A Love Like Ours

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily had thought about this for a long time, and with a solid plan in mind, she had asked Clifton to meet her down by the lake as the sun was setting. She had spent all day in the kitchens, cooking his favorite dinner and making a small two-person cake for them, and she had several presents tucked into the little wicker basket she'd put their food into. She laid out the blanket by the water, fiddling nervously with her braid while she waited. It was just before her birthday, and it was not long after his, so she had thought of a new way to celebrate it. He should be here soon, thankfully. She straightened her sundress, thinking the light blue color brought out her eyes nicely. She sighed, feeling more nervous the longer she waited.

 

[Clifton Ward]

Clifton felt as though life was passing him by much too fast. It seemed like only yesterday he had come to New Zealand, a nervous and terrified child, and now he was sixteen, with adulthood fast approaching. This was his last year of "childhood" before he would need to really start focusing on his future. At least he had a good way to ring in this year, heart warm as he laid eyes on Lily waiting for him. He hurried over to her, grinning sheepishly. "Hey!" He said brightly as he reached her, puffing slightly from the run. "Sorry, have you been waiting long?"

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily lit up when Clifton appeared, used to the odd thumping her heart always seemed to do when he was around. "Clif," She greeted happily, moving over and standing on tiptoe to kiss him. "No, I haven't been here long," She reassured him, dropping her hand to his and squeezing it before moving to sit down.

 

[Clifton Ward]

Clifton beamed as Lily approached, leaning down to kiss her quickly in greeting. "Oh, good." He said brightly, lacing their fingers together as she took his hand. He sat down with Lily, glancing at the basket she had brought. "Oh, what's in there?" He asked, wishing he had thought to bring proper picnic things.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily smiled brightly at his question, opening the basket and pulling out a few items, starting with a few wrapped gifts of varying sizes, followed by a small cake that she was personally very proud of. She followed it with a few drinks, before finally handing him a plate of bangers and mash. She'd spent most of the morning working on everything and could only hope he liked it. She bit her lip, looking up at him with eager blue eyes.

 

[Clifton Ward]

Clifton watched in awe as Lily pulled things out of the basket, shocked at how much she had brought. He felt doubly silly now, not having brought anything himself. It was oafish, to just assume she was going to supply the picnic, and she had done so so thoroughly that he felt even more ashamed of his own lack of consideration. "Oh, wow." He said softly, looking over the spread of food. "This is incredible, thank you so much!"

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily giggled, pleased with how happy he looked. "It's a bit late, but Happy Birthday, love," She reached up to press a kiss to his cheek, running her fingers gently through his hair before settling back in her spot, chatting softly with him while they ate the food and cake. She giggled as they finished eating, settling in against his side and pulling over the presents. One was some dorky socks that she'd thought he might like, another a fancy case for his flute that she had seen him admiring when they were in town one day, and another was a rare series of comics he needed to complete his collection that she'd had her father help her find. She smiled, eager to see if he liked her gifts.

 

[Clifton Ward]

Clifton could feel his cheeks flushing as Lily kissed his cheek, his grin brightening. He relaxed as they settled in to eat and chat, enjoying the peace and comfort of the picnic. His eyes widened when she reached for the presents, laughing nervously. "There's more?" Clifton smiled, but part of him was absolutely terrified. Lily's birthday was so soon, how was he supposed to compete with all this? He opened the presents one by one, eyes wide. Every single thing was a sign of how well she knew him, and it shocked him that there were so many. "I... this is too much..." He laughed nervously, looking over all of them. "Wow... thank you so much."

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily hesitated a moment before moving the presents to the side again and crawling into his lap. "Clifton," She ran her fingers down his jaw gently before leaning in and kissing him softly. "Silly," She pulled back and smiled warmly at him. "I liked to do it. Finding the gifts and making the food, I really liked it," She bit her lip, a little nervous with what she wanted to say but determined to say it anyway. She took his hand and pressed it against her heart, holding both hands lightly over his. "My heart is yours, completely," She bit her lip, lowering her eyes. "I've never felt this way before, I've never been so happy or felt so loved and safe," She hesitated, bringing a hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"I know you, and I know you're probably worried about my birthday. But all I want," She turned her blue eyes back to him, reaching up a hand to press it softly against his cheek. "Is you. We can cuddle on the couch with no cake or presents, and I'll still think it's the best birthday I've ever had." She reassured him gently. "I know I really put a lot into this for you, but I didn't do it expecting you to try and return the gesture later. I did it because I wanted to see you smile," She leaned forward and kissed him again, heart feeling full. "I love you, Clif. With all of my heart," She giggled softly.

 

[Clifton Ward]

Clifton felt clumsy with words at the best of times, but with Lily expressing such sincere, heartfelt emotions, he felt both honoured and clueless. What was he supposed to do with this? "I love you too." He smiled nervously, hands resting awkwardly on her waist. It felt silly and insufficient next to her extended profession of affection. "I... you're wonderful." He stammered out, struggling and failing to find the words. "You're... you're wonderful. I... yeah." He trailed off, face flushing. "Sorry."

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily bit her lip, her confidence faltering as he stammered his way through a cobbled sentence and seemed... uncomfortable with what she was saying. She worried she had pressed too far. She hesitated just a moment before crawling out of his lap again, sitting beside him and drawing her knees up to her chest. She wrapped one arm around them, looking away into the lake and twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "N-no, I... it is a bit too much, isn't it? I just... I just wanted to make you smile, I didn't... I'm sorry it's too much, I didn't..." She sighed softly, hugging her knees to her chest.

She bit her lip again, heart thumping a little in her chest. "I... I'm really sorry, I'm no good at this sort of thing, like dating and stuff," She curled in a little tighter on herself, feeling very shy. She had thought this was all a good idea, that he would be happy, but perhaps she had pushed too far.

 

[Clifton Ward]

Clifton's face dropped immediately as Lily pulled away from him. Oh no. Of course he had managed to ruin this. "I didn't say that!" He said quickly when she said it was too much, scrambling for something to say. He couldn't help a small laugh when she said she wasn't good at this, shaking his head quickly. "That's the opposite of the problem! You're too good!" He laughed nervously. "You're... sitting here coming up with a whole bloody romance novel, and I'm just... some guy." He touched Lily's arm nervously. "I just... don't know what to say. I can't talk like that. But you're... I mean... I feel the same, you know?"

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily glanced up at Clifton as he spoke, slowly relaxing the more he bumbled about. Eventually, when he had finished, she couldn't help but giggle. "You're not some guy." She murmured, cupping his jaw in her hand, and leaning forward again. "You're my guy," She smiled, leaning in and kissing him for several moments, slowly letting her hand trail from his jaw down to his chest. She smiled as she pulled away, moving to climb back into his lap and curling up against him, burying her face in his neck and enjoying being close. "Happy late birthday, darling," She murmured softly, pressing a kiss to his neck.

 

[Clifton Ward]

Clifton was a little nervous when Lily laughed at what he had to say, but he smiled in relief as she responded, choosing to kiss her back deeply rather than reply. He laughed nervously, flushing as she climbed into his lap, struggling to figure out where to put his hands. Eventually he settled for one on her back and the other on her knee, though it felt a little awkward. He rubbed her back when she wished him happy birthday, smiling warmly. "Thank you." He said softly, shivering at the unexpected kiss to his neck.