Are You Doing, What I Think You're Doing?

[Stefan Archer]

The first rays of dawn filtered through the window of the bedroom he shared with Kate. It slowly woke him from his sleep, and brought him gently awake. Blinking his eyes open a few times he looked down at the girl sleeping beside him. He had one arm around her, and she was lightly leaning against his chest. It just felt so comfortable. Just so good. He smiled as he saw her. Realising that he did this every morning. On the nightmare-less days, when he didn't awake suddenly, sometimes screaming, he just watched Kate. Watched the rise and fall of her chest, the heart beat that he could feel in the places where their skin touched. He leaned down and lightly kissed her on the top of her head. He loved the mornings like this, when the first sight he saw was her. When he just could enjoy the way they just seemed to fit together. The way that she was so peaceful in her sleep, and yet still so beautiful to him. He couldn't imagine what it would be like waking up without her. Waking up and knowing she wasn't there with him. This did not mean that Stefan didn't ever want to be without her, rather, just that he took comfort knowing they were together and that she loved him as much as her. Stefan wanted to give Kate the world. He loved hearing about her adventures during the six month period she had been away. He had missed her dearly, and he had been worried for her, but Stefan had taken comfort in knowing that she loved him, and he loved her. That she would be faithful to him, as he was to her. Stefan couldn't ever imagine loving anyone else as much as he loved Kate Moon. He had loved her for so long, even before he had even been able to know what love was, or realise what it should actually feel like. Stefan hadn't known until Kate that love was something that could be kind, that it wasn't violent or insulting. That it was kind and soft, and gave his heart this feeling of ultimate warmth. He knew now, and he was glad things had worked out as they had. There was no denying that sometimes it was hard for them. Between them, they weren't perfect. For Stefan this did matter, when Kate had stopped eating back in second year, he had still thought her beautiful, when she had been sick, she'd still been the most beautiful girl to him. Leaning his head lightly on the top of hers, pulling her in closer he realised that he wanted a lifetime of moments like this. A life time of hearing her stories, of laughter and christmases with their friends. That he wanted a life time of good times with his closest friend, making sure she achieved her dreams, and doing whatever he could to help her. Getting a little better with every passing day, so that one month he could just say that yes he was fine, he was perfectly fine.

It seemed almost abundantly clear what needed to happen now, so with another light kiss, Stefan removed himself from Kate, and got out of bed. Walking slowly over to their shared closet and grabbing some clothes. He took a quick and quiet shower, before getting dressed. He no longer felt as self-conscious about his scars as he once had. They were fairly bad in places, but for the most part they were fading, or at least the oldest were slightly less noticeable. His body was completely littered with scars of various sizes and shapes, but on good mornings he didn't mind so much. On the good mornings he was happy and the scars were just distant memories of what had happened. It was probably a good thing that the house was almost entirely different from how it had been when he'd first returned all those years before. There were a few things still left that had always been there, but, it was really only things that himself or Kate might recognise. The biggest difference was his old bedroom, it was the room left and it needed a hell of a lot of work, but it was beginning. For one thing, everything that had been in it was gone. All the furniture had been removed. His bed, and the cupboard that hadn't really had anything in it for years. Now dressed, Stefan stood outside the room. The door, which needed work done to it was gone, and was currently out round the back of the house. He stood at the frame of the door, and just looked in. Stefan hadn't yet gone through all the bits of the room, and made sure that all his old hiding places didn't have anything in them. It was slow process this final room. It was really the only part of Stefan's old life that really remained. Shaking his head slightly, glancing back towards the room he shared with Kate, Stefan smiled and then headed down the stairs as quietly as he could. Since it was the school holidays, both Tybalt and Lydia were spending a few days with them, which Stefan was happy with. Ever since the last holiday, him and Ty had sort of become brother's. Well, in a way that meant that Tybalt had taken to calling him brother, whenever he wanted Stefan to do something for him. As he thought of this and smiled, he was then reminded of the woman, the strange woman who had written to his father, about his father and her's daughter, his half sister. Stefan had been the one to tell her that his father was long dead, and to ask if she really had a daughter. Stefan had been keeping that fairly quiet. The only people who really knew were Kate, and Elliot who had been helping him, working through the information with him, and coming up with a sort of time line of events.

After his conversation with Tybalt in the previous holidays, Elliot had sat Stefan down with Branson, and she had asked him to be honest about Mason, Stefan's dad. Stefan had resisted at first, but he'd relented and told them little details about his father and the way Stefan had been treated for most of his young life. Branson hadn't believed it at first, but all it had taken was Stefan to remove his shirt for both of them to realise that Stefan hadn't been lying as much as he and they wished he had been. After that, he'd noticed a change in them both. Elliot was always very motherly towards him, and Branson, well, he had apologised for his brother's behaviour and told Stefan about their own rocky upbringing. What it had done, this honesty was just create a new level of trust between himself and his aunt and uncle. Something, Stefan was actually surprisingly grateful for. It in part made him wonder if he should sit down with other people who had always known about him, and just be honest with them too. Though, it was perhaps a little early to be thinking of that. Realising he was just standing at the kitchen window staring out at the garden, Stefan shook his head and began getting something to eat. He didn't want to cook anything, so he quickly, using his magic boiled the water, and made himself a cup of tea. He needed Ty's help for his plan, but he figured it was too early for Ty to be awake. So, instead he thought he'd wait. After the tea was done, he grabbed a few bits of fruit from their fruit bowl, and headed into the living room, where he had left his book the previous day. When he entered he was greeted by an odd sight, Tybalt was sat under the light of a lamp, reading a book, an incredibly thick book, from where Stefan stood at the entrance he noticed the title. The Lord Of the Rings from what he could see his cousin was half way through the second one, and the first lay discarded on the floor beside the young Archer. "Have you been up all night?" Stefan asked, with a light chuckle. Heading into the room, and taking a seat. "If your mother finds out you didn't go to bed at a reasonable time last night, she's not going to be happy with you or me" he said quietly. So glad that his cousin was actually awake. "But, I won't tell her if you won't because, I need you to help me little brother. I need your help" Stefan smiled at Tybalt, and waited for a response.
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[Tybalt Archer]

There was one thing that Tybalt had grown to love about the holidays away from school, and not just that it meant he didn't have any school work to do, it was staying at his cousin's house. Staying with him, in a place were he had as much freedom as he had in school, which he simply adored. Ty was big on family, that much was certain, but what lacked with his parents was the freedom he grew accustomed to when he was at school. That was clearly the problem with boarding school. These holidays were not unlike most of the others. He had spent some time with his parents, spent some time with his sister. Who had been glad to see him, though he didn't quite remember her being so big. It was scary watching her grow up. She was no longer the little weight that used to sleep leaning against him in their car during the first few months they'd spent in New Zealand. She was so much bigger now, and very soon she'd be heading to Hogwarts, just as he'd be on his way out of the school. Which the teen believed was the best thing. However, this time, unlike most other times when he headed to his cousin's place he had taken Lydia with him. His parents had asked it of him, since Lydia saw Stefan more during the year, they felt slightly better about letting Lydia stay with Stefan and Tybalt. Looking up from the pages of the book he was intensely reading, he was sure he could hear movement upstairs, though he couldn't be certain. Ty glanced towards the windows, and noticed that it was early, the sun was clearly rising. Had he been awake all night? Tybalt leaned over to the table and grabbed the watch, looking closely at the time, and realising that it was in fact early morning and he had read through the night. Tybalt had just start the first one, and had simply be unable to stop since then. However, thinking of his little sister upstairs, made his mind wander. His ma had sat him down almost as soon as he'd asked when he'd be able to head to his cousins, she had told them that they had spoken with Stefan, and that he was just to be careful. Make sure that Lydia was okay, if Stefan was having a bad day. If Stefan was having a bad day to avoid him, not be overly hyperactive, which was a tall order considering Tybalt's naturally hyperactive way of being. Tybalt had first not really understood, but the teen had then remembered what his previous conversation with Stefan had been like. Talking for a brief moment about Stefan's upbringing, which had appeared to Ty to have been less than pleasant. It was odd for Tybalt to think as such. He remembered the way his grandfather had treated him and his brother, but it had been small, only that one weekend had it been too bad, but that was so long ago, that Ty's mind barely lingered on it. Usually because he ended up thinking of his brother, and that wasn't something he wanted to do. Tybalt had gladly taken on his mother's words, and while he hadn't really told Stefan about it, Ty figured that his cousin knew. His new brother. Shaking his head slightly, Tybalt looked back at his book and continued reading. It was just such a good.

The previous school term had not been the best for Tybalt, it had been a rocky year to say the least, but he'd really pulled through in the end, and while it had been barely, he was just glad to say that it had finished better than he had thought it might. It wasn't as good as previous years, but, it would be good again in fifth year. Tybalt wasn't looking forward to the exams. Those all important OWLs that his parents were keen on him doing well in. He just wanted to pass them all. He wasn't so bothered about how grades, though they would be a nice addition. A nice little thing to have on top of just the fact he'd passed. It just meant that whenever he was truly relax and doing nothing, he thought about maybe opening a book or two and doing some heavy revision. It was however the holidays and these would only ever be fleeting thoughts in this case. he was not going to be studying, there was just no way. He'd wait until the start of the term to get started. As the Gryffindor finished another chapter and was turning the page, he was startled by his cousin talking. He was startled so much that the book fell from his hands and landed on his chest with a soft thud. "Merlin f##k" He ran a hand through his hair, and rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses. "That wasn't cool" He said, sitting up slightly straighter and stretching out his now incredibly stiff body. "I was not up all night reading" He lied with a bright smile looking up at his cousin. It was very obvious that Tybalt had been up all night, considering he was exactly where his cousin had left him the night before. Before his cousin could stop him, Ty reach out and grabbed the banana his cousin had brought from the Kitchen, leaving him the tangerine and apple. Opening it up and listening as his cousin spoke, he found his mind wondering to what his mother had said about Stefan. That he hadn't as great an upbringing, that those early years of his life had been a real struggle, while Tybalt saw it every so often, the way Stefan acted when around his parents, or on some days where he was just more reserved than others, he couldn't help but look up to him. Tybalt knew his cousin was happy, and he looked it, and more importantly than that he deserved it. So, it was strange that Stefan was really actually asking for Ty's help. "Anything brother" He said with a bright smile. He listened to what he needed to do, and then jumped to his feet. Eating the rest of the banana as he made his way up the stairs.

Quietly entering the room he shared with his sister, he found clean clothes, well, clothes that were clean enough and went to the bathroom to get changed. Quickly cleaning himself up and then heading back to the bedroom, to dump his old clothes and grab his shoes and jacket. Tybalt of course left his wand, since he would have no use for it where they were going, that and unlike his cousin he could not do magic outside of school. He was dressed warmly, since it was still winter, and therefore cold, but he happily switched his glasses for his contacts, which was the last thing he did before heading back to the living room, where he'd left Stefan. Who was now ready like him, wearing the jacket his mother had bought for his cousin. "I'm all ready to go, but where exactly are we heading? I mean I'll help you with whatever man, but where we headed?" Tybalt asked brightly, though keeping his voice. It didn't appear however like his cousin was going to tell him. Tybalt just attached himself to Stefan's side as they apparated to where Stefan had decided they were going. Tybalt was just silently the need for Archer's to keep secrets. Why couldn't they just be clear and honest, and not do things behind other peoples backs and stuff. So annoying. He didn't even know where they were headed.
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[Stefan Archer]

Yawning slightly as he took a seat, Stefan chuckled to himself as he watched his cousin be startled by his sudden presence. It was clear to Stefan that his cousin had been up all night, and while he did joke about telling, Stefan really wouldn't. He didn't mind his cousin doing such a thing. He liked it. He knew it wasn't the best thing to be doing, but Stefan wasn't so much about rules and stuff like that. He had experienced enough harshness and strictness to last him a lifetime, he had no time for such things. Stefan was just happy to have others, his family around him. Stefan had never thought he'd ever have so many people under this roof, he had never imagined that he'd ever really have a family, and all of it, he was embracing it with arms wide open. Stefan had this feeling inside him currently, when he thought of Kate upstairs, and what he planned to do with this day. He could feel joy, a simple and pure joy at the fact that despite everything that had ever happened to him, he was content and pleased with the turnout. Stefan smiled happily at his cousin. A part of him realised that Tybalt knew more about his upbringing than he let on, but it didn't bother Stefan as much as it might've before. The past few days, weeks even had all been good weeks. He had much fewer memories that just sort of stopped him, that made it difficult for him to even want to get out of bed and really face the world. He found that going to visit his mother didn't really help anything. It neither made him feel better or made him feel worse, so he went a lot less frequently. He was glad when his cousin responded so well to what Stefan had asked. "We're going out, and I want to do it in private. I don't want Kate knowing, and I need you to leave behind all your camera's. And we need to leave now" He explained, picking his words carefully. Not wanting to give it away to Ty what he was planning. He didn't want Ty reacting while in the house where the girls were both asleep. Ever since talking with his aunt and uncle, Lydia had been spending more time with them. Stefan happily picked her up from school whenever her parents couldn't. It was odd for him, having never really seen what a normal upbringing looked like, and yet he had been watching it with her a little more. Stefan smiled at his cousin as he raced, quietly upstairs to get ready. Stefan calmly just ate the two bits of fruit and finished his tea. Knowing there were still a few things that he needed to do before he could really be ready to leave. Getting up from the chair, Stefan returned to the kitchen and placed the mug within the sink, and leftover fruit in the bin. He would deal with the cup when he got back.

Heading quietly back up the stairs, he caught a glimpse of his cousin entering the bedroom that he shared with the youngest Archer. Stefan smiled again, heading into his room. Smiling as he noticed that she was still sleeping soundly. He readjusted the blinds, creating a little more darkness. He actually had a better reason for being in the room, the former slytherin searched for the object for a little while, before finding it, and placing it in his pocket, keeping it perfectly safe. After this, Stefan grabbed his shoes and his jacket, kissing Kate quickly on the head before leaving the room. Heading back down the stairs to get himself finally completely ready. Which really didn't take long, and soon, he was staring at a perfectly ready Tybalt. Stefan realised that he had to figure out how to do this. Where would be the best place to apparate to? It would a lie to say Stefan hadn't alright thought about doing this. It had been on his mind for a good little while, but finally it seemed like the right time, which meant everything he'd thought about was finally coming into play. He smiled at his cousin, and just shook his head. "All in good time little brother" He said fondly, putting his arm around his cousin, and making them apparate to a little quiet and deserted alley. It was between two incredibly high buildings, but with the time of day, and the fact it was darkened, Stefan knew that they'd be alright. Stefan knew this place, it was not far from where he'd once lived with his foster family. Stefan put away the wand and then smiled at his cousin. "You alright?" he asked, before heading out of the alley and onto the main street. It was clearly Auckland. Stefan glanced around them attempting to get his bearings it had been quite a while since he'd been in this area of Auckland. Finally he remembered, they really weren't far from where Stefan wanted to be, if he remembered correctly. "It should only be about 30 minutes walking in that direction" He said pointing down the road while glancing at Tybalt, and without giving much warning just sort of set off. He knew he had a lot of questions, but Stefan wasn't quite ready to answer any of them just yet. He felt a little bad about keeping his cousin in the dark about things, but it was all in the name of what he was doing. "I might be wrong about that, I haven't been here in years." Stefan said, hopeful that this was the direction he wanted. What Stefan wanted was the main shopping streets, he was actually right in thinking that this was the right way. "I used to live around here with the foster family I stayed with briefly, after my dad died." Stefan gave as a form of explanation as to why he knew the area, and plus, he knew that would give his cousin things to think about as they walked. Stefan thought it better to let his cousin think of something else and not what they were currently doing.
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[Tybalt Archer]

As he waited to apparate with his older cousin to wherever they were going, Tybalt had a brief few moments to realise that he was actually fairly tired. It was suddenly really hitting him that he'd been awake all night. Yawning slightly, he wasn't even aware of what was happening until the last moment and they'd apparated to a dark alley way that Tybalt really realised. He didn't really like it, didn't like the feeling too much but he knew he'd be learning how to do it too soon. Which didn't really help how he felt about it, but did make him feel a little more awake. Glancing around them Tybalt realised he was somewhere that he didn't know. He didn't know where they were and he wasn't sure he really wanted to. This place was dark and creepy in his mind, and for a brief moment he was really curious as to what Stefan appeared to be planning. "Yeah, I'm alright" He replied with a small nod running a hand through his hair, following behind his cousin as they made their way onto the main street, his legs were a little wobbly just as he was still not used to apparating. As much as Tybalt lived mostly in Auckland it was only when not in school, which wasn't actually a lot. This place was not a place he was entirely familiar with. He just didn't spend enough time at the school to really know it. To really ever be able get to know it well. Ty stopped and stood with his cousin, glancing around them, taking this time to stretch a little. He waited till Stefan knew what wear they needed to be heading before just following behind him. Tybalt kind of wished they'd been able to apparate to a place closer to where they were going, but he realised that they didn't have too many options and the sun was rising higher in the sky, he was however tired and staying up all night hadn't been a great idea. Nodding along as his cousin spoke, it was news to him that his cousin had been fostered, however brief it might've been, and it was obvious that he never really spoke about it, so it mustn't have been very good. Ty's smile dampened at this. Clearly the Archer luck was something that Stefan had dealt with more than he had. "You lived in a foster home?" He asked, knowing that it had to be a yes answer since his cousin was even bringing it up, and he seemed to clearly know the area a little better than Ty did. Which the gryffindor was pleased about. "Why only briefly?" Tybalt couldn't even stop himself from asking the question, when he had first heard about Stefan it had been clear he hadn't been living with any family, and that was a good four years ago now, so it must've been incredibly short lived. Tybalt just wanted to know, they were family. In any case, Ty was glad that Stefan didn't have some other family, his parents were more than adequate. Happily the teen just walked beside his cousin, and let the comfortable silence lapse around them. Ty was still endlessly curious as to what they were doing, as to where they were going, but he trusted his elder cousin. The Gryffindor teen just hoped that where they ended up wasn't a bad place. He doubted it, but between them, only Stefan could use magic.

Finally, the streets that they were walking down began to get more recognisable to the teen. He realised that he knew where they were heading, well he had a thought. It was the shopping district. Where all the nice stores were. The slightly fancier ones, with expensive clothes and jewellery. Tybalt began to wonder what they could be doing, and why it had to be secret from Kate. Let's be honest, Ty was just not seeing the connection between them. "So, I hope you don't mind that I told ma about you know" He said, while they'd be perfectly content in silence, this was possibly the only time he might have to say anything about it and Tybalt had been dying to talk about it. "And that they in turn told me about you" He stopped himself, glancing up at his cousin. Tybalt was tall at this point, he stood at about 5ft 7 pushing 5ft 8, and he was still growing, he knew he'd probably end up being around the same height as his cousin. But, for now, his cousin was taller than him, so he had to look up at him. "I'm sorry about your dad. It's really sh1tty that he was like that." Tybalt had been quite taken aback by what his parents had said, even if between them they'd been really subtle about it. Tybalt was now realising that he felt the need to ask about it, to talk about it. So that he could show his cousin that it didn't change anything between them, but that he wanted to say that he looked up to him. Once again, Ty just fell silent, listening as Stefan spoke to him, with the usual calmness that Tybalt was glad he had. Nodding along as he spoke. Knowing that nothing could change what had happened, and there was nothing that Tybalt could say that would make any of it okay. Tybalt had just realised that it might not have been the best thing for him to do. Bringing something like that up wasn't necessary. Silence lapsed again, but Ty was feeling a little awkward, he felt bad for bringing it up. When it clearly still caused a lot of problems. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about B. I haven't really seen her in a while, so I don't know what to do about it, or where we even stand" He was thinking out loud, mostly to also get the topic away from what they'd been talking about before, and really because Ty was having girl problems he wanted dealt with. The only person who knew about him and B, was Stefan, so that was also the only person he could talk to about it. "i've been keeping it a secret, but I don't even think her sister would care at this point. I haven't seen her in ages either" He had continued walking, keeping his eyes on the ground, not glancing at his cousin when he spoke. Not even noticing that they had reached the main shopping street and his cousin had walked in a different direction. He stopped when he heard someone calling his name, and looked round noticing Stefan motioning for him to come over. Tybalt wandered over, keeping his gaze on his cousin, who was looking in the window of a store.

"The shops not open yet." He said, noticing there was no apparent light in the store. Then looking down at what his cousin was staring at, finally realised what he was doing. Tybalt swore loudly, now he realised why Stefan hadn't said anything. Why he'd asked Ty that this was a secret from Kate. He cursed his idiocy at not being able to figure it out until now. To think Ty did more classes than others, and he needed this spelled out. "Holy f##king sh1t." he repeated. "Are you f##king planning on doing what I think you're planning on doing?" Tybalt was grinning broadly, this was just incredibly. "It's taken you long enough! " He exclaimed throwing his arms around his cousin and hugging him tightly. "So, when are you planning on asking her?"
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[Stefan Archer]

Knowing that his cousin wasn't altogether good with apparating just yet, which Stefan figured came with time, it was why he had asked to be sure. Stefan didn't want to do this, if his cousin was feeling unwell. But, when it appeared that all was well, Stefan just began walking away and out to the main road. he wasn't surprised as his cousin picked up on the fact that he'd lived in a foster home. Stefan was pretty good at reading people, and he'd quickly learned that his cousin wanted to talk about it. He wanted to ask about it, and wanted straight answers from Stefan probably instead of the cryptical ones he might get from his parents. Stefan found himself smiling at this, despite the fact that they were talking about a foster home that Stefan had run away from because it had just been too terrible for him to deal with. "Well, when my dad died, my mother was already dead, I was underage and in a muggle hospital. They put me into foster care because I had no one else to look after me. I didn't know any of you guys existed." he left out most of the important details in that, thinking they were of no value that told the gist of it. "They put me with a family here in Auckland. Both parents, two kids, both theirs. I wasn't able to get in contact with Hogwarts or anyone, so I had to go. I figured I'd stick around until my next move." He stopped. Still walking but fell silent. He wondered whither or not to actually say how bad it had been. "The family, it wasn't any better than living with my dad. It was worse really. I left after about six months. I just couldn't take more of it. More of the same" He gave his cousin a little smile, before letting silence fill the air. He could tell that his cousin maybe regretted asking the question but, there wasn't anything Stefan could really do about it. He wanted to be honest with his family, and this was the way of him doing it. It just didn't help that him being honest was never anything good, because people simply didn't want to hear the horror stories that Stefan could tell about his childhood. He let the silence encompass them. Stefan was just looking ahead, trying to remember the path. Guiding his cousin along. Thankfully Stefan's memory wasn't that poor when it came to things like this. He had spent a lot of time on these streets, he knew them. He was glad that they were just close by, it made this easier. Although now that he really realised what he was doing he felt nervous. Was this really what he should be doing, would Kate even say yes. Would she really want what he wanted. Stefan knew they were mostly on the same page. But, they had hardly talked of this. Stefan however, just thought of that morning, of how beautiful Kate had looked to him. How he couldn't imagine it any other way, and while he felt nervous he knew he was doing the right thing.

Stefan glanced down as his cousin broke the silence, he nodded along as his cousin spoke. Clearly the first round of questions had not been enough for the teen. Stefan was hardly surprised. But, instead of saying anything, Stefan just let his cousin, his brother continue. Smiling in a warm manner as he listened and watched his cousin. Stefan had to agree with Ty's thoughts. It was fairly bad that his father had turned out how he had. "It is" He agreed nodding his head. Looking away from his cousin and glancing out at the street they were walking on. On days like this, when Stefan just felt like the whole world could be perfect. That everything was good, were days when he was most at terms with his childhood. With what he'd grown up with. "At the time, I had myself convinced that he wasn't completely sh1tty" Stefan chose his words, and was careful how he spoke. "I think the hardest part of it all, was the times in between. Hogwarts, and then when he died." Stefan paused glancing down at his cousin, "In the moment, you don't really think about it. It hurts like crazy, both physically and mentally, but you don't think about it. Afterwards, in Hogwarts and once he was dead. All I had were the memories, of all the things he'd said, of all the times he'd. Well, there are good days and there are bad days" He finished, thinking of no other way of really explaining it. Silence fell on them once more, but it didn't last long. Stefan heard his cousin start talking, but they were now on the street that Stefan wanted and it didn't take too long for him to also notice the store that he wanted. Stefan broke away from Tybalt, thinking the boy would notice and then follow him. Stefan was drawn to the jewellery store, and it was the one he'd been looking at previously, while working on the store computer. It had exactly what he needed at prices that he needed. Stefan had been about to say something to Ty when he realised the younger of the two had not noticed that Stefan had stopped. "Tybalt!" he called loudly, then when the younger noticed, he motioned him over. The store was closed as Stefan could see, but if he was right in thinking, it would be opening very soon. Stefan looked in the window. There were a couple there, but none of them that Stefan liked, and none that he thought Kate would like. It was as he was glancing at them, that he heard his cousin swear. Stefan looked down, a little surprised, unsure as to why. Then as he listened he realised why. His cousin had finally realised what they were currently doing. He just nodded to his cousin. Yes, he was doing exactly what he thought he was doing. Without any warning, his cousin wrapped him in a hug, which Stefan happily returned.

"I hadn't quite thought of that." He admitted. "All I know right now, is that I want to ask Kate to marry me" He grinned happily at his cousin. Happy to have finally said the sentence. He had realised that morning, that he needed to buy the the ring for her. He couldn't see himself with anyone else, he couldn't imagine life without her. He wanted all that was best for Kate, and he wanted her to be incredibly happy. Stefan wanted Kate to know that she meant the world to him, and this in his mind was by asking her to marry him. "Think she'll say yes?" Stefan joked. He noticed them, that the store had been opened. He looked at his cousin and gave him a smile, of please behave. Heading into the store, Stefan made a beeline for the engagement rings. He knew that Ty was following behind him. Most of the time, Stefan would've tried to find something sentimental. But he had nothing from his mother aside the necklace she already wore, and the boy thought it was about time that they started afresh. "You need to help me pick one" He said to his cousin. he looked between the rings, he could always pick out the ones he didn't want, but finding the one he did want was tricky. It wouldn't take too long he thought, since this was the only place where he'd actually liked anything. "Think about Kate, what she would like."
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