I paced past the glacier cave, listening to Sid and his grandmother fight.
"She'll never be loyal to you! She's human!"
"Loyalty and honesty are some of the most important things to humans, especially her!"
"If you love her, I won't support you, you'll be on your own." Granny said angrily.
"Well...
-don't miss me."
Sid opened the rock door and walked out to meet me. He kissed my lips with his, gentle and kind. I looked into his eyes as he held me close and I felt as if I were home in the midst of the arctic terrain. His eyes sparkled in the moonlight and his breath produced a steam cloud circling my hair. I laid my forehead on his chest as he pulled me into a tight, loving embrace. I felt his arms and was comforted. That was the moment that I knew I could never live without him.
We walked out to the tip of the plateau, past an ice wall. He sat and patted the ground next to him. I sat and laid my head in his lap. He wrapped his arms around me when a shiver sent out. I felt safe and fell asleep in his arms.
The next morning I opened my eyes to the sounds of birds chirping and the image of Sid laying beside me with his arm over me like a comfort blanket. I brushed a patch of hair out of his eyes with my hand and he slowly came to.
"Good morning, love." I smiled.
"Milan, my pumpkin, how did you sleep?"
I rested my head on his chest, "Perfectly."
The two of us laid there for awhile before we heard the familiar quarrel of Manny and Peaches as they played hockey on the frozen lake below us.
"We should join them, shouldn't we?" I asked.
"I want to talk to Manny, anyway." Sid smiled to me and the two of us stood, making our way down the mountain.
Once we reached the frozen lake, Manny and Peaches waved their hockey sticks at us with their trunks.
"Care to join us?" Manny asked with a kind voice.
"Actually, Manny, I wanted to talk to you..." Sid gestured to his right and Manny followed him towards the faraway tree line.
"Hey, Milan," Peaches grinned, "Want to play?"
"I've got nothing better to do." I laughed as Peaches tossed a stick to me.
I spent the next half hour chasing Peaches and the rock that we were using as a puck around our makeshift rink. Our laughter was so loud that it must've rung around the entire glacier system. Finally, the two of us got so tired that we figured that we had to rest. We sat next to one of the goals, my back against one of the sides.
"They must have something extremely important that they're discussing over there," I frowned with a concerned air.
"Hah...I bet they're discussing something random that Sid came up with...
oh...no offense, we love him." Peaches added.
"I get it," I smirked, "But you're not getting that puck back!"
I ran the puck on the rink and used my stick to guide it across the ice. It glided like butter on a hot pan.
"SCORE!" I squealed as I shot it in for the first time.
Peaches caught up to me no more than two seconds later and smiled as if congratulating me.
"Milan, I hope this isn't strange or too soon or anything..."
"Go on." I replied.
"I think you and Sid make a great team. I haven't seen him this happy in such a long time, I think he really cares for you."
I smiled so deeply that I could feel the happiness touch my heart.
"Do you love him? If that isn't too weird to ask."
"I always have, for longer than I can remember..."
Peaches looked down at me with sweet eyes, "He loves you."
That evening the eight of us sat at a fire that I had made. We were circled around it, Sid, me, Peaches, Julian, Manny, Ellie, Diego, and Shira.
We were eating our dinner and chatting amongst ourselves.
I had been talking with Peaches when she glanced behind me and whispered, "He's been staring at you all night."
I subtly turned my head, ever so slightly in order to see Sid without him recognizing that I was watching.
He would look at Diego while he was speaking and then turn his attention back to me. I blushed.
"It's like he can't take his eyes off of you." Peaches smirked.
I grinned and my face changed its hue. I felt a stronger connection to him, I loved him more than life itself.
That night the eight of us separated, Manny, Peaches, and Julian headed back towards their home with Ellie while Diego and Shira walked towards the sea.
"We might as well figure out where we're going to be living." I stated in a small voice.
Sid kissed my head and told me, "Don't worry, we will."
We wandered around in the snow for a bit before we came upon a log that was quite large.
"Think it's big enough to fit inside?" I asked
Sid was already halfway in, "Yep!"
We both snuggled in and found that it was the perfect home.
His warm breath circulated through the log and I smiled, knowing I was his.
***
The next morning when I awoke, Sid was gone. At first, I assumed that he must've walked out for a breath of fresh air or to relieve himself. However, he did not return. I had counted out almost fifteen whole minutes when I finally decided to walk out. That was when I dropped to the ground from pure shock.
Sid was down on one knee, proposing-TO ME!
...
