The rain started as a whisper—barely audible, a mist brushing the cobblestone streets of the old Marseille neighborhood. Talia tilted her face up toward the gray sky, blinking as the droplets turned heavier. Around her, tourists scattered, ducking into cafés and shops. But she stood still, the hem of her sundress dampening, hair frizzing in wild curls.
Ezra caught up to her, already soaked. "Talia, we should get inside!"
She just smiled. "Not yet."
"You're going to catch a cold."
"You're such a grandpa sometimes," she teased.
Ezra raised an eyebrow, water dripping from his curls. "And you're reckless."
"Maybe. But I'm also happy."
She twirled once in the rain like she was dancing with the sky. Ezra shook his head, half laughing, half mesmerized. He watched her—the way her eyes sparkled even under storm clouds, the way she wore joy like a second skin.
"I have something for you," he said suddenly, reaching into his coat pocket.
Talia stopped spinning. "Now?"
He nodded, pulling out a small velvet pouch. It was slightly damp from the rain, and inside it, no gleaming diamond or glittering gem waited. Instead, he held out a thin strip of ivory ribbon, delicate and soft.
Talia frowned, curious.
Ezra stepped forward, gently taking her left hand. "I couldn't wait for a ring," he said. "Didn't want to wait for a store or the right setting. I just… I wanted you to have something now."
He looped the ribbon carefully around her finger, tying it into a tiny bow.
"A ribbon ring?" she whispered.
He nodded. "For now. It's not fancy, and it's probably going to get soaked. But it means everything."
Talia looked down at it, the simple bow shining wet under the gray sky, and suddenly tears welled in her eyes—warm, despite the rain.
"It's perfect," she said, her voice cracking. "It's… so us."
They stood there in the rain, forehead to forehead, his hands still cradling hers.
"I love you, Ezra Wren," she whispered.
"And I love you, Talia Quinn.Reckless heart and all."
They kissed then, slow and meaningful, their laughter lost in the sound of the storm around them. Cars splashed through puddles, thunder rolled low in the distance, and still, they stayed—two drenched, foolishly-in-love people promising forever with nothing more than ribbon and conviction.
Later, wrapped in a blanket on their apartment couch, Talia stared at the bow around her finger.
"I'm never taking it off," she said.
"You don't have to," Ezra replied, drying her hair with a towel.
"It might fall off in the shower."
"Then I'll make another one."
She looked over at him, a sleepy smile spreading across her face. "You really didn't want to wait for a real ring?"
Ezra shrugged. "What's more real than this?"
Talia leaned into him. "I think this is the happiest I've ever been."
"Even though you're soaked and freezing?"
"Especially because of that."
That night, they fell asleep with rain tapping on the windows and ribbon tied around her finger. They didn't know where the next year would take them—finals, rotations, the world beyond university—but that didn't matter.
Because some things didn't need gold to shine.
Some promises started small.
Like a ribbon.
And rain.
And love that was never quiet again.