Okay! Sorry this took so long to put up, I had no idea how I wanted to end everything! I hope this way worked out; it's a little fluffy, but hey, Brooke and Nathan deserve it. Enjoy and, as always, don't forget to review!

The Show Must Go On

Nathan found her at the beach.

It was a similar scene to the one they'd shared months ago, when he'd first come across her sitting on the sand. To think of it now was like recalling something from a dream – it seemed unreal to him that there had been a time when Brooke Davis played anything but a pivotal role in his life.

"You've been avoiding me," he accused.

Though his approach had been soundless, she didn't so much as blink. "I've been around."

"Not around me," he countered. "Haley left."

"So I heard." She was careful to keep her gaze fixed on the horizon. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not." Tired of looking at her back, he moved to sit beside her, leaning back to brace himself on his elbows. The casual pose did nothing to relax his humming nerves. "Look, Brooke, you can't do this to me again, okay?"

She arched an eyebrow. "Do what?"

"This!" Almost instantly, he was sitting up straight again, unable to feign nonchalance with all the thoughts that were swirling madly around his mind. Was she being serious? Could she really not understand what she was doing to him? How did she look so serene when he was falling apart? "This keeping-your-distance thing! Haley is gone, okay? There's no one you need to protect."

"Except myself," she interrupted, so quietly he almost didn't hear.

"There's nothing standing in the way of us – wait, what?" He studied her profile, watching closely as she let her eyes flutter shut. "What do you mean by that?"

Brooke inhaled deeply and opened her eyes, though she still didn't turn to face him. "I don't want to piss you off, Nathan, so don't take this the wrong way, but I was just … I was making sure."

"Of what?" He stared at her, incredulous. "Of me?"

"Well, it's not exactly unheard of for you to be swept into rash decisions," she defended herself, the insult to his marriage barely veiled. "I just … this summer, everything happened so quickly and then it all blew up in our faces with Haley and I just wanted to give you time. To think things through, without me there, to be sure that … that this is what you want."

Processing this new information, Nathan bent his head and blew out a long breath. "Brooke. You could've saved us both some trouble and just asked me."

She shrugged and chanced a sideways glance at him. "You know me. I just love doing things the hard way."

To her surprise, he chuckled and reached over to lay a comforting hand on hers. "It's part of your charm."

Brooke laughed out loud. "You really do get me," she said, more to herself than to him, her voice tinged with awe.

He nodded, squeezing her palm. "I really do."

She seemed to melt into him slowly: First her shoulders relaxed, then each individual vertebra, so when she finally leaned into him it felt like something he'd earned. "Nathan," she began, settling her head on his shoulder. "I do trust you, you know."

"Could've fooled me," he said dryly, wrapping one arm around her.

She bit her lip to contain the foolishly wide grin that was forming on her lips. "And I really am crazy in love with you."

"Or just crazy," he put in.

"And," she continued, playfully nudging him to shut up. "I'm sorry for making it so difficult. I just – you're making a huge decision and everything's changed so much and I Just wanted you to be sure –"

"Made," he interrupted, his tone much more serious.

Brooke paused. "What?"

"I made my decision," he clarified, using the hand that wasn't holding her close to tilt her chin upwards so their eyes met. "It's you, Brooke. Just like I've been saying all along. It's you."

She kissed him then, pouncing with such force that he was knocked flat on his back. It was a testament to how glad he was to finally be touching her again that his lips never left hers, even as she tumbled them both to the ground in a tangle of locked limbs.

"Glad we're finally on the same page," Nathan remarked some time later, when they'd pulled slightly apart and were watching the sunset. One of his hands still rested on her knee – he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to truly separate himself from her again.

"Me, too." Brooke flashed him a smile, bumped his shoulder comfortably. "Wanna get married?"

"Oh, you think you're so funny," he retorted and, quick as a flash, he'd tackled her to the sand again, ignoring her pleas for mercy as his fingers dug into her ribs. Her breathless laughter rose into the air; a perfect soundtrack for the incoming twilight.

XXX

With a grunt, Brooke heaved the last of her suitcases past the threshold and let it fall with a dull thud to the floor. "Okay," she announced. "Done."

"Hardly," Nathan countered, waiting for her to move out of the entranceway. The two large boxes in his arms made it impossible to navigate around her. "You gonna stand in my way all day, or is this just a twenty minute thing?"

"Sorry." She moved aside easily, running one hand down his arm. "Just put those down anywhere, I don't – I don't know where I'm going to put everything yet."

He did as he was told, glad to be rid of the weight. The same couldn't be said for the pressure that seemed to sit heavily on his heart. "You know," he began for the hundredth time since she'd made her decision, well aware that he was coming dangerously close to whining. "I still don't see why you're so set on living here."

"I told you." She glanced around at the familiar foyer. It seemed smaller since the last time she'd stepped inside – or maybe she had just grown. "I don't want to move in with you yet."

"Because you don't want us to make the mistake that Haley and I did," he grumbled. If he was being honest with himself, he could see her point, but the rejection hurt all the same.

"Because," she repeated, stepping closer and winding her arms around his neck. "I need to be on my own for a while."

He knew her reasons; he even understood them. Brooke was far too independent to rely so wholly on him so soon. Of course she would choose to return to her own house, rather than take up residence with him. She was still, and perhaps always would be, protecting herself.

"I get it," he said grudgingly, inclining his head for a quick kiss. "But you know the door's always open if you get lonely. And I do mean always. Late at night, early in the morning …"

"You're such a guy," she laughed, shaking her head at the leer he was giving her. "Get your mind out of the gutter and help me unpack, okay?"

"Okay, okay. Hey." He caught her by the wrist as she started to move away. "I love you, you know that?"

She smiled at him; a small, private smile. "I know."

"And when you're ready … when we're both ready," he corrected, thinking fleetingly of how Haley had looked as she tried to hand him back the wedding ring he'd put on her finger. "I'm going to marry you."

"Well, I wouldn't want to break your streak," she replied smoothly.

"Very funny, Davis," he murmured, bringing her knuckles to his lips. "I'm being serious."

She shook her head in disbelief. "You're serious."

"Marry me," he repeated, tugging her close again, his hands going to their natural position at the small of her back. "It took us along time to get here, Brooke. I'm not going to let you go too easily."

"I'm not going anywhere," she assured him.

"You're avoiding the question," he responded.

"Ask me again after graduation," Brooke said, resting her cheek on his chest just above the spot where his heart beat steadily. It had been a long day, a long year. Everything was different. But he was still here, strong and sure, and she didn't doubt that he always would be. "I'll say yes."