July 4th, 2024

My House a.k.a. Asgard

Portland OR, USA

My life is nothing short of fucking wacky. My name? It's Derrick Castellano, although you might know me as "Loki." Currently, I work for a top secret Counterterrorism organization called Rainbow in their Research and Development department with Elena "Mira" Alvarez and my best friend's sister Monika "IQ" Weiss. I've been in that position for almost a year now following my breakdown back in August of last year. I had been tortured and manipulated by some White Mask fuck known as "The Butcher" until I was rescued by my best buddy Lukas and brought back to the land of the living. He and I met in Greece during the Tournament of Champions in 2023 and hit it off pretty quick. We even won that year too. It was AWESOME! I even kept my involvement a secret from my big sis Meghan (I call her Megs or MJ) for about 2 months too. After that, Lukas and I were recruited to team Rainbow and stationed at the Facility in the West Coast. I still spend a lot of my time there whenever I'm not on shore leave. I'm also a trained helicopter and prop plane pilot and the team has used me as transport to their various missions from time to time in the past. I also met my girlfriend, the love of my life, Tina Lin "Frost" Tseng while at work as well. I technically met her years ago before I knew about Rainbow when I helped them secure some kind of shipping manifest. Now normally, that sounds like a recipe for disaster right? Working alongside my girlfriend on a daily basis? "But Derrick! What if you and Tina had an argument or drama happening at home and brought it to work?!" you ask me. Well my dear friend, that has indeed happened but, get this, Tina and I aren't teenagers and know when to let shit go when we are in public. We always make up later...whether it's in the bedroom or me spending my money on like a fucking FIFTY DOLLAR box of chocolates! FIFTY BUCKS! ON CANDY THAT'S GONE IN LIKE A DAY! Ridiculous, I swear. Although there was one time where she apologized to me with PIZZA TIME. MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE TIME OF DAY! If Megs ever tells you that it is not pizza time, suplex her into the ground because it is ALWAYS pizza time. Tina and I aren't even the only couple in Rainbow anyway. Jack and...Yumiko I believe her name is, are also dating and have been for quite a while I guess. I met Yumiko once. Nice lady. Strong connection between her and Air Jordan a.k.a. Thermite. She told me a humorous story of how Jack tried to learn Japanese from Masaru (Echo) to impress her at first. But I'm getting off topic. Back to my girlfriend. Tina was pretty much essential for my PTSD recovery last summer too. Don't get me wrong, I still have dreams about the bastard that tortured me but they're far less frequent than before and I'm not yelling at everyone for no reason either. She and I took about a 2 month vacation from work where she worked from home and I relaxed and tried to get my mind off what happened to me. I was able to do basically anything I wanted like play my acoustic guitar on my balcony, watch movies and even save Arkham Asylum from the Joker. There was also quite a lot of "giggity" time too because a.) I had been deprived of a woman's touch for 3 months and b.) Tina loves me. Megs assisted in helping me last summer too. I had been on the verge of blowing my head off in front of everyone before she talked me out of it by reassuring me that she loved me as well as everyone else. She was over at my place any chance she could get. Was a little annoying at first (because it interrupted my time with Tina) but I had to remind myself that Megs loved me more than anyone else. Including her new girlfriend, Monika. Megs and Monika have been officially dating since...oh shit...I wanna say around Monika's birthday? No, that's in August...maybe Halloween of 2023? Yeah that sounds correct. Right before I came back from my vacation. Megs, for some reason, thinks I judge her constantly because of her preference in dating even though I told her when she was teenager that I didn't care and would always love her. BUT, you're not interested in hearing about her and her bullshit, nah, I'M way cooler. So that's enough of the pleasantries and backstory about myself let's fade into a BBQ that I was currently having at my house along with my coworkers and both Tina's and my families where I was about to do something outrageously stupid! OH BOY!

I was standing outside on the back patio like area of my house that morning checking to see if the grill I had out there still had gas. I tapped the propane tank a few times and turned the knob on top before turning one of the knobs to the "start" position and pressed the "Crossover Ignition" button a few times. Nothing happened.

"Dammit, I gotta use this more," I said to myself before I heard someone's bare feet walking on the concrete behind me. I turned around and said

"NOT TODAY CATWOMAN!" and saw that my girlfriend, Tina, was indeed trying to sneak up behind me to, I don't know, hug me I guess. Dang it...That would have been AWESOME! Tina smiled at me and put her hands up in defeat. Have I mentioned that this woman is fucking GORGEOUS? She's from Vancouver, Canada (the country with the fucking BAGGED MILK) and her grandparents immigrated there from China so she's of Asian heritage. She has chocolate brown eyes, like me, shoulder length black hair and is a curvy and well built Special Forces soldier. She was currently wearing shorts and a blue tank top. Sometimes she wore an Under Armour winter beanie too but not today. 'Twas rather warm out.

"How are you doing there, Dark Knight?" she asked me, walking over and giving me a hug despite the fact I'd ruined her plan. She smiled at me afterwards. I had that effect on women and people in general. My general shenanigans always make people smile. Ever see that movie Ace Ventura? Yeah, I'm essentially that guy most of the time. I was a rather handsome man too. Short brown hair, brown eyes and a chin goatee. I used to have more of a full beard but I gave this new style a go last year and I liked the look of it (Tina did too) so I just kept it. Plus I've always liked Shaggy from Scooby-Doo anyway. There were also scars along my chest and back but that's not important. Tina didn't care though, she would still...nevermind. You don't need to know the deets. Right, what was happening? Oh yeah. Tina was smiling at me. I jabbed a finger at the grill.

"She is broke I think, or at least out of gas. I was seeing if it still had any left before people showed up later. Might have to go out shortly to fix," I told her. Tina pulled something out of her back pocket.

"Here, try these," she said and handed me a box of matches. Oh dear. The last time someone handed me a box of matches, it didn't end well. Nonetheless, I was going to listen to the highly trained survival expert. I took out a match and struck it against the box where the tip ignited. I fought the urge to not act like a monkey or a caveman and dropped the match in the match hole and the grill ignited at once. Tina continued to smile at me before she gave me a kiss on the lips. Awesome.

"Glad I could help, handsome," she told me and began to walk back into the house. She'd been living with me for the past year or so too. I know what you're thinking "Did she take down all my cool nerd posters and stuff"...surprisingly no. The Space Jam one and the sports jerseys were still there but I moved some of the more nerdy ones into my home office where I sometimes worked when not on duty at the West Coast Rainbow HQ. Win win if you ask me. Living with her was surprisingly easier than I expected. To be honest, I expected her to break up with me shortly after that vacation I took with her but that only strengthened her affection for me and vice versa. I watched Tina from behind as she walked away. She must have seen me looking at her butt from the reflection in the window because I saw her smirk before going back in the house. I turned the grill off and made my way back inside and checked the time. It was around 11. Lukas and crew weren't supposed to show up until 2ish and my parents and Tina's parents should be here at 1. I met Tina's parents during my vacation last year. Nice people. Makes sense, they are Canadians after all. Her dad liked me so I took that as a good sign. He knew what I was about to do today. I had spoken to him on the phone last week while Tina was sleeping. About what you ask? I looked around the room before I opened the drawer of my end table nearby and took out a box with a ring inside it. An engagement ring. Bad boy cost about a few g's too. I just hoped Tina would say yes. I determined that she was "the one" a few months ago when she just quietly said "I love you" before she fell asleep against me. We had basically spent over a year together anyway and clearly enjoyed each other's company so I felt that the time was right. Plus we had spoken about marriage once or twice so I wasn't going to blindside her completely. I put the box in one of my shorts pockets and began to prepare myself mentally for what I was about to do later.

My parents arrived first followed by Tina's. My dad knew about what I was going to do today as well because I asked for advice.

"You ready?" he asked me in a low voice while Tina hugged my mom and her parents. I looked over to Tina's dad. He smiled at me and gave me a small nod before hugging Tina.

"Yeah, I think so," I said.

"Derrick, your mother and I can tell she loves you. You know she's the one right?" Pop asked me.

"Yeah Pop...I'm just nervous…" I responded. I was more nervous now than before the Tournament of Champions 2023 or before I played with Time Warp for the first time. I still do, did I mention that? Lukas and I jam with those guys whenever we have time. We have one cover album out with me playing bass on it. Pop put a hand on my shoulder.

"Be confident Derrick," he said before Tina's mom greeted him. More people showed up for the barbeque over the next hour. Megs and Monika, followed by Lukas and his girlfriend Ela Bosak (I set that up for him because I am the best wingman EVER), Craig Jensen and his wife Kathy and then my old boss Eliza Cohen and...I think her boyfriend Jordan Trace. Dunno about that one. Both are pretty vague whenever someone asks. I like to tease Eliza about it. 'Tis FUN. She gets so skittish too so they must be a thing by now. If I recall correctly, Jordan had wanted to ask her that question on my first night back at HQ last year. Don't quote me on that though.

"Hey Derrick," Eliza said to me. I must have looked a bit distant because she gave me a consoling hug. I knew why. I basically blamed her for what happened to me last summer and screamed at her that I should have joined Nighthaven instead. As fucking if...Kali BITCH ASS pissed me right the fuck off as soon as I met her. Bitch tried to deck me in the face again during the most recent Tournament of Champions too. Keyword being tried. Kali's not exactly quiet. I'll tell you more about that Tournament later. Shit was wild.

"It's ok Derrick. It's in the past. What did your therapist say about living in the past?" she asked me.

"You aren't defined by your past. Don't let it shape who you are," I recited. Eliza nodded before she went to go co mingle with everyone else in the spacious backyard. My best friend, Lukas Weiss a.k.a. Skywalker or Cool Hand or Duke Boy, noticed that I looked a bit distant too.

"What's wrong man? Forget to send a report to Elena again?" he joked. I had forgotten to do that once. Trust me, you have not lived until you have a 5 foot 5 Spanish woman staring at you with vicious intent...even if I knew she was kidding about bashing my head in if it happened again. I shook my head at Lukas before looking around the room and saw that we were alone. Everyone else was outside.

"Talk me out of it," I said to him and pulled out the engagement ring. Lukas spit out some of his drink.

"Dude! What?! Why would I do that?!" he said before clapping me on the back.

"Because I'm scared…" I admitted. I was terrified. What if Tina said no? What would I do? Tell her to get out of my house? Never speak to her again? I couldn't live with myself if she did. She had been the first woman that actually cared about me and my feelings. She held me when I cried, she listened to me when I was feeling down and she made me feel happy. She had even told me that she viewed me as her husband a few times. What if it was just an act the entire time? What if she was just using me...like that bitch from high school. Lukas seemed to figure out what I was thinking.

"Zoolander, I can guarantee she'll say yes. Remember how upset I told you she was from April to July of last year? Remember how hard she hugged you in Oceanside? Or when you took on that suicide mission? You didn't hear how worried she was. She loves you so much man. I'm sure of it. How are you gonna do it?" he asked. Oh I don't know but now that I thought about it, doing it in front of our coworkers and our parents was actually a fucking awful plan Derrick you CLOWN! Didn't really have time to answer because my mommy called me...I MEAN MY MOM CALLED ME!

"Derrick? Where are you? Aren't you supposed to be grilling?" she called from the backyard. Lukas and I exchanged a glance that meant "we'll converse more over the grill." I slipped the engagement ring box back into my cargo shorts (the pockets hid the bulge well) and grabbed the box of matches while Lukas grabbed the tray of burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob and pork chops. We exchanged another glance, smiled at each other and then walked outside.

"Men are here!" I said in a deep voice. Everyone turned to look at me and grinned.

"We make fire!" Lukas said from beside me. He had put the tray down on a table nearby and pointed at me and himself with his thumb before pounding his chest. He then pointed at the tray of food and said "Cook meat!"

"Then put out fire by peeing, no get invited back," I said as everyone started chuckling. Can't beat the classics. I saw that Tina was positively shining in the sunlight as she sat with Megs and Monika. Oh boy...why did I pick today. I struck another match, lit the grill and began to talk to Lukas again.

"How's it been at work?" I said, closing the grill to let it warm up and grabbed a beer from the cooler.

"Same old. Lotta drills and practice. Elena's still away but you knew that already. How's some of that new tech coming? I heard you were developing some type of tracker?" Lukas answered as he too grabbed another beer. No, I don't buy that American beer. That shit's like having sex in a canoe. Fucking close to water.

"Yeah, but the Field Wall is much cooler. It's like a projectile blocker. It's still in the early stages of development. I actually shouldn't be saying anything with my and Tina's parents here," I said. That was one of many new toys Elena and I were working on. We also had a glue grenade and a threat sensor in the works too as well as something called an "Arc Mine". Elena was currently in Washington investigating something with my super boss, Harry a.k.a. Six. I liked him. He was nice to me and didn't kick me off Rainbow after my breakdown.

"How are you and Cinder doing?" I asked Lukas after I checked to see if the grill was hot enough yet. Ela was currently speaking with Craig. Wow, that's surprising… Anyway,

"Pretty good. Been trying to find a house here myself," Lukas answered.

"Oh, thinking about living in the States full time?" I asked. Lukas nodded.

"We've been talking about it. Ela likes it here. I've been meaning to speak with your dad actually. I'm not that familiar with how to do that in this country," Lukas said, patted me on the shoulder as if saying "good luck" and went to go talk to my dad.

"Right, am I doing rare or medium rare? You can go ahead and miss me with that well done bullshit," I called to everyone in the backyard. Pretty much everyone was fine with medium rare so I threw the burgers on the grill and pulled out my headphones and my phone. I plugged the headphones in my ears and picked a 4 minute song to time when I should flip the burgers before playing another one. I'd been on an 80s metal kick recently so I listened to "All Guns Blazing" by Judas Priest while I thought about my plan for Tina. I closed my eyes and began thinking as I listened to the song. It was a tad easier to concentrate on what I planned to do without anyone talking to me at the moment. As the song ended, I flipped each of the burgers but before I was able to pick another song, Meghan had walked over to me.

"Hey little bro," she said.

"Hi Megs," I said. I guess I again didn't sound like myself because she went from happy to worried in about 5 seconds.

"Are you ok? Are you still having flashbacks? Do you see him?" she asked me quietly. I shook my head.

"I'm fine. Haven't had one of those since...January I think. I still talk to my therapist on occasion. How are you and Monika?" I asked her.

"Pretty good," Megs answered

"Rad. Don't suppose I need to dunk her head in the punch?" I said. Megs shook her head.

"Mom and Daddy look good don't they? They both seem pretty healthy," she said looking at our parents.

"I think Pop finally retired from the Marines. Does some part time teaching at the golf course now. Mom's still at her old job but she's taken a less stressful role," I said checking my watch. 2 minutes left until the burgers were done.

"Oh that's nice. Hey, has Elena or Eliza informed you about the Chimera Parasite?" she asked me in a low voice. That did not ring a bell.

"Uh no, why? Sounds bad," I answered.

"We dealt with it back in 2018 but it's been resurfacing recently. It's what Elena went to go investigate with Six and Dr. Ellen Mackintosh. Just thought I'd let you know so Elena doesn't blind side you later," she said before walking back to sit with Monika. Oh good, blind side me now rather than later! Thanks Megs! You're a real pal! Fuck it. Not important. Family and friends are here...and I am about to do something that will decide how the rest of my life goes.

Later, after everyone had had their fill of food, we were all just sitting around my patio area just talking about whatever after Skywalker and I did some guitar playing. We played some new covers we'd been working on, particularly a classic Yellowcard song. No, not "Ocean Avenue" but you're thinking of the right album. Tina was currently sitting next to me with her head on my shoulder. Did my mom approve of this? Well yes and no. I think she would rather if I rested my head on her shoulder and not be with this Canadian woman. I must have been zoning out or something because Tina slapped me in the face gently.

"Ow! I'm telling!" I said before I could stop myself. Jesus I'm a dork.

"Dork," Tina said. See? Anyway, she continued talking to me. "I was talking about what you said is your favorite thing about me."

"And that is?" I asked. I actually didn't know to be honest. Whoops. Thankfully Tina didn't hit me in the face again.

"You like how I actually listen to you when you're feeling down," she said. Gee thanks Teen. Tell that to EVERYONE why don't you. At least everyone there smiled at me. Including Tina's dad. He even gave me a little nod and mouthed "do it son." I was the only one who saw. I took a deep breath and, of course, made some kind of joke.

"That's true but do you also know my least favorite thing about you?" I asked. Tina narrowed her eyes.

"Oh this'll be used against you, Zoolander," she said. Pop chuckled. Apparently he'd never thought to call me that either. Gonna hit him with that Blue Steel or Magnum look later.

"Nah, pass." I said. Tina lifted her head off my shoulder and folded her arms.

"Nuh uh, you don't get to pull that on me. Tell me right now," she said. I put up my hands in mock surrender.

"Alright, fine. It's your last name," I said. Everyone else was confused. Lukas however got what I was going for because we're best buds. He smiled and nodded at me. Tina continued to look at me as if I just insulted her mother. Protip, don't do that.

"My last name? What's that supposed to mean?" she asked. I shrugged.

"I just don't think it suits you, I think you should change it," I said, reaching into my pocket discreetly. Lukas immediately understood my plan and nearly ruined the surprise. Monika looked at him with raised eyebrows. Meanwhile, Tina cocked her eyebrow at me. Damn, she looked really adorable whenever she did that.

"To what?" she asked still with narrowed eyes. If I wasn't about to propose, this would have definitely sparked an argument where I would have to go spend money on flowers. I grabbed the engagement ring box and pulled it out of my pocket but still managed to keep it hidden from everyone.

"Castellano," I said. Tina looked away from me and back at her parents. Perfect. I flipped the ring box in the air, caught it and opened it with my trademarked "Loki smile" on my face. Everyone gasped. Lukas pretended to be surprised.

"Oh my god..." Meghan said and looked at me. She could tell I was actually serious and she squealed. Tina's mom also gasped and pointed at me. Tina looked back at me only to see that I was now on one knee. Meghan was now clutching Monika tightly. Tina's father was smiling broadly at me. Craig, Jordan and Lukas exchanged looks. Eliza clutched Jordan's shoulder as well as her chest. Even Ela looked pretty happy and the only way that happened was if my best friend was naked in front of her...gross. Anyway, Tina looked from the ring to me to her father and I could see tears begin to form in her eyes.

"Derrick...are you serious...if this is a joke…I swear..." she said in a shaky voice. I no longer felt scared. I could tell that she loved me as much as I loved her. I reached out and grabbed her left hand (it was shaking) and said, 100% seriously

"Tina Lin Tseng, will you marry me?" Tina put her other hand over her mouth and began to cry in earnest. Partly because I always called someone by their actual name when I was serious. I nearly had a heart attack before I saw her nodding.

"What are you, some kind of clown? Of course I will," she said through her tears and allowed me to put the ring on her finger. Tina immediately hugged and kissed me afterwards and proceeded to say "Mine" in my ear. Tina tended to do that when we were alone and it was quiet. She would just walk over to me, hug me or kiss me and then just say "Mine." Doubly so whenever I happened to be playing guitar or bass whenever I was bored at home.

"MY MAN!" Craig said over the cheering and crying coming from everyone else. I felt elated. The woman I loved had just agreed to become my wife. Could this day get better? I submit that it can not!

Long story short, the day got even better. Why? Well kids, sometimes, when you make your partner very very happy, they tend to want to have relations with you...or whatever you're into. I'm not here to judge you. Lemme tell ya ladies, gents and non-binary folks, HOO BOY did Tina want to have some naughty time with your boy. I'm not going into the big details but I can tell you that it was AWESOME! She held me close afterwards.

"I love you so much," she told me before kissing my cheek and examined the ring on her finger again.

"I don't," I said because it was too easy of a set up. Tina cocked an eyebrow before scoffing at me.

"I love you too Tina," I said. She kissed me again.

"There it is Mr. Kent," she said, resorting to her pet name for me. Clark Kent. Superman. The Man of Steel. One of my childhood heroes. One of the reasons I decided to become a pilot, because I wanted to be like him.

"You do realize that you're going to be Mrs. Castellano right?" I asked.

"Fantastic, that way everyone will know that I'm yours and you're MINE!" she said before hugging my arm again. "I wish you didn't have to go to work on Friday, I want you to myself all week," Tina continued. I needed to watch what I say or else I'd be subjected to Round 2.

"Welp you know how it is Lois, the fight for truth, justice and the American way never ceases," I said. Tina rolled her eyes but kissed me again. Many of the other Rainbow members had texted me or Tina congratulating us on the engagement that I totally planned for the last month in a half SHUT UP!

"Elena comes back on Friday right?" Tina asked me and continued to hold onto my arm and chest. I nodded.

"I think she and I are going to start working on some new project. Some kind of laser or something. Don't really remember," I said, grabbing Tina's hand that was resting on my chest.

"Well, you and I need to start planning this wedding too," she said. "I don't want anything outrageous, just something I'll always remember. Like when I saw you walk down that hill in Oceanside." Wow. I expected to break the bank. Don't get me wrong, I would have but still, it was nice to know that she wanted a small or mid sized wedding. I remembered that day as well. Megs had wanted me to meet her on the hill we hung out on all the time as kids, now named "Castellano Hill" after me as everyone thought I had died during Operation Shining God. There I was, with my furry canine friend when suddenly, she ran off away from me. I had turned to see where she had got to when I saw Megs and Tina standing at the bottom of the hill. The look on her face when Tina saw me? PRICELESS. The poor woman had nearly passed out from crying so hard. I proceeded to nearly ruin the relationship after that day because the recollections of my torture and manipulation began to come back. Even though Tina had said, to my face, that she loved me, I falsely believed that she only said that because I thought she felt guilty about leaving me to die. Long story. You might have heard it already. Full of action, suspense, revenge and terrible jokes! Oh yeah! I forgot to say how everyone else reacted after I asked her earlier! Silly me. I was a tad too busy making sure Tina wasn't going to jump me in front of my parents and my sister for the past 2ish hours. Well as for my coworkers, the typical hugs and congrats. Lukas was obviously going to be my best man. Tina's parents were elated as well as mine. Her dad even gave me a hand shake and a hug before they left to stay at a hotel. My place had a guest room but the hotel was closer to the airport and they all had early flights in the morning. Megs and the others were due back at work tomorrow and I was off until Friday. She also couldn't believe that I had just done that. I don't know if she expected to get married before me or something. Last time I remember her dating someone was late high school or while she was in college. Megs had been telling me about Monika since about 2017 and referred to her as "the person from work" whenever I asked about her. I deduced that this person was Monika when I met her and Lukas back in Greece last year. Megs had turned so red when I reminded her of Christmas of 2017 but I saw her grin as she heard Monika laugh. She then asked me to teach her German in order to get closer to her. That worked. Megs could say basic phrases and hold a conversation...although sometimes the both of them forget that I can understand them when they talk about...stuff. Thankfully, I never had to hear anything beyond pet names and date plans. Enough of that, back to what Tina was currently doing. I was only half listening because I was rather tired. I caught some things though like where she wanted the wedding to be, preliminary guests and what day. Tina is very detail oriented in case you didn't know. I think she can describe every part of one of her parent's anniversary parties with 100% accuracy. I can't even remember what I had for breakfast most mornings but I still remembered important things like Tina's birthday. It was on Star Wars Day so I would never forget it.

"I assume you have your best man picked out?" Tina asked me.

"Duh," I said in a tired voice. She giggled.

"Are you happy? Did you want to marry me?" I asked before I could stop myself. Stupid self doubt! Tina answered that question by pulling my face towards hers and then kissed me softly and tenderly.

"Yes Derrick, I am. I want to be your wife. You don't need to doubt yourself or listen to that inner voice of yours telling you that I don't really love you. I'm telling you right here and right now. I love you and I will love you forever," she said. I felt myself start to drift off to sleep.

"I love you too," I said and closed my eyes. Her naked body cuddled up against mine and I heard her sigh contentedly.

"Good night Big Kahuna," she said. I smiled. This truly was one of the best days of my life.