To Lyger 0: Considering that the last story was a "will they/won't they," I wasn't about to double up on it!

Greta frowned, flicking through pictures on her phone while the other girls chatted around the table. University had started for all of them, bringing with it all the busyness and scheduling conflicts. They had tried to get together for lunch on the first day of classes… but Inga's Literature class had started right away at 1, and Greta's Biology lab hadn't ended until noon – and it had even gone over a few minutes because the professor had additional announcements to make. The next day had been the same, with Martina and Inga having overlapping classes. Finally, they had managed to find 90 minutes today between Greta's Introductory Pedagogy and Hanna's Music Theory when all of them could meet at this outside café roughly midway between their respective universities – but how long would it be before they could get together again? Greta let out a sigh. These girls had been some of her best friends since Kindergarten; would university be the thing that finally pulled them all apart?

"… What do you think, Greta?"

Greta's stomach jolted on hearing her name, and she looked up in surprise to find Inga and Martina both watching her curiously. Hanna covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, raising an eyebrow at Greta in amusement. Greta grimaced, heat rising in her cheeks. "Sorry; I was… distracted," she admitted. "What was the question?"

"Oh? And what was distracting you so much?" Hanna teased her, smirking.

Greta turned her phone toward the others, and all three of them leaned in closer. Hanna's eyes widened. "Ooh! I really like that one," she told Greta, glancing up to meet her eye. "I especially love the lace around the bodice."

"Doesn't look especially comfortable, though," Inga pointed out.

Greta smiled. "Actually, according to Marinette, she took comfort into account in designing it."

"'Marinette'?" repeated Inga, her brows furrowed. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "You mean…"

"Marinette Agreste?" Greta finished, grinning. "Yes! She sent me a few options this morning to look over before she finalizes the design and starts making it."

Inga shook her head. "How did you manage to get a Marinette Agreste original wedding dress? I'm so jealous!"

"Seriously, though. That's got to cost at least half your wedding budget!" Martina added.

"Actually, she offered to do it for a fraction of her normal commission rate," Greta replied, shrugging. "When she found out we were getting married, she insisted on it."

"That's really cool!" Hanna told her. "Is she going to design the bridesmaid dresses, too?"

Greta shook her head. "Probably not. She's been really busy lately, so she hasn't had nearly as much time for commission work. If she has time, she said she would try, but she sent a couple ideas for bridesmaid dresses already – ones in their catalog that would match the wedding dress." She sighed, smiling happily. "But anyways, what was the question?"

Inga rolled her eyes. "I only asked if you thought we should try to put something together for the weekend," she explained. "We've been talking about a trip to Stuttgart for most of the summer, and if we don't go now, we might all just get too busy to do it."

Greta frowned, shaking her head. Her stomach clenched "Sorry; this weekend doesn't work for me," she answered. "Dietrich and I signed on our apartment yesterday afternoon; we're moving my stuff in there and getting furniture put together most of the day on Saturday."

"Oh, he can move furniture in there just fine on his own," Martina objected, giving Greta a teasing grin. "You can come with us, and then when you get back everything will be taken care of!"

"Yeah, but then nothing would be in the right place!" retorted Inga, quirking an eyebrow at Martina in amusement. "You know he wouldn't do it right."

"So, you're moving in together?" asked Hanna curiously. "That sounds so exciting!"

Greta shook her head. "Not exactly. I'm moving in now, and Dietrich will move a lot of his stuff into the apartment over the next few months – everything he won't need between now and the wedding – but he won't actually move in until after the honeymoon."

Inga started, her eyes wide. "Seriously? But, why?"

Greta smiled, though her stomach turned over anxiously. "I guess we just want to wait – do it the 'right way', you know? It's supposed to be better for the marriage if you don't live together first, at least according to some studies."

"I thought I saw something like that," Martina mused. "But didn't it say there was a difference between moving in together for convenience and moving in together because you're already committed?"

"Maybe…"

Hanna sighed. "Either way, I think it's sweet, how much of a 'gentleman' he is."

"What can I say?" Greta's lip twitched up as she stifled a laugh. "He's my 'knight in shining armor."

Inga rolled her eyes.

Hanna smiled brightly. "I'm glad you and Dietrich finally got together!"

Greta felt the blush returned. "I am, too," she agreed. "I only wish I'd said something sooner – then we could have been dating even longer. As it is, the last few months have been a complete whirlwind!"

"You've only been pining after him for ten years…" added Martina, stifling a laugh.

Inga hummed. "I've been meaning to ask you: what happened? How did you go from just starting to date, to engaged, to 'married by Christmas'? And all of that is just since February!"

"You're not…" Martina's voice trailed off, and she cocked her head to one side. "You aren't, are you?"

"What?" Greta blinked. "No! Of course not!"

"Then, what?" asked Inga.

Greta shrugged noncommittally, looking away. "We just figured, if we know this is what we want, why wait? Anything could happen: that whole thing at the Nature Park with the Bear? The Tarasque destroying Paris? If something like that can happen without warning, what else is possible?"

Hanna cocked her head to one side. "Is that what happened in Paris?" Greta's shoulders tensed. "You saw the Tarasque, and that's why you and Dietrich came back so… changed?"

Greta forced herself to relax. "More or less," she agreed. "Whatever we thought the trip would be like, it was nothing next to that. So many people lost so much. So many people were hurt and killed. The moment I knew he was safe, I knew I never wanted to experience what life would be like without him ever again."

Inga's eyes widened. "Wait, you thought he was hurt while you were there? What happened while you were in Paris!?"

"We got separated," she finally answered, swallowing thickly. "With everything that was going on, I lost sight of him and it took a couple days before I found him again."

"That must have been so terrible." Martina put a hand on Greta's, giving her a sympathetic look.

Greta sniffled, looking down and blinking several times. "I mean, I knew he had to be alive… but until I actually saw and felt him…"

"I can't imagine what you must have been going through," Inga whispered, blinking back tears and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"And that's why you decided to get married so soon?" asked Hanna.

"Yeah." Greta sighed, giving a small smile. "I'm glad we decided not to delay it."