Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Raine stood in front of the mirror, trying to even out their cravat. It was a lost battle, for some reason, the thing would never sit straight. Maybe it was just nerves and their shaky fingers.

In the end, they discarded it and opted for a different shirt, the black one with lace inserts and ruffles. They added red suspenders, knowing they would match whatever Eda would wear. Because, whatever Eda would wear, would probably be red.

Their hair was combed back, and they put some eyeliner on, even if they knew that it would be ruined later-no way would the night go without any tears shed. They took the ring out of the pocket-they wanted to have the box, but there was no way they would hide it in their trousers without it being visible from a mile away.

It was an elegant gold band, with a red stone and notes engraved into it-the first few chords of their song. They put the band away because they could already feel their eyes tingling.

Earlier that day, they spoke to Darius and the witch kept teasing them mercilessly about getting cold feet. They wouldn’t get cold feet or get so flustered that they wouldn’t even be able to say the words will you marry me? Darius said he would believe it when he saw it.

They would not get cold feet. They might get flustered. They were definitely going to shed enough happy tears to fill a kiddie pool.

But no way were they getting cold feet.

They loved her too much for that.

"So, whatcha think, Rainstorm?" They heard from the door. They turned around, made sure that the band was safe in their pocket and faced Eda.

"Whoa, Calamity…" they blushed, as they looked up and down her figure.

Eda wore a dark red tux, with narrow trousers and a deep neckline, revealing a white shirt-their shirt- on which the first four buttons were open, revealing her stone but also the very edges of her bra. She rolled her sleeves up, revealing her forearms, the purple and gold of her prosthetic strangely complimenting the suit.

Her hair was tied into a messy, yet formal, bun, with a few strands falling around her face and her make-up, was, as always, on point.

"You look amazing,” they grinned, “Though I think that Costa Nigrum dress code will expect you to button up,"

"Bunch of fancy, boring, prudes then," Eda pouted, and approached them. She wore higher heels than usual, making the height difference between them even more prominent, (AKA sexier), only to trail fingers through their hair. “Or maybe you’re just jealous?”

“Hey! I just combed my hair! And I’m not jealous. If it was up to me, those buttons would stay open!” They leaned in to press a kiss to her chest, right next to the stone.

“Well, then we’ll keep them open until the restaurant,” Eda winked, “And your hair looks better this way,” she leaned down to kiss them, “So, shall we?"

“Yup, can’t miss our reservations after all,” they smiled.

“Eh,” Eda offered her left arm, and the two locked elbows, “we’re both heroes of the isles, they’d have to let us in!”

Raine turned to her, slightly aghast, “We would not use our influence to sneak our way into a restaurant!”

“We wouldn’t, but I totally would!” She snickered as she led the way down the stairs.

“For titan’s sake Eda…”

“Ok, ok, let’s fly so we wouldn’t have to become so morally grey to steal restaurant reservations!” she summoned Owlbert, and the two sat on the staff, Raine locking their arms around her waist.

….

They took their time with the dinner at Costa Nigrum. Raine was never opposed to fancier stuff and while Eda tried to act like she didn’t care for elegant shit, give her a greasy burger, not some tiny fancy-ass crackers, her expression when she tried the kraken dumplings (and proceeded to order two more plates) spoke volumes. Raine was certain the two spooked the poor, young waitress.

The whole dinner was spent in laughter, playful and flirty banter, “stealing” each other’s food, or, once they got to dessert, feeding each other a few of their cakes because, to quote Eda, “Who were they trying to fool, they were both just the right type of annoyingly sappy old witches to do so!”

After desserts, they spent over an hour more sitting in their nook, emptying a bottle of mudberry wine and a bottle of apple blood, just enough to start feeling the warmth and the mildest buzz of alcohol but nowhere near enough to start embarrassing themselves.

Finally, dinner was over, or rather, the restaurant was about to close down and they were kindly asked to leave, so they took a stroll towards the woods. It was nearing midnight and Raine was wondering when, exactly, would they get home to pop the question.

Everything was planned out, the candles, the instruments ready to play their rhapsody on their own as soon as the two would enter, and a nice pile of blankets in front of the fireplace to cuddle when the waterworks inevitably hit.

The Isles tradition dictated that proposals be made during the waxing moon, usually at the house of the proposed. It supposedly brought good luck. It was usually done while the couple was alone, without any audience. Public proposals were becoming a thing, however not only would Raine be unable to properly do it in public, but Eda would also kill them if they tried.

There was a formal, traditional speech that went with it, but Raine decided to forgo it, opting for whatever came to their mind when the time comes, because, whatever they planned, they would muck it up anyway.

The ring was something they picked up from the human realm. Eda liked jewellery, Eda liked shiny things and Raine liked little symbols and gestures. It fit. They had the ring custom-made at a workshop owned by a family of shape-shifting demons who knew how to make a ring that would adjust to Eda’s hand when she would transform, without causing her harm or damaging the ring.

However, they were in no rush. They were a bit nervous, knowing that the proposal was coming up, but it wasn’t unpleasant, it rather filled them with fluttery, giddy excitement, knowing the day, or rather a night, has finally come. But they were more than willing to spend the time before however they both saw fit.

The pair continued the stroll for a good hour when the weather turned windy, and they were cursing themselves for not getting something warmer than a cardigan to throw over the shirt. The little alcohol was gone from their system by then, leaving them shivering.

“You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you?” Eda accused them as she took her blazer off and handed it to them.

“No, I don’t! Though stealing your jacket is always a benefit,” they winked.

"Knew it. Shoulda' taken a bottle of Apple Blood from the restaurant…"

"Eda,” Raine frowned, “you can't do that…"

"Sure I can, I have hands! One may be metal and abomination, but it’s still an arm!"

"It would be stealing…."

"Not if we paid for it!"

"It's still not allowed!"

"So?"

“Eda!”

“Yeah, yeah, probably not the brightest idea, I don’t want to be banned from that because, dang it, that food was good,” Eda sighed contently as they walked down familiar paths, leaves crinkling under their feet. She took her shoes off, her joints giving her some trouble, but it didn’t seem to bother her that she was walking barefoot.

“You doubted me?”

“No, I doubted the fancy-schmancy cooks and the portion sizes.”

“The portion sizes were still small, you devoured three plates of dumplings…as an appetizer!"

“Because they were good! Really good, like, mhhm…” she made a sound that resembled something they might hear in the bedroom.

Raine raised an eyebrow, "Should I be jealous?”

“Maybe, I mean, the dumplings were so good I might’ve as well dumped you in favour of them!”

Raine snorted, almost halting in their steps, “That was bad even for you!”

"Then why are you laughing?"

"At how ridiculous you are! Queen of bad jokes!"

"You take that back!" She elbowed them.

"Nope!"

"Yes!"

"No, I'm speaking the truth!"

She grabbed them by the collar of the jacket and pinned them to a tree, their toes barely touching the ground, a grimace on her face, "Will you take it back now?"

"Nope," they said smugly, and she stared them down dangerously for a second longer, before she kissed them, firmly, on the lips. They laughed into the kiss, not at all surprised since that was exactly what they wanted. She nipped their lip, as revenge, they knew it, only to soothe it immediately, deepening the kiss. They returned in kind, entangling their hand in her hair, and pulling her closer.

"Take it back…" she muttered.

"What? Will you kiss me until I do?"

"Maybe…" she breathed between the kisses.

"Oh,” they snickered, “then you’re never getting it!"

"Mph…." she frowned, pressing her weight onto them, and locking arms around their neck, as she kept kissing them, their breathing becoming more ragged, their glasses tilted up and smudged now. Finally, she pecked them one last time, and let them go, "Fine, I'm taking the title then and wearing it with pride. Besides, I may be the Queen of bad jokes, but you also laugh at them…"

"Guilty as charged…"

“Ugh…” she showed them away playfully and kept on walking, rolling her eyes, and they rushed after her, shivering a bit.

“Really?”

“It’s cold!”

“Yeah, I think that there are snakes more cold-resistant than you out there,” she teased.

“Edaa…”

“Ah, get over here,” she tossed her prosthetic arm around their shoulders, pulling them to her side and they kept walking like that, Raine leaning into her warmth.

Unlike them, Eda didn’t seem to mind the chilly weather, even as she was barefoot and only wearing their shirt. Her hair fell out of the bun and framed her face beautifully, the strands flowing in the wind, and they were half-prepared to pop the question right then and there.

Instead, they simply stretched (even barefoot, she was taller than them), and kissed her on the cheek.

"Didn't have enough?" She asked.

"Nope, never!" They cupped her face and turned it to themselves, kissing her on the lips. She trailed her fingers, metal chilling against their skin, down their cheek, over the scars on their jaw, to their neck, until she was cradling the nape of their neck and deepened the kiss.

“Could we go sit somewhere for a few minutes?” Eda asked, “My legs are killing me. When I get home, I’m tossing these shoes in the garbage.”

"Oh, so the shoes are the problem? And here I thought I already managed to make your legs into jelly!"

"Oh, don't flatter yourself! Even you aren't that good!"

"Don't let me take that as a challenge," they muttered as they pressed another kiss to her neck, straight on her sweet spot, above her collarbone.

"Raine…" she groaned, "I'm being serious, I need to sit down."

“Sure,” Raine said, turning slightly down a familiar path.

"I'm throwing these shoes away when we get home, they suck ass!" She said, but then thought for a second, “Scratch that, the shoes are a business opportunity, imagine how much snails I’ll be able to get if I advertise them as High heels, good quality, worn once, owned by Eda the Owl Lady, hero of the isles!”

Raine snorted, “Oh come on, you wouldn't!"

“What? I may as well use the clout!” she shrugged, “It’s a smart business move, Rainstorm.”

“It’s ridiculous!” Raine laughed in disbelief.

“It’s genius! I'm a genius!"

They walked up a very familiar hill. It wasn’t like they were unaware of where they were heading, they knew those woods like the back of their hand. It was almost instinctual to move towards their hill. They walked over the carpet or snapdragons, the blight, sweet scent filling the air as a wave of emotions washed over them, as it always did when they would get there, feelings and memories swirling together, matching the wind that carried the petals around them.

Oftentimes they wondered what possessed 25-year-old Raine to break up with Eda on that very hill. They knew why they did it and, while they regretted the hurt it caused, they didn’t regret the action. As hard as it was, it was necessary.

But why the hill? Why do something that would add a bitter tone to all the other memories they made there? It’s not like they never had a fight there before the breakup, but why there?

Well, it’s not like 25-year-old Raine thought that they would ever get back together…

Titan, were they glad they were wrong…

Eda immediately plopped to the ground, “Time to let my legs lose a bit,” she said and detached her right foot. "Aaah…"

“Seriously?” They raised an eyebrow.

“It helps,” she shrugged, looking up at them, “It’s not like it’s going to go anywhere, and even if it did, eh, it would match,” she lifted her prosthetic arm.

“Titan,” they chuckled. The months when they felt uncomfortable about the amputee jokes were long gone. In fact, it was Eda’s silly, occasionally dark or just plain bad jokes about her missing arm mixed between serious talks, that help them overcome their own hang-ups about the incident. Eda leaned back, propping herself up on her arms, and Raine, still standing, could not help but stare at her, she looked so happy, and relaxed as if the wind that chilled them to the bone made her feel at home.

They wrapped her jacket tighter around themselves, enjoying the moment of peace despite the cold. Their fingers were in their pocket, but, they thought, they could not propose to her there. They dumped her on that hill.

So, they sat down and leaned on her, enjoying the closeness. Sure, they were long over it, it was not a hurtful point as much as it used to be, but it would still feel weird to propose there. Even if, from a certain point it could be romantic.

They had their plan anyway, and they wanted to stick to it.

…

It was moments like this that she liked more than she was willing to admit.

Or rather, more than she would have been willing to admit in the past. Sure, she would still occasionally play into her grouchy, sassy role. Fine, it was more than, occasionally but was much more willing to be sappy.

To a degree.

Raine was, after all, the true sap of the pair.

The cold air felt surprisingly nice on her skin. It was always a bit of a gamble with it, as cold could either cause pain, cramps and general curse symptoms to flare up, or it could soothe them and help. Today, it was the latter, not that her curse was particularly active, aside from the need to take her legs off and some feathers popping up.

Raine was warm, curled up against her. Their face slightly pensive, and she wondered what they were thinking about. 

The moment wasn’t perfect, her back hurt a bit, her nubbin was starting to tingle, Raine was just a tad too heavy on her chest and some stray twig was poking her butt through the fabric of her trousers.

And they were on their hill. The hill that held the most wonderful, but also the most bitter memories they had, the hill that was their hill since they were kids. She was glad that they were there, because, as bitter as those memories were, the layer of strange, weirdly not-unpleasant melancholy always lingering, it was what made them, them, what helped them grow and get to the point where they were now.

Older, (supposedly) wiser, more traumatized, wrinklier, hotter…

She turned to Raine, who was leaning on her, staring at some unspecific spot in the sky, their glasses slightly askew and a few smudges of her lipstick on their face, the red of her jacket somehow not clashing with their green hair. There were scars and signs of age on their face, grey hairs sprinkled tough the green, and, from the way they leaned on her, she knew their back was giving them trouble too. 

Titan, I want to spend my life with them, she thought, and, while it was far from the first time she thought that, they both joked and seriously discusses living together permanently ever since Raine first moved in and growing old together, something was different about that moment.

Owlbert flew off her shoulder and into the bushes. What the palisman was up to, she couldn’t say, as, at that moment, all her focus was on the wonderful bard leaning on her. The love of her life, one and only, Raine Whispers. 

“Marry me?” She asked them, softly, surprising herself and they looked up, their eyes matching hers in surprise.

This was not a joke, like when one of them would say I could marry you right now, after the other would do something, particularly indulging.

This was a very casual, yet completely serious question.

“Eda…” they muttered and then their brain short-circuited.

And they started to laugh.

A stab of hurt passed through her chest, and for a moment, the pain was worse than a curse could ever be. Breath caught in her throat, and she hoped that tears would not start pooling in her eyes.

“Well, now…” she sighed, trying not to show the pain on her face. There must be an explanation…Maybe they just aren't ready…maybe…maybe…

Raine clasped their hand over their mouth, eyes wide, reaching for Eda’s hand with the other, keeping her in place,  “No, no, I'm sorry I'm sorry, I’m not laughing at you it’s just…” they frantically searched their pockets, “fuck where is it...?”

“What…oh!” She gasped as she noticed the item that fell into her lap. The ring. The human tradition…

Raine whined, as relief flooded over Eda, Well of course, she thought, feeling like a total idiot. It was silly of her to even think Raine would be so cruel to laugh in her face. Even if they would reject her, they'd be kinder and…

Oh Titan, that was a ring!

It hit her fully what that must mean, “Shit, I just ruined your plans, didn’t I?” She asked, her voice strained with lack of emotion in her stunned state as her brain was trying to start running again, picking up on cues and meaning.

And then it was Eda’s turn to laugh, both from relief and the absurdity of the situation.

Raine, still blushing, looked straight at her, “Yes!”

Eda just stared at the ring, quiet for a moment, before she burst out laughing again. “I...I thought …titan, I'm an idiot!”

“We are! I’m so sorry I started laughing!” They offered a small, soft smile.

“Wait, did you plan to propose to me on a hill where you dumped me!?” Eda snorted.

“You're one to talk! You proposed to me on the hill where I dumped you!“ they clasped their mouth again, "Fuck, that sounded mean!”

But Eda wasn’t upset. Instead, she was cackling, barely able to catch a breath. Raine felt their face flush and Eda made a get here gesture, pulled them in a side hug and pressed a kiss into their hair.

“Here,” she took a deep breath and pressed the ring into their palm, “ask away.”

“But…”

“No buts, just ask,” she pressed a peck to their nose, “I know you want to.”

“Truly didn’t plan to ask you on this hill….at 2 AM…”

“What,” she raised an eyebrow, trying not to let the façade of bravado fall, “you planned to pop the question at 3 AM in our front yard?”

“No, in the living room,” Raine scratched their neck, blushing furiously, “I had a whole thing planned and…ugh, didn’t mean to ask here…”

“Eh, I started it, besides, it’s kind of fitting. Ask!”

The smugness they could achieve even as they were blushing was  truly fascinating, “Are you asking me to ask you to marry you after you just asked me!”

“Raine Whispers, if you don’t propose right now…”

“Ok, ok…I should’ve known something like this would happen, nothing ever goes normal with us,…but fine, ok,” they sighed, and face her. For once, they didn’t get flustered. They did blush, but they stared her in the eyes with that sincere confidence that only came through when they were one-on-one with someone.

The moment lingered, the atmosphere calming down, the happiness, hurt, memories, melancholy, and sweetness all present at once, wrapping themselves around Raine and Eda until it felt like it was just them and the wind present in that moment.

They took her hand, “Look, I'm not even going to pretend I have some grand speech planned. Not even the traditional proposal speech. You know how I'm with speeches. What I did plan was more so gestures, scenery, a speech…I would mess that up. I love you, so much, and our life together, the kids, the domesticity, and the chaos and…everything.  Just…us. The best, the worst, messiest, weirdest, us. Us with history. Us with pain. Us with a future. Us in this moment. And I want to keep sharing that with you for the rest of our days. I love you, Eda The Owl Lady, Lord Calamity, Head of the Bad Girl Coven, Queen of Bad Jokes Clawthorne and I'm asking you, will you marry me?”

Eda’s eyes were watery, “And you say you're not good with words…” she sniffed, shaking her head fondly, “and of course, the answer is yes.”

“Well,” they put the ring on her finger, a task made infinitely harder because they were both shaking, “I assumed it would be so since you asked first…”

“Shush,” she said and observed the ring on her fingers for a few long moments before she put her left hand under their chin and kissed them, long, sensual and gentle.

“The answer is also yes, I will marry you,” they smiled into the kiss.

“I love you, Raine Whispers, my bard, coolest, baddest, kick-buttiest with of all time,” she said, pressing another kiss to their lips, trailing fingers through their hair, pulling them to the ground, so they lay on their sides, “I love you…”

“I love you too, Calamity,” they moved a strand of hair from her face, “to the Human Realm and back.”

“Dork," she bopped their nose.

“Your dork," they moved to catch her lips between theirs.

“Now it’s halfway official,” she chuckled, wiping off a tear, once again staring at the ring, "It's shiny, I like it!"

"It also changes in size, so you don't have to take it off when you take your harpy form. Or if you end up transforming fully, we don't want you stuck with a too-small finger."

Eda let out a sound that would be best described as a squeak, beyond touched by the fact that they thought about her curse, and pulled them in for a kiss, before she would start crying, "It's perfect, Raine. Owlbert, look at the...wait, where is he? Owlbert?" she propped herself into a half-sitting position, "he is missing on our chaos…Owlbert?”

She got up, balancing on one foot, looking around, hating to break the moment, but worried about her buddy, and Raine followed.

The palisman flew out of the bushes, carrying a scroll, and it didn’t take Eda a lot to connect the dots.

“You were recording…” she asked, surprised.

Knew you would do it. Knew Raine had plans. Had to record it for posterity.

“You little wooden bastard,” she chuckled, “Give me the scroll, I’m deleting it!”

Nope! He flew into Raine’s palm, who then pocketed the scroll.

“Oh come on! You knew he was recording?”

“What? No! No!” Raine raised their arms, “Granted I did ask him to record my planned proposal but…I guess he stole my scroll and recorded this because he read your intentions…”

“You asked him…wait for a second,” she turned back to Owlbert, “You knew about their plans to propose?”

Owlbert fluffed up and looked up with big eyes, as he always did when he was trying to be cute and apologetic, Yes…

“Oh, Raine you jerk, you made my palisman keep a secret from me!”

“He saw me with the ring one day!” Raine said defensively, “And he suggested he would keep a secret first! And then he agreed to record it!”

“Of course, he did, he likes you too much, the little traitor,” Eda said, no real ire in her voice, just playful grumpiness.

Sorry…

“Aw, I’m not mad,” Eda took the bird and scratched his neck, before he fluttered up to nest in her hair, “How could I be. I mean, I’m still annoyed you recorded it and that you,” she poked Raine in the chest, “Asked for it! Why!?”

Raine shrugged, “I wanted to have it recorded.

“What,” she frowned, “me crying my eyes out?”

“Eda..”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding…”

“Nobody must see it. We can keep it for ourselves!”

“Pfft,” she snorted, “like you don’t know Luz and King! If they hear of its existence-and they will, not even tossing the scroll at the bottom of the boiling sea will stop them from retrieving it!”

“I just…thought it would be nice to have it, for posterity, when we’re old and cranky, so we can remind ourselves of this moment,” Raine shrugged, so sincere she couldn’t even muster up proper pretended annoyance.

She still tried, though, “You are too much of a sap sometimes,” she flicked a finger on their forehead lightly, “Seriously though, I love this,” she said, “The ring is beautiful, and fuck it, I like that we have a recording, you know. As you said, we’ll get old and senile, we could use something to remind ourselves just how titan-darn hot we were. Or to reassure the kids that, whatever mess they make out of their proposal, they can’t beat us,” she chuckled, feeling her face flush, knowing she was matching their redness, “I love that it’s here, it’s…fitting.”

“It is fitting,” Raine nodded, taking her prosthetic hand in theirs,  “Our hill…”

“Our hill," she squeezed back, "Now I have to figure out something for after the concert in two weeks though…”

“Well, we were supposed to...wait, did you plan on proposing to me at that concert?” Raine’s face turned into a mask of mortification.

Eda rolled her eyes, “After the concert, I'm not a bitch enough to do a public proposal…but then it felt right like this and…argh…”

They tilted their head, their eyes soft once again, “Do you regret it?”

“No, of course not. It juts…I saw you and…it was so imperfect and nice and…it felt right. I thought, yeah, I’m marrying them, so, why to wait to ask.”

“I’m glad you asked,” they said, pressing a kiss to her lips, “you know how much of a romantic I am and I got to be proposed and to propose. Dream come true.”

“Sap,” Eda said, but a sob broke through her voice, the word coming put a few octaves higher.

“And don’t worry, I’ll figure out what to do with my fiancée in two weeks,” they winked, trying to be suave, but a realization struck, “Titan…fiancée… you’re my fiancé…”

“Yup Rainstorm, if you haven’t noticed, we’re engaged…”

“WE’RE ENGAGED!” they threw their arms around her, pulling her into a rib-crushing hug, lifting her slightly off the ground and started twirling her around, "we're engaged!"

"Raine!" Eda chided them through laughter, "We'll fall! Waah!" She yelped as Raine lost balance and they both fell to the ground, Eda landing on Raine.

"OUCH!" Raine yelped, "you fell on top of me!"

"You're the reason we fell…" she accused them, trying to get herself off them, "You ok? Getting a prosthetic elbow to the shoulder can't feel nice.”

"I'm fine," they said, though they were rubbing the injured shoulder. Eda settled next to them, pressing a kiss to it before she gently massaged it. She looked up at them, their face still flushed, and felt tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.

"I…I asked you to marry me," she sniffed, "and…and you asked me…" she broke into full-on crying.

"Oh, Eda…" they threw their arms around her and she buried her face into their chest as if to hide from the world. She wasn’t embarrassed, however. She just wanted to be as close to them as possible, to feel their warmth, to hear and feel their beating heart, and have their comforting arms around her.

"We…I…I know it," snjff, "it is just a gesture and…everything else, living, talking…just being us is more important than labelling it, but…but…I never thought…on this hill…" her voice was trembling, unable to form proper sentences as another wave of sobs started shaking her body.

“I know,” they kept her to their chest, pressing a kiss to her hair and rubbing circles on her back, “You don’t have to explain yourself, Calamity.”

“Want to, though,” she muttered, “did plenty of not-explaining myself before…”

At this, she felt a small sob shake their chest too, and their grip on her tightened, another kiss pressed to her hair, “Shhh, that’s behind us now. Far behind us…”

They stayed like it for a few minutes, just revelling in each other's warmth, as Eda’s cries subsided slightly. She looked up at them, her eyes puffy, tears streaming down her face.

"You ok?"

"Mh-mm…happy tears. Very happy tears."

"Owl sap," they pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Shush!" She shit them up by pressing a firm kiss to their lips, but even that didn't manage to stop her from crying, a hiccup breaking the kiss and she blushed profusely, burying her face back into their  shirt, as they threaded the fingers through her hair.

Finally, she calmed down a bit, though she was still teary, her voice still sounding wet, "Sorry about ruining your shirt," she muttered, "it was pretty."

"It will wash out," they said, and she noticed that they were shivering, or was it just that they were the ones sobbing now, their cheeks wet with tears? "Cold?"

"Yeah…" they nodded, "and emotional…"

She thought for second, running fingers through their hair, "Hmmm…you said the ring should shift with me, didn't you?"

"Y-yeah…"

She closed her eyes, concentrating. She felt her body grow, becoming stronger, warmer, wings sprouting on her back, taking the form of a fierce harpy though not to fight, or even to protect, but to comfort this time.

"Eda…"

"Get here," she lay down so the wing closer to the ground was neatly folded, and threw the other over Raine, cocooning them in her warm, feathery embrace.

As always, they looked at her in that form with such adoration, care and fascination that, even well over a year since they first saw her harpy form, still took her off guard.

"Fluffy…" Raine rested their head on her chest, "and sooo warm…"

"Yeah, you got a walking, sexy, personal heater here, you bastard!"

"A very lucky bastard," they smiled, playing with the feathers on her neck.

"My bastard…my bastard of a fiance…"

"We're engaged…I…I honestly didn't believe I would be fortunate enough to be able to build a life with you…" they muttered shakily, their eyes teary and she could feel her own wet again, "after…you know…"

"Yeah, but…Here we are…"

"Here we are," they stretched slightly to be able to kiss her, and Eda returned the kiss, deepening it, so gentle and fierce at the same time, her fang nipping playfully on their lip, before they pulled away and rested, half-splayed on top of her.

Eda could not tell if the flush red of their cheeks was due to emotions or heat, but either way, they were beyond cure like this, relaxed yet blushing in her arms.

Her beloved bard.

Her oldest friend, not counting Lilith.

Her partner.

Her comrade in arms.

Her soulmate.

Her fiancée.

She pulled them closer, enjoying the weight of the ring on her finger, wondering if she should get something for them.

But for now, she just relaxed, her breathing matching up with Raine's, enjoying them just Being close.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you, too, Calamity"

Chapter Text

Less than an hour later, they were back home. They snuck through the backdoor. The kids were at Camila’s anyways, and they didn’t want to wake Hooty up.

“Wait here,” Raine said to her as the two went from the kitchen to the hallway, stopping her by the arch.

“Why?” she asked, though she had her suspicions. She could see their silhouette moving around the living room, checking something before they stopped, and let out a long, deep, melodic whistle.

The candles lit up, bathing the entire room in warm light, warmth filling up the space. The instruments in the corner came to life, playing without the player, Raine’s magic filling the entire room.

“Whoa,” Eda gasped, smiling at the show. There were floating snapdragons and golden sparkles filling the air, smell of burned paper, apples, mint and rosin swirling. Raine went all out.

“We may have popped the question early, but it would be a pity to waste all this, don’t you think?” They asked, standing there so nonchalantly as if pulling stuff like this was a daily thing. In her robe, leaved and petals entangled in their messy hair, traced of her lipstick on their lips and neck and their eyeliner ruined with tears.

She felt her own prickling in the corners of her eyes. Titan, when did she become so emotional that she cried over everything?

“Calamity? Crying again?”

“Shut up,” she muttered, approaching them and burying her face into the crook of their neck. She fel them chuckle as they turned their head to kiss the corner of her jaw, all the while playing with her hair.

“You have no idea how unbelievably happy you made me tonight,” Raine said, their voice as sweet as honey.

“I disagree, I think I have a pretty good idea,” Eda said, the warmth in her chest only continuing to grow, as she pulled Raine tighter against her and they started swaying in the rhythm of the melody the instruments were playing.

They pulled away slightly from one another, and Raine kissed her cheek, their hand travelling to her waist, clearly intending to dance.

“Wait,” she said, “I need to get Marilyn off.”

“Are you in pain?” Raine’s brow knotted in worry.

“No, but it’s getting uncomfortable a bit,” she frowned, unclasping the buckle that kept Marylin firmly attached to her nubbin. She took the prosthetic off, laid it on the sofa, and approached her partner. Her fiancée. The thought made a few more tears spill from her eyes, and Raine just softly smiled at her, locking their arms around her neck, and she placed her left hand on their wais, her nubbing somewhat awkwardly hanging to the side, but she disn’t care.

She realized, they never really danced to their song. Raine’s Rhapsody. Eda’s Requiem.

“You know,” she said, “This should play at our wedding, for our first dance…”

“Yeah, it really should. As Raine’s Rhapsody, or as Eda’s Requiem?”

“How about,” she thought, “Raine and Eda’s sonata?”

“That is musically incorrect…”

“Who cares, it’s romantic as shit. Blame me if someone asks,” she winked and Raine stopped swaying for a moment to stand on their fingers and kiss her on the lips.

They kept swaying and eventually started to dance for real, Eda twirling Raine and the other way round, their steps imperfect, Raine occasionally reaching for her right hand out of habit and missing because it was not there, but, in the end, they were back to swaying in each other’s embrace.

Eda started to yawn, leaning heavily on Raine, her eyelids becoming heavy.

“Sleepy?”

“Yeah, I could use a shut-eye,” she said.

“To the bed?”

“I’m not sleeping on the sofa, Raine. Even if climbing up the stairs doesn’t sound attractive.”

“I’ll carry you up if I get to be the little spoon?” Raine offered and Eda chuckled. Why did that comment made her cry too?

“Mh-mm,” she muttered.

Raine picked her up, newlyweds style, and carried her upstairs to their room. She locked her arm around their neck and rested her head on their shouler.

“We left your prosthetic downstairs,” they noted.

“It’s an arm, Rainstorm, it doesn’t have legs! It won’t run away.”

“Queen of Bad Jokes.” They said matter-of-factly as they kicked open their door and walked in, placing Eda at the edge of the bed.

“Shu’ up!” She slipped out of her dress and pulled a night gown over her head, wrapping herself up in blanket.

"Eda?"

"Mhhmm?"

"Before we settle for the night, I promised myself I's do something."

"Oh yeah?" She peaked her head out of the blankets giving them a sultry look.

"Mh-mm…gotta call Darius…

"WHAT???" She bolted up, flabbergasted.

"Shhhh! You'll wake the bird tube!"

“I don’t care if I wake Hooty! That is not what I expected to hear!” she said, making sure Raine understood the suggestiveness of what she said, and, if the red of their face was to go by, they got what she was implying.

"Why would you…"

"He was convinced I would fail, get cold feet, and said he would only believe it once he hears i actually propose…"

"Well, I proposed first…"

"EDA!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding….wait, you’re telling me, you'll use our very new engagement to troll Darius by waking him up at 2AM?'

“Yes…” they said carefully, mischievous glint in their eyes.

“That is fucking genius, Raine! But get over here, I want to hear his reaction!”

“Ok, ok, I’m coming,” they said climbing next to her, a scroll in their hand, Darius on Dial.

“Call him!”

“Ok, I am,” the scroll rang.

“…what...” Darius tired voice came trough the scroll, “Whispers…if you don’t have a good reason for waking me up at 2 AM…”

“Oh, trust me, I do…”

“You sound way too giddy for it to be important, Songbird,” Darius grouse.

“Well, you said you wanted to hear the news…when it actually happens…”

“When what happens?”

“They proposed to me!” Eda shouted into the scroll, earning a string of curses from Darius, as tears once again started streaming down her face.

“What…why are you calling me to tell me that!”

“You said I would get cold feet, and I didn’t,” Raine snickered.

“For fuck’s sake, Raine you…is that Eda crying?”

Eda, who was indeed crying, answered, “Oh shut up Darius!”

“Dari..who is that on the phone…”

“Wait, Darius,” Raine asked, “Was that Alador with you…in your bed…or are you in his…”

“No…that’s…shut up Raine! Congratulations I guess! Now…good night!”

He hung up and Eda and Raine exchanged a glance, and then started laughing, falling to the blankets.

“You are teary again,” Raine said, wiping a tear of her face.

“Shu’ up…”

Raine snickered and pulled her to their chest, pressing kisses into her hair as she buried her face in the fabric of their PJs.

“I was supposed to be the big spoon or something…”

“I’ll cash it in later,” they chuckled. “Now sleep…”

“Mhm…I love you…”

“Love you too. And good night, dear,” they said, and started to hum, and Eda fell asleep in the arms of the witch she loved, their voice in her ear.