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Who: Lily, Winter
What: A year after
When: 12/12, Evening
Where: Germany

Needless to say, this hadn't been the best week. It had been chaotic and painful, Lily had been afraid for both her life and those around her. Some a little bit more than others. And some with more of a close call in that regard than she's comfortable with. Life still goes on however, and after all that had happened of late... She wasn't going to let herself be ground down by it. Not anymore.

Nor was she going to let that happen with anyone else, especially Winter. Although... for a large part of the day, Winter wouldn't have seen much of Lily. She'd find a card at some point or another in their room: "Anniversary dinner. 7PM. Be ready."

Short, and to the point. Of course, no details beyond that. One might wonder what anniversary she's talking about even, given she didn't confess her feelings until February. But... it's a simple point. It's the anniversary of when she first went on the Network, when she first met Winter.

Because yes, Lily Tsukuyomi is THAT much of a romantic.

As terrible as it might have been, she's not going to let it stop her. Not from this. Not from what she wants, needs to do.

So, eventually... Should Winter follow instructions, Lily picks her up - dressed quite nicely, having stuffed a new, dark purple dress in Jasmine's room the night before - and leads her out. Clearly, there's something pretty strongly on her mind beyond the recent events, but she tries not to focus on them. Tries to talk about lighter, brighter things, on the way to the restaurant and through dinner.

This is important, dammit. She's not going to screw this up. Not this time.

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Lily isn't the only young woman who's been working through some uncertainties this last week. Winter's been worried sick about a lot of things, and try as she might, she's having a hard time shaking off the ghosts of her past. Her ankle hasn't been cooperating, either; every so often this week, it's been throbbing, as if to remind her how careless she'd been last year.

But her mind had been handily diverted by finding Lily's card. It wasn't their really anniversary - that wasn't until February - but she suspected Lily was thinking of another specific date, one that wasn't really coming to mind just now. Not that she minded so much. Anything to distract her from her own thoughts, and from thinking about the operation just gone by. If they're going to dinner tonight, she needs to dress up for the part, because there's no way Lily won't do the same. She hadn't brought a lot of formal clothing, but after the dinner party when they'd first arrived, she'd gotten a few of her dressier things from Locke and put them into the dresser here.

Considering those items now - and trying to think about what in the world Lily was doing - she struggled to reach a decision, before finally settling on a long dress of her own, sky blue, and picking up a light jacket in case it got cold. Which, considering the time of year, she expected. Having found the card relatively early in the day, she proceeded to take her time getting ready.

Which brought her to Lily meeting her right on schedule, and Winter happily being led into town. She'd done her best to stick to happy topics on their way, and through dinner, she's contented herself mostly with whatever her girlfriend is comfortable talking about, and taking in the sight of Lily dressed up for... whatever it is tonight is commemorating. She'll ask about that later. For now, she's nursing a glass of wine, and enjoying her most important person's company. That's something that will never get old.

Okay, this is good. This is going as smoothly as Lily could possibly expect. Not that "Lily" and "smooth" really belonged in the same sentence, evident by how she keeps fiddling with her purse the whole time even as she keeps her focus on Winter. Not a terribly difficult task, and she's rather taken with how the other girl has dressed for the evening - enough that her mind occasionally veers off the rails here and there.

No, no. She has to stay the course. Not really knowing what she's doing however, she must press forward with what she knows best - being kind of awkward about everything.

Finally, she gives a slight laugh, peering down at her plate for a little bit. "You've got to be wondering what I've dragged you out here for tonight, and, ah." Her vision then drifts back up to her, looking oddly shy for who she's talking to. "I guess it's kind of silly, but... the day I first went on the Network. The day I first met you. That was... today."

As her sentimentality is exposed to the open, her face burns a bit, feeling nervousness creepy up on her. "I get a bit... crazy at keeping up with those sorts of dates, I know."

She's definitely noticed that slight nervous tell, but... she's not going to say anything about it just yet. That would be rude. And perhaps stopping something that Lily just isn't ready to spring yet. So for now, she just keeps paying close attention, and trying not to get distracted by certain other aspects of her girlfriend- ah. As Lily starts talking, Winter finds her own face coloring slightly; she's getting a little self-conscious herself. "I'd been wondering... it's not silly, though. I think... in some ways, you're even more sentimental than I am. It's not a bad thing, either."

She reaches across to hold one of Lily's hands, to reassure her. "I don't mind, really. It's kind of cute. And... I'm happy that day means enough to you that you remembered it."

Ahh, she's blushing even harder now. Not that the compliment is necessarily new at this point, but it still somehow manages to get to her. Enough she almost loses her train of thought, but focuses as she squeezes her hand. Another slight laugh and she nods.

"Of course, right. Th- thanks, it's just..." She lets out a breath, trying to meet her eyes. "I know this month is tough, Winter. For you. I mean what I said before, I didn't just want to placate it, but... even with all of that, it's still a very important one for the both of us, right? Even if yet more things have happened this year, and in this month alone..."

Jasmine. Raye. They're both still pretty prominent in her mind, and she's still worried about both of them. But... she won't let that deter her here, either.

She holds Winter's hand a little bit tighter, and she sighs again. Focus, Lily. So, in order to do that she... scoots her chair abruptly around the table, so she's closer, although she realizes quickly after the fast how awkward that movement probably looked.

"The thing is, I want to... always be able to remember today. And... you and I both know that there's always a chance we could lose that. All of our pulses could disappear tomorrow, and while I'd still have you, and I know in my heart that I would... One of the most unsettling things whenever we've had to be out of the barriers for an extended time, is that I can't always fully remember why today is so important... I- I want today to always be important, in one way or another... I want to make a memory for today that's just as special."

Winter nods, her good humor dimming just a little. "December was hell for me last year. But I think... that I can move past it. With you at my side, I can get through it. To enjoy all the important things. The things that matter most to me, more than anything else this month brings. Maybe even more than my birthday."

Her wistful expression changes as Lily shifts around the table, but goes right back as the ugly prospect of lost memories comes up. With a grimace, Winter nods again, but she pauses as the suggestion of making a new memory comes up. They'd already done this and that, so those things wouldn't exactly be strong memories today - they'd already done them. She couldn't think of anything else that would make today special, either, not with the way the conversation was going. And she's suddenly just a little anxious. Excited, and confident that Lily would never hurt her. But anxious about just what's up her best friend's sleeve. "What did you... have in mind?"

Lily gulps, and suddenly finds her mouth really dry. She'd spent so much time through the night avoiding the bad subjects, she can sense the mood dip as she brings them up. Still, she pushes aside the worry of that being the worst possible decision and sucks in another breath. Now that she's thrown that out there, she's got nowhere else to go, and nothing else she very well can do. Knowing she's cast her die, she has to push ahead.

While awkwardly fumbling with something in her purse with her free hand, she gives Winter's another squeeze.

"That's what I want, Winter. To enjoy those things, and always be able to do so. We face a lot, though, and I'm never sure what's going to happen sometimes..." Especially in recent weeks. "And... it doesn't really dictate what I want to do, what I want to say, but it reminds me about something we've both said before... How we don't want to regret things undone, or... miss out on things in life."

She bites her lip for a second, and then coughs lightly. "Sometimes, we've done that, all the same, and that's partly because I've had difficulty coming out with things. With... with still worrying about what I say, or what I do, and every time you've proven to me I should just... let myself go in a way." She smiles fondly. "Ever since Valentine's, I've been trying to figure out how to do that, and every time I think I'm going to fall on my face, you catch me. So I've learned that so long as I say what I want, say what I'm feeling... you'll understand me, and like no one else I've ever known. So... God. I'm- I'm kind of babbling and you know at some point I had this all worked out in my head and it sounded much better then and..."

She gasps, indicating she forgot to breathe for a second, before pulling a small box out of her purse and placing it in Winter's hand.

"I must sound really stupid and I hope it's not too gaudy, and, and--"

Words leave her about then, losing the ability to really continue, her face looking as if it might just explode any second now. Inside that box? A ring, with a small tanzanite in the shape of a diamond, semi-surrounded by some tiny, actual ones in the unmistakable shape of a crescent moon.

It's a very good thing Rentarou helped Lily build credit early, by all accounts.

As Lily continues to ramble, Winter bobs her head in continued agreement. It all seems reasonable, and she's of largely the same opinion - they live a dangerous life together. "I know it's hard to deal with, sometimes. But we'll never forget the most important things. I'm sure of that."

And yet, it still nags at her, sometimes. That she'll forget, and that love for Lily will still be in her heart, but she'll find herself unable to remember why she means so much. Before she can get lost in those thoughts again, Lily's cough brings her back to the matter at hand, and she smiles as her precious person continues to talk about herself while speaking at some length. She doesn't want to interrupt, and the memories of happy times and intimate conversations discourage her from getting in the way anyway.

She... starts to notice that Lily is going somewhere, though, and when the speech tapers into forgetting to breathe and fishing for things, she starts to wonder exactly what her friend has in mind.

And then the box is in her hand, and absently, she rubs a thumb over the velvet before gently popping it open. Winter has to remember to breathe, herself, then. The sparkle is one thing, but... it's exactly the kind of heartfelt sentiment she's come to expect from Lily, and yet it's something much, much more. An idle part of her mind wonders when the young woman even had a chance to figure out her ring size, even as she tilts the box ever so slightly to see the ring from all angles, and the reflected light catches her eye every time. She can feel tears coming to her eyes, and she just doesn't care. This is... amazing.

"This is... it's beautiful, Lily. I don't... where... how...?" It's a few seconds before she can form a coherent thought, and even then, it's not really useful, as she looks up at Lily again. "I don't know what to say... except that I'll treasure it forever."

Waiting with anticipation to see how Winter reacts feels like forever to Lily. She just sits there, unblinking and staring a little bit blankly. Okay, good, she likes it, but... No, of course. Lily knows she needs to say it, to fully make her intentions clear.

She gulps and finds her breath again, leaning a bit closer. She smiles and nods, reaching out for Winter's other hand. "Good, I'm glad you do, I was... hoping for the best there. I figured given us, something... sappy and sentimental is actually pretty much on the money."

She looks back down at the ring briefly, then draws her vision back to the other young woman's face. There's a bit of nervous hesitation again, before words just sort of... start spilling out of her mouth again. "'Forever' is... kind of the point, really. We're young still, but... Winter, I've never known anyone like you. It's all things I've said before, and... I'll keep saying them, over and over again. You taught me I can open myself up to people, that I can help others by taking care of myself. You've taken care of me, and... I want to keep trying to do the same in turn for you, for as long as you'll let me. No matter what that is, no matter what we're doing. It... what I'm asking, it doesn't have to be until you'd be comfortable with it, but... we're pretty far past a point where we'd be rushing into anything, and... when it comes to you, I've never been more certain of anything else in my life."

Another breath, and her face is red, her eyes rather misty too. But there's an odd bit of confidence with all of that, even as she's babbling. The pause is brief, and finally she just spits it out. "Winter, will you marry me?"

Winter's eyes slowly widen as she finally realizes what Lily's driving at. She can feel her pulse quickening as the implications hit home, and her nerves go on the fritz immediately, with the sudden feeling that her stomach is dropping out of her body. This... even if she'd dreamed it would happen someday, this was so much more than she'd ever expected, ever even dared to hope for. Lily's nervousness, the sudden request for a date, the visible effort to make certain everything went absolutely perfectly... everything fell into place now. And even as much as the idea scared her, there was a certain gravity, a certain magic, to the moment. She was about to make a commitment that would shape the entire rest of her life. Hell, she hadn't even started college yet. They'd all say she was too young... but she didn't care anymore. This was the person she'd given all of herself to, the person she'd decided she'd protect and cherish already, even before this.

This... this just made it official, made it visible. She didn't mind that. Not a single bit.

Gently, she sets the velvet box down on the table, before tightly wrapping her arms around Lily, tears flowing freely, with a stupid grin on her face. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes, I will!" She has no idea what she's supposed to do after that. But at this point, Winter doesn't need to keep thinking back to all the novels she's read. She has a love story of her own to tell, and it started one year ago today. At the end of every chapter, she's certain she can't love Lily any more than she does. And then she's promptly proven wrong in the best way.

From the moment the words leave Lily's mouth, her entire world grinds to a screeching halt. It seems like it takes an eternity for anything to happen, and in that moment all irrational worries and fears creep up on her. What if this was too much? What if Winter said they were too young, in spite of the past several months? What if this, what if that, what if she'd made a huge mistake and this was going to weigh over their relationship for the foreseeable future?

She's frozen solid really, tense and immobile as a rock until the moment she feels Winter's arms wrap around her. The answer is freeing, and all the tension drains from her body. Joy, shoving its way quite brutally past any and all frustrations and horrors of late, swells up inside her. She hugs the other girl back, tightly, and feels her own tears spilling out. It's not that she ever doubted Winter in any capacity, but her relief can practically be felt.

All told, they're probably gaining some attention in the restaurant but she doesn't care, really. She continues to hug her for a couple more beats, saying nothing, before pulling back just enough so that she can lean back in and kiss her, quickly but not really softly either. As she pulls back, she breathes and sniffles.

"I love you," she murmurs, though that's stating the obvious at this point. "And I'll never stop. There's still a long way ahead of us, but... it seems a lot more possible with you, Winter."

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