So, a lot of people were HARASSING me for some flashbacks on Glorybringer's proposal; wedding; et cetera et cetera, so this chapter is mostly pinpointed on those. But, you all know me, lol. My motto is "Keep it interesting", and so of course, this chapter will obviously have some drama after the three flashbacks. I'm not going soft, lol.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy! ^^

~Deathbringer~

I was relieved that Glory was off today. She's been working nonstop, even though the money we now possessed was enough to last us at least a year without working. I hardly saw her, and she worked as much as 48 to 56-hour shifts as a surgical intern.

I, on the other hand, stayed home and struggled with the kids.

"Good morning, Deathbringer," Glory'd voice said from behind me. I brought my cup of coffee to my lips as I turned around.

I nearly choked on that coffee.

"Glory?" I fumbled out. "Why are... you in your wedding dress?"

"Just trying it out," Glory said, lifting it to walk down the stairs. Memories from our wedding seemed to replay, over and over again on repeat. "It surprisingly still fits me. How do I look?"

"Just as beautiful as the day I married you," I said, slowly placing my coffee down as I stared at her. "Is it my lucky day or what?"

"I guess it is since Lilly and Clover are both still asleep," Glory pointed out, turning as she checked herself out in her dress. The wedding dress hugged her body up until it reached her hips, and then it started to flow freely. Flowers decorated the top that was over Glory's chest and ran along the bottom of the dress.

"You're gorgeous," I said gently, walking toward her and placing my arms on her waist, pulling her in closer.

Glory smiled. "Well, beauty doesn't last."

"Yes it does," I said, leaning down and gently kissing her. She rested a hand on my chest and let the other trail up to my neck, tugging me down closer.

"Are you guys getting remarried or what?" Ember's skeptical voice asked, followed by Jade's smart remark: "They can't 'remarry' since they never got a divorce in the first place. They can renew their wedding, though."

Glory broke away from me, tossing her head over her shoulder to cast the two a stern look just as Nightfall thudded down the stairs.

"Woah..." he slowly said, eyeing Glory. "Uh, Mom? Is that... your wedding dress?"

"You like it?" Glory asked, smiling as she turned to face them.

"It looks so pretty on you!" Jade said, nodding.

"Fun fact," I said, leaning back onto the counter as I slightly grinned, knowing Glory wouldn't like me bringing this up, "when I first proposed to Glory, she said no."

Nightfall raised his eyebrows as Jade's jaw dropped. Glory shot me a glare.

"I thought we agreed not to bring up that subject, babe," Glory said, casting me a fake smile.

"Really?" Ember asked skeptically.

"Mom, you said no?" Jade asked. "Why?"

Glory sighed. "Yes, I did. That's all you need to know. Listen, when I was younger, I was still unsure about a lot of things, so I–"

"You were unsure of your love for Dad?" Nightfall asked. "Wow."

"No!" Glory cried.

"I remember it like it was yesterday," I continued, squinting up at the roof.

"*" (D)

I took Glory's hand, leading her up to a hill. There were fences at the top where anyone could watch the beautiful view during the prettiest sunset. I, naturally, was wearing a blue hoodie because I knew that if I were to wear a suit and tie, Glory would get suspicious.

Glory had a smile on her face as she leaned against the fence, looking at the view, the stars faded against the sunset. "Where do you find these places?"

"It's a gift," I said, shrugging playfully as I walked up beside her. "I wanted to take you somewhere special, and this place reminded me so much of you."

"How come?" she asked, turning to look up at me.

I looked up at the faded stars. "It reminded me how free I felt any time I'm with you. You're like a breath of fresh air to be around, and your smile... your smile is as pretty as this sunset."

Glory rolled her eyes, but I could tell that was to hide the fact she was blushing. "You're exaggerating."

"One would think," I said, turning to look down at her. "But I'm not. I'm really not. You're the prettiest view from up here."

Glory scoffed, looking away as she hid her face. "Right."

"I'm serious," I said, the grin returning to my face. "What, you don't believe me?"

I was being cheeky, but on the inside, I worried.

What if I propose and she doesn't take me seriously? I thought. Or what if she says no because she doesn't think she's ready? Or... because of Grandeur?

"Okay, what's up with you?" Glory asked, finally facing me. "You're extra annoying today. Did I do something to cause you to want to provoke me even more, or is this some sort of revenge?" She squinted at me. "You seem nervous. Why are you nervous?"

"Well, anyone would be in front of someone so breathtaking," I said, shrugging, although that wasn't the real reason I was nervous, and I could tell Glory knew that, too.

Glory turned back to the sunset, humming in amusement. "Fine. Don't tell me, then."

I reached into my pocket and fiddled with the black box, fuzzy fabric covering it. Whatever Glory would say to my proposal would determine our future forever.

"But... I do have something to ask you," I hesitantly said, which caught Glory's attention.

Just like you practiced, I thought, urging myself to continue. "I just wanted to say... we've been dating for more than four years now and you've made me happier than what I thought was possible. It's funny because when we first met, I was pretty convinced you hated me."

"I never hated you," Glory said gently. "It's just, I was born and raised into a system of hating outsiders in general so that Grandeur could pick who she thought I should befriend or date. But then I saw you and... I started building walls because I didn't know what it meant to like someone, so the feeling was foreign and... frightening."

"I get that," I said, chuckling quietly as I tried to get my anxiousness under control. "I was skeptical of everyone in our school, but you changed that. You... changed me."

"For the better or for the worse?" Glory joked. "Because I really can't tell." I laughed, which made her crack a smile.

"Definitely for the better," I said, grinning. "I was a mess before I met you."

"You're right," Glory agreed, nodding thoughtfully. "You were a dizzy idiot who had fallen in love."

"I was," I said, my grin softening into a smile.

"So was I," Glory said after a moment. "Though, I showed it in a slightly different way than you did."

"But you did end up kissing me in front of everyone, so that's a bonus." Glory playfully hit me as she smothered a laugh with her hand.

She turned back to the sunset. "So. What's your question?"

It's happening, I thought, sharply inhaling. I slowly dropped down onto one knee, reaching into my pocket and taking out the box. Glory turned to look at me and she gasped the second she saw me, immediately aware of what was going on.

"I... really love you, Glory," I genuinely said as I stared up at her shocked and slightly startled eyes. "And you make me happy... really happy, and I would do anything for you. I'd never hurt you and I'd never leave you. I want to spend the rest of my life being happy with you, so... Glory bright... will you marry me?"

I opened the box, revealing the stunning ring that caught my attention the second I laid my eyes on it. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I was holding my breath.

This determines everything.

Glory's lips lifted in the most glowing smile I had ever seen, and then it disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.

"Deathbringer..." Glory said, turning away. "I'm really sorry. I can't."

That shattered my heart, but I stood up anyway, reaching forward and gently taking her hand.

"Because of Grandeur?" I guessed. Glory looked over her shoulder to stare at me. She turned back around, our bodies inches apart. I could tell she felt guilty... and even a little sad, but she was unsure.

"She already hates you as it is," Glory whispered, staring at the ground. "And she can barely look at me now that I'm dating you. But this... she might just disown me."

"Glory," I said, resting my hand against her cheek in comfort. "Grandeur doesn't get a say in what you decide to do in your life. You're old enough to make your own decisions now. I... I want a future with you, Glory, but that can't happen unless you want it as much as I do."

Glory winced. "I want it, Deathbringer, I do. But... my mother... she's all I've ever known, and I want to make her happy."

I searched her face. "But what's the point in making someone else happy with your decisions if you aren't? This is your life, Glory, and you only have one of that. It's up to you... not her."

I stared at her, waiting–hoping for an answer, but she didn't give me one. I sighed, pulling away. Don't show her you're upset. Be gentle. Be patient. "Do you want me to give you time to think about it?"

"No," Glory instantly said, quickly taking my hand before it could drop back down to my side. "I'll marry you, Deathbringer. I want this, and you're right."

I am?

My smile grew, and so did Glory's, a little shyly. I wedged the ring out of the box and Glory lifted her left hand. I gently slipped it onto her ring finger, and she awed at it for a moment, her smile a mixture of relief, happiness, and maybe even sureness.

She looked up at me as I admired her in the sunset, wearing the ring. Glory walked forward and reached up, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me into a hug.

"You won't ever leave me?" she asked quietly.

"Never," I whispered back, wrapping my arms around her waist and resting my chin on her head.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"*"

"Wow," Ember snorted. The triplets had all sat down around us at the dining table. Jade seemed extremely interested while Nightfall was also skeptical.

"Dad, you were a romantic mess," Nightfall mused.

"He was," Glory agreed. She looked down at her dress. "But it was worth it."

"So, how was the wedding?" Jade pressed, grinning. "Did you guys get married in private because of Grandeur?"

"Well, no," Glory said, but I could tell she was hiding the fact that she was thinking about her mother intently. "It was actually quite a big wedding. Deathbringer went all out. Although, I am still mad about how he prepared a garter toss without my consent."

Ember coughed out a laugh. "You guys had a garter toss at your wedding." She continued laughing. "Wow. I'm intrigued to hear more."

"Well, the wedding was fun," Glory said dismissively. "We were both nervous out of our minds, we said our vows, kissed, danced, ate, you know the details."

"Was Grandeur there?" Jade asked. This made Glory wince as she looked away.

"No," she said gently. "She didn't come."

I glanced at her, gently taking her hand.

"Um," Nightfall spoke up. "Is it true Dad fought Qibli because he thought he kissed Mom?"

That caused Glory to unexpectedly laugh.

"Who told you that?" I asked, startled.

"Your sister told us that," Ember said, crossing her arms. I laughed nervously, scratching the back of my neck.

"Uh."

"It's true," Glory said, grinning. "I was pregnant with you guys and Qibli was convincing me to not get an abortion and tell Deathbringer instead, but then a girl that I will not speak of took a picture of us and sent it to my phone a few days later, and Deathbringer saw it."

"Did you see the fight?" Nightfall pressed.

"Guys," I quickly interrupted, still laughing nervously.

"Yes," Glory said, her grin growing a little too smug. "He beat the crap out of him and Qibli was so terribly injured. Oh, and then he almost divorced me afterward."

"God," Ember said. "Your love life is so dramatic."

"You wouldn't even imagine," Glory said, rolling her eyes. "It's partly my fault for marrying an idiot."

"I love you, too," I said, kissing her cheek.

"Did Dad apologize?" Jade asked.

"Of course," Glory said. "I made him. Oh, and there was a time I was kidnapped along with Moon and a few other people. Oh, and Tsunami fell in love with
Qibli, and apparently Kinkajou loved Moon?"

"Wait, what?" I asked, now also intrigued.

"Deathbringer, remember the time I got knocked out in an elevator?" Glory continued. "Or the time I almost drowned after being tied to the bottom of the ocean? Or when–"

"How about we talk about the engagement announcement," I quickly interrupted, noticing the triplets' expressions. "That's also an interesting, less morbid story."

"*" (G)

Everyone was deceived.

They were told that this was a little Get-Together by Sunny, but in reality, Deathbringer and I wanted to announce our engagement to everyone. I still hadn't told Grandeur, but I'd get to that. Maybe.

"This Get Together will be perfect," Tsunami said, being one of the people who were deceived. "Take your hands out of your pockets and help me out here."

Both my hands were shoved into the pockets of my sweatpants, mostly to hide the ring. I wore a matching crop top. I took out my right hand, holding it out so I could carry whatever Tsunami asked me to.

She turned around, a rather big tray in her hands, and stopped at the sight of my one hand. "Is your left arm disabled or something?"

"Uh, yes," I said, slowly nodding. "I dislocated it the other day. It hurts when I move it too much." Tsunami eyes me before scoffing and rolling her eyes.

"Okay, whatever," she said, brushing past me. "I'll just get Sunny to help me." I sighed, watching her walk away. The music was low and calm to get everyone in a chill mood.

"Excited?" Deathbringer whispered from behind me.

I stared at Tsunami before turning around. "Yes, but nervous."

"It's time," Deathbringer said as he watched Sunny walk away from the center of the room, quietly beckoning to us. "Ready?"

"If I wait until I'm ready, I'll be waiting for the rest of my life." I sighed. "Let's go."

Tsunami beckoned to Clay to turn the music down, and he did. Everyone turned to look at us as we stood in front of them, Deathbringer and I pretty far apart to create the illusion that the news wasn't good news.

"Um, so we have some news," I slowly said once the talking died down. "And... I don't know how you guys will react to it."

I saw Tsunami's confused frown, and then Starflight's and everyone else's.

"It's pretty big news," Deathbringer agreed, keeping a straight face. A chain of whispers started as people came up with theories.

"They look like they broke up," Peril whispered, and the majority of people believed that. Deathbringer and I glanced at each other.

I very slowly pulled my left hand from my pocket and showcased the ring, a small smile tugging on both mine and Deathbringer's lips

"*"

"I bet Kinkajou screamed the loudest," Ember said, snorting.

"She did," I offered, and Glory nodded.

"Well... what about when you first met the Sundowns?" Jade asked, seeming as though she could go on and on with these stories. "Were they as stuck up as they are now? Or... were?"

"Surprisingly, no," I said, slightly tilting my. "But thinking back, they probably only started hating us because of Glory."

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Glory cried. "I was simply protecting the triplets, and that pissed her off. It's not my fault she has major anger issues."

"Wait, so what happened?" Nightfall asked. "Did they threaten you?"

"Uh," Glory said, furrowing her eyebrows. "No, not really."

"*" (D)

A three-hour-long flight with a bunch of newborns.

We were probably the most hated family on the entire plane. I don't blame them. I mean, three babies crying the entire ride, which provoked other babies into crying, too? That would have been pretty annoying.

Glory seemed exhausted spending the entire plane ride shushing and feeding and apologizing to the people that sat around us. I tried helping but I only seemed to make it worse so Glory just told me to stop trying.

I pulled into the driveway of our new house. Glory had her eyes closed and her head tilted backward as her first nap in the entire trip. It took us almost an hour to get to the airport to the house. I glanced up in the review mirror at the triplets, who slept peacefully.

I gently nudged Glory. "Hey, Glory," I said softly. "We're here." She sighed in relief, lifting her eyelids. It was still surprisingly bright out, yet we were both so tired.

"Thank God," Glory mumbled leaning forward to see the house. A small smile tugged at her lips. "We're here."

We got out of the car and circled to the backseat, opening the door to get the triplets out. I managed to hold Nightfall and Ember while Glory held Jade. Jade and Nightfall always adored their pacifiers, but Ember hated them for some reason and would cry any time one was even within eye range of her.

I turned around and saw our next-door neighbor. She was busy gardening as she crouched in the dirt, planting a new tree. She saw us, and the second her eyes laid on the babies, a smile spread across her face in an instant.

"Hey!" she called from our front yard.

Glory smiled in response. "Hey," she replied tiredly. The woman walked over to us, respectfully approaching us.

"You're our new neighbors, right?" the woman asked, to which we nodded. "I'm Hollow Sundown, but you can honestly just call me Holl. My husband's at work, but I'm sure he'd be happy to meet you guys."

"Likewise," I said with a nod, also smiling.

She looked down at the triplets. "Oh! And what have you got there?"

"They're nine months old now," Glory explained. "This one here is Jade, and there's Ember and Nightfall."

"So, they're triplets, I see," Hollow said, smiling down at them. "How adorable."

"Thank you," Glory and I said in unison. Hollow crouched down in front of Jade, tilting her head at her.

"She's beautiful," Hollow said gently. "Her facial structure will be very attractive when she grows up. She will look just like you, Mrs..?"

"Oh, I'm Glory," Glory quickly introduced, "and this is my husband, Deathbringer."

"Where are you guys coming from?" Hollow asked crouching in front of Ember and Nightfall.

"Florida," I answered, glancing at Glory as Hollow turned back to Jade and crawled a little closer.

"I hear it's beautiful there," she said absentmindedly as she stared at Jade even more. "Lots of... trees and... different types of flowers." She very slowly looked up at us. "What's your... favorite flower?"

"Um," Glory stammered. "I-I don't know. I mean, Deathbringer gets me flowers all the time and I like all of them. I don't have a favorite."

Hollow nodded, looking at Jade deeper. I noticed Glory uncomfortably shift as she glanced from Hollow to the babies.

"Well..." I said. "We better go... unpack. It was nice meeting you, Holl."

"Oh, yes, yes, of course," Hollow said, but she didn't back away or even look up at us. "I wouldn't want... to be a bother." She lifted her hand and reached forward to touch Jade's face.

Glory pulled her away in an instant, taking a step back as I frowned. Hollow finally looked up at us.

"Uh, she's still a newborn," Glory explained. "She can get very sick very easily... and you were just in the dirt so your hands probably aren't too clean."

Hollow stood up. "I can't even... touch them?"

"Uh, n-no," Glory said before sending her a sweet smile. "Well, we're really busy, so..."

"Of course," Hollow quietly said in such a dark manner that it made my frown deepen. There was a new look in her eyes that caused me to step in front of Glory.

"We'll be going now," I said with a nod. "Have a good day." I turned around and led Glory to the house, tossing a quick and rather fake smile at Hollow.

Glory opened the door with her free hand and locked it the second I came in.

"She was so sketchy," Glory said, setting Jade on the floor where I also set Nightfall and Ember.

"I'll keep an eye out for her," I reassured. I looked around the house and saw that at least a hundred boxes needed to be unpacked and/or built.

Glory sighed, noticing the boxes. "We should build the cribs first so the babies have a place to sleep ASAP."

"I agree," I said. "I'll get the luggages out of the car." I glanced out the window and saw that Hollow was still standing in our front yard. She noticed that we caught her watching and quickly waved before walking away.

"We're finally here," Glory breathed, smiling at me.

"*"

"Mrs. Sundown's first name is Hollow?" Ember asked, looking like she was trying not to laugh. "So why do you guys always refer to her as 'Mrs. Sundown'?"

"Because only friends call each other by their first names, and we definitely aren't friends," Glory said.

"At first, she actually seemed super nice," Jade said thoughtfully. "But then she started acting all creepy and..."

"Sketchy?" Glory finished. She looked down at her dress, brushing it off. "I should probably go change out of this. I don't want to get it dirty."

"Do you have to?" I asked, snaking an arm around her waist and tugging her closer. I gently kissed her but she broke away, pushing me off of her.

"Don't try kissing me in my wedding dress now," Glory snapped, crossing her arms stubbornly. "I'm still mad at you for what you did at our actual wedding."

"What did he do?" Nightfall asked.

"It was not that big of a deal!" I cried defensively. "She was just caught off guard and even after sixteen years, she's still mad."

"We had a thirty-minute conversation on dipping me at our wedding, and Deathbringer promised me he wasn't going to! Guess what he ended up doing."

"Did he drop you?" Jade asked.

"No."

"Then I don't see the problem."

"Thank you!" I cried. "And it was beautiful! Everyone loved it and I'm pretty sure Tsunami has that picture framed up in her living room somewhere."

"I hired her as my videographer and photographer since she was going to do that anyway, so if you guys want to watch it, just call her," Glory explained.

"I'm definitely watching that garter toss," Ember said, leaning back in her chair, amused.

"Uh, no," Glory said. "Deathbringer made it extremely sexual for some inexplainable, stupid reason."

"It was my lucky day," I said, turning to grin at her. Glory opened her mouth to snap back a sarcastic remark, but then, the floor slid from underneath us. Jade and Glory yelped in unison as the ground rumbled and quaked.

"Get under the table," I quickly instructed.

"My first earthquake!" Ember cried happily as Jade rushed past her and under the table. I quickly shoved Glory under the table with Ember and Nightfall.

"Deathbringer, the kids!" Glory cried, trying to stand back up in her overly large wedding dress.

"I know!" I said, backing away. "Stay under! I'll be back!" Plates slid off the counters and shattered on contact with the floor. I turned and ran up the stairs, almost falling twice and needing to dodge a framed picture falling from the wall.

I ran into Python's room first, opening the door to see him pressed against the wall and crouching in fear.

"Py!" I yelled and he instantly stood up and ran to me. "Come on." I led him out of the room and told him to go down before running into my room.

Clover was awake and crying while Lilly screamed at the top of her lungs. I scooped Clover in one arm and took little more care with Lilly, but was just as fast.

When I got out of my room, Python was still standing at the top of the staircase, clinging to the railing and frozen in fear.

"Dad!" Ember yelled from under the table, finally seeming to be afraid. "My cat!"

She called me Dad. I blinked at her for a moment before handing Lilly to Python. Dust circled the air freely, getting into our lungs.

"Py, listen to me," I said. "You need to go, okay? Your mom is under the table waiting for you. You'll be fine." Although I knew handing a newborn to a traumatized eight-year-old wasn't a good idea, I didn't have much of a choice. Lilly could suffocate in this amount of dust, and her lungs were already weak as it is. "Okay?"

"Okay," he squeaked, looking down the stairs. More pictures fell and the sound of shattering plates was loud and startling.

"Go now," I said before turning and darting into Ember's room. The cats were under her bed, meowing in fear. The fur on their backs stood as their claws clung to the ground.

The second they saw me, they leaped over, clinging onto me.

"Here, Clover, can you hold Cosmo?" I asked, picking him up and gently resting him in her open arms.

"Como," Clover said quietly, tears still streaming down her face. I reached forward and picked up Silver, carefully, before turning and heading down the stairs.

I nearly dropped all of them.

Cosmo leaped from Clover's arms and under the table toward Ember, Silver following him. Glory was holding onto Lilly as she quickly rocked her. I held on tightly to Clover as we all sat under the table. Plates shattered louder around us as the quakes became more violent.

And then it all stopped.

There was a long moment of silence that was only filled by Lilly's crying.

"So much for not getting this dirty," Glory muttered, eyeing her dress.

"Once we think it can't get any better, it doesn't," Ember mumbled, sighing in defeat.

But it did, a part of me thought. You called me Dad again.

<3