Hello all! I'm finally getting around to updating this fic. Taking nursing isn't exactly a walk in the park and I managed to get a job as a waitress for a short time, so I've been pretty busy this semester. Now that I'm on break, I went back and found that I had written half of this chapter a few months ago and kind of just forgot about it. To those that have been following and patiently waiting on this story, I'm sorry for the long wait, and if you're still interested in it, then thank you!

I liked how this chapter came out and I spent a while going over it to make it just right so I hope you guys will like it too! This will be further into their relationship during their S-rank support so I would imagine that they would be totally comfortable with each other at this point.

Sumia gasped when Gaius revealed the ring to her. He avoided her gaze as he struggled with his words. "I-I know it's not the fanciest ring. It's actually far from it and far less than what you deserve… I also know that you should be with a better man than me. I'm just too damn selfish, or maybe just too stupid, to let you go" at this point, he was fidgeting as his cheeks warmed. "Look, I know I can't compete with Blue, and I don't want to pressure you into accepting my feelings, but I just wanted you to know that… I love you." Finally, he shifted his gaze to look into her eyes, but was startled when he saw her tears.

"Oh, Gaius…" she mumbled behind her hands.

"C-crivens, you're crying… Look I told you, you don't have to feel obligated to accept. Just say the words and we'll forget that this ever happened," his eyes darted in every direction to avoid her gaze as he pulled a piece of candy from his pocket and began to fumble with the wrapper.

"No wait, Gaius—"

"It's okay, really. I wasn't really expecting you to feel the same way. I mean, I've seen the way you look at Chrom. You could be queen if he would just notice what he has in front of him," the candy fell to the floor and he huffed in exasperation as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Gaius—"

"I'll just go, thanks for the cake though…" he turned to walk away when a rock hit him right on the forehead. "What the—"

"Idiot! Have you seen the way she looks at you! Just listen to her!" Gaius and Sumia whipped around to see a red-faced Lissa, who had been listening outside of the kitchen tent. Her outburst had startled a few passing soldiers, drawing unwanted attention much to the couple's dismay.

"What are ya doin' here, dammit?! This was supposed to be private!" Gaius yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the blonde. "Didn't they teach you not to eavesdrop in princess school?!"

"If I didn't interrupt, who would be here to stop you from being such an IDIO- Hey!" Lissa was about to charge into the tent, but was seized by the arm. Robin poked her head around the tent flap, glared at the younger girl, and flashed an apologetic smile to the couple, all while struggling to drag her future sister-in-law away.

"Sorry, won't happen again! Come along everyone, nothing to see here" she called as she pushed the princess back towards camp. The whining finally faded away and Gaius sighed in annoyance.

"Those idiots…" Gaius grumbled to himself before he felt a hand slip into his. Looking to his side, he saw Sumia smiling at him with big watery eyes.

"You're the idiot," she grinned. "And if this ring means what I think it does, then I'd be happy to spend the rest of our lives proving that I love you, not anyone else."

He stared at her in shock for a few minutes before he snapped out of it and swept her up in a kiss. "Are you sure? You deserve the world and once the war is over, all I can offer you is my love and devotion. You would be shamed by your family and friends for marrying a thief, no matter how hard I try to win them over… would you really give up the life you had just to be with me?" he almost regretted the words as soon as he said them in case they opened her eyes and caused her to change her mind. He searched her eyes for any signs of doubt, but there was none to be found.

"Gaius, I love you and I will never be ashamed of that. I promise you that nothing will change the way I feel about you," she brushed some stray hair away from his eyes. "Besides, you're not defined by your past. You're a Shepherd now, and my hero." His eyes widened in shock before he leaned into her once again.

After breaking away, he reached into his pocket and pulled the ring out. "I love you Sumia. Will you marry me?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" She managed in between kisses. She offered her hand as he slid the ring onto her finger.

"I think you've just made me the happiest man alive," he murmured against her lips.

She admired the ring as a tear rolled down her cheek. "It's beautiful. Where did you find something like this?"

"You don't have to be so nice about you know," he chuckled. "It's worth a lot in sentimental value. I made it myself out of the strongest materials I could find. It's just about unbreakable, just like—" he caught himself before he could embarrass himself further. "Let's dig into this cake! It looks positively delicious! Time to celebrate!" he avoided her eyes as he set the cake down and scrounged around for something to cut it with.

"Wait Gaius, what were you going to say? You can tell me," she gently caught his hand, stilling his movements that had become increasingly jerky when he realized she had been watching him. He stared at their intertwined fingers for a moment, lingering on the ring that now bound them together, before slowly raising his gaze to meet hers. The look of absolute love and adoration on her face shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did and he suddenly felt guilty for doubting his place in her heart.

He cleared his throat before continuing where he left off. "I was going to say that… the ring should be damn near unbreakable just like," he took a deep breath as he felt the flush creep up the back of his neck. Looking into her eyes again, he felt a comforting feeling of warmth, safety, and acceptance spread throughout the rest of his body. He realized then that this was where he wanted to be; by her side for the rest of his life. "Unbreakable… just like the bonds between us," he finished softly as he gathered her into his arms. He was home.

I feel like I'm a little bit rusty at writing them again since it's been so long, but I think I should be able to get back into it. Let me know if you liked it! Merry Christmas, and happy holidays!