A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps by Kit Bryan
Rule 170- The Final Chapter- Love is like fine-tuning a masterpiece, polish each other's rough edges, refine your strengths, and create a work of art.

**Ashton**

Life is good. I'm sitting in the living room at Kat's house in the human realm. Kat is attempting to pack the rest of her things while Lucy is attempting to help. I use the word attempting because they aren't having much success. Mostly because they are both quite drunk. It's very late and most of the guests they invited for their fae alcohol taste testing party have already left. Velgrus is still here, as is Pan. They're both in the kitchen. Velgrus is cleaning and I think Pan is trying to help Kat pack. She was trying to help in here before, but it wasn't going so well. Mostly because she wanted to look at every single human item that gets packed. She also might be more than a little tipsy to be honest. Kat asked her to be her official attendant earlier today before we came here and she was ecstatic. She has definitely been celebrating. If that weren't reason enough, Kat officially announced our engagement to all her guests and the party escalated quickly after that. Pan got into a drinking contest with a bunch of Kat's police friends and by the time they were all near collapsing she was still going. I think she said she was going to get a glass of water or something, but it's been a while. Someone should probably go check on her... But not me. I'm having too much fun watching my beautiful fiancee as she giggles and jokes with her best friend. I'm not the only one watching the two women. When Fin didn't immediately come home, I figured that Lucy hadn't completely rejected him. I was pleased to come here today and find that his confession went well and that he and Lucy are officially courting. Sure, I'm a bit disappointed. But we visit here all the time. Kat's best friend is here, and now mine is too. It's double the reason to maintain good relations with the humans.

The front door swings open, banging against the wall and Marcus comes striding in with an armful of pizza boxes.

"Midnight snack time!" He announces.

"Come on all you drunk losers, time to soak up some of that booze with grease loaded carbs." He slides Kat's badly packed box off the table and onto the floor. Placing the pizza boxes on the table in front of her. Kat and Lucy launch themselves forward and go straight for the pizza. I hear Pan's steps thundering down the hallway. She's had pizza before and she's excited to have it again. What I don't expect to see is Velgrus trudging along behind her. He doesn't seem as excited, but it might be because Pan has managed to get ahold of the edge of his jacket and is dragging him along. She isn't touching him obviously, but she's about as close as a fae can get without being outright disrespectful and I have no doubt that he knows it. Pan has been spending a lot of time with Kat in the last few months and I think she's enjoying the more casual attitude they have towards physical contact. She is careful to follow the rules back home but she's a lot more relaxed here. She drops down to sit on the floor beside Marcus who grins at her and gestures for her to grab some pizza.

Hours later, I wake up in Kat's room, she's curled up in my arms, still asleep and she probably will be for a while. Her cat is lying up against her other side, purring loudly and the house is quiet as everyone sleeps off the long night. Kat's boxes are packed and stacked in the living room, ready for us to take them home. I'm warm and content. I let my eyes fall shut again and I think about the night I first met Kat. I was... Distraught. My father had just been murdered and I was determined to chase down his killers. I thought that was the only thing that would make me feel better. I left without speaking to my mother, without even talking to my best friend. Because I knew that they would see that I was falling apart and I didn't want them to try to stop me. Then I came here, and the first thing I did was manage to land my portal in the creek. I was pissed off at first, right until the moment when I saw a flash of blue and without even thinking, I reached out and caught the most beautiful girl. Her blue eyes stared up at me and she thanked me, for something as small as stopping her from falling into a creek. Sure, I later discovered that saying thankyou isn't a big deal to humans like it is to us, but it shocked me. Almost as much as the fact that I was touching her. This beautiful woman who didn't immediately back away like a fae would, but just stood there and trusted me to steady her. Then I went to face the humans and quickly realised that I wasn't going to be able to manage on my own. I watched humans avoid my gaze and I saw the disgust in the mayor's expression when he saw me. I didn't even know what I was doing to bother them. Then there was that light that felt like a hammer in my brain. I was about half a second away from picking the damn thing up and throwing it as far away as I could manage when this girl came to my rescue and turned it down. She helped me understand the conversation that was becoming increasingly confusing and I realised that I wanted to be around her. When I wasn't willing to see my best friend, or my own mother, I still wanted a chance to spend time with this girl. So I offered her a job. I knew it wasn't likely that she would accept, her father was clearly against it and I would be intruding in her home. But she said yes. She took me home with her, and continued to patiently explain things to me. I learned quickly that not only was she considerate and observant, but she was also funny, kind, and generous. But more than that I felt comfortable around her. I wanted to be closer to her and with every day that passed I began to like her more and more. I decided to court her. I knew it was probably a bad idea. When I went home there would be no way to take her with me. But there was no way I would be able to move on knowing that there was a woman like this and I just walked away from her. So I pursued her. She was shy at first, and confused. We both were. I made a lot of dumb choices but we muddled along. Then Kat nearly died and I thought I would go with her, but she survived, barely. I thought that things were looking up. She was alive, we had only one criminal left to capture, then I was going to convince her to love me if she didn't still. I didn't see her father's death coming. He was a good man. He might not have loved me, but he respected me, and I respected him. He told me once that the reason I was wrong for his daughter was because I wouldn't stay with her. I told him I had no intention of being parted from her again and I meant every word. I would have proven myself to him if I had the chance. But then, he was gone. Kat was mourning and it was all very confusing. I worried that even though she was alive, I had lost her forever. I watched her as she slowly put the pieces of her life back together with the help of her friends and I realised the mistake I made when my father died. I pushed my friends and family away when I should have let them help me. I was convinced that I needed to personally capture all the assassins myself, to honour my father or something like that. But when Kat's dad was killed she did no such thing. She let her friends help, let herself heal and let the people who were most suited to it recapture the assassins. I don't need to do everything myself. I've learned that now. I won't make that mistake again. Kat won't LET me make that mistake again. She promised to share my responsibilities and I can only imagine her response if I tried to run off and solve problems without her. She would probably come after me with an army of fae and humans and drag me back. It's only been a few months and already she has dozens of fae who are completely loyal to her. She doesn't see it, but I do. She treats them fairly, but also kindly. She's going to be an amazing queen. And now here we are. Engaged to be married and planning our lives together. When Kat confessed to me that she didn't think I was interested in her, that she worried that it was just the connection between us, I could barely comprehend it. She has been it for me since the moment I met her. The day my father died was the worst day of my life, and the day that Kat told me she loved me... That was the best day. The best day so far, I correct myself. She's mine now, and I am hers. She quite literally holds a piece of my soul. It will be hers forever and I will always stay by her side. But more than that, I love her with all my heart and I intend to make every single day better than the last.