Shannon and Troy rode the same bus as tweens and early teens, growing up 6 houses apart in Woodbridge Virginia, a hop and a skip from Washington D.C., as both their fathers worked for the government. Although Troy is only 3 months older than Shannon, he was a year above her in school. Messages in each other's yearbooks tell of Shannon helping a grateful Troy with his math homework and telling scary stories. Troy's first big crush was on Shannon, but she always walked around with her head in the clouds and wouldn't notice she liked him like that too for another decade. Shannon moved away in the fall of 2004, the start of her sophomore year, to the outskirts of Denver Colorado, the first of many deserts in her life. Facebook became a thing a couple years later around the time they went to college and their friend Erika (Shannon's Maid of Honor and one of her best friends), reached out to friend Troy. Troy was friends with Erika and accepted her request, but in the back of his mind he remembered how close she was with Shannon and hoped to reconnect. Shannon accepted his friend request shortly after, thinking little of it. Over the next 8 years they kept in touch through the website. They saw each other's posts about school and politics and nerd passions. So many nerd passions. They both loved Sailor Moon and Doctor Who. During this time Shannon moved several more times, studied abroad in England and started her career as an archeologist with the federal government. Troy had his first serious relationship and worked many different kinds of jobs, staying in Virginia while Shannon flitted across the globe. They were aware of each other but only in the peripheral. In 2015, Shannon was on one of her bi-annual visits back home to Northern Virginia and she posted on Facebook that anyone who wanted to visit was welcome to let her know. She remembered how many friends she had when she was young and was open to following up with people if they were. Troy responded and they went to dinner and had a fabulous time, with a coffee date-that-wasn't-an-official-date squeezed in before she left back for Albuquerque, New Mexico. Over the next couple of visits Shannon would let Facebook know, and Troy would always take her up on her offer to meet. A year later, while walking into the Potomac Mills Mall to meet up with Troy, Shannon worried if her hair looked good. Then she stopped in her tracks and considered why that mattered to her, did it mean she liked Troy, like that? She thought about it quickly, wondered if she could see herself dating him. She could. Apparently, she did like him like that! An interesting fact, but meaningless nonetheless. She lived far away she thought (long-distance is a lot to ask anyone to commit to), and sternly reminded herself that just because she liked him didn't mean he liked her back. Best to bury it and forget about it. Another year passed and Shannon was in her first serious relationship in Albuquerque, NM. She visited Virginia and met up with Troy and checked herself mentally: Did she still like Troy? She did, but she was dating someone else, so best to continue to bury it and have a nice visit. Fast forward to 2022: Shannon's relationship had been over for a couple years and she'd moved to Nevada. During a visit to Virginia in April, after another wonderful meet-up with Troy, she mentioned her goal of one day moving back East. Troy, still crushing on her, decided to take the chance and ask her out a week later over Facebook, mentioning how he'd always carried a torch. She squealed and kicked her legs and immediately said yes, mentioning she was never brave enough to tell him she liked him for years too. After a whirlwind romance, making up for lost time, they're happier than they ever dreamed, two peas in a pod. They look forward to a future together talking about nerd things, eating good food, and having a family. They are grateful they found each other in the end.