Guys, Guys! It's Finally Happening

Alicia and Will met in the back end of their college carriers. Alicia had come over from Turkey to study at the University of Tampa while Will was studying at UCF and living in a party house with three other guys. Extending her stay in the United States, Alicia pursued a masters in the Orlando area - an area where one of her friends from UT happened to have a brother who lived in a party house with three other guys. For Will, it was love at first sight. An infatuation that sparked in the moment and to be fanned every meeting since. With every other member of the party house occupied for the evening, it was Alicia, Will and their incidental matchmaker off to an awkward meal (he was a guy, she was a girl, can I make it any more obvious?). For the next few months, Will would reach out to Alicia who, in turn, was buried in her studies. By their 3rd time hanging out Will right and properly asked Alicia to a date. She said no. But they remained friends. She would occasionally drop by parties, he would drop into her place, she'd play games on the weekends, he'd come over in case her roommate's knife wielding ex tried to mess up the place - pretty standard stuff. Eventually, Will confessed that he still had feelings and still wanted to right and properly date Alicia and she said no... again. She was from two cultures. Born in Turkey, raised American and slated to return to her homeland when her schooling was done. Will wanted a serious relationship and she knew that. While he didn't have any delusions about Alicia staying, Will still loved her and wanted to have something, anything to show for the space she had taken in his brain. For the next six months, this was the pattern, but with every meeting came more time together, with each time together came closer and closer moments until one day, they couldn't pretend the relationship wasn't there - whatever name you gave it, they were a couple and for the next 8 months they would stay as one until Alicia had to move back to Turkey, exactly like she said she would, and the two entered the very depressive spiral she was trying to avoid. So they did the long distance thing. For a little more than 4 years the two talked to one another every day. Video calls were regular occurrences, early morning messages from late in the night became staples of the weekend. There was talk among both of them to look elsewhere and accept the distance for what it was, but neither of them looked. In some small way, the option to end it kept things strong: they just wanted each other happy and paradoxically gave one another the love they needed to survive the distance. Over the next few years the two would make trips back and forward to visit one another. In 2016, Will made it to Alicia's uptown flat in Istanbul just in time for seagulls to caw in terror as black helicopters flew overhead. Imams sang prayers for peace and safety, as the city of Istanbul became a war zone. Jets flew overhead, Alicia slept. Will never told her, but being with her in that moment he realized that the worst possible moments with Alicia were better than the best moments without. Distance be damned, he was going to marry that woman. Time passed. For reasons related to work, Alicia decided to right and properly move back to the United States; she knew just the person she could move in with. The next few years were a struggle as both worked to launch long term careers. After Will jokingly proposed to Alicia on the sofa one evening, Alicia put her foot down and said that when Will proposed, he would have to make it special. In that moment he began plans for a tropical vacation as soon as both schedules would allow. 2020 happened, and with it came a fantastic deal on a Hawaiian getaway. Under the caldera of Mauna Loa, they hiked there miles through dried flood plains and volcanic rock to rest on an outcropping over peridot glittered sands. Again, Will asked Alicia for a relationship and finally she said yes.