Life, Death, and Time - A Books Of Beginning Collection

To Love Is To Live: Part 1

A/N: This is a short story, and do will have multiple parts and will be longer than an actual oneshot.

Background: Rafe is alive. Also, this is set years in the future. Rafe is 19, Kate is 18, Michael is 16, and Emma is 15.

Content: Rafe wants to show Kate just how much he loves her, only it doesn't go as planned, especially since he recruited Michael and Emma for help. Romance, light humor, adventure, Kate  x Rafe.

"I need your help."

The words were out of Rafe's mouth before he could think them through. Though if he had thought them through, he would have still said them. He was overwhelmed with the weight of this, and he needed help.

Michael and Emma exchanged the looks of teenagers who were way too enthusiastic about meddling in people's lives. Emma smiled mischievously, "we're in. What's your problem?"

Rafe took a seat at the kitchen table with them. He said, "first of all, where's everyone else?"

"Mom and Dad went to visit Dr. Algernon," Michael answered, "and Kate went hiking."

"Right," Rafe said, taking a deep breath. It wasn't that he didn't trust Michael and Emma - quite the opposite. Over the past three years he had come to consider them friends, perhaps even family. But he also knew they were probably going to laugh at him.

Indeed, their eyes sparkled with mischief, and though Rafe was nineteen years old (subtracting all years spent dead or sharing his mind with nine other souls) and one of the most powerful sorcerers the world had ever seen, he was worried.

"I want to ask your sister to marry me," Rafe managed to get the words out.

The revelation hung in the air for a minute, and there was absolute silence. For a moment, Rafe thought they were going to react badly. Maybe they didn't trust him, or maybe they hadn't fully forgave him.

Then Michael said slowly, "are you asking for our permission?"

"No," Rafe replied, his voice becoming steadier, "neither your sister nor I need your permission. We're adults with control over ourselves and we can make our own choices."

"So is this just an informing us sort of thing?" Michael wondered.

"No," Rafe said, "not quite."

"Have you and Kate talked about this before at all?" Emma questioned.

Rafe nodded, "We already decided we wanted to get married. We just haven't officially got engaged yet." Actually he and Kate had been talking about it for a while now. They had talked about it since before they were even adults. But now that they were, neither wanted to wait too long. They had already been through so much in their short lives, and they of all people knew how life was unpredictable. And this was just the proposal. The act of actually getting married at a wedding could be a few years off. In truth, it wasn't even about when they got married. Rafe just wanted to promise that he would be Kate's forever.

"So what do you need us for?" Michael asked.

Rafe shifted, a bit embarrassed, "well, uh, I'm not exactly sure how I want to propose to her. I still need to get her a ring, and then I guess I'll just go from there, but..."

Emma giggled, "wait, you actually want relationship advice from me and Michael?"

"Absolutely not," Rafe scoffed, "I don't ever want relationship advice from you two. I want advice on what kind of ring to get your sister."

"Well, first of all you have to have money to purchase said ring," Michael leapt into the conversation, "then you have to find one that is sized correctly so it fits Kate's finger, and which is a style that you like."