this feeling won't go away

Hearing her actually say yes caused his face to flush even more and his heart to only pick up speed, but it wasn’t out of nervousness, it was out of excitement. Just a few years ago, Silas was at rock bottom. He had no family, no friends, and absolutely no will to continue with his life, but going to that camp had changed everything for him. Now he had long-time friends, a business he loved, and now a fiance whom he loved more than anything else in the world. He meant everything he said to her, and he meant it when he said she’d make him the happiest man on earth, and that’s exactly what he was. His cheeks hurt from grinning and his chest hurt just out of excitement. He felt like walking out the front door and yelling to the world about how he got the girl of his dreams, but he’d much rather hold her in his arms instead, so he remained on his knee. He hugged her tightly when she sat down, rubbing her back and still grinning to himself like a mad man. “I love you, too, Anya.” His eyes widened at her comments and his cheeks flushed, “I-I’d be good with either gifts, honestly. Or just a kiss. All of it s-sounds pretty good to me.” He grinned as she kept kissing him, finally catching her lips in a real, deep kiss. When he pulled away, he grabbed the ring and gently put it on her ring her finger before kissing her knuckles and grinning at her. “I can’t feel m-my face.” He started laughing, “I love you so much, y-you’ve got no idea.”

Silas knew he was the last person the planet that could keep a well hidden secret; especially from Anya. He told her everything, and she knew everything about him, including things he never told people in his past, so hiding something like this from her was definitely a challenge. It was especially difficult with how picky he was with how to do it. He debated so many different scenarios--like cooking her dinner and hiding it in the food, or making it super public so everyone would know just how much he really loved her, but he finally just settled on something personal to the both of them, in a place that was personal to both of them. “It’s-- It’s okay, you’ve got a hall pass f-for this one.” He grinned at her, and it only widened when she kissed his cheek. It was simple things like her kissing his cheek or even just smiling at him that made him fall for her all over again--and it happened on a daily basis. He bit down hard on his lower lip as he watched in anticipation her opening the book. His heart was racing and his hands were still shaking, but that all went to rest at her reaction. “I, um-- N-No, I promise It-- it was all on purpose.” He blushed fiercely, giving her a shy smile before reaching to grab the ring with a shaking hand, then getting down on one knee in front of her. “Anya-- I-I, um..” He let out a laugh, “I-I rehearsed this over and over again, b-but I’ve just forgotten everythin’ I was goin’ to say.” He smiled up at her brightly, “I love you more than anything. Y-You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and- and the one person in this world who’s made me realize life really is-- is beautiful, and that I should be thankful for the people in my life. But I’m especially thankful for you. You-- you met me when I-I was at my worst, a-and you still stuck around. If that doesn’t mean I-I should want to keep you forever, th-then I don’t know what would.” He held the ring up to her a bit more, “Will you-- Will you make me the happiest bloke on e-earth and...um, marry me?”

For the entire week before this night, Silas had been running every which way, trying to figure out a way to do this without Anya knowing, and in a way that she would remember forever. It’s not everyday he got to ask a question like this, and hopefully this wuold be the first and last time he would have to. It was nervewracking knowing that one little question could either cause a lifetime of happiness or make things so uncomfortable between them that they might even break up--but he was ignoring the negative thoughts for once. He loved Anya more than anything, and he wanted her to be happy--and she seemed to be happy with him. They had their own business together, which had been going great since they were the only bookstore in town other than the public library, they lived together, and they had a dog together. He couldn’t think of anything else he’d love to share with her other than something like this. So after much thought and much convincing from Marlena, he finally decided how he was going to do this. He looked down from the shelf he’d been organizing and laughed at her questions. “Y-You never know. They had to h-have been recommended to us for-- for a reason. Maybe we should g-get crafting with m-moose hair instead. That seems more native to the land.” He looked back to the shelf, staring at it for a few seconds. He felt his heart beat harder the more he thought about it, but he managed to push himself away from his task. “Speakin’ of books.” He smirked at her and let out a nervous laugh before he walked over behind the checkout counter and grabbed a book with a small bow tied to it. “I, um, I-I got you somethin’. Er-- um--” He cleared his throat, trying really hard to be normal so she wouldn’t suspect anything. “Happy three years and two months, b-babe.” He grinned, handing her the book with a very, very shaky hand. Inside the book was a hollowed out section containing a ring and a note written on the inside saying ‘Will you be mine forever?’ “I-- I wrote, um...something in there for yo. O-- Open it up, yeah?”