Pegasus awoke suddenly in the middle of the night, thanks to a snore from Megan. Momentarily, he was startled by the noise, but he chuckled as he saw her sleeping next to him. She was still in her jeans, having not wanted to leave his side long enough to change. One of her arms stretched over his front, the hand entwining itself in his long hair.

Taking care not to disturb Megan, Pegasus pushed the blanket off himself. He'd forgotten how warm it could get with two people in a bed. He smiled to himself, and gently removed his arm from under her head, rubbing it for a moment to remove the prickly feeling.

But even in the calm of the night, Pegasus could not stop his mind from wandering to less pleasant thoughts. It had been the happiest evening he'd had in years, watching her try to resist sleep long enough to speak one more thought. Yet, if anyone found out that they had spent the night together, in the same bed, it would lead to very awkward questions. And with the world the way it was, how many people would believe his denial?

Megan rolled over, unintentionally pulling out a few strands of silver hair as she curled her arm back toward her body. Pegasus winced slightly.

The moon came out from behind a cloud, not quite full, but close enough to be bright. The wan shaft of light poked through a gap in the curtains, landing on Megan's face. Pegasus looked on the scene, thinking absently about the lovely painting it would make, until Megan's eyes twitched, and she rolled over, away from the light. He smiled, and lay back down on the pillow next to her. Carefully, slowly, he wrapped his arms around her sleeping frame and pulled her close to him. He could feel her breathing deeply. His worries floated away, climbing the moonlight out of the room, banished at least for the night.

Whatever was going to happen would. They would simply have to find some way around it. There was nothing to be gained by worrying.

The low, rhythmic sound of her breathing lulled him back to sleep.

0-0-0-0-0

The sun shone brightly over the water the next morning. Megan's father stepped out of Pegasus' jet, visibly impressed with the real estate. Megan burst out of the double entrance doors, running up to her father and hugging him around the middle.

"Daddy you'll never believe it the best thing happened I'm so happy oh Daddy do I have to go I can come back over winter break can't I please please please?"

"Once again dear, and slower," Mr. Hillborough said with a fond smile, quite used to asking his daughter to repeat herself.

"Daddy, he loves me! I told you he was going to, didn't I?"

The smile wavered, as her father blinked several times in succession. "Sweetheart, I think we should get you home. You can talk everything over with Steph, that'll clear it all up."

"Nooo! It's true Daddy," she looked around; Pegasus had left the castle and was standing on the steps behind them, "ask him yourself!"

Pegasus took his cue and stepped up to the reunited family. "Pegasus Crawford, you must me Megan's father. I must say I've enjoyed her company," he said, holding out his hand.

Warily, Mr. Hillborough shook it. "I...ah, thank you? What did she tell me?" He looked confusedly at his daughter, who was beaming at Pegasus. "How old did you say you were?"

"Daddy!"

But Pegasus gave a conceding shrug of his shoulders. "I am twenty-seven in October. And of course we both understand if you are uncomfortable with the situation," he added, with a glance at Megan. She pouted, but nodded. "I must assure you, however, that my intentions are pure."

"Yes, of course..." Mr. Hillborough didn't look convinced. "Come on Megan, we should get home."

"Are you sure? You are both welcome to stay as long as you like. May I offer you tea? Maybe dinner?" Pegasus asked.

"Yeah, Dinner sounds good," Megan agreed. "Maybe breakfast tomorrow."

"Your hamster is going to run out of food," Megan's father reminded her. "Besides, you've had two weeks."

"Was it really that short?" She sighed. "Alright...I'll get to come back over break, won't I?"

"We'll see. I, well, we'll see. Maybe for now you should be...pen pals, or something."

"Daaaad! That's so not as much fun," Megan pouted again, looking to Pegasus to agree with her.

He smiled, head cocking a fraction. "Oh, I don't know. I'll just have to write letters to you every evening, detailing every moment that I've missed you during the day. But if you don't want that..." he trailed off, knowing what her reaction would be.

"Alright dad, pen pals are cool!"

"I'm glad you agree," Mr. Hillborough said, still looking rather awkward. "Say goodbye now, We'll talk more when we get home." He turned around and walked back to the plane, listening closely for any signs of inappropriate conversation.

"I'm sure your father can be convinced to spend the holidays here," Pegasus assured Megan, taking her hands.

"Yeah, but that's gonna be a long way away...Why did you have to be so shy, huh? We could have been together way longer if you'd just told me."

"Me? What about you? I'm not the only one to blame here!"

"Well you're the guy, you're SUPPOSED to confess first!"

"And what part of my lace-wearing, cartoon-watching, dashingly-handsome self seems like a normal guy to you?"

She giggled. "The dashingly handsome bit, of course." She reached a hand up to play with his hair. "Make sure you write. No one's gonna believe me if you don't."

"Every day, my dear." He hugged her tightly, placing a kiss on her forehead. "But you have to write me back, or you'll hurt my feelings."

"I'll even write by candlelight. And I'll send you little charred pieces of paper and you'll have to figure out what they say."

"It's a date."

She stretched her neck up and kissed him, lingered in his arms for a few extra seconds, and finally let go. "I love you."

"And I you. Now run along, I have to start chronicling my miserable life without you in the form of overly long letters."

"Fine." She kissed him again, and went to join her father in the jet. She craned her neck to see him through the window, as he got smaller and smaller, becoming a little red dot on an ocean of blue, and finally nothing at all. She smiled to herself, anxious to get home and tell everyone about her fairy tale.

0-0-0-0-0

alright, for those of you who wanted this update i appologize sincerely for the delay. I honestly lost the muse for this thing. I originally planned to have three 'acts', but on inspection, act 3 was dumb and uneccesary. This will be the end, minus a holiday-themed epilogue that i've wanted to write since last year. Thanks for those of you who hung on, and feel free to check out my other (better) work!