The next six years passed uneventfully. Jamie was still one of Jack's firm believers, a fact both of us breathed a sigh of relief at. I couldn't speak for Jack, but I was severely hoping that the boy - man - would never stop. Jack may be a Guardian and their fan-base mainly consisted of children, but a good number of immortals had believers who were adults. It was easier for kids to believe in 'mythological figures' than it was for adults, this was true, but some people, like myself, did firmly believe in magic. However, the Guardians were known to be 'for kids' which is why most of their believers stopped believing around their teens.

I wasn't as lucky with Caeden and Tanya. They still believed in me - don't worry. But they were starting to forget I was there when I was, and they were surprised when I showed up. Not because I came unannounced - which I did - but because they were getting older, and it was getting harder for them to believe in me when no one else could see me. Part of me wanted to stick around far more because of that knowledge, but the rest of me wanted to be scarce. If I wasn't around as much, that might quicken the process, but it might be better for everyone involved. If I stuck around, I'd get more time with them, but it could be harder for me to let them go once my limited time with them had run out.

Tanya had graduated from college with honors, as expected. She was currently working with a big name publisher in Chicago, a fact I'd been surprised by. Only mildly though, considering that Caeden had gone to school there, majoring in engineering. He was now working at Chicago LEGOLAND. I'd always thought he'd end up there. Legos had been his life for longer than many other kids, so it only made sense that he'd choose to spend his life there as well. The two of them had an apartment there. It was near the outskirts of the city, so Tanya didn't feel as claustrophobic about the whole thing. They were still a couple, and had been from when they first made it official back in high school.

I was there now, in the apartment. I'd actually helped them pick it out, back when they'd first gotten it two years back. Now my bro was twenty-four years old and Tanya was twenty-five. I was in my thirties, though I still looked my twenty year old self. Yes, I'd died before my birthday, but it was two weeks away, so I basically considered myself twenty. I'd now been immortal for fourteen years.

A few years back, Jack and I had finally managed to introduce Jamie and Caeden, discreetly. They were buddies, still. They were mostly pen-pals and Facebook friends, but they kept in touch. I secretly hoped that, by being in contact with someone who was not only the strongest believer I'd ever met, but who showed no sign of faltering in his belief any time soon, my two would believe in me longer. I hadn't shared this with anyone, I didn't want them to worry that I was gonna freak out when I finally did loose them. I didn't think I would, but, you never know.

Tanya was at her computer, while Caeden was working on a model for a new set they were planning on producing. She shut down her computer, stretching. "Alright, I'm gonna head to the store, cause we're out of almost everything. You want anything specific, honey?"

I smiled at the pet name as Caeden looked up at her. "Now that you mention it, I have a hankering for tacos from that one vendor by the museum."

Tanya's shoulders dropped as she groaned. "But he's on the other side of town."

"But his are the best. You know I'm right." She was pouting while she slouched in her chair, slightly s[pinning back and forth. "Crunchy, the meat's cooked perfect, they're one of the only ones who actually use fresh lettuce..." Man, Caeden was laying it on thick. He must have really wanted those tacos.

"I do have to admit they're pretty good. And you know I don't like hard shell tacos." I threw in my two cents from where I sat on the floor near the coffee table that sported Caeden's model.

Tanya sighed in exasperation. "Fine. You've convinced me." She got up, sighing again. "Well, with that detour, I'll be gone for more than an hour, especially considering I'm gonna hit rush-hour on the way there."

He grinned at her innocently. "Sorry. The craving came on all of a sudden."

She walked over to him, bending down to give him a kiss. "Don't be, they're the best tacos in town. And now that you've got me thinking about them, they sound like dinner to me." She grinned at him while she threw on her coat and grabbed her purse and keys off of the table next to the front door. "Well, I'll be back around eight, then."

"See you then." He waved bye to her as she left through the door.

A few moments after she was gone, once he was sure she wasn't coming back, my brother jumped up and ran into their bedroom. Without getting up, I yelled at him. "What was all that about? Why are you so eager to get her out of the house?"

From the bedroom where I could hear him rummaging through stuff, he yelled back. "More like keeping her busy."

"So, I take it, you weren't craving tacos?" He appeared out of the room holding his wallet in his mouth as he set a shoebox on the counter in the kitchen. I finally got up and walked over to see what was in the box, only to drop my jaw to the floor when I did. "Dude, what's with all the green?" The shoebox was stuffed with cash. "That's not the emergency cash, is it?"

He shook his head, taking his wallet out of his mouth to shove as much of the money in as he could fit. "No, that's in the middle cookie jar behind the sink." I rolled my eyes. Yeah, sure, hide the money in the most obvious place possible. "This, I've been saving up for about six months, whatever I could, whenever I could." He turned to me, serious but smiling. "I'm going out to buy a ring, and I want you to help me pick it out."

I stared at him, not quite comprehending. "A ring?" He nodded as he ran to the door and threw on his jacket. "As in, an engagement ring?"

"That's the one." He stuffed his wallet in an inside pocket before zipping said pocket closed.

"You're gonna propose to Tanya?" I was smiling now in excitement.

He nodded again, nerves starting to show. "Yeah. I've been thinking about this for almost a year now, but I had to wait until my trial period was over at LEGOLAND to be able to start saving up. Come on, we don't have much time." He opened the door and the two of us almost ran down the hallway for the elevator.

"Now I know why you had her go across town for tacos." We got the elevator to ourselves, so I didn't have to worry about him being able to talk back to me.

"Yeah. It was the first thing I could think of to keep her out of the house." He turned to me. "Hey, when we get back, you think you could muse me so I can get that model done so it looks like I've been working on it the whole time?"

"Way ahead of you, bro." The elevator doors dinged open and we stepped into the lobby where Caeden raised a hand to the guy at the counter. His name was Bill and he was pretty cool, even if he was a stubborn guy who thought magic was all fake. I stuck my tongue out at him, as I did every time I saw him.

Once we were out on the street and rushing off towards what I assumed was a jewelry store, Caeden rolled his eyes at me. "Why do you always do that? I thought you liked Bill?"

"I do. It's the principle of the thing." I'd called a small version of my wings and was hovering just above the crowd to avoid the bodies.

"Since when did you become the younger sibling?"

"Since you turned twenty-one."

"Smart-ass." He shot me a look while he waited for the light to change so he could cross the street. He'd become so accustomed to life in the city in his years there, it was hard to believe that he'd ever lived in Niles. If it wasn't for his refusal to drive in the city, you'd think he was a native. About twenty minutes later we made it to a small-name jewelry store that had a bell that jangled as Caeden opened the door.

A woman behind the counter smiled over at us - well, him - as we walked in. "Hello, Sir. How may I help you today?"

"Um, can I see the engagement rings?" The lady smiled knowingly as she gestured towards one of the display cases on the left side of the store.

She maneuvered over there without leaving the safety of behind-the-counter as she rested her hands on the metal frame that held the glass. "What is your price range?"

"Four hundred and down."

I stared bug-eyed and slack-jawed at my brother. "How much money do you make at LEGOLAND?"

Caeden struggled to hide his smile as the woman pulled out the trays that held the rings in his price range. She pointed at one tray and gestured towards the others as she spoke. "These are four hundred plus, in case you decide your girl is worth a little more." Don't be trying to make my brother broke, bitch. I understand upselling, but come on! "These range from $400 down to $350. These are $350 to $300. There are $300 to $250, $250 to $100, and this last case is all we have that is less than a hundred." She smiled at him in a way that said 'spend more, your woman deserves it'.

I leaned against the counter, all but shoving my face into my brother's line of sight. "If you break the bank on a ring, Tanya will kick your ass for it." I understood that part of the reason he'd wanted me to come was so that I could keep him from spending every last penny.

He glanced at the tray holding the expensive ones. "Uh, my budget's pretty firm, so I don't need that tray."

I patted him on the arm as the lady put the bank breakers away. "Good boy, now let's see what we got here." Both of us leaned in close to see the different rings. Right away we dismissed the golden ones. Yellow gold, not white gold, those were still on the table. After about forty minutes of going back and forth, Caeden finally decided on one that was priced at around $260. I'd pushed him to go for the cheaper one as it's main competition had been one right at the $400 mark. "Trust me, when she finds out how much you spent, she'll be glad you went for the cheap guy." As Caeden was paying for the ring with his many bills, I glanced at the clock. If my calculations were right, we'd be just barely making it home before her. "Uh, if you want to make sure your whole 'I've been working on my model' fib pulls through, we need to move, now."

He glanced at the clock only to widen his eyes in alarm. He looked at the woman who was wrapping up the ring, in it's box. "You don't need to do that."

"In a hurry?"

"Yeah, my girlfriend should be home soon. I need to make it back before her."

She smiled at him. "I understand." She handed over the bag. "Have a nice day, Sir. I hope it works out."

"You and me both." He snatched up the bag as he flew out the door and down the street. I glanced back at the counter to make sure he hadn't forgotten his wallet or anything in his haste before following him out the door. I called my wings again as I flew over the crowd. At the no crossing signs he anxiously tapped his foot. He checked his watch nearly every time he was forced to stop. Yep, classic 'need to beat the clock' symptoms.

"You want me to find Tanya and hold her off?"

"No, we should make it." The light switched over to the pedestrian and my bro ran across the street, almost tripping over his own feet as he turned the corner in his mad dash for his building. I was hot on his heels. Or, on his shoulders, as I was above him. You know what I mean. As we jumped into the elevator, he was fiddling with the bag nervously. I wasn't sure if it was nerves about getting back first, or nerves about what was in the bag.

When we tumbled through the door, he threw off his coat and ran around the apartment, trying to find a good hiding place. After he had, He sat down if front of his model and stared at me. I immediately sent out my powers as I watched him furiously work on his project. I went to the window as he worked to watch for Tanya. About ten minutes later, I saw her walking down the sidewalk, loaded down with bags and one Styrofoam container that do doubt held the tacos. "Heads up." He looked up from his model for about a millisecond before going back to work on it. Just before she walked in the door, he sat back, shoulders slumping.

The door opened and Tanya almost fell in. "Hey, can you guys give me a hand with these?" Both of us jumped up to help, me grabbing the tacos, Caeden grabbing half the bags. After the bags had been deposited onto the counter, Tanya looked over her shoulder at the Lego model. "Oh, hey, you finished it!"

Caeden hooked a finger at me. "Story helped."

"I mused him." I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, I'm glad you got that done." Caeden nodded as she went to the door to take off her coat. When she had her back turned he looked at me and gave me a wink which I reciprocated with an added smirk.

-

Music was blaring in the background as the band played through their fifth set for the night. Legends was as packed as usual and just as noisy. Artie and Goliath were manning the bar tonight, while Dollie and Shady were running drinks and food, i.e. waitressing. There were two other waiters who's names I hadn't caught, but who were there often. They were friends with the lead guitar for the band, who's name I also had yet to catch. Yeah, it'd been eight years, but I was antisocial at times. Plus, I was still avoiding Sunny a bit. Almost every night I was there, he ended up drunk, and I refused to associate with him until I caught him sober. Which meant his band mates were off limits to me most nights, as they spent their down-time all at the same table, with only Mors being the occasional exception.

In the past seven years since the Solstice, I'd started being viewed as a regular. Everyone knew my drink, my food, and when I picked a song. I even had my own seat that most people held for me if I was planning on showing up. It was at the bar off to the side that faced the stage. From there I had a good view of the club, and I was close to who I considered to be my friends there. Namely, the employees. About five years back Artie had made me a calendar with all of the 'big nights' marked on it. The big nights were the ones that Legends was sure to be full to the brim with drunk immortals. Needless to say I avoided the majority of those nights. Most nights I showed up on my own and hung out with my buds.

Tonight was not one of those nights. Tonight, Sam and I had met up almost the moment he got there, as I'd gotten there first. I'd tried to talk Jack into coming, but he'd argued that most of the crowd had a problem with him... because he'd pranked nearly all of them over the years. So it was just Sam and me. As it had been every other time we'd all tried to meet up since Sam and I met. We were deep in conversation about horror movies, well, it had started as horror movies.

"Okay, so, who would you rather face-off against; Jeepers Creepers or Pennywise?" We'd been playing the either or game for over an hour now, going back and forth from places to people to situations. It was Sam's turn to ask me, and I had to admit, he picked a good one.

I thought for a minute, tapping my finger against my jaw as I thought. "Now, that's a trick question. It depends, am I on Creepers' list, and is it one of his off years?"

"Yes, and no."

"Then Pennywise, hands down. Tim Curry? That's my boy right there! And we all know he can be killed, where as Jeepers Creepers doesn't die. He always comes back." I took a sip of my drink - diet Dr. Pepper, big surprise - as I thought of what to fire back at him. "Attic or basement? Without your powers."

He'd been about to answer before I'd added the second bit in. Now he sat thinking while I awaited his answer. "Attic. I can always jump out the window."

"Basements have windows."

"Yeah, but in horror movies, they're always locked." I nodded in a way that said 'true'. After a minute, he waved his finger at me, his face saying that he'd thought of a good one. "Colossal Titan or Armored Titan?"

"Ooh... that's tough... I'm gonna have to say... Colossal Titan, simply because the Armored Titan is known to me as the 'Holy Crap Move Out of the Way' Titan." As I thought of what to ask him, my mind strayed back to the conversations I'd had with him over the years. There were a number of things Sam didn't like to talk about for whatever reason, which I respected. However, I had no idea what they were, so I'd accidentally brought up sore subjects to him before. It made me want to watch what I said, but that wasn't really in my nature. "Alright, to turn things off of detestable options, chocolate or vanilla?"

"Chocolate." He scrunched his eyebrows at me, smiling. "You should know that by now."

"I was just checking." I shrugged.

He laughed. "Okay, uh... Sweet or sour?"

I grinned at him. "You should know that. Sour. Uh... Now or later?" Might as well stick to the candy theme.

He looked down at the floor for a minute. He was really putting thought into this one. Eventually, he looked up and stated his answer with conviction. "Later."

"Really?"

He shrugged. "We're immortal, aren't we? We've got time for later." He took a sip of his drink, of which I had no idea what it was. I did know it had a minor amount of alcohol in it. However, it was the only drink he'd had so far tonight and he was sipping it slowly, so he still seemed super sober. "Besides, I prefer not to rush into things."

"That's where we differ. I choose now. I could spout that old adage of 'why put off for later what you can do today', but that's not why."

"I thought you were a massive procrastinator." He pinned me with a look, daring me to lie about what we both knew to be absolutely true.

"I am, but that's not what I'm getting at. We might have time to wait, but that doesn't mean we should waist the time we've got. I'm all for taking things slow, but you should know by now that I'd rather jump first and deal with the repercussions later, than be kept wondering what if." The music cut out and I glanced towards the stage to see that the band had just finished the set and were jumping down into the crowd. "I was waiting around my entire life and that was my one regret when I died." I looked back at Sam. "I pretty much promised myself that I'd make the most of every minute I got."

"Yet you're still a procrastinator." He pointed out.

"I never said I changed my ways."

"Okay, okay... Um... Midnight or noon?"

"Midnight. No, noon - no, midnight - no - " I cut off, trying to figure it out. I'd thought it was a no brainer, I loved the midnight hour. The hour between days where magic was at it's most powerful. But I loved noon too, the sun was at it's brightest, the weather was at it's warmest and the day was in full swing. "Damn. That's hard!" Sam was chuckling at me and I shot him a stink eye. "Fine, midnight. Sunrise or suns- "

"Sunset." The smile had fallen from his face and he'd said it with such sincerity that I had no doubt that his answer was honest.

"That was fast. You didn't even let me finish."

"I don't like sunrises, end of story."

"Oookaaay." File that under 'things Sam doesn't like to talk about'.

Before I could ask Sam to elaborate, Artie walked over to us. "You guys need refills?"

Sam gestured to his glass that was still half full. "I'm good."

"Me too, maybe in a little bit."

"Okay." He flashed us a smile as he walked away to tackle some of the other customers. I liked Artie, I really did. Not just because he was King Arthur - which was still pretty awesome even after almost a decade of knowing. I mean, just looking at him, you wouldn't know that he was King Arthur. Except for the fact that he usually had Excalibur strapped to his back. He just didn't act like the typical ruler.

As if he'd read my mind, Sam spoke up. "Yeah, Artie's humble... Not really what you expect from a legendary king, huh?"

"Not at all." I watched as he joked around with some of the other patrons, some of whom were already well into their seventh drink or upwards. "Except he wasn't born a king. He was as poor as everyone until he pulled Excalibur out. So that would - logically - give him a more down to earth quality than most royalty." Silently, I sent a mental thank you towards Artie for appearing at just the right time to diffuse a possibly tense situation created by my big mouth.

"Agreed." He glanced towards the jukebox to see that the line was nearly nonexistent. "I'm gonna go pick a song. Be right back." He got up, leaving his drink behind as he headed for the machine.

"Pick something for me too!" I yelled at him right before he disappeared into the crowd. He turned back and shot me a thumbs up.

A few moments after I lost sight of him I heard a soft, musical voice close behind me. "Hey, Artie! I need a Sprite, a lemonade, and two waters." I turned around to see Gaia leaning against the counter, looking away from me.

"Coming right up!"

"Thank you sir." Artie rolled his eyes at the title, but got to work pouring the drinks anyway.

I couldn't keep in my comment. "I hope the water is for Sunny."

"Oh, yeah. I'm not letting him get drunk on my watch." She turned around to see who she was talking to. When she set eyes on me a smile broke out across her face. "Oh, hi. You're... Starry?"

"Story."

"Right. You were the one who started that started the round of singing a few years back, right?"

I nodded. "And also the person who got Sunny booted out that one time on the Solstice."

She winced. "I'm sorry for him. I try and keep him dry on nights we're playing, but somehow people always manage to slip him some."

"I already know about his problem with the word no."

"It's not his fault, really. He has a reason for not saying no."

"And what would that be?" I was starting to get a little tired of people defending him. If it was that common place to apologize for him, then they should have had ample time to cure his habit.

"Uh..." She looked away for a moment. "That's actually his secret to tell. I'd love to clue you in, as he's obviously made a lousy impression on you, but I promised him that I'd keep his secret."

"Fair enough."

She stuck out her hand. "I'm Gaia, by the way. I hear you're friends with Frost."

I accepted her offered hand shake, nodding. "Yep."

"As far as the other Seasons go, he's my favorite."

"You don't like summer?"

Thus far, my impression of Gaia had been sweet, loving, flower-child, ready-with-a-smile, and trustworthy. However, at my mention of the warmest season, something flashed in her eyes and anger clouded her features, showing me a completely different person. "No, in fact, I can't stand it. The Spirit of Summer and I have never been on good terms and I can't see that changing any time soon. Nor do I want it to."

Artie returned with her drinks just then. "Here you go, Gaia."

"Thanks, Artie." She smiled sweetly at him, nearly all traces of the danger in her previous reaction gone. She turned back to me as she grabbed up the drinks. "It was nice meeting you, Story. I hope hat you can see Sunny on a sober night sometime soon, he's really not as bad as he seems."

I flashed her a smile back. "I'll take your word for it." With that, she turned and began weaving her way back to the table that her and her band mates had claimed for the night. I wasn't going to take her word for it, though. Sunny would have to prove himself to me just like everyone else.

A few minutes later, Sam returned with a smug smile on his face. "Alright, the songs have been chosen."

I snorted. "Chosen, huh? So what have you chosen for my song?"

"You'll just have to wait and see." He smiled secretly as he took a sip of his drink.

That but-head. He knew I'd be supper curious now. I shot him a stink eye before my eye drifted over to Gaia and the other band members. Sunny was obediently drinking his water while Gaia and the guitarist were running defense of any and all other drinks. "I wonder why Annie just doesn't ban people from buying Sunny drinks when the band plays?" I'd mused it out loud, not even realizing I'd said it.

Next to me, Sam shrugged. "Legends has two rules and two rules only. No fighting and no mortals." I'd said the second rule in synch with him, which made him crack a smile. "Annie's explained it to me before - why she's never added any more rules." He turned on his stool to gesture out at the crowd. "Part of it is because she trusts our judgment. She said that, if we're aware of the repercussions of our actions enough to still act, then we should also know when not to." He glanced back at me for a moment. "Of course, some of us are a bit more reckless than others."

"What are you looking at me for?"

He chuckled. "Nothing. The other reason she doesn't impose more rules is because she believes we should have free will. We're all basically autonomous as far as doing our jobs goes. She doesn't think a club should have more rules than those that came with our immortality."

He had a point. I mean, even though they were unspoken, our rules were simple and absolute. Don't deliberately trick mortals, though playing harmless pranks was allowed, so long as there was no lasting damage. Don't do anything to cause serious damage to any other immortals, spats are allowed of course, but costing them believers or harming them isn't. Lastly, don't mess with another immortals work, again, pranks for fun permitted. Obviously, Pitch Black was an exception to these rules, but that was because he hadn't been created by any of the Constellation families. In all essence, Pitch was a self sustained immortal. I wonder if he'll still be immortal once the fearlings leave him? It was something to think about, nonetheless.

"I can't say I disagree with her. The free will part anyway." I spotted Annie in the crowd, her yellow top standing out like a beacon. She was chatting with a group of darker skinned immortals near the dance floor, laughing at something one of them said.

Sam shrugged again, following my gaze to find her as well. "She told me once that she thinks Manny should be more vocal with us." He looked back at me, picking up his drink as he did. "I don't know. I feel like him not saying anything means he trusts us to do our jobs."

I didn't say anything for once. I was sort of halfway between, to be honest. I knew a lot of us could use a more vocal boss. Jack for example. If only for the fact that it feels sort of like he brought us back and said have at it... but he never told any of us how to have at it. But, I guess that you could look at it like he trusts us. I mean, he does talk to us sometimes, like when he tells the Guardians about new members, or if something really drastic is happening. Also, and this might be my bleeding heart talking, but... Manny's probably antisocial, having spent his whole life in the Moon Clipper. Poor guy's ever had anyone to talk to before. Which is probably why he doesn't talk to us. Over the years, I've learned to hold in my opinions when I know they'll be met with controversy. Every once in a while, I plow ahead anyway, but this time was one of those times that my voice of reason won out.

-

Two months after our mad dash for the ring, I got a plane from Caeden saying that he wanted to enlist my help once more. So I made my way to Chicago for an 'impromptu visit' that was sure to be full of feels. As per his 'instructions' I talked Tanya into taking a walk. It was a nice day, but not too nice, so there weren't as many people out as there would have been. We headed to the park down the block from their apartment which featured a gazebo not unlike the one that had adorned the courtyard of Brandywine. I did my best to seem unsuspicious, but I don't know how successful I was. Tanya seemed unaware, though.

I had my hands stuffed into my pockets as we walked down the path. Tanya had her Bluetooth stuck in her ear so we could talk, as always. She glanced towards me, trying to pass it off like she was looking around. "So, how long do you think you're staying this time?"

I shrugged, something I'd been doing more so now that I was spending time with Sam. "Not long." I looked away to hide my smile. "Just for a day or two."

She nodded, gaze caught by a family walking their dog a little ways away from us. "I'm sorry Caeden had to work today. It would have been nice if we could have all hung out together."

I nodded, trying desperately to will my smile away. "Yeah. But he can't really call off work because his immortal sister came for a visit, now can he?"

She sighed. "I know. Sometimes I think all this would be a whole lot easier if you were normal." The look I shot her made her quickly stammer in elaboration. "Well, I mean, not normal personality normal. I love you how you are. I mean," She looked down. "You wouldn't be you if you were normal. I just wish that other people could see you so they didn't think we were making you up." She looked back to me. "You know?"

"Yeah, I know." I turned around so I was walking backwards. "I kinda felt like that when I first met Jack - before I became immortal myself." I looked up at the clouds which were racing. "But you know, it's kinda fun being invisible." I glanced back towards her. "I don't have to apologize for my actions as much." My honesty there, said in a joking manner, had both of us laughing.

I turned back around to see where I was going and spotted the gazebo off to my left. My eyes caught sight of Caeden standing inside of it and a tiny smile flickered across my face. Time for the big reveal. "Hey, let's go over there." I gestured towards the structure with my head.

She looked up, squinting a little as she noticed someone standing there. She was wearing her contacts today, but the girl's eyesight was still less than stellar. Especially compared to my immortal eyesight which was superior regardless. "There's someone there already."

"So? That doesn't mean they own the thing. The park's public space." I hooked my arm through hers and began to tow her along. She sighed behind me and grumbled something along the lines of 'fine'. You won't be grumbling in a minute, missy.

I pulled her into the middle of the gazebo where Caeden had his back turned. When we stepped under the roof, Tanya stopped in confusion, scrunching her eyebrows together while staring at my brother. "Caeden? What are you doing here? I thought you had to work today."

"She's all yours, bro." I shot him a smirk as I ducked out.

Tanya turned to see le stepping away. "Story, where are you going?" Any response she was expecting me to give - but that I hadn't been planning on giving - was cut off by Caeden clearing his throat behind her. She turned back around to see Caeden standing in front of her.

He smiled, looking confident and nervous at the same time. "Tanya, I've known you for over eight years. In that time, we've become friends, believers, and a couple." Tanya was staring at him like she didn't know what was going on... which she probably didn't. "When Story introduced us, I had no idea where we would end up - and I still don't. What I do know is, you are the love of my life, and I can't imagine spending the rest of it without you." He reached into his pocket to pull out the ring-box as he knelt in front of his soon to be fiancé. On her end of things, Tanya's jaw about hit the ground. "So, would you, Tanya Elise Kenwood... Marry me?" He held open the box and held it up for her.

Tanya stared down at the ring, eyes darting from it back to Caeden. She started nodding before she said anything. As she nodded, smiles broke out on both of their faces. "Yes." Caeden went to pull the ring out of it's box as they both laughed a little. I assumed because they were both so happy. "Yes!" Caeden spilled the ring on her finger and she threw her arms around his neck. He was still kneeling on the floor of the gazebo so they both almost fell over.

Part of me wanted to rush over and join in on the hug... but this was their moment. And besides, I had a front row seat where I was. While the two of them were making googley eyes at each other I was grinning like an idiot. Part of me had been threatening that she had better say yes, but the rest of me told that part to shut it. If I'd been happy for them way back when, I was now overjoyed. And I was so proud of Caeden for having planned all of this by himself. Unlike the last time he'd been planning something like this, where he'd asked my advice every five seconds.

My job's done. I smiled one last time before calling my wings, ready to head out. After I was above the park, I hastily scribbled a note for them and sent it to their mailbox. They get it soon enough. I'm happy for you, bro.