Land of the VISA Blues.

[magicanyway]

Andy knew marriage was probably the right thing to do. There were plenty of reasons why. He loved Lauren. He loved her more than he had ever loved anything and absolutely nothing had gotten old or unpleasant about their relationship. Though not necessary a sign it was time to tie the knot, it was easy for the wizard born Englishman to see that his

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[possessingbadge]

Unlike him, her body wouldn't let her sleep that long, hangover or not. By 9am she was awake with a head full of light sensative pain and every single fear she'd tried to drown out the night before. So she did what she always did. She kept busy.

By the time he called her the house was spotless, she'd run 5 miles, every DVD was reorganized and she'd even started reorganizing her music files. Any sort of activity that didn't require much thought.

He sounded so happy on the phone which made her feel even more like shit. Here she was doing everything she could think of to not let the fear overwhelm her and he was ecstatic. There was something innately wrong with her. She didn't deserve him. Putting on her happiest tone, she agreed to meet him at a tiny sea side restaurant that specialized in anything nautical. More than thirty different fish dishes.

It wasn't the sort of place she had to dress up for so she didn't bother changing from her denim shorts and tee shirt. She just made sure to grab a sweatshirt on the way out. Since she lived closer she knew she'd beat him there so she didn't bother looking around. She just got them a table and ordered herself a drink before he could get there. She had the feeling she was going to need a little artificial bravery if she was going to not appear terrified in his presence.

[magicanyway]

He was pretty excited to try this new fish place, and pretty excited to see Lauren and tell her about his VISA. As he walked up to the entrance of the resturaunt he saw her car and knew she was already inside. Just as he walked inside a nervousness sank in. It had been Lauren who brought up this whole idea of marriage. What if she really wanted to get married right now? The last thing he wanted was for her to feel bad. She had sounded kind of strange on the phone. It almost felt like he was meeting to break up with her or something, but that wasn't it at all.

He took a deep breath and saw her sitting at a table by the window, cute as always in little jean shorts and a Baltimore police department hoodie. She looked slightly uncomfortable, sitting there with her fingers wrapped around her glass. All Andy could do was be honest, which he promised her he would be anyway. He slid into the chair across from hers, took a deep breath, and smiled softly.
"Hey." He leaned across the table and kissed her. "Good day so far? You look off. Are you alright?"

[possessingbadge]

She sighed softly into the tender kiss. Her confidence wasn't completely restored but just being around him made her feel better. Obviously, it wasn't enough to fool him though. She smiled and took his hand in hers. "It's been alright. Productive. How was your morning?"

[magicanyway]

He ran his thumb over the back of her hand gently, happy to be around her but a little worried at her demeanor. "You had a lot to do then? Mine was alright, yeah." The waitress came around and Andy ordered a beer, not even having opened his menu yet. "I'm going to say something silly and sappy, I missed you last night."

[possessingbadge]

"Not especially." She replied giving him a little smile. "Just some stuff around the house."

She didn't have to say anything to the server. Lauren just gave the woman a nod and it was understood she wanted another drink. Before the waitress turned to leave, she gave them both menus and told them she would be back in a few minutes.

"I missed you too. I hate sleeping without you now." Her voice was soft as she squeezed his hand. She could barely look at him she was feeling so guilty. "I..I don't want to lie to you though. I did miss you but I'm kinda glad you weren't around to see me last night. I'm sorry. I want to marry you. I do. I just don't know if I'm ready."

She could feel the heat creeping into her face and the tears burn in her eyes. "I am so so sorry. I know that it's incredibly unfair to you. It was my idea but I can't. It's just that everything else between us has felt so... right. Even when it didn't make any sense. This never did. Not the way I proposed. Not the circumstances I did it. Nothing about it felt right and I just feel like if we force it we're just going to lose each other anyway."

[magicanyway]

"You don't have to feel bad," Andy's voice had a tiny bit of urgency in it. He rested his other hand on her knee under the table to emphasize his point and be reassuring. He was relieved but felt awful for not just telling her right away. He hated that she was tearing herself up over this and that it was his fault. "Marriage... it's such a strange concept to me. I love you and I want to be with you forever but it's like, why does forever have to start now? So much about our relationship is amazing to the point of feeling unreal, why put extra pressure on it by getting married already?" The waitress returned with their drinks and gave Andy a look over and an approving wink. Stupid bloody waitress! Andy could have yelled at her, it was NOT the time for her to flirt. He kept his manners until she walked away.

"To be honest, I'm glad you couldn't see me last night. I'm glad no one saw me last night. I was just panicking, if I had to leave it would have only been for a few months probably, but that's so long to be away from you." A frown crossed his features momentarily. "We don't have to worry about that anymore. That's my news."

[possessingbadge]

She hadn't thought she could feel anymore guilty until he tried to cheer her up. Even when she was retracting her proposal, he was doing everything he could to make her feel better. He was too good to be true.

Her own self loathing was almost to a boiling point when that bitch decided that him trying to reassure his barely contained hysterical girlfriend was the perfect time to hit on him. It took everything she had not to grab that nasty skank by the back of her hair and smash her head into their table a few times. She even unconsciously clenched her hands into fists.

As soon as the bitch was gone and Lauren had decided that she wasn't getting a penny of a tip, she looked at Andy. Her anger turned inward again but only for a moment. She sighed in relief when he admitted to panicking to. "What do you mean? What news? Your VISA?" she asked hopefully.

[magicanyway]

He smiled at her audible sigh, not sure how he felt about everything right now but he was happy they were on the same page. They were both freaking out about the idea of marriage right now, not just one of them. It was just another way they were compatible.

He slid the envelope marked "Official documents. DO NOT BEND" across the table to her. "8 months, baby. They're giving me employment rights for 8 months. I don't know what their inner workings are like; first they think my documents are questionable and might deport me, next thing I know they're granting me an 8 month VISA." He looked at Lauren trying to gauge her reaction. "This is good news, right?"

[possessingbadge]

She unleashed what could only be described as a squeal before hopping out of her chair and rounding the table. Eight months. It wasn't even a year but it felt like an eternity. It was more than enough time for them to figure out what they were going to do.

Dropping in his lap, she gave him the tightest hug possible and all but cried when she kissed him. "It's incredible news!" She kissed him again deeply then showered his face in little kisses. "This feels right."

[magicanyway]

"It feels right to me too," He laughed happily at her reaction, holding tight to her, enjoying all the little kisses. After a few days panic he felt whole again. "It's not as long as I wanted but it's good. We can slow down a little and just keep being us." He grinned and showed her the documents. "Look I got a social security number and everything!"

[possessingbadge]

"It's a good one" She muttered glancing at it. She knew she was making a scene but she didn't care. He wasn't leaving. He wasn't breaking the law. Everything was taken care of. They didn't have to get married right now. She couldn't have been happier if he did win the lottery.

Not leaving his lap, and secretly loving the look of disgust from waitress at their show of affection, Lauren pushed her fingers into his hair and gave him another kiss. It was softer this time. "So Mr. Longbottom, now that you are legal to work, what do you think you will do?"

[magicanyway]

Andy stroked her back gently, reveling in all the kisses and all the excitement. He was glad she was on his lap and acting the way she was, he was glad she was happy. He had so much energy pent up from being nervous about hurting her that now he had more than enough happy energy left. He leaned his forehead against hers. "I don't know. I've got to start looking don't I?"

A cough alerted him to the fact that the waitress had appeared again, looking sulky and irritated. "Have you looked at menu yet?"

[possessingbadge]

"Well, what sort of job are you going to shoot for? I know you want to do the writing thing. Maybe you could work for a publisher. It's not exactly the same thing but it could get your foot in the door. Help you make the contacts so when you do write something you can get published. I'd love to see you name in print. Ooh! Or you could work at a newspaper. You wouldn't really get the same kind of contacts but it would look great on a resume. Even if it was just something like birth announcements, you would be writing. I can ask around. My friend Chloe works for a newspaper. It's not in Santa Barbara but she might know someone."

Lauren looked up and gave the girl a satisfied smirk. She knew she was being a bitch but she didn't care. Andy was hers and it was not okay for the skank to hit on him right in front of her. The best part though was that they hadn't even touched the menus. She grabbed Andy's and held it up for the both of them to see. "I'd like the calamari to start then the baked snapper with hush puppies, carrots, and roasted potatoes."

[magicanyway]

"I always thought it would be neat to write for a newspaper. Maybe I'd have a column, I'd love to have a column." He grinned. "Birth announcements would also be good. Especially if I got health insurance. If I don't get to write, then I at least want to work with authors. Maybe be an assistant and do research at first."

Andy grinned. He loved Lauren's reaction. The young girl deserved the humiliation she was receiving, her behavior had been truly inappropriate. Andy wasn't a fan of her. "I'll have the fried squash starter, then the baked lemon cod with jacket potatoes, green beans, corn, and a dinner roll please." He handed her the menus, his fingers inadvertently briefly touching hers. She got that flirty look on her face again but before she could speak Andy opened his mouth."Look, sorry, it's just that I've already got the most gorgeous girl in Santa Barbara, you'll just have hit on the next chap who comes in alright?"

The waitress blushed and nodded, walking away with their orders. Andy turned to Lauren once she was out of ear shot. "I hope she doesn't spit in our food now. I'm sorry about that."

[possessingbadge]

"Well then, I'll definitely talk to Chloe and Pepper too. She knows a lot of people in general. I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out for you." Her finger slid through his hair affectionately.

The whole time he spoke to the waitress, she really had to fight to keep from laughing in her face. As soon as she was gone though, she laughed and gave him the biggest kiss. "You are the most amazing man in the whole world and I can't believe you're mine. And you're mine right here for 8 more months!" Her mood from this morning to now were like night and day. She was so unbelievably happy it was bordering on obnoxious.

[magicanyway]

"Thanks. I can't wait to see what they can do for me. I don't really mind being a waiter but it's not so much fun either." He smiled at her, leaning forward to brush his lips against hers.

He laughed with her, it was the thing to do for the situation. "I know! I was so excited this morning, I had to tell you. I'm glad you didn't have other lunch plans!" He shared in her happiness. "You're a lot hotter than the waitress, just so you know."