Stay Gold;

"To be fair, the last time we did that we fell in love, so... could be dangerous." Likewise, Willow was content with her life as it was. She got to write, had done her fair share of book signings over the years, and even got to do fun little side quests like guest at summer writing camps to promote literacy for kids. It was crazy to her how nicely her life had turned out without her having to be the most outgoing or the most interesting on paper. Technically, she supposed, all the people she'd thought were interesting and had so much going on back in high school were just really messy. "I am indeed the down baddest," she grinned, unashamed. Somehow, between the two of them, they'd managed to lift each other up to the point they were so much more certain of themselves. She could remember a time where Perrie never would have even jokingly said such nice things about himself. "Mm, your beautiful girlfriend will continue to tell anyone who will listen though, you can't stop me," she giggled, wriggling as if she were trying to get away from him when in actual fact she'd wanted to sneak a kiss square on his lips. "Maybe we could go on a trip? Someplace new would be fun."

"That's true. Who knew Animal Crossing would lead to this? I wonder what trouble we could get into this time." Perrie had never imagined his life would turn out as perfect as it did. His debut novel was published at the end of last year. It was a high he was still riding after writing secretly in his journal all these years. It was hard to believe he was ever afraid to share his writing with the world. In the last few years, the youngest Cruz had stepped out of the shadows and blossomed into his true self. Perrie had grown into someone he knew his brothers were proud of. More importantly, he was someone his parents would have been proud of. "The feeling is very mutual." He was unabashedly, irrevocably, and completely in love with Willow Balcoin. He would scream it from the rooftops, write it in every dedication, and mention it for the rest of his life. It was the one thing he was never shy about in the last five years. The one truth he hung on to even in the darkest of times. Willow had brought out the best of him. There wasn't a day that he didn't thank his lucky stars. "I'm well aware I can't stop you. Although I don't think I even want to try." He laughed, bright and warm, tugging Willow in close to kiss her. "You know, I've always wanted to visit the castles in Scotland." Perrie was really thinking out loud. Go big or go home, as they once famously told each other. "It's new, and it's fun. Also, for your consideration, think of the highland cows we'll see."

"I'm just saying, if the inspiration struck I might not say no..." Willow had never been a rule breaker by nature so even thinking about doing something a tiny bit naughty had put an energetic bounce in her step. "Do you think PERRIE CRUZ HAS A NICE ASS is too obvious?" she grinned, swinging their joined hands a little higher just because. It felt nice to be happy with no strings, no dark cloud looming, nothing but Perrie and his sweetness. "I'd get one of those planes to write it in the sky, honestly. Or get NASA to beam it into space. That's how serious I am about your... honestly, everything." Willow held her free hand up to him like she was holding a microphone, "Do you think it's fair to be walking around boldly like this, the human embodiment of global warming? Answer me Mr Cruz, do you understand how hot you are?!"

"Well, maybe we'll have a hot pillow summer again. Do something spontaneous and fun for old time's sake." Truthfully, Perrie was content with the mundane life they had found themselves in. For the last few years, it felt like they were in survival mode outside of their bubble. Perrie was content to be living a more slow-paced life. "I don't think it's obvious enough," He teased, although his face was bright red. They had been together for five years, but Willow still made him feel the same butterflies he had in the beginning. "You'd get a plane to write in the sky what you like about me? You really are down bad, Willow Balcoin." He leaned in to talk to the pretend microphone. "I think it is fair. I worked hard over the last few years. Put my time into the gym, did the self-reflection, and work. I'm not sure about the human embodiment of global warming, but I do have an inclination of how hot I am." He grabbed Willow's hand, which was stretched out towards him, to pull her close and kiss her cheek. "As long as my beautiful girlfriend thinks I'm hot, that's all that matters to me."

"Don't say that too loud," she scoffed. One could never be too careful what they wished for in their dearest Rosewood. The place was like Buffy's Hellmouth, something insidious always seemed to be lurking around the corner. Perhaps not looking for them personally, but it wasn't hard to find yourself in the blast zone. At least they agreed that their time seeking the spotlight was long behind them. Following in the footsteps of people like their brothers Scott and Brodie had seemed thrilling from the outside, but it turned out being messy and chaotic was just, well, messy. "Okay, but..." Willow melted into his kiss, forgetting she'd even been speaking for a moment. Then, when she came down off her cloud nine she very nearly had devil horns poking out of her head, "Wouldn't it be kind of fun to do something like that? Like... Like, write something on a wall that means something to you and no one else will know? And if it moves them too then, you know, art or whatever... I don't know, just seems nicer than terrible drawings of dicks on the wall of a bathroom stall."

"Oh, right. I forgot that Rosewood might be listening." It was safe to say that they had endured quite a lot during their time in their small town. Life somehow always veered into early-2000s teen drama, with the risks always higher-stakes than Perrie would have liked. He escaped death multiple times. The thrill-seeking days were long over. His time with the greasers had come to a close. They would always be family, but Perrie wanted something more peaceful. A soft ending. A nice pillow to land on after the rough cards he had been dealt. Willow was the breath of fresh air he had always craved. She brought color back into his lifeless world. He wouldn't have changed a thing that happened to him in Rosewood. However, he hoped that their days of mess were long behind them. His brows raised in intrigue as he turned to Willow. He knew that devious tone anywhere. Perrie smiled, wondering where she would lead him next. "Are you saying you want to write something on a building?" He asked, chuckling. "Yeah, it'd be nice to walk around the city and read something from you. Everyone else has their thoughts on what it could be, but I'd know the truth. Our secret messages in plain sight. Like passing notes in class."

"What were you thinking about?" Willow asked. She was always genuinely interested at what was going on in his head when he was on his so called Quiet Mode. "Honestly I'm too scared of consequences so it's two feet on the ground and colouring between the lines for me." They'd tried their hand at being daredevils and as much as Panic had altered her brain chemistry she definitely hadn't come out of it any more of a thrill seeker. "You are," she narrowed her eyes at him with more affection than malice, confirming that somehow everyone became more clumsy the more they needed to be quiet, "you're just lucky you're cute."

"Oh, just that spring is here once again. I wonder what changes might come about this season." Perrie had always felt this time of the year was special. The world was alive once again, now that the frost of winter had melted. It gave way to renewal and growth. Once upon a time, those concepts scared Perrie, but now he welcomed them with open arms. "I think we've had enough excitement for the next few lifetimes. Coloring inside the lines sounds great." By some miracle, he had made it to the final three of panic. An honor, Perrie still didn't know whether to wear it with pride. His reckless days were long over. He was happy with the gentle life he had created with Willow. "What! I didn't think you'd agree," he replied playfully. "My cuteness saves me yet again." Perrie smiled and pulled Willow in for a kiss.

"Don't you ever wonder how people do that?" Willow lifted the hand that was holding Perrie's to point up at some graffiti on a wall so high up that she couldn't fathom how someone had snuck around to do it. "And without being noticed too... it must be a huge adrenaline rush." @perriecruz

"I can't say I ever thought about it until this very moment." Perrie chuckled as he looked up to where Willow was pointing. His artistry had always come in the form of words. He admired people who could create beautiful paintings or expressive graffiti like the one they were currently staring at. "Oh, I'm sure. They manage to somehow never get caught and leave us with great works of art. I should ask one of them about the art of stealth. I feel like I'm the nosiest person alive in the morning when I'm trying not to wake you."

"'Cause life's an adventure," Buffy shrugged, nonplussed. Much like her entire family she wasn't afraid of a little chaos. Nor was she the type to baby Braxton's less legitimate anxieties. It was fun to her, bringing him along on her little escapades and seeing how far he'd push himself when he was given a nudge along. "I'm always talking best case scenario, babes. No way am I wiping my ass with a leaf in a hypothetical situation. I'm in control of the narrative here," she laughed, both at herself and at Brax's answer because it was so him. "Fair. I wouldn't say no to a fluffy robe situation. You're seeing perks here though? I straight up didn't think you were even gonna come so I need to know it all. For research purposes."

"I mean, you're not wrong there." Usually, his partner in crime wasn't wrong. Not to say that Braxton was wrong all the time! Buffy just had ... a better grasp on things. He had heard tales of his father's adventures and the greasers when they were in their prime. truth be told, the stories didn't sway braxton to live out his own adventures. They made him want to stay home. Befriending Buffy put a wrench in those plans. She had brought out a more confident side in him. Braxton once lived inside of his head, allowing his anxieties to rule over him. since meeting Buffy, she quelled those thoughts. "i just thought i'd throw in the worst case since i'm always thinking about it. Right, right, so no hypothetical leaf ass wiping." he chortled. "fluffy robes are elite. Yeah, i see them. I'm not a complete debbie downer here. there's a pool. I happen to enjoy water. it's heated in here so we're not freezing our asses off. Free alcohol and the company of friends." he bumped shoulders with buffy. "There's some perks to this thing."

"Now this'd be a fuckass spot to get snowed in," Buffy snorted, sitting atop the highest diving platform with her feet dangling over the edge. "I mean, I know it's heated and there's bathrooms but I'd honestly rather shit in a hole in the woods than have to deal with wet locker room floors. Not to like, manifest or anything, but what'd be your ideal snowed in sitch?" @perriecruz

"Why are you potentially willing this into existence? The universe hears you." At least that's what braxton was told. Personally, he didn't want to give so much power to a being he couldn't see. That was easier said than done given his axnities seemed to have anxieties. "Okay, yeah a wet locker room is a sensory overload but shitting in a hole is not worth it. What if there's no tp and you're forced to use foliage. What if that foliage is poison ivy? The list of bad outcomes increases in nature. If i had to get snowed in somewhere it would be a five star hotel. I get all the perks of this and no wet locker room floors."

"I knew she'd get your ass in order. It's gonna change your life when she teaches you about washing your asscrack." Stradlin smirked, always a shit stirrer. "You offer, as if my first port of call in the morning is not going to be nagging Damo to pull rank and get everyone's asses in here. That's sad though, for real, we need to find you a hobby that doesn't involve sucking your girl's face off. I mean shit, even Scott and Diego got other shit goin' on."

"Yeah, she's changed my life for the better. Hey, I know how to do that." Perrie tried to hide how his cheeks pinked. That shy boy he once was still lived within him. Moving to a big city and getting into an Ivy League school could never beat that out of him. "There are easier ways to get the gang back together, yanno. Ways that don't involve cleaning up messes. Alright, let me enjoy being around my girlfriend after being away for so long. Besides, I've gotten back into my writing. Hobbies have been found. I'm afraid to ask what ideas you have for me."

"Damo's gonna be such an asshole about all this tomorrow." Stradlin shook their head from where they perched on the bar, comfortable considering Katz was their second home, and watched a few blue confettis flutter down to the floor. "Sucks for him that I'm gonna be off grid for the next three to five business days..."

"If you need a hiding place. Willow finally convinced me to get an actual couch and not a futon." Perrie offered them a small smile as he watched the confetti fall. "Or if you need someone to clean up I don't mind doing so. it'll give me something to actually do." His free time was usually spent between writing and his girlfriend, which was perfect for Perrie if you asked him, but broadening his horizons wouldn't have been a terrible idea.