Alfred thought her characterization of her father might be slightly unfair — though only because she'd said he would hold a grudge until Zelda died and not until Alfred died. If something were to remove him from the picture, Alfred thought Brannon would be quite happy to welcome his recently widowed daughter back — not that Alfred was planning on dying any time soon, or letting Zelda do so. No, once he actually had her, Alfred planned to hold on to her for a good long while. The rest of their very long lives.

He let out a contented breath and let his eyes drift, watching the moonlight on the water. He could have echoed her sentiment and told her that she made him happy, too, but it hardly needed saying.

"If it takes too long, we could always nudge them in the right direction," he eventually said, mostly teasing (but also entirely not teasing; he would have eloped with her tomorrow if that was what she wanted to do). "If you think they'd ever get over it."

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Zelda had been content, lying her head against his shoulder; she flickered back to alertness at Alfred's comment. "When it takes too long," she said, after a beat. That was an option; her family was trying to wait her out, and she knew it. But if they did, if they kept on delaying, they had to know what would happen.

"If it does take too long, we'll give them a push," she agreed. She leaned upwards to press her lips to the underside of Alfred's jaw. If her family hated him forever, then she would marry him anyways - because of the secret truth she kept in her chest, and because she had given him her virtue.

"Can I tell you something?" Zelda asked.

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AMAZING set by MJ

Alfred supposed he should have been pleased that she agreed, but it was still so abstract that it didn't really feel as though anything had been decided. Someday, if it took to long — but probably not, hopefully not. He was still ostensibly dependent on the Fisk family coming around, and that would take a good long while.

Her question piqued his interest, however. "You can tell me anything," he answered, hugging her close.

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

He said yes, which meant that she had to tell him - and while she had been thinking about it for a bit, the truth had never spilled out of her mouth. Of course it hadn't - this was not the sort of thing she could say around her family, and it was not the sort of thing she could say in letters, either.

But wasn't this the perfect place? The boat swaying on the sea off of the British coastline, and Alfred's body steady around her.

"I love you," she admitted.

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The following 1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post:1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post
   J. Alfred Darrow

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AMAZING set by MJ

Alfred's face lit up at her confession — though how much of a confession was it, when they had just agreed to marry each other or even elope together, if it came down to it? They had been orbiting each other for actual years, at this point, getting gradually closer to each other in a way that, in retrospect, seemed inevitable. Still, it hadn't yet been said, and what better place to say it?

"I love you, too," he answered, without hesitation. He might not have thought to say it himself for weeks or months to come, but as soon as she'd verbalized it he felt the sentiment echo back within him. He was smiling, and felt as though he might never stop — so to remedy that he leaned in and kissed her again.

The following 1 user Likes J. Alfred Darrow's post:1 user Likes J. Alfred Darrow's post
   Zelda Darrow

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Zelda beamed; while she had never thought about what might happen if Alfred didn't say it back, it was still good to hear his words. He loved her, and they were courting, and her family was unhappy but things would be okay, eventually. They would get married. Her siblings would come to like him. He loved her, and they could do this.

She grabbed onto Alfred's lapels, pulled her towards him; she wanted to kiss him more, be closer.

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AMAZING set by MJ