Relkir took a long, deep breath as they finished up the last few bits of work, jotted a few things down, then picked up an oddly shaped box that had been sitting under their desk all day. The box was a little too big to fit in their satchel, so Relkir carried it under their arm. They hoped no one would notice or stop Relkir to chat, but the walk from their office to the exit did mean going through the main hallway and past the Grand Hall, and that was always busy.
And, much to Relkir’s annoyance, they were almost instantly stopped. As always, their sibling, Rethais, had spotted them and quickly called them over. Worse, they were talking to a couple of Below Twenty Generals, as well as the young Rethan member of the Twelve Anew. Lysar and Ritlir both bowed slightly, but Litvir waved and smiled.
“Little sibling, you look well!” Rethais beamed. “How are you?”
“I am fine. I have plans though. Do you need me for anything?”
“In a rush, are you?” Lysar asked.
Relkir nodded. “Yes. I, uh, have a date tonight.”
“Well, we will not keep you then!” Ritlir grinned.
“Congratulations too! Wait…” Litvir suddenly stopped. “I am sorry… I did the mind thing again…”
Relkir eyed Litvir somewhat, then sighed. “I appreciate the optimism. I shall speak to you all later. I do not want to get caught up.”
The High Advisor sighed some more, then rushed off. Once the coast was clear, Ritlir immediately turned to Litvir.
“What did you mean by that?”
“Um… I… I cannot say… It would be best for Relkir to tell you themselves, tomorrow.”
Relkir had heard Litvir’s words and was glad that the kid was a good one. But Relkir needed to pick up the pace. They got the first bus home, had a very quick shower, changed into some armour that was fancy but not too fancy (gun metal with a red trim, red stomach wrap and loin cloth and a matching short grey cape) then grabbed a few things out of the fridge, namely a cake and two bottles of very nice mead. Everything was thrown into a large picnic basket, alongside some cutlery and other edible items.
With everything packed up and ready to go, Relkir headed back out again. Their destination was a small flower park. One they had been to a few times. One of their favourite places to visit.
Since the basket was heavy, Relkir opted to take the bus again. Today’s bus was two minutes late, but that didn’t bother Relkir too much. They had planned ahead. And, thankfully, what with it being a forthday (a Thursday to non-Rethans), the flower park was rather quiet. It only got busy on the weekends, when the local Junior Stratoi emptied out.
Relkir glanced around, looking for a particular bench. The one they wanted was still somewhat in the sun, but that didn’t matter. Relkir laid out a blanket, got out some glasses, arranged a small plate of snacks and the cake, then waited patiently, holding the strangely shaped box on their lap.
About five minutes later, Relkir spotted their beloved poten-partner. Gath, wandering around, wearing casual armour. Gath glanced down at their phone, clearly checking that they were in the right place, then looked up and quickly spotted Relkir. They grinned, then stomped over. Gath kinda stomped everywhere, they couldn’t help it, what with them being huge.
“Relkir, my dear! How are you?” Gath almost shouted.
“I… I am good… a bit… uh…” Relkir stumbled over their words for a moment.
“You seem flustered.”
“I am, yes. But… for good reason.”
“Oh?”
Gath went to sit down, but Relkir quickly stopped them, awkwardly opened up the box they were holding and pulled out two small daggers, both with ribbon tied to the end. Relkir then got down on one knee, placing one dagger on their lap and holding the other in both hands, held up towards Gath.
“I know that, legally, I should not be doing this. I am a captain, you are a general, it is improper. But… I do not care. We do not have forever. Already, we have been together for six months, and these six months… apart from the last 11th… have been the best six months of my life. I want to make it so the rest of your life, and as much of my life as possible, are just as wonderful and full of love as the last six months have been.”
Gath blinked, utterly speechless. Relkir took a deep breath, then said what they really, desperately wanted to say.
“I love you more than literally anything. I want to be with you, forever. Gath, my beloved, can I be your partner, officially, and forever?”
Gath stuttered, then got down on their knees, taking the dagger from Relkir’s hands. “Yes. Yes, I want you to be my partner, forever! There is no other answer!”
“R-really?”
“Of course!” Gath threw their arms around Relkir, hugging them tightly. “You fill the hole in my spirit, Relkir. I want us to be partners, until the very end. I want to marry you. And I am so happy you want to marry me. Even if this proposal is technically not official.”
Relkir sighed, and whimpered slightly, muttering something about captains not being allowed to propose to generals, but Gath lifted Relkir to their feet.
“I do not care. We can do an official proposal some other time. As far as I am concerned, we are partners now. And I shall wear your gifted dagger with pride and honour. For you are the most perfect person ever, a bright, guiding light illuminating the darkness in my heart and mind.”
“And you are also perfect!” Relkir exclaimed, tears streaming down their face. “You are a beautiful geode, steady and powerful on the outside, a glimmering beacon of hope and promise on the inside, still holding together after so much pain. I want to take your pain away, forever. To give you the life and love that was taken away from you…”
“And you will…” Gath was tearing up as well, and they gently wiped away Relkir’s tears.
“So we will be partners? You will marry me?”
“Yes. Forever, yes.”
Relkir broke down completely in tears, then wrapped their arms around Gath, sobbing loudly, utterly overcome with emotion. Gath patted them on the back, then sat Relkir down on the bench, before taking the dagger Relkir had given them and using the ribbon to tie the dagger around their neck. Once Relkir had settled down, Gath took their second dagger and tied that around Relkir’s neck.
“From now on, we are not poten-partners. We are partners proper. Yes, my dear?”
Relkir took a deep breath and wiped their eyes. “Yes… I am sorry, I… I have been terrified that you might say no… But… you did not… All is well with the universe…”
“Indeed. We should celebrate. With… Is that a strawberry meringue cake?”
“Yes.”
“My favourite?”
“Of course.”
Gath grinned, cut themselves a large piece, then playfully fed it to Relkir.
“I love you, my dear little Relkir.”
Relkir quickly chewed and swallowed, then kissed Gath deeply.
“I love you too, my darling forever partner…”