a year with you

There was no way to measure the exact amount of days, only the memory of the warmth of summer and the sweet smell of ripe fruits that he’d laid out for their celebration of Merrin’s enlistment into the army. The picnic had been the start of their lives together, a tender crush that had blossomed into a mature love. It had been a year since and now they had a bundle of precious children that joined them together forever. Argent had no regrets. The past year had been one of the best of his life and he wanted to celebrate that with the most important woman in his life. In an ideal romantic setting Argent would have wanted to revisit the mirror lake again, but they had three little responsibilities to take care of now so he was forced to improvise.

Setting up another picnic in the clearing in front of the cabin would be a romantic enough gesture, he hoped. He’d wanted it to be a surprise, but it was hard to keep the puppies from noticing that their dad was up to something. Atlas insisted on helping so he let him carry some of the smaller items and set them on top of the sheepskin. He hoped that would be enough to keep tiny tongues from wagging.

Argent ensured there was enough food for the both of them this time, recalling how much had been left over from last time. A variety of berries were organised by shape and colour next to a rabbit and a plucked duck which the merchants had assured him was all the rage at the castle. He waited patiently, wanting himself and the picnic to be the first thing she saw when she came outside.

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Her life was all but a dream now. Every morning that she woke was another where she was surprised to find herself curled into a man who loved her unconditionally and snuggled up to three beautiful children. Her children. Their children. Nothing in this reality would have been possible has she not been napping in the flowers of Melrose almost literally stumbled upon by an ever stoic Army Veteran. She'd surely not imagined they would meet again...but, they did. And from there they spent more time together until courage gripped the heart of the Captain and he introduced her to the idea of becoming closer.

What would have happened if she had declined? If she had felt so damaged by shadows of the past that she turned from him? Merrin couldn't bear to think of the alternative, when from then on her beloved Luciel Argent had remained by her side, constantly showering her with his affections. She closed her eyes and sighed, a faint blush upon her cheeks as she reminisced on those moments of heavenly tenderness, hushed whispers, and pure love shared between them both. Her mind continued to wander to those places of bliss as she stepped out of their home, only to pause as she laid eyes on something out of the norm from their doorway.

Her lavender orbs were first drawn to the familiar form of her mate, seated rather politely in the clearing in front of their home. Merrin's footsteps were spurred forward with excitement to simply lay eyes on him, her tail wagging as she stepped closer. She then glanced down at the ground, now noticing the arrangement of berries, rabbit, and my goodness, duck, even! The mother absolutely lit up at the sight of it and trotted swiftly in to greet Luciel, leaning up to pepper his face with kisses while dancing on tiptoes. When she withdrew she looked between the picnic setting and the father of her children, beaming all the while. "What's all this, love?"

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It only took a brief glimmer of those adoring lilac eyes for him to feel the familiar bashful flutters that still sent him dizzy over a year and a litter of pups later. He remembered how shy he’d felt during their first not-date-kinda-date that had led to them becoming a couple and it was amazing how much had changed yet he still felt like he was still falling endlessly in love. He was still very much loved up and enthralled by his mate and had no doubts that she felt the same. Grey eyes flickered from the picnic to his beloved and he cocked his head shyly. Uh… Happy anniversary, he mumbled awkwardly between her peppering kisses, but it was audible enough for her to hear him.

I wanted to - At the lake, but… this is okay? he blurted out, half formed thoughts, hoping that she understood what his intention was since communicating was still something he was working on. It was another reason he hoped their children turned out as eloquent as Merrin was and not an awkward grump like their father. It would make things a lot easier for their parents and for them later in life.

He hoped that Merrin would be pleased with his efforts and not disappointed that it hadn’t quite been a faithful recreation of that fateful day.

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Merrin's expression brightened as soon as he voiced the sentiment. That's right...my word. It seems as though it were a thousand years ago and yet also just yesterday, doesn't it?" The woman seemed to be blown away by the way that time had flown by them. She leaned up again to touch noses with him, a loving hum forming in her throat. "Mmm, Happy Anniversary, my dearest Luciel." She then gave him a swift lick to the tip of his nose and then went back to taking in all that he had arranged for them.

She turned her head to peer over at him when he blurted out a jumble of words and for a moment she blinked at him and then smiled sweetly. "Why, this is perfect, darling. You're perfect." Merrin shuffled closer to him and gave him a few licks to his chin before nuzzling beneath it against his neck. "As long as I get to spend our anniversary with you, there is nothing more I could ever want...so, in reality...you are spoiling me, Captain." She withdrew enough to look up at him again and give him a wink. "Shall we?" She beckoned him, gesturing for him to make himself comfortable next to her as she tried to decide what to partake in first.

@Argent

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Merrin had a way of making him feel as if he were floating on a cloud and free falling through the sky. The merest glance filled with such devotion and the adoring way she addressed him as her dearest Luciel. He was awestruck by the afterglow of love that swelled in his chest when she kissed him on the nose so it took him a moment to focus on what she was saying. Err.. Yes it does, he answered, feeling warmth spread through his cheeks to his ears. He might have found love later in life than most wolves did, but she was his soulmate and the only one he would ever be with.

Awkwardly he wondered how he might express this to her. Sure it was an unspoken expectation that their future was long term and they did have a family together. Argent knew however that words were important to Merrin and they made her feel secure. I want all of them with you. Always, he rumbled affectionately, voice soft yet rough with the natural gruffness of his tone. He once again reaffirmed the promise he had made to her upon declaring his love for her when things between them were still so new. He wanted her to know that nothing had changed even a year later. He was still as committed to her, if not more because of what they had built together and the beautiful family they shared.

Next time. You will have the lake, he promised, nodding to himself as he settled besides her. He was happy that she was pleased with the little home date, but he wanted to spoil her so much more.

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The way he would look at her, awestruck as though they'd they'd only just met, oh, how it made her heart flutter. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks and she would turn away giving him a coy smile. It could have been a year, a day, a lifetime and she could not have discerned one from the other by the way she felt beneath his adoring gaze. Merrin's lavender orbs sparkled brightly in the wake of his gruffly spoken sentiment. She would never have wanted it in any other form or fashion...he was simply everything she could ever desire exactly as he was.

"As do I..." She leaned into him, holding him close to her as she cherished the feeling of his warmth and the drumming of his heart against her ear where she momentarily rested her head at his chest. She lifted her head to nuzzle him a bit more, gifting him with her own words of love, cooing softly, "Until the end of time and then some, you are mine and I am yours...in this life and the next, forevermore, my handsome Luciel."

Sealed with a kiss to his muzzle, she allowed the love letter to settle upon him as she moved along to the feast he'd prepared. Merrin gave him a mischievous smile as he promised her the lake for their next anniversary celebration. "Already planning the next one, are we?" She teased, her tail swishing back and forth with delight as she chose a few berries to much on from their garden. "Where do you suppose the one after will be?"

@Argent

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Lounging in the sun with his beloved while enjoying the sweet taste of berries tingling on his tongue was Argent’s idea of a dream date. He knew it wouldn’t be long before they heard the pitter patter of little paws crashing their picnic, but he didn’t mind. They had the rest of their lives to share moments like these and only a year with their pups before they became too independent to rely on their parents.

A smile curled his lips into a wide grin when he heard Merrin recite his own sentiment back with a flourish that was much smoother than his own promised words. She was such a romantic and knew how to woo a grump like him. His tail beat against the earth, enjoying her delivery like a swooning teen. I love you, Merrin Etherea, he grunted and rested his chin atop her forehead while she listened to his heart. The kiss caught him by surprise and a blush warmed his cheeks as he nuzzled her back.

Hmm I suppose I am. Though we don’t have to wait until next summer… he leaned closer and whispered into her ear. He could whisk her away to the lake as soon as the pups were big enough to mind themselves. Wherever you want he promised her, Maybe we could go back to Maiden’s Braid.

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Three simple words. They had haunted her. They were a bandage to a wound inflicted by the one who spoke them, once upon a time, so at first they were difficult to swallow early in their relationship. Now, when the words 'I love you' came rumbling up from Luciel's chest, they were a source of comfort and security, their meaning in her life forever transformed by the way this gentle giant expressed love as it should have always been. "I love you, Luciel Argent..." She would murmur in response, leaning into his warmth.

Once they'd settled into eating their berries, she was a bit ravenous, trying to get in as much enjoyment of the feast before the pups caught wind of it. Her lips were stained with a mess of berries and she looked up at Luciel with a giggle as she realized how eager she'd been to get first dibs on the best berries. Speaking on their next anniversary, it seemed they were now possibly looking at a vacation when he mentioned not waiting for their next adventure.

"Perhaps a family vacation with the children?" She perked up and then Merrin gave him a coy grin, moving one of her paws over his with a wriggle of her hips paired with a wagging tail. "Of course, we can try to find some time for ourselves too..." She searched his starlit eyes and then turned away with a blush and a chuckle. "But, having our pups there would be lovely too, I think."

@Argent

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The ease of which he could say the words without making Merrin uncomfortable was a great relief to him. He would never forget the first time he confessed them to her and she froze like a cornered animal. Argent had worried that she might never feel safe enough to accept them, but here she was returning his affections without flinching. She had grown so much over the past year, as a person, a mate and now a mother. It made him love her all the more for how strong she was. Is there anywhere you’d like to go? Argent asked, letting out a happily little hum under his breath as he sampled some of the berries. Like magnetism the red juices were drawn to the white fluff around his neck as he ate.

He let out a husky laugh when he saw that Merrin's face was just as messy as his. They were always telling the pups to eat neatly, but here they were looking like a pair of messy pups themselves. You uh.. got, he mumbled, leaning closer to lick the underside of her chin. Hmm. Better, he murmured in approval, feeling more confident in his flirtations after a year together. He still felt the blood rush to his cheeks, but he didn’t feel uncomfortable taking the initiative.

Merrin wanted their pups to come along and he couldn’t deny that showing the pups the places that were important to them wasn’t an exciting prospect. Yeah. Maybe we can take them on a little tour of Rionnach, he suggested, wondering what they would think of the world beyond Yorkshire. The Lowlands had been where he had grown up and he was still proud to be one of them. We could show them Melrose, he proposed, although he was always a little nervous to go back there because of his condition. It was where he grew up and where he had met Merrin so it was quite significant to him.

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In her mind's eye she saw the crystal blue waves crashing upon the shoreline of a beach she'd once walked. Merrin hardly hesitated, nodding in response to his question. "Have you ever seen the ocean, Luciel?" She asked curiously, realizing this was something she did not know about him. Given what she did know about his history, she assumed he might have stayed more inland for most of his life. "I'd like to take you all to Aberdeen. I think Riften will be a hellion chasing the tide, Lenora will very much enjoy basking in the sun there, oh, and Atlas, I think he'll find the wildlife there to be very interesting!" She was already imagining the addition of her mate and pups in her seaside vision and her smile only widened at the thought.

She blinked herself back to reality as Luciel started to mumble and lean towards her. Heat immediately rose into her cheeks as he lapped up the stain of berries from her chin. Her tail began wagging wildly behind her and she shuffled herself closer to him, lifting her muzzle up to his. "You missed a spot too..." Merrin spoke in a hushed voice as she placed delicate kisses along one side of his muzzle before turning to rest her forehead against the fluff of his cheeks.

She leaned back, brightening at the brilliant idea he shared with her. "Oh, my! That would be wonderful!" Merrin gasped excitedly as she began to recount all the places they'd been. "We could show them where we met in the meadows and where we helped the townsfolk during the heat wave and the waterfall! Oh, they will absolutely love it!" She exclaimed and then placed a paw over her mouth, giggling. "We could surprise them if they haven't already overheard me."


@[Argent]

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