A/N: Hi, friends! How are we doing? Doing yay? Doing not yay? In need of a little escape? Like I've been doing for the last few days? By replaying Pokémon? Alpha Sapphire, if you're curious, because I found my 3DS about a week ago and I've hardly put it down since then to the point where it's miraculous I get anything done? Look. Before we get into today's chapter, I'm going to explain a thing. A little life storyish kind of thing. One of those things that would be better explained through a Ted Talk or if I ever did something stupid like do some stream of consciousness YouTube videos (that I'd be lying if I said I never thought about). So, feel free to skip this bit if you don't want to hear it. You're not hurting my feelings. I know you're here for a reason.

Nostalgia is an INCREDIBLY powerful thing. When I was about nine or ten years old, I played the original Pokémon Sapphire on my Game Boy SP. I've been in a major depressive slump for the last couple weeks. Ever since I've been sick. And when I get hit with depressive episodes, they hit me hard. It's to the point where I'm lucky to get any sort of updates out. And I've been burying myself in work lately for that reason. But by the time I'm done with whatever has to go up that day, I'm fucking wrecked. And when I'd get there, I'd tell myself, ok. Break time. We'll play Pokémon for an hour or so and go back to work. It's a rarity I ever went back to work. And for a few hours every day for the past couple, I'd be alright again. At least on a little more level kilter. It's amazing what nostalgia can do. Just thought I'd share. Also, my Blaziken is a badass and I love her so much. I was going to go with Mudkip for the memes as my starter, but I wasn't dealing with Swampert. I usually either go fire or water for my starter, except for Gold/Silver/Crystal. I'm not saying no to a Chikorita. And Meganium is beautiful. Fight me. Alright. I'm going to shut up now. Thanks for listening to me ramble. Love you x

Let no one say Vanderwood didn't know where the nice shit was. Granted, I did, too. That came with the territory I treaded in on a regular basis. I remember when I could stomach being around Trevor longer than a few hours at a time and he'd call me up after a long day of work. We'd usually end up around here. But before we walked in, I grabbed Seven by the back of his shirt, letting Vanderwood and Bridget get ahead of us.

"MC?" Seven looked to me, confused and concerned, "Is everything ok? Were we just here as a ruse? Because I'm kind of hungry…"

"It's not that," I promised, "I'm alright. I'm just worried about you."

"Other than the potential for hungry crank about to come out," he took my hand, "I'm alright, too. Why?"

"Because," I wrapped myself around his arm, "As much as I absolutely adore you, you're a complete and total spazz, Seven. I don't want to have to mom voice you tonight, but for the sake of argument, please…Just behave yourself tonight."

"I will," Seven kissed my forehead, "Pinky promise…And at this point, I think that might mean more than anything ever could. You know how sadistic Vanderwood is, MC. He'd take my pinky off my mouse hand. Do you know how uncomfortable that'd be? It'd be awful! I wouldn't be able to get anything done. I wouldn't be able to use my usual shift key. Hitting enter on anything would be hell. I need my pinky."

"I love you, Seven," I smiled in his shoulder, "I love you so much."

"I love you, too, 606," he held me a little closer, "Not to mention, I'm pretty sure Bridget might be some sort of voodoo priestess, so…You know…Hell of a motivation. You know what would happen? I'd screw up somehow. Vanderwood takes my pinky from my mouse hand and gives that pinky to Bridget and it ends up being used in some sort of sacrificial rite."

"We really need to get you checked out, don't we?" But I'd be lying if I said she didn't give me voodoo priestess vibes, too.

Still. As long as Seven behaves himself, everything should be fine. Although, she's such a wild card. I feel like she's the type to switch her moods at the drop of a hat and there's no telling what's going to set her off. I see Vanderwood has a type. Stick with what he knows, I guess. I'm not going to stop him. Mostly because I don't think I could. Regardless, we all sat down and got comfortable. As comfortable as we could anyway.

"You're not trying to impress me already," Bridget asked, "Are you?"

"No," Vanderwood twitched a bit. This is so weird. And in its own special way, it's so damn cute. I didn't think I'd ever see Vanderwood so nervous. And over a girl! I love it.

"You don't need to try that hard," she settled him, "It's just nice not having to eat anything from work again."

"You know," Seven made the mistake of opening his mouth. Goddammit. I just wanted a nice night. No. I'm going to believe in him and trust that he's walking out of here with the pinky on his mouse hand, "It's really too bad Saeran's not here. You two would probably get along like a house on fire."

"Saeran, Saeran…" Bridget racked her brain, "Is Saeran the insufferable, spazzy one or is Saeran the nihilist?"

"Nihilist," Vanderwood told her, "And yes. He's not wrong. You two would definitely be an arsonist's wet dream."

"I already told you that you didn't have to impress me," she clutched her chest, "If that's your attempts to pitch woo at me, it's working."

"What do you mean, the insufferable, spazzy one?" Seven squeaked, proving a point, "Vanderwood, what do you tell people about me?"

"And I see we found the insufferable spazz."

"And Saeran's not that big of a nihilist." Bless him.

"Seven…" I hushed him, "Honey…No…Think that one through. It's Saeran. We know him, we love him."

"Yeah…" Seven already knew that was a losing battle. If anyone at this table knew how much of a nihilist Saeran could be, it's him, "Never mind. Saeran's a nihilist."

"Big time," I nodded, "But it makes it fun to watch Cutthroat Kitchen with him, though."

"Alton Brown gets pegged on the regular," Bridget didn't even look up from her menu, "And you can't convince me otherwise."

"Huh…" I never thought she'd be the one I'd click over Cutthroat Kitchen with, but I didn't think…Huh…

"That's kind of a controversial standpoint to take in our house, Bridget," Vanderwood explained, "We were just talking about this."

"Seven," I leaned over to him, keeping my voice down, "I love you, but I really should've brought Saeran with me."

"Understandable," Seven let me have that one. Although, I'm not totally sure how Bridget and Saeran being in the same room when Saeran's sober would work out. As much as Vanderwood can handle just about anything, that could be one of those catastrophic events that would end the world, "But MC…?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"Do you think this place has a kids' menu?"

"No, Seven." I should've brought Saeran, "Wait…Why do you want a kids' menu?"

"Because I can't get mac and cheese on the adult menu."

"And…" Bridget wondered, "That's the one you're with?"

"Willingly," I confirmed, "Surprisingly, I know. I'd be lying if I said he's not exhausting, but it's worth it."

"Seconded," Vanderwood chimed in, "You know how nice those paychecks are."

"You still owe me a trip to the horse track, Vanderwood," Bridget demanded.

"We'll go to the horse track one day," Vanderwood promised, "Don't you worry your pretty, little head about it."

"Don't call me pretty ever again."

"Yes, ma'am," Vanderwood bit his tongue. Holy shit…That has to be a record. I've never seen Vanderwood back down so quickly. And be sincere about it. I'm concerned. Am I wrong to be concerned? No. Of course not. Because Vanderwood is my friend and I have too big of a heart. And the tendency to become everyone's mom at the drop of a hat. And for whatever reason, flashbacks to a certain RFA party that Vanderwood likes to bring up every once in a while where I cut Yoosung's grapes in half before he ate them came to mind.

"You know," Bridget thought, looking Seven over, studying his every single move…Or so I think, "You kind of remind me of this old cult leader I know."

And just like that, Seven turned to stone. It's confirmed. Vanderwood is dating Medusa. I wouldn't be surprised. Although, even Vanderwood flinched, "Um…Bridget? You know how you told me not to call you pretty?"

"Yeah."

"The, uh…" Vanderwood bit his lip, "We don't really use the C-word here."

"Really?" Bridget looked at him strange, "I don't remember me saying the C-word at any point in this conversation. Also, we're adults, Vanderwood. I don't give a shit if you say cu…"

"Not that C-word," Vanderwood rolled his eyes, "Maybe you're right, MC. Maybe she should meet Saeran. You two really would get along famously."

"I barely get along with you," she pointed out, "The fact that we work for whatever ungodly reason is enough of a mindblower for me."

"We…" Vanderwood's cheeks started changing color. Oh my god…I'm so glad I get to be a fly on the wall here, "We…Work?"

"Yeah," Bridget nodded, "I figured that was one of those things that went without saying."

"Um…" Vanderwood wasn't sure what to do with himself. Shit…He's tanking. I felt the toe of his boot against my shin. He's looking for either an out or a distraction. And I'm thinking the latter.

"Seven?" I whispered to him, "Are you alright? Are you coherent enough to hear me?"

"Yeah," Seven snapped back into his head like a rubber band, "I'm here. What is it? Did someone need me for something?"

"I think so," I nodded, "I think we might need a distraction. Just something to call attention away from the awkward situation of Bridget dropping the relationship bomb on Vanderwood. And…I don't know about you, but I know this guy that is the absolute king of creating a distraction."

"That's me!" Seven chirped, "Right? Unless you know someone that can create a distraction better than me. In which case, I need to defend my title and he and I shall declare fisticuffs that will likely just be us bitch slapping each other."

"Seven, I'm serious," I shot a quick look back to Vanderwood, who still wasn't totally sure about what was going on. Our poor little deer in the headlights, "We need a distraction."

"Who are we distracting?"

"I'm not totally sure," I thought it over, "But we need something to snap Vanderwood out of his head. Or create just enough of a diversion for him to get the hell out of here. Alone or otherwise."

"I got it!" Seven beamed, "I was kind of waiting to do this somewhere else, but I'll take it!"

"Seven…" I got nervous. Don't get me wrong. I trusted Seven's shenanigans most of the time. But this had me sweating.

"Trust me, MC," he took my hands, "I know what I'm doing. But I'm going to need your help with it."

"What do you need my help for?" At this point, I just wanted to get Vanderwood taken care of.

"I have a plan," Seven assured me, "And I need you to roll with it."

"Ok…" I still wasn't sure where he was going with this, but I trust him, "What do we do? Good cop, bad cop this bitch or engage in extreme PDA that makes everyone around us uncomfortable?"

"Well…You had the engage part right," Seven dropped to his knee and pulled a little black box out of his pocket.

"What the hell…?" Bridget looked at us strange.

"Yeah…" Vanderwood agreed, "Seven, what the hell are you doing?"

"Something I've been wanting to do for so long," Seven took my hand. Specifically, my left one. Oh, shit. But then, it clicked. Seven, you beautiful genius. You definitely keep your title, Your Majesty, "MC, I love you so much. And I think ever since you moved in next door, I've loved you. I don't know what it was about you, but the minute you stormed my door, I knew. Don't let this one get away, Seven. Don't you dare let this one get away. Because if you do, you're going to be making the biggest mistake of your life. You need her. And she'll need you. You're not sure how she'll ever need you. Not when she's so wonderful, so independent, so strong on her own…But she will. And if takes the rest of my life to figure out how you'll ever need me, then so be it. MC…My dear, beautiful, wonderful MC…Will you marry me?"

"Seven…" I managed to stir up some tears. Not that it'd be all that difficult. Not after that. And I love it so much. My heart hurt in the best way. But I noticed a handful of people watching, waiting to see what I'd say. Little did they know, he's already proposed to me. And with a Ring Pop. Although, I will say this…The stone in the ring was the same bright, beautiful red my Ring Pop was. And Saeran's not here to try and eat this one. Seven did say roll with it. I might as well play up the theatrics, too, "It's about time you asked…Yes! Yes, I will!"

"Yes!" Seven threw his arms around me and pulled me in for the most incredible kiss we've ever had, "She said yes!"

The restaurant broke out in applause and I noticed that, in all the chaos, Vanderwood took Bridget out of there. You saw the opportunity and dammit, you took it. Although, I couldn't help but wonder when the hell Seven had an engagement ring readily available. Was he already planning this without me knowing? Seven, you little minx. I really should know better than to underestimate you.

"Congratulations!" one of the waitstaff came out with a chocolate cake covered in white chocolate covered strawberries. Yum! "Here. This is for you. On the house."

"Thank you," I choked out, wiping my tears away, "I love you, Seven…"

"I love you, too," Seven gave me one last kiss, "Looks like Bridget and Vanderwood took off. Weird."

"That was the idea," I explained, "He was tanking. Vanderwood in a cage doesn't sound like it's going to end well."

"Oh, hell no," Seven shook his head, "I've heard those stories. At one point, that was more literal than you'd think. Tore through the bars like a shark. Vanderwood when he's pissed and cornered is not a pretty sight."

"Have you actually seen it?" I gasped.

"No," he sat back down, "But like I said, I've heard stories. His trip to Manila wasn't exactly a fun one for him. But I digress. You're pretty in rubies, MC."

"Speaking of rubies," I wondered, "Where did you come up with an engagement ring when this was a last minute decision altogether?"

"Your engagement ring came in the mail the other day," Seven pulled me into his shoulder, "I figured I'd give it to you somewhere special instead of the roof of an RFA party. We'll call this the second chance proposal."

"And I still said yes," I cuddled into him.

"And we come out of this with cake," he fed me a strawberry, "All in all? I'd call this a good night. For us anyway. Not so sure about Vanderwood yet."

"I don't know if I can approve of this," I winced, "If we can be totally honest here for a minute."

"Of what?" Seven asked, "Of Bridget?"

"Yeah," I swallowed hard. Damn, MC. Chew your food a little better, "I don't know about her. Especially when it comes to Vanderwood."

"Honestly?" he admitted, "I don't think I could've handpicked someone better for him."

"Are you high?"

"Not at all," Seven assured me, "I know it seems nuts, but trust me. I don't think I could've handpicked anyone better for Vanderwood other than Bridget. Am I saying they should run off and have a drive-thru wedding? No. Not in the least bit. Mostly because they're tacky as hell."

"It's good to know you have standards, Seven," I giggled a bit.

"You're welcome," he kissed the top of my head, "But I can give this my stamp of approval. A scarier woman for a scary man. It works. I wonder where those crazy kids ran off to."

"I don't know." But I was starting to worry.

"Tell you what," Seven decided, "Why don't I go grab the check and we'll take off, so we can celebrate our engagement a little more properly, ok?"

"Because scoring free cake isn't enough for you?" I teased him.

"Scoring the girl was plenty," he pulled me onto my feet, "The free cake, though…That was definitely a major bonus."

"I'm glad I can be on the same level as free cake for you, Seven." You could've backed off, MC. You could've told him no the second time around. And caused a major scene. That sure as hell would've been a distraction for the ages. But I'd take it. I'll take him again and again. No matter how much he says he doesn't deserve me.

"But…It's a chocolate cake, MC…With strawberries! And it's nicely decorated!" I love this dork.

"I'm not fighting you, Seven," I let it slide, "Really. I'd take free cake, too."

"But for realsies, though," Seven thought, "Where do you think Bridget and Vanderwood ran off to?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, "But hopefully, they're ok."

Seven paid our check and the two of us headed outside. As far as anyone in that restaurant knew, we were a newly engaged couple. But as far as any of our friends knew (except for Yoosung. But telling Yoosung might be a little messy.), we've been engaged for the last week. Damn, did Seven have taste. In both Ring Pop and in my actual engagement ring. I'll take it. And I'll take him. I think I'll keep this one around, too.

When we got to the car, the windows were fogged over. I didn't think it would've been that drastic of a temperature swing from the time we walked in to the time we walked out. I didn't understand. Until everything fell into place. And I think I know where Bridget and Vanderwood ran off to.

"Uh…Seven?" I tried to stop him before he opened the car.

"What?" But it was too late. Seven already opened the door.

"DAMMIT, SEVEN! DO YOU MIND?"

And slammed it just as fast, his eyes squeezed shut. I tried…I really did, "MC, I need an adult."

"Let me guess," I bit my lip, "You just saw more of Vanderwood than what you ever wanted to, didn't you?"

"I found Bridget and Vanderwood," Seven shuddered, "And Vanderwood's getting my car detailed. Thoroughly detailed."

"Oh, Seven," I wrapped my arm around him, "Are you going to be ok?"

"My baby's backseat is covered in almost baby," he wept, full on traumatized, "And I saw Bridget's snake tattoo. It danced…And I swear to God, MC, it winked at me."

"I didn't know Bridget had a snake tattoo."

"That's what you take away from this?" Seven freaked. Oh yeah. Vanderwood's going to answer for this in the morning.

"Maybe…" I tried to look on the bright side, "It's a nice night for a walk?"

"I'm calling Saeran," he did his best to begin suppressing this and whipped his phone out. My poor baby…It's like he saw a ghost. Instead, he saw a snake, "Saeran, I need a favor…Go in my office, get any of the keys off the wall, and bring me a car please…Because Vanderwood's in the process of defiling mine!"

Even if Seven were to hang up his phone right now, I swear I'd be able to hear Saeran's maniacal laughter from here. I took Seven's phone from him, "Saeran…Play nice. We've all been through a lot tonight."

"But let me get this right," Saeran came down from his giggle fit, "Vanderwood's getting laid right now and you need me to bring a car because Saeyoung can't look his in the eye anymore?"

"Basically, yeah."

"This is awesome," Saeran laughed some more, "I'll be there soon."

"Thank you."

Click.

"I'm guessing he's on his way?" Seven took his phone back.

"Yeah," I pulled Seven into my shoulder, "He'll be here soon."

"He better," Seven hid his face in shame, "MC…"

"Yeah, Seven?"

"Thanks for being my adult…"

"Anytime."