A/N: See you back on January 27th.

It took some work, but Al managed to schedule in his summer course load to allow for part-time work with Craig. The job cut in on his free time, but it lined his bank account quickly with the money to buy a ring. A ring with implications he still hadn't managed to discuss with Ellie…

It was completely for lack of trying. Al wasn't under any delusions. Finals were his excuse for awhile. Then his excuse was adjusting to the new schedule with the job. Then his excuse was not wanting to spend their limited time together having hard conversations that they might not have the time to finish.

They were lame excuses, but Al wasn't sure how to push past them.

And they stopped him from doing anything more than earning money for a ring for the majority of the summer.

But when El came home from her two weeks in St. John's and the summer term was finished and Al had given his notice, well, his excuses had finally run out. Nothing was holding him back now...except for himself.

He should have done it yesterday. They'd been on a proper date and sitting at dinner or listening to the street performers at the park would have been the idyllic scenario to bring up a temporary long-distance relationship. Maybe not his fears of relocating but definitely the concept of staying together.

However perfect it may have been, he said nothing of the topic and let their conversation revolve around less weighty subjects.

Al had kicked himself for his cowardice and determined it would be today. He texted and invited El to have dinner with him at his flat, something they didn't do terribly often in the summers when she was working six days a week. Al took courage in her immediate response that she'd be there. He ordered her favorite Chinese takeaway so it would be delivered a touch before she arrived, giving them as much time to talk as possible before she'd need to get some sleep seeing as she helped open.

Then he rehearsed, again and again, all the things he wanted to say.

It looked like things would play out alright for him as he set a warming charm on the dinner and El texted him that she was just about ready to pop over. Of course, that was assuming he could calm down. His chest felt tight and he was having to focus on taking slow breaths to keep from feeling light-headed. He dropped his phone ten times in five minutes simply because his palms were sweating so much he couldn't keep a firm grip on it.

And then the pop sounded and El appeared in his sitting room.

"That smells amazing!"

Ellie's grin managed to ease a fraction of his nerves out of him and Al managed to greet her like a proper boyfriend.

"I was craving Chinese and didn't want you to have to eat microwaved leftovers tomorrow." Al even managed to smile after stealing a quick kiss.

Ellie grabbed his hand and pulled him to the table before plopping down and pulling out a pair of chopsticks. She sighed happily and tucked in, and Al lost himself for a moment in how happy she looked.

Was moving continents really so bad if he could enjoy that happy sigh and contented smile for the rest of his life?

"Aren't you going to eat?" Ellie pushed his chopsticks closer to him.

"Oh, right," her words broke his blissful moment and the nerves returned with vengeance.

He dropped the chopsticks as he tried to open them and swore.

"Al, is everything alright?"

Ellie's face no longer held that beautiful contentment that had been there moments before. Instead, Al saw concern, and perhaps uncertainty. It was a far cry from the assurance her former expression instilled in him.

"Nothing's wrong." He licked his lips and swallowed hard.

"But…" Ellie set her chopsticks down and looked at him expectantly.

"I, er, well I, see I've been thinking about how you finish your degree in the spring." Al shoved his hand in his hair as El nodded him on.

"And I still have some time after that to finish out."

Ellie continued to sit quietly as Al stumbled over how he wanted to say this.

"And, you're going back to St. John's and I'll be here...but we'd have Portkeys...and video calls…"

Al realized he was staring down at the table looked back up at Ellie.

His breath rushed out of him as he realized she was smiling at him from ear to ear.

"I really like where this conversation is going, love."

"You're alright with long-distance? I've never done it before, but Mum and Dad have and so have Ted and Vic and they managed it alright and I bet they'd have some good ideas. It was just for school but this would probably be even easier than what they went through since we have technology and…"

"Al," Ellie laughed, "yes, I'm fine with long-distance with you but you've got to stop rambling." She reached across the table and took his hand. "We'll make it work, I promise."

Al chuckled as his mind spun around the feelings of excitement and happiness and mild embarrassment over his rambling, then stooped to pick up his chopsticks.

"Where do you want to be after you graduate?"

Ellie's question caused Al to hit his head on the bottom of the table and he swore again.

"That's not exactly the answer I thought I'd get…" Ellie smirked at him.

Al chuckled and rubbed his head. "I want to be with you."

Ellie tilted her head, "With me where?"

Al felt his shoulders slump forward.

"I want to be with you in St. John's, but it's a pretty terrifying feeling, leaving behind my home basically for good. I mean sure we'd come back for family events and holidays, but I wouldn't live here anymore. I'd be leaving behind everything and I'm trying to get over my fear of that because I love you and I want you to be where you'll be happy, and I know that's St. John's."

Ellie reached back across and pulled Al's hand into hers.

"Relationships are about compromise, Al. Why don't we start with knowing we'll stay together after I move back home. We can keep talking about where we go after you graduate. We've got some time."

Al smiled and squeezed her hand. "You're amazing, you know?"

Ellie grinned, "I always like to hear it."

Al decided to pop Ellie home that evening. As he walked home he realized he was smiling. He felt a lot more confident than he had over the summer, surer about their path ahead. And it felt liberating, like a rucksack full of textbooks had just been dropped from his shoulders.

Now he just needed to come to terms with leaving behind dear old England.