Hey! This is the final chapter! I'm going to save all the gushy sad stuff for the end, so just read on! I'm going to be writing this chapter a little differently. The first half will be from Artie's point of view, and then it will go back to Kitty.
I will be answering all reviews via PM because this is the last chapter.
Mailbag:
WildeAbrams: Thanks! Enjoy the last chapter.
kyrandiana: Thank you so much!
NeverBeenSeen: Thanks! I'm glad you liked the court scene, because I wasn't so sure about it.
Tamara: Sorry it took me so long to update. I'm glad you liked the last chapter.
marliynkellyhepburn: It's awesome that Carol's gone. Everything wraps up here, so enjoy!
Sarah: Kartie is one of my favorite pairings too. I might write more, and I'm looking forward to writing and sharing more stories with you.
danainthesky: I'm so glad that you liked the court scenes, because I wasn't sure about them. I hope I wrap up this story well too, because I would hate myself if I didn't.
ARTIE'S POV
I stepped out of the car and slammed the door. It felt so good to be walking again! Driving was an issue, but I hadn't managed to kill anyone on the ten minute drive from the airport, so that's a plus. I buzzed into the apartment building and hurried up the four flights of stairs, almost toppling over. I counted the doors until I got to 4H, then I knocked.
"Oh my god, Artie," Marley shrieked, almost knocking me over in a bear hug, "You're so tall! Holy crap!" Ryder came in the doorway next to her.
"Hey Artie! Congratulations! Come on in. Marls, do you want me to pick up Anna?"
"Um, yeah sure, if you don't mind," Ryder grabbed a set of car keys and went out the door, "So why are you here, and not with Kitty?"
"I had to ask you something," I held out a small velvet covered box. Marley smiled.
"Well I'm flattered Artie, but seeing as I'm married and you're dating someone, I think I have to decline."
"Oh shut up," I replied, laughing, "But seriously, what am I supposed to do?"
"I don't know. Ryder's the one you should be asking this."
"Well, you like all that romance and stuff."
"I'm not sure if calling it "romance and stuff" is going in the right direction."
"Please just help me," I begged.
"Fine. When are you planning on doing this."
"I'm going over to her apartment tonight then we're going to go to a restaurant. I want to do it before we get dinner."
"What about Anna?"
"What about her?"
"Do you want her to be there," Marley asked.
"I have no idea. Do I?"
"No. You don't want a little kid there, distracting you from what you're trying to do. I'll make up some excuse to have her stay with Ryder and I tonight."
"Then what?"
"Well, are you, like, having a romantic dinner or something? Do you want it to be spontaneous?"
"Spontaneous."
"Ok. Let me think of something you could do."
"I actually have an idea." I told her what I had in mind, and when I was done, she said,
"You have to do that! That's so cute!"
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." Then, I heard a high-pitched voice from down the hallway, which I recognized instantly as Anna's.
"Does Anna know I'm here." Marley shook her head in response.
"We didn't want to tell her in case she told Kitty. They got really close."
"That's awesome." I heard the lock turn in the door.
"Act casual," Marley whispered loudly.
"Really? That's what you say?" The door opened and Anna came bounding in.
"Hi Marley!"
"Hi Anna, look who's here." Anna swiveled around and saw me. She gasped, and then ran towards me.
"HI ARTIE," she shrieked, jumping into my arms, "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH."
"I missed you too, Banana," I replied, as she buried her face in my neck.
"Hey Anna," Marley said, grabbing a coat and her purse, "You're staying with me tonight, okay?"
"Why," Anna replied, crestfallen.
"Because tonight's our movie night and I didn't want you to miss out."
"What movie are we going to watch," Anna replied, suspiciously.
"I was going to let you choose from Frozen, Tinkerbell and The Lion King."
"Tinkerbell," Anna agreed, forgetting the original issue. Marley grabbed her keys, "Where are you going?"
"I have to run a few errands, but I'll be back in a few hours, okay," Anna nodded, "Have fun with Ryder and Artie. Hey Ryder, remember to order the pizza."
"When have I ever forgotten to order the pizza," He hesitated, "Actually, don't answer that question."
As Marley left, Anna turned towards me.
"Why are you here and not with me and Mommy," she asked.
"Because I need to," I hesitated, "Get myself ready for something."
"Are you going to ask her to marry you?"
"How did you know that," I asked, surprised.
"You're holding the box," she reminded me.
"Ha-ha, you got me there. Hey, Halloween's coming up," I said, quickly changing the subject, "What are you dressing up as?"
"Edith from Despicable Me."
"Oh, that's perfect!"
"Uh-huh. I just don't have any of the costume yet. I don't want it to be one of those gross commercial costumes."
"Are you sure you're five," I asked, "I rarely hear those words come out of an adult." She nodded, smiling, "You know what we're going to do today?"
"What?"
"We're going to go shopping and get everything you need for your Edith costume."
"Is Ryder coming?"
"He can if he wants to."
"I'd love to guys," Ryder said, smiling, "But I've got to get everything ready for movie night tonight."
"Can we build another pillow fort on the couch?"
"How else would we watch Tinkerbell," Ryder replied, only half kidding.
"I'll bring her back in a couple hours."
"Awesome," Ryder replied.
"Okay Banana," I said, as we walked down the street, "What do you need to become Edith."
"A pink striped sweater, a pink striped hat, a dark purple sweater and dark purple tights." I nodded.
"I have an hour and a half to transform you into Edith. Do you think we can do it?"
"Yeah," she exclaimed.
We found most of what she needed - the hat, the skirt and the tights - at Target. It took a little bit more searching to find a sweater with horizontal stripes on the sleeves and vertical stripes on the body, but we eventually found one in a little store squeezed between two office building.
"I don't wanna go back," Anna moped as we walked home.
"Don't you want to watch Tinkerbell and eat pizza in a couch fort? I know I do."
"I wanna stay with you and mommy," Anna whined.
"I'm sorry Banana, but look at it this way, if you stayed with me, you'd have to eat at a boring fancy restaurant and eat weird food. With Marley and Ryder, you can watch one of your favorite movies, in an awesome couch fort, and eat pizza, the greatest food on the planet. I'll get to see you tomorrow and every day after that."
"Promise," Anna asked.
"Promise."
We went back to Ryder and Marley's apartment to drop off Anna, who promptly reminded Ryder to order pizza, then I got in my car to drive to Kitty's. I was kind of freaking out. I kept going over my plan and going over the possibilities. What if she said no? What if she said yes? As I neared her apartment building, I called her.
"Hey, it's me," I said.
"Hey," she replied.
"I'm on my way over. I'll be there in, like, a minute."
"Okay," Kitty replied. Her casualness freaked me out. I was at her apartment in a minute, and ran up the stairs two at a time. I raised my hand to knock on the door, but dropped it. What if she says no? But what if she says yes? I tried to keep myself from jumping to the worst case scenario. Once again, I ran though my plan and then knocked on the door.
KITTY'S POV
It's been a month since I've seen him. One of the most stressful months in my entire life. I'm a little upset that Anna won't get to see Artie until tomorrow - Ryder came to pick her up for their weekly movie night - but at the same time, it's going to be nice to spend some time with him without her. I've missed him so much and it took way too long to get to today. I would be lying if I said I didn't have the date marked on a calendar. My phone rang, and I jumped, but hesitated to pick it up, not wanting to sound to excited.
"Hi," I said, after the third ring.
"Hey, it's me," Artie said.
"Hey," I replied, acting casual.
"I'm on my way over. I'll be there in, like, a minute."
"Okay," I replied, still acting casual, but freaking out a little bit. More than a little bit. We hung up, and I went and stood in front of a mirror. I was wearing dark wash skinny jeans, brown ankle boots, and a maroon knit sweater, because the leaves outside had just started to change colors.
"Chill," I told myself, "He's going to be the exact same person. Just with the ability to use his legs." I waited for two minutes, and he still hadn't come yet. I knew that there probably was just a ton of traffic, like New York City always was.
I heard a knock on the door and my heart started to beat wildly. I crossed the room in a heartbeat, pulled open the door, and saw Artie for the first time in over a month.
"Hi," I said breathily, "Holy crap you're really tall."
"I know, it's weird," he replied. I hugged him, missing being around him.
"I missed you so much," I whispered, not letting go.
"So did I," he replied.
"Come on in," I said, finally remembering my manners.
"Hang on," Artie said, "I need to say something to you. I've missed you so much. I missed talking to you for hours and hours and I missed your fake laughing at my stupid jokes. I missed your sarcastic comments and your sense of humor and you make really good food!"
"Can't we do this inside," I said, glancing at the other doors in the hallway.
"No. I missed your hugs and your arguing and your smile. I missed game night and I missed just watching you with Anna and I miss Anna. I had a ton of time to think. I was only gone a month and I couldn't bear being away from you two longer than that." He got down on one knee and I felt tears spring into my eyes.
"Kitty, will you marry me?"
"Yes."
Yay! I'm done! Don't take that as me being glad to finally finish this thing. Or do. I don't really care anymore (I'm writing this at 7:09 in the morning because education is a beautiful thing that we should cherish forever).
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