It is honestly so beautiful out here and Maz seems to be having the time of her life. She seems so carefree she doesn't even look back when Josie and I start inevitably fighting over who gets to take pictures, even if it's just to take pictures of one another.

I hear the clicking of the camera behind me when I look back and Josie is giving me a shy smile with a giggle.

"Give me that camera, you look too beautiful not to document it."

"No." She responds immediately as she curls the camera into her body cradling it like a newborn who needs protection.

"Oh yeah? How long do you think you can keep it from me?"

"However long I need to. I am going to get the most perfect picture."

"Well, that's not possible when the most perfect thing is behind the camera." I say with a bit of a smirk.

I can see Josie trying to hold in her grin. "Oh, shut up you sweet talker."

All I can do is laugh at her statement. "You know you love me." I realize a little too late what actually came out of my mouth and Josie looks a bit frozen.

So instead of making things more awkward I run over to her and lift her up to carry her bridal style. Thank god it worked because soon the air around me is filled with Josie's beautiful laugh and the tension is gone.

I hear the camera clicking again and I can just tell that Josie is getting the worst angles and all the pictures so close are going to be blurry beyond belief but with the smile covering her face right now, I can't bring myself to tell her that.

I keep walking with our music in the background until Josie hears the water I have been hearing for far too long.

"Do you hear that? We must be getting closer."

"Jos, you're asking if, me, a vampire and werewolf can hear the waterfall?"

"I guess I am."

"You're adorable." I say as I lean down and kiss her cheek. "But I really want to see this waterfall. Come on Maz." I say as I break into a run to get us there faster with Maz right on my heels.

We are maybe 20 feet from it when I put Josie back down and let her walk to the site first with me a little bit behind her and Maz right by me.

I lean down quickly and go into the little pocket on Maz's pack and bring out the small case.

"Holy shit. Cypress, this is the most beautiful thing. Come here." She says without looking back and brings out the camera to start taking pictures.

I hear continuous clicks as I sneak behind her and kneel on one knee. I wait for a minute for her to turn around but she doesn't. I think Maz can sense what is wrong here so she walks up beside me and uses her nose to poke Josie on the back of her thigh before she takes a seat next to me.

Josie finally turns around and it is a good thing that she had a safety strap on that camera around her neck or she would have dropped it.

"Look, uh, I know what you're thinking and don't worry I am not proposing but I want to give you this and so did my parents."

I open the ring case to show her the wolf ring and her eyes widen and get a bit glossy.

"Cypress." Her words come out a bit quiet and trembling.

"No, wait. I had a whole speech I have been thinking about for days now and I am really nervous so I might forget it if you stop me." She nods and I clear my throat. 

"Jos, you are the best person that I have ever met. You do so much for me without even knowing it and I can only hope to do the same for you as long as we are together. I want to cook with you, I want to show you all the things that bring me joy and I want you to do the same. I want to learn everything about you because all of it will never be enough. I know I kind of blew it with what I said earlier so I am almost positive you know but I love you. I am so in love with you that it is terrifying but this is my promise that I will always love you. And you don't have to say it back because I know it's really early, but I had to have you know that. This doesn't have to be a promise and it doesn't have to be anything you don't want it to."

There's a beat of silence before Josie has a shy smile on her face.

"Can I speak now?" She asks in a bit of a teasing tone.

I nod. "Yes, I am sorry I just didn't want to forget and I didn't mean to cut you off I just wanted to get it out." I nervously ramble.

"Cypress, stop." She says as she grabs my cheek and slowly pulls me up from my spot on the floor so now, we are at the same level. She pulls me into a sweet kiss of reassurance before she pulls back slightly. "I love you."

"You do?"

"Of course, I do."

"So, you'll take the ring." I say with a big smile on my face. The only thing I feel right now is pure bliss.

"On one condition."

"What is it?" I ask embarrassingly quickly.

"I know you said it doesn't have to be a promise of anything but what if I want it to be?"

"Any promise you would like."

"Then as you put this ring on my finger, promise me that we will grow together. It should be a promise for our future."

I smile a bit as I look down at the ring in the case and gently pull it out. I look into her eyes to make sure that this is what she wants and when I see her smile stretched as big as mine, I pull her right hand into my own and start to slip it onto her pointer finger.

"Then, Josette Saltzman, with this ring I promise that you will always have my heart."

"And you will always have mine."

"I love you."

"I love you too." She says as she kisses my lips quickly before pulling back and examining the ring on her finger.

"Does it fit right?"

"It fits perfectly, how did you know my ring size?"

"So, about that. My parents actually got that ring made for you and I have no idea how they got the size right but my mom kind of has an eye for those types of things."

"Your parents got this ring made for me?" Josie askes with her eyes wide. Like now shes worried that my parents will take it back at some point. I guess there is a bit of pressure from parents giving you a family ring.

I scratch the back of my neck lightly. "Yes. I wasn't lying when I said they liked you a lot. I can only hope that your mom is still okay with me after you come home with the family symbol."

"Hmmm, you may have a point, but I think you'll be fine."

"I really hope so but give me that camera." She hands the camera over to me and I start taking pictures of her at the waterfall and we switch back and forth before we are satisfied.

We start to head back and about an hour in Josie changes the subject.

"Hey, so, what do you think about maybe going to Louisiana?"

"Louisiana?" I repeat a bit skeptically. "Do you want to be a bit more specific babe?"

"Maybe like New Orleans or something."

"Just say it."

"The Mikaelson compound." She gets out a bit quickly like it was fire on her tongue that she was dying to put out. It makes me think how long she's had this idea.

"There it is."

"Listen we don't have to go but I think we could help Hope more from there than from here. And I know that it is cutting short our travel time but I think this is the right move."

"Then can we leave tomorrow morning? I kind of don't want to leave tonight."

"Wait really?"

"Yes, I trust your instincts and your intuition. We can leave tomorrow if that's okay?"

"That's perfect. Wait, just like that?"

"Yep. Just like that." I say as I lean in and give her cheek a quick kiss. "I will do anything for you my love, as long as we can watch How to Train your Dragon tonight."

"Absolutely."

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Gentle reminder that How to Train your Dragon 1&2 is on Netflix in the US and who knows when it will be gone again. So, if you want, go watch them. Hope you all had a great day, happy 4/20 :)