Marissa woke the next morning to the strange feeling of not being in her own bed. Yet she was totally comfortable and at peace – an unusual feeling for her. She opened her eyes slowly, taking in her surroundings. The dark blue sheets, the sound and faint scent of the ocean, the more prominent hint of cologne; even if she hadn't remembered the night before, she would have instantly known where she was.

But she did remember the previous night, and the mere thought of it put a smile on her face. Or rather she remembered the previous night and the morning it had run in to, Marissa noted to herself as her smile grew. Things with Ryan had gone … amazingly. Perfectly even.

Marissa looked down at the muscular arm secured snugly around her waist, its hand clasping her own. She could feel his body spooned against her own, his chest warm against her bare back. She slid her body closer to his, longing to be as close to him as possible. Immediately his arm tightened around her, bringing her closer still. Marissa loved the way that even when he was asleep he was so protective of her.

She lay there for a while, content to simply be in his arms: safe, protected from the outside world. Finally she felt him stirring.

"Hey." Marissa said softly, turning her head as far back as she could to look at him.

"Hey." he replied, brushing a kiss on her shoulder before removing his arm from her waist so that she could turn to face him. "Last night was-"

"I know." Marissa said as she rested her head on his chest. His very muscular chest, she noted to herself.

"So … are we …" Ryan trailed off, as if trying to prepare himself for another potential disappointment.

"Ryan," Marissa began, lifting her head and looking him in the eye. "I've been stupid. And now that I have you again, I never want to let you go."

"That can be arranged." Ryan smirked, wrapping his arms around her.

They were silent for a few minutes, both basking in the intimacy of the moment.

"Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you … do you think we can make it this time?" Marissa asked softly.

Ryan considered this for a moment. "Yeah, I do."

"Really?"

"Marissa, if we can make it through everything we've been through, we can make it through anything." Ryan assured her.

"I think so too." Marissa agreed. "And I also think that we need to work on this whole 'together' thing."

"How do you mean?"

"I'll show you." Marissa said as she captured his mouth with her own, her hand slipping down his abdomen, lower and lower and –

"RYAN!"

Ryan's head fell back against his pillow as he groaned in frustration.

"RYAN!"

"What?" he yelled hoarsely in reply, gesturing for Marissa to stay quiet.

"Why's the door locked?" Sophia questioned. "I wanna come in."

"Uhh … what do you want Munch?"

"Ryan I wanna come in." she whined.

"Munch I'm kind of … busy." he replied.

Sophia sighed as loudly as she possibly could. "Fine. Seth says it's time to get up because it's really late and even he's back from and then he stopped talking and said that it's just late. And Mommy says breakfast is ready, and then Seth said he'll eat yours if you don't soon because he's really hungry from and then he stopped talking again and said to go get you up."

"I'll eat later." Ryan informed her.

"Ryan I should go home before Summer gets worried." Marissa whispered.

"Uhh Munch I'll be there in a few minutes." Ryan yelled.

"Ok. If Seth eats your food you can share mine." Sophia offered. "See you!" Her footsteps could be heard skipping away, and then her voice yelling to Kirsten that Ryan was coming.

"You have to go?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah." she replied sadly. "But we could meet up later." she added suggestively.

"Your pool house or mine?"

Marissa laughed as she rolled off the bed, pulling the sheet with her.

"Hey!" Ryan protested, yanking it back and leaving her standing totally naked.

"Ryan! I have to get dressed."

"Yeah well let me enjoy the view while you do."

"Oh you like it, do you?" Marissa teased, shaking her butt for his benefit as she slipped on her jeans.

"Yeah I do." Ryan agreed as he stood and searched for his boxers.

"Well the view from here isn't that bad either."

Ryan located his clothes and quickly pulled them on. "Do you really have to go?" he asked once again.

"Yes." Marissa walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "And you do too. Otherwise Sophia's going to be in here seeing a little more than she should."

"Hey she's a fan of ours." Ryan reminded Marissa.

"Oh yeah she's going to be excited when she finds out." Marissa predicted. A thoughtful look crossed her face. "Are you going to tell them?"

"Tell who what?"

"The Cohens. About us."

"Oh. I hadn't thought about it. What do you want to do?"

"Well we are together now, right? And I want to tell Summer. You should tell them. I mean if you want to." Marissa looked searchingly at Ryan. "Right?"

Ryan place his hand on her cheek, kissing her forehead. "Yes we're together. And of course I want to. In fact, do you want to come in and tell them now?"

"No, I think you should tell them. I'm gonna go talk to Summer."

"Ok." Ryan agreed. "But maybe … I should tell them an edited version of last night. You know, water it down a bit. Leave out some details."

"What, you don't want your parents and little sister to know what was going on in their pool house last night?" Marissa asked innocently.

"Ha ha very funny." Ryan said dryly. "And actually no, I don't want them to know."

"Good call." Marissa smiled. "So I'll call you later?"

"Ok." Ryan agreed, pulling her in for a kiss.

"You should go out first." Marissa suggested after they broke apart. "Seeing me sneak out of the pool house would kind of ruin your surprise."

Ryan nodded and kissed her once more before opening the door, glancing at her once more before slipping out of the pool house.

Marissa let herself into her house, silently hoping that Summer would have gone with Seth back to the Cohen's. The foyer, although flooded with light through the enormous windows, was empty. Marissa crept up the stairs, anxious to go to her bedroom and finally have a chance to process everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. She was almost at her door when –

"Hey Coop!" Summer said brightly as she wandered into the hallway, absent-mindedly fastening a tennis bracelet around her wrist. "Where have you been all morning?" she continued, looking down to glare at the stubborn clasp.

"Umm …"

Summer looked up at Marissa. "Oh. My. God. COOP!" she yelled, her mouth and the bracelet dropping in unison. Summer squealed excitedly, lifted her manicured hands to cover her gaping mouth. "You totally had sex! Oh my god it was with Ryan, wasn't it? Oh my god Coop, you and Ryan!" Summer squealed again, bouncing up and down in her Jimmy Choo sandals.

Marissa stood staring at Summer, too shocked to refute it.

"Coop!" Summer yelled once again, running over and throwing her arms around her best friend. "I am like so happy for you! Both of you! This is awesome! It is just awesome! Seriously, it's about time you two just got over yourselves and got back together!" She finally paused, noticing Marissa's silence. "You are back together, aren't you?"

"No – I mean yeah, but we just – last night and – we are but – how did you know?" Marissa finally demanded.

Summer laughed, hugging Marissa again. "Coop I'm your best friend. I have a sixth sense for these things."

Marissa looked at her sceptically.

"Ok and yesterday there was this weird vibe between you two, and then last night at the gala thing Ryan was being especially broody, and back at their house when he was carrying you to the pool house … I just knew. And the 'sex hair' kind of helped." Summer continued smiling widely at Marissa, searching for some form of emotion on her face. "So?"

"So what?" Marissa asked innocently.

"Coop!" Summer swatted Marissa's arm playfully. "What happened?"

"Well I guess he put me in the pool house, and I woke up later and it was all dark and empty, and I wasn't tired anymore, so I decided to go for a walk. So I went to the beach, and kind of ran into him there. And we talked and then … we hooked up." Marissa finished vaguely.

"You hooked up?" Summer repeated. "Meaning you had sex? Right there? At the beach?"

"At the beach, in the pool house …" Marissa listed with a smirk.

"Oh my god!" Summer said for what seemed like the millionth time. "Coop, you little tramp!" she added jokingly. "So what's the deal now? Like was it a one time thing – 'I'm lonely you're here' or more 'let's be together forever'?"

"Well …" Marissa said slowly, "We're back together now!" she finished, a huge smile appearing on her face.

"Coop!" Summer exclaimed, hugging Marissa once again.

"So how was your night?" Marissa asked.

"It was good … really good." Summer replied, her smile mirroring Marissa's. "I told Cohen I was ready to think about getting married, and then later we were back here. This place may not be the beach or the pool house, but it's pretty hot if you know what I mean."

"You and Seth are getting married?" Marissa said in disbelief.

"No! Well not yet. I just told him that I'm ready. But now he has to actually pop the question, and with all of his Coheny-Cohenisms who knows when that'll be."

"You're going to get married." Marissa said softly, grinning at her friend.

"Yeah, I guess I am." Summer said happily. "Hey Coop, do you know where my bracelet went? I swear I put it on."

"You dropped it earlier." Marissa reminded her, pointing to the forgotten bracelet on the floor.

"Right." Summer walked back and scooped up the bracelet. "Can you do the clasp?"

"Sure." Marissa agreed, taking the delicate bracelet and attaching it around Summer's wrist. "So what are you all dressed up for?"

"Kirsten called this morning and invited me out to lunch with her and Sophia. Just the girls she said. She invited you too. I told her that I didn't know where you were, and that I figured you were out running some errands or something, and she said if you got back to ask you to come too. You coming?"

"Yeah, sure." Marissa agreed.

"Ok, then you should go take a shower and get ready." Summer suggested.

"What? I thought you liked the hair." Marissa protested.

"Oh it's hot Coop. But I don't know if Kirsten would see it that way."

"Good point." Marissa noted. "Ok give me like … an hour."

"Half an hour." Summer bargained.

"Deal."

"Ok Coop, go get ready. I can not wait to see all of their reactions to you and Ryan."

"Actually Ryan's telling them right now."

"Seriously?" Summer frowned in disappointment. "That's one conversation I'd love to overhear."

Marissa laughed. "You're such a snoop Sum."

"It's Cohen's influence." Summer reasoned. "Whatever, we'll get to hear their reactions when you show up anyways."

Marissa bit her lip, suddenly worried. "What if … they're not happy about it? What if Sandy and Kirsten don't think I deserve Ryan after all I've put him through?"

Summer rolled her eyes. "Coop, they love you. And they know Ryan loves you. They're Sandy and Kirsten – they would never stand in the way of true love."

"Right." Marissa said, a hint of worry still in her voice.

"Coop." Summer said gently, "Don't worry about it. Everything will be fine. I promise. Now please go get ready, because I'm starving. And judging from your activities last night, you must be too."

"Can't argue that." Marissa said, walking into her room.

Ryan ran his hands through his hair, causing the lingering water droplets from his shower to spray across the patio tiles. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the bombard of questions he was sure to incur as soon as he entered the kitchen.

Sure enough he barely had one foot inside the door when Seth leapt out of his chair, eager for details of the previous night. "Hey man." he said in his best attempt at a casual voice.

"Morning Ryan." Sandy and Kirsten said at the same time, which caused them to stop and smirk at each other.

"Morning Ryan!" Sophia said, waving her spoon around in excitement and causing Cheerio's to rain onto the table.

"Sophia!" Kirsten scolded, still looking at Ryan expectantly.

"You finally woke up." Sophia continued, still waving her now empty spoon. "It's SO late. Why did you sleep in so much?"

"That's a good question Sophie." Seth said, not having noticed the time, as he'd just come home a few minutes before. "What did you do last night Ryan?"

"Yes Ryan, please enlighten us. Because the last thing we heard was that Marissa was asleep in the pool house, and you were going out somewhere." Sandy added.

"Coop slept over?" Sophia gasped, disappointment clearly written across her face that she had missed it.

"Sweetie Marissa didn't sleep over. She just took a nap before going home." Kirsten quickly assured her. "Right?" she looked at Ryan now, suddenly wondering if something more had happened.

Ryan looked from one person to the next, unsure where to start.

"Ahh I see where this is going." Seth said wisely. "I'm quite perceptive."

"No you aren't." Ryan said bluntly.

"Ooh we've got old school Ryan Atwood on our hands. He's barely talking, and when he does it's not in sentences. He's wearing a wife-beater. His hair is all spiky. He's hopefully punching people again, because things are getting way too boring around here. And according to that pattern, it means he and Marissa are …" Seth trailed off, waiting for Ryan to fill in the rest.

"We're … together again." Ryan said slowly.

Everyone froze, staring at him and waiting for more.

"We're dating." Ryan finally blurted.

They were all still silent, until –

"YES!" Sophia exclaimed, jumping up on her chair and effectively spilling her cereal in the process.

"Yes!" Seth echoed, pumping his fist. "High five Sophie!"

Sophia obliged him, hitting his hand as hard as she could, which luckily for Seth wasn't too hard. "This is so cool!" she said enthusiastically, continuing to babble about exactly why it was so cool

"Sweetie that's wonderful!" Kirsten said as she came over and gave Ryan a hug. "I'm so happy for you two!"

"Thanks." Ryan said, smiling. He turned to Sandy, waiting to hear his opinion. Although he was an adult now, and really had been as good as one for years, Sandy's approval still meant the world to him.

"Sandy?" Kirsten prompted.

"Ok, I have one concern." Sandy said seriously.

Sophia stopped her excited chatter immediately, Seth looked up from mentally planning a slew of witty remarks to use on Ryan, and Kirsten's eyebrows wrinkled together in confusion. Ryan continued looking at Sandy, worry etching across his features.

"If you are Marissa are dating, that means she's going to be around here a lot, right?" Sandy began. He kept going without waiting for a reply: "Does that mean I'll have to stop making fun of Julie Cooper-Nichol? Because kid, as much as I want you to be happy, I don't think I could handle that."

"Sandy." Kirsten sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Ooh good point Dad." Seth said thoughtfully. "He's right you know." he informed Sophia.

"I'm just joking. I'm really happy for you kid." Sandy assured Ryan. "It's about time you two worked things out."

A smile spread across Ryan's face "Thanks."

"Hey he's smiling." Seth observed. "Maybe he isn't old school Ryan Atwood. But speaking of old school –"

"Seth stop saying old school." Ryan interrupted.

"Speaking of old school," Seth said again more loudly. "I think it's time for a little Seth-Ryan time."

"Seth-Ryan-Sophia time." Sophia argued.

"I'm sorry, but Seth-Ryan time today will have a rating of PG-13." Seth informed her. He turned to look at Ryan suspiciously. "Or maybe PA? Or, dare I say, R? X?"

Ryan looked away; trying to wish away the blush he knew was spreading across his cheeks.

Sandy gasped. "You work fast." he said admiringly.

"Ok and on that note, Sophia let's go upstairs." Kirsten interrupted, shooting her husband and son a dirty look.

"But Mommy, I'm busy. I'm … eating."

"No sweetie, it looks like you've done enough damage for one meal." Kirsten said pointedly, looking at the Cheerio covered table. "Anyways, we have to get ready. We're going out to lunch with Summer, and Marissa if she gets back from her … errand." She said the last word slowly, suddenly having realized exactly what 'errand' Marissa was running when she had called Summer that morning.

Sophia clapped her hands excitedly. "That's so cool Mommy! Are we going to the club? Can I get a pretty drink? Can I eat fries? Do I get to wear a pretty dress?" She continued asking questions as Kirsten took her hand and guided her towards the stairs. "Are Summer and Coop coming over first? Are Coop and Ryan gonna kiss like Seth and Summer do? Are Coop and Ryan gonna get married? Can I be the flower girl at their wedding?"

"Kiss like Seth and Summer do?" Sandy repeated suspiciously, looking at Seth. "What exactly did she see you doing?"

"Nothing more than what you and Mom do in the kitchen all the time. Which, by the way, the thought of has made me lose my appetite, so why don't I just take Ryan to the den for that Seth-Ryan time?"

"How about some Seth-Ryan-Sandy time?" Sandy suggested hopefully. "I'm quite useful for sex talks."

"Oh god." Seth shuddered. "Please don't remind me. I thought we were going to pretend that conversation never happened."

"What conversation?" Ryan asked interestedly.

"Nothing. But it definitely wasn't a conversation back in high school after me and Summer first … let's go." Seth grabbed Ryan's arm and dragged him to the den.

"But what about Seth-Ryan-Sandy time?" Sandy called after them.

"Right I'll try to schedule that in Dad." Seth called back. "Ok so I need at the deets." he demanded in a whisper.

"Deets?"

"Details. It's a short form, to save time."

"Not if you have to explain it to me after you say it."

"GP. Now tell me, what happened after Summer and I left?"

Ryan sighed, realizing that any attempts to stall would only be postponing the inevitable. So he told Seth the briefest possible version of the previous night's events that he could get away with.

"So you met at the beach, made out, then came back here and … ?"

"We … you know."

"Maybe I don't know Ryan. What if you think I know, but I'm actually thinking that you guys played Jenga, and then I'd have the wrong idea about what happened, which could lead to an awkward conversation when I ask Marissa about Jenga last night."

Ryan glared at Seth. "Do you want me to punch you?"

"Fair enough. Anyways, this is awesome. The Fantastic Four are fantastic again!"

"The what?"

"Ok so maybe I never explained that whole thing to you, but that's ok. Just go with it. Go with the flow. Just like you did last night …"

"Seth." Ryan said warningly.

"Right. Well all I can say is that things are suddenly not so boring around here."

"Things are never boring around here." Ryan corrected.

"GP."

Ryan rolled his eyes.

"Now Ryan, I'm going to tell you something. And it's going to be hard for you to deal with it, but I'm going to be totally serious. And you should savour the moment, because there's a good chance it'll never happen again." Seth paused, allowing Ryan to absorb his words and roll his eyes. "All joking aside, I am honestly really glad that things worked out with you and Marissa."

"Thanks man." Ryan said sincerely.

"Whew that felt good. Now back to the sarcasm and witty humour."

"Seth."

"Ok … how about a little Playstation then?"