As he sat down next to Penelope on the other side of the room, Crow groaned inwardly. He wasn’t sure if he had ever felt so flustered in his life. Ever since they had arrived at Silas’s house it had been one thing after another, from their discussion of household roles, to Zenith’s prodding about his relationship to the knight, and finally to Letha’s comments about them as well. He liked his friends from Aramoor and appreciated their hospitality, but he couldn’t wait to get back on the road again and leave behind all of the reminders of the things he didn’t want to focus on yet. While he was excited for their future together, it was still quite far away. He preferred to think about the aspects of his life that he had some control over and could do something about. A life with Penelope after the war was not yet one of those aspects.

[color=fff79a][b]“Well, at least we have someone that approves of us getting married.”[/b][/color]

Crow glanced up at Penelope with wide eyes, surprised to hear her comment about marriage so flippantly. He was just beginning to wonder if the thought of it didn’t make her as uncomfortable as it did him, when her expression changed and she began to stammer in a weak attempt to recover from the remark. Somehow, the sight brought a faint smile to his lips and he felt himself relaxing in spite of the current topic of conversation. Perhaps they were being ridiculous to keep getting so worked up over the future. They had already talked about it, and it was something they knew they both wanted. Instead of shying away from it like it was something forbidden, he pondered if they should stop fighting it and lean in instead.

So, when Penelope tried to change the subject, he moved in suddenly to meet her in a deep kiss. Closing his eyes, he reached up to trace one hand along the edge of her jaw, no longer caring who saw them. All he cared about in that moment was showing the knight his affection for her. He sank into her soft lips a little more.

After a bit, he pulled back again and met her gaze with a grin. “[i]When[/i] we marry,” he emphasized the word despite the pounding of his heart. “I don’t care what anyone else thinks. I love you, Penelope, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you no matter what anyone—noble or peasant—has to say about it.” He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pressed another kiss to her cheek before shifting slightly to rest his head on top of hers.

“Now, to answer your question, my day was actually nice,” he said, gently rubbing his hand down and up her arm as he held her close to his side. “I spent most of it napping and helping Zenith with those blankets she was knitting. That chain Gavin used to tie me up was pretty shoddy work.” He chuckled softly and then glanced down at her with a mischievous smirk. “Also, I suppose I can bother to tell you that I did send those two kids after you when you left. With Gavin acting so hostilely towards me all the time, I didn’t want to risk him keeping out of the loop when you all got back.” He shrugged and casted her a sly wink. “I’m sure I can trust you to keep that our little secret though.”