is quick to remind her that she is the one who should be doing the praising, who should be putting the other two in the spotlights.
So she shakes her head, distilling some of the haziness which has settled behind her eyes and over her thoughts, then tries focusing again. Luckily this time she finds it easier to speak, or to keep words coming out of her mouth at the very least.
“I- thank you, really, but uh… My point is that, that you’re very, very special to me. And that I really love you, both of you, equally. And that -” she fumbles on the breast pocket of her royal blue dress, one that is wide enough for her to place what she needed in there before they left home.
However, as luck would have it that is the one moment in which everything she doesn’t need to happen, actually does happen. One of the small, round objects gets stuck in the bottom of the pocket, tangled with some loose lining from the sewing. As she yanks at them with growing frustration, grumbling and cursing both herself and the dress for it, her partners’ eyes become wide, fearful, not knowing what would happen next.
She has a moment of delight when she beams, feeling the circlet coming loose from its restraint -
Only to fly off her hands a second later when she uses too much strength to take it away. She watches with a frown as it slips out of the pocket, away from her fingers even as she tries reaching for it, then into the tall grass around them. Before it does get out of sight, it flashes silver in front of their very eyes almost in mockery.
“Where is it?!” Annie shrieks after her stupor runs over, distraught while her partners glance at her quizzically. What did she just try pulling out of her pocket to begin with?
“Love, we’ll help you but.. what are we searching for?” Mercedes inquires once the small woman crouches, starts tapping the grass with glistening eyes, tears gathering behind them at how plain wrong the entire thing is going on.
That is totally not how she planned it at all and the sheer embarrassment is enough to make her want to give up, to pretend nothing has happened during the last two minutes. It isn’t as if she can make them forget, or create some sort of distraction, answer or explanation for her previous words out of the blue. She has never been a good liar, but it is always worse when she’s under pressure to make something up as well.
“Annie?” Marianne presses, falling to her knees beside the other woman and searching - though she has no idea what for, or why Annette’s face is getting redder at every passing second. “You can talk to us, ok?”
“Oh? I wanna play too!” Ariel plops themselves on the floor and hums, joining them even though it’s noticeable there is something wrong there. “Momma, you’re still too weird. What’s going on?”
“N-nothing, honey,” Annette says at last, doing her best to dispel the sting of tears behind her eyes. She attempts to focus on the task at hand - she has to find the little object, no matter what it takes.
Her hands frantically run through grass, fumbling and pawing in the general direction that she saw the circlet falling at. Panic and fury grow at every passing second, but she knows better than to give in to those feelings and let them cloud her mind, derailing her from her actual goals.
Even so, even as people say that hope is the last one to fade, there comes a moment in which that is exactly what occurs. Annette’s entire form deflates, visibly giving up when she crumbles into herself in defeat. Tears gather and muddle her blue irises again - she has half a mind to let them flow, more so when Marianne and Mercedes place a hand on her back, caressing and offering her support though they still don’t know what their small partner is thinking, why she is feeling like that.
“Hey, whatever that thing was, we can get you another one,” Mercei begins, her voice as soothing as she can make it be through her confusion with the entire situation. “Just let us know -”
“You don’t understand,” Annette whines, barely feeling the sun on her skin or the shushing sounds her girlfriends were doing in face of her distress. “It’s too special to be just replaced like -”
“Oh! What is…” Mari exclaims once she feels something cold, flimsy and round against her fingers, the ones that were still tapping the floor in search of whatever Annie lost. Since that thing is at odds with the grass and the soft earth underneath it, she picks and brings it up, then gasps, caramel eyes going wide just as Annette grunts and makes a lunge for it.
For the mere three seconds that it was in her hand, Marianne is sure she saw a ring, a silver band with three small, circular stones in the center, two shining in different hues of blue and a brown one between them.
It was all out in the open then, with no way for Annette to back out and try steering it away to another direction. Even Ariel stops fumbling and sits down, looking at the women with curious eyes to see what is really going on. Annie feels alone, her back turned to the path where people still pass by, heart beating wildly inside her chest as she has to suppress the urge to bolt between the trees she is facing, running until her nervousness has finally evaporated.
So the first thing she experiences when her two partners start giggling, then laughing uncontrollably as if they have just seen the biggest joke in the entire world, is confusion mixed with fury. It gets worse when they look at one another, realizing both are chuckling while the smaller woman glares at them with disbelief.
“Wait, tell me you didn’t also -” Mari begins, though Mercedes is talking at the same time.
“Oh no, Mari, you too?”
“W - what are you talking about?” Annie stutters, unsure on how to proceed or if her plans are completely blown away either.
“Now I understand why you were acting so weird,” Mercedes says, scoots closer to her still distraught partner and places a hand on hers, squeezing it. “Goddess, you’re just the sweetest, aren’t you? I’m sorry you had that little issue earlier on but even so.”
“Why don’t you go on, Annie?” Mari approaches the two of them, picks up her remaining hand and toys with it, no longer tense or weary as all the thoughts that she is about to be abandoned once more are completely forgotten. A smile colors her lips and eyes, telling both of her girlfriends to relax, to be at ease and not fear anything.
Since Annette sees the same invitation gently etching Mercedes’s lovely features, she takes a deep, centering breath. One that drives away the fluttering beating of her heart, her nervousness and shaking hands once she exhales. There is little to no underlying uncertainty about her proposal being accepted, a feeling that is intensified once each of the women beside her dig into their own pockets and curl their fingers around something… equally as small as the ones that are in her own palm as of then.
It is then that she understands what made them laugh before, why her stuttering mess was so funny back then. She laughs away her jumpiness, the months of anxiety that have led to that moment. The fear that she would never be loved enough in order to be considered an equal, an actual partner, one deemed worthy to be together with for life.
With new energy rushing through her entire body she unfurls her fingers, the ones that are hiding not only the ring that dared to escape but its companion that has been hidden in her purse through many many weeks, then in her breast pocket until that moment. The moment when her two lovers gaze into them, their eyes shining way more than the turquoise, the smoky quarts and the sapphire gems which are on the circlets.
The rings that Annette puts on each of her partners’ fingers after asking, with a tone that is full of love, of all care and joy and every feeling she has ever experienced with Mercedes and Marianne:
“I love you more than I ever thought I would love someone. And I’d like to be with you for the rest of my life. Will you - both of you - marry me?”