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Derek thought himself to be a pretty average, all-American, semi-successful man. He was probably a little taller than average, with a fairly athletic build (though nothing too bulky). He had medium brown hair and dusky, dark blue eyes. At the tender age of 26, he had managed to become the youngest bank manager, not only at Parke Banks, but at any DL Ferguson bank in the history of the corporation.

And tonight, he was asking the love of his life to move in with him.

"Tonight!" exclaimed Toni.

"Yes… tonight" Toni squealed at Derek as he cringed and smiled in return. She had been Derek's best friend since the first day they met in a very boring sociology class in college. Both friends had gone into accounting, but Toni spent every day in a corporate cubicle crunching numbers. She very much enjoyed her lunches with Derek, and today was definitely the highlight of many lunches.

"Are you sure you're not moving too fast?"

"Too fast? Donnie… Donnie… are you KIDDING! Of course, he's not moving to fast," Toni returned. Donnie and Toni could almost never agree on anything. Toni was quite the free-spirit, but Donnie was a little tightly wound. Everything was too risky, too risqué, too loud, too fast. Most of his boyfriends lasted seven months before finally breaking down from what they called "Donnie's lack of commitment", but Toni and Derek knew it was more like "Donnie's fear of life moving on."

"They've barely known each other a year. What could they possibly know about each other?"

"I am sitting right here, guys."

"I'm sorry, hun. I just don't think it's time for you."

"Well, you're not him," Toni chimed in again.

"Toni!" She gave Derek that what-did-I-do-wrong look at which she'd become so skilled. "She's right, Donnie. You're not me. This is my decision, and I think I'm ready."

"What if he's not ready?" Donnie asked.

"Then he's not ready, but I can't sit around waiting to find out." Derek smiled, and Donnie just shrugged. He couldn't argue with logic that simple.

Sam couldn't wait for his shift to be over. He loved his job at the local apparel store, a job his mother never understood. His mother never understood anything about him. Like his relationship with Derek. Derek was why he could not wait to leave Spotlight. Derek told Sam that he had something very important to discuss that evening at dinner, and Sam couldn't wait to hear what it was. The two men had been dating almost a year, and they grew fonder of each other every day.

"Maria!" Sam screamed as the girl walked through the door. "What are you doing here?"

"You sent me a text, silly," She smiled. "You said you had something to tell me. So, what is it?"

"I don't know, yet, but Derek said he had something important to discuss with me tonight. I am SO excited!"

"Wow," she said. "That does sound exciting. When do you get off?" The bell to the door rang as it opened, and a tall blond girl walked through.

"Right now," Sam replied. "Hi, Clara. Bye, Clara." He grabbed Maria's arm and the two rushed out the door. "What am I going to WEAR!"

"We have reservations at seven, babe. Don't take too long."

Derek fixed his tie in the mirror by the front door of his apartment. Sam was ready when he arrived at the apartment, but then he changed his mind on what he wanted to wear. He was always changing his mind on what he wanted to wear. Derek was never sure what clothes Sam left here, and it always seemed to surprise him what he came out of the bedroom wearing. Derek only changed his socks after work, and kept on his black slacks with a red shirt and black tie. Sam came down the hall in a dark green shirt with a light pink tie and blazer.

"How do you manage to surprise me every time?" Derek smiled, leaning in to kiss his lover softly on his lips.

"It's a secret," he whispered back. The men kissed again before heading out the door to Derek's car and then to Simone's to fulfill their reservation.

"So, what's so important, Derek?" Sam asked after they had finished their main course.

"I wanted to wait until dessert, but… as long as you ask…" Sam sat up in anticipation as Derek pulled out a small square box and handed it to Sam. "Go ahead," he said. "Open it."

Sam slowly pulled off the top of the box and stared inside. It was a key. For a moment he was confused. Then suddenly it hit him. He looked up at Derek with wide eyes.

"Well?" Derek asked. "Will you move in with me?"

"What did you say?" Maria asked. Ly and she sat there holding their coffee in mid-air waiting for Sam to respond.

Sam looked up. "I said 'I don't know,'" he responded warily.

"You don't know! Darling, what do you mean you don't know? This man is a god," Ly chimed in.

"You don't understand, Lionel. We're from two different worlds. I don't know how that will work. It's…" he paused and sighed, "It's… what I've waited for, but I'm not sure it's what I really want." He looked into his coffee cup, "Or what I need."

"Retail and banking aren't exactly 'worlds,' darling."

"You wouldn't understand, Ly." Sam looked up. "Thanks for the coffee, guys. I gotta go," and he walked out.

"I knew you'd need me."

"Mother, I don't need you. I just… would like your opinion."

"Oh, I see." Helena seethed sarcasm. She ran her hand through her short, light brown hair. "Well, what would you liiiiiike it about?"

"Derek."

"Oh, him," she seethed again. "Well, he seems like a nice sort of fella. What's the problem? Getting bored?" She smiled. "Just move on to another one."

"They're not toys, Mother. Humans have feelings and emotions. And I'm not bored. I love him. He asked me to move in with him."

"Move in?" Helena was slightly taken aback. "Well, that's very interesting. What did you say? Well, never mind about that. You said no, of course. You can't move in with a mortal boy."

"He's not a boy, Mother. He's a man. And there's nothing wrong with mortals. I enjoy their company."

"Well, for a time, but you can only live amongst them for so long before they start to suspect things and accuse things. No, no, it's just not right. What would your father say?"

Well, Sam didn't care about his father's opinion, at least not much. Although, he could become very angry when crossed. His mother was right about that, but she was wrong about Derek just being a mortal. He was much more than that. Sam loved Derek, and nothing could stop him.

"I've decided, Mother. I'm going to do it. You will just have to accept that."

"Well, I can deal, I guess. I'm not happy about it, but it's your father you have to worry about it." Sam put his finger out to scold his mother, but Helena interrupted. "Don't worry," she threw her hands up. "I won't say a word. I don't see him much anyway. The world is a big place. But not big enough that he won't find out on his own eventually." She smiled slyly, "Although, the fella might be gone by then. You know how quickly they age."

"I'll deal with Father when the time comes. Don't you worry your pretty little head over that. I've got some packing to do though, Mother, so if you don't mind?"

"Packing? Well, what's so hard about that?" Helena waved her hand and all of Sam's belongings were suddenly in boxes. "See? Done." Sam rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't act like that. If you don't use it, you just might lose it. And I've got some using to do in Chile. Goodbye, my son." She waved her hand and, in a puff of smoke, was gone.

"Goodbye, Mother," Sam responded, shaking his head at her outright display of magic.