Hey, all you cool cats and kittens! B) I'm comin' atcha with a new chapter a whole day early (surprising, huh? lol) because I have a full day ahead of me tomorrow (despite having the day off from school lol), and because I was super excited about this chapter. Spoiler alert (actually it's not really that much of a spoiler), Carrie and Chuck come back into the picture in this chapter! Yay! There's a lot that's going to happen in the next few chapters, and I can't wait for you to read it! Thank you for reading, as always, and I love you all! *blows kisses* -Erika

After the song ended, Austin and Ally stayed in the same position, her leaning up against his chest with his arms wrapped loosely around her back. There was a brief moment of silence, and then Trish announced, "Give it up for the newlyweds, everyone!" as if to snap them back to reality. They pulled away reluctantly, smiled and waved, and eventually made their way back to the table.

The rest of the night was fairly uneventful; as uneventful as a wedding reception can be. Ally talked to many of her friends and family while Austin and Dez snuck away to the bouncy house. Ally had rolled her eyes when he'd come up beside her, bringing the puppy dog eyes out again and begging for her to let him do it just this once. She agreed and her new husband had disappeared from sight almost immediately. Before she knew it, the night was nearly over and it was time for the newlyweds to be sent off to their honeymoon...except they weren't going on their honeymoon yet because the pandemic was still going on, so they were really just being sent off to Austin's slightly cramped one-bedroom apartment. Although it was only a temporary living situation, Ally appreciated it. It might've been small, but it was also cozy and homey. It was theirs, and that was why she liked it.

Ally hugged Trish for what get like the hundredth time that day as they prepared to get in the SUV that was picking them up, which had 'Just Hitched' spray painted on the back, and aluminum cans attached with strings behind it. "Thanks for everything, Trish," she said. "I'll call you tomorrow." Trish nodded.

"Don't feel like you have to do that every day. I just kind of made that up on the fly...but please do call every once in a while, though. Let me know how married life is going," Trish said with a wink.

Ally grinned. "Of course, I will." She turned to her parents, momentarily glancing over at Austin, who was busy saying goodbye to other people.

"Bye mom, bye dad. Thanks for everything." She hugged her mom tightly and felt a tear slip out of her eye.

"No problem, sweetie. Let me know if you ever need anything...I'm only ever a phone call away." Ally nodded, hugging her dad.

"I'll always be here for you, honey," Lester echoed his ex-wife, patting his daughter on the back, "Now go, before I start crying." Ally giggled and placed a light kiss on her dad's cheek, parting from her parents and taking Austin's hand.

Lester sighed, feeling a tear prick at his eye. "I always thought that I'd be the most important man in my daughter's life, but...I guess that's not true now."

"Nonsense," Penny replied, "You'll still be that man. The only difference is that now she has two strong, male figures to rely on. That's going to make a huge difference. She's always going to need her father."

Lester nodded, realizing she was right. He'd done his best to raise Ally to be a beautiful, confident young woman, and now it was Austin's job to take care of her. Nevertheless, he knew she'd always be his baby girl.

Austin took Ally's hand to help her into the SUV, although they both knew she didn't need it. She grinned at her husband as she scooted further into the car and he shut the door behind them. Austin gave the driver his address and they drove off, listening to the faint sound of the cans dragging behind the car. Ally snuggled up against his shoulder and he grinned.

"So, what do you want to do when we get back?" he asked, smirking.

"Oh, I don't know," she mused, "First I want to get out of this dress…then I was thinking we do a little unpacking and maybe snuggle up and watch some TV?"

Austin groaned. "I forgot that you still have to unpack." He paused. "Can't that wait for tomorrow? This is our wedding night! I was thinking we could," he raised his eyebrows, "you know…"

Ally rolled her eyes. "How did I know you were going to suggest that?"

"Because it's me," he said, smirking again, "So, what do you say? We can take it slow, go at your pace. Whatever makes you feel comfortable."

She wrapped her arms around him, sighing. "What did I do to deserve you?"

Austin kissed her forehead. "I've been wondering the same thing."

Half an hour later- 10:00 P.M.

The newlyweds both lay on their backs under the covers, staring up at the ceiling. Austin quickly broke out into a smile and stared at his wife.

"Pretty good for a first timer."

She reached over and smacked him. "Shut up!"

"Aw, you know you love me. Come here." Austin turned her towards him and started smothering her with kisses as she laughed loudly.

"Quiet, you're gonna wake the neighbors!"

"Oh, as if they aren't already awake after what we just did!" she retorted, and they both broke into laughter.

After a few seconds, Ally's smile faded and she cleared her throat. "Um, I think we should talk…about what happened this morning. I feel like I owe you an apology."

Austin frowned. "For what?"

"Well, for…taking you away from your 'guy time,' for bothering you with my problems…"

"Als, if this is about your panic attack, you don"—

"No, I do. Just…just listen." She paused, and sat straight up in bed, trying to gather her thoughts and to not cry at the same time. "A lot of people think that, just because I conquered my stage fright, I don't get scared or anxious anymore. But I do. All the time. And I think what happened this morning was that I was getting anxious about the future, and I…couldn't hold it in any longer." Austin reached over to wipe a tear that had slipped from her eye.

"I know, Als," he whispered.

Ally shook her head. "It's just so mind-blowing to me that people think anxiety goes away just like that," she snapped her fingers, "my stage fright might be gone, but anxiety can never fully go away."

"I know, babe." He rubbed her back with one hand. "But Als, you could never be a burden to me. My job is to take care of you, and I'm gonna take that job seriously. So please don't apologize, because you aren't an inconvenience. You're my wife, and I love you more than anyone else on this planet."

Ally sniffled. "Really?"

He grinned. "Really. You're amazing, Ally. Having panic attacks isn't going to change the way I feel about you." He pulled her into a hug. "Plus, you're amazing in be"—

"Shut up!" she pulled away and slapped him playfully on the arm.

"What? It's true!"

Ally rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna get ready for bed." She planted a kiss on his cheek and Austin sighed happily. He still couldn't believe he was going to spend the rest of his life with her. Shaking his head, he grabbed the remote, turned on the TV, and searched through his drawers for some pajama pants. A few minutes later, Ally came back in and they snuggled against each other, not even really paying attention to what was on. Within minutes, both were fast asleep.

New Year's Eve 2020

4:07 P.M.

"Austin, I am freaking out!" Dez's panicked voice came from the other end of the line right as Austin picked up the phone.

"About what?" Austin asked, "Dez, if you're worried about the proposal, I already told you, she's going to say yes."

"What if she doesn't, though? I'll be sad and alone forever."

"Dez, look, I already said that Carrie loves you. You've been dating for how many years now? Four, five?"

"Five," Dez confirmed.

"Exactly. How are you asking her, anyway?"

Austin could hear Dez's voice lighten up on the other end. "Well, I hired a firework guy to set off fireworks that spell 'Carrie will you marry me?' at ten minutes to midnight. Cool, huh?"

Austin chuckled. "Yeah, Dez. I'm impressed. Well anyway, I'll see you at Trish's at 5:00?"

"Yup!" Dez chirped.

"Alright. See you there."

"Bye, Austin."

The four friends were preparing to head over to Trish's quaint little townhome that evening for a small, socially distant, mostly outdoor New Years' Eve Party. Ally almost declined, insisting that it wasn't safe for that a group their size to gather because the case numbers has spiked through the roof, but Austin had convinced her that they would be fine. The only guests that would be attending would be Austin, Ally, Dez, Carrie, Trish, and Chuck, and they had all gotten tested per Ally's request. Since none of them tested positive, she would have nothing to worry about and could enjoy the night.

Dez, though, was a nervous wreck.

Austin and Ally arrived at Trish's around 4:45, walking up to the house hand-in-hand, as they did for everything else. Ally rang the doorbell and Trish appeared with a wide smile on her face.

"Hey guys, come on in!" she greeted, and within moments they realized why she was so enthusiastic. Standing behind her was none other than Chuck McCoy, whom Austin and Ally hadn't seen since high school.

"Hey, Trish," Ally replied, grinning, "Hey, Chuck, glad you could make it."

"Well, I was supposed to work this weekend but I just had to fly out here for my Trishypoo's New Years' Eve party!" he exclaimed, tucking his thumbs into his pockets in true Chuck fashion. His wardrobe really hadn't changed that much since high school, if at all. He looked like a true cowboy, wearing a blue and red checkered t-shirt with a collar that was snug around his neck, dark jeans and a belt with a huge buckle, and authentic cowboy boots. Trish grabbed his arm and leaned up against him, sighing.

"That's why I love you, Chuckalicious. He's always willing to drop everything to come see me, what can get better than that?"

Ally looked up at Austin, leaning into his shoulder as well. "I know exactly what you mean…love is great, huh?"

"Yeah," Austin agreed, "Although, I've gotta admit, I still have a hard time believing that you two," he gestured to Chuck and Trish, "are a thing."

"Honestly, me too," Chuck mused, "This is everything I've wanted since high school. I mean, who ever thought this would happen?"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. We're an unpredictable couple…now how about you guys go into the kitchen and get us some drinks while Ally and I stay here and chat," Trish said, gesturing to the boys. Chuck and Austin agreed hesitantly, both shooting Trish a suspicious look. Ally rolled her eyes, knowing what Trish was about to ask her.

"So," she whispered, "Have you guys," she glanced around, making sure the boys weren't listening, "done it yet?"

Ally laughed. "Well, duh! Trish, we've been married for almost a month now. You really thought that we haven't?"

"Well, excuuuse me for wanting to know! Was it at least…special?" Trish pressed, adding, "Spare me the details, but I just want to know if you're glad you waited. You know, because of the talk we had on tour."

"Yeah, I get what you mean," Ally said, nodding, "And…it was really special. I'm glad that I stopped him when that happened on tour because it just made the first time better, you know?" She smiled, making eye contact with Trish, signifying that this would probably come up again later, as Chuck and Austin emerged from the kitchen, cans of soda and beer in hand.

"I didn't know what you wanted, so I just got you root beer," Ausin mused, handing Ally the can.

"Thanks, babe," she said, "So, should we sit down somewhere?"

"Sure," Austin agreed, and Trish led them out to the patio, where they sat on the lawn chairs, talking until the doorbell rang.

"That must be Dez and Carrie," Ally said, "I'll go get it."

"Guess who's here?" Dez announced as Ally opened the door.

"Hey, you're not allowed to steal my catch phrase!" Trish yelled from the kitchen.

Carrie spun around to look behind them. "Wait, who's here?"

Dez sighed. "We are, babe. We are."

"Oh."

"Dez, Carrie! Good to see you guys." Ally greeted them both with a hug and smiled.

"Yeah, I haven't seen you guys since the wedding," Dez mused, "Carrie couldn't make it because she had a super important modeling gig."

"That's okay, Carrie. I can show you all the pictures; it'll almost be as if you were there with us." Ally led her to the back porch, where she scrolled through all the photos Dez had taken on her computer.

Dez waltzed into the kitchen, where Austin was opening his soda. He smiled upon seeing his redheaded friend and they did their handshake before pulling each other into a bro hug.

"So," Austin said, glancing out to the patio to make sure the girls couldn't hear him, "How're you feeling about tonight?"

"Honestly?"

Austin nodded.

"I'm terrified." Dez ran his hands through his hair.

Austin sighed. "I know how you feel, dude."

Des scoffed. "Yeah, you were a mess that day. I'm surprised Ally didn't catch on, because you were acting sooo"—

"Dez!" Austin yelled, earning a few suspicious looks from the girls outside, "Can you just let me finish?" Dez nodded, and Austin continued.

"My point is, proposing to Ally was probably one of the most nerve-wracking things I've ever done. But I promise that you're gonna be fine. Besides, the fireworks are doing most of the work for you. All you have to do is get down on one knee and hand her the ring."

"That's true. I'm just nervous because I don't know if she'll say yes."

"I promise that she will. She's Carrie, after all. I've never seen two people more right for each other…well, besides Ally and me. And I'm still not sure about Trish and Chuck…but you know what I mean."

Dez allowed a small smile. "Yeah, I do. Thanks, bud." They did their handshake and headed out to the patio, where the girls (and Chuck, who looked like he was getting bored) were scrolling through the photos on Dez's laptop.

The next few hours were spent fawning over Austin and Ally's wedding pictures talking about how glad they were that 2020 was over, and just catching up on what was happening in each other's lives. They talked, ate, laughed, and played games until a half hour to midnight, when Dez has started to feel the nerves kick in. Everyone was in the living room watching the virtual Rockin' New Years' Eve, eagerly waiting for the ball drop, and Dez had gone to 'use the restroom' to call the fireworks guy and make sure that everything was set up. After getting confirmation that his plan was going smoothly so far, he exited the bathroom and let out a yelp when he saw Austin standing there.

"Whoa, sorry! Didn't mean to scare you," Austin apologized and Dez clutched his heart.

"Dude, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

"I said sorry!" Austin shot back, and lowered his voice a little when Ally glanced their way, frowning. "So, what did he say?"

"He said that everything was all set up. He's setting them off at 11:50," he responded, and Austin nodded, taking his seat back down on the sofa. The plan was for Dez to lead everyone out to the patio about five minutes before the fireworks were supposed to go off, where they could all witness the proposal together.

Dez and Austin came back out to the living room and watched TV for a few minutes. Dez tried not to make it obvious that he was shaking, but Carrie caught on.

"Are you okay, Dezzie?" Carrie asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dez squeaked, wincing. Carrie shrugged and Dez exhaled shakily, his nerves running high.

Ten minutes to midnight, Dez made eye contact with Austin, who mouthed and gave him a slight nod. Dez fingered over his pocket and slowly stood up. He cleared his throat and everyone except Austin sent him confused looks.

"Um, if I could have everyone's attention please?" he asked nervously, "I, uh…I have something to show you…out on the patio."

"It's, like, ten minutes to midnight, Dez, can't this wait?" Ally asked, frowning slightly. "They're dropping the ball soon."

"I-I know," Dez stammered, "But there's really something I need to show you outside. Like, right now."

Trish groaned. "Let's get this over with." She pushed Chuck's arm off of her, which was wrapped around her neck loosely, and stood up to follow Dez. "This had better be quick, because there is no way I'm missing the ball drop so you can show us what you thought was an alpaca, but is really a weirdly-shaped tree."

The rest of them followed closely behind, exchanging confused whispers, most likely questions about why he'd be leading them outside at this time of night. They stood around for a few minutes before Dez spoke up.

"Um, Carrie," he started, reaching for her hand. By now, mostly everyone in the room were starting to catch on (except her) and assuming grins appeared on their faces. "Before we met, I didn't think I'd ever find the one. When we met, we clicked right away, and that's when I knew you there was nobody else I wanted to watch zombie love movies and pet alpacas with. So…" he trailed off, glancing up at the sky. "There's something I wanted to ask you…" he frowned, realizing they were probably too early. Austin pulled out his phone. It was 11:49. Austin mouthed to Dez that they still had a minute left, and Dez smiled nervously, scratching his head. By this point, everyone else was on the edge of their seats. "Uh, well, this is awkward…" he stammered, looking at Austin for help. Austin motioned the opening of the ring box, indicating that he should just ask her, and Dez nodded slightly, still hesitant.

Carrie frowned. "What do you want to ask me, Dezzie?"

"Well, you see"— Dez was cut off by the exploding of fireworks above them, which spelled "Carrie, will you marry me?" in bright pink and purple lettering. "Carrie, look up! Look up!" he exclaimed, pointing to the sky. Carrie squinted, looking around at the sky above them.

Dez frowned. "You didn't see it, did you?"

Carrie shook her head.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to do it the old-fashioned way, then." Dez pulled the ring box out of his pocket and opened it, getting down on one knee and gripping Carrie's hand. "Carrie, will you marry me?"

Carrie's eyes went wide as she stared at the ring. "Ooh, that's a pretty ring! Who's it for?"

Dez's face changed. "Uh, it- it's for you. That is, if you say ye"—

"Wow, it's pretty! Thanks, Dezzie!" She grabbed the ring out of the case and put it on her finger, trotting away happily.

Dez frowned. "What just happened?" He looked back at Ally, Trish, Chuck, and Austin, who were all wearing different expressions. Trish was snickering, Ally's jaw was dropped, Austin looked confused and Chuck still looked bored.

"I…don't think she understood that you were proposing," Ally said, taking a few steps toward Dez. "Maybe you should try again!" she assured Dez, rubbing his shoulder lightly.

"Yeah, maybe I will," he replied, still frowning. He went after her, calling, "Carrie, wait!"

The rest of the crew stood on the porch, unsure of what to do next. Ally looked at her phone. "Wow, it's already five minutes to midnight," she mused. "Let's go back inside and wait for the ball to drop." The others nodded and followed her into the living room where Dez was talking to Carrie. Ally put her arms back. "Shh," she whispered, "I wanna see how this turns out."

"Carrie, the ring isn't yours yet," he was saying, "You have to say yes first."

"To what?" Carrie asked, glancing down at the ring, "Can I still keep it if I say no?"

"Well, no…at least I don't think you can…" Dez's voice trailed off. Trish rolled her eyes, pushing past Ally and approaching Dez and Carrie.

"Okay, I can't watch this any longer. Carrie, Dez pulled out the ring because he was asking you to marry him!" she gestured towards the ring. "We're all dying over here, waiting for you to answer. So? What do you say?" Trish smiled, waiting for Carrie to respond. Suddenly, Carrie's face lit up.

"Ohhhh!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down, "Yes, Dezzie! I will marry you!" Dez jumped up and pulled her into a hug as the others cheered.

"Well, that took longer than it should have, " Trish commented, going back to the group. "Man, she's really something, huh?"

"I don't know how that girl graduated high school," Chuck said, which earned a small laugh from everyone.

"Oh, guys, it looks like the ball's dropping in two minutes! Let's get ready!" Ally exclaimed, pulling the sparkling juice out of the fridge and hastily pouring it into six different glasses. She'd insisted on getting sparkling juice instead of wine so that everyone could get home safely that night, and while Trish had complained a little, she eventually agreed. Everyone grabbed a glass and took a spot next to their partner in front of the TV as the countdown started.

"Ten, nine, eight…" they cheered excitedly, careful not to spill their juice. "This carpet is new," Trish had reminded them repeatedly throughout the night, "and if one of you spills on it—Austin, Dez, I'm looking at you— you're paying to have it dry cleaned."

"Seven, six, five…"

Austin looked down at his wife, who was leaning up against his shoulder, grinning and pulling her closer. "I love you so much, Ally."

She smiled back, "I love you more."

"Four, three, two, one…Happy New Year!" Austin leaned down and kissed her gently, and she pulled away a few seconds later.

"Happy new year, Austin."

Chuck gave Trish a peck on the lips, who blushed and said, "Is that the best you can do?" before leaning up and kissing him again, more deeply this time. Dez gave Carrie a kiss on the cheek as they both stood admiring her ring.

"Happy new year, fiancée," he joked. Carrie frowned.

"But, my name is Carrie!" Dez chuckled.

"No, that's what people call each other when they're…" he stopped, realizing he wouldn't be able to explain it to her. "Never mind."

"Happy New Year, everyone!" Ally exclaimed, pulling everyone in for a group hug. "Let's hope 2021 is better than 2020," she joked as they pulled away, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah," Dez mused, "2020 sucked!"

Austin frowned. "Well, there were a few good things that happened," he said, "Like Ally and I getting engaged…and Ally and I getting married…actually, those were probably the only two good things about it."

After a few minutes, everyone agreed that they should call it a night and went their separate ways. Austin and Ally got into their car and sat there for a few seconds.

"I can't believe it's 2021 already," Ally said, "It feels like just yesterday that I was at Sonic Boom, yelling at you for playing the drums with corndogs." She paused. "Actually, that was yesterday."

Austin smirked. "It's funny how history repeats itself, huh?"

Ally nodded. "Yeah. I wouldn't change it for the world, though." Austin smiled as he put the car in reverse and drove back to their apartment, Ally's hand in his.

Five Days Later

January 5th- Austin and Ally's "One Month-iversary"

Ally woke up to the sun in her eyes, and rolled over in bed, squinting. She was surprised to see Austin not there. Ally frowned. Where was he?

She jumped out of bed and put on her fuzzy pink slippers, then strolled into the kitchen. Her jaw dropped when she saw her husband sitting on a kitchen stool, guitar in hand. He'd decorated the apartment, too, putting streamers every which way and hanging up a banner (that he'd obviously made himself) that read, 'Happy One Month-iversay, Als- Love, Austin.' There were rose petals scattered over the living room floor, amidst the random boxes that Ally still hadn't put away from when she moved in. Ally grinned.

"Happy one month-iversary to you, too, Austin." She wrapped her arms around him and he moved his guitar off to the side, letting out a laugh.

"How long did it take you to do this?" Ally asked, looking around the room. "It's pretty impressive, if I do say so myself."

Austin smirked. "Why, thank you. And, if you must know, I've been up since six."

"Wait, really?" Ally asked, in shock. "Wow, I'm keeping you," she joked, squeezing him in a hug. "If you do this for our one month anniversary, I can't even imagine what one year, or even five years will look like."

He nodded. "Anything for my Ally-gator." She smiled and he started strumming some random chords. "So, any song requests?" he asked, glancing up at her.

"Umm, let's see…" she pretended to think but he knew what she was going to say.

"Let me guess…do it again?"

Ally beamed. "You know me so well."

"I know."

Flashback to their date, Summer 2019

The ferris wheel screeched to a halt, rocking Austin and Ally's car a bit. Ally put her hands out, surprised by the sudden stop.

"Whoaa," she breathed, clinging to Austin.

"You okay?" he asked, clutching her hand.

"Yeah," she replied, "I'm fine. That was just a little"—

"Sudden?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah." A few seconds later they started moving again and Ally secretly hoped they wouldn't be getting off next. Unfortunately, Ally's wish didn't come true. The pair exited the ferris wheel and walked along the boardwalk, hand-in-hand.

Ally checked her phone. "How is it 8:00 already? This night went by so fast."

"I know," Austin said, "And I've loved every second of it." He paused. "But there's one thing we still need to do."

Ally grinned. "I assume you're referring to the 'park and lay out on the hood of my car' and 'listen to the airplanes as we count the stars,' part of the song?"

"Exactly." They walked back to Austin's car, where he held the door open for her "like a true gentleman," Ally had said. They drove for a few minutes in silence, hand-in-hand, listening to the radio.

"Do you remember when we heard one of my songs on the radio for the first time?" Austin asked as they turned onto a dirt road.

"Yeah, I do," Ally grinned. "That was the day I rediscovered my love for fruity mint swirl."

Austin chuckled. "Really, that's all you remember?"

"Pffft, of course not," she said, "I also remember that we all ended up stuck to Dez…" she laughed at the thought and Austin joined in.

"Yeah, that was painful," he mused, taking a left. They were beginning to get farther out of the city now, to the point where they almost couldn't see any city lights. Austin pulled into a grassy field, parked his truck, and turned off the ignition. "So, are you ready to do this?"

"Totally," Ally agreed, unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the truck. "Are we sitting in the bac—wait, you brought blankets?" she exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the collection of blankets and pillows Austin had thrown in his truck.

"Yup. How great of a boyfriend am I?" Austin smirked.

"A super great one," Ally responded, climbing into the truck bed and making herself comfortable. "Oh, Austin, you're gonna love this. I got this app that helps us see constellations! See?" She held her phone up to the sky, where it identified a cluster of stars as the Little Dipper.

"That's cool, Ally," Austin said, arranging the pillows so he could comfortably lay down, "But why do you have to make everything so…educational?"

"Oh come on, Austin. It'll be fun. See?" She moved her phone around and they marveled at the other constellations, with the app's help. Soon, it was almost midnight. Austin yawned loudly.

"Man, I'm tired. We should probably start packing up."

"Yeah, good idea. We have another long day of tour planning tomorrow," Ally said, climbing out the back of the truck.

"So," Austin started, as soon as they were back inside the car, "This was fun. Wanna do it again sometime?"

Ally grinned. "How about tomorrow?"

"Perfect."

Back to Present

Tonight I'll be your man…

Give you all I can…

And tomorrow we can do it again.

Austin finished singing the song, and Ally leaned on his shoulder.

"That was a good night, huh?" he asked, and Ally nodded.

"The best."

Austin smiled. "So, what else do you want to do today? Not that there is much else to do, because, y'know…corona…"

"Maybe we could get takeout," Ally replied. "Ooh, and go house hunting! I've been dying to look at places ever since I moved in here. Don't get me wrong, it's amazing living with you, but we're gonna have to get a bigger place. I can't deal with all these boxes everywhere; we're gonna need someplace to put them."

"Yeah, I agree," Austin said, "Now that it's not just me living here, it is getting a little cramped. Can you even go house hunting these days?"

"It'll have to be online house hunting for the time being, but that's alright, I guess. We can always do the virtual tours now, and then the ones we like the most we can visit in person when everything opens back up." Ally grabbed her laptop and sat on the couch, searching the web for new houses that were for sale near them. Austin sat beside her and casually draped his arm around her neck.

"Ooh, Austin, look! They're building a ton of new houses not far from here. And they're custom-build ones, so we can choose what we want to put in."

"That sounds nice," Austin said, "That way, I can get my man cave."

"And my recording studio."

"And a giant, 70" flatscreen TV."
"And a huge master bathroom!" they both collapsed into a fit of giggles.

"Okay, maybe we should slow down," Ally suggested, and Austin nodded.

"Yeah. I'm willing to go down to 65" if there's no room."

Ally rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant. We have to look at our budget first and see what we can fit in."

Austin groaned. "Can't we just go all out and deal with the consequences later?"

Ally glared at him. "You know that's not how I roll. We need to sort out our priorities and figure out what we can actually afford."

"Right," he replied, "But we're famous popstars, so we shouldn't need to budget, right?"

"It's like you don't even know me," Ally muttered. "Okay, first off, before we get into all the nitty gritty details, we should decide if we even want to stay in Miami. I mean, can you see us living here for a while longer and staying with Starr Records, or would it make more sense to move to L.A.?"

"I'm down to stay here," he said, shrugging. "Besides, if we live near both our parents, we'll get free childcare when we have kids."

"Seriously?" she asked, giving him a skeptical look.

"What? I thought you wanted kids."

"I do, but a couple years down the road…we have to make sure we're financially stable first." She shook her head. "We're getting off topic. So, you want to stay here for sure?"

"Definitely," Austin said. "Being in Miami has a lot of perks. Trish and Dez are here, the factory is here…everything is here."

Ally nodded. "Yeah, I feel the same way. So, we're staying here then?"

"We're staying in Miami."

"Wooo!" Ally cheered, making Austin laugh. "Okay, step one is done, now we can actually start looking."

The couple spent the next few hours searching Ally's laptop for houses, establishing that they wanted six bedrooms and four bathrooms (not including Austin's mancave and Ally's recording studio, which they had compromised on), and then decided to take a break. They popped in a movie and snuggled under the blankets next to the fireplace, leaning into each other. The rest of the day was spent unpacking Ally's stuff, though Austin had argued they'd just have to pack it up again soon, and by 8 p.m., they were both back on the couch. Austin had fallen asleep and was resting his head on Ally's shoulder. She looked over at him and smiled as she continued to scroll through more real estate websites. Finally, deciding that she'd been looking at a screen for too long, she shut the laptop and set it next to her. She rested her head on Austin's and soon she fell fast asleep.

Heyyy everyone! How'd you like this chapter? What'd you think of Dez's proposal? Let me know in the reviews. On a different note, I recently discovered the line break feature and I'm obsessed with that now, as you can probably tell. Alsooo, something I forgot to mention at the beginning of this chapter is that I'm officially halfway through writing this fic! Which is a 'yay!' but also ':(' because I'm having so much fun with it. Thanks as always for reading and don't forget to follow and favorite this story! Ily all!- EJ