I wake up with rain roaring in my ears.

I stir in the warmth of the sleeping bags, snug and drowsy, slow to open my eyes. I feel Aiden’s body against mine. I was asleep with my head on his chest, which explains the gentle rising and falling sensation.

The rush of the rain is soothing, the air smells like a storm, and I’m so blissfully cozy. I could doze off again so easily.

But some thought is scratching at me, trying to get my attention. I listen to it just long enough to remember that Aiden and I slept outside, in the back of Raj's truck. And it’s - definitely raining. Even if I couldn’t hear it, I could taste it in the damp, electric air.

A deep rumble of thunder pushes me the rest of the way to full consciousness.

I lift my head from Aiden’s chest, looking around sleepily. Then I sit bolt upright and suck in a sharp breath, my eyes widening.

The fluttering drizzle from last night has broken out into a massive storm. Rain is cascading through the trees, the branches swaying and rolling with the wind. The color of the evergreens is particularly vivid against the tones of steel grey everywhere else. Shimmering droplets batter down on them, spilling through the pine needles, making them glitter like emeralds.

A white mist clings to the forest floor, and pools of water make mirrors in the bed of fallen leaves. All the little dwellers of the forest are gone, in hiding.

The downpour is immense and powerful, the sound of it like the forceful rush of a waterfall. And yet. I'm perfectly dry. So is Aiden.

The rain is impacting on some invisible, gently sloping dome over our heads, a barrier wrapped only around the bed of the truck. The droplets spill down towards us, then dissolve into steam and vanish. It’s like watching the rainfall from within a miniature greenhouse. Only there’s no glass, and I can feel the wind blustering against my cheek.

We’re held in an invisible safe place. A Guardian-made shelter in the midst of a thunderstorm.

I stare and stare for a while, speechless. Then I look down at my Companion Plant, who is still cuddled up in the downy bed we made for ourselves last night.

I stroke my fingers through his soft chestnut hair, but he doesn’t move. He’s asleep, which means - he’s not doing this on purpose.

“Wow, Heliomancer,” I murmur, and let out a staggered little laugh.

I unlock my phone and snap some pictures of the rain, of the canopy of protection formed by Aiden’s heat. I take a few of him snuggled down in the sleeping bags, too. Then I put both of our phones deep into Aiden's backpack, just to be safe.

"Aiden." I give his arm a gentle shake. “Aiden, hey.”

“Mmm.” His deep voice is rough, unwound with sleep. “You alright, Keane?”

“Yeah, but you’re gonna wake up to something, um - unusual, so just stay calm, okay?”

Aiden's eyebrows furrow in confusion.

“Something unusual?” he mumbles tiredly, his eyes slowly blinking open. “What-?”

He catches sight of what’s going on around us, right as a very loud, startling crack of thunder rattles through the air. A surge of wind pushes through the trees, through Aiden’s hair as he snaps upright, his blue eyes wide and alarmed.

The heat barrier wavers. A few droplets come tumbling through it.

“Aiden,” I say quickly, “It’s okay, just-”

My words come too late. Aiden has clearly been torn out of the tranquil headspace where he was easily holding onto this unintentional magic. Without him to anchor it, the heat barrier wavers again, and - gives out.

The storm comes crashing down onto us.

We’re both drenched in seconds. I find myself gasping for breath, struggling to see through the rain. I hear Aiden trying to say something, but another roll of thunder drowns out his words. I seize his backpack, then feel him seize my arm.

“What do we do?” I shout, pushing my hair out of my eyes.

“Bail!” he yells, and we both go scrambling to escape the truck bed, slipping in the waterlogged sleeping bags, falling over each other and into each other.

I land on the leafy carpet of the forest floor, and Aiden springs down next to me. But we both freeze, hearing someone else shouting through the rain. Calling for us.

Aiden and I both spin on the spot, searching for the source. I’m just starting to wonder if we imagined it when we hear it again.

“Jamie! Aiden!”

We exchange a look, then stumble around the side of the truck. We nearly crash right into Raj, who was sprinting in the opposite direction.

He gasps and staggers backwards, his brown eyes wide and round. He’s just as drenched as we are, rain dripping from his black curls.

“Oh, thank god!” he shouts. “Come on, let’s go!”

We follow him through the trees, running hard up the road until we spot Melanie’s car. Raj unlocks it, and all three of us go diving inside. Raj and Aiden in the front, me in the backseat with the backpack. All three of us are panting, wildly out of breath.

“Holy shit,” Raj sputters, tossing his drenched curls out of his eyes. “Are you guys okay?”

“Yeah,” Aiden manages, still looking a little dazed. “We’re - we’re fine.”

“God, am I happy to see you two!" Raj stammers, putting a hand over his heart. "When I looked in the truck and you weren’t there... you're sure you’re alright? Oh, god, you guys got totally soaked, I’m so sorr-”

Raj breaks off in surprise as both Aiden and I dissolve into laughter. He stares at us, taken aback.

“What-?”

“Sorry, Raj. It’s just - this is a thing that seems to happen to me and Aiden, like, a lot.” I gesture to our soaked clothes and hair. “You have no idea how many times we’ve ended up looking like this.”

Raj blinks, absorbing that.

“Well - I’m glad to see you laughing,” he says, his voice suddenly a little strained.

I pull myself together and lean forward, wincing.

“I’m sorry we didn’t get your truck to Greenrock, man,” I tell him. “I tried to take it slow, but I guess-”

I stop as Raj laughs, then groans, dropping his face into his hands.

“Jamie, why the fuck are you apologizing to me? It’s my fault that you guys got stranded in the middle of nowhere!” He lifts his head, his eyes swimming with guilt. “I’m so, so sorry. I had no idea the engine was in such bad shape. You should have seen me when I woke up and saw your text. I absolutely lost my shit-”

“Raj,” Aiden interrupts, “We’re not mad at you.”

Raj pauses, then twists his fingers together anxiously, staring at Aiden. “No?”

“No,” I jump in. “I was just sorry that we didn’t get your truck to where it needed to be.”

“Don’t even worry about that.” Raj waves a reassuring hand at me. “I talked to Jordan, she and her boyfriend are just gonna come get it, so-”

He cuts himself off, apparently just now processing what Aiden and I said.

“Seriously?” He seems doubtful, but he's looking at us hopefully. “Because - I really don’t blame you, if you guys are pissed at me.”

Aiden uses his firm, no-arguments voice to answer.

“We're not, man. It was no problem, we just camped out. I had a pretty nice time, personally.”

“I did, too,” I add, to a warm smile from Aiden.

Raj’s eyes blink over to me, and it seems to dawn on him that I can’t lie. He peers into my face, then slumps down in his seat, his shoulders drooping with relief.

“Okay.” He lets out a long breath, closes his eyes for a second. “Okay, good. I’m glad it wasn’t terrible. Still - Mugshot is on me this morning. I will literally walk through this storm to go in there and pick it up. What’s the largest size they sell? That’s what I’m getting you.”

“Raj,” Aiden laughs, “It’s fine, man, you really don’t need to-”

“Um!” I lean up to press a finger over Aiden’s lips. “Please don’t turn down free coffee on my behalf, dude.”

“You heard him,” Raj tells Aiden. “C’mon, let me do something to make it up to you. Even if it's just coffee.”

Aiden holds his hands up in surrender, and Raj gives him a relieved smile. He faces forward, takes another long, steadying breath, and turns on the car.

We drive in silence for a minute as Aiden and I get settled in. Only the sound of the rain thrumming on the roof populates the car. My eyes go back to Raj, who is being surprisingly quiet.

I’m realizing that he looks deep in thought, staring straight ahead. His leg is doing a fast, nervous bounce.

I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees, my eyes on his angular face.

“Raj - is everything okay, man?”

“What? Oh - yeah.” He finger-combs his wet curls out of his eyes, then leaves his hand there. “I’m just starting to get nervous. About, you know. Asking Noah if he wants to marry me and Mel.”

I freeze, then turn to look at Aiden, whose head just jerked sharply back. His blue eyes get huge, and he freezes, too, staring at Raj from the passenger’s seat.

“Um, Raj,” I stammer, “Aiden is here, and he doesn’t know about this, so-”

“I’m panicking a little, to tell you the truth,” Raj continues, like he didn’t even hear me. He chews anxiously on his thumbnail, gripping the steering wheel tightly. “I’m just worried, because if Noah doesn’t want this - if god forbid he gets totally freaked out and bolts - I don’t know what the fuck I’m gonna do. Can’t imagine life without him, you know?”

I glance rapidly back and forth between Raj and Aiden, my fingers pressed to my cheeks. “I - um-”

“What?” Aiden asks softly, blinking hard and fast. “Raj - what?”

“That’s actually the errand I had to take care of.” Raj runs a hand over his face, his knee still bouncing. “I went to get the key to my cousin’s house before she leaves town for a while. She lives a couple of hours down the coast, she’s got this beautiful place on the beach. That’s where I asked Mel to marry me, so that’s where we want to ask Noah, too. So the place can have the same, um, special significance for all of us. And picking up the key, it was like - I've had the ring for a while, but suddenly it just felt so real. Like, this is happening.”

Aiden’s mouth is slowly dropping all the way open, his eyes growing even wider, his eyebrows arched as high as they go.

I clear my throat, then poke Raj’s arm. “Raj, dude-”

“That’s why I asked you guys to take the truck, and not Noah. That’s actually what he thinks I was doing last night, taking the truck to Jordan. So back me up on that, if he asks. Well - not you, Jamie. Don’t try to lie. Just - don’t answer. But don’t make it weird.”

“Raj,” I say again, a little louder.

“I know, you keep telling me not to worry,” Raj says, now clutching the steering wheel with both hands. “But I have to think of the consequences if this doesn’t go right. Not just for me and Mel, but for Nik, too - she’s so attached to Noah already, I can tell-”

“Raj!” I almost shout.

Raj startles, glances hastily back at me. “Oh - sorry, what?”

“Is it okay if Aiden knows about you proposing to Noah?” I ask haltingly. “Because - you just told him.”

Raj freezes, then abruptly swerves the car to the side of the road. He puts it in park and turns to stare at Aiden, who stares back at him. Silence descends on the car again, aside from the steady drumming of the rain.

“Aiden,” Raj finally stammers, “I forgot that you didn’t know, I’ve been so distracted - um, I know it's a little unusual, but I really think that the three of us-”

“Raj,” Aiden interrupts, his face still blank with shock, “You’re - you're gonna ask Noosh to marry you and Mellie?”

Raj bites his lip. “Ah… yeah.”

Aiden’s lips slowly turn up in a huge, thrilled grin. He twists to catch my eye, and I sit back with my hands over my mouth, trying not to laugh at the expression on his face.

“Oh my god!” he shouts, slapping Raj’s arm. “Holy shit! Oh, dude, he’s gonna be so happy!”

Raj blinks at Aiden, staring at him with startled brown eyes. A relieved smile spreads across his face, one which he quickly bites down on.

“I - you think so, man?’

“Are you kidding?” Aiden huffs out a laugh, beaming at Raj. “Yes, bro. Oh my god, yes.”

“Seriously, Raj,” I chime in, leaning forward again. “I’m so sure this wedding is gonna happen, I’ve already started sketching out the flowers.”

Raj’s dark, warm eyes search Aiden’s, then mine. He sits back in the driver’s seat, lets his hands drop into his lap.

He plucks at his sleeve, staring down at it. “You guys seem so sure.”

Aiden smiles, knocks Raj on the shoulder with his fist.

“We are, man,” he says, deep conviction in his voice. “I’ve been friends with Noosh since we were freshmen, alright? There’s an eight-year gap in there, but I’d say I know him pretty fucking well. And I can concretely say that I’ve never seen him as happy as he is when he’s around you two.”

Raj steals a glance at Aiden, then turns to stare out through the rainy windshield.

“You told me yourself that you know this is the right thing to do,” I say gently, after a minute. “You and Mel, you love Noah, right?”

Raj laughs shakily, then nods. “He’s real easy to love, man. Just look at him.”

“That’s funny,” Aiden rumbles, folding his arms over his chest. “I mean - he looks like trouble.”

“Yeah,” Raj murmurs, an affectionate look in his brown eyes. “I didn’t say he doesn’t.”

Aiden and I both laugh, and Raj gives us another small smile. He takes a longer breath, deeper.

"Honestly, Raj," I pin on, "Noah's just as crazy about you as you are about him. Bet that he's thinking about you right n-"

I break off as Raj's phone starts vibrating. Raj glances down at it, then picks it up and puts it on speaker.

“Raj,” Noah says sleepily, his voice indicating that he only just got up. “Where are you, man? Mel and I woke up and you were gone. You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Raj says quickly. “Had something come up, but I’m on my way back. Just gonna stop at Mugshot first.”

“Sweet,” Noah yawns. “Love Mugshot, nice place. Only been kidnapped from there like, once.”

Raj lets out a snort of laughter, then nibbles his lip, looking down at his phone. “I’ll be back soon, alright?”

“Alright.”

“Love you,” Raj says.

There’s a pause, then a soft, drowsy laugh from Noah’s end of the line.

“Shut up,” he answers, but it sounds very much like I love you, too.

Raj seems to get that message, because he’s smiling as he ends the call.

“Thanks, boys,” he says, after a minute. “Think I just - needed to hear all that.”

Aiden and I exchange a covert smile.

“When are you gonna ask, Raj?"

“Two weeks from today,” Raj says quietly. “That’s when I’ve got the beach house trip planned for us. I was kind of hoping you guys would come with us, actually. Then we can make it seem like we’re all just gonna go surf, you know? But - honestly, I’m all out of favors to ask you two, so if you don’t want to come-”

“Oh my god, of course we’ll come!” I cut in, and Aiden nods, his blue eyes smiling and excited.

“We’d be happy to, dude.”

Raj gives us a grateful smile, takes another deep breath, and puts the car back in drive.

Aiden starts asking follow-up questions, and Raj, who is in a much brighter mood than before, seems happy to answer them.

I sit back and listen to the rain, feeling warm inside.

Noah is about to get hit with the realization that he’s got a lifetime supply of all the love he can handle. He touched the bottom, but now he’s about to touch undreamed-of heights.

I’m radiantly happy to know that Aiden and I will be there to see it.