Jennie woke with a start. At first, she wasn't sure why she was awake, but then, she felt it. Something was on her face. Frantically, she pawed at the air, trying to push the... whatever it was, away. It was light and felt like... gossamer? And everywhere she pushed at it, there just seemed to be more. Her sleepy brain finally put it together. The mosquito net that she had been sleeping under had detached from its place and settled on her face instead. Scrambling up as quietly as she could, she pinned it back to the top of the headboard, and settled back down, but unfortunately for her companion, her elbow landed on her hair, pulling it hard.
"Oooowwwwww Jennie," Lisa whined, waving a tired hand in the air towards Jennie's face. "You're on my hair!"
"Sorry!" Jennie stage-whispered, before lying back down and pulling the covers back up. As she lay there though, she got a fit of the giggles, and no matter how she tried to stop herself, she could feel the bed silently shaking beneath her as she tried to stifle her laughter.
Lisa groaned and rolled over. "Jennieeee..."
"Sorry, sorry, I'm trying to stop," Jennie said, her pitch climbing higher as she failed to stop laughing.
Lisa shoved her gently in the back and grumbled, "go read a book or something if you're going to keep laughing!"
Jennie climbed out of bed, her hand over her mouth, and picked up her book and her cell phone from the nightstand before padding out of the small bedroom and into the spare room at the end of the hall. It wasn't long before dawn, and she sat down on the sofa and switched the light on.
It was December and they were in New Zealand. Neither Lisa nor Jennie had ever been, and over dinner on the one-year anniversary of the day Lisa spilled coffee on her, they'd decided on a whim one day to book flights down to the country to spend Christmas, their second together, somewhere warm, just for the novelty of it. Lisa hadn't banked on it being quite as warm as it was, and was spending most of the days melting, all of her cardigans forgotten. Jennie acclimatized quicker to the heat, somehow, although she did tend to stay out of the sun as much as she could anyway.
Jennie let Lisa choose the places they were going to stay, handing over her credit card in order to make the bookings, and perhaps that was why they were now staying in the middle of nowhere, in a rustic loft in a converted barn on a working farm, with a composting toilet Jennie had been almost too terrified to use and chickens clucking and scratching around the ground floor. There were more spiders in the shower room, which was almost entirely open to the elements on one whole side, than she had ever seen in her life, and she had to wedge the door shut in order to keep the chickens from joining her in the shower. On the other hand, they did have freshly laid eggs in the mornings, which Jennie had cooked, crouched over the tiny stove which was, for some inexplicable reason, in the bedroom.
It was an extremely peaceful place, she had to admit. There was a river nearby and the sound of it had lulled them to sleep the night before. Although, she had been rather shocked when she opened the window the first day in this particular room and come face to face with a cow, which had come over to inspect the noise coming from the building.
Lisa had declared that they were "going on an adventure!" and enthusiastically waved a map around when it came to their three weeks driving around the North Island of New Zealand. Jennie had kissed her for getting the geeky reference in there, and they'd booked several sights. The first place they'd stayed was in Auckland, and they'd spent several happy days wandering around the city, Jennie taking in the museums. She was very happy to not be recognized very often, and the staff in restaurants mostly left them alone. They took boat tours, enjoyed the fresh sushi available practically everywhere, and took walks around the city parks.
After that, they'd driven down to Raglan, taking the long way. Lisa, it turned out, was something of a speed demon when it came to driving, and the slow speed limits New Zealand set on their highways caused many a curse and much laughter on Jennie's part. The dearth of any services along the roads ("Jennie, there's been no coffee for miles!") meant that once they found a convenience store, they stocked their rental car with every snack and variety of drink they thought they (and by they, Jennie thought wryly, they meant Lisa) could ever need. They ate fresh fish and chips near a beach in Raglan, Jennie pulling out her camera and taking photos of the seemingly endless numbers of seagulls that watched them as they ate, hoping for scraps. At one point, Lisa had thrown a fry at a group of them and it resulted in a maelstrom of wings flapping around Lisa. The photo that Jennie took of that moment was certainly going to be framed and put up on their living room wall at home.
Thankfully having left the composting toilet behind, they'd driven across to Lake Taupo, which was in the caldera of Mount Taupo, an active volcano. They rented a private lakeside cabin, called a bach, and spent a few days enjoying the BBQ on the deck, hunting for the best natural pumice stones on the lakeside, the natural hot springs, and each other. Jennie was letting her hair dry naturally almost all the time during the trip, and although she missed her straighteners, she had to admit that she was glad not to have to put hot irons next to her face in all this heat. The bonus was that Lisa really seemed to enjoy her wavy hair, and she often caught Lisa looking at her with darkened eyes, or touching her hair far more often than she normally did. Jennie loved the way that Lisa looked at her.
On their third day of staying at Lake Taupo, Lisa had driven them out to Waitomo and surprised her with a trip through the glow worm caves. Unbeknownst to Jennie, Lisa booked not just their ride and all the seats on it, but also the entirety of the ride behind them, so that they could have a double-length trip through the caves. Jennie wished that she could've taken photos, but as a scientist herself, understood the need to preserve their environment as much as possible, and instead spent the whole ride gazing at the ceiling at all the millions of little lights, clutching tightly to Lisa's hand. It was one of the most magical afternoons of her life. Lisa had looked almost bashful once they'd got out of the boat the other end, but Jennie had thrown herself into Lisa's arms and kissed her deeply, hoping that and the tears in her eyes conveyed her thanks the way she wanted to. Lisa's cheeks had turned red and her eyes darkened, and Jennie knew that she'd be thanking her even more thoroughly later that evening. And she did.
Two days after that, they'd driven to the Hobbiton movie set, and Jennie could barely contain her excitement on the little bus through the countryside to the set. She'd never felt more like a child than she did at that moment, almost bouncing in her seat while Lisa wore a pleased smile. She took photos of everything, from seemingly every angle. She made Lisa pose in front of essentially every hobbit hole, and eagerly climbed into the only one they were allowed to enter so that she could get a photo of her looking out, as if she lived there. The selfie they took of them both at Bag End was going up on their wall at home as well. They enjoyed their cider in the Green Dragon, sipping it near the fire despite the temperature, and on the bus back to the car park, Lisa slyly unzipped their backpack to show her the cups they'd drunk from. Jennie was at first about to tell the driver to turn around, but then Lisa revealed that she'd actually paid the bartender for them in the end, so that they could keep this little souvenir of their trip to Middle Earth.
They'd visited many more places on their way back up the island, and later that week as they were staying back up in Auckland, Lisa was sleeping and Jennie was thinking about what the next day would bring. As she lay there on the sofa in the hotel room, the dim light of the lamp holding away the darkness and a book held on her lap, she let her mind wander back.
-----
"Jennie! I can't find my other shoe!" Lisa called from the bedroom. Jennie rolled her eyes through the mirror at her assistant and they shared a smile as Lisa blew back out of the bedroom, holding a high heel in one hand and a sneaker in the other. "Why is there a sneaker where my other shoe should be?!" she exclaimed, clearly resisting the urge to run her hand through her carefully coiffed hair.
"I'm not sure, darling," Jennie replied. "They're both your shoes. Have you checked the bathroom?"
"Why would it be in the bathroom?" Lisa huffed, before stomping down the hall to check anyway. She came back thirty seconds later with a sheepish look on her face, holding up both heels, clearing her throat. "Found them," she said.
Jennie laughed to herself. Tonight was the premiere of Space Pirates, and Lisa was going along as her date. It had been several months since they finished filming, and it was early January. The producers had decided to release it alongside all the Oscar-worthy films, for a bit of comedic relief. Nobody had been able to think of a better title than that, and Jennie was sentimentally attached to it anyway, what with it being called that when she had stayed with Lisa during that week last summer. She was excited for Lisa to finally see it, but Lisa was currently stressing so much about walking the red carpet for her to give even a passing thought to anything else.
The assistant had wisely decided to dress Lisa first, and she was wearing a floor-length gown with beads crisscrossing the bodice. It was a pale gold color, and it was accented with rose gold strands woven throughout, which somehow made the deep brown of Lisa's eyes stand out even more. Jennie sighed as she looked at her. Lisa was so beautiful; she didn't even know how beautiful she was. She had the kind of face that people smiled at, and everyone always wanted to talk to her. Jennie was quite happy to slide into the background as much as she was able while at social gatherings and letting Lisa hold the floor with her smiles and laughter. But today, she was flipping out.
The assistant put the finishing touches in her hair and Jennie got up off her chair and walked over to Lisa, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Lisa! You need to get up, you'll get loads of wrinkles in your dress before we've even got in the limo," Jennie exclaimed, before crouching down to strap Lisa's shoes up herself. Jennie wasn't yet in her dress, still just wearing a zip-up hoody and jogging bottoms. Once that was done, Jennie stood up and Lisa steadied herself, holding onto Jennie's shoulders.
"I had no idea getting ready like this took so long," Lisa mumbled to herself.
Jennie ran her hands down Lisa's forearms and kissed her cheek. "Are you alright, darling?"
Lisa blew out a breath. "I'm okay, I think. I'm just worried about falling flat on my face in front of all the photographers."
"Can I let you in on a little secret?" Jennie said slyly.
"Sure?"
"Everyone worries about that! Remember that time Jennifer Lawrence fell over at the Oscars?"
"You're not helping Jennie!"
"You just have to laugh it off, if it does happen, which it won't," Jennie said firmly.
"Do you promise?" Lisa asked her, and Jennie laughed. As if she had any control over it whether or not Lisa fell over when she herself would be trying her best not to trip.
"I'll cast a levitating spell before we get out of the limo," she said with a wink, and Lisa whacked her gently across the top of her arm.
"Some help you are," she grumbled, but she was wearing a big smile.
Jennie hesitated for a second before walking over to the nightstand in her bedroom, taking something out, and walking back over to Lisa, who was watching her curiously. Jennie stopped in front of her, much shorter than Lisa now that she was barefoot and Lisa had her heels on. She looked up at Lisa. "I was going to talk to you about this later tonight," she said, bringing one of Lisa's hands up and placing her own closed fist over it. "But I think you need something to maybe, I hope, be excited about, instead of just being nervous about tonight."
"What's up, Jennie?" Lisa replied.
Jennie swallowed her own nerves. She hadn't really had time to feel jittery about this step yet herself, but jumping in with both feet seemed to be something she did these days. She opened her fist and dropped a shiny key into Lisa's palm.
"I... I've been thinking about this and you spend so much time here already, and your clothes are filling up my closet, and your stuff is filling up my bathroom, and your painting supplies take up most of the living room and the office, so I... so I- I wondered whether you might like to make it official and... and move in with me," Jennie stuttered out, feeling her voice waver. "And I know we'd have to get you set up with the biometrics before the keyhole even appears but I thought this would be-"
Lisa cut off her babbling with a gentle kiss, barely moving so that she didn't smudge her professionally applied lipstick, and Jennie sighed happily.
"I'd love to move in with you, Jennie! You're such a sweetheart. Were you really shy about asking me to officially move in with you? Because... you really do look shy right now," Lisa said, moving to hug Jennie softly, enveloping Jennie with the subtle scent of her perfume and washing away all of Jennie's nerves all at once.
"I was, but... I have no idea why now," Jennie said, laughing against Lisa's collarbone, bringing a hand up to rest her hand against Lisa's heartbeat.
"I feel as if I'm home when I'm here, Jennie," Lisa said softly. "I can't wait."
An hour later, they were in the limo, heading towards the premiere. Lisa had almost stopped being nervous. Almost. She didn't say much in the car, but she did squeeze Jennie's hand. As they pulled up outside, the cameras started flashing. Jennie was wearing a deep green satin down, and her hair was half clipped up in an elaborate twist, and the rest swept across her shoulders. She looked as good as she could possibly look, and she looked over at Lisa as her driver got out and started his walk around the car to open her door.
"Ready, darling?"
"Mmhmm," Lisa squeaked.
"I love you."
Lisa smiled at her. "I love you too," she replied, and then the door opened and Jennie stepped out.
The cameras flashed all around them as Jennie posed slightly by the car for a second, before she turned around and held her hand out to Lisa, who slid out after her. Jennie rested her hand at the base of Lisa's spine and kissed her on the cheek. They made their way slowly down the red carpet, and Jennie could feel the tension in Lisa's back fade slowly as she made it closer and closer to the door without falling over something. By the time they were halfway down, she was waving shyly to the cameras and the press. Jennie stopped to speak to some of the press and they asked Lisa questions as well, some mistaking her for another actress in the movie, and Lisa's blush was captured on camera forever more. By the time they got to the door, neither of them had fallen over, and Jennie reached up to hold Lisa's face between her hands, pressing a gentle kiss to Lisa's lips. Jennie felt Lisa's hands settle on her waist, and the cameras caught their smiles even as they kissed.
That photo ended up being the first one they put up on the wall of their new home when they moved into it, only a few months after Lisa moved into Jennie's flat, both of them wearing dusty, paint-covered clothes and their hair tied up messily, their smiles wide. And they'd laughed and laughed as they recalled that Jennie had been the one to trip up a step not long after they got inside, Lisa catching her before she fell. Lisa would always catch her, Jennie knew, in every way. And she couldn't be happier about it.
-----
The next thing Jennie knew, Lisa was shaking her awake the next morning and holding out a hot chocolate covered with a mound of marshmallows. "Did you sleep here all night?" she asked.
Jennie roused herself and took the hot chocolate from Lisa. "I... guess I did," she murmured, before taking a sip. It was delicious.
"That's no good for your back, you know," Lisa said, tutting at her good-naturedly. "So what's the plan today?"
Jennie set the hot chocolate down on the table in front of her, hoping that her shaking hands weren't obvious at all. "I thought we'd go for a walk this afternoon on a beach that has black sand," she said.
"Black sand?!" Lisa squeaked, looking as if all her Christmases had come at once.
"Yeah," Jennie said, "there are black sand beaches here. I thought we could go to one and we could build a seriously gothic sandcastle."
Lisa leaned down and kissed Jennie firmly on the mouth before slipping into the bathroom to get ready to go, Jennie advising she wore dark clothes that she wouldn't mind getting ruined.
While Lisa was in the bathroom, Jennie dug into the inside pocket of her suitcase and pulled something out of it, shoving it deep in the pocket of the backpack she was going to be bringing with her. They spent the morning relaxing in Auckland, browsing bookshops for books to read on the flight home late the next day, and buying food, snacks, and wine for their dinner on the beach later.
Lisa spent the whole drive to the beach musing out loud about what the black sand would be like and whether it was really as black as it looked in photos. Jennie drove, and they both sang along to the radio as they drove closer to Karioitahi beach.
The excited shout that Lisa let out when they got onto the beach was worth the drive here, Jennie thought, smiling as Lisa pulled her flip flops off and dug her toes into the sand, turning around and giving Jennie the most delighted smile she'd seen this trip. Jennie hauled all their buckets and little spades with them as they walked along the beach, finding it almost empty of other people, and found a good spot to build their castle. Lisa dropped their packed dinner on a blanket that she spread out and immediately set about digging sand into one of the buckets.
Jennie joined in, throwing herself down in the sand and filling buckets right alongside Lisa. They laughed like children as they slowly built a multi-tiered black sandcastle, complete with little sticks to make a drawbridge and defenses. Lisa went hunting and found little scraps of fabric in the dunes, and she sat for a while pulling sticks apart enough to put the fabric between the parts, making little flags that she then stuck on the turrets, her face set in concentration. Jennie made little people out of small piles of stones, and drew faces on them with an old sharpie she'd found in the backpack.
When they were finished building, they carefully dug a moat around the castle and Jennie wiped her hands on her shirt before taking photos of the castle and them with the castle. It was a monstrosity, bristling with stick defenses and the black sand made it look really imposing.
They washed their hands in the sea, ate their food, and pulled out a couple of the books they'd bought earlier. Jennie had bought several, her nerves getting the better of her and wanting something to do with her hands, even if that was carrying a small stack of books around a shop while Lisa debated buying a new copy of the last Harry Potter for the plane trip, even though she already had two copies at home. She also drew out a little velvet box and stuffed it quickly into her pocket before Lisa could see.
As the time drew closer, Jennie could feel the butterflies swirling around her stomach and she found she was clearing her throat a few too many times. As the sun started to set, turning the sky wonderful colors, Lisa wandered off to take a photo of the sky. When she came back, asked Jennie something she didn't properly hear and she was so startled that she dropped her plastic cup of wine in the sand.
"Jennie? Are you alright?" Lisa said, looking concerned. "You've been a little weird all day."
"Have I?" Jennie asked, heaving herself inelegantly to her feet and brushing the sand off her hands as best she could onto her shirt, which was now covered in black streaks. Oh well. It would have to do.
"Yeah," Lisa frowned. "You told me in the bookstore earlier that you'd never read the Lord of the Rings even though I know for a fact you've read it five times. Even the appendices."
"Oh, um, maybe I just forgot," Jennie mumbled, before turning to look at the sunset. "Lisa, look. It's so beautiful."
Lisa gave her one last look before she, too, turned to gaze at it. Jennie slipped her hand into Lisa's, and was glad that that it was, mercifully, not shaking. She took heart from that. "It's not as beautiful as you though."
Lisa squeezed Jennie's hand, but didn't take her eyes off the sunset. "Nothing I've ever seen is as lovely as you, Jennie."
"Lisa, darling," Jennie said, the tremor in her voice clear, and Lisa's head snapped around to look at her.
"What is it? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay, well," and Jennie laughed nervously, before blowing out a big breath. "I'm fine, Lisa, really. Better than fine. I just wanted to say that this whole trip has been amazing, and it's been so great to be able to share this experience with you. And... I want to share everything with you." Jennie shoved her hand in her pocket and closed her fingers around the velvet box. "My whole life I've never had anyone to really share things with. My family is a disaster that will go down in history, and my career means that most people around me don't feel... real, in so many ways. I've never felt like there was someone around me who cared about me, and what you did at the Waitomo caves was so wonderful, and..."
Jennie pulled the box out of her pocket and fiddled with it for a second. She saw Lisa's eyes glance down to it, and then widen as she looked back up, eyes locking with cat eyes. "Jennie?"
Jennie let out a slight laugh, before she looked at Lisa and around at the sunset. It was beautiful, but the woman standing in front of her outshone everyone and everything this world had to offer, at least for Jennie. So she knelt down on one knee, and Lisa's breath caught audibly.
"And I've never felt like this. And... I've never been in love before. I've never felt this overwhelming need to make sure that someone that I love is taken care of and looked after. I've never woken up before wondering how I can spend the day making someone laugh, or memorized someone else's Chinese takeout order. I've never stayed up late talking to someone about a painting they're doing that I've never even seen. I live for waking up in the morning next to you, and I'm sorry I seem to take up so much space in the bed despite being shorter than you. I've never been happier than I am when I'm around you," Jennie smiled, tears escaping her eyes and rolling down her face. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. You have the most wonderful soul, and... you're my sunshine. I... I stand in my own light, as we all do, but I want to be warmed by your sunshine forever. Will you make me the happiest woman in the world, Lisa Manoban, by being mine forever? I'm already yours. Will you marry me?"
Tears were streaming down her face, and Jennie opened the box to reveal a platinum ring with a small, oval, light green emerald, with smaller diamonds on either side. It was a simple ring, but Jennie had had it specially made in Ireland when they'd flown over for a week's getaway earlier in the year. Lisa wasn't ostentatious, and Jennie didn't think she'd want an over the top ring. The ring and the stones were beautiful, but nothing could eclipse the woman she wanted to wear it.
Jennie looked up at Lisa, who was wiping away tears on her own face even as she was smiling like Jennie had never seen her smile before, and her heart tipped over in her chest as Lisa pulled her to her feet, her legs feeling like jelly underneath her. Lisa pressed herself against Jennie, digging her hands into her hair, and kissed her.
"Jennie Kim, you charming, gorgeous soul! Of course I'll marry you, of course I will!" she whispered against Jennie's lips, her breath catching on the words as she fought back her emotion. Jennie could feel Lisa's hands shaking as she pulled them from her hair and settled on her shoulders.
An uncontrollable smile spread across Jennie's face, and she pulled the ring gently from the box. Lisa brought her left hand down, and Jennie slipped the ring onto Lisa's ring finger, before staring at it for a moment or two. She had hoped so much that Lisa would say yes, and now that the ring was on her finger... she threw herself into Lisa's arms, and Lisa swung her around and kissed her once again, almost dipping her, before they both started to laugh as they clung to each other.
And as the sun set on the beach in New Zealand, they sat on the blanket enjoying the last colors of the sunset. Jennie was leaning back against Lisa's chest with her arms wrapped around her waist, enjoying the feeling of knowing Lisa was always going to be there. Lisa had banished her loneliness, brought her back to herself, and healed a heart she'd never known was empty until Lisa had shown her just how full it could be. And now they were engaged. Jennie felt her smile stretching even further. She couldn't wait to see what the future brought them, where it would take them. Time spent with Lisa felt like an adventure.
"I want to get you a ring too," Lisa murmured into Jennie's ear.
"I'd love that," Jennie breathed, entwining her fingers with Lisa's, the unfamiliar feeling of the ring against her finger making her smile. "I'd love to show the whole world that we chose each other."
"Jennie?"
"Yes, darling?"
"Can we have potstickers at the wedding?"
-----
THE END