Knock Knock.

Shuffling was heard behind the Younes' family home, followed by the teasing giggles of the siblings as their footsteps raced towards the door. Nicholas bit his smile back, eyes visualizing Dina and her brothers tripping one another to answer the door first, and reveal their unexpected visitor.

"Guys!" whined a childish voice from far into their home. "Wait for me!"

"Dina, I claimed door rights," yelled Humaid.

Dina scoffed. "That's not even a thing."

"It is now!" he countered, his voice coming closer to the door.

A loud thump and crash was heard as the siblings most likely toppled on top of each other. Their voices drowned into a sea of hyperactive children, finding pleasure in the smallest things like opening a door. Although their bickering continued, calm footsteps approached the door, and Nicholas tensed.

He held his breath, praying it wasn't their father.

Luckily, Haroon opened the door, his classic black beanie covering his dark mass of hair, inky strands feathering his forehead. At seeing Nicholas's nervous face, he grinned, his glasses glinting like diamonds in the sunlight.

"Assalamualaikum, Nick," he said, leaning against the door frame. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

A smile broke across Nicholas's lips. "Waalaikumussalam, Haroon. Do I even want to know what all that pushing and shoving was?" he asked, raising a brow.

Haroon shrugged. "They're children. What do you expect?"

"Hey!" yelled the chorus of siblings.

The older twin looked behind his shoulder, possibly checking if his sisters had their hijabs on, before he opened the door wider. Nicholas stepped in, right foot first as the Sunnah (Prophetic tradition) said, whispering a small prayer he recently learned. Slipping his shoes off, he followed an impressed Haroon into their living room.

Dina and Humaid were still on the ground when he walked in, pouting at one another with deadly glares, an odd combination to say the least. Dunya, the youngest of the bunch, stared at her older brother and sister with a shy smile hiding behind her hands.

Nicholas chuckled. "I'm glad that you two are still as foolish as ever."

At the smooth tone of his voice, Dina's anger dissipated into the cool air of their house like icy breaths on a cold, winter day. Her captivating, yet exotic umber eyes met his in a quick, affectionate glance. Blushing, she averted her gaze, pretending to fix her hijab.

Humaid stood up, greeting Nicholas with their typical handshake. "Nice to see you again after that awkward library encounter," he said, nervously scratching the back of his neck. "I'm really sorry about that, sport."

"Don't worry about it. You were just being a good brother," said Nicholas. "But I have come to ask your father about something."

All four siblings slowly turned to him, eyes wide in disbelief and visages painted in complete, utter fear like he had stepped into forbidden territory with his request. Dina and Dunya were ghostly pale while Haroon and Humaid failed to wrap their head around the request.

"Nicholas?" asked a soft, motherly voice. "Did you say you were looking for my husband?"

He averted his gaze. "Y-Yes. Is that a bad thing?" he questioned through the bundle of nerves that had his tongue tied. His fingers fidgeted with the velvet box in his pocket.

"Not at all!" she exclaimed, eyes brightening. "Ignore those four. They often get the wildest imaginations."

"To be fair," commented Haroon, "our imaginations derive from the arbitrary demeanor of our beloved father's judgments."

Humaid's brown eyes narrowed, face blank and lips pursued at his twin. "Hey, man. Come back to this house after you learn common English."

Dunya stifled her giggle. "Major burn," she whispered.

"Very funny," said Haroon sarcastically.

"Boys," scolded their mother in her deadly, but venomous voice that demanded respect. "Enough."

Instantly, they shut up.

Wow, that's some real superpowers there, thought Nicholas.

He cleared his throat. "Is there any way that I could speak to him?"

She nodded, calling to her husband from the bottom of the stairs. As they awaited his arrival, Nicholas could not stop his traitorous eyes. From the looks of it, neither could Dina.

Pulling her bottom lip into her mouth, she stole shy glances at him, cheeks flushing a color similar to the hundreds of roses that once fell upon them, shrouding the young couple in an amorous daze of glistening memories. His heart thumped irregularly at the thought.

From Dina's baggy gray hoodie to her loose sweatpants, his eyes wanted to devour her, lips chasing after hers and body molding against her. Being the gentleman that he was, he tore his gaze away, feeling the heat of burning lust crawl up his neck, biting him with its potion of desire.

After what seemed like an eternity in torture, Dina's father finally descended the steps, eyes meeting Nicholas's bright cerulean ones, taking note of the tempting storm that brewed behind his guise of ease.

He furrowed his brows. "Assalamualaikum, Nicholas. I didn't know you were coming today."

At least he sort of likes me.

"Waalaikumsalam, sir," he said. "I had some very important matters to discuss with you."

"Oh?"

Allah, give me strength. The whole room held their breaths, a mere whisper of mingled confusion hovering above them like flocks of birds. The feathers of their doubts swarm around Nicholas, spinning the world until his eyes lost focus.

He blinked. "Um... I was wondering if I could... well that is-" rambled Nicholas as he looked everywhere but at Dina's father's eyes. The man's scrutinizing gaze suffocated him.

Their father crossed his arms. "Spit it out, Nicholas."

Inhaling sharply, he blurted the words out his chest. "I came to ask for Dina's hand in marriage," he said, pulling out the velvet box in his pocket. "I want to marry her."

The Younes twins choked.

"Haroon, I think Nick's lost his mind," whispered Humaid.

His brother elbowed him. "Shut up!" he hissed.

Although the boys tried to lighten the situation with some of their subtle remarks, their father was impassive, not sparing his sons' or wife a glance as he stared at Nicholas, long and hard. With eyes darker than coal and lips thinned with disapproval, Nicholas could sense the ambivalence that coursed through his veins, through his heart, and through his mind.

"Dina?" asked their mother, cutting through the thick fog of silence. "Would you like to marry this man?"

Her eyes trailed to him, soft like a petal and gentle as a summer's breeze. "Yes," she said, causing her father to break from his trance. "If the other marriage proposal is void like it should be, then I see no problem with it. We know Nicholas. We've seen him walk towards Islam with open arms. We treat him like our own."

Now the Younes twins eagerly watched on as if they were watching a sitcom on television with the exception of a bowl of popcorn. They greedily absorbed the situation, making silent bets with one another. Dunya, on the other hand, seemed more lost than anything else.

Nicholas couldn't blame her. Too many emotions clouded all their decision, but Islam and Allah's decree would always weigh higher than all else, would always tip the scale.

That was the conflict.

Her parents couldn't let their daughter go, nor could they reject her wishes. Allah gave Dina the right to accept a man into her heart, to reject those who didn't suit her, and to consent to all matters regarding her. Sadness etched into her mother's eyes, veil concealing most expressions, but eyes glassy as an ocean's glare.

He felt bad.

Their father cleared his hoarse throat. "May I speak with you in private, Nicholas?" he asked.

Nicholas nodded, following his lead into an adjacent room.

"No eavesdropping, Haroon and Humaid!" he reprimanded, closing the door.

"Damn it!" they groaned.

Hopefully their judgment of me will be fair. Nicholas held onto that hope like a burning sigil, grasping at a fiery of prayers as if his future depended on it. In a way, his quest to love did. He had to win her father's approval, for Dina's sake and for his own clear conscience.

For Dina, he'd do whatever it took to be worthy of her love.

----

I'd like to say that Napoleon is an ass in Civilization V (PC game). HE TOOK MY BANANA JUNGLE RIGHT BEFORE I COULD BUY IT.

Wow, never thought I'd say those words.

Yes, Nick proposed. Yes, the Younes twins are my favorite. And yes, I made this chapter long just to make up for the late update. It was totally worth though XD

Now, you can all scream.

What do you think their dad wants to talk about?

Don't forget to vote, comment, and follow!