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When people ask how we met, we’re usually quick to brush it off and say, “over the internet.” Which, while true, doesn’t tell the whole story. It doesn’t include the months, before Ariel moved to Texas, where we started up conversations, our responses growing longer and longer as we found how easy it was to talk to each other. It doesn’t include their first date with each other the day after Ariel arrived in the city, both eager to get a chance to meet this person they had found a growing connection with. It doesn’t include that Hiram kicked Ariel’s butt at one of the board games we played that night and then gave her an awkward goodbye sidehug that just confused her. It doesn’t include when Ariel went to a residency out of town not too long later, and the constant contact we kept that made us start to fall in love. And it doesn’t include that, when she came back into Austin on a late flight, Hiram was waiting there for her with flowers and open arms. Those are the moments that lead to our relationship really blossoming. Probably the first moment we felt like this was something special came on our second date. True to both our natures, it was at a history museum, both eager learners glad to be escaping the hot summer sun. Amidst the displays and the stories told through plaques, we joked and smiled and brought up the parts that interested us. Sneaking a kiss amidst the artifacts and talking about what a good time we were having together, that’s when we knew we had found someone that was right. There were a lot more signs over the following years that we were right for each other, and slowly our lives became more and more intertwined. But it felt so easy to do this with each other, to spend time with each other, and to dream of a future together. When the world shut down in 2020, and we found ourselves quarantining together, it showed how much we help each other, how much even these hard times could be weathered if we were there for each other. A year later, over tears and a delightful seafood feast, we were engaged, and excited for what comes next in our lives; but most excited to be exploring it together.