Snowed in [For Henri]

[adifferentlife]

Two days and Sybil is more than tired of this place. She had packed enough clothes to last the three days they would be there, but being snowed in meant that she had loaned out much of it to friends. The suite that had seemed so large their first night now seemed cramped, even more than her training quarters had. That morning Rene had returned rather racously, and now Sybil sought silence in the bedroom. She also needed something to wear, her simple day dress tired and worn after a full 36 hours.

Her own bag was empty other than something she had hoped to wear for Henri on a more romantic night. That night had never come to pass, and now she found herself forced to go to his bag in the hope of a shirt or something that she could slip on and still be decent in the outer rooms. She pulled a button down shirt out of the bag, pleased at the size, and thinking it would do well over a pair of tights. It was only when she went to hold it up against her that she saw the box that had tumbled out of his bag.

Tempting, she can't help but crouch to pick it up. Pandora's box, perhaps, yet she opened it anyway. What she saw inside surprised her, the brightness of the diamonds both unexpected and welcome. Had he meant to propose? She stood, still in her day dress, staring at it, unable to do anything else.

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[jaimemieux]

Combeferre’s new year’s day plans, carefully constructed over the last few weeks, had fallen to pieces as the snow piled up outside. These first few days of the new year had brought not the romance and hope he had expected - that both he and Sybil had expected, if not in entirely the same way - but instead makeshift meals by a harried but helpful staff, and trapped friends piling into their rooms, and worry over how long they would be trapped. In fact, Henri and Sybil had found barely a few minutes alone, hardly enough time for a proposal. Or the right circumstances for one.

Most of the trapped guests and staff are in the ballroom, and Combeferre, too, takes the opportunity to slip away, not realizing in the general commotion of so many people in so small a place that Sybil has done the same. He could do with a nap, perhaps a shower, while the rooms that were meant to be theirs alone are blessedly unoccupied.

But when he returns the key and nudges open the door, he is startled by what greets him. There is Sybil, standing near their pile of luggage, and in her hand sits a small and terribly familiar box.

He swallows, and carefully shuts the door behind him.

[adifferentlife]

It takes Sybil a long moment to realise that there is someone else in the room, and that the someone is Henri. The box seems `heavy in her hands, full of hope and promise and yet it scares her. To commit so utterly to this life in Darrow and to leave her life before behind her is a prospect both thrilling and terrifying.

She looks up to him, holding the small box out. “I was looking for a shirt that might be clean,” Sybil explains, not wanting to seem as if she was snooping. “Is this- is it?”

[jaimemieux]

Combeferre closes his eyes and takes a breath. This is not what he planned, not at all, and he is suddenly terrified that the entirety of the last few days is meant to serve as some sort of omen. Is some force telling him, turn back, before it is too late?

No, no, no. He mustn’t be ridiculous. This is Sybil before him, not some dream, and the madness of the last few days has amounted to mere silliness, not danger. With half a laugh, Combeferre takes off his spectacles and rubs his hand over his eyes. When he meets her gaze again, he is grinning sheepishly.

“If you would like it to be, then yes. Or I can find us a more romantic moment, if you prefer."

[adifferentlife]

The moment is not as ridiculous as it might seem. They are alone, and in their current situation that is a treasure. For all that he might have planned otherwise, this is where they have found themselves, and Sybil cannot say she regrets it.

Pulling the ring from the box, she holds it out to him. After all, has their life not been a mix of discovery and misadventures? Sybil wanted this and him so very much. "If you cared to ask, I have it on good authority the answer would be yes, no matter this situation."

[jaimemieux]

For a moment, Henri cannot breathe. True, he would never have been so bold as to buy the ring if he had not been certain of Sybil’s answer, but doubts can still beset a man at moments like this, and to hear her yes before he has even properly asked sends giddy joy through him.

A moment passes before he realizes that, by God, he has not even said the words. “Ah- ah, yes. Alors-“ Fumbling, Henri pick up the ring from her upturned palm, and sinking down beside her, takes her hand.

“Sybil, ma chere, mon amour-“ Strange, but even now, the words stick in his throat. “Will you marry me?"

[adifferentlife]

Sybil understands being breathless and without words; she finds herself the same. Even knowing that what he was about to do didn't change the thrill of the moment.

"My darling," she says, nodding when her tongue fails her. Clasping his hand with her own she finds the words, or rather the one word that she needs. "Yes. Yes of course I will."

[jaimemieux]

Combeferre’s hands are trembling as he slides the ring on Sybil’s finger - not from fear, not really, but from a giddy, overwhelmed wonder. This has happened. She has said yes. Once the ring is settled snugly on her hand, he presses his palms to her cheeks and kisses her.

He has never felt so like he will float away, and yet also so perfectly steady.

[adifferentlife]

When the ring slips over her finger she gasps, looking down and willing it to be real. The metal is cool and her hand feels slightly different than it did before now that she has it on.

"This is real?" Sybil asks it softly, her lips pressed to his. She wants to be with him so very much and she hopes he knows. "We're engaged?"

[jaimemieux]

“If you truly wish it to be.” His eyes are bright with giddiness. “I know I cannot give you quite the wedding you would have expected at home, but I swear it will be memorable. And,” he chuckles, ducking his head, “less apt to be ruined by the weather than this proposal, I hope."

[adifferentlife]

"I do not want the wedding that I would have had there," she says, intent and serious. For there is nothing Sybil wants less than the trappings that would have come with a wedding at Downton. "I want something simple, and beautiful, and something that involves all that we hope for."

[jaimemieux]

“That we can manage, I hope.” Their faces still close together, Combeferre ducks his head, wonder lingering in his smile. There is still a part of him that still fears he will not meet her expectations, not through any fault of either of theirs, but through the great gap in their life experiences before Darrow, but at every turn, he finds assurances.

“How I love you, Sybil."

[adifferentlife]

"And I you," she says with a smile, a tear in the corner of her eye. It is happiness that is making her cry, and not sorrow, there is nothing sorrowful in her right now. "Should we have something to celebrate? There is still a bottle of champagne I was holding, I had hidden it from Rene."

[jaimemieux]

“Clever girl.” With an unsteady laugh, Combeferre pushes himself to his feet and offers Sybil a hand. “Quick, before he returns. With out luck, Courfeyrac shall barge in and demand to know what the fuss is about.” Despite his complaints, Combeferre’s eyes twinkle, for though he relishes these moments with his future bride, he delights in the thought of sharing his news with his friends.

[adifferentlife]

She rises with his help, kissing him quickly before going to her own case. Beneath the clothes is a bottle, and warm though it might be, Sybil does not mind. She opens it, laughing when the warm liquid bubbles up. "Here, here, you must get glasses."

The time will come to tell their friends and she will do it gladly. But for now she wants only to celebrate with Henri, her fiance.

[jaimemieux]

“Sybil!” Henri laughs as he scrambles to fetch the pair of champagne flutes that rest atop the suite’s small bar. The drink seems dangerously close to soaking their limited supply of clothes, but with such joy in his heart, he cannot even bring himself to care. “Ici…” He catches her lips for another kiss even as he tries to catch the bubbling liquid spilling out of the bottle.

[adifferentlife]

Laughter is a contagious thing, Sybil forgets whom it was who first said those words to her. Joy is contagious as well, and she pulls away from his kiss only to splash wine into both of their glasses. When they both hold one she puts the bottle aside and turns to him, resting a somewhat sticky hand on his cheek. "I love you so very much."

[jaimemieux]

Grinning stupidly, Henri turns his head to press a kiss to her palm, tasking that bit of champagne that has dried there. He clinks his glass against hers and sips the drink - it’s predictably warm, and a tad too sweet, and almost as much is on their skin as is caught in their glasses, but how can he can about any of that. “And I love you,” Henri murmurs, and leans in to kiss her again, this time with a little more fervor.

But he has barely met her lips when the door bursts open. “Mes chers amis! I was wondering where you might have…ah.” The familiar voice turns knowing, and Combeferre can feel the interloper’s smirk.

He sighs. “Courfeyrac."

[adifferentlife]

She nearly groans, sighing as she closes her eyes and presses her cheek to Henri's. Sybil feels as if she called him to them, and she wanted nothing more than a few more moments alone with her love.

"Rene," she says, puling away. "Would you care to join us?"

[thepaladin]

Combeferre groans, but Courfeyrac’s grin predictably broadens further, and there is nothing anything can do to stop it. “I thought you would never ask, ma belle,” the interloper replies with a wink.

Combeferre sighs and bows his head, trying not to reach for the ring on Sybil’s finger. He loves Courfeyrac, but once he knows about the engagement, everyone will know, and Combeferre had been looking forward to sharing the news in his own way.

But how can he avoid it. Summing up a smile and a rueful sigh, he gestures towards the bottle Sybil still holds. “There’s champagne.”

“Well, well. What are we celebrating?” In light of his friend’s discomfort, Courfeyrac softens slightly, but that does not stop his curiosity from taking root.

[adifferentlife]

It takes a long few seconds before she realises that she's suggested something untoward, flushing and turning to look away from Rene. She was utterly embarrassed, and needs a moment longer to be able to speak. When she turns back she is no less flushed, but she is more composed. "We're engaged. Henri proposed."

[thepaladin]

“Pardieu!” Courfeyrac turns to his sheepishly smiling friend and claps him on both shoulders. “So you shall be the first of us sacrificed on the altar of middle class morality. Marius will be devastated.” Combeferre opened his mouth to protest, but Courfeyrac held up his hand. “And I would chide you terribly for it if I was not so deliriously happy for you. What a surprise.” With a twinkle in his eye, he turns back to Sybil. “He didn’t make a mess of the proposal, did he?”

“Courfeyrac!"

[adifferentlife]

She looks to Henri with sympathy, wanting to tell him it's all fine but not wanting to embarrass him in front of his friend. So Sybil smiles, nodding genuinely at the other man instead. "It was lovely, quite wonderful actually. Exactly the proposal that it should have been."

[jaimemieux]

“I take that as a yes, then,” Courfeyrac beams, and Combeferre rolls his eyes. But the man seems to have completed his requisite teasing - at least for the time being - for next he clasps Sybil’s hand and brings her knuckles to her lips with genuine sweetness. “You are a very lucky woman, mademoiselle.”

Combeferre blushes. “I don’t suppose I can convince you to keep this to yourself for a short time? I’d like to tell people myself.”

Courfeyrac chuckles. “I promise to try. As I am sure you know, I cannot promise to succeed.”

Despite himself, Combeferre grins.

[adifferentlife]

“Then we should likely tell them quickly,” Sybil says, resigned but happy. Rene is what he is, and as often as she sighs at him, she does hold him in esteem. He is a good person at the heart of it, and one of Henri’s friends, which makes him all the more special.

Bowing her head at the brush of his lips against her hand, she glances up to see Henri’s eyes. “And be thankful there are no telephones that work up here.”

[jaimemieux]

Both men laugh as they exchange a look. Courfeyrac offers Sybil a wink, and without waiting for an invitation, he plucks away the bottle of champagne and brings it to the side table, where he sloshes a decent amount into a drinking glass. For all he loves his friend, Combeferre has had quite enough of the man. He wants to spend the rest of the afternoon in his fiancee's arms. Starting now.

“Courfeyrac.”

He looks up with wide eyes full of innocence. “Mm?”

“Drink that quickly, will you?”

[adifferentlife]

Sybil tries to bite back her smile but isn't able to manage it. It tugs at the corners of her mouth, and she nips at her lip. She agress with Henri entirely, though they haven't spoken aloud. What Sybil wants is to spend some time with her new fiance.

"Perhaps we toast and then you can go rejoin those who are here?"

[thepaladin]

For once in his ridiculous life, Courfeyrac willingly takes the hint. “Yes! Yes, naturallement. The two of you have business to attend to.” He cannot resist the wink as he clinks his water glass against their flutes. “To the kindest, most sensible couple that Darrow has surely ever seen. Congratulations, mes amis.” As promised, he finishes his champagne in a single swallow.

“And to prove just how much I love the both of you, I will keep your houseguests occupied for, say, the next hour or so.”

Combeferre blushes anew, but he smiles. “Thank you, Rene."

[adifferentlife]

Her own cheeks are pink as well, but she nods. It is kind of him, and the time with Henri is exactly what she wants.

"Thank you Rene." Sybil takes a sip when he toasts, her free hand in Henri's still. "You are a good friend."

[jaimemieux]

“The very best.” Courfeyrac places his hand over his heart. “Farewell, ma chere, mon ami. And my deepest condolences - pardon, congratulations - to you both.” He hands Combeferre his glass, and Henri has no choice but to take it, watching Courfeyrac go with long-suffering fondness.

“Well. That was…unexpected."

[adifferentlife]

“Yes, and no,” she said with a sigh though she no longer looks resigned. There is much that she has come to expect from Rene Courfeyrac, his ability to show up when least convenient and most entertaining (for him) one of them. “I suppose we’re lucky Gavroche is not snowed in as well, or we would never have had enough peace for this.”

Sybil holds out her hand, the ring simple and beautiful on her finger. Unsure of what else to say she turns to him, a kiss better than any words.

[jaimemieux]

“Le bon Dieu,” Combeferre groans at the very thought. But such concerns are swiftly chased from him by her sweet kiss. All he wishes to do now, more than anything in the world, is kiss Sybil until they are both senseless. “I love you very much, ma cherie,” he whispers, cupping her face to kiss her again, deeply and with more purpose now.