1This story was in part based off a few headcanons I did on my Tumblr account MONTHS ago, and was written in like... fifteen or twenty minutes. I wanted to wait a little longer, as I don't really know of any spots in Germany and wanted to ask my parents for recommendations, but wanted to get this written before I forgot the premise and decided to just wing it.
Hopefully everyone enjoys it! I don't expect the quality to be anywhere near anything else I've written, as I didn't really know where I was going the entire time I was writing. So, sorry for the poor quality in advance.
"Are you sure this is okay?" '
I looked down at Umi, her head resting on my chest, and smiled at her worried gaze. No matter how many times I told her or reaffirmed everything, she was always so worried whenever I missed too much school.
"I'm sure!" I said confidently, kissing her forehead. "I asked Nico to be extra precise when taking notes so we could do this."
Umi hummed, her eyes flitting back to gaze at the softly swaying grass and flowers in the meadow, her breathing as calm and relaxed as ever. "Besides," I started, gently playing with a few strands of her hair (how did she manage to get it this silky?), "you've told me for as long as I could remember that you wanted to go to Germany when you graduated."
"But—"
"But nothing!" I interrupted, pecking her lips. "So what if I miss some school? It's just a week of classes, easy to make up!" Besides, it wasn't like I was already an entire year ahead in classes for my culinary degree—I may not have been a great student, but I was able to do some damn good work when I set my mind to it, if I do say so myself.
"And on top of that, you graduated early¸ and top of your class too!" I beamed down at Umi, who (like always) started blushing from embarrassment. "That's incredible Umi! Definitely worth missing a week of classes and deserving of your dream trip!"
"H-Honoka~…" she whined quietly, pouting up at me.
A giggle and a kiss was all she got in return.
A few hours later we were walking back to our hotels, a fair amount of alcohol in our systems and Umi's arm around my shoulder holding me close to her—she's really really warm. The rustic but beautiful scenery of Hamburg glowed with an almost ethereal beauty in the dark night, the glow of the lights bouncing off the little bit of snow on the ground and hitting Umi almost perfectly—she truly looked like an angel from Heaven because of it all.
We stopped for a bit, and looked at the Elbe river—thankfully it wasn't quite cold enough for the river to freeze over, because it was only an extra bit of added beauty to the already picture perfect backdrop for this moment. I couldn't have asked for better.
I broke out of Umi's hold and grabbed her hands, jumping in front of her and holding her arms out.
"Umi, this was a wonderful trip, and I'm so glad I was able to take you on it," I said softly, looking up at her and squeezing her hands gently. "It really solidified everything I felt for you, my joy for your graduating and your happiness, my love for you and everything that makes you who you are—all of it, and more, this trip solidified and made me realise."
Umi smiled back at me and squeezed my hands in return, and opened her mouth to say something—
But, it was still my turn to talk.
"And, I think it's time for me to tell you the truth."
I spoke again quickly, not giving her time to worry or panic or jump to any conclusions like I know she would.
"This trip wasn't just to celebrate your graduation, no I had a much more selfish reason to bring you here." Without giving Umi a chance to say anything I quickly let go of her hands and grabbed the box in my coat pocket, dropping to a single knee and slowly slid the box out.
"Sonoda Umi, you've been my best friend since before we were born—because of you, I was able to make it into Otonokizaka and continue being your friend, because of you we won the national Kendo tournament in our first year, because of you I was able to keep μ's together and push through all the odds—you and you alone have shaped so much of my life and have helped me in deciding my future, and hopefully your own as well."
"Sonoda Umi, will you marry me?"
Grass AND snow, who said continuity had to exist?
I said I didn't really know where I was going while writing, and well... that pretty much makes it obvious.