This one is just Lewvi, the canon couple. Because it's too fucking adorable for words.

He couldn't stop staring at it. He swore it was mocking him.

"Lew?"

And the longer he stared at it, the more he was starting to reconsider. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he shouldn't ask.

"Yo, Lewis."

This was a huge life change, after all… And they were just getting out of high school…

"LEWIS!"

"Huh-?!" The purple haired gent snapped his head up and gazed over at his best friend. "Wh-what?"

"You alright?" Arthur tilted his head, concerned. "You've been staring at that thing for fifteen minutes. It didn't look like you were even breathing."

With a sigh, Lewis gazed back down to the class ring in his palm before pocketing it. "Yeah, I…I'm alright." He was completely losing his nerve and it was easy to tell.

Their table at lunch time had gotten awfully quiet during the last year of their high school career. Vivi had graduated last year, which eliminated roughly 75% of the excitement the two of them were used to during school hours. They never knew how much they missed the blue girl's craziness until she didn't come here anymore.

Which was what prompted Lewis' sudden decision. Arthur smiled and nudged the other. "If you keep thinkin' about it, you're just gonna get cold feet. Why don't you just do it after school?"

"Because. That's not how I want to do it."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "You guys have been dating since we became juniors. I don't think she'll mind if you don't do something super fancy, Lew. She doesn't seem like the type to like fancy things anyway."

He instantly regretted those words when Lewis' face fell. "B-but I mean hey, I know this is important to you! Er…" Arthur sighed. "Shit, sorry, Lewis… You know I didn't mean it like that."

At least that earned him a smile. Lewis put a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "I know. It's just…she means a lot to me. I want this to be really special."

"And it will be! " The mechanic replied, nudging his friend once more. "But if you stare at that thing any longer, you're gonna burn a hole in it. Relax, Lew. She'll say yes no matter what you do. She loves ya more than anything."

Lewis blushed and looked away. It was always embarrassing when Arthur said things like that. "You haven't told her, have you?"

"Of course not! I just know her. And I know she'll say yes."

"Why are you so sure?"

Arthur gave his best friend a look. "Come on. You're smart, fun, pretty damn attractive (no homo), and you're just as nuts about the whole paranormal thing as she is." A pause. "…Well okay, maybe not as nuts as she is, but you get the point. She's head over heels for you, Lew. No contest."

Always a way with words. Chuckling, Lewis replied, "Smart, says the guy who skipped sixth grade."

The mechanic blushed. Just one of the many reasons he was bullied; he was a year younger than anyone else in his grade. "Th-that's got nothing to do with this. Point is, I already know how this is gonna go." Brushing to topic off himself, Arthur leaned his chin into his hand. "And if it turns out I'm wrong, I'll…I dunno, buy you a few drinks or something."

"Arthur, we're underage."

"I know. Good thing we don't have to worry about that happening then, huh?" Grinning, Arthur smacked Lewis on the back. "Now go get 'er, tiger!"

A sigh. Arthur seemed to be forgetting they still had a few weeks before graduation, and from there…Lewis' plans. But he smiled nonetheless. It was hard to be so down when he had someone so confident. "Thanks, Artie."

Graduation went off without a hitch. Lewis' giant family had been overjoyed the entire time, cheering for both Lewis and Arthur. And while Lance wasn't exactly the best at showing his emotions, Arthur could tell his uncle was proud. It was really all he wanted.

But throughout all the cheering, the ones cheering the loudest were definitely Vivi and her family. Somehow they had even gotten Mystery in here. Lewis didn't want to know how long it took Vivi to convince the owners to allow that.

It felt like forever before they had a chance to rest. Between preparing the ceremony, the ceremony itself, and all the pictures (which Arthur wasn't too pleased about), the evening didn't come fast enough. "Finally!" Arthur groaned as he practically collapsed onto a nearby bench. "I swear, if I had to stand for one more picture, I was gonna walk out of there."

Lewis smiled sadly and put a hand on his friend's back. He always did wonder why Arthur never liked getting his picture taken. Camera shy was one thing but he seemed to genuinely hate it. "At least it's over right?"

"Right. Now we just gotta wait for everyone to find us because I'm not walking around anymore."

As if on cue, a whirl of blue appeared from nowhere and soon Lewis found himself tackled to the ground by a very excited Vivi. "You did it!" She squealed, hugging Lewis for all he was worth.

"Ack-! Vivi!"

She happily smooched Lewis on the lips before turning to Arthur. Immediately the blonde scooted away from her as much as the bench would allow it.

"V-Vivi wait-!"

Too late, now Arthur had to endure the attack of Vivi's hugs. "I'm so proud of you both! You looked amazing up there!"

"Great! Can you let go? I need my ribs, y'know!"

"Aw c'mon Artie, don't be a party pooper!"

Meanwhile, the families had caught up to the blue whirl and Lewis was bombarded with tackles from his little sisters. "Hey-!" He laughed but was slightly discouraged. It wasn't going to be easy getting Vivi alone at this rate.

But luckily Arthur seemed to catch on. Gently he pried Vivi off of him and pointed to their purple-haired friend. "I think you should rescue him."

She turned and grinned. "'Ey! You guys don't get to hog him! Move over!"

Poor Lewis. Arthur almost felt sorry for him, but as Lance put a proud hand on his shoulder, the two of them laughed at the spectacle before them. "I think you just made it worse, Art."

"Who said that wasn't the idea?~"

Lewis' sisters (and Vivi) were practically hanging off of him as he hugged his parents. His mother had to pry all three of her younger children from her oldest. "We're so proud of you, querido…" She said with happy tears in her eyes, pecking Lewis on the cheek.

"Ah…thanks mamá." He was pulled into a hug from both his mother and his father. Their family was large but no amount of love was lost between any of them. Vivi found it endearing.

"So!" Lance spoke up with a grin. "Who's ready to celebrate? All on me."

He was met with a few objections, mostly dealing with him taking the entire bill, and during the spat Lewis turned to the girl with her arms still around his waist.

And blushed. It was now or never. "Hey…Vivi?"

She looked up at him with her gorgeous blue eyes, and Lewis swore he couldn't think of anything more beautiful. "Yeah Lew?"

"Could I…ask you something?"

"Of course, silly!" Taking his hands, Vivi grinned. "What is it?"

"…In private, I mean."

The blue girl's grin fell and she tilted her head in confusion. "Well sure, but…aren't we getting ready to go?"

His chest hurt and Lewis swore he felt his heart sink a little. Maybe she didn't want to hear what he wanted to say. Maybe…

No. Don't chicken out now.

"Please Vivi? It's really important." The look he gave her made it impossible for Vivi to say no. She hadn't seen Lewis like this in quite a while…at least not since they started dating almost two years ago.

"Okay, okay. Don't give me your sad puppy eyes, Lew." Her smile came back and she kissed him on the cheek. "Where are we going?"

Luckily Lewis had staked this place out long beforehand, looking for the perfect place. And he had found it. "Over here," he replied with a soft smile, taking her hand and starting to lead her away from the squabble. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Arthur starting at them. He and the blonde made eye contact but before Lewis could say anything, Arthur grinned and waved them on, mouthing "good luck".

Hopefully he wouldn't need it.

"Oh wow Lew…" It wasn't much but Lewis had found a pretty secluded spot behind the building where they graduated. They even had a perfect view of the setting sun and Lewis sighed in relief. At least the aesthetics were taken care of. Now if he could only work up the nerve… "So, what did you want to ask me?"

Here we go. He just had to go for it. No more mulling it over in his head, just say it! "Vivi…I know this might be a little sudden and everything…" He started while guiding her to a nearby bench. "But I've thought about this a lot and…well… I love you. Like more than anything, I love you."

Vivi felt herself blush. They had told each other similar things in the past but Lewis had never been so…upfront about it. "I-I love you too, Lew… Gosh, where's all this coming from?"

He was lucky Vivi was so clueless. Chuckling, Lewis took Vivi's hand in his. "I have a point to this, I swear. I love you so much that I…w-well…" Lewis took a deep breath and placed something small into Vivi's outstretched hand and closed her palm around it. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Vivi froze. Did he just…was Lewis asking what she thought he was? Slowly she uncurled her fingers to gaze upon a small class ring. "I know we're just out of high school and everything…and w-we've got our whole loves ahead of us…" Goddammit, this was not coming out right. "But I'm not lying when I say I want to marry you, Vivi."

There. It was out in the open now and all he had to do was wait for Vivi's answer… Which was turning into one of the hardest things Lewis had ever done. She seemed startled into shock, putting a hand over her mouth as she continued to stare at the ring.

Had he gone too far? Or hell, had he said something wrong? Lewis couldn't stop himself from placing a gentle hand on her cheek. "Vivi…?"

That seemed to snap her out of it and before Lewis knew it, he found himself enveloped in those (surprisingly) strong arms of her's. "Yes! Of course I will! Yes yes yes!"

Blink. She agreed…just like that? "R-really?" And Lewis almost smacked himself. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. But the giggle that followed made it all worth it.

"Well yeah!" Lightly she bopped him atop that purple pompadour. "Did you think I'd say no? You dope."

And now he felt foolish for ever doubting Arthur and himself. Smiling, he pulled Vivi into another hug and she returned it in full. "We might…not have it for a while. Finances and all that."

"That's okay!" Lewis was relieved when she didn't seem bothered at all. "That only gives us more time to plan and make it perfect!" And before he could even catch his breath, Vivi had pulled him into a loving kiss.

At first he was surprised, unexpected, but quickly enough Lewis closed his eyes and brought her closer. The feeling of her lips on his, meshing together perfectly like a puzzle…he couldn't get enough of it.

They pulled away far too quickly for his liking but gazed lovingly at each other. "Te quiero, Lewlew…"

She had even started to learn Spanish just for him. As if he needed more reasons to love her. "Yo también te quiero, Vivi."

They shared another sweet kiss and Lewis slipped the ring onto her finger. When they pulled away he was dazed for a moment…before he snapped out of it once he saw the look on Vivi's face.

She was smirking. "Wh-what?"

"You do know I want kids, right?"

To say Lewis' face went red would be an understatement.

"I mean like, not now, but eventually."

"U-uh…"

"Oooh! And you said you wouldn't mind getting a ranch with a bunch of alpacas, right? We should do that too!"

"Vivi, I was kidding about that…"

Obviously she wasn't listening anymore. The excitement of marriage had set her off. But as she rambled on and on, Lewis had to laugh. Maybe they could have some of those things. Right now, he was just happy being in her company.

Two years. Two long years since Lewis Pepper had been lost. Two years since they'd had to watch his friends and family lower his body into the ground. Vivi simply curled a bit in her seat, careful not to smother the lovely spray of red roses and baby's breath she'd put together herself.

She'd lost the heart to lead the way she'd used to; to chase mysteries as she once had.

Today of all days, she just wanted to visit him one more time...

Watching trees pass the windows, she didn't bother asking if they were close yet. She knew.

Beside her, her dog loyally held a pouch of seeds in his mouth. Wherever Lewis was, he hoped he'd get a kick out of their planting his favorite food on either side of his grave. Ghost peppers for the ghost of their past.

The entire van was deathly silent (no pun intended) not just from Vivi and Mystery, but from Arthur as well. He couldn't even look Vivi in the eye. It was his fault that Lewis was gone; that Vivi was a miserable wreck. He had to admire her though. She kept a brave face on expertly most of the time, even going so far as to help pull himself out of the depression that had almost consumed him…

But sometimes she fell apart, just like him. The least he could do was drive her to where Lewis was buried. Arthur tried to put on his bravest face when she was like this…but he didn't have one of those.

"We're here…" he said, breaking the silence and parking the van. The sun had started to set already. Lewis loved sunsets. He always said they were the second most beautiful thing he had ever seen, the first being Vivi of course.

She nodded, sliding out of the van, Mystery trailing after. "Arffur, you got de grrden shvvvel, rrrght?" He managed, lagging behind to walk with him, letting Vivi take the lead. It was too hard to look at those lost, heartbroken eyes...

"Yeah, yeah, I got it…" the blonde mumbled back, slipping it into a small bag and slowly following after Vivi. He didn't know how much longer he could take this. Seeing Vivi like that. Running away from his crime. She…she deserved to know.

And Arthur knew he didn't deserve her friendship. He had caused all of this…

Her memory of the event was hazy, at best. The most Vivi could recall was splitting up, going down a corridor and coming into a room filled with stalagmites…and that was it. The next thing she knew, Mystery was barking, trying desperately to wake her up, and Arthur had gone into shock from somehow losing his arm.

It was a mess…everything was a mess…

The grave they were looking for was a ways in, Arthur trying not to think about how many dead bodies were buried here along with Lewis. At least he wasn't alone…

The dog issued a soft whine, nudging his nose under the man's flesh hand as they followed. Finally, Vivi was the first to kneel...well... more like fall to her knees before the tombstone formed of stones, each one placed by one of his loved ones. One dotted with bits of his birthstone at the base had been placed by her. She sniffled quietly, gently placing the roses over where she knew his head lay down below.

The dog moved up beside her, looking back at Arthur hopefully. He knew Vivi wouldn't talk, saying how much she missed him, until she was alone. It was how their grave visits always went... So they may as well plant the seeds...right?

Arthur himself remained silent but began the planting process anyway. He left Vivi alone. Maybe after this time…he could finally tell her. Tell her what really happened. Somehow he had to find the strength.

He dug a few small holes for the peppers to be planted and Arthur silently hoped that anybody who walked by wouldn't touch them. If they did, well, that was their punishment for desecrating a grave anyway. Once finished, Arthur took the small bag of seeds from Mystery.

The dog nodded and sat beside Vivi for now. As he had after the grave had been filled after the funeral, Mystery lifted his nose, issuing a sorrowful howl. The girl smiled weakly, giving the dog a one-armed hug. "I know buddy... We all miss him..."

It had been her first words all day. Watching Arthur bury the seeds, she reached for him, knowing he'd leave her alone to talk but still wanting one more hug of comfort. She needed her friends now more than ever.

He had just been about to walk away but paused when he felt Vivi's hand on his only flesh arm. She was seeking comfort.

Don't do it. You don't deserve to comfort her. You'll just make things worse.

Arthur knew that malicious little voice in the back of his head, his own voice, was correct. He wanted to hug her but he held back. Instead, he put his robotic hand over her's. "Vivi…" he started, trying to hold himself together. "There's…there's something I gotta tell you when we're done here." A pause. "It's about Lewis…and it's something you should know."

Enjoy her company while you can.

"But th-that can wait 'till after you're done here. Okay?" Before she had a chance to protest, Arthur stood up and began walking back to the van, hands shoved into his pockets. He never spoke to Lewis at his grave…at least not when anybody was around.

Vivi seemed to wilt, a little disappointment in her eyes as Mystery gave her an apologetic look before following. Once they were out of sight, she simply slumped at the grave, issuing a soft sob as she pressed her hands into the grass, wishing for what could be the millionth time that she was down there sleeping in his arms.

"H-hey Lew..." she murmured. "... Two years sure is a long time... Th-there was a meteor shower the other night... R-remember our third date? The one where you took me t-to see Twister at the drive-in? And there was a meteor shower halfway through the movie? ...It reminded me of that night..." She managed a tremulous smile.

"...The high school reunion is coming up too... You think Fred Jones is still trying to rock an ascot?" She laughed softly. "I tell ya. You were the only one who could..."

The tears began flowing faster and her smile shook. Eventually, she simply curled up on the ground before the grave, weeping and pleading. "I miss you, Lewlew... I miss you so much... W-Weren't we supposed to get married? Have a b-bunch of little kids and live on an alp-paca farm for the rest of our lives? P-please..." She sobbed weakly as the sun set lower and lower.

"Please come back to me, Lewis..."