Work Text:
Gabriel knelt in the crisp autumn light, his blue eyes catching the glint of the red leaf among the scattered pine needles. His brown hair, tousled from the wind, fell across his forehead as he carefully brushed dirt from the leaf’s delicate veins. It was perfect, vibrant, almost glowing against the muted earth. He smiled, thinking of Marie’s light brown eyes and the way her brown hair caught the firelight in their cabin.
He carried the leaf back, cradling it like a treasure. In his workshop, he set to work, his hands steady despite the calluses from wielding the combat cross. He mixed the resin, its golden warmth pooling in a small mold. Gently, he placed the leaf inside, watching it suspend in the amber as it hardened, sealing the moment forever, a fragment of the mountain’s fleeting beauty for her.
When he presented it to Marie, the amber caught the cabin’s glow, the red leaf suspended like a flame in time. Her light brown eyes widened, and she traced the smooth surface with her fingers, her brown hair falling softly as she leaned in to kiss his cheek. “It’s us,” she whispered. “Something wild, made eternal.”