Rings and Chocolate Biscuits
Merry Christmukkah @slightlyrebelliouswriter23!! Have a soft Jurdan as your gift 𼺠Thank you for all the scheming and help with other fics. ily!
âIâm working on it.â
âIt wasnât a criticism, just an observation âŚâ
âI know all your tells now,â Cardan says, raising his eyebrows as if to chastise his girlfriend for trying to lie to him.
Judeâs never been good at it, and after two years he doesnât even have to look at her to hear it in her voice. Sheâs annoyed and he canât blame her. He knows she hates surprises and yet he surprised her with this Christmas getaway to a cabin in the middle of nowhere. But heâll get her to come around, eventually.
âYou canât read my mind, Cardan,â Jude argues. âYou donât always know what Iâm thinking.â
She stalks off to the kitchen and he puts two and two together: sheâs not only cold, sheâs getting hangry. He smiles to himself and turns back to the fireplace. Once he gets a fire going, the cabin will warm right up. Soon they wonât need it with the generator jumpstarting the HVAC. But heâs not going to sit around listening to Judeâs teeth chatter while they wait for it to get above freezing.
âWant one?â Jude asks, handing him one of the chocolate biscuits he had to scour three stores to find for her. He opens his mouth and she feeds it to him with a warm smile.
âMmmm,â he says with his mouth full of sugary goodness.
âWhere did you find these?â Her mood has perked up and he realizes his whole body has relaxed.
He finishes chewing before replying darkly, âif I told you, Iâd have to kill you.â
She rolls her eyes at him and watches as he sets a spark alight. Soon, thereâs a roaring fire and itâs giving off heat. Jude gets down on the floor next to him and warms her hands.
âGood job,â she says, leaning in for a quick kiss.
âIâm sorry itâs so cold in here,â he says. âI should have thought about that. I should have come yesterday to set up.â
âItâs fine, love, really,â she says, pulling off her mittens to feel the warmth on her bare skin. âIt was just an observation.â
He gives her a look and she gives him one right back.
âDonât you want to ask me what I was observing?â she asks playfully.
He sighs. âOK, Iâll bite. If you werenât annoyed about it being cold in here, what were you thinking about?â
She puts her hand on his cheek and leans in closer. âI was thinking about all the ways we could warm up.â
Sheâs bested him yet again. Just when he thinks he has her figured out â just when he thinks sheâs going to do the nagging girlfriend thing â she does the Jude Duarte thing instead. As if he didnât already know she makes the best out of every shitty situation theyâve ever been in. God, he just loves her so fucking much.
He fills the space between them in an instant and his lips meet hers in a hungry kiss, tasting the sweet residue of chocolate biscuits. Theyâre wearing so many clothes: hats, SHIELD-grade parkas, long underwear, snow pants and bulky boots. Itâs the opposite of sexy and when he unzips her jacket, she shivers in his arms and he stops. He zips her back up and they laugh.
âMaybe itâs too cold for that still?â she suggests, disappointed, keeping her bared hands in his jacket pockets for warmth.
âYeah, definitely should have set up yesterday,â he grumbles. âYou hungry?â
âStarved,â she smiles, looking toward the grocery bags and coolers in the kitchen. âBut I see you brought enough food for a month. How long are we staying?â
He bites his lip. âThree days,â he says guiltily. âMaybe four, if nothing goes wrong back at Elfhame HQ.â
âWhich it will,â she commiserates.
âHey, I know for a fact that the Folk take off for Christmas, too,â he says, trying to restore hope for a longer holiday.
âOh, is that why you brought me here of all places?â she asks. Sheâs giving him a knowing look and he starts to wonder how much of his surprise is still intact.
âThe flight time. And I didnât have to be a genius to know we flew west. But why here, Cardan? Of all places?â She looks concerned for him, clearly wondering why heâd return to this place.
âI wanted to show you,â he answers simply.
She smiles warmly at him. âYou wanted to share it with me.â She looks around at the four walls of the small cabin and nods in approval. âI canât believe you built this.â
The act itself boils down to one sentence: He built this cabin. But it hides the blood, sweat and tears that went into it. He barely survived his first winter alone in the wilderness. The police had taken his mother that fateful day, and she hadnât come back. He was desperate, all the time. He stole all he could.
Until he had finished renovating the cabin. It restored some normalcy to his situation and gave him shelter, fulfilling his most basic human need. It became his home, his hideaway, and after all these years thereâs never been anywhere to replace it. Unless you count Jude, and he can always count on Jude.
âI canât believe itâs still standing,â he jokes, hiding his dark nostalgia.
âAt what point did you modernize it?â she asks, pointing to the kitchenette and duct work.
âLast year,â he says. âAfter âŚâ
âYou came here?â she asks, surprised.
âYeah,â he feels almost guilty admitting it. He never told anyone where he went for those weeks after his father died. The man turned out to be a monster, but heâd started out as the person Cardan had wanted to be most. Updating the cabin was a way for him to grieve without judgment. And he hadnât been back, until now.
He realizes it was pretty stupid not to check the place out before he brought Jude, but heâd only had a couple of days to prepare. Cardan wanted to take her someplace special to show her how much he cares about her. Sheâs always giving of herself, and heâs been slowly taking off his armor so he can give back.
âI wanted to tell you about that,â he offers, still seeing the concerned look on her face. âAnd other things. I donât want any secrets between us.â
She stares at him. âThatâs not like you. Being all sappy and shit, I mean.â
He lets out a deep belly laugh as he holds her as close as he can with their puffy parkas in the way. âIs it?â he asks. He releases her and fumbles with his zipper, pulling a small box out of an inside pocket.
He wanted to do this later. After all, theyâre still kneeling on the floor, huddled in front of the fire under layers of clothing. She should be standing, and he should be on one knee. Perhaps it would be better after dinner. Or maybe tomorrow, on that hill he liked to climb to see the view over the river. But the moment feels right and he doesnât want to wait a second longer.
She looks at the box with her most hopeful, earnest expression and heâs so damn glad he can read her or he wouldnât be able to ask her the question thatâs on the tip of his tongue.
âJude,â he starts. âYou are the light of my life. All the good things come from you. If I hadnât fallen for youâ I donât know where Iâd be now.â She starts to cry and it would break his heart to see her tears if it wasnât already bursting with love for her.
âI always want to be by your side. Not just to protect you like it started, but so I can laugh with you ⌠wipe away your tears.â She laughs as he uses his thumb to do just that.
âI love you so much.â He forgets everything else he wanted to say and pops open the box to show her the ring. Itâs one heâs spent hours agonizing over, before deciding on a non-traditional ruby one. âWill you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?â
âYes,â she says quickly, her eyes bursting with tears again. âYes, Cardan!â She throws herself into his arms again and ardently kisses every uncovered part of him that she can reach: the back of his neck, below his ear, his cheek, his forehead, his other cheek, his chin and finally his lips.
He insists on sliding the ring onto her finger immediately, which she does not object to for one second. They both stare down at her left hand with the shiny ruby on it.
âI love you, tooâ she says, only now able to speak without crying. âAnd I think right now, we really are the happiest people in the world.â
He beams at her: his fiancĂŠe. He canât wait to say the word out loud, so he does.
âSo fiancĂŠe, how about some champagne?â
âWhy thank you, fiancĂŠ, that would be wonderful!â she says, grinning back at him.
TFOTA taglist: @charisse @sevenfreckles-for-sevenloves @addies-invisible-life @starborn-faerie-queen
