Electra

Erin shrugged one shoulder, face still turned to the computer screen. "Dunno. I mean, we've done a lot of fighting, that's for sure. But I don't know if that makes us actually more adult, or just more aware of some adult things, like the fact that we all die someday. I've done pretty much nothing but fight for years, and I don't think it makes me feel that much more grown-up. But I guess Alex has always been an adult in her head." She leaned back in her chair and looked up at the ceiling. "And she's always been sure. I guess if you're sure that she's the one and only, what's the harm?"

Wander activated her beacon, and a moment later the two of them were teleported into Young Freedom's base. It was an interesting looking place, like a view of the future as seen from 1960 or so, but with sophisticated updates to keep up with current technology. "Can you turn off that frosting thing, or is that constant?" she asked Lady Winter. "Might be easier if you can, but we can figure out something. Psyche?" she called, heading out down a corridor towards the computer room. "You around?"

"Probably true," Erin agreed. "But maybe not delivery so much as, hmm, I don't know what they're called, but there's a kind of catering company that does little events, private dinners for two and stuff like that. You could probably get something like that and not have to do anything more than set up dishes and maybe warm stuff up. Lot fancier than a pizza." She was quiet for a minute, running a search on one of the consoles to see if she could find a company like this. "I guess I just have to ask... are you really sure you're ready? You're both still really young."

Meh, set it in the summertime, give the lonely students with no homes to go to something to do. :D

"You could make her a meal, or get one delivered, and set things up nice like a picnic," Erin suggested, trying to come up with helpful ideas from things she'd seen on television or read about. "Mark or I could clear out for an evening and free up one of the dorm rooms, or you could go to the manor, or someplace special to her. You could have the nice meal and everything, and then if things seem to be going right, you can ask. If not, you can just wait. It's not like you haven't got time." "Sides," she said, turning away from him to look at the bank of monitor screens, "if you love her and she loves you, that's what's important, right? The answer to the question will be the same even if you somehow screw up asking it."

"Not really," Erin said, shaking her head. "It gets really awkward after a little while out there, what with the other me running around. I stayed out there for awhile last year, but it's easier to stick around here during breaks and avoid the long plane ride. I haven't been back since I came here. We do, you know, letters and stuff, Christmas cards. They sent me some stuff for Christmas and my birthday." She shrugged. "I like it in Freedom City anyway, more than I thought I would. You ever think about living somewhere else?"

Stesha rolled her eyes. "Moira, I'm a florist. I've been booked all summer since wintertime. Even if I wanted to drive myself crazy trying to put another wedding together in a month, I wouldn't be able to do it. November is the earliest I would consider it, and even then it's just because I'm impatient." She grinned at Taylor. "And I'm not saying we took a lesson or anything, but we're having the wedding in Chicago and arranging transportation for our guests. Events are always a little weirder in Freedom City, and I don't want to take any chances. Plus my million relatives live there." She took a sip of her tea, leaning back comfortably in her seat. "I've been meaning to ask, Taylor... does the baby sleep?" The little one certainly looked tired, but that could just be the aversion to the sun.

At Moira's words, Stesha's discomfort melted into a smile. "I'd like that a lot," she told Moira. "It's been a long time since I had any really good cheesecake. I think I may stick with coffee tonight, though." She extended a hand to Moira and transported them both back to the light and warmth of Moira's home. Crime would, for tonight at least, wait.

Erin smiled at that. "I don't think she'll be embarrassed if you do it right," she told him. "She's sure you two were made for each other, so I'm pretty sure you don't have to worry about her saying no either, if you do it right. You just have to do it right." She was quiet for a minute, looking far away as she thought. "I think you're right about small. Do something special for her, just the two of you, like a fancy dinner or something. Not like at a restaurant, but in private. That way there's no pressure. I always thought those huge flashy proposals were really tacky."

Wander: Strength to Strength (9) Summer Job Listing (13) Just Like Old Times (10) High Noon (5) So the Drama (19) A Simple Plan (16) No More Good Days (10) Cold Case (13) Could've Danced All Night (20) Nockin' on Iron (1) No Mercy (4) House of L: The End (2) House of L: Bringing Down the House (7) Life's Parade of Fashion (18) Consolations and Remembrances (10) Life Lessons (20) Fleur So We Meet Again (10) Pater Noster (8) Groundskeeping (16) Anklebiters (10) Chaos in the Streets (1) Revelations: Meeting the Parents (28) This Woman's Work (3) Hero Work (5) Shaper of Things (17) Making Amends and Floral Arrangements (13) Shakedown Flight (10) Open Fields (9) GM(-esque) Lost and Found

"Sure being engaged is going to change things," Erin pointed out. "It's a public commitment that everybody knows about. It's going to change things for you, what with Alex being a celebrity now. If you're engaged, especially at this age, especially if it comes out that you're a superhero too, people are going to be interested. Maybe even tabloids and stuff, it depends on whether the thing of her being "Little Miss CEO" takes off. It's something to think about, anyway."

Erin shrugged helplessly. "What if you sneeze and turn into a monkey? What if we all catch cold and die tomorrow? Anything can happen, and there's not always anything we can do to stop it. You have all the advantages over your dad, you know you have powers, you've been training with them half your life, and you know what the worst case scenario looks like already. That just makes you like anybody with potentially lethal powers. You have to do what you can, then trust the rest to chance."

Stesha passed the baby back to Taylor and rose to give Moira a quick hug. "Hey, I didn't even know you were in the neighborhood. Have a seat, we'll get some more tea. Either of you hungry? The sandwiches here are good, but the wraps are better." Grinning, she showed off the ring again for Moira's benefit, then retold the story of the proposal as well. "We haven't got things nailed down yet, but I'd like to do it right around Thanksgiving. That's pretty fast, but I've got lots of connections."

Stesha laughed. "Sounds good to me. I may make you bring us back here a few times so I can take pictures, though. Let's go home." She sat up so that she wouldn't fall over backwards when he went intangible, then laughed all the way home. It was, she decided, the very best night of her entire life. So far.

"It is pretty early," Erin agreed, "but it's not like you guys haven't know each other all your lives." She spun side to side in her chair thoughtfully a few times. "But if you're not out of high school yet, stuff like getting a job and an apartment is gonna be tough. Are you thinking of having a long engagement or something, till you're both older?"

Erin's eyes widened a little bit at that. Mike and Alex were both even younger than she herself was, barely old enough to drive a car, much less get married. But Alex had always been so sure, and apparently Mike was totally on board now as well. "That's a big step," she said after her brain kicked itself back into gear. "Does Alex know?"

Stesha laughed, not really minding his literal-mindedness. It was part of his charm, most of the time anyway. "I think we'll leave them be, it's too romantic a night to end it being chased by hungry toothless Muppets." She turned her head and looked up at him, raising a hand to trace his cheek. "I was thinking of an entirely different way to end the night, actually, but not here. Too sandy."

Erin looked over at the stranger, then back. "Superhero. I think she could use some help getting started on some red tape. She's not from around here. We'll be there in just a second." She deactivated the communicator and looked at Lady Winter. "I'm Wander, by the way, and that was Psyche. We're part of Young Freedom. You ready?"

"That's the plan," she assured him with a smile. Stesha moved over to sit between his legs with her back against his chest, taking his arms and wrapping them comfortably around her. She looked up at the sky again, marveling at the scope of the artwork he'd made for her. "It's really beautiful," she murmured. "Like a really huge, really personal constellation." She chuckled and leaned back to put her head on his shoulder. "I wonder if there are any alien species out there looking and wondering what it says." That made her stop and think for a moment. "Who knows, maybe all our stars are arranged as letters in someone else's language, and we never knew!"

Wander nodded, keeping a very close eye on the zombie until its work was done and it began trudging away. "Good idea. I'm on foot tonight, but I can catch us a ride if you don't have a way to travel." Reaching down to her belt, she activated her communicator. "Psyche, this is Wander. Okay with you if I bring someone back to base? She's a new hero type in town, and got roughed up by that zombie I told you about. She needs a place to stay."

Erin looked up from the paperback novel she'd been reading, setting it aside as Mike came over. "Not too busy right now, mostly keeping an eye on Alex's stocks for her while she's busy in meetings today. Gotta earn the cat food money," she told him with a grin. "You've been pretty busy yourself lately, haven't you? How's it been going?"

"Oh my god," Stesha said gleefully, "it was amazing. He decided he had to ask my dad first, which is hilariously quaint, but totally like him. So when we went home to my folks' place for Memorial Day, he actually asked my dad's permission to propose. Then he took me back to the beach where we made love for the first time, that long weekend trip we had last fall, and we laid down on the sand by the water. Only he had actually gone up into space and rearranged all this space debris, rocks and comets and all sorts of things, so that from the beach it read "Stesha, will you marry me," right up in the night sky. And when I looked over at him, he had the ring box open and waiting. It was... I can't even describe it. Incredible." She was beaming even as she recounted it, and in the shade of the trees, the ring seemed to almost glow a little.

"Well then, it should never stop glowing now," Stesha said with a laugh. "We're getting married! This is going to be amazing! I love you so much!" She kissed him again. "I need to tell my parents, and all our friends... it's so exciting. We're going to have the most beautiful wedding. What do you think about a fall wedding, with a million flowers? We can have it in Chicago, but make sure all our friends get transportation there, and your family too. I can't wait!"

"Oh Derrick, it's beautiful..." Stesha lost no time in putting the ring on, mesmerized by the sparkle and glow. "I've never seen anything even a little bit like it." She cuddled in next to him, holding up her hand and turning it this way and that to examine it from all angles. "Where did you find it? And what's the seed inside of it?"

Wander jerked as the bones began to move, her hand going automatically to her bat before she forced herself to relax, at least for the moment. The skeletons had been no trouble the first time, she was confident that she could handle them again if need be. "Next time leave them to their rest and we'll all have a better night," she told the zombie acerbically. She looked over to Lady Winter. "If you need help, I think I can probably find you a place to stay, at least till you get a place of your own. And maybe somebody to help sort out your papers, too. That can be a real hassle when you just get here, no matter where you're coming from."