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Stars speckle the twilight sky as Malleus leads Lily out into the courtyard, their hands warm within one another’s. It’s a dreamy sort of spring evening—the air brisk, yet not too cold to comfortably walk in—and Malleus feels his heart jump up into his throat each time he glances Lily’s way. She’s talking about their coursework (they have an exam, Malleus knows, later that week), and it’s such a benign sort of conversation that Malleus almost feels bad for butting in. Still—he’d planned this so meticulously, he’d dreamed of this for weeks. The campus roses are just beginning to bud, and Malleus stops them within the garden: his other hand coming up to cup Lily’s. “Oh,” Lily breathes upon seeing his face, and Malleus steels himself, before stating:
“I’m sure you already know what I wish to say, but Lily—I’ve dreamed so vividly of what we could be: the love we would share, the future we could have.” Malleus swallows, and feels Lily’s hand tighten in his. “I wish to move forward through this life with you by my side, in whatever manner of relationship you might have me, and I hope that you’ll accept the love I have for you, for I know I shall never be without it. This is all to say—”
“Will you be mine, Lily? And would you take me as yours?” Malleus watches Lily’s eyes glitter in the starlight, and hopes to the heavens she says yes.
