DAYLIGHT
and that's the closest I've come
to my heart exploding

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TINAKITTEN KNEW HOW to throw a party.

It was the girl's twenty-sixth birthday, and she had hosted a huge party at the Roomies' house. She had invited a ton of people, and there were drinks, farm animals outside, tons of food, karaoke, and a beautiful cake made by QTCinderella.

Luna had been on a whirlwind of a journey. Her album — The Secret of Us — had released, and she was traveling all over the place for promo. Which included going all the way to London to perform her song with Taylor on the Eras Tour (by the way, if Luna had a nickel for every time she performed one of her songs live with Taylor on the Eras stage, she would have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.)

However, nothing was more important to her than her friends. She had already missed Tina's birthday last year due to her opening for Eras in Ohio, and she was more than determined to actually be there this year. So she blocked a whole two weeks out of her schedule to travel back to LA, hang out with her friends, and celebrate Tina's birthday with her.

The party was in full swing, people milling around the house with cups of alcohol in their hands. Luna was standing outside by the basketball court, Noah's arm wrapped securely around her waist. They had finally seen each other after about a month the other day — like Luna said, it never got easier — and were sticking to each other's sides like glue. Luna knew that eventually they would drift off to their own corners of the party and hang out with the others, but she was content for right now.

Luna took a sip of her drink, the alcohol burning down her throat as she did so. "Now, No, exactly how many pictures of yourself with a chicken did you take?"

"Enough," Noah responded casually, watching the chickens run around the animal coop. "There's a lot of people here. How many people did Tina invite?"

"She told me that she just kept inviting anyone she ran into. She described it as the most random group of people, which kind of makes sense." Luna glanced back, seeing people draw in chalk around her on the concrete. "You know, if we were ever to get married, I would want a wedding reception like this. Chalk, farm animals, friends . . . what more could a girl ask for?"

Noah blinked, looking down at her. "What? Married?"

Luna froze — she had been speaking before her mind caught up, and now she had just admitted that she envisioned a future where her and Noah were married, and his question sounded so confused that she started to believe she just messed it all up. "Oh, um . . . never mind. Silly thing of me to say. It's okay, I wouldn't marry me either."

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I just didn't expect for you to say something like that. I mean, Lunes . . . come on. I'd marry you in a heartbeat."

"Foolish, let's do a shot!" Shoto then called from the bar.

"Duty calls." Noah leaned down and kissed her on top of her head. "Be right back."

He then walked off to go take a shot with Shoto. Luna watched after him, her heart beating against her chest. She swore her eyes were wide and filled with stars as she did so. Honest to God, Luna never expected him to say that, nevertheless as casually as he did.

The party continued on, and the two didn't mention it again. Luna would've, but she was more focused on hanging out with her friends than anything else. She drank, she sang karaoke, she laughed at karaoke (mostly when Foolish sang Chandelier in his Toad impression voice . . . chandelier flashbacks), and she just had a bunch of fun.

It was around six A.M. when the Luna and Foolish of them stumbled into their shared room at the Roomies' house. The party had raved on all night, but for the past hour or so, they had been sitting around the fireplace with Miyoung and Leslie. For some odd reason, Noah was telling Leslie how she was going to die in great detail and how it included a bridge.

Noah was fucking weird. Luna found it endearing. (Not the part about Leslie dying. Doobie was her favorite. All love to Leslie.)

It was clear that Noah wasn't drunk. Luna knew that with absolute clarity. He never got drunk. In all honesty, Noah was an actual tank, who drank vodka like it was fucking water. Luna, on the other hand, had gotten drunk. She got the usual silly way she did — happy and cuddly.

Yet even now, Luna could feel the effects of the alcohol she had drank wearing off. In fact, she hadn't been quite as drunk — more alive, in a sense — as she usually did, all because of Noah confessing that one thing earlier. I'd marry you in a heartbeat had been playing on a loop in her head like a broken record. It echoed throughout her mind and sped up the rate of her heart, buzzing underneath her skin. She wasn't sure if that was just another silly joke of his, but she wanted to find out.

"Why didn't you tell me how I was going to die?" Luna asked, flipping on the light switch and squinting slightly from how bright it was. "I mean, you gave very detailed stories to Leslie and Miyoung."

Noah shrugged. "Too sad. The thought of you dying hurt me."

Luna raised her eyebrows at him, but him saying that made her dizzy, and it wasn't just from the alcohol. "And our friends dying didn't?"

"You mean the most to me. Of course not." He took off his zip-up Dior hoodie, letting it fall to the floor. "Bed time?"

"For sure. I'm tired as fuck." Luna then paused, staring at the way orange light cast against his face from the windows. The sun had just started to rise over the horizon, and in this way, it made him look almost angelic. She couldn't wait anymore — she had to know. "Um, Noah . . . about earlier—"

"I can give you a story about how you'll die, if you'd like," Noah offered.

"No, it's not that," Luna replied, letting out a small laugh. "I mean like way earlier. You . . . you told me that you'd marry me in a heartbeat."

God, she couldn't even help the shake in her voice when she said it. She should've had more of a grip on herself, but she just couldn't. Not with something as fucking monumental as this. Because if he shared the same visions as her, that would make her entire life, basically. And it didn't help that she couldn't picture herself with anyone but him, and if it was a joke, it would positively crush her.

"Yeah," Noah said, turning to her. He tilted his head at the expression on her face. "I did."

"Did you mean it?" Luna blurted out, the words coming out fast and all at once.

He blinked for a second. "What?"

She attempted to take a deep breath. "That you'd marry me in a heartbeat. Did you mean it?"

"Of course I meant it," Noah told her casually. "Why wouldn't I?"

It seemed like the world around her started to freeze. Luna felt a whole bunch of weight that had been weighing her down all night lift off of her shoulders. She stared at him, her eyes trailing across his face. No smile, no mischief in his eyes — all seriousness. Luna had dated him long enough to pick up on his cues, and this time, she could tell he actually did mean it.

"I — I don't know," Luna stammered. "You just said it so nonchalantly, and I didn't know if it was a joke or not—"

"Jesus Christ, Luna," Noah let out, stepping closer to her and taking her face in his hands. "I want to marry you so bad it physically hurts. I wouldn't joke about something like that."

She smiled up at him slowly, her heart thudding so hard against her chest she thought it was going to jump out. "I want to marry you, too."

"So bad it physically hurts?"

"Absolutely, baby."

Noah then tugged her face closer to him and leaned down, pressing his lips onto hers. Luna indulged in it fully, her eyes fluttering shut. She placed her hands on his stomach and rose up onto her toes, trying her absolute best to get closer to him.

The sun continued to rise behind them. A new day, a new revelation — they were forever, just like the sun always rose and always set. Both of them could feel it.

-ˏˋ ♥̩͙♥̩̩̥͙♥̩̥̩ ˊˎ-

rip roomies house I miss you