"You know I will." I said as a smile formed on my face.
Ace beamed down at me as he gently placed a kiss on my lips. I smiled into the kiss as I felt his hands grip onto my waist.
"So are you two like engaged now?"
We pulled apart as I leant my head on him and turned to Eyeball and Chris who were both confused.
"Course we're not you idiot." Ace said.
Eyeball looked even more confused.
"But you just-" he paused. "And she just-" he said as he tried to work his head around it.
I gripped slightly tighter on Ace as he looked down at me smiling before giving my forehead a kiss.
"Hey now you should be back in bed Mr Merrill, you need rest, rest and more rest."
He grumbled slightly as I gently pushed him off me and towards the direction of the door but he stayed in the room, using Eyeball to help hold him up and steady.
"So can one of you explain if you are getting married or not? And what happens to us?" Eyeball asked, turning to Ace.
"We're not getting married yet. I haven't given her a ring you dipshit. And nothing happens to us, the cobras will always rule over Castle Rock."
"Yay." Chris mumbled as Eyeball slapped him gently.
"Married or not Chambers you best not forget who is in charge." Ace said sternly, to which Chambers I was unsure but it came across perfectly to them as they both nodded and almost slunk down from him.
I looked at Ace, seeing the authority in his face. I stepped forward and took my hand in his.
"But now you have me, you don't need to be on guard all the time, you can relax and maybe not be as harsh as you have been to the younger generation." I said, somewhat sternly, gesturing my head to Chris.
Ace growled and grumbled as his head nodded and shook slightly.
"Hey maybe you could pass on the whole King of the Cobras thing? Let someone else take charge and then you know, spend more time with me? I mean, you want a family someday right?" I asked.
He looked at Eyeball and Chris before down at me. "What like a kid? One of those little things?" He pointed at Chris.
"I'm not that little thank you." Chris said, matter of factly.
"Maybe we should walk and talk about this?" I said quietly, technically me and Ace had never even had these types of conversations.
He nodded and let go off me before heading upstairs. I sighed slightly and turned back to the breakfast just in time to serve it up to the boys before it burnt. They both began stuffing their faces as Eyeball looked up.
"For the record, I like you two together." He said with a mouth full of sausage and sauce.
I smiled slightly and nodded, "Thanks Eyeball."
I sighed and walked out into the hallway hearing footsteps. Ace was coming down the stairs, he'd got changed and managed to slip on some shoes but the laces just dangled.
"I can't bend over and tie them up properly." He grumbled.
I smiled and stepped forward, crouching down I tied both shoelaces up before slowly rising and reaching up and giving him a gentle kiss.
"You didn't have to do that." He grumbled again.
"We're a team Ace."
He smiled slightly as he grabbed his cigarettes and matches from the side, looped his arm around me and I felt him lean his weight on me, clearly still not as strong.
I opened the door and we slowly headed out, pulling the door behind us, Chris would deal with it. He winced at the bright sun as it instantly hit us. I wrapped one arm around his waist and held onto his hand with the other as I pulled him along.
Neither of us spoke as we just walked slowly in silence, taking it steady for his sake. Every now and again he would wince in pain still and we took a few seconds to pause and let him catch his breath.
Everyone that saw us stopped and stared, mumbling things to each other, this whole situation was talk of the town and we knew it. This was the topic of the year, Ace Merrill wrongly accused of murder. I let them stare. Ace let them stare. We walked past Irbys and I looked up at Ace.
"Don't wanna stop?"
He shook his head and continued to try walking. I looked through the murky window of the dark bar and saw Charlie and Vince stare confused as Ace just walked past, not batting an eyelid at his regular watering hole. I shrugged slightly as I felt him pull me along.
We were just walking past shop after shop after shop before he turned a few corners and we were soon coming up on the edge of the border for Lower Castle Rock and The View. I hesitated slightly but Ace nodded at me.
"It's okay, we're not starting a fight or anything like that."
I nodded slightly as I let him lead the way up to The View. We continued our walk until we reached the spot where The View overlooked Castle Rock. He finally sighed as he removed his arm from my shoulder and flopped flat on the floor. I quickly bent down to him but he shook me off and made me stand back up.
I watched in confusion as I saw him struggle to get into a position where he was kneeling on one knee in front of me. My heart stopped.
He growled and grumbled.
Fidgeting for what felt like ages as he refused my help.
Then he finally did it.
Managed to be stable on one knee in front of me.
Overlooking Castle Rock.
He reached his hand into his back pocket of his jeans and brought out a tiny gold ring with a single emerald stone on the top. My hands instantly went to my face, almost in disbelief.
"This was my mother's. it's all I've got left of her. And this is doing it proper, without those twits in the kitchen watching." Ace started.
"I'm completely fucked right now Princess. I tell ya, my entire body is screaming out in pain."
Only Ace could swear mid proposal. He continued.
"But honestly.. when you're there, when you kiss me, when you smile... all that pain.. it just goes. Like fucks off somewhere."
And another. I laughed slightly as I kept a mental count.
"And I bloody need that in my life. I need someone to take away that pain. I fucking need it."
3.
"Rochelle... from the moment I met you, you were The View Princess..."
He paused.
"I just want to know... would you do this useless failure of a lowlife the best honour in being the Castle Rock Queen? Or more specifically, my Castle Rock Queen?"
I smiled as I felt tears fill my eyes.
"So I won't be the View Princess anymore?"
He laughed and shrugged.
"Oh always, just with a new title and better privileges."
"Better privileges aye? Ooo what are the-"
Ace scoffed and shut me up.
"Look will you stop winding me up and say if you want this marriage thing or not?!" He half shouted, half laughed.
I couldn't hold back the laugh as I dropped to my knees in front of him and shut him up by planting a kiss on his lips. His arms wrapped around my waist as I felt him deepen the kiss, running his tongue along my bottom lip. I held his face in my hands as I pulled away slightly and pressed my forehead against his. He looked away slightly as he gently slid the ring on my finger before bringing it to his lips and gently kissing it.
"You know what this means?" I said suggestively.
His smile turned cheeky, knowing exactly what he was thinking about I cut him off mid thought.
"We get to have that baby talk now!" I said, acting overly excited.
He shuddered and shook his head as we both laughed and I gently shoved him down but he pulled me on top of him, planting kisses on my lips, all over my jaw and along my neck.
I laughed louder as we both rolled about slightly, thoroughly enjoying the special kisses we managed to get. Ace's grip on me never loosened as I held him close to me, feeling his heart beat against me. Not even air came between us as I felt his fingers run through my hair, gently pulling but holding me close.
My fingers ran up his arms, feeling the material of shirt, I instinctively tugged it gently, begging for the day it came off properly. Our wedding night. That's the night it happens. The night he takes me officially as his own. The kiss deepened and I felt myself truly get lost in his warm safe embrace.
"OH MY GOD ROCHELLE!"
We instantly pulled apart and looked to where the voice came from.
Shit.
My mother.
And father.
Just as my mother had to hold onto my father to stop herself from fainting, I looked down at Ace as he laughed slightly.
"We're a team remember?" He said, laughing to himself at the oh so compromising position my mother and father had caught us in.