She leaned forward, her hand brushing his hair back from his forehead, her thumb tracing the edge of his ear.
And then she whispered so quietly that even the bamboo had to lean in to hear —
"Get up, you fool."
Gray blinked, stunned. "But—"
She didn't let him finish. She pulled him up by his collar, until their lips almost brushed.
"I said 'forever' long before you asked," she breathed, her voice like silk and knives all at once. "Don't ever forget that."
And when she kissed him — under the stars, beside the endless hush of the waterfall, it felt like the whole forest sighed in relief, finally sure that even darkness couldn't steal this away from them.
He slipped the ring onto her finger, his hands trembling just slightly from the sheer, overwhelming rush of it all. The cool ring slid over her skin, settling perfectly where it belonged, like it had been waiting there all along.
