For probably a solid thirty seconds, I stare at Raj in stunned disbelief. Then I reach out and pick the case up, push open the top.

What I find inside is a perfect twin to Raj’s own engagement ring. Simple, shining, and golden.

I stare at it, thunderstruck, then lift my gaze to Raj.

“Holy shit,” I stammer. “Raj - really? This - this is for Noah?”

“It is, and you know what? I felt right, buying that. Every time I thought about asking him to be my best man, I felt all kinds of wrong about it. Like I was asking him the wrong question.” Raj nods at the ring. “That right there, that’s the right question. That’s the one I really want to ask him.”

I look down at the ring again, speechless. A tidal wave of warmth and delight is crashing in slow motion over my head as this starts to sink in. I’m so ridiculously overcome with excitement for Noah, so happy for all three of them that I can’t even find any words.

“I know that there are reasons not to do it.” Raj is twisting his own engagement ring around his finger, watching me. “I know that it can’t be legal - that it’s technically illegal, but-”

“That’s no fucking reason not to do it, man,” I interrupt sharply.

Raj stops, a startled expression on his face. That’s fair. I don’t normally sound so aggressive when I speak, and I can feel the heat in my cheeks, this time from a spike of anger.

It’s not directed towards Raj, but he’s caught off-guard by my response, and I clear my throat, my fingers tightening around the ring box.

“I’m sorry,” I say quickly, trying to calm down. “It’s just… do you know when same-sex marriage was legalized in the States? Because it was not that long ago. It was illegal for more than twenty years of my life, and I’m only twenty-six.” I take a deep breath, loosening my grip on the velvet case. “Yes, what you’re talking about isn’t legal, but that doesn’t automatically make it wrong. Laws don’t just spring up out of nowhere, or out of some - inarguable moral correctness, okay? People write them, and those people have their own motivations, and sometimes those people just straight up don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about.”

Raj still looks taken aback, but now he seems thoughtful, too.

“Seriously, man,” I say quietly. “Just a couple of years ago, Aiden and I wouldn’t have been able to get legally married, either. But I would have done it anyways, even if we couldn't sign the papers. You should, too, if this is what you want.”

Raj’s eyebrows shoot all the way up, and for the first time in a minute, he cracks a grin.

“Aw!” he says, positively beaming. “You want to marry Aiden, dude?”

“What-?” I stare at Raj in blank confusion, then realize all at once what I just said. My cheeks start to burn, and I nearly drop the ring. “Oh - hold up, I didn’t say - it was an example! Don’t change the subject, it’s not about whether or not I want to marry Aiden, it’s about how you want to marry Noah!”

Raj holds up his hands and spreads his fingers, starting to laugh.

“Okay, bro, I wasn’t-”

“Don’t you go saying anything to Aiden, either!” I hear my voice picking up tempo, and I press my fingers to my cheeks, willing them to cool down. I forgot I was holding the ring, but the brush of velvet is a reminder. I shove the box up into Raj’s face, stabbing a finger at it as I speak. “This is what we’re talking about, okay? I didn’t say - don’t-”

“Dear God, Jamie, breathe,” Raj laughs, pushing my hand out of his face.

I’m embarrassed and flustered, and also sort of shocked at myself, but - it does feel good to see a more familiar expression on Raj’s face. It seems to comfort him, too, to be smiling again. He clearly feels more at home this way.

“Chill, man, chill,” he says, running a hand up and down my shoulder, half-laughing. “I won’t say anything, alright? No need to go haywire. And I - I get your point. About this.” His eyes move back to the ring, and his expression grows serious again. “I know we can’t do it in the legal sense, but I figure we can still make all the same promises, right?”

“Exactly,” I tell him firmly, pushing the box back into his hands.

Raj gazes down at the small golden curve of Noah’s ring.

“You’re - more on board with this than I expected,” he says, glancing up at me.

“Because it’s good to trust yourself, Raj, and that’s what you’re doing here.” I point to the ring. “You have a deeply-felt conviction that this is the right question to ask Noah, right? Then it probably is. It’s like your house. You and Noah took a structure that someone else handed to you, and you were creative and thoughtful, and you worked hard, and you built something new together. Something that works for you, and answers your specific needs, and feels like home.” I tap my finger on the ring box. “This, your relationship with Noah and Melanie, it’s the same kind of thing. You don’t need to use anybody else’s blueprints.”

Raj doesn’t answer for a long moment, and I can’t help but add on:

“What the three of you have is something special. To not do it, in the name of like - conformity... that just sounds like a huge fucking waste, to me.”

Raj’s eyes flit up from the ring to find mine.

“I really do feel like there’s no such thing as too much love,” he says. “If that love is - unoppressive, and joyful. And I think that ours is.”

For the second time tonight, a wave of warmth moves through me, and I smile at Raj, tipping my head to the side.

“Sounds like you already know the answer,” I tell him. “I mean, obviously you do. You got Noah a ring, dude.”

Raj laughs again, but fades off, biting the inside of his cheek.

“You think Noah is ready, though?” he asks. “For this kind of love? I know he’s been sort of - working on finding himself, since he got free from Ralph.”

I remember the conversation that Noah and I had in the parking lot of Mugshot, his grey eyes stormy and his voice breaking as he told me that he didn’t want to be alone anymore. I had the distinct feeling of talking to someone who’d gone hungry for so long that he’d almost stopped noticing the feeling.

When that happens, the smallest taste can make you realize that you’re actually starving.

I think of Melanie accidentally kissing Noah. The look on his face afterwards.

“Yeah, I think he’s ready, Raj. More than ready. That’s why you have to talk to him about this. He’s having a really hard time figuring it out on his own. I don’t think he has any idea how either of you feel.”

Raj groans loudly, tipping his head back.

“You know what? Just kill me, dude. This is too hard.”

“Raj.”

“I know, I know.” Raj sets the ring box down on the counter, then rubs his temples, looking pained. “Buying the ring was one thing, but actually doing this, that’s another. I’m asking Noah for a lot, Jamie. I’m not just asking him if he wants to be with Melanie forever, but with me, too, and I’m asking him to co-parent my child. I have to assume a whole lot about the way he feels.” Raj looks away, blinking hard. “I’m fucking terrified. I don’t even know how to talk to Melanie about this, much less Noah. Every time I think I’m ready, it just hits me that once I open this door, there’s no going back. Whatever comes of it, good or bad, there’s no going back to the way things were.”

“That’s - true,” I say slowly, “But I really think that if you just talk to him-”

“Has Noah said anything to you about it? Literally, anything? Because if I had even one sign from him, any indication, that would make everything so much easier.”

“No, he hasn’t said anything,” I admit. “I’m just - going off of his behavior, I guess.”

This isn’t good enough for Raj. I can read it in his eyes. I close mine for a second, trying to think.

“Okay, if you can’t make yourself talk to Noah about it, then you need to talk to Mel. Can you find it in yourself to talk to her?”

“I’ve… been looking for the right moment.” Raj lets out a shaky breath, running a hand through his hair. “Maybe - maybe now that I’ve talked to you…”

My heart leaps in excitement.

“Really?” I smack his arm, a giant grin rising on my face. “Oh, my god, yay! You can do it, Raj, I know you can!”

“But what about Noah?” he asks, picking up the ring again. “How do I…?”

A realization dawns on me. I haven’t talked to Noah about any of this because I don’t want to overstep, nor do I want to suddenly yank him up a ladder he’s been working so hard to climb rung by rung.

But it might not be overstepping if I have permission.

“Raj, do you want me to talk to Noah about it?”

“Shit no, dude, are you-? You can’t tell him about this!” Raj snaps the ring box closed and stuffs it into his pocket, his eyes wide with alarm. “Jamie, holy shit - promise me that you won’t-”

“No, not about the ring! I won’t tell him anything you said, I swear! I meant that I can try to talk to him about his feelings on what’s happening with you guys. If talking about it helped you, it could help him, right?”

Raj draws in a relieved breath, then goes quiet, thinking it over.

“You could find a way to do that without sending him heading for the hills?”

“I, um… yeah, maybe.”

“Wow, that’s some resounding confidence you’ve got there, bro,” Raj groans.

“Just give me a little time to figure out how to approach him,” I say, twisting the sleeve of my flannel between my fingers. “In the meantime, you need to talk to Melanie.”

Raj winces, the anxiety on his face apparent. I wish so badly that I could tell him about the talk I had with Mel, but I promised.

“Raj.” I poke his shoulder, and he looks at me uneasily, biting his lip. “Just talk to her. Everything is going to be okay. I’m saying that confidently, and I can’t lie.”

Raj lets out a long, slow breath, and nods, resolve hardening in his brown eyes.

“Okay. Yes. I’m gonna do it. I’ll - I’ll find a way. I’ll talk to her.”

I break into a wide grin, then slap his arm again, this time way harder.

“Fuck yeah, dude!” I yell, startling him into a laugh. “Proud of you, man!”

“Alright,” he groans. “I’m gonna die if we talk about one more heavy thing. Can we get my girl some flowers, or?”

“Yes.” I’m already heading back behind the counter, smiling at him over my shoulder. “Let’s do it.”

Raj watches me sort the flowers, his chin resting on his palm, a contemplative look on his face.

“Think it’s probably better that I talk to Melanie first, anyways.” He pats his pocket, where the ring is tucked away. “Better that it comes from both of us, right?”

I try to envision Melanie and Raj coming to Noah with this, together.

The thought makes me so happy that I don’t know what to say, so I slip another flower into the vase, and don’t say anything at all.

~~~~

The flowers came out looking nice, if I do say so myself. The arrangement is a riot of bright red petals, threaded through with splashes of ochre and dusky purple, framed in pale green leaves. An unusual winter bouquet, but it feels exactly right for Melanie.

I stand by the display window and watch Raj head back to his car, the vase cradled in his arms. He uses the side of his coat to shield the flowers from the wind as he walks.

The bouquet isn’t the only beautiful thing that Raj is about to offer Melanie. Maybe not tonight, but - I heard the determination in his voice. He’s gonna do it.

Which leaves me to talk to Noah.

I go back among the plants, taking long, deep breaths. I have so much to process from tonight. Raj just let me in on such a massive secret.

Suddenly I’m about to burst, and I need to talk to my Companion Plant.

Aiden answers his phone on the second ring.

“What’s up, Keane?” His voice is warm and teasing, and a little drowsy. “You missing me?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. That’s nice. Don’t hate hearing that.”

“Did I wake you up?”

“Nah, I’m just tired. Worked sort of late tonight by accident. Easy to lose track of time in the archives.”

“Are you there right now?”

“No… why, is everything okay?”

I want to scream into the phone that Raj bought an engagement ring for Noah. I’m bouncing up and down with my eyes squeezed shut, actively forcing myself to get control.

“Everything’s great,” I tell Aiden, in what I hope is a calm and relaxed voice.

“Jamie?” He suddenly sounds a lot more awake. “What happened?”

“Nothing happened!”

“Then why are you yelling?”

“I am not yelling,” I say, at a considerably lower volume. “See?”

“Yeah, now you sound very extremely normal.”

“Babe,” I groan. “I promise I’ll tell you, as soon as it’s cool for me to tell you.”

“Okay…”

“It’s just - it’s not my secret, so I - it’s - I can’t - seriously, I can’t - of course I want to tell you!”

“Oh, man.” A deep chuckle comes from Aiden’s end of the line. “That was a lot of fumfering, even for you.”

“My mouth doesn’t work,” I grumble, to another huffing laugh.

“Says the guy who undid the button on my jeans using only his teeth the other night. Which I’m still thinking about, by the way.”

“Stop it,” I laugh, pressing a hand to my forehead. “The point is, don’t pressure me, please! Because I will crack, and I’m putting in a hell of an effort not to.”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine. You’re more than capable.” The low rumble of Aiden’s voice reverberates through my chest, even over the phone. “You’ve kept my secrets all this time, haven’t you? And they’re pretty gigantic ones. Give yourself some credit.”

I stop, smiling to myself, love warming my heart.

“You always make me feel better,” I say, then drop my voice to a soft murmur. “Hey... you want to come over to my place, when my shift is over?”

There’s a pause, and then Aiden says, all casually: “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Maybe?” I ask, around an indignant laugh. “Oh, wow. Okay.”

“Yeah, maybe I will, maybe I won’t,” he says lazily. “You want to tell me the secret, or what?”

“Oh, my fucking god.” I shake my head at no one, tapping my fingers on the countertop. “Tell you what, I’ll make you a deal.”

“Better be good,” he yawns. “I’m all cozy in bed, I don’t mind staying here.”

“If you come over, I won’t tell you the secret, but I will do the thing to the button of your jeans again. How does that s-?” I break off, alarmed, hearing a crashing sound from his end of the line. “Aiden? Are you-?”

“Just let me get my shoes on!” I hear him yelling from a distance, like he dropped his phone. “Be there in five!”

“Aiden!” I laugh, but he’s already hung up.

I lower my phone, and the glow of a nearby heat lamp catches on my ring. I go still, looking down at it. I’m thinking of what I accidentally said to Raj earlier, about me and Aiden.

This ring was for the heist, and we’ve long since completed that mission. But I’ve been wearing it every day, ever since. I haven’t even really thought about why.

I stand there staring at it until Aiden arrives at the shop and gathers me into his arms. As always, his smile, his closeness, the burst of warm breath as he laughs into my neck - it all makes me forget about everything else. And I need to, just for a little bit. I snuggle up against his chest, let my mind clear completely.

Tomorrow, I’ll start thinking about how to talk to Noah.

Tonight, I just want to be with the man who put this ring on my finger.