Andrew showered, then, he ate enough to make his stomach heavy. Subsequently, he was ready to face Erin.

“They are dead, and a wraith with them,” supplied Andrew. Erin took out a small box from his pocket and got on one knee.

“Andrew Jackson, you have brushed me off for the past couple of weeks, but I will not let you stall anymore,” said Erin sternly. He opened the box and Andrew saw a simple golden ring inside. “Would you marry me?”

Andrew stood still, staring at the ring. Would he? He thought so, yes. But, should he? He was just eighteen. His nineteenth birthday was far away, In September. This was a big commitment, and they lived a dangerous life and…

“Andrew, I am not reading your thoughts, but you look like you can’t decide. So, let me tip the scales my way,” Andrew nodded, waiting for Erin to say his piece.

“When I met you, I wanted to steal your job,” admitted Erin, and Andrew’s eyebrows rose. Was this tipping the scales? “And I would have done it too, if I knew I had powers. But I didn’t, and I was prepared to walk out of the antique shop back in the cold. You saved me from that.”

Andrew opened his mouth to say he had done the right thing, but Erin placed two fingers over Andrew’s lips.

“Let me finish. You became all I could think of. If it didn’t mean endangering you, I would have drunk from you long ago. But it did mean endangering you, and you gave me so much without asking for anything in return. Your companionship saved me from self-pity. I thank you for that,” Andrew smiled at that, feeling appreciated.

“Then, you got bitten. And we had those wonderful couple of hours and I tried to give you your space afterwards because I feared that you would reject me. But then, you made me happy by coming forward and wanting more. And, suddenly, I had someone who loved me,” there was a tear in Erin’s eye and Andrew tracked its progress down the vampire’s cheek. He brought a thumb to brush it away, and Erin chuckled.

“So, I will understand if you want us to wait. You are quite young still, after all, and we have eternity,” Andrew bit his bottom lip. Yes, they did. But the commitment was still too great.

“I wait for your answer,” finished Erin, and he looked into Andrew’s blue eyes, hopefully. Andrew regarded Erin, who was still on one knee, holding up the box.

Andrew could say he needed more time. This was his first relationship. He could say that he didn’t want to rush it. But, it had taken him a lot of effort to not get back to that meadow and the pyre, where the three beings that he had killed waited to devour him.

He required, as selfish as that sounded, to have something to tether him to the real world. Something to remind him that he was alive, while the three monsters in his head were not.

So, he bent down and kissed Erin, the hand going to hold the box with the ring. Erin let him take it and Andrew inspected the gold band. There was a vine pattern on it. It looked delicate. But it did look like something a man would wear. Andrew took the ring out of the cushion and handed it to Erin.

“Won’t you put it on?” He asked, and Erin’s face split into a grin. Erin placed the ring around Andrew’s finger and kissed it.

“There, now you are a blushing bride,” Andrew, who was indeed blushing, snorted.

“You are shorter. So, you are the bride,” said Andrew, and Erin adopted an expression of mock outrage.

“And where is my ring, husband? Because, you haven’t given me anything,” Andrew looked thoughtful at that. There was just one ring that he could see being good enough for Erin.

“Wait here,” said Andrew, and then he went to their bedroom. He knelt so that he could see below the bed. From underneath, it, he pulled out a shoebox. Opening it, he took out his greatest treasure. His mother’s wedding ring.

His mother had been a tomboy, so, the ring was unisex. It was a gold band that was thicker than the ring Erin had given him. It had no stones, rather, a square made from gold in the center. Furthermore, it was simplistic, but it was the only thing he had from his parents. His relatives had taken all the rest. He hadn’t even gotten the money from their apartment, as it had been sold to pay for the funerals.

But, no one had tried to take a ring from an orphan. And so, Andrew had vowed when he was eight that he would give his wife-to-be this ring and vow to make her as happy as his mother had been.

Carrying it back to the room, he saw that Erin was in the seat that Andrew had vacated.

“Erin Hudson,” said Andrew, kneeling. “I am sorry I made you wait to propose for so long. Would you forgive me and marry me?”

“I already proposed. What sort of silly question is that?” Asked Erin, extending his hand. “Where did you get a ring so fast?”

“That was my mother’s,” said Andrew as he placed the ring around Erin’s finger. “Take good care of it.”

Arms enveloped Andrew, and he was made to rise from his kneeling position and sit on the couch. Lips found his, and he lost himself in the simple act of showing love.

When the kiss was over, Erin entwined their ring bearing hands together and stared at the two gold bands.

“Neither have stones. They match,” said the vampire, nuzzling into the nape of Andrew’s neck.

“Would you like to feed from me?” Asked Andrew. He knew that Erin knew how to feed from him without giving him a hard on now. Courtesy of Edward.

“I will not cause you pain on such a happy occasion. Come on, let us go to the mall. They opened a new gift shop with paintings,” Andrew nodded. That sounded romantic enough.

“If they are cheap enough, I can buy a couple for the auctions,” Andrew mused as Erin snickered.

“It is always work with you, Andy. My charming workaholic,” Erin kissed Andrew’s nose and stood. They had today off and would have some more time off because of Andrew killing Mark and Mary. They both thought how they could plan the wedding in those couple of peaceful days.