flamebrand | [ CLOSED TO NOBURDEN. ]

[She acknowledges the stool with a polite nod and a smile, but she's more interested in his little collection here. Clive does like his mementos. His wall at the Hideaway, his collection of books he once had in his room, this place. He's far more sentimental than some would give him credit for. It's just one of many things Jill adores about him.

Terrible, that he would find more comfort here than in his mother's arms. Jill's memories of her own mother fade with each passing year, but she does remember her embrace. Enjoying it. Seeking it out for comfort, and longing for it once she found herself in Rosaria, knowing she'd never see her parents again. She knows her mother mourned her. Anabella likely only ever mourned that Clive was born at all.]

It was cruel that you were made to feel that way. [And, again, his father was not innocent in that. Jill steps over to Clive to put a hand on his arm, nothing but sympathy in her eyes.] I wish I had the courage and the words then to tell you I saw it. That you weren't alone.

[But, as she'd only just said: they were children. So young.]

[ So young. All of them too young for the trials that came too early. Jill had everything taken from her― her homeland to the Blight, her family by Rosaria― and yet, she still had so much grace for the family that displaced her. So much so that she's still here, with him, placing her heart in his undeserving hands.

She's more than anyone deserves. The strongest, noblest soul that Clive knows. He feels her touch against his arm, and feels bolstered in a way that he knows nothing and no one else could ever replicate. ]

I wasn't. [ Turning to her, he reaches with both hands to frame her shoulders. Gently, but firmly. ] I know now that you were the home that I'd returned to, after spending my darkest hours in this place.

[ She would always find him, and would always smile at him with those beautiful, sad eyes― almost as if she knew, and didn't have the heart to say. ]

I was never alone, Jill. Because I had you.

[To know, even belatedly, soothes something in her heart. She smiles as she places her hands on his wrists, holding simply to hold.]

And you'll never be alone. Because you have me.

[There are more people in his life that openly care for him now, and Jill is so very grateful for that. People that love him for him, and not for any title or banner or service. As it always should have been.

But she has no plan to ever leave his side. She's meant to be wherever he is.]

[ Because you have me.

It's indescribable, how that makes him feel. Warm, proud, full of purpose. Like he finally has the courage to do anything it takes to make sure that there's a kind, gentle world that he and Jill can live in until the end of their days, like he could endure anything just for the barest glimpse of Jill's smile.

He loves her. She must know― and she does. They've held this truth for ages now, sanctified it in their silence. But it bears saying, and more importantly, Clive wants to say it. Needs to. It's an emotion decades in the making, fortified and forged in pain and uncertainty and everything they've ever shared during a lifetime that's been more difficult than not.

He loves her. He lifts one hand off Jill's shoulder to brush a piece of hair from her face, and he thinks he must be trembling. ]

You are everything to me.

[ A thumb sweeps over the crest of her cheekbones. ]

My moon, my stars, my life. Jill― [ His breath shudders once, but steadies on the next exhale. ]

―I love you.

[She does know. She's never happier than she is beside him. These new days together, embracing the adoration and respect between them, have been some of the best of her life. As she looks upon the face of the man she loves, she can see how important she is to him, even without the words. It feels right. They're supposed to be together. Everything that's happened--good and bad--has led them here.

So, when he says the words, Jill isn't surprised. Her thumbs brush over his wrists, hoping he can feel it through his armor, her absolute love and support. He loves her, and she loves him, and all is right in the world. Jill can feel her eyes grow misty, smile rounding her cheeks, and she cuts the short distance between them to embrace him.]

Oh, I know. I know. I love you, too.

[She sighs because it is such a relief to finally say the words without stealing the moment from him. The thought makes her laugh, along with the giddy joy of hearing him say the words, and she squeezes him as tightly as she can.]

[ I know has never sounded so sweet, but it's beaten, handily, by I love you, too. His heart swells at the sight of her smile, and nearly bursts when she laughs and pulls her arms around him.

This is the moment he wants to remember until the day he dies. Clive returns the embrace, arms around her middle and face tucked into her hair, eyes a little moist from his own surplus of emotion; he keeps her there for as long as he can manage until the need to kiss her becomes too much to bear, and he dislodges himself for just long enough to tip Jill's chin and press their lips together, sweet and soft. ]

I love you, [ he murmurs again, between kisses. ] I love you, Jill.

[ Like he can't stop saying it, now that he has. It's ridiculous, unfitting of a man well into his thirties, but he doesn't care. ]

[Facing an onslaught of love and sweet kisses, Jill can only laugh between returning those kisses and taking in his happiness.]

I love you, Clive.

[And how easy and effortless that is.]

I can't imagine not loving you. I've loved you nearly my whole life.

[Even when she thought him dead. Even at his worst, when he thought he killed his brother. Nothing could change how she feels.]

[ Clive finally relinquishes the kisses, mostly because he thinks he might smother Jill with them. A breath, slightly short, and he bumps foreheads with her briefly, rubbing noses before he allows her a bit more grace and space. ]

And if you'd do me the honor, may you love me for the rest of it.

[ Together, always. ]

I want my life to be yours.

[Jill closes her eyes as she indulges in his affections. She breathes him in, and when he speaks, her eyes open. Hesitant. Curious. Hopeful.]

Careful. Those sound like vows, Clive.

[... are they?]

[ Ah. Blue eyes widen, and the look on Clive's face says oh shit. ]

I－ [ Invisible dog ears droop. ] ―They are. As much of them as I can make in the moment, mind.

[ Fumbling a little: ] ―I've no rings ready. [ Malewife panic!!! ]

[Oh. Oops. Jill's eyes widen as she realizes she's just caused a panic when she truly didn't mean to--and it makes her heart jump in turn. He's said yes, essentially, but she didn't mean to make him feel unprepared.]

Ah--[In her panic, she grabs his face. Calm!! They've got this.] Wait. It's alright. I didn't mean to put you on the spot, Clive.

[She laughs, jittery, apologetic.]

The answer would be yes, always.

[ Torn between polarities: being impossibly happy that Jill says yes, and a little mortified at himself for jumping the proverbial gun. Clive clears his throat, nuzzles against the palm of Jill's hand, and closes his eyes for a brief moment to regroup.

Panic, begone. Thirty-three years into his life, and he still feels like a boy in front of the woman he loves. ]

―When all of this is over. I promise you, Jill.

[ Rings, his future, a title that isn't Outlaw. He would like to be her husband, if only she'll let him. ]

I know you like to do things properly.

[Like today. It's perfect, to her. A cool afternoon, quiet, private. In this place that meant so much to him. A place that still does. She takes advantage of having his face in her hands to pull him down for a kiss before she goes for another tight embrace, happy.]

I want to see the rest of the world with you, Clive. And, when the time comes, settle down together. Whatever that looks like.

[ No matter how many times they kiss, Clive's heart always flutters afterwards, as if it's the first time he's ever touched her. He wasn't lying when he'd said that she means everything to him, and telling her so here, in this small space where the world sometimes felt insurmountable, puts his current state of things in perspective.

He's lucky. Some people live a lifetime without knowing what it's like to put their heart in someone else's hands. He has never been defined by tragedy, because he'd always had the blessing of the woman he was meant to be with forever.

Nosing against Jill's hair, Clive nods. ]

We will. I'll make sure of it. [ His palm splays at the small of her back, firm and protective. ] ...And you'll have all the freshly-baked bread you can eat.

[ A small, shy laugh. ]

[There's little she wouldn't do to hear that laugh. She snuggles into his embrace, his chest, smiling. Always smiling, with him.]

Is that all it takes to keep me content?

[She teases. She does enjoy her bread--but she would prefer to sink her teeth into him. Convenient, then, that his bare neck is right here! She breathes out a laugh, moving her face to playfully nip at his skin.]

[ A new, exciting thing he's found about Jill, after all these years: she's a biter. It's a thrilling piece of information that Clive is, admittedly, very happy about－ he hasn't said anything for fear of making her think he's a freak, but he huffs pleasantly to the feeling of her teeth in his skin, and rewards her with a combing of fingers through her long hair. ]

I think it might make you happy. [ Obviously, bread is not going to be the end-all be-all of their relationship, but: ] I may even learn to bake, just to please you.

[ haha jk (unless...?) ]

[To be fair, Jill's also found out she's a biter. Perhaps she is because he enjoys it so much, and she thoroughly enjoys getting shivers out of him. Her lips press to his skin after, as always. Affection to soothe the sting.]

Oh, let's not test the depths of your patience.

[Please, Clive. Jill believes in many things, but his ability to bake? Not so much. She laughs as she hugs him.]

I may even manage not to burn anything, [ is definitely an Ifrit-adjacent joke. Sometimes it still feels like it's too soon (it will always feel like it's too soon; Phoenix Gate still looms over him on restless, sleepless nights), but with Jill, even his past sins are easier to bear.

He pulls back, just for the luxury of looking at her. I adore you, he thinks, and the sentiment bleeds into the softening of his expression, the way his ocean-blue eyes gentle. ]

...We should go. I can feel the ghost of my childhood self starting to get jealous.

[Jill laughs, looking upon him with open adoration. He loves her, and she loves him. What else can she need?

She nods, slipping one of her hands into his.]

I wish I could take that boy in my arms and reassure him he's loved. That he'll be alright.

[She'll never forgive Anabella. Or Elwin, she thinks. But that she'll keep that to herself.]

[ It's a sweet sentiment; Clive almost doesn't know what to do with it. But he takes Jill's hand and squeezes it, reassuring her that he appreciates her more than she'll ever know. ]

He'd turn beet-red and go silent, I think.

[ Hopeless. Clive still feels inclined to turn beet-red and go silent, sometimes. ]

That boy had no idea how to express himself around you when he was fifteen.

I think you still would have frozen like that until relatively recently.

[Even her teasing him is done sweetly, her fingers lacing between his. They're both too shy for their own good, sometimes. Not so much with one another anymore. Thankfully.

Her boots almost manage a step before she pauses. Who knows when they'll be here again? She looks to Clive.]

Would you like to bring anything back with us?

[ Accurately called out... another thing Clive is figuring out about himself: he likes being heckled by Jill. It speaks to the fact that she isn't holding her thoughts back as much as she might have before, and feels comfortable enough to demur.

A low laugh, bemused, and then－ a glance over his shoulder at the scattered items still sitting where they used to be in childhood. He gives it some thought, then lets go of Jill's hand to crouch in front of one of the few wooden toys on the floor.

The rocking horse is what he decides on. He straightens up, and holds it up for Jill's appraisal. ]

I could put it next to Little Torgal.

[ the lumpy stuffed toy that he'd brought back to Jill before. it strikes him that he should probably ask Jill to share quarters with him, at some point. ]

[A good choice. Jill reaches out to thumb away some dust, glad he wants to bring something of this place to their home.]

A reminder of two of my favorite days.

[Perhaps a little out of order, falling into bed one day and then saying I love you on another, but they spent enough of their lives following imaginary rules. They can live as they choose.]

You've made me the happiest woman to ever live, Clive.

[Dramatic? Perhaps. Yet Jill means every word.]

[ Every time he thinks he couldn't possibly adore her more, Jill reaches into his heart and makes it grow two times the size of what it was before. It's likely that normal men and women don't fumble for more than two decades with something as simple as being the most important people in each other's lives, but this thing that they have, that they made together―

―this is perfect. Crystalline and everlasting, more so than the big rocks they've been shattering for the past five years. ]

May that hold true, forever.

[ Not just in this moment, but for the rest of her life. He hugs her waist, and rests his lips against the crown of her head. ]

I was born to love you.

Were you? You're three years older than me. I would think it was I that was born to love you.

[Maybe born to lose her family, to endure the pain and misery of the Iron Islands, but to ultimately be with Clive, always. It makes it all seem worthwhile. Especially when she's in his arms, and she feels like nothing bad could possibly happen again.]

Perhaps you were born to be loved by me. I think that sounds better.

[Finally, someone in service to him. It needn't always be him serving others. Doing for others.]

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😭😭😭😭😭😭

🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

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