THEY REACHED the hill after a slight detour into the forest, as Athena got a little distracted by a collection of animals in a corner of a forest. They sat hidden away from the animals as they - well Athena more than anything- watched them with great interest. Neither had been up the hill since last autumn, so it was a rather delightful and familiar sight to see.
Athena gravitated towards the growing flowers, sitting down in the grass as she began to pick a varied collection of flowers from the grass. "You sure you don't have enough flowers?" he laughed, laying down on the grass next to her in the direct sunlight that bore down onto the area.
"Nope, I have a good few more vases to fill. Plus I'm going to dry these ones, put them in the vase upstairs with the lavender by the bed," she smiled briefly before her attention got caught on another flower, hidden so far away that she had to stretch to reach it.
He chuckled, half watching her through a squinted eye due to the light, "But you won't let me buy you flowers?"
She smiled softly and shook her head, adding a rather large leaf to the small bouquet, "No. Because wild ones are much prettier and you'd pick the healthier ones where I think that the less vibrant ones are just as beautiful, in most flowers cases."
"Most?"
"It just depends on the flower, it's a judgement call really," she half shrugged, mind elsewhere as she untied a bow of brown twine on her notebook, instead winding it around the very bottom of the collection of flowers. She looked at it for a split second then plucked another flower from the ground, filling in the necessary gaps.
He moved his arms to the back of his head, propping his head upon them, "And I wouldn't make a good judgement?"
"I don't doubt that you would, I'm just very picky when it comes to flowers," she replied, triumphantly holding the flower bunch up into his view. She smiled brightly, "See, beautiful and perfect in every way."
They lounged away most of the day, having conversations in between large swoops of silence where they were just soaking up the sun and each others company. Jasper remained laid in the grass, eyes closed or covered with his arm while Athena peaceful read her book while making various little bouquets. "Sit up please," she half-whispered, breaking another silence that befell them. He opened his eyes, turning his head to be rid of the light. He, after little convincing with her eyes, sat up with a smile. She, without catching his questioning gaze, placed a small daisy chain onto the top of his head and set it so it sat properly. "Absolutely gorgeous," she chuckled, admiring her work with a soft smirk. He just laughed and lay back down, putting a hand up protectively against the chain before he settled himself again.
A minute followed, then he opened a single eye and half frowned at her sudden change in emotion, "Why the sudden confusion?"
"It's funny really," she sighed, laying down in the grass next to him."Billy used to paint you out to be such a scary character, one that I should be careful around. You are nothing like that, I mean come on you're laying the grass with a daisy crown without any complaints whatsoever."
He raised a brow, "He thought I was scary?"
She nodded, painting a picture of sympathy that would not easily be detected since she knew he hated it, "I never believed it for a second though, quite frankly there is nothing scary about you."
"Even the bites?" he asked softly, as if not wanting to hear the answer himself.
"What these?" she whispered back, trailing the marks along his forearms with her finger. "Each one of these tells a story of something you've been through and come out the other side of, that could never be scary." She smiled as he pressed an extremely loving kiss to her head and the silence befell them again, as they lay there in silence other than the sounds of nature around them.
After at least fifteen minutes of silence and comforting half hugs, Athena found her mind drifting towards want of the swing. So she clambered out of the hug and hopped onto the swing, standing up instead of sitting simply because she felt like it. She had the time again to spend mass amounts of life on things that would cause hoy, not anything else and she had been sticking to that mentality for the months after the battle. The only time it did not happen was when she was at Billy's, he would get her full and undivided attention. She would revolve around him and his wants, even if that meant just taking a simple night drive to the beach one evening after he had suggested it. It was something of nostalgic to the both of them, given that it was the last place that they had spent time together before she left Forks for the first time. She fell into the memory of that day as she swung back and forth, looking down off the edge as she swung forward and tipping her head back on the swing backwards.
"Be careful, you'll fall off at this rate," he chuckled, having sat up on the ground and watched her for a few minutes. During which he laughed to himself, wondering what she was so deeply thinking about.
She laughed as she swung out again, still looking down at her feet, "Well if I fall, I'll get to experience what it is to fly for a moment before flipping and landing perfectly."
"Darlin," he cleared his throat, walking toward her ever so quickly. "A question?" She could hear a certain degree of emotion in his voice but chose not to delve too deeply into it as her mind became distracted by the familiarity of her answer.
She fought back a grin and laughed softly, "Shoot."
"Marry me?" She near slipped then and there, grip on the rope breaking so much so that Jasper leant forward to catch her if she should fall - a reflex that wasn't needed yet he still felt the urge to do so.
"Excuse me?" she laughed as if it had been a joke, not that she wanted it to be a joke it just seemed to be so abrupt. Unexpected. She turned to him with the laugh still falling from her lips and fell immediately silent at the ring sat in a most gorgeous mahogany coloured box. "Lucifer-" she blurted, swinging out once even though she had stopped distributing her weight. Once it reached the back, she jumped off and landed on her feet, meeting gazes with a man still awaiting an answer to a question that would have a drastic effect. She sighed jokingly, putting on her natural English accent as she replied, "Oh come on Whitlock, you must do these things properly. I won't answer unless you do so."
He chuckled and looked down to the floor, playing along with the joke (sort of joke) as he took to one knee. It felt more real for her then and she found herself blinking, delving into her own mind to see if she had created something within her mind that looked and felt ever so real. She could have worn her heartbeat quickened at the shocking prospect that did feel ever so right.
"I don't need Alice to tell me that you are the sole thing in the future that will forever be there, even though she has tried," he chuckled, trailing off for a moment. "I just can't imagine anyone else I'd rather spend eternity with. Anyone more caring, entertaining or so incredible at always knowing the right things to say. You are the single person in life that can tell what I am feeling just by a glance and once you know you don't ask thousands of questions or try to make me feel better, you're just there and it is the most perfect way to do so - for me anyway. I am never bored with you, even though all the time we spend and will spend together I know that I will never be bored. I adore you Athena and have since the day in the rain, where you let me into a glimpse of your world without a second thought. So, Miss Athena Bell, would you do me the absolute and utmost honour of becoming my wife."
"Yes," she whispered quicker than a heartbeat. "Yes more times anyone can count." They both shared a greatly similar grin before he hopped up just as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He laughed joyfully, something she heard ever so rarely, as he lifted her up off her feet and spun the two of them around - adding to her laughter that was such music to his ears.
Once the hug broke, the ring that they had both momentary forgotten about was slipped onto her finger. The ring itself was simple in the most perfect way and it wasn't too different to the ones she normally wore yet it was different enough to make it seem even more special. "It was my mothers," he whispered as she stared at the ring on her finger with such a grin. It sat next to the Cullen crest ring, one which held much more meaning now.
Her eyes widened and she looked back up to him, half gasping, "A family heirloom?"
"As you've always wanted," he smiled at her pure joy that escaped partly in an uncontrollable squeal that she regretted as soon as it happened. She could not focus on it for long, instead deciding to hug him tightly once more.
She, while still wrapped in his arms, muttered into his shoulder, "You really do know Athena world, don't you?"
"I like to think so, why is there a test?"
"No but you would already pass it with flying colours," she grinned, half pulling away from the hug as his arms remained wrapped around her waist.
"I love you more than words can even describe," he whispered. "And I've been trying to think of some for a long while."
She chuckled, kissing his lips briefly, "You do seem to have a slight struggle with that don't you?"
"Not all of us can be world-famous writers," he smirked softly.
She rolled her eyes jokingly, whispering back, "Love you too Whitlock, entirely."