Duncan, DJ, and Geoff were all settled on the couch in need of a game plan.

"As much Courtney gives off that energy, I can't imagine her wanting this grand gesture, and I don't either. I'd rather it happen in the moment, like in a moment you wouldn't expect." DJ came up with an easy solution to Duncan's dilemma.

"So basically, do the complete opposite of what Geoff did." Geoff responded in offense to DJ's suggestion. "Then why am I here?!"

Duncan removed the hands behind his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Moral support?"

"I think there'd have to be morality involved then…" DJ trailed off. They heard the door unlock and immediately straightened up despite only having to stop talking. Courtney walked into the living room and their joint silence automatically raised her suspicion.

"Why are you being so quiet? What did you do? Did you eat my key lime squares?"

Duncan didn't know what the hell a key lime square was, but his answer gave him a free ticket out of her line of questioning. "…Yes?"

Courtney gasped like she just witnessed him kick a puppy. "Carlos makes them specifically for me! Now I have to go back to the bakery!"

"I'm sorry, baby." Duncan grabbed one of her reusable grocery bags, handed it to her, and kissed her on the cheek in baseless consolidation. "Tell Carlos he's gonna be busy making you more." He went as far to turn her toward the door by her shoulders. She yelled out before closing the door.

"You're picking up the order though!" As soon as the door closed Duncan turned back to his friends.

"I don't even know what the hell a key lime square is." DJ felt sympathy for Courtney's unneeded frustration.

"You didn't have to lie to ol' girl."

"If I didn't, she would still be on my ass. Trust me, you don't wanna see Courtroom Courtney." It was the nickname he came up with after she got accepted into law school. It made her even better at arguing her point across, which Duncan didn't even know was possible for her to do.

Geoff got up from the couch, eager to get his point across to his friends. "All I'm saying is it would be a shame if it wasn't a memorable moment. That's why I went all out for Bridge."

Duncan pondered on what he said. He could understand why Geoff felt the way he did, considered the aspect of the event being memorable for Courtney, and not just a passing moment between them. He thought maybe grand gestures weren't such a bad idea. "Alright, then. What do you think I should do? When it comes to big, I have a few ideas.

The three of them exchanged ideas until they could think of the most extra idea for the amount of time they had left to plan.

Duncan stood in the kitchen, leaning his back on the counter as he awaited an answer on the other end of the phone.

"Hi, yeah, I'm calling to book a balloon ride for two on Saturday evening?"

…

"Uh, yeah it's Duncan Miller and Courtney Álvarez. I haven't been on one, but I think she has."

…

"Five-thirty's great. Okay, we'll be there. Thank you."

Duncan mentally crossed a line on his list. If doing this meant they'd have a memorable, story-worthy day, it would all be worth it in the end. He turned to walk back to the living room but jumped at the sight of Courtney looking in the refrigerator. "Oh my God! How long have been standing there?"

Courtney looked at him before refocusing on the contents of their refrigerator. She seemed to be low-energy and confused by him being startled. "Oh, hey, Babe. I just got here?" He appeared to calm down after she told him. She couldn't find anything that she wanted, so she closed the door defeated, and sighed against the door.

"What's wrong? Didn't you have another class today?"

"Yeah, but my professor went into labor, so it got cancelled. I'm happy for her and all, but now I'm glum." This was one thing he knew upset her, but one thing he couldn't understand. Her personal enjoyment for classroom settings, participation points, and homework made her feel most productive. So, missing out on it made her star dim.

"Needa hug?" Duncan held his arms out to invite her in and hoped his heart rate didn't give away nearly getting caught by her. She responded by entering and wrapping her arms around his torso. She looked up at him. Her voice was so low and the number of times he'd seen her like this were very seldom.

"Thank you. I'm gonna go shower now." He let her go do whatever she could to raise her spirits, but he couldn't help but find her crestfallen demeanor cute.

He heard the bathroom door shut and he let out the breath he didn't know he was holding in. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this nervous around her. Duncan habitually relied on his confidence as a stand in and he couldn't decipher whether it weakened from the act of posing the question, or the method he chose to take under the influence of his best friends' views.

Duncan's cell phone went off. It was a number he couldn't place but answered anyway. before he could say anything, he heard another man's voice speaking in a sultry tone.

"Hey, Courtney. It's Carlos. You gave me this number for the order, right?"

"This isn't Courtney. It's Duncan, her boyfriend. She wanted me to pick up her order. But, if you plan on talking to my girlfriend like that again, I can give you something I'm good at, too."

"Oh, alright. it's ready for pickup. Bye"

The call dropped immediately after he spoke.

Duncan sat on their couch with a picnic basket in his hands. It would be their first time in a month where they were able to devote a day to themselves without their busy lives getting in the way. Duncan was feeling the pressure now in hopes of the success of this day; he just hoped he'd done right by her with his plans. His head filled with preoccupations and all the possible ways it can go while Courtney readied herself for their outing. Duncan looked in the direction her voice was coming from, abruptly bringing him out of his contemplative state.

"What do you think?" Her white dress highlighted her warm skin. The puffed sleeves-cottage core look was not her usual style, but she pulled it off effortlessly. He stood up from the couch, ready to hype his girl up.

"I just thought I'd try something new since I haven't dressed up in a while. I think I look pretty good."

"My god you look gorgeous, Princess."

"Oh, stop. You really think so?" Courtney feigned bashfulness before she broke out into a few poses, looking over her shoulder and putting her hands on her hips. Duncan playfully scooped her up and kissed her on her cheek.

"Ready to head out?"

The car ride to the dock park filled with conversation of Courtney's excitement and Duncan's guise of normalness. When they arrived, the sky took on a gray hue, one Duncan did not expect from the forecast he checked today. They found the spot of their choice and unfolded their blanket. Their time was spent indulging in their favorite foods packed, relaxing, and reading.

Courtney laid her head on Duncan's lap, holding a book in her face while he fed her grapes, helping her live up to his name for her. She closed it when she looked up and noticed Duncan was being quieter than usual. "What are you thinking about?" Courtney sat up to face him.

Duncan tried to shift the focus of the conversation to her to deflect. Still, Courtney persisted. "How beautiful you are right now."

"Nice one, but seriously. What's going on?"

"Nothing. Why are you being such a lawyer?"

"Because it gives me answers; you've been acting weird, key-lime-square-eater."

Duncan threw a grape at her hoping to distract her. Courtney tried not to laugh when her mouth dropped open. To counter, she reached for the can of whipped cream to dispense some on top of his head. She couldn't suppress her laughter after some of it fell on the tip of his nose, using her finger to catch enough to eat. Duncan challenged her even further. This was just their one of many food wars, just at a new, unexpected location. "You really wanna do this. Right here?" He grabbed the can, making Courtney retreat behind a nearby tree. He felt a few droplets from the sky fall on his head, but it was nothing serious enough to wreck their plans. He caught up to her, grabbing her from behind and carrying her back to their blanket while he threatened to dispense confectionary mousse on her hair. Courtney pleaded for mercy in between laughs.

"Duncan, please don't!"

"Don't dish what you can't take, Princess!"

Then, there were more droplets to which they didn't mind. The rain got a little heavier, but it didn't interrupt their preoccupation.

A bolt of lightning near a tree and shower-like pour down confirmed their decision to make a run for it in the boathouse near the docks.

They thanked the Gods for the door being unlocked as they entered the boathouse; the rain still beating loudly on the tin roof. This cabin proved to be nightmare fuel and they were surrounded by live bait, large, sharp fishhooks, and surprisingly no boat resting on the inside dock. Thunder rumbled loudly over the roof of the cabin just as they secured the door shut. Duncan's instincts compelled him to slip his leather jacket over Courtney's shoulders to stop her from shivering but took the ring box out of his pocket before doing so and stuffed it in his jeans pocket. He tried his best not to show his annoyance to their plans, but then it dawned on him that maybe this happened for a reason. He could read the signs the universe usually gave him, and this time he determined that the storm was a sign that he was right all along. He subtly joked about the fortunate event, trying to throw a curve to keep her surprised.

"Worst date ever, huh?"

Her hair was still dripping wet, and her natural waves made her hair shrink slightly. She was cold, wet. Her response surprised him. It was as if she tore a page from his book and didn't base her happiness on perfection. "I mean… it depends on how you look at it. I'm with you. We haven't had a day like this in a while." She wrapped her fingers around his arms to pull him in and attach her lips to his. Her acceptance of their situation confirmed his perception of their moment, and he felt more ready than he'd ever been to ask her. Their kiss was shortened when Duncan pulled away slowly, and his hands went from her hips to hold onto her forearms. He kept his eyes on hers as he brought one knee to the floor, still holding onto her when he started.

"It isn't gonna get more memorable than this."

Courtney caught on immediately and had no control over the tears flowing to her eyes. Her voice broke when she tried to speak. "Duncan…"

"Courtney, when I told you that you save my life every time, I meant it. I don't know where the hell I'd be if you weren't in my life." He continued, and the more he spoke, the more relief he felt.

"You are the only person who makes change worth it because you deserve the best of me if it means dealing with the worst sometimes. I want to keep giving the best of me to you. I love you so much, it's been this way for so long, and I don't think I'll stop."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out that small box, and held it open in front of her while she tried to wipe away the tears on her face. "Will you marr-"

"Yes" Duncan let out a breathy laugh, both relieved and humored by her fervent nature.

She giggled as she choked back tears while Duncan slid the ring on her finger. He stood up to hold her in his arms tightly, not wanting to let go as she left lipstick marks all over his face and neck.

Courtney forgot they were in a fish cabin. Duncan often had that effect on her.

When the rain let up, they decided the best way to spend the rest of their day was in the comfort of their own home, on the couch, wrapped up in blankets. Courtney finally got her hands on her favorite dessert, and they were watching whatever interested them on TV.

"Carlos always nails it perfectly with these!" He glanced at her and remembered his interaction with that baker.

"By the way that guy has it bad for you. I don't blame him though. Now, he knows better than to bother you, though." Courtney objected in disbelief, still chewing her dessert.

"He does not!"

"Of course you're blind to any guy having the hots for you. If it weren't that way, we would've been together since ninth grade."

"That sheer confidence. What gave you the idea I wanted to date you in the ninth grade?"

"The ring on your finger tells me otherwise."

She held her hand out proudly and admired the oval-shaped gem on her finger.

"How did you afford this? You didn't rob a jewelry store, did you?" Duncan gave her a blank stare before she started giggling. He brought her hand down and intertwined his fingers with hers, looking at the TV again.

"No. I started saving the day before you moved in with me."

Courtney's chest warmed up with an unexplained feeling of completeness when he told her. She looked in his direction and into his eyes; she felt even more soothed after realizing he rubbed circles on her hand with this thumb. She gave him a look of contentment before positioned her head on his shoulder and stared at the TV while he slid his arm around her shoulder.

"Thank you." He looked down at her, puzzled at her sudden gratitude.

"For what?"

"For giving me your shirt at the beach. For opening conversations about our feelings that I was too scared to have, and just growing with me. Had it been anyone else, I think my life would be very… fragmentary. Like, this just wouldn't feel right with another person. Maybe even… insipid? We might not make total sense to some, but I feel like I perfectly fit here." She let her mind speak for itself in this moment while she traced the lines of the tattoo on his hand out of habit.

"You said it better than I did. I love you, and if I can express that in any way, I'll take it." Duncan knew he'd always remember feeling unfathomably lucky to have taken this route of fate.

"I love you, too."

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed but let me know what you think! See ya in the next one :)