They never told anyone the specifics of that night, of how they found their way back to each other. They figured no one needed to know. It was their journey and their story, and everyone else? Well, they'd just have to be OK with the Cliffnotes version.
It bugged the hell out of the lot of them, especially since Bay and Emmett had gone and stayed cooped up in their little love nest without informing anyone of their whereabouts or whether they were even, you know, alive.
Serves them right, the lovers figured, for all their meddling. But in all actuality, they would be forever grateful to their loved ones for never letting either of them forget their history and their destiny. But while they were grateful, they also were cautious in sharing their life together with the outside world. Not that they expected to live in a bubble. That would be wildly unrealistic. It was more like knowing the answer to a riddle or being entrusted with a juicy secret. The more people who know or find out, the less special it ends up being.
Their love was epic and magical simply because they felt it and they knew it. No other opinions mattered.
"So, what now?" Emmett had asked Bay as they indulged in some post-coital bliss.
"Now? Hmm. Well, I think...I think we should get married."
Bay glanced over her shoulder in order to see Emmett's reaction.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah. Unless you don't want to - "
"No, no. I do. I'm surprised, I guess. I thought you'd want to take more time..."
"Oh, Emmett. Haven't we taken enough time? Aren't we both bored with that?"
He did have to laugh at the absurdity of his question.
"Okay then. Married."
"You and me."
"Me and you."
"Emmett and Bay."
"Bay and Emmett."
And that was how they found themselves at a little chapel twelve hours later exchanging vows.
To this day, only they know their true wedding anniversary. It felt right that way...mostly. Sometimes, though only sometimes, they'd wonder if they had been selfish.
Of course they ended up having the big to-do wedding later on so that their families could be included. They drove back to Mission Hills sans the wedding band. Instead, an engagement ring appeared on Bay's finger as an impostor. To their surprise, not a one out of the four parental units objected to the impromptu engagement after being separated for quite a number of years. What would be the point?
So, exactly a month to the day of their actual nuptials, Bay and Emmett said their vows again; this time, in front of their friends and family.
In the end, they would decide that no, it wasn't selfish. They had given enough of themselves to others, albeit in different ways, but nevertheless, the truth remained, this was their time to give only to each other.
And they did.
Every now and again after hearing their story, yes, you know it too, the one about the switched-at-birth graffiti artist and the Deaf motorcycle-riding photographer, people would ask how they made it work. What kept bringing them into each other's orbits?
"The reach," they'd say. It was all about the reach.