That ring in your hand – a white gold ring, beset by a cornflower blue sapphire, the very colour of Navia’s eyes – held a lot more grief than it did just minutes before, when you knelt down, presented it to her, and popped the question.

Not because she rejected you, though. She would never do that. Instead, it was because you two had knelt at just about the same time. Unprompted, without any prior notice. You two just… managed to spontaneously propose together.

It took perhaps two minutes of you two staring at each other, her wide, blue eyes looking into your own before you both burst into laughter.

“I proposed first! The burden of accepting my proposal lies on you, babe!”

Navia somehow managed to convince herself that she was first – you would not take this slight on your honour! It was obvious that you were the first! You crossed your arms, giving her a retort.

You know that’s false! I did it first!

Navia’s eyes widen, her cheeks flushing at the sound of that. She couldn’t lose this battle either, because both of you had somehow convinced yourselves that whoever proposed first was the one who loved the other more!

“Well, I was recording it, let’s see-“

She whips out her phone that you didn’t even notice, watching the footage at 0.25x speed. You painstakingly endured the first minute or so of nothing, until – ah, there it was - you were the one who did it first!

Navia immediately snatches the phone away from your hands, trying to make an excuse for it while blushing fiercely.

“Uh… um, well, it’s obviously in reverse! Yeah! I recorded it in reverse because it’d be, um… super interesting! Yeah! Super super interesting! That’s why! I was the faster one, then! It’s settled!”

You wondered if this was a statement regarding her perception of your intelligence or her own.

Uh, Navia, that’s not how cameras work.

“I know! I just need an effective retort!”

She clamps her hand over her mouth, having said the quiet part out loud.

“Wh… what I mean is, uh… this is just a… new, uh, special phone camera!"