3 month anniversary (=

Friday the 4th, I took Jase and Alexis for a girl's day.  Flynn, for whatever reason, hadn't wanted to come - I thought maybe he had a headache and wasn't telling me, or something.  And he hadn't even breathed a word about it being our 3 month anniversary, at all, all week; so maybe he'd forgotten.  But regardless. 
Despite Jase's request, I didn't let the girls ride today - It was a two-doll job, to lead the horse forward and to make sure nobody falls off.  Instead, at their next request, I took them to see the 18 inchers.  They played with Nells, Samantha, and Julie whilst I chatted with Hailey and a few of the others.  I made a special point to say hello to Kailey, and when she realized I was standing right in front of her so she could read my lips, she allowed herself a small smile, concealed by looking down. 

We spent the majority of the day out; the girls seemed to already have forgotten about Merida's departure.  Which, I must admit, I was a bit relieved to know, because Merida still wasn't out of the box, and we sill hadn't figured out a way to get her out.  Rather, I haven't.  Rose and I have yet to attempt a group effort :P  

So we got home around eight, the girls exhausted. 
Flynn greeted us with that classic grin.  "Well, if it isn't three of my favorite girls..."
Jase ran into his arms.  He scooped her up and carefully tossed her into the air a few times, and she giggled until she squirmed to be let down.  He set her down, and she raced over to Rose, and I overheard her excitedly narrating her day. 
Alexis gave Flynn a shy smile and then hurried off to join her sister.
I smiled, watching them, until Flynn turned towards me and winked. 
"I hope your greeting is better than the last,"  he joked.  "I haven't seen you in...what...twelve hours?" 
I rolled my eyes at him, giggling.  I walked over and gave him a quick hug before Flynn turned me away from everyone else so he could steal a quick little kiss. 
Remembering my earlier concern about him having a migraine, as soon as he pulled away, I asked, "So..how're you feeling?" 
Giving me a confused look, he said, "I'm fine...why?  Aren't you-"
"Just wondering," I said, giving him a smile, even though that had made me even more confused. 

After the girls had finished talking with Rose, an hour later, they went to bed.  Hallie went right asleep as well, thank goodness, and then I started to brush my hair out, getting ready for bed myself. 
"What'cha doin'?"  Flynn came up behind me and gave me a quick hug.  I tried not to accidentally smack him with the brush when I hit a snag in my hair, but luckily enough, he noticed that and stepped back.  (When you're married to someone with such long hair, you learn relatively fast to stay out of dodge of potential harm inflicted by tangled-up brushes.  :D) 
"I'm... getting ready for bed...." I said, working through the knot.  "What're you doing?"  I added, jokingly. 
"Waiting for you," he said. 
"Go on to bed- Ah-hah!  See?  I'm done now, anyway," I laughed to myself. 
"Come with me instead," he requested, holding out a hand to me. 
"Why?"  I asked, quirking a brow. 
"You didn't think I forgot that today was our 3-month anniversary, did you?" 
Well, precisely. 
"Well, uh... Wh..where'd we be going?  It's dark, and it's, like, ten PM!  You need to get to sleep." 
"C'mon."  He chuckled and reached for one of my hands.  "Just trust me."
I allowed him to take me wherever he was taking me, but I was confused as all get-out, and wasn't exactly enthused with his secrecy. 
Finally, he stopped at the windowsill. 
"Why...the window?"  I asked, looking at him questioningly. 
"Look up," he told me, pointing.
And then I saw them.  The millions of gorgeous stars stood out like diamonds against a black velvet sky, and the night was as clear as it could possibly be. 
"Oh my gosh," I breathed.  I went up to the window and pressed my nose up against it, staring up at the sky with amazement.  I backed up a couple of small steps, trying to take in every single thing I could take in, and bumped into Flynn's chest.  "Oh - sorry!  I just...this is amazing, Flynn!  I've never even seen the stars before!" 
I could just see a little bit of the moon, but there was enough light from it to illuminate Flynn's face.  I turned towards him and couldn't wipe the smile off my face.  He was giving me a loving gaze, and I smiled even more when I realized that.  "Thank you so much for doing this, Flynn...it's perfect!" 
"I know it's not exactly a unique thing or original, but we hadn't done this before, just sit and look at the stars...so I figured I'd see how you liked it." 
"I love it...we could do this anytime!"  I exclaimed, giving him a hug before I ecstatically went to look at the stars again. 
Flynn propped himself up against a corner of the window frame, flopping down, and he caught my attention long enough to invite me to come sit on his lap. 
Instead, I came over and curled up on my side beside him, and continued to stared out the window.  I almost sub-consciously put my arms around him and he did the same, grinning down at me before kissing my forehead.  Leaning my head on his chest, we both just stared out the window in silence for awhile.  I couldn't not look at it all!  It was so pretty, and such a clear night. 
"I can't believe it's been three months already," I sighed, and he looked down at me to smile adoringly.  "This is just so perfect!" 
"Isn't it?  But it wouldn't be as perfect if you weren't here," he told me, and I wasn't sure whether I wanted to be annoyed by his sappiness or to like him just a little bit more. 
Eh.  Tonight I'll go with the last option.  :D 
I sat up and he gave me a questioning look until I pulled him into a kiss.  When I pulled away, he gazed at me tenderly and stroked the hair from my face before I curled up beside him once more. 
He put a hand on my arm, and then jerked it away.  "Why didn't you tell me you were cold?" 
I quite honestly had been too busy gazing up at the stars to realize I was cold, but since he had mentioned it, I realized I was, actually, a little chilly. 
"I uh...I didn't really...know."  I said, sure it sounded beyond lame. 
He chuckled and stood up, pulling away from my arms. 
"Wait...no," I said, standing as well.  "It's fine -I hadn't even-"
He turned and put a finger over my lips.  "I have the hankerchief right over here.  I figured it would get chilly up here." 
I felt stupid, but he seemed to be in good humor about it.  He retrieved it, draped it over my shoulders, and then wrapped me up tight in his arms, giving me a kiss.
"Aren't you cold?"  I asked, and he shook his head.
"No, I've got long sleeves - you're running around in a short-sleeved dress!" 
We stood and looked outside for awhile, until Flynn sat back down. I stayed standing for a few minutes, taking in the stars, but then I plopped down beside him again. 
"So...are you bored, or..?"  He asked me. 
I glanced up at him.  "No!  I love this.  We should do this more often." 
"Okay.  Fine by me," he said, and I glanced back towards him just in time to catch his affectionate gaze, which he quickly averted when he caught me looking at him. 
I giggled and nestled close to him and we stayed just like that for I don't know how long. 

Eventually, though, reality hit me and I jumped all over, gasping. 
"You need to get to bed!" I exclaimed, standing up abruptly.
"Just this one night...  It won't hurt me," he reassured me, snagging my hand. 
"But if you get a-" 
"I won't," he said, pulling me back down beside him.  "Don't worry." 
I looked up at his brown eyes and grinned as I melted just a teeeeensy tiny bit.  He must've noticed, because he smiled and leaned towards me.  My lips met his in a kiss that made my stomach erupt with butterflies, my heart flutter, and my head got all muddled up.  When he pulled away, he stroked my cheek with the pad of his thumb, and I suddenly got self-conscious. 
I pulled away from his touch and my eyes darted, trying to find something to look at.  I felt my face grow hot, and was glad he couldn't see-
"You know, you're probably the only doll I know who can pull off that adorable, red-faced embarrassment expression."  He joked, but he let me have some space. 
"Yeah, yeah...I dunno why I'm embarrassed, though."  I mumbled.  "I goober everything up."   I added, suddenly remorseful for leaving his gentle touch. 
"No, you don't.  Quite the opposite."  He pulled me close again, and we sat for awhile longer, looking at the stars and enjoying the quiet companionship.   

Next thing I remember, my shoulder was being jiggled. 
"Wake up, dear girl.  I was gonna try carrying you back to the shelf, but it's dark and I don't want to drop you." 
I allowed one eye to peel open, and then I got the other one open. 
"W-what time is it?"  I asked groggily.  "Wh-ohhh....how long was I out?" 
"I dunno.  I nodded off for a little while too.  It's two in the morning." 
Hardly awake enough for that to compute, I simply nodded and stared sleepily at him, yawning. 
He chuckled before he brushed the hair from my face.  When I got myself woken up the rest of the way, he helped me up and took my hand comfortably into his, folding up the hankerchief to carry it under his other arm. 
When we got back to the shelf, Flynn checked on the girls to make sure they were warm enough, and I waited for him to lay down. 
"So...did you enjoy your evening?"  Flynn asked, crawling under the hankerchief, which I'd spread out. 
"Very much so.  Happy anniversary, I love you way too much for words to express, and good night." 
He chuckled, and started to answer me, but I was out before he was finished.