I was reading on the roof when the Maitlands and Lydia approached me.

"Hey, (Y/N), we were wondering if you wanted to come hang out with us today?" Lydia asked me, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"Oh, sure! I'd love to!" I replied, closing my book and following the three down to the attic. "So. Where's Beej? I figured he wouldn't wanna miss this for the world."

Barbara and Adam shared a quick, uneasy glance. Lydia, however, was cooler than a cucumber.

"Oh, he said something about taking care of important business in the Netherworld," the teen told me, flipping down on the Maitlands' couch.

I nodded. "Oh. Did he say when he'd be back?"

"I think tonight," Barbara informed me as she picked up one of Lydia's stray shoes and put it over by the attic door.

"Oh, okay. Cool."

"You guys wanna play Just Dance?" Lydia asked Adam, Barbara, and me, arching an eyebrow at the three of us from her upside-down position on the couch.

Adam beamed and Barbara lit up. "Sure!" they chorused together.

I smiled over at them. Honestly, the Maitlands were pretty darn perfect. And yeah, they, along with Charles and Delia, had pretty much become the parents I never had; kind, caring, loving, and understanding. I loved them dearly.

"Sounds like fun!" I said, beaming at the people who I now considered my family.

Because they made me feel more at home than I had felt in over 200 years.

~

"Alright, old man, you ready to take me on?" I asked Adam playfully, picking up a Wii remote.

"Careful what you wish for, I've got mad moves!" he replied, doing a little shuffle.

I chuckled.

I chose a random song that I hadn't heard before. Adam and I waved our remotes around, trying desperately to keep up with the dancers on-screen. We were flailing around like two chickens with their heads chopped off. I could hear Lydia and Barbara behind us, laughing at my and Adam's bad dancing skills. I was more the ballroom dancing type. And for some reason Adam struck me as a flamenco type. Don't ask me why, he just gave off those vibes. (PLEASE TELL ME SOMEONE GETS THIS JOKE)

By the time the song was over, we were both breathing hard and laughing. It was close, but Adam beat me by a few points.

"I call playing Adam!" Lydia blurted, jumping up from the Maitlands' couch.

I laughed breathlessly and handed her the remote. "Sure thing, kiddo."

She and Adam flipped through several songs before finally choosing one by Beyoncé.

I flopped onto the couch next to Barbara, grinning at my friends around me.

"You look worn out!" Barbara said, laughing and patting my leg affectionately.

I chuckled lightly. "I'm pooped!"

After a few minutes I turned to the sweet, blonde woman.

"Barbara, how did you know Adam was the one?"

She smiled at her husband, who was still dancing next to Lydia.

"I knew he was the one by the way he truly cared about me. He always put me first, no matter the situation. He was always considerate of me and my feelings. And he always listened."

I nodded, following her gaze to look at Adam. "Yeah."

"Why do you ask?" she said, looking at me curiously.

I shrugged it off. "Oh, just curious, is all."

Barbara gave me a knowing look and placed a hand gently over mine.

"You're thinking about your relationship with Betelgeuse, aren't you?"

I looked up at her, smiling a small smile. "Wow. You're good."

She gave my hand a comforting squeeze. "What's on your mind?"

I sighed and looked down.

"It's just.... With Lawrence, everything's been so complicated and drawn out, and he always ends up getting hurt because of me. I just... I just don't wanna make a mistake, you know? I want this so bad to be true and be real. And I guess I'm worried that because I want this relationship to work so bad.... that I'll convince myself that it's right, when it's not."

Barbara gave me an empathetic smile. "I know how you feel."

"You do?"

She nodded.

"You want that thing so badly that you're worried that it's too good to be true. That you'll die on a hill about how perfect the relationship is when that's the furthest thing from the truth."

I stared at the blonde woman in amazement. "Yeah, that's exactly it!"

"When I finally let go and decided to focus more on Adam and who he was and not what the relationship was, I found myself convinced that Adam was the one for me."

I looked back at her husband and Lydia, who were both somehow still dancing.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"Okay, well, let's take a look at the person, then, shall we?" she asked, grinning at me. I couldn't help but smile back. "Does he truly care about you?"

I nodded. "Yes, I really believe he does."

"Does he put you first? Are you his top priority?"

I smiled at the ground, thinking of all the times we had been scared awake and he went to immediately protecting me. Or when he helped clean up my neck from where I had hurt it from the nightmare at the condo. 

"Yes, he does. I am his priority."

"Is he considerate of you and your feelings?"

Memories of Betelgeuse holding me close, letting me sob, rant, or stress into his chest without him asking any questions came flooding back into my mind. Beej didn't ask questions until he knew I was ready to talk about whatever it was that was bothering me. And I appreciated that immensely. It was honestly one of my favorite qualities about him.

"He is very considerate," I told Barbara, smiling.

"Does he listen?"

I nodded once more. I could rant to Betelgeuse for days and he wouldn't bat an eye. He would simply listen. No questions asked, just listening. He didn't try to insert his opinion until he thought it appropriate, and always backed me up on important matters.

Barbara smiled warmly at me. "Well then, I don't think you have to worry about trying to convince yourself the relationship I right when it isn't, because it sounds like a pretty perfect relationship, to me."

I stared at her, a small, relieved smile on my face. "You really think so?"

She nodded at me. "I really do. Of course, you'll have your ups and downs, just like any couple, including Adam and me, but you guys'll make it in the long run, I have a feeling," she told me, sending an encouraging wink my way.

I smiled at her. "Thanks, Barbara. I needed that."

She smiled back and patted my hand. "Any time, (Y/N)."

I sat back and watched Adam Lydia, feeling much more at ease and secure in my relationship with Betelgeuse.

~

"Uno!" I cried, placing one of my last two cards down on the pile, waving my last card teasingly.

Barbara laughed, Adam squinted at his deck in concentration, and Lydia stuck her tongue out at me. As Adam finally placed a card down, my phone started to ring. Looking down, I saw that Betelgeuse was calling me.

"Hello?"

"Hey, babes. Whatcha doin'?"

"Well, I'm playing Uno with Lydia, Adam, and Barbara right now, how 'bout you?"

"I'm up on the roof. Come on up here, I wanna show you something."

I grinned in excited bewilderment. "Um okay?"

I ended the call, looking up at my three companions. "So, um, I'm really sorry to have to cut the game short, guys, but-"

"It's okay," Lydia interrupted, smirking at me. "We've kinda been stalling you all day."

I stared at the trio in confusion. "You've been.... you've been stalling me?"

Barbara giggled sheepishly and Lydia grinned as she rolled her eyes at me. Adam stood up and pulled me up from my cross-legged position on the floor.

"Yes, now hurry up before one of us spoils the surprise!" he told me, gently ushering me to the ladder that would take me to the roof.

I stared at them in giddy confusion before climbing up the ladder and emerging into the crisp evening air. The sun had already set, leaving a canopy of twinkling stars in its wake. But a flickering in my peripheral vision caught my attention.

Looking to my right, on the flat part of the roof, was a small table set up for two, a white tablecloth draped over it and an elegant candle lit at its center. Looking around me, I saw that there were candles suspended in midair and floating all around me, bright enough to light up my surroundings, but also dim enough so the stars were still visible. On the ground beneath my feet were black and red rose petals strewn about. They formed a sort of path that led the way to the table.

"Woah," I breathed in awe. At this point, that's all I could come up with, I was so amazed.

"Is that a good 'woah' or....?"

I turned around to find Betelgeuse there nervously and looking crisp and.... clean? What???

His hair was combed up in its usual flamboyant style, but his face and other parts of his body had been washed, and he was even dawning a different outfit than his signature striped suit. This one was a black tux with red accents. It was crisp, clean, and polished. And I was impressed.

I looked down at my body, feeling very underdressed in my sweatshirt, athletic shorts, and Prince Lotor socks.

Betelgeuse seemed to notice this, because with a snap and a flourish he had replaced my normal clothes with stunning red, sleeveless dress that hugged my hips and had a side slit that went up to about mid-thigh. My feet were also now sporting elegant, silver sandals with a slight heel. Fancy, but still comfortable.

I looked up at Beej and smiled. "This is incredible, but..... what in the world is it all for??"

"Um, it's for you, of course."

I shook my head, laughing lightly. "No, I mean, what's the occasion?"

"Can't a guy have a fancy shindig for his girlfriend without it having to be for a special occasion?" he asked, giving me his toothy grin.

I smiled and shook my head at him. "You really are something else, you know?"

"Oh yeah, I know," he replied proudly, linking my arm through his and escorting me over to the table. I chuckled.

Betelgeuse pulled out my chair for me and I sat down, smoothing my dress underneath me. He sat down across from me.

"You hungry, babes?"

I smiled. "Starving."

"Good, cuz I made your favorite."

(Also sorry if you don't like the meal I'm ab to describe. I just put a lot of effort into describing it and I wanna add it. Just pretend it's something else if you don't like it.)

With another snap of his fingers, two plates appeared before us. Both plates had two juicy lobster tails soaked in butter, a side of garlic bread with a Parmesan garnish, and a small salad with fresh produce. To drink, we had a red, savory wine. I beamed up at the demon sitting across from me.

"Beej, this looks and smells absolutely divine."

He grinned back at me. "Well, let's dig in!"

We ate and talked about anything and everything; remembering our childhoods, reminiscing of our first meeting, and recounting our humorous reunion and impromptu date at the coffee shop. When there was a lull in the conversation after a while, I smiled up at Betelgeuse.

"Thank you for tonight. You've really made me see how much I love you and how right this relationship is," I said, reaching across the table and placing my hand on top of his.

He smiled at me lovingly, turned his hand over, and intertwined his fingers with mine.

"I love you with all my heart, (Y/N), and I would do anything for you."

I leaned in and pressed my lips to his, smiling into the kiss. I felt his mouth hitch up into a small smile, as well.

When we pulled away from each other, I gave a huff of irritation. Beej's brow furrowed in confusion and worry.

"What's wrong?"

I smiled at him reassuringly. "Oh, my shoe's just falling off. The strap got unfastened, somehow," I told him, reaching down to fix it.

"No no, let me," he said, jumping up and coming around to my side of the table. I grinned and swung my legs over the side of the chair. He kneeled down and got to work fastening the strap.

"What has gotten into you?" I asked him playfully, chuckling at his sudden gentlemanly behavior.

He looked up at my. "Why, whatever do you mean?" he asked in his fancy voice, feigning innocent confusion. I chuckled and rolled my eyes at him as he finished fastening my sandal strap.

"Thanks," I told him.

"Well, might as well, while I'm down here," I heard him mumble to himself, fishing around in his coat pocket until he finally pulled out a small box.

My eyes widened and my heartbeat sped up. My hands flew up to my mouth. "No. No way," I breathed quietly.

"(Y/N), we've known each other for a very long time, now," he began, and we both chuckled at that. "I can't imagine having to spend eternity without you, and I am beyond thankful that fate has rightfully interconnected our souls, once again."

I teared up.

He opened the box to reveal a simple, yet beautiful, silver ring with little, clear diamonds embedded in the edges and a gorgeous, sparkling emerald in the middle. I gasped.

"(Y/N) (L/N), would you make me the happiest demon in the entire Netherworld and surface world, and marry me?"

The tears were flowing freely now. I nodded, smiling at him and throwing my arms around his neck. "Yes! Yes, a million times, yes!"

"And don't worry, it's not a green card thing, this time, I promise," he whispered into my ear.

I bursted out laughing. He chuckled and hugged me close. He then brought his lips to mine, and I don't think I've ever had more of a special moment than that night on the roof with Lawrence holding me close.