The sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn came out - and despite his unemployment - Simon couldn't resist buying it. The game was called Horizon Forbidden West, and followed Aloy as she worked to rebuild Gaia and restore the terraforming system currently sustaining earth's environment. So far Simon was having a lot of fun with it. He was currently working on a quest to build a diving mask so Aloy could go underwater without needing to come up for air.

Even with his wedding fast approaching, Simon found he had quite a lot of free time to kill, and a new video game was the perfect way to do that. Apart from wedding stuff and his new game, Simon had also been helping Maia and Jordan pack up their stuff. They'd found a small starter apartment close to Maia's work. It was farther from the school, but on a bus route so Jordan wasn't worried about getting to classes on time.

In some ways Simon would be sad to see them go, but he was also looking forward to being roommate free for the first time in his adult life. Simon was determined to keep in touch with them. More than once he'd invited Jordan over so they could play the new Horizon game together. He remembered how much fun they'd had with the first game. It was still great hanging out with them, but even putting in the effort to stay in touch wasn't the same as living with his friends. It felt a bit like entering a new stage of his life. Marriage to the woman he loved meant leaving roommates behind.

The wedding was so close that Simon had decided to take a break from job hunting until after his wedding. No one wanted to hire a guy who needed two weeks off right away, and Izzy would never forgive him if he had to work through their honeymoon. She'd demand he quit which pretty much defeated the purpose of getting a job. It seemed to Simon that all those who marry Lightwood's were destined to be unemployed for months before their wedding. Izzy and Alec were just so rarely concerned with money that they'd rather have unemployed fiance's than time conflicts.

The more Simon saw Izzy working on planning their wedding the more he was glad they didn't elope. She really hadn't wanted to, no matter what she'd said after Simon had proposed. Simon had been consulted on wedding details a few times, but usually she already knew what she wanted and was only asking him because she felt bad for cutting him out of something else. Simon didn't mind. The details of his wedding didn't worry him so long as he was married to Isabelle Lightwood by the end of it. He had, vetoed her outdoor wedding idea. It always rained in May, and Simon did not want to take any unplanned showers while he said his vows. Izzy had compromised by picking a hotel with nice gardens so that if the weather decided to be sunny they could at least get outdoor pictures.

Whenever he and Izzy disagreed, there seemed to always be a compromise that could solve it. However, there was one topic where compromise didn't work, and what concerned Simon was that they hadn't talked about it yet. It was starting to worry him, especially with everything that he'd seen Clary and Jace go through.

They were about to get married and yet they'd never really talked about what they wanted that marriage to look like, what they wanted their future to look like. Simon had started to feel like the unspoken question hovered unsaid in every conversation. He was a little scared to ask, but he knew it was better to ask now than after the wedding.

Simon looked across the room. She was standing right there. He could just ask now, but then the anxiety rose up again. What if they didn't agree on the answer? Oh this was so stupid! It wasn't like they wouldn't find out eventually!

"We need to talk!" Simon blurted out suddenly.

"I don't like the sound of that," Izzy said, turning around. She'd been sitting at the table looking over bridal magazines, but at Simon's words she dropped what she was doing and walked over to him.

"I didn't mean for it to sound… well like that," Simon mumbled. "I just… I mean we are getting married and there are some things we haven't talked about, and I wouldn't want to get married having not talked about them."

"Wow could you vague that up for me," Izzy replied sarcastically. Simon knew he was worrying her from the way she'd responded. Her defenses were up. Some people would see her as rude when she was like this, but Simon knew better. This was Izzy's version of scared.

He took a deep breath and then spoke. "We are about to promise to spend the rest of our lives together, but we haven't once talked about if we want that life to include… children."

Instantly Izzy relaxed. The release of tension was almost palpable. "Oh, is that it?" she smiled. "You had me worried there!"

Simon wasn't totally sure what her response meant. It didn't seem to give him an answer either way. He waited to see if she'd say more.

"You asked first," Izzy said, clearly understanding what his silence meant. "It's only right, that you answer the question first." She chuckled like this was no big deal, and didn't have the potential to ruin them. Maybe Simon was just being dramatic because of everything that's happened with Clary and Jace?

"Well," Simon began. "I thought maybe someday. Not now."

"Works for me," Izzy shrugged, and then she leaned forward and kissed him.

"Really?" Simon asked. "It's that easy?"

"I always figured I'd have kids someday," she replied. "It's what people do, isn't it?" She paused and her tone changed to one of annoyance as she added, "Oh, and I just know the moment we are married mom will start hounding me for grandkids anyway." She paused again, her voice becoming more serious but also very affectionate. "But at the same time if you really didn't want them I could live with that too, though I think I'd end up with like three dogs in that scenario." She laughed. Simon couldn't believe how uncomplicated she'd made everything. He had been so worried, and for literally nothing!

"I love you," he said, reaching forward to wrap his arms around her.

Izzy made a soft contented noise in the back of her throat. "That's the part that really matters," she whispered. Her face was buried in his neck and she took a deep breath in. "I love you too."

Then at once she was all business. Pulling away Izzy went to collect the bridal magazines. She returned to show Simon pictures of centerpieces and tablecloth designs.

"Which one do you like better?" she asked, showing him pictures. Simon couldn't tell which were centerpieces and which were tablecloths.

"You know it's only a month till your final exams," Simon continued. "Shouldn't you be studying for those? Or at least working on your term papers?"

But Izzy just waved a dismissive hand. "I've finished the papers," she said. "And studying can wait."

"Okay, but don't blame me if you fail," Simon laughed. At least she was having fun.

Ignoring his statement, Izzy went on to ask him again about centerpieces and table clothes. Simon was kinda listening. He knew she already had one she liked and was just trying to include him so he played along. He could almost always tell which one he was supposed to pick just by her body language.

Somewhere between one thought and the next Izzy must have noticed the time.

"Oh no, I'm gonna be late," she said. Leaning forward she kissed him and then darted away to get ready for work.

Simon considered getting back to playing his video game, now that he didn't have any major life questions to stress over. He wasn't in a rush. He was still enjoying an oddly liberating sense of relief from talking to Izzy about what was bothering him. It was kinda amazing how such a simple thing could so improve one's mood. He made a mental note to make a habit of it once he was married. It was all about that communication.

By the time Izzy was ready for work Simon had returned to Aloy's journey in the Forbidden West. This new sequel game was turning out to be much harder than the first with much more game play. Simon had already logged over forty hours of the game, and he still hadn't even started on the version of chess the game invented, let alone finished all the side quests. Simon always made a habit of completing as many side quests as he could before working on the main plot quests. This way he went into those main events with a much higher level than necessary and more advanced skills.

It wasn't until Simon started getting hungry that he realized how long he'd been playing. Checking the time he knew Izzy would be home soon and hungry. Being the unemployed kept man that he was, Simon had decided it was his job to cook.

Getting some pre-marinated chicken out of the freezer, Simon set it in cold water to defrost before starting on cutting up the vegetables. Simon put the rice in water to soak while the chicken defrosted. By the time he had all the veggies chopped the chicken was still too frozen so he took a video game break before finishing up dinner. Once the chicken teriyaki was pretty much thawed he cooked it until there were no pink parts left before adding in the chopped veggies. Simon congratulated himself on the timing of it all when both the rice and the stirfry were done as his fiance walked in the door.

"Smells good," Izzy called. Simon heard the door shut and footsteps before he felt Izzy's presence beside him in the kitchen.

"I think I'll keep you just as you are," Izzy smirked. "A house husband. I like this coming home to a cooked meal thing."

"Didn't you have a family chef growing up?" Simon reminded her.

"Yeah but you cook with love," Izzy said, leaning over to kiss him. Simon welcomed the kiss, but called her out on the silly notition.

"I've never seen love on a recipe list," he said.

"It's a secret ingredient," Izzy explained. "It can only be added by you." She beamed at him.

"If you say so," Simon chuckled. "How was work?"

"Fine," Izzy said. "Helped some old ladies pick out clothes that were way too young for them." She shrugged. "What was more interesting was listening to Clary fret."

"Fret?" Simon inquired.

"It seems Jace stayed over at her place last night," Izzy said. "And even stayed in her bed. Nothing happened, though the way Clary talks about it you'd think just laying in bed side by side not touching was the stuff dreams are made of." She chuckled.

"I think Clary really regrets going to Paris," Simon said. "At least on a personal level. Education wise it was the right call."

"I suppose," Izzy replied. Then she added with new energy. "Oh, I did hear something else from Clary today. It sounds like Malec is gonna buy a house."

"And you found this out from Clary before your brother so much as texted you?" Simon chuckled.

"Seems so," Izzy confirmed. "I believe I shall have to give Alec a sisterly lecture for that one."

"Clary might not have all the information," Simon countered. "Don't be too hard on your brother. I'm sure if it was major news he'd tell you. I mean what kind of house can they afford with Alec working only part time at the grocery store?"

Izzy just stared at him for a while then she laughed and bopped him on the nose. "You're cute," she said. "Mom and dad will help him, of course."

"Oh right."

"Sometimes I think you forget what family you agreed to marry into," Izzy giggled at him.

Simon laughed with her before wrapping his arms around her and kissing her passionately. He loved everything about this woman. Every curve of her body to every facet of her mind was his home.

"At least you know I'm not with you for your money," he whispered.

"True," Izzy smiled at him.

Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. Hopefully this story can get wrapped up soon! It feels like I've been writing it forever. Oh also be on the look out for a new Sizzy AU I plan to upload soon. DFTBA

Sneak Peek Chapter 198

"Tear film is made up of two main parts," Jon replied. "One is watery and the other oil based. If the oil glands are blocked then the water ones try to compensate, leading to watery eyes because the oil isn't there anymore to stop the water from evaporating."

"Good job," Paige chuckled at him. She put the book down and moved closer to kiss him. "I don't know why you are so worried about passing your test tomorrow. You know all this stuff."

"Yeah but studying makes me less anxious about taking the test," Jon replied.

"And this is just your regular school test," Paige smiled. "Imagine what it's gonna be like when you have to take your board certification exam."

"I don't want to think about it," Jon groaned.

"Maybe that's why you dropped out of school," Paige teased him. "It wasn't about your crazy ex or travelling the world or being a rebellious teenager. You were just trying to avoid exams." Paige couldn't help but laugh at the look on Jon's face. He was thoroughly unamused. She was saved from having to hear his reply by the timer on her phone going off.

"Dinner is ready!" she said, jumping up.