Work Text:
‘Dionysus. Tell me.’
‘Why Artemis, I’d rather not.’
‘Are you really going to ask her, again, if she wants to leave the forest and live a comfortable life in the city?’
Dionysus was quiet for a moment. ‘I think so.’
‘Maybe don’t.’
‘And then she stays here? In the forest? Ariadne?’
Artemis shrugged. ‘I mean, she doesn’t look like a forest dweller, but she has been acting like it.’
They were silent together for a bit.
‘I think I’ll go ask now.’
‘Sure,’ Artemis sighed.
‘Ariadne…’
‘Dio!’ She turned around with a broad smile. When she saw his sad expression, it disappeared. ‘What is it?’
Dionysus felt like he lost his voice for a second. ‘Eh…’ He took a deep breath. ‘We will be passing another city soon… You can stay there, if you want, I mean…’
Ariadne raised an eyebrow. ‘Which city, Dionysus?’
‘...one of them.’
Ariadne took a step closer and put a hand on his shoulder. ‘Dionysus, I don’t think I ever want to leave the forest. I like it. I am free here.’ She waited a moment. ‘I want to stay with you.’
Dionysus felt like his heart would jump out of his chest. ‘Eh… okay,’ he mumbled. ‘I’d like it if you stayed, just wouldn’t want to make you feel like you had to, but... ’
Ariadne put a finger to his lips. ‘I want to stay, Dio.’
‘I want you to stay as well,’ He muttered. ‘I really, really want you to stay.’ She slowly nodded, but he went on: ‘I mean, I’d like it if you stayed… with me.’
‘Specifically with you?’
‘Yes.’ He grabbed her hands. ‘Actually, yes. Do you want to stay with me, Ariadne? I mean, do you want to get married?’
Her smile was the broadest he’d ever seen. ‘Yes.’ She nodded. ‘One question, Dio: How long have you been wanting to ask that, instead of ‘do you want to go to this city, which I don’t even bother to remember the name of anymore?’’
He put his hands on her shoulders, unable to get the stupid grin of his face. ‘We don’t have to think about that, really! Just…’ He leaned in and kissed her. She laid her hands into his neck.
‘You are, if I may say it, proposing exactly the way I thought you would.’
‘That doesn’t sound like a compliment.’
‘I love you, Dionysus. I love you.’
‘I love you too, Ariadne.’