the beans of sparta

Noah had everything planned out. He and Julie were walking along the beach after a very romantic dinner at the amazingly awesome restaurant in Solas. Soon, after walking through the sand and watching the stars and moon reflect off the crystal waters of the Naomih Sea, he would get on one knee and propose to the love of his life.

Ahh! This was so exhilarating!

They walked hand in hand, Noah was carrying both their shoes so they could feel the cool sand between their toes.

"I'm so happy I met you, Julie," Noah said quietly.

Julie was having a wonderful time with Noah, as usual. Every date with him was like something from a fairytale. Being with him was surreal and dream like. Julie was caught up in every moment she spent with him, completely infatuated. But when she was away from him, she kind of 'woke up' and wondered if she should really be staying with Noah when he seemed to like her far more than she liked him.

But right now she was with him, so she was happy and living in the moment. She smiled and squeezed his hand. "I'm happy I met you too," she replied.

Noah smiled at her words. She meant the world to him, plus so much more. She was his first thought in the morning, and his last and night. And tonight, he was going to tell her that. But first, he was going to show her a little secret.

"I didn't just bring you here to walk on the beach," Noah admitted, leaning down to kiss Julie's forehead. Julie probably looked at him with a confused face so he explained. "We've just got a little farther to walk, and then I'll show you."

"Okay," Julie replied slowly, oblivious to how strong his feelings were towards her. Unfortunately for poor Noah, he didn't mean the world to her plus so much more, and he wasn't her first and last thought of the day. Though it was kind of understandable. After all, she had a baby, and Quill was the one who meant more to her than anything, and who she thought about day and night. Mostly worried thoughts. And maybe she thought about Kaiden sometimes too.

They continued walking down the beach until they came to the edge where the sand meets the hill that leads to Froom Valley. "Follow me," Noah said, taking her not up the familiar path, but leading her into the water a ways.

They were going to walk around the cliff a little ways where there was a cavern thing that led up the hill a different way. You couldn't get up there just by walking up the trail.

Julie followed him. "Where are we going?" she questioned. They had been walking for quite a ways now.

"We're almost there, he said. Soon they were to the top, and Noah pushed away a few branches so that she could step on top of the hill.

It was higher up than the rest of the coast, and it was the perfect place (if you weren't a Cuir) to watch stars. Because it was next to the ocean, it made everything that much better. The night sky and all of it's stars reflected off the calm sea, making it look like they were in space, there were stars above them, and under them.

Julie breathed out a quiet "wow." The view was simply breathtaking! "It's...beautiful," she breathed out, taking in the scene before her. She could see the stars and moon reflected in the water, and the shadows cast by the clouds in the sky. "I think I see a whale!"

Noah nodded, looking out at the fantastic sight before them with a smile. "It's the second most beautiful thing in all of Amelia," he said with a quiet certainty.

"Julie, I brought you here for a reason," he said. You couldn't hear his nerves in his voice, but he was definitely shaking on the inside as he took her hand in his.

Oblivious Julie was completely and utterly oblivious to what Noah was about to do. "Oh. Um, what is it?" she asked, looking at him.

With a small gulp Noah kissed her lightly and then proceeded to bend down on one knee. He slipped a small velvet box out of his pocket and then looked up at her.

"Julie," he said, his voice radiating love, "you're the most beautiful clio I've ever met. You're everything I've always dreamed of and so much more. You and Quill have only been in my life for a short time, but I already can't imagine life without either of you two in it. I think about you before I go to sleep, and as I wake. I think about you while I'm working, and you're always in my dreams at night.

"Julie, will you marry me?" he finally asked, opening the box and showing the ring made of both silver and gold, lined with diamonds.

Julie's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Was this for real? Her heart started pounding, but unfortunately it wasn't in a good way. Her and Noah had only been dating a few months. And Julie couldn't honestly say she was in love with him. They didn't even live together. She couldn't marry Noah.

But how could she tell him that? He looked so eager and excited. How could she just...say no and crush him? She couldn't...not now at least. She wasn't at all prepared for this. "I...I-I..." she stuttered, her mouth feeling very dry. "I...don't know."

She was being terrible, leaving it open as a "maybe," when she should just be honest. But she just felt too bad. Besides, maybe...maybe she should think about it a little. She may not be in love with Noah now, but she could certainly come to love him in the future. She was always happy with him. Yeah, maybe she would think about it. That way she wouldn't feel so awful.

Noah blinked. "Oh... okay," he said quietly. To be honest, he was a little shocked. It wasn't that he thought she couldn't of said no, because he had definitely been afraid of that happening, but... ow. This hurt. Really, really bad. And the pain was shocking. Noah had never felt anything like this in his whole life.

"I-I'm sorry," he said, snapping the box shut and standing. What did he do now?

Aw, he looked like she had hit him. "Look, i-it's not...I don't...you're..." she stumbled over her words, unable to come up with anything that would make him feel better. She cleared her throat and looked away, her face bright red. It wasn't red in the embarrassed sort of way, it was red in the 'I'm trying not to cry' sort of way. "It's...it's a little soon, don't you think? We don't even live together, you know?"

Noah nodded. "O-of course," he said. He couldn't blame her, really he couldn't. It wasn't her fault that she didn't want to marry him. Then he noticed how close she was to tears.

"Oh, Julie, don't worry, this isn't your fault." He couldn't let her feel bad for something she had no control over. "You're totally right, I didn't wait long enough."

Seeing her sad made him feel terrible.

"It...it's not a definite 'no'!" Julie told him, even though she was pretty sure she wouldn't be changing her mind anytime soon. She just hated seeing Noah sad because of her. Even though it was probably worse to get his hopes up. But she just couldn't help it! "I need some time to think...there's so much to consider..."

Noah nodded. "Take your time," he said. "Just know, know that I love you," he added.

He took Julie into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "I'd wait for you forever," he said.

Julie couldn't help but sigh a little. This was so unfair. Noah was the perfect guy, so why couldn't she love him? Why wasn't she excited to marry him, like any other girl would be? She should feel lucky to be with him. But the feeling just wasn't there. Or at least, it wasn't strong enough. "Sorry Noah..." she murmured. "Everything is just so complicated..."

"I understand," he replied. He released Julie from the embrace. "I guess I should be getting you home, then, hm?" he asked. He knew she had a lot to think about and that she probably didn't want to be here feeling awkward.

He took her hand in his and rubbed it a little with his thumb. His offer had been declined, but he still felt like the luckiest man in the world, if only because he still got to be the one to hold Julie's hand.