Run, Girl (If You Can)

Mr. and Mrs. Lundstrom were fairly traditional people who didn't understand their daughter's love of all things digital though they did tolerate it. They liked Aiden well enough since he had a steady job but weren't terribly fond of the fact that he didn't have a college degree.

Nova had defended him fiercely when this came up the first time he visited by telling her parents how he was smart enough to be headhunted by a major corporation straight out of high school because of his talents. Aiden had told her about the true nature of his job more or less because he trusted her. It wasn't like she was going to go and tell Alistair Hale since she was in another country.

Hale Investments hadn't made it quite as far as Sweden yet but when the Lundstrom parents looked it up they were impressed by how far it reached. That was why they were able to accept that he didn't have a degree. Now that he was the head of the cybersecurity department their complaints had dissipated entirely.

Aiden wasn't at all worried about Nova accepting his proposal; he was concerned about getting her parents' approval. They were the type of people who believed in asking permission for a woman's hand from her parents first. He had waited until this trip so he could do it in person.

He finally asked the question when all of the Lundstroms and Aiden were sitting in the audience at Nova's graduation, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Mr. Lundstrom sighed. "I really don't want her to move all the way to America but if I don't give my blessing she'll never forgive me. That girl has been in love with you for the past eight and a half years. Please take care of her for us."

Aiden shook his hand gratefully. "You won't regret it, sir!"

Nova's older sister Kristina rolled her eyes. "Finally, she will stop talking about how much she misses you all the time. It has been driving me crazy."

Her younger brother Olaf pouted. "But this means I will never get to see Nova ever again."

His mother reassured him. "No, that isn't true. Think about how often Aiden already comes to visit. I'm sure they will still come to see us at least once a year. Perhaps we can go to New York at some point as well."

"You could always come study abroad in New York," Aiden suggested. "We would take good care of you."

Olaf's eyes lit up. He still had a year and a half left of high school. His English wasn't quite as proficient as his sister's but that was because she had a lot of practice from her many years playing online games with Americans.

Mrs. Lundstrom didn't seem terribly pleased at the thought of her only son going so far away for college but the idea had already taken root. This son-in-law would be troublesome. At least she knew he would treat her daughter well. That was what truly mattered.

The ceremony went on without too much fuss. People in Sweden sat silently through graduations without cheering for individual people when their names were called, unlike back in New York. So when Nova's name was called Aiden was the only one yelling.

He would have felt awkward about it if not for the fact that he caught sight of her wide grin as she sat back down. She definitely knew he was the culprit.

Once the ceremony ended Nova launched herself at her boyfriend first.

"I did it. I'm done," she said meaningfully as she pressed her forehead up against his. She was about half a foot shorter than him so she was only able to do this because he had lifted her in the air.

Aiden knew what she meant. There was nothing preventing her from being with him anymore now that she had finished school. She had been waiting for this even longer than he had.

The Lundstroms took a lot of pictures before they all went out to eat. Nova hardly let go of Aiden's hand once, even when the food arrived. She had a blissful smile on her face the entire time.

===

Four days. It had been four days and Aiden still hadn't said anything about having Nova move to New York. He was leaving in a day and a half and still hadn't said anything! Why? What had she done wrong?

She couldn't think of what she might have done to make him change his mind. They had been having fun ever since he arrived and he certainly seemed happy to see her. So why hadn't he proposed?

They had never talked about her move directly but it had been implied many times over the years. Nova had known Aiden was the man she wanted to marry since she was fourteen years old.

When he first approached her to create a party she thought it would be temporary like all the others. But QFlame the Red Mage became a true partner. They leveled up again and again together.

She had thought they were a really great team but since they never talked about anything other than the game she figured he was a lot older than her. Probably married. Uninterested in forging any sort of connections with strangers online outside of using their help to power up.

Nova didn't mind that at all until he randomly asked her to marry him in the game. Would an old married guy really ask a stranger on the internet to do that? She accepted because it would benefit her character in game but curiosity about what kind of person QFlame truly was nagged at her after that.

Imagine her surprise when she found out he was an American kid only two and a half years older than her. The more they talked the funnier she realized he was.

When they finally became Facebook friends she discovered he was pretty cute too. But Nova already had a massive crush on her fellow party member long before then simply because of their conversations in the game.

After he told her he liked her too she was over the moon but then he never went any further than that! She had to be the one to initiate a relationship, though Aiden was a prince among long distance boyfriends once she did.

Getting to this point had required endless amounts of patience but Nova always told herself it would be worth it in the end because as soon as she graduated he would marry her and bring her back to New York. So much for that. He hadn't said a word and would be leaving right after Christmas to get back to work.

Nova eyed her boyfriend appraisingly as he showed Olaf how to beat a difficult level on the game he was playing. If something was truly wrong he wouldn't appear so nonchalant. Aiden had always had a very expressive face that was easy to read.

So why hadn't he said anything? She had tried dropping hints over the past few days and he hadn't picked up on a single one. The frustration was too much to bear. Would she have to propose to him herself?

As much as Nova had dreamed of a romantic proposal, she would do it if her boyfriend was too dense to make it happen himself. She had spent her entire youth loving this man and she wasn't about to let him slip away so easily.