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It was past midnight, but Noriko couldn't sleep a wink. Frankly, she hadn't slept a full night's sleep for about a week, only passing out every once in a while. And it wasn't the discomfort of the ring hidden inside her pillowcase. It was the fact there was even a ring to hide. She couldn't wait. She just couldn't wait anymore. Meanwhile, her girlfriend was sleeping peacefully beside her.
"Hidemi…" the itasha painter whispered, staring lovingly at the taller girl, and trying to adjust her position and avoid feeling the ring box under her head again. "You're so beautiful. So kind and caring…so selflessly devoted to your goddess— I-I mean, girlfriend…" She giggled a little, attempting to wiggle into her girlfriend's arms without waking her up. This was a failed mission, as the other girl began to stir, but Noriko didn't notice. "Marry me."
"Wh—HUH!?" Hidemi accidentally raised her voice, slapping a hand over her mouth at her blunder. "N-Nori…? Ma chérie?"
Noriko flinched away in surprise, eyes wide. "A-Ah, if it isn't my lovely lady, Hidemi! What brings you here?~"
The dressage rider felt her cheeks burning. "I live here, Nori! Don't play dumb! Was that a proposal??"
"I…I-I, um…c'mon, you…" The goddess started stuttering up a storm.
"Nori!"
"I fucked up, Hidemi! I fucked up big time!" Noriko cried, on the verge of tears. "I-I had this whole plan of proposing with breakfast in bed and wearing a pretty dress for you but now I look like a mess and I'm talking like a lunatic a-and—"
"Chut!"
The smaller girl immediately shut up when she noticed her girlfriend's finger pressed against her lips. "Hm…?"
"I-I'm sorry for raising my voice, but…" Hidemi sniffled, moving her hands to squish her goddess's cheeks. "I don't care about fancy breakfasts or what you wear or any of that. Sure, it's nice, but I don't need that for a proposal. I just need you to love me."
"I do! I do, I swear I do!"
"As I thought," the taller girl giggled. "So! Let's try this again! You said you had something to ask me?"
Noriko was about to ugly cry. She snatched the ring box from her pillowcase, opening in to reveal a diamond ring adorned with smaller blue aquamarine and pink spinel stones. "I-I wanted the ring to be perfect, even if the proposal couldn't be…it's our birthstones! I got a matching one, so we'll be connected no matter what!"
She got onto one knee on the bed, looking longingly into the depths of her girlfriend's eyes. "Hidemi de Clerq…will you marry me?" But she was met with silence. "H-Hidemi?"
"That's 'Ogura Hidemi' to you!" The dressage rider began to cry with her, pulling (tackling) her into a hug. "Ma déesse, ma femme, je suis tellement, tellement, tellement heureux! Je suis désolé, je sais que tu ne peux pas comprendre ce que je dis, mais je n'arrive pas à me contenir! Je t'aime tellement!"
She was talking so fast, it almost worried the other girl. That is, until she finally stopped, and began to cover her future wife's face with kisses. "Noriiiii~!"
Noriko giggled, tears still spilling. "Well, looks like neither of us are getting any sleep tonight…" She slipped the ring onto her fiancée's finger, leaning in for a night of smooches.