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Like most things involving Mach Windy, the proposal had happened all at once in a breathless rush. Before she could process what was happening, Magnum found herself blinking down at Windy, bent down on one knee with a ring offered up in her palm, the modest diamond glinting in the late afternoon sun.
A diamond on a baseball diamond. Magnum had seen so many strange things on these fields but this surprised her the most by far. In hindsight, it really shouldn’t have.
“Yes,” she’d whispered and it was Windy’s turn to blink, tears springing up her pretty violet eyes. She surged forwards and when Magnum opened her eyes again she was blinking up at the sky, her back to the turf, with an armful of Windy and tears streaking down her cheeks.
“Really?” Windy asked, her voice soft and nearly-trembling – as if she still couldn’t believe it. As if she’d expected resistance, and that made Magnum’s chest hurt. So instead of replying, she simply nodded and tried to think like Windy did.
Don’t think; just act. She wrapped her arms around Windy’s shoulders, capturing her lips in a deep, relieved kiss, days and months and years of loneliness struggling to hold onto the grip they’d had on her heart for what felt like forever. Not anymore; with Windy, never again.
Windy managed to steady her hand as she slipped the ring on Magnum’s finger, but the tears welled up again as she lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles, a watery ear-to-ear smile overwhelming her features like a rising sun on the horizon.
“Thank you,” she said, hugging Magnum tight as soon as she could get both arms wrapped around her again, pressing her into the grass beneath them. They kissed again and Magnum couldn’t remember much beyond that; she knew it had been nearly dark by the time they’d finally made it inside, but her head was swimming, overwhelmed. Time wasn’t a thing she could keep track of anymore.
She woke up the next morning with Windy in her arms and her engagement ring – engagement ring – on her hand. It was like a dream that never ended, only made more jarring when they picked out a matching ring for Windy and announced the news to everyone else.
Needless to say, the overwhelmed feeling had yet to subside. And now the wedding was just days away.
“Our baby sister is all grown up,” Spirits said, a small smile tugging at her lips as she ducked her head to blow on her cup of espresso. It was a condescending remark, but affectionate in the only way Spirits knew how to be. It was still a better reaction than what Magnum had gotten from Arrow, who hadn’t seemed to really react at all.
About time, Arrow had said with a shrug. She declined to join her and Spirits for coffee, apparently uninterested in discussing details.
And if she were being honest with herself, the last thing Magnum wanted to think about was the details. It was stressful enough already without making a big deal out of the small stuff but she wanted it to be special – Windy certainly deserved that, she thought with a slight blush. She frowned, hoping Spirits wouldn’t notice.
Spirits scoffed – oh, she’d noticed. “What’s that look for? You should be happy, right?” Spirits asked, squinting at Magnum, scrutinizing.
“I am happy!” Magnum retorted, not liking the inner brat Spirits always managed to coax out of her. “But that’s kind of the problem. I’m so happy and that means…” she started, swallowing as she struggled to put what her fear was into words. “That means if it goes wrong, it’ll be even more miserable than it would have been if I’d said no from the start,” she huffed. She glanced up and saw Spirits watching her, her expression coolly composed as always. It was like trying to talk about your feelings with a block of ice.
Spirits shook her head and took another sip of her coffee. “Looks like yours got cold,” she said, gesturing to the simple black Americano Magnum had ordered and then promptly forgot about. “That happens when you let things get away from you,” she said, her dark violet eyes glinting in the late afternoon sun.
Her eyes looked a lot like Windy’s, but her expression was never so bright or wide-eyed. Magnum sighed, taking the hint, idly palming at the sides of the now-cold coffee mug with both hands. “I suppose,” she replied, tempted to take a sip of the cold coffee anyway. What was she letting get away from her? If she’d said no, Windy would have gotten away. But she’d said yes… and was still afraid of losing something anyway.
She didn’t say anything more and Spirits hummed, apparently in understanding. The engagement ring glinted like Magnum imagined Windy’s eyes would in this lighting, giving off a pearly purple glow as the sun hit it just right.
.o.
That same afternoon, Windy had been busy trying to keep herself busy. She knew she couldn’t start with the plans in earnest until she’d gotten a chance to discuss things with Magnum and so, in the meantime, she had to channel her unbridled enthusiasm through some other means. She found herself in the locker room, tidying up soccer balls that had been left scattered beneath the benches. They’d probably been there for weeks and they weren’t really bothering anyone but damn, Windy needed something to keep herself preoccupied.
The shiny ring on her finger was impossible to escape though, occupying her every other thought.
“Wow, it’s neater in here than it has been in months,” someone said as they stepped into the locker room, dragging Windy from her giddy-anxious thoughts. “Nice work, Windy,” Ryuuken said, stopping short and looking around – not a single soccer ball out of place, the floors clearer of clutter than they ever had been.
Windy’s face flushed; she didn’t know why, really. There was no shame in cleaning but she felt like she’d been caught out anyway. “Oh, uh,” she started, standing up from where she’d been kneeling on the floor, an abrupt movement. A crash echoed through the locker room as she banged her head on an opened locker door, followed by the sound of her undignified yelp.
“Ow, ow,” she hissed, reaching up to rub at the top of her head as she stood all the way up.
“Are you alright?” Ryuuken asked, suddenly beside her, her voice filled to the brim with concern. “I didn’t mean to startle you,” she murmured as an apology.
Windy waved her off, managing to smile once her head stopped smarting so sharply. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. No worries,” she said, clapping Ryuuken on the shoulder with the hand not currently trying to rub the pain in her head out of existence. “Just distracted, is all,” she said absently, gesturing to the super-tidy locker room floors with a small measure of pride. “Just trying to keep busy.”
Ryuuken offered a small smile in turn. “I can imagine you must be very excited,” she said, her doe-like brown eyes glancing from Windy and down to the diamond ring glinting at them both. “Congratulations to you both again,” she said with an affirming nod. “I can’t believe it took you so long, if I’m being honest,” she added with a shy chuckle, a blush tinting her cheeks – it was a remarkably forward thing to say, for Ryuuken at least.
Windy blinked, thinking it over. Had the others seen this coming? Probably. How long had they had her and Magnum’s number? Sure, they’d been dating for a long while and Windy had known she wouldn’t want to spend her life with anyone else. But Magnum – Magnum was difficult to read.
This wasn’t helping at all with her pent-up nervous energy. “Really? I was a little surprised Magnum said yes so quickly,” she said with a dismissive laugh, trying to dispel the conversation with a shrug. “Thought she might want some time to think it over, or something.”
The small smile on Ryuuken’s face widened. “I’m not surprised at all,” she said with a soft laugh, bringing her hand up to her mouth to stifle it despite how harmless it was. “You shouldn’t be either,” she added, reaching to mirror Windy’s touch on her shoulder.
Windy blinked, but her smile softened and her cheeks started to feel unbearably warm. “Ah, I guess,” she said, ducking her head. “I think I need an ice pack for this headache,” she said, trying to deflect but Ryuuken just chuckled again.
Was it that obvious that she really wanted to shove her face into a bucket of ice to get it to cool down? She couldn’t help idly playing with the ring on her finger as she and Ryuuken walked down the hall, her thoughts spinning and her heart pounding in her chest.
Somehow, this wasn’t a dream. No matter what anyone said, she was a little surprised that this was real, and probably would be for the rest of her life. She couldn’t keep the silly smile off her face as they made it to Meckel’s for an ice pack and she had to convince the medic that no, really, she wasn’t concussed. Just really stupidly happy.
.o.
Weddings were not things that just happened, no matter how badly Magnum wanted it to be otherwise. There was so much planning to do and people to talk to and it exhausted her, even though Windy had taken up the bulk of organizing things. Which was a testament how important this all was – Windy had never been good at organizing anything. It had only taken their impending marriage to get her to care about dotting her i’s and crossing her t’s for once.
“The whole team is invited, of course,” Windy was saying, looking over the guest list with Ruri as Magnum fiddled with one of the sample placements cards they’d use at the reception tables. She just wanted to keep her hands busy while listening to them talk, not very invested in who was coming or not.
“Just Spirits and Arrow for me,” she’d told Windy when she’d asked who she’d like to invite. “Oh, and Richard but I assume Ruri will invite him anyway.”
As long as they were there as well as the rest of the team, that was all she could ask for. She was barely paying attention to what they were talking about but she kept hearing words like small and quiet and intimate, all of which made her smile. She didn’t like the idea of a big wedding.
“Magnum, what do you think?”
Her head jerked up, eyes going wide. Windy and Ruri were both looking at her expectantly. “Uh, sorry,” she said sheepishly, reaching up to duck her cap over her eyes some. “I didn’t hear what you said.”
Ruri chuckled but Windy was giving her a funny look. “Do you think we should do the reception outside if the weather stays nice?” Windy asked, trying to smile, but Magnum could tell it was taking some effort.
She blinked, shrugging. “Sure, nothing wrong with being outside if it’s nice,” she said, trying to offer a smile in return. Ruri nodded, seemingly satisfied, but Windy merely hummed in consideration.
“If it’s not too much trouble—“
“Nothing is too much trouble,” Ruri said emphatically, already grabbing the table placement setup grid from Windy and leaning over it in earnest. “Nothing is ever too much trouble for you two,” she said with a bright giggle, clearly in her element.
Magnum tried to swallow the guilt she felt bubbling up inside her. “Thank you,” she said quietly, looking back at the twisted piece of paper she’d made from the placement placard in her hands. She distinctly felt as though she’d said something wrong, but she couldn’t figure out what.
.o.
“You sure you’re okay with everything Ruri and me have been planning?” Windy asked as they walked back from Ruri’s office. The sun was starting to set to the left of them, hovering over the sea and streaking the sky red and orange. The ocean itself nearly looked violet – like Windy’s eyes, Magnum’s mind supplied, unhelpfully. The shadows of the boats on the water grew tall, spilling over them as they walked along.
“Yes,” Magnum said, feeling sure of her answer. “I trust you and Ruri and well,” she said, rubbing at the back of her neck with some shame. “I’m not very good with stuff like this. I’m sorry if I’ve left it all on you,” she said, the latent guilt she’d felt earlier in the meeting eating at her again.
Windy shook her head, the blonde of her hair streaking brilliantly with color in the late-evening sun. “No, no it’s all good. That’s not why I ask,” she said, and her voice cut off. Magnum knew what that meant – it meant that Windy was thinking about what she was going to say next, a rare occurrence that had her listening carefully. “I just don’t want to force you into this or anything,” she finally said, her voice quiet. “It’s okay if you’re not as into the idea,” she added, lifting her hand to self-consciously twist at the ring on her finger – the ring that matched Magnum’s, the one suddenly felt like it weighted a metric ton.
“What?” Magnum asked, stopping short. Windy stopped with her, turning to look at her. “It’s not that,” she said sharply, shaking her head. She could feel her face heating up and she desperately wished she could hide entirely underneath her cap. Her body felt hot, a queasy feeling settling in her gut.
Was she that bad at this? She was terrible, if Windy had started to doubt…
“That’s good!” Windy said, stepping up close to her and tilting her head, her long hair spilling over her shoulder as she narrowed her eyes, taking a close look at Magnum. She’s so pretty, Magnum thought, her mouth going dry at the memory of kissing her, holding her close. Those nice lips had kissed her back, had said such ridiculous and affectionate things, but now that pretty mouth was pulled down into a frown.
Magnum was terrible.
“I was just starting to worry that maybe I had sprung this on you too fast and you were starting to have second thoughts or something,” Windy continued. “Which is okay, if that’s what’s happening…”
Magnum shook her head again, her cap nearly falling off with how vigorously she moved. She was giving herself a headache but she desperately wanted Windy to understand; she wasn’t good at this. She never had been and never would be, and this is what Windy wanted to sign up for, forever?
The sudden depth of her inadequacy had her ducking her head, looking straight at the ground.
“Hey now,” Windy was saying, moving even closer and reaching to hold Magnum’s face in her hand. “Come on,” she murmured, tilting her face up with a gentle lift of her finger beneath Magnum’s jaw.
“Windy,” Magnum said, and her voice sounded like a warning siren before a storm, threatening to blow over. She tried to keep herself steady but Windy was looking at her with those pretty eyes, that pretty mouth…
“It’s okay,” Windy murmured, her thumb brushing along the line of Magnum’s brow, her fingers cupped by her ear. “If you need more time, it’s okay,” she said, her smile firmly in place. There was a hint of sadness in her voice, but her grin was genuine as always. “You can take as long as you need to, always.”
Magnum stared up at her violet eyes, the light doing wonderful things for her features. Windy is beautiful, she thought for the thousandth time, feeling the hand in Windy’s starting to tremble with the weight of what she was feeling. She was so incredibly lucky and Windy would always deserve more…
But she had asked. She’d asked – “Will you spend the rest of your life with me, Magnum Ace?” she’d said, with a ring in her hand and her heart in her smile, tears stinging in the corner of her eyes before she could even get through asking the question. Magnum knew Windy – Windy knew what she wanted. Which meant that Magnum knew that Windy wanted Magnum in her life forever and that was a terribly confusing thing to wrap her mind around.
It was a simple yes or no and she’d said, “Yes,” and she didn’t regret it for a moment, but would Windy? Someday, would she grow bored of the monotony of married life and wish for something else, for someone else…
At some point she had ducked her head, losing sight of Windy’s eyes and looking off in the distance past the taller Leaguer’s shoulder instead. “I don’t—“ she started, but stopped as soon as she heard her own voice, wet and hoarse as if it had gotten stuck in her throat for too long on the way up from her lungs. Her vision was going blurry and she blinked, trying to see straight, but then there were tears beading up on her cheeks, making it worse – why did she make everything worse?
She couldn’t see Windy’s face but she could imagine her pained expression as she murmured her name, brushing her tears away with a gentle swipe of her thumb. “It’s okay,” she said again, her voice steady still, no tears threatening to choke her like they had Magnum.
Magnum shook her head, resisting Windy’s touch. “It’s not okay,” she said, reaching up to wipe her own tears away with the back of her hand. She caught sight of the engagement ring and couldn’t help a grunting half-sob. “No, it is, it’s okay, I just don’t want to—“ hold you back, make you wait, give you up “—ruin anything,” she sighed, the words falling out of her finally. She dropped her hands back to her sides, her fists balled up tight. “I’m a good pitcher, and an alright girlfriend,” she said. “I don’t know what kind of wife I’ll be,” she said, shrugging miserably as she finally glanced back up at Windy, expecting her to look just as miserable or – worse – angry.
But Windy was smiling still, though it was a small and sad sort of smile, her eyes lit bright and her expression incredulous. “Aw, Magnum,” she said, using the hand she still had gently looped around the back of her neck to pull them closer. “You could never ruin this,” she said, chuckling as if the notion was the most absurd thing she’d ever heard. Maybe it was. “I want you, more than anything. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” she said, wrapping her arms around Magnum’s shoulders. “I want you to be my wife, if you want to be mine. I don’t expect anything more than that,” she murmured into Magnum’s ear, kissing at the base of her jaw to punctuate her impossibly warm words.
Magnum heaved a sigh, her final sob drying up as she hugged Windy close. “Windy,” she murmured, gratitude ripping at her ribcage as if it could escape and wrap itself around Windy. “I want you, too. Of course I do, I always do,” she said, burying her face against Windy’s neck, trying to hide, feeling exposed. “Thanks for wanting me too,” she said, finally.
Windy laughed, and it was the most beautiful sound. “Don’t have to thank me for that,” she said, pulling back to look Magnum square in the face; Magnum gasped a little, thinking she must look a wreck. “You make it easy,” she said with a wicked grin before leaning in to press a kiss to her fiancé’s lips, catching Magnum off guard but for just a moment.
She kissed her fiancé back, closing her eyes as the sun continued to set beside them. Windy tasted like summer, as always, and Magnum had never felt this warm.
.o.
“You want me to be what!?”
Windy blinked; she shouldn’t have been surprised by the upper limits of Ruri’s ability to be loud anymore. So much volume from such a small person.
“My maid of honor?”
“Why!?”
“Well, it’s all because of you and Silver Castle that Magnum and I even met, really,” she started to explain, but Ruri was suddenly in her face, grabbing her hands, thoroughly-flushed with a wide smile tugging at her cheeks. “Oh, Owner—“
“Yes, of course, I’d be honored!” Ruri said, reaching up to hug Windy about the shoulders. “This team is my life’s greatest accomplishment, but I’ll gladly take some credit for you two as well,” she said with a tear-filled laugh.
Windy hugged Ruri back. “I wouldn’t want anyone else for it,” she said, smiling like a fool.
.o.
“I don’t even drink coffee.”
“You don’t meet up for coffee to actually drink coffee,” Spirits said, glaring at Arrow. “And besides, it’s nice out. This place has a nice patio. Shut up,” she said, nudging her foot against Arrow’s as Magnum watched them bicker, fiddling with the Americano she’d ordered once again.
Fighter Arrow shrugged, playing with the straw sticking out of her tap water as she looked Magnum’s way. “It is nice out,” she offered, managing a small smile for her younger sister’s sake. “This is a nice place. I see why you keep inviting us here,” she said, and Magnum felt a little vindicated – maybe Arrow would actually come meet with them now that she knew the point wasn’t actually the coffee.
It was the atmosphere, the way such places had a way of making everything seem comfortable. And she had a feeling that, a long time ago, the Silver Sisters had done things like this – frivolous and silly things, foreign to them now that they were older and made harder by life.
“The patio’s nice, and Spirits likes the espresso,” she said with a smile as her oldest sister took a sip as if to demonstrate.
“Eugh,” Arrow said, shaking her head. “It smells bitter.”
“Maybe you’d like it, then.”
Arrow was amusingly easy to rattle but Magnum wanted to keep them on-topic. “Uh, but I did want to ask you two something. About the wedding,” she said, saying the last word quietly, as though she was afraid she’d scare it away. She still could hardly believe it was happening, even after waking up to Windy’s countdown on their calendar every morning.
“I wanted to know if you two could be my maids of honor,” she said, feeling ridiculous saying it. How unconventional could this get? The tips of ears were warm even as she said it, and it only got worse the longer it took her sisters to answer.
Arrow smiled and Magnum was scared for a moment – a smiling Arrow could result in a lot of things, not all of them good – but then she was laughing and getting up from her seat, walking over to hug Magnum where she sat. “Couldn’t just pick one of us?”
“No-no, of course not,” Magnum said against her sister’s shoulder, her voice muffled against the broad muscles. “I wanted you both—“
“Seems like the only fair way to do it,” Spirits said and Magnum blinked, surprised that she had gotten up too. She leaned in to half-hug Magnum about her shoulders, doing what she could while Arrow nearly smothered her. “The answer is yes, of course,” she said, and her oldest sister offered her the smallest of smiles and Magnum felt impossibly, stupidly lucky to have this little family of hers.
.o.
It was all easy from there. At some point, Ruri had taken things over and there wasn’t much left for Magnum and Windy to do anyway. Dresses and suits had been picked out, catering confirmed, reception reservations set – all of it, it was all set.
Now all they had to do was actually get married.
“Crazy, huh,” Windy said, reaching to brush Magnum’s hair from her eyes, looking into her pretty green eyes and feeling like she could fall in love all over again. It felt warmer than normal in their bed and Windy was sure it was because they were both nervous, the giddy energy doing nothing good for their hearts.
Magnum hummed, nuzzling her head against the pillow and sighing as her hair fell into her face again. “Your last night as a single woman,” she said, teasing gently. “If you want to escape, now’s your chance.”
“Never!” Windy said fiercely, laughing as she scooted closer to Magnum, gathering her fiancé in her arms and holding her against her chest. “You’re mine and tomorrow the whole world’s gonna know it if they don’t already,” she said, burying her nose into the top of Magnum’s head, taking in the scent of her. She always smelled of fresh-cut grass, sun-kissed dust. The essence of a perfect summer afternoon.
Magnum didn’t say anything at first and for a moment Windy worried she might have over done it. But then:
“I love you, Mach Windy,” she said, kissing at the base of her neck as she returned her hug and tangled their legs together beneath the sheets, her desire to be close manifesting physically.
Windy sighed happily. “I love you, Magnum Ace,” she murmured, feeling as though her heart might explode with how much she meant it.
.o.
Morning came at them like a whirlwind. It wasn’t long before Magnum was sitting in one of the side rooms of the nice function hall Silver Castle had booked for them. It was a beautiful building, edges styled in marble with a simple elegance leant to its steel architecture. It was classic and modern all at once and she thought it fit her and Windy impeccably well.
She looked in the mirror and strove to fit the aesthetic of such a grand place. Her suit fit perfectly – dresses were not her thing, would never be her thing, and Windy had hardly minded once she’d seen the final product when Magnum had gotten it back from the tailor. She liked the look of the suit, even if she felt stiff in the expensive fabric.
“You’re not gonna tear it if you lift your arms,” Arrow said from where she was sitting, her legs propped up on a table. She was also wearing a suit, looking particularly well-built with how sharp her shoulders looked.
Magnum smiled, glancing at Spirits. Her oldest sister was sitting in a more reserved position, her elegant silver-blue gown pooling like a crystal puddle where her feet met the ground. “Doesn’t hurt to be careful,” she said, glancing Magnum over and smiling despite the detached air she was still trying to put on in front of so many people. “You look good,” she said, and Magnum smiled.
.o.
It was time. The ceremony started and Magnum couldn’t stop the ringing in her ears as she stood in front of their entire team, their friends, their family. There were so many eyes on her and her heart was beating so loudly, she was certain everyone could hear it. Finally, finally the doors in the back of the room opened and there was something else for them to look at.
Magnum’s eyes went wide and her heart only pounded harder against her ribcage.
Windy looked like an angel. Her golden hair was done up in a loose ponytail reminiscent of the one she always wore, but with braided pieces artfully holding the locks up in the misty gauze of her veil. The glossy dress billowed behind her, as dramatic as Magnum had anticipated, but she could have never anticipated just how beautiful she’d look in white. The dress traced her curves elegantly before coming to a split low over her left thigh, exposing her tanned legs just enough for everyone to recall that oh yes, this was an athlete.
And her eyes, visible through the veil, were as locked onto Magnum as Magnum’s eyes were locked to her. She felt her heart skip a beat and she distantly wondered if anyone had ever died at their own wedding before.
She had just managed to get her breathing under control by the time Windy reached the front, joining her in front of everyone and wow – wow, she looked even more amazing up close. Windy must have noticed her staring because she blushed deeply enough for it to be visible beneath the veil.
They reached for each other’s hands, and Magnum was gratified to feel Windy’s hands were trembling just like hers. She knew this was a ceremony, where listening to things was supposed to be important, but she felt impossibly lost, gazing into the eyes of the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Windy was always beautiful but she was dream-like today.
And she couldn’t know it, but Windy was thinking the same exact thing about her.
Weeks of anticipation crashed over her as she finally admitted to herself that yes, this was real. This was happening. It happened, and she was prompted to lift Windy’s veil and she did, moving the fabric away with shaking fingers.
“You may now kiss the bride!”
The words were hardly said before Windy was reaching for her, leaning in to press a searing kiss to her lips. She reached to frame Windy’s face with her hands, feeling tears as she swept her thumbs over her cheeks and she knew, she was crying too. She kissed her until they were both out of breath, seeing stars as her lungs starved for oxygen but damn, she could have died right then and been immensely happy with such an ending.
.o.
EPILOGUE
Honeymoons suited Windy extremely well. It took Magnum a little longer to adjust to the idea of doing nothing as their reward for falling in love and getting married, but she eventually got with the program. And it’s not like this much sun and sand was all that easy to resist to start with.
Windy walked across the white-hot beach with drinks in hand, a fruity spritzer for her and an iced water for Magnum. She stepped carefully as soon as she got back to where they’d set up for the day, not wanting to kick up sand. Magnum looked a little silly, huddled beneath a giant umbrella that was propped over her chair, her legs curled up to her chest to help prop her book up. “Here you are, Mrs. Windy,” she said with a teasing chuckle.
Magnum looked up, shaking her head. This was not the first time she’d heard that joke. “Thank you, Mrs. Ace,” she replied in turn, nodding towards Windy’s seat that was unashamedly out in the sun. “Let me know if you want some shade,” she said, glancing back up at Windy and smiling wryly. “You’re lucky you don’t burn,” she said with a laugh at her own expense.
“Hey, you look cute when you’re a little pink,” Windy said, leaning under the umbrella to press a kiss to her spluttering wife’s lips, choking off the complaints about a totally-avoidable sunburn if only we had remembered sunscreen—
“It’ll be a tan in a few days,” Magnum mumbled breathlessly once they let up, smiling again.
Windy plopped herself down in her beach chair, sighing as she drank up the sun, feeling warm from the bones outward. “You’ll look cute then too,” she said, lolling her head over to watch Magnum as she read. “You always look cute.”
Magnum blushed, still visible despite the sunburn, and Windy chuckled, idly watching as she read. They had a whole beach to explore, a lovely ocean in front of them, but there was nothing prettier than her wife to look at here, or anywhere.
She sighed happily and reached for Magnum’s hand; Magnum hummed and twined their fingers together, like she always did. It was impossibly perfect and the future stretched out in front of them like the sea reaching out into the horizon, going onward forever. It was just as beautiful, and just as sure.