I only went to the kitchen to get something to drink, but now I’ve paused there, staring happily out at what’s going on in my living room.

Music from Raj’s phone. Smoke hanging in the air from the blunt going around. Bursts of warm laughter going up.

Ripley is in the armchair, shaking with laughter as Noah - who has somehow managed to take away completely the wrong lesson from Romeo and Juliet - talks excitedly about how he should get a sword, challenge the next bastard who crosses him to a duel.

Aiden is cross-legged on the rug, locked in Raj's arms. Raj correctly pointed out that we never put a time limit on the snuggles he was allowed to have every time Noah said something ridiculous - an extreme oversight on my and Aiden’s behalf. Raj simply didn’t end the last snuggle he was allowed, which happened to be Aiden.

He’s had his arms draped around Aiden’s shoulders ever since the movie ended. He knows that if he lets go, he’s not allowed to go back in for more from any of us. Every time Aiden shifts on the rug, Raj shifts on the couch in tandem to make sure he doesn’t get away, and Aiden lets out a piteous groan of protest, like he's hating this.

But it’s abundantly clear to me that no one is having a bad time out there.

I let out a happy sigh, then cross back into the living room, where I drop down to sit next to Aiden. He’s got his phone out, and he’s showing Noah something.

“What are you guys talking about?” I ask, as Ripley leans over to pass me the blunt.

“Fantasy stuff,” Aiden answers.

“Oooh, sexy.” I wink at Aiden, who lifts his eyebrows at me. “What kind of fantasies?”

“Um.” Aiden huffs out a laugh, turns his phone to show me a screen full of numbers and scores. “Fantasy football?”

“Oh.” I press my lips together, my cheeks burning as Aiden and Noah both burst out laughing. “Okay - could you have been less clear, Aiden?”

“Dude, why would I be sitting here talking to Noah about-?”

“Listen, it’s not gonna matter,” Noah cuts in, as I take a resentful hit of the blunt. “My team’s gonna kill it next week, and then I’ll be back on top.”

“Yeah?” Aiden points to his phone screen. “How’s this guy been playing, Noosh? The one who you said was gonna turn everything around for you?”

“Go on, bro, talk your shit.” Noah stabs a threatening finger at Aiden’s face. “See what happens when I get myself a sword.”

“For the last time, Noah,” Raj groan-laughs, “The takeaway of Romeo and Juliet is not supposed to be more swords.”

“Yeah, and I don’t think you should be running around with a sword while you have a baby in the house, Noah,” Ripley adds.

“I won’t let her use it, man,” Noah says, as Raj takes the blunt from me, careful to keep one arm locked around Aiden. “Not until she’s old enough, anyways. Like - four, or five, or whatever.”

“Four!” Ripley laughs, pressing his paint-stained fingers to his cheeks.

"Are we thinking that’s too late?" Noah had been sprawled out on the floor, lounging back on his elbows, but now he sits up and looks at Ripley, troubled. “Will she be behind the other kids?”

“I’ll text the dads group chat.” Raj lets go of Aiden, slips his phone out of his pocket. “Kent probably knows how old a kid's supposed to be before they start learning how to use a sw-”

“Oh - oh!” Ripley sits up sharply, points at Raj and Aiden.

His stoned self can’t come up with any further words, so he doesn't explain, just keeps pointing. We all stare blankly at Aiden and Raj, who stare at each other - until everybody realizes what happened at once.

“Oh, yes!” Aiden springs to his feet and stretches his arms over his head, grinning victoriously. “I’m fucking free, and the game is over!”

“Aw, nooo,” Raj groans, then fixes his betrayed eyes on his fiancé. “Noah! You distracted me!”

“Me, dude? I’m not the one who made you text Kent - take it up with McKay!”

“Me?” Ripley jerks his head back, blinking at Noah. “What’d I do?”

“Questioning my parenting, ‘n shit-”

“Man, all I said was that I don’t think you should give a sword to a four-year-old-”

"Oh, you got advice, huh, stoney boy?" Noah snickers.

“I’m barely - I’ve barely - I'm barely even feeling it.” Ripley fidgets with a green curl, blinks his red eyes at Noah. “Can barely even feel it.”

“Yeah, we can tell,” I laugh, leaning back on my palms, and then - “Raj, what are you doing?”

“Texting Kent. Gotta get an answer to our sword question, right?" Raj hits send, leans back against the couch, and smiles warmly at me. “Man, I'm sad the game is over, but that was some good shit while it lasted.”

I smile back at him, taking in the blissful, radiant look on his face.

“This was a perfect night,” he sighs, sinking deeper into the couch. “Only thing is that my high ass misses Mel, now.”

Noah lets out a soft laugh. “Shit, glad it’s not just me.”

“You guys have been apart for literally one night," Ripley points out.

Noah flops onto his back on the rug again, tosses his arms up over his head. “Doesn’t matter, bro.”

“I just wish we could see her for a minute." Raj nibbles his lip, then slips his phone back out of his pocket. “Maybe we should call her?”

“Raj!” calls a faint voice. “Noah!”

“God, it’s like I can hear her right now,” Noah says, closing his eyes.

“Um - I heard that, too,” I put in, narrowing my eyes. “Is-?”

“Raj!” comes Melanie’s voice again. “Noah!”

Raj and Noah both snap upright, baffled, looking around blankly. We can all hear it, now - the sound of a lot of faint, laughing voices.

Ripley sits up in the armchair, his eyebrows knitted in confusion. “That’s weird. That sounded like Alix's laugh.”

Aiden crosses my living room to peer out through the window. His blue eyes find the source of the noise, and he huffs out a laugh.

“Looks like the bachelorette party is here,” he rumbles.

Noah and Raj exchange a look, then scramble to their feet. Ripley and I follow them across the living room. Raj shoves open the biggest of the windows, and we all cluster into a group to peer down at the street.

There’s a big black car parked there. All of the doors are open, and standing by the hood is a cluster of familiar girls.

Aiden was right: the bachelorette party is definitely here. I see Destinee, Angie, Alix, Dahlia, and a few other girls I recognize from high school, along with a few I don’t know at all.

They all burst into giggles when the window of my apartment swings open to let out a huge cloud of thick smoke, which we all lean out through to see them better.

We’re wearing our regular clothes, but the girls got dressed up for their party. They’re all in pretty dresses or jumpsuits, and I have a feeling that they looked incredibly put together when they went out. But they’ve clearly been out for a while.

Their clothes are all rumpled up, carefully styled hair coming undone, lipstick and mascara smeared. They’re all grinning and giggly and pink-cheeked.

Melanie stands in front of everyone, closest to my building. She’s in a short, flowing white dress, wearing a golden tiara in her hair. Her French braid is coming undone beneath it, and some strands are floating around her face. Her cheeks are crimson. She’s kicked off her heels, which lay next to her on the street.

It looks like the girls passed around some body glitter before they went out. They’re all kind of shimmering in the silver moonlight, but Melanie far and away stands out. The glimmer of her tiara, the glow of her white dress, the way her eyes shine as she gazes up at Raj and Noah.

“Hey, there they are,” she says happily, with a little drunken hiccup.

Noah and Raj look down at her like she’s the most beautiful thing to ever walk this earth.

“Jesus Christ, look at that angel,” Raj breathes, clutching the windowsill tightly, and Noah nods, silent.

It takes them a moment to pull themselves together enough to answer.

Noah puts his hands on the windowsill and leans into them, the blunt tucked between his tattooed fingers.

“Just what the fuck is happening down there?” he calls, in a faux-stern voice that makes the girls burst into collective giggles.

“That’s one of mine!” Mel gazes up at Noah, her eyes full of love, her words slightly slurred. “One of my - my - almost husbands. My - what’m I tryna-?”

“Fiancé?” Noah suggests, then blinks in surprise when this sends up another immediate burst of giggles from all of the gathered girls.

“Fiancé!” they all chorus back at us, trying to make it sound as French as Noah does.

Mel beams up at him, the glitter on her face sparkling brightly. Then her eyes go right to Raj, and she clasps her fingers beneath her chin, smiling so hard that she nearly dissolves into giggles.

“That one’s mine, too!” She turns to the girls, pointing at Raj. “Isn’t he cute? Did you guys see?”

“Excuse me,” Raj calls down. “I think there’s been a mistake? We didn’t order an entire car full of gorgeous girls."

"Not that we’re complaining,” Aiden adds.

I elbow him in the ribs, drawing a huffing laugh.

“Did Jamie order an entire apartment of smoked-up freaks?” Angie asks, then laughs when I give her a thumbs-up of confirmation.

“No one ordered us,” Mel calls back up to Aiden, primly smoothing down her dress. “We’re simply a - a - gift.”

“Yeah, we are,” Destinee chimes in.

She strikes a dramatic pose against the car, nearly knocking Angie over in the process, and I throw my hands over my mouth to stifle a laugh.

“You girls having fun?” Raj calls.

“Yes,” Melanie laughs, reaching up for him like she could take his hands.

“Hey, Rip,” Alix calls, smiling up at him. She turns to Mel like she's going to say something confidential, but then continues at the exact same volume. "Jesus, he's hot."

“We snuck Alix some margaritas!” Mel informs us.

“Yo, Ripley’s been smoking with us!”

“Oh, yeah?” Mel’s eyes flit from Raj to Ripley, and she bursts into laughter again. “I can tell!”

“I’m normal!” he insists, pushing his green curls out of his eyes.

“That’s such a normal thing to say,” Alix laughs, looking up at him affectionately.

“We went to a bar!” Mel tells us.

“How was it?” Noah asks, puffing on the blunt.

“It was good! We got to dance!” Mel makes a pouty face at him. “Some guy hit on me, though, even after I told him I was engaged.”

“What the fuck!” Noah snatches the blunt out of his mouth, leans further out of the window. “You want me to go stomp the shit out of him?”

Mel tilts her head to the side, a devious look in her eyes. “You’d do that?”

Noah hands the blunt to Ripley, then cracks his knuckles. “Aim me at him.”

“Stop it!” Mel giggles, pressing her glittery fingers over her mouth. “It’s fine, anyways - it only went on for about two minutes, ‘cause I’m with a blackbelt-”

“That’s me!” Angie says, delighted.

“-and several Muay Thai masters!”

“She’s talking about us!” Dahlia says, smacking the arms of the two girls next to her.

“Seriously, you should have seen it!” Mel says enthusiastically. “I didn’t even see what Dahli did to that guy’s thumb, but it was - I mean - I think he cried!”

“Love you, Dahlia!” Raj calls, to another burst of giggles.

Ripley turns to face me, tugs my sleeve, and whispers - “Did Alix just say that I look hot?”

“Oh, Jesus,” I laugh, slapping his back. “You’re running a little behind schedule, aren’t you?”

Ripley blinks at me, confused, then checks his watch. Aiden lets out a sharp laugh, dropping his forehead onto my shoulder.

“Do you wanna come up?” I call down to the girls.

“No, we’re on our way to go get food!” Mel looks up at Raj and Noah, her eyes bright with love, and bites her lip. “I just - missed my - I just wanted to see you for a minute!”

There’s a silence, and then Noah turns to Raj, a pained look on his face.

“Shit, man,” he murmurs, rubbing a hand over his heart. “I swear, s’like - it hurts, it’s so much.”

“I know,” Raj groans. He weaves his fingers through Noah’s, then turns back to Mel. “Don’t leave us, angel! We miss you too much!”

“At least let us come with you to go get food,” Noah calls. "We already ate, but we can always eat more."

“No!” Mel points at her group of girls. “We’re all dressed nice. You can’t go with us in those clothes.”

“Fine, fuck the clothes,” Noah answers, and immediately starts to pull his sweater off over his head.

“Bro, that is not a solution.” Aiden yanks Noah’s sweater back down over his tattoos, then leans out of the window. “You girls need me to drive you to the restaurant, or do you have a sober one with you?”

“Right here!” calls one of the girls on the driver’s side of the car, holding up a set of keys.

Aiden looks relieved, and I find myself fighting down a smile. My Guardian.

Raj reaches out for Mel. “C’mon, baby, don’t go!”

“We actually have to go, like, now,” Dahlia says, checking her phone. “Oh, shit - we’re gonna miss our reservation if we don't get rolling.”

Mel considers that, then cups her hands around her mouth.

“Noah! Raj! You can have a kiss before I go, and Ripley, you can have one from Alix, but only if you can get down here in like, thirty seconds or less-”

Her words dissolve into laughter, because everyone is already in movement. Raj and Ripley both whip around and race for the door, while Noah starts to go directly out of the window and has to be wrenched back inside by me and Aiden.

“For god’s sake, Noah!” I groan. “What the fuck was the plan? This isn’t even the window with the fire esca-”

I cut myself off, toss my hands into the air in surrender. Noah is already tearing across my apartment after Raj and Ripley. He vaults right over my couch, whipping his arms in a wide arc over his head for momentum, and - disappears through the door.

I turn to Aiden, biting my lip, and he looks down at me. There’s a silence, and then we both burst into laughter.

As one, we turn to look out of the window, watching as Raj comes flying out onto the street and wraps a laughing Melanie into his arms.

Ripley is two seconds behind him, and his gym sessions with Aiden must be paying off, because he sweeps Alix right off of her feet without slowing down. She bursts into laughter and wraps her arms around Ripley’s neck as he steals her back into the darkened alcove of the building’s doorway - narrowly avoiding Noah, who comes racing out seconds later.

He gets his tattooed hands around Melanie’s waist right as Raj breaks off the long kiss he was sharing with her. He spins her around, pulls her into one of his own, and she laughs against his mouth. The girls all break into extended wolf whistles and giggles.

“Oh my god,” Dahlia says, suddenly on the brink of tears. “Mel’s getting married - no, you guys don’t get it, like, my best friend is getting married-”

“Uh oh,” Angie laughs. “Dahlia’s gonna cry again. We shouldn’t have had the last round of tequila shots.”

“Yeah, it’s the tequila’s fault,” Dahlia sobs, smearing away some eyeliner.

“Oh, Dahli, no,” Melanie giggles, still clasped tightly in Noah’s arms.

Raj has his arms around both of them, his deep brown eyes glowing with love and affection.

I straighten up by the window, beaming at Aiden as he turns to face me.

“I’d call this a successful night.” He holds out a fist, grinning happily. “Best man.”

“Best man,” I laugh, and bump his fist with mine. "We make a good team, huh?"

"Companion Plants," Aiden answers, and draws me in for a kiss.