Susie arced through the air, effortlessly adjusting the thrust in the jet engines propelling her. The glowing blue trim on the jet pack looked almost purple in the warm light of the setting sun. The cool evening air carried just a hint of sea salt, and the waters of Orange Ocean blazed with color as the sun's rays danced off the calm surface of the sea. A rush of air independent from the ocean breeze suddenly passed over her, and she looked up to see Meta gliding along above her. The sun glinted off his armor, and the scales covering parts of his wings were almost glowing.

"What a lovely sunset," Meta said, his voice crackling through the radio built into Susie's helmet. Susie grinned and banked slightly, sliding through the air beneath Meta and ascending until she was beside him. It had been a year since the cascade of events that had led to her becoming a crew member, and these flights had become a weekly tradition. The year had been filled with no less excitement, with multiple threats arising to both Meta and Dreamland as a whole. But they had persevered, and their once-new relationship had grown stronger and ever more familiar along the way.

"Definitely a good one," she responded, pressing the "talk" button near the base of her helmet. The sky was awash with a multitude of fiery tones, and Orange Ocean was living up to its name. Being surrounded by such organic beauty had tempered her obsession with the mechanical, and she enjoyed walking the sandy beaches during moments of peace, with Meta often flying out to join her. Though she had grown to hold affection for the rest of the crew, she treasured time alone with her boyfriend the most. Those were some of the only times that the stoic man allowed his playful side to shine through.

"I do wonder… Which one of us could reach the balcony in the most expedient manner?" Meta quipped, startling Susie from her thoughts.

"Are you suggesting a race?" she responded, grinning.

"If you are up to it," Meta teased. Susie flipped the red switch on the bracelet that served as her control panel. Two panels at the base of her jetpack's wings slid open, and two additional engines extended out and locked into place. The red ring circling the ends of the engines slowly lit up as a bright light emanated from within the machines.

"On three?" she asked, watching as the red button next to the switch blinked on. Meta chuckled and angled his wings to point further back.

"Whenever you are prepared," he answered.

"Three, two…" Susie's thumb hovered over the button, and Meta flapped his wings faster, "…ONE!" Meta hurtled forward with a single powerful thrust of his wings, snatching an early lead. Susie pressed the button and braced herself before she jerked forward, quickly catching up to her opponent.

"Your augmentations to the jet propulsion device seem to be functioning wonderfully," Meta commented, evening out his speed for a moment. Susie throttled the engines up and took the lead, glancing back at Meta as she passed him.

"Feels like it!" Susie banked to the left, angling herself towards the distant base and dropping her altitude slightly. The massive base loomed on the distant shore, distorted by the shimmering mirage of the fading heat of day. Scabbard Base was an imposing structure of steel and concrete, but it was also home, and in the preceding year Susie had found the warmth of familiarity in its halls. Meta folded his wings and dove down until he was nearly touching the water's surface, passing Susie. He reached out and skimmed the surface with his hand, sending a out a spray of seawater that glittered in the fading sunlight.

Susie throttled the engines to max and dove as well, stopping just above where Meta was and taking the lead by a thin margin. Meta glanced up at her and smirked beneath his mask, closing the gap with a few powerful wingbeats. Susie pushed forward, but Meta caught up again and ascended until they were side-by-side.

"But can they surpass the real thing?" he quipped, tearing off towards the now closer base. Susie huffed as she watched him turn into a far-off speck as he surged ahead. She continued towards her destination, resigning herself to losing their little competition. A minute passed before she joined him, alighting on the balcony and deactivating the extra engines. She was about to comment on the unfair nature of the competition when she noticed Meta sitting at on of the tables. His helm lay on the floor beside him and two immaculately prepared desserts and wine glasses sat upon the table.

"Aw, Meta!" she cooed, fully shutting the jetpack down and moving to join him. She sat across from the man, gently laying her jetpack on the floor beside her. A handful of candles burned away in the center of the table, casting a gentle flickering light in the growing darkness of the evening. Susie reached a hand across the table, gesturing for Meta to take it.

"I would have made entrees as well, but I am only competent at baking," Meta said, sliding off one of his gloves and taking the offered hand. Meta was an excellent baker, and the chocolate mousse and lava cakes on the table could testify to that. However, he was horrible at cooking and either started fires or produced over seasoned and borderline inedible dishes. Meta took a drink of his wine and Susie followed suit, noting that he had provided her with her favorite red. The liquid in Meta's glass was a strawberry pink tone, and Susie surmised that he was probably drinking one of his favored sickly sweet moscatos.

"That's fine, this looks delicious," she gushed, picking up her fork.

"Ah, before you eat, may I ask you a question?" Meta asked. Susie set her cutlery down, noting the red blush scattered across the man's cheeks.

"Sure thing," she chirped. Meta let go of her hand and stood, walking to her side of the table. Susie's heart rate instantly shot through the roof as he knelt beside her.

"Would you…ah…perhaps…" he stammered, holding out a hand. A silver ring embedded with sapphires and a meteor fragment rested in his palms. Meta took a deep shuddering breath and tried to continue. "Would you be amenable to, I mean, would you perhaps…" Susie stood and knelt in front of the flustered man, beaming and trembling in excitement.

"Go on," she urged gently. Meta hid his eyes with his free hand, his entire face colored with a red hue.

"I cannot say it," he murmured. Susie gently took the offered ring and slid it onto her finger, admiring it for a moment before grabbing something from her inner pocket.

"I'll do it for you," she chuckled, tapping a ring against the hand over Meta's face. He moved the hand away and watched in mild confusion as a golden band inlayed with ruby was dropped into his palm. "You kinda beat me to the punch, but… Marry me?" she asked. Meta stared at the ring before leaning forward to gently kiss Susie.

"Of course," he said as he pulled away, his eyes glittering in the candlelight. "But…" he added, cutting off Susie's excitement as he stared at the ring.

"What is it?"

"Er… What finger do I put it on?"

(Thank you all for reading, and yay for my first completed multi-chapter fanfiction!
It's been a long ride haha...

Anyway, as for my update plans regarding other fics:
1. New Black and Blue chapter
2. Mechanical Minds-verse smut oneshot (Only on my AO3)(basically just the deleted scene from the end of the chapter "Emotional Investors")
3. New Moon and the Star installment (feel free to suggest prompts for this as they're always appreciated)
4. Next chapter of Midsummer Knight
5. Finishing Popstar Paranormal Investigators for Halloween

This is only a tenative schedule so it may actually happen out of order, so stay tuned!)