The Proposal
Regulus didn’t seem to want to talk about the cave after he woke up, and that was just fine with Barty, because to be honest, he didn’t really want to, either. They destroyed the locket by burning it with fiendfyre, and watching it burn was enough catharsis for Barty. It was like leaving it all behind, burning those horrid memories of the cave and what had happened inside. It was another silent affair, and Barty once again suspected Evan and Regulus were probably thinking similar things.
After a few days, everything went back to normal. Barty and Evan both kept a bit of a closer eye on Regulus for a while, but sleeping seemed to have helped, and the lingering effects didn’t last all that long.
That also left Barty lots of time to worry about something entirely different. Because, unbeknownst to anyone else, Barty had done something. Was planning something. You see, the cave had brought Barty to a very important realization. It was the realization that this was war- a real war, and that all 3 of them were now firmly on neither side. In fact, they were probably considered enemies of both sides. The Death Eaters would consider them traitors, and the Order of the Phoenix would probably throw them all in Azkaban at the first opportunity. They could only hope that they could stay in hiding here. They could only trust each other, nobody else. Not even people they used to consider friends.
But who knew if that would last? What if one of them died? What if all of them died? Or what if they got separated, captured, taken prisoner? The reality of the situation had sunk in, and Barty’s mind was full of worst case scenarios and what ifs. He was anxious now, somehow even more anxious than when they had all run away in the first place. And there was only one way Barty could think of that would ease his nerves.
So, Barty had bought a ring. A wedding ring. For Evan. Because if they were going to possibly die, or be taken prisoner, or any number of horrible, terrible things, then at the very least, Barty wanted this. He wanted to be able to know that Evan would be his forever, no matter what happened. Maybe it was stupid, Barty knew he was moving too fast, and he was almost certain Evan would say no. But he had to try, because he was sure he would go crazy if he didn’t.
Barty took Evan out to dinner. It was probably cliche and overdone, but Barty didn’t really know how any of this worked. And anyways, Evan seemed to be enjoying himself. Barty was nervous, but he tried to push it down in favor of having a nice evening. It was the type of place that served fancy wine and overpriced steak, and Evan seemed equal parts amused and happy that Barty would take him here. Barty was somewhat relieved by that fact.
It was only after they had both finished eating that Barty worked up the courage to actually do it. They were both getting up out of their seats to leave when Barty got on one knee and presented the ring.
“Hey, so, I know we scrapped the whole idea in favor of running away, but I still want to marry you, Rosie.” For a second, Barty felt like a total idiot. He was terrified and humiliated and as he saw Evans' shocked face, he was sure he was about to be turned down. He felt a wave of nausea and those familiar horrible thoughts start to take hold. And then Evan started laughing, just like he did when Barty had kissed him, and Barty knew everything would be fine.