#did I completely make up his propasal? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lilyharvord · 4 years

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Like Real People Do

Hahahahah I dont want to write for my series fics. So here, have this instead. (:

“Mr. Barrow?”

Daniel looked up from the carving in his hands, he had been whittling for the better part of an hour on the balcony of the Barrow’s townhouse, enjoying the evening sunshine and letting it warm his aching joints. The cold mountain air, while refreshing, sometimes drove old pains to the surface. Phantom aches, Ruth always chided when he complained. He was healthier than he had even been in his life, and although he was grateful for the work of the silver healer, he still felt a twinge of deeply seated resentment that it had taken her hands to heal him. He would never truly voice that thought though.

Standing the doorway, looking more like a child about to be chastised than the man Daniel knew him to be, Cal seemed to try and make himself smaller while he waited to be acknowledged. Grunting and waving him out with the whittling knife, Daniel said, “You don’t need to sulk in the doorway.” Cal slipped out then, looking even more uncomfortable as he eyed that knife, if that were even possible. Daniel frowned at him still before looking back down at his carving. “And I’ve told you at least ten times now that you can call me Daniel. I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that my family has no sense of decorum.”

Cal laughed softly at that, before sinking down into the other chair. He laughed more and more these days, Daniel thought, and Mare did too. Glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, Daniel wondered why exactly Cal had decided to come sit out here when he knew for a fact that the whole family was sitting inside playing some game or another. He could hear the shouts of all his children as they played, and the shriek of his only grandchild as she played as well.

Of course, Daniel had learned that like him, Cal seemed to seek out solitude every so often. Mare always teased him about dropping into moods, but Daniel knew his daughter had her moments too. And while he had been very much opposed to the rekindling of her affair with the young man across from him, he had to admit that over the past few years, he had begun to notice the connection his youngest daughter always commented about. He didn’t agree they had been built for each other like Gisa claimed. Then again, he and Ruth hadn’t exactly fit together perfectly the first time either. Relations were like carvings though, the true image never appeared while you were working. It was only after a few final, very carefully planned steps that the final carving could be seen.

“If they’re being too much for you, no one would miss you slipping out.” Daniel observed, when he heard Clara’s airy peal of laughter quickly followed by her shouting at her mother for cheating.

The bitter seed that had been planted in him from the time he was young always seemed to uncoil a bit every time he saw or heard that little girl laugh. He knew Ruth felt the same way, and that she had been keeping a very close eye on their eldest daughter who had been spending more than enough time with Clara lately. Daniel didn’t want to know about his wife sneaking suspicion, and whenever she brought up the idea of moving out of their town house to possibly find a bigger one to fit their growing family inside, Daniel immediately changed the subject. Mare was grown now, old enough to handle herself, but that didn’t change that she was still his first born daughter. Or that he still sometimes saw a screaming, naked toddler running from Ruth while she tried to catch her for a freezing bath.

“It’s not, sir.” Cal said quickly as he scratched at something on the knee of his pants. His eyes kept darting back inside though. Daniel really didn’t have patience for moments like this. He was a blunt man, and hated how the silver sometimes danced around words and phrases like he was searching for the best way to say something. Daniel had already talked to Mare about it and expressed his feelings on the matter. His daughter had pursed her lips in distaste at her father’s comment and said, “he can’t help that. Our family makes him uncomfortable, especially you. He wants to say the right thing and not piss any of you off.” To which Daniel had fired back that Cal wouldn’t feel that way if he hadn’t royally messed up years ago, and betrayed everything Mare had stood for and what Shade had died for. Mare wouldn’t hear anything about it though. She had moved on supposedly, and wasn’t going to tolerate Daniel continuing to use that moment as a crutch for his argument on why he didn’t like Cal. Only a month later, when Daniel had brought something like that up again, Mare had glared at him across the table and sneered that if he didn’t like that Cal was silver than he should just outright say that and stop pretending there were ulterior motives or reasons behind his dislike. She’d left the family dinner after that, and hadn’t spoken with Daniel for weeks.

Ruth had begged him to apologize, since Mare refused to speak to any of them, and although Daniel had been begrudged about it, he had. He didn’t mind apologizing for what he said, it had been in poor taste and he knew it. He hated that apology though because Mare was probably right, and he had just buried that truth as deep as possible to avoid looking at it.

Still, if Cal had something to say, then he should spit it out and get it over with before Daniel dragged it out of him mercilessly. Glancing back down at his carving that was supposed to be a bird of some sort, Daniel broke the silence with a gruff question, that was safe territory. “How have the States been?”

“Fine, it’s… odd being as removed as I am now.” Cal replied, seeming to relax a bit more in the conversation. “I don’t like being separate from something that was always a large part of my life. It feels like I’m ignore a duty.”

Daniel looked up at that, his interest piqued. Setting his carving on the little table next to him, he eyed Cal closely. He hadn’t changed much in the years following the war. He’d grown out his military haircut, but other than that, he still looked the same. Maybe Mare had spoken to him about the whole word play thing, because that was the bluntest thing Cal had ever said in his presence.

“Can’t imagine.”

“You don’t have to pretend to care,” Cal murmured as he turned his eyes out on the view of the city. Daniel huffed at that. If he didn’t care he wouldn’t have bothered to respond at all.

Still, the sound brought Cal’s eyes back around. His expression could have been cut from stone though. He was a serious person, Daniel knew, which probably balanced well with his daughter’s often bordering on carelessness actions. She at least had someone who could reel her in when she went too far. Someone she could make into a punching bag that could hit back when she hit too hard. He’d seen it before with the two of them. Mare sometimes didn’t know when to quit, and he’d heard more than once her admit to saying something in an argument that she shouldn’t have. Cal had no problem putting her in her place though.

“Contrary to how I may act, I do have a decent amount of respect for you.” Daniel admitted quietly as he folded his hands on his stomach. He had been thinking about that for weeks now, turning it over in his head like a newly minted coin. It took a courage that he did not have to come sulking back with your tail between your legs and admit your wrongdoings. Cal had never stopped apologizing to Mare’s family, and Daniel knew that. He may have stopped saying the words, but they always hung there in every action.

Cal paled in what Daniel had learned was a blush, and he looked down at his hands before saying, “I don’t think you know what that means to me.”

Waving away Cal’s humility, Daniel leaned back in the chair again and sighed heavily when the muscles in his back loosened. Closing his eyes, he let the sun warm his face. He loved it here, loved the mountains and the green smell in the air. He especially loved that he didn’t have to trudge through river slop to get places. He missed Norta though. It had been his home for so long, that he had had trouble adjusting to this life now. Some nights he still woke in the early hours of the morning, expecting to hear the sloshing of the river on the banks.

“I wanted to actually talk to you about something along those lines, sir.” Cal finally said after a few minutes of silence. Daniel grunted as he opened his eyes again. Now they were getting somewhere. If he knew they just had to sit in silence for a little bit, he would have done that a while ago.

Cal paled to the tips of his ears and looked back down at his hands when Daniel dropped his gaze from the sky. He rarely met Daniel’s eye unless he was speaking, and adding sir like he was made Daniel lean forward a bit. His stomach curled like it used to when he went into the trenches. He had a sneaking suspicious of where this conversation was going, and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

“Mare and I have been talking, and discussing things,” Cal kept looking everywhere but Daniel’s direction, and Daniel couldn’t help but sneer.

“Look at me when you’re speaking boy.”

As if that derogatory term had burned him, Cal reeled back to sit ramrod straight in his chair. He swallowed as Daniel set his hands on the arms of his chair. It was strange, having this much power over a man who used to be able to order him to his death. It made that bitter little seed so very happy to see this especially this silver squirm.

Cal swallowed visibly again and with a hesitant smile said, “I love your daughter, more than anything else in this world. She… she’s made into a better man. I couldn’t imagine my life without her.”

Daniel huffed at the wording. This conversation was going exactly where he thought, and he wished that it wasn’t.

“I don’t know what your traditions are, but in court… it was customary to ask for the daughter’s hand and get a blessing. I—I came out here to tell you that if you gave me your blessing, Mare would never want for anything in this life. I would never ever hurt her, or leave her. She wouldn’t have to ask for anything. I would give her the world if she asked it. I will love her in this life and the next, and any that come after that.” Cal gripped the chair arms, and the temperature around them grew unbearably hot for a moment. Daniel felt a bead of sweat roll down his neck, and he reached up to swipe at it in displeasure.

“I want to ask if I can marry her. If I could continue loving—”

“No.” Daniel interrupted stiffly, and if he were a silver, he knew he’d be a shiver with how icy that one word was. Cal froze, and the temperature around them swung the other way so quickly Daniel was surprised frost didn’t form on the metal railing next to them.

“What?” Cal wheezed in reply, that smile falling. Daniel heard rather than saw the way Cal’s entire being cracked down the middle with that single question. “I said no. Is that a word you are unfamiliar with?” Daniel went to pick up his carving again. The conversation was over as far as he was concerned. He had given his answer, and didn’t plan on changing it anytime soon.

“I don’t… I don’t understand.” Cal whispered, and Daniel glared at him.

“You do not have my blessing or my permission. And that will always be my answer.” He turned the carving over in his fingers and began to carve one of the wings more clearly. It was so quiet after his words that he heard every ragged breath Cal took. He didn’t get up from that chair though, and Daniel’s blood boiled in response.

Glaring, Daniel spit, “Do you need permission to get up from your chair?”

“Why?”

Daniel saw the way the metal chair arms were starting to turn red hot under Cal’s grip. At least he wasn’t burning the air around them anymore. A couple chair arms were of no concern. Daniel knew exactly what question Cal wanted answered, and he didn’t mind giving his honest opinion on the matter anymore. “Because while I may have a smidge of respect for you, I don’t like you. You have made sweeping promises to my daughter before, and I’m sure you will continue making sweeping promises and breaking them. You and yours always were very good at doing that.” Daniel carved a small line, and began to work on the feathers.

Cal didn’t move, in fact he seemed rooted to the spot now. The boy’s determination to sit through this was bordering on masochistic at this point. Daniel knew it, and he was willing to feed that. Continuing to burn a hole at the point between Cal’s eyes with his own gaze, Daniel continued, each word cutting as deeply as his whittling knife. “My daughter and the rest of my family may be willing to overlook things to forgive you, but you wronged me and mine too much to earn my forgiveness, let alone my blessing. I won’t give my daughter to you only to regret my decision in a year. I couldn’t protect her before; I will not be helpless to do that again.”

If he had been truly paying attention, he would have heard the silence that had fallen inside. He would have heard the soft creak as someone got up from a chair. But he was warming up, and not planning on stopping any time soon.

“From the moment I learned about my daughter’s decision to rekindle whatever it was the two of you had, I have been wary. As far as I am concerned, you have done nothing to convince me of your full commitment to her. There is nothing you could do in this life or the next, or any after that frankly, that will change my mind on this matter.”

From the look on Cal’s face, Daniel would have caused less pain by stabbing him in the chest. Still, he looked back down at his carving and said, “I have nothing else to say to you on the matter, and I won’t tolerate you bring it up again.”

Cal was quiet for a long time, so long that Daniel finished the first wing and turned his carving over to begin the next. When Cal spoke again though, his voice was like steel, and it cut just as deeply as Daniel’s. “I can see I’ve wasted your time.” The chair legs scrapped on the ground and when he had stood up, he said coolly, “But I have to let you know that with or without your blessing, Mare and I are planning on getting married. I was the one who insisted on getting your blessing, even though she told me not to bother.”

Daniel looked with a raised brow, partially surprised at this silvers audacity, partially respectful of his determination. Still, it wasn’t going to change anything.

Squaring his shoulder under that look, Cal said quietly, “I have made many mistakes in the past, and I readily admit to them. You’re right that I did something akin to spitting in your family’s face, and I know that I hurt Mare so deeply that she didn’t truly trust me for years. But I love her, and I would rather cut my heart out than hurt her like that again.”

Daniel sniffed in distaste, too taken aback to say anything else though. Cal’s lips drew in a tight line before he turned on his heel and went back inside, leaving the balcony door open. There were hushed, hurried whispers in the room following his departure, and then the sound of the front door opening and closing a few seconds later. Daniel sat back in his chair then, his whole body tense, awaiting the next person that he knew was probably trying to find the right thing to say to him.

She came out only a moment later, the scent of ozone announcing her. The hairs on Daniel’s arms rose as she approached to stand over him. She was more furious that he anticipated. He didn’t look at his daughter though when she spoke.

“There are no words to express how much you hurt him and hurt me.”

“I said my piece,” Daniel replied quietly, the ice gone from his voice. “I won’t lie to appease him or you. He was better off hearing the truth.” He carved a delicate line in the wood, curving it up so it would look like the bird was just about to open its wing and take flight.

“He was going to officially propose tonight at dinner, with the whole family and our friends present. He has been planning this for weeks.”

“I don’t care if he’s been planning it for years. The only reason I have not driven him from this house before today is because I know that he makes you happy enough. But I won’t let him take that next step and put you in a position where he could hurt you greater than ever before.”

“I already told him no six times.” Mare hissed, and that brought Daniel’s eyes to her face. He had not known that fact. The two them had never given any indication that she had turned him down before. But the fact that he had asked her six times before and been denied every time only to stick around was probably a testament to his stubbornness.

Mare’s cheeks were red, and her hands were in fists as her sides. She inhaled slowly and forced the exhale through her nose before she spoke again. “He asked three years ago, and then five times over the next two years. I told him no every single time because I wasn’t certain yet. I only told him recently that I believed his words.”

Daniel frowned, only to grimace as Mare spit, “I am twenty-six years old, you don’t need to protect me anymore. I know my heart and I know what I want. I know him, and his heart.”

The breeze from the lake cut through the air, stirring the hairs that had fallen out of Mare’s bun. Daniel watched her face for a long time though, trying to read the new, strange emotion that had crossed her features. Her eyes darted away and Daniel caught the shine of tears there. His heart squeezed. He hadn’t just cut Cal when he denied him today, he had hurt Mare too, possibly more than Cal. All he had done was wound Cal’s pride, but Mare, he had hurt something deep in her.

“I told him yes a few weeks ago because I’m pregnant.” She exhaled sharply after admitting that, and whatever imaginary weight had been on her shoulders disappeared as she admitted it. Swallowing, she whispered, “I want to keep it. I want to have a family, and I want to do it with him.” Mare dropped down into the chair Cal had occupied minutes before and let her head fall into her hands. She looked exhausted, and Daniel tried to ignore how much that keeping that secret probably cost her. Still, he watched the top of her head, waitng for her to continue before asking quietly in case Ruth heard and came barging out, “does he know?”

“No, but he’s not stupid. He suspects something.” Mare whispered as she swiped at her tears with the heel of her palm. It had been a long time since Daniel had seen his daughter cry. To be honest, he couldn’t remember the last time. Had it been after Shade? Maybe, but Mare had been so cold and numb back then. He knew how much she hated the weakness that came with tears though. It took a lot for her to show emotion like this now.

“He’s not asking to save both of you from the situation that comes after?”

“What situation, Farley’s?” Mare snorted at Daniel’s expression only to spit, “Please. You wouldn’t have let Shade marry Farley to save them from a situation either. So don’t pretend to use that as an excuse now.”

“Does his family know?”

“Julian knows about the engagement, and Sara only knows about the baby because she confirmed it for me. Anabel doesn’t know about either, but that old crone will probably smile to my face and spit at my heels when I turn my back. I don’t care though. I don’t care what she thinks anymore.”

Daniel set his carving aside, and rested his hands on his stomach again to observe Mare. Maybe he had jumped the gun with his quick refusal. It would be difficult to mend the bridge he had burned though. Tapping his thumbs together softly, Daniel looked beyond Mare at the mountains rising in the distance.

“He really wanted your blessing, dad. I know he said we would get married anyway, but I have a feeling he won’t follow through on that even if I push him. It’s going to eat at him until you give permission. I want to get married while I can still fit into a dress though.” Mare added the last part with a snort before sitting back in the chair. Daniel tilted his head and grumbled, “Your mother is going to be very happy when she hears about this baby.”

“I’m sure Gisa already opened her fat mouth and said something.” Mare grumbled as she crossed her arms tighter across her chest. Daniel hadn’t noticed until now that Mare was wearing a very thick, very large sweater. It should have been a dead giveaway. It was more than a little odd given that it was almost the end of spring. No wonder Ruth had begun to suspect something. Mare had been steadily changing her wardrobe over the past few weeks, but the abnormally chilly spring had helped her disguise things. She wouldn’t be able to hide during the summer though.

“When did Gisa find out?” “A week ago. She came over for breakfast and had to sit there holding my hair for two hours while I vomited everything back up.” Mare grumbled as she looked out over the city.

“You really want this?” Daniel asked when the next breeze whistled between them. He never thought he’d hear his eldest daughter talking about this moment. Gisa, he for sure thought would be married with children before Mare, if his eldest ever got to that point. Then again, he always thought he would have to give Warren his permission if it ever came down to it. Mare had never been the nurturing or domestic type, but already he could see the changes coming over her. For claiming to be such an observant man, Daniel had missed quite a bit.

Mare turned to him again, and even without her speaking, Daniel saw the resolution in her eyes.

“I know I always said I didn’t want kids… or any of that life. But Cal will be a great father, and I’m convinced that he’ll make me a great mother too. I know that we’re going to be happy, that he’s going to make me happy for the rest of my life.” She smiled softly as she spoke, her eyes shining. Daniel was certain she was looking into the future as she spoke, and he felt a bubble of warmth building in his chest that chased away that bitter seed when he saw that light shining from within her.

There was really nothing else he could ask her. He had his answer, even if it smarted the part of him that had already turned Cal down. With a grunt, he pushed himself up from his chair and winced as his knee gave a twinge from sitting too long. Mare leaped up to grab his arm when he went to put weight on that aching joint, but he waved her off. “Where has he run off to lick his wounds?”

Mare blinked at him in surprise, her cheeks flushing as she whispered, “Have you changed your mind?”

“Don’t make me change it again. Where has he gone?”

“I don’t know, probably back to our apartment, or he might have gone to find Julian.”

“I’m not running around this city after him, because then I really will change my mind, so find him.”

“He went back to the apartment.”

Both of them looked up to see Gisa leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed. She tilted her head to side, making her newly cut, chin length hair shift in a shimmering curtain before smirking at them knowingly. “He said he was going there right before he left.” Daniel sighed at that. He may not have been more than a military grunt, but he knew enough about military strategy to know he would rather have this conversation on his own turf. Still, he was going to have to give ground. Especially if Mare’s happiness was concerned.

“You’ll take me over,” he said to Mare who nodded quietly, and trailed after him.

(///////)

Mare went into the apartment first, calling for Cal as she went. He gave a gruff response from somewhere in the back rooms making her go in search of him and leave Daniel by the door. Closing it softly behind him, Daniel resting his hands on his cane and inhaled the smell of the apartment. It smiled like wood smoke and pine. He didn’t like that he hadn’t been over here that often. Then again, he normally made a point of avoid it when Cal was here.

It was nice though. Warm, inviting, everything he had wished his family’s home had been while they were in Norta. Ruth had a hand in decorating this place, based on the pictures hanging from the walls. She’d probably have an even large hand in the coming months too.

Edging in, feeling more like an intruder than ever before, Daniel paused in the sitting room, and glanced through the windows at the view of the lake. From this angle, it looked red with the sunset. In the heavy silence, he could hear his daughter speaking quietly in the back. He didn’t hear Cal, but he assumed the silver was just listening and determining his next move. Daniel took that time to continue exploring.

His daughter certainly lived here, based on the papers that littered the desk near the windows, and the blankets thrown everywhere on the couch, but the silver was there too. There were more books than his daughter would ever read on the shelves, and on the small coffee table there was a scattering of papers in careful handwriting that Mare would never achieve. There was a perfect little mix of both of them in this room, and Daniel knew if he continued into the apartment that ratio would persist. He could see a child running around this space. He wondered if it would be a perfect mix of the two of them too.

Stepping up to the desk, Daniel shifted a small pile of papers that Mare had purposefully stacked to hide the book underneath. Daniel’s stomach twisted at the title. While he believed his daughter when she told him she was pregnant, it made it so very real to see her reading about it, and preparing for it. A small piece of paper had been tucked halfway through that book. He hesitated for a moment, glancing over his shoulder to make sure he was alone, before pulling it out a bit more to see a list of names in his daughter’s scratchy print. Most of them were scratched out, but at the bottom, written like she was uncertain of it, Mare had written her brother’s name. Daniel pushed the paper back in, feeling like he had just encroached on a secret Mare was not ready to discuss yet.

He pulled the papers back over the book and turned around when he heard light footsteps. Mare stood in the doorway to the sitting room, looking a little nervous. She edged closer and said, “Give him a minute.”

Daniel nodded, and leaned all his weight on his cane again, trying to ignore that continual pain in his knee. Mare sank down onto the couch in response, hugging her knees to her chest. The silver was really only a minute behind her, looking about as disgruntled as Daniel felt. His face was stone cold as he met Daniel’s eye across the space between them though. Straightening, Daniel cleared his throat and said, “I want to speak with you alone. If I may.” While he may not have been in his own home, he wanted to at least draw the battle lines. Cal tensed, and glanced to Mare, who looked just as uncertain at her father’s tone.

Unfolding herself like a newly blossoming flower though, she whispered, “I’m going to go make tea.” She pushed up from the couch and crossed the room then. Daniel didn’t miss how Cal’s fingers brushed hers for a moment as she reached his side. Pausing for only a heartbeat, she squeezed his fingers back before continuing into the kitchen. She made a show of banging cupboards closed and making more than enough noise the moment she got there, letting them both know that she was trying not to listen in on their conversation.

Neither of them moved through, and Daniel wasn’t sure what would happen if he did. Eventually though, he cleared his throat and said, “There has been… information brought to my attention since our conversation.”

Cal didn’t reply, and his expression remained stormy. Daniel gripped his cane tighter in response and said, “I will admit that I might have been hasty in my answer to you.”

“You made your feelings very clear, sir, and I would like to think in the past few years that I have stopped being as naïve as I was in the past.” Cal edged into the room and leaned against one of the tables where a few pictures had been carefully set up. Clara seemed to be the biggest theme of them. Daniel had a feeling that in a few months there would be a new face on that table.

In Daniel’s continued silence, Cal’s brows dropped and his eyes narrowed. “I know that you have not have seriously changed your mind as drastically as Mare seems to think in less than an hour.”

“The recent information I heard has certainly changed my mind.” Daniel admitted quietly. Cal’s expression changed from disbelief to confusion and finally settled on what Daniel assumed was suspicion. Tapping his cane against the floor to fill the silence, Daniel said, “I did not know that my daughter had already turned you down so many times.”

Cal made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded like he was trying to stifle a laugh. Daniel smiled softly, knowing exactly what that felt like. Straightening his back, he said, “I will tell you a secret, something I have never told any of my children, or even my wife.”

Straightening up, Cal eyes darted in the direction of the kitchen. Daniel knew Mare was probably listening at this point, but he wanted her to hear it, to understand his thoughts and his feelings on this matter. “I was younger than both of you when I went to Ruth’s father to ask his permission to marry her. I didn’t even get half as far as you before he denied me. I had no means of caring for his daughter, not a penny to my name, and I had just come back from my first tour of duty.”

Cal’s eyes darkened at the mention of the old conscription orders, but Daniel would not be hindered by the past now. “I told him the same thing you told me and swore on my life I was going to marry his daughter whether he agreed or not. He laughed me off his porch. I was due to leave for the Choke again in two weeks and knew at that point that I couldn’t follow through without putting Ruth in a position that would compromise everything she had.”

Daniel heard and saw his daughter appear in hallway that connected to the kitchen. Her eyes were wide, but she did a marvelous job of hiding her shock when she met her father’s eye. Clearing his throat then, Daniel turned his gaze back to Cal, whose own expression had softened considerably.

“He did not trust me to care for her daughter, and he didn’t have an ounce of respect for me. I asked him three more times, and after the third he told me that if I could convince him that I would be able to care for his daughter and any children we had, then he would let me marry her.”

“I thought of every sweeping declaration, and swore up and down when I left that I would prove myself. I scrounged together every penny to my name and even borrowed from my parents to go to the market to find a ring. I wanted her to have one that every girl in the Stilts was envious of.”

Mare edged into the room completely then, and even though Cal’s arms were crossed, she threaded hers around one of his and hugged herself to his side.

“Every vendor laughed themselves hoarse at me, and I left empty handed. I went back to her house knowing that I was going to have to admit defeat. On the way there, I stopped by a small vendor who was selling carvings. He offered me a half finished carving, and a whittling knife and told me that I would have to finish it myself if I wanted to buy it.”

“I took that carving and sat on Ruth’s porch trying to finish that carving while her father watched me. It was the ugliest thing I ever made, and I cut my hands up doing it. When I finished and handed it to him saying it was all I could offer, he told me that if I was willing ruin my hands to the point that I couldn’t hold a gun at the Choke, then I obviously carried more about his daughter than my own life.” Daniel wasn’t quite sure if either of them knew where he was going, and he honestly wasn’t sure either. He had never told this story. There had never been a reason too. Swallowing around the tightness in his throat, he whispered, “while I know you have done things in the past that are unforgivable, I know that you have cut your hands up trying to atone for them, and have willing thrown yourself in the line of fire to protect and care for my daughter.”

Cal glanced down at Mare for a moment, who gave him a tiny smile in response and squeezed his arm lightly.

Clearing his throat to get their attention again, Daniel finished, “And while I may not completely trust you, my daughter does, enough to change the vision she always had of her future to be with you.”

Cal’s face twisted with confusion, and he glanced down at Mare who blushed a dark red and whispered, “I’ll tell you after.”

“I think I’d rather know now.”

“Later,” Mare insisted with a smirk, as she nudged him and nodded in Daniel’s direction before giving him a smile that could probably light up Ascendent for the next few years.

Daniel couldn’t ignore that his next words were probably going to make Mare happier than ever before. It would probably pale in comparison to the next few months of her life though, and the moments that would come after. “I have decided to give you my blessing. You have my permission to marry my daughter, so long as you agree to continue cutting up your hands to love her.”

Cal didn’t move for a few seconds, and in that time, Mare’s smile began to fall as she looked at him expecting a response. Unfolding his arm from her grip, Cal approached Daniel, closing the space between them in two slow steps. Daniel straightened up to stand at the same height as Cal when he got there. They stood toe to toe for a moment, until Cal held his hand out and said, “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Daniel slipped his hand around the silver’s and squeezed tightly. Perhaps another reason he had resisted this moment initially was because he was going to have to let go of Mare, and trust someone else to protect her. For some reason, he had thought he would always be the one to protect her. He had stopped holding that duty a long time ago though.

When they dropped hands, Mare wormed her way between them to hug Daniel. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and closed his eyes as she squeezed tightly. He hadn’t realized how much she had grown up. It felt like yesterday that she had squared her shoulders and flown back to Norta to stop an invasion.

“We’re going to be okay, you know that right?” She whispered in his ear, and he nodded slowly before replying quietly, “I do.”

She pulled away then, and glanced back at Cal before reaching for his hand. He gripped hers tightly and Daniel let Mare slide out of his arms reluctantly so that Cal could engulf her in his. They smiled at each other, and Daniel cleared his throat again before saying, “I except your mother will want to hear that good news.”

“I’ll take you back—” Mare began, only for Daniel to shake his head and start across the living room.

“I’ll walk back. Besides, you two have things to discuss. Things this old man doesn’t want to be concerned with for a few more months.” He chuckled as he left, already hearing Cal demanding to understand before he even closed the door to the apartment.

81 notes · View notes