It's been six months.

Six months of wedding plans. Six months of puppy training. Six months of Rizzo pouting because he wants all of our attention. Six months of realtors in both countries trying to help us find a place to live. Six months of happiness with the man that I love. Six months of trying to get used to the fact that I was going to marry a K-Pop idol.

That last one was the hardest.

Before I met Hoseok, I had never even heard of BTS. Now, of course, I was just as obsessed with their music as the rest of the world. It was so hard to correlate the guys on stage with the ones who had become like my brothers. It shouldn't be that hard, really. Who they showed the rest of the world wasn't that different than who they actually are.

They're a bunch of goofballs, who love each other,  who love everyone that they meet, and really just want World Peace. That sounds cheesy, but it's true. They just want their music to bring joy to the people that hear it. And it does. To everyone. Including me.

Which is why I was listening to it while getting ready for my wedding. I had a stylist working on my hair and makeup, and an extra person to help me into my dress, and that was it. Hoseok and I had both decided not to have anyone stand up with us at the wedding. I didn't really have anybody to ask, and he said that he didn't want to have to choose between his brothers. So, other than my father walking me down the aisle, it was just going to be us. Everyone else would be in the chairs.

We were back at Lake Powell. We had both fallen so in love with it, that we decided that we wanted to get married there. Plus, after last Christmas, it had so much more meaning to me now....

"Here, honey, open this one," my dad told me. He handed me a neatly wrapped box that had a small package of tissues tied to it. "It's from me."

"What are the tissues for?" I asked him as I took the package and sat it in my lap.

"Just in case," he said, his eyes staying on me.

"I don-"

"Just open it, please," he said. His eyes were both bright and a little sad at the same time. Weird.

I untied the tie around the tissues and handed them to Hoseok. Then I pulled away the Christmas tree wrapping paper. Hoseok took it from me and put it in the growing pile in the middle of the floor, then he settled in next to me to see what it was.

Inside of the wrapping paper was a hat box. One of the old-timey ones that my Gran had so many of. Almost none of them were used for actual hats. If you opened one, you were more likely to find receipts, letters, pictures, or Sweet & Low packets that she had pilfered from restaurants.

I ran my hand over the top of the box, then I lifted the lid off and looked inside while Hoseok took it from me and sat it on his lap. I frowned and looked up at my dad.

"You got me a box of rocks?" I asked him. I was so confused. Why did he think that a box of rocks would make me cry?

Hoseok was leaning over my shoulder to look inside the box. He pointed under them. "What's that, Princess?"

I moved the rocks aside and pulled out a hard piece of plastic surrounding and protecting a handwritten note.

Red Rocks from Lake Powell - Wahweap Marina - 1981.

I knew this handwriting. It...It was my Gran's. I gasped and looked up at my dad with tears in my eyes.

"How?" was all that I could ask.

"When you got back and you were telling me about the lake," he started, sitting up straight. "It reminded me of something that Mom had told me about a place that she had traveled to with Aunt Edna. She said it had the most beautiful blue water, and she was expecting it to be brown like all of the rivers and lakes here. You told me the exact same thing. So I started going through some of her stuff that we still have. You know how she used to love saving important things in hat boxes."

I was full on crying at this point, and Hoseok was opening the package of tissues to hand me one.

"I don't...I can't..." I took a deep breath, then tried again. "She was there?"

My father smiled and nodded. "You said that you felt like something was pulling you there, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah...Like I was just supposed to be there."

"It was Betty Lou," He told me. "She must have seen what was going on, and knew that you needed to be with him," he nodded towards Hoseok. "So she decided that Lake Powell was the place to make it happen. She somehow knew that that was where you guys could fix whatever was wrong."

I looked over at Hoseok and even he had tears in his eyes. "She was right. I loved it there. The whole time we were at the lake, I kept feeling like I was meant to be there for some reason."

I sniffled and leaned into his side and he put his arm around me. "That is exactly how I felt," I told him.

"Betty Lou always knew what she was doing," my dad said. "It might not have made sense at the time, but in the end..."

"She was always right."

So here we were, about to get married on a red rock cliff overlooking Lake Powell. My Gran was with me. I knew it. I could feel her here.

Once my hair and makeup were done, the two stylists helped me into my dress. It was more than a little embarrassing for me. I didn't have a mom or friends to help me, and I was still uncomfortable with my body around anyone who wasn't Hoseok. After I was dressed, the questioned my shoe choices, but I just shrugged as they tied my specially-made, all-white-lace Chucks for me, because I couldn't reach them in this dress.

Man...If I had to use the restroom at some point today, I was really going to be in trouble. I had nobody to help me.

There was a knock at the door and one of the girls, I think that she said her name was Clara, went to answer it, returning with Yoongi in tow.

He let out a long whistle. "Wow, Ellie. Hoseok is going to faint when he sees you."

I blushed but rolled my eyes at him. "Let's not over-exaggerate, Yoongi."

He shook his head, looking me up and down again. "I'm not. You look beautiful." He looked up into my eyes. "You know that I don't say things that I don't mean."

"Thank you, Yoongi," I said. I walked over to hug him, then he handed me a small box and an envelope. "What's this?"

"It's from Hobi," he told me. "I have no idea what it is, I was just asked to bring it to you. I've been delegated to best man duties, even though I don't actually get to be the best man."

"I'm sorry..." I knew that this had been bothering him. He'd been mumbling for weeks about his best friend getting married and he just got to sit there. "I really am. I wi-"

He interrupted me with a wave of his hand. "I know. It's okay. I know that you don't really have anybody to be up there with you." He gave me a soft smile. "You don't need anybody, anymore, anyway. You have us now. We're a unit, and you're part of us. I hope that you know that."

I reached up to wipe at my cheek. I did know that. They had all made sure that I felt and understood that after everything that happened. These men were not just Hoseok's brothers, they had become mine, too, and I knew that they would always be there for me.

I hugged him again. "I love you, Yoongi, but if you make me cry and have to get my makeup redone, I will hurt you."

Yoongi laughed and held up both hands in surrender. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving. Just remember that if that note makes you cry, I was only the messenger."

He turned to leave and I sat the box down and opened the envelope.

My Dearest Eloise,

I can not believe that the day is finally here that we get to become husband and wife. I'm not going to go into a long, drawn-out letter about how much I love you. For one, you already know, and for two, I know that if I make you cry, you'll be upset, because you'll have to get your makeup redone, and you don't like wearing it anyway.

So I am just going to say this:

I wanted to get you a tiara for your wedding gift. My Princess deserves to look like a princess on her wedding day. But I know that they're overly flashy, and that's really not your style. So please accept this instead, as a reminder that I, everything I am, and everything that I have, will forever be yours. Please wear it today.

I love you, Eloise. I'll be the one waiting for you at the edge of a cliff.

Brighter days.

Hoseok

I couldn't decide if I wanted to cry or giggle. The edge of a cliff thing had become an inside joke to us. It was true. We were getting married at the edge of a cliff. And we were prepared to jump off any cliff, as long as we were together. The fact that he added our 'brighter days' mantra to the end of it, just made the note that much sweeter.

I sat the note and envelope aside, and opened the box. Inside was a necklace that perfectly matched the amethyst and infinity knot of my engagement ring. I swear. This man.

I pulled out the necklace and Clara helped me put it on, just as there was another knock at the door. It was my father. It was time.

I took a deep breath and followed him to the golf cart that would take us from the resort up to the place the wedding was. When we got there, my dad helped me straighten out my dress and vail, which was blowing just a little bit in the slight breeze, then he led me to the start of the lavender carpet that made up the center aisle between the chairs of people.

I looked up at Hoseok and he smiled at me with tears in his eyes. My dad asked if I was ready, and I nodded my head.

I was ready.

This was it.

I took the first step forward towards the rest of my life with Jung Hoseok. 

THE END

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Author's note: If you have stuck with me this entire time, thank you. And...I'm sorry. Okay, not really, but kinda. For this last chapter, anyway. I currently have Covid for the 4th time (my doctor said that's her new record, so there's that, I guess.) As I've said before, I'm a teacher, and kids are like little germ incubators. And apparently no amount of disinfecting, hand washing, wearing a mask, and being fully vaccinated and boosted, can fight against a room full of 5 and 6-year-olds. So my brain is weird right now.

Anyway...This story has so much of me in it. They say to write what you know, right? You already know that I did actually work at Lake Powell for awhile. But I was crying while writing this chapter, because the part about the rocks for Christmas? Yeah...that's true, too. Except that it was one of my aunts who gave it to me. 

Thank you so much for reading my story, and please consider checking out my next one. It's called Baby, I Got Your Number. It's a soul mate story with Hobi and JK. 

Please stay healthy, even if I couldn't. Love you all!