Nearly five years ago, two soldiers crossed paths in the digital fields of Call of Duty: Black Ops II. At first glance, it was a common occurence: playing war with strangers from around the world late into the night; however one of them was sporting a clan tag showcasing a local area code [36OH] that caught the other's eye. Could this be a sign from the universe? Was she really a local girl and was she really this easy to talk to? Yes, yes she was. After hours of gaming, Matty had to leave his cousin's house to head home. He asked Luke to stay in the lobby with Nikki until he could hop online again, but Nikki wasn't about to still her itchy trigger finger and she left the lobby shortly thereafter. Once Matty got home and had the chance to reconnect, she was gone. But all hope was not lost. The Treyarch gods of local server algorithms came to the rescue, because within moments the two destined lovers were once again thrown onto the same battle field. It sparked a friendship that quickly turned into something more. He asked her for her phone number and she obliged, and they spent the next few weeks in constant contact. One thing, of course, led to another and soon they were arranging a face-to-face meeting. Nikki was on vacation with her two best friends and her mother out on the bay and after a day of non-stop chatter and near-begging, she convinced him to drive out and see her. That day, the sun was shining and the saltwater breeze was whipping through her purple hair. He had a goofy grin and a casual attitude that she couldn't resist. After a long night of talking on the porch, he kissed her. Her stomach exploded with butterflies and the chatter from inside faded away. It was just the two of them, locked in that moment. The next day, the two parted ways and within the week Nikki was meeting Matty's parents. Within two weeks, he asked her to be his girlfriend. After that, the two spent every weekend together for a year before she moved in with him.

Nikki had been telling her girls all year long that if Matty had not popped the question by her birthday that she was going to take matters into her own hands. The day came and went without a ring and without a question, and so the next day Nikki began plotting. It started with consulting the girls for ideas and pulling a couple of Matty's friends in on it for their advice and their insight. Thursday, September 19th was the first day of real action. Nikki called Matty's mother to obtain his parents' blessing. She was completely on board with the plan from the beginning. With the green light in her corner, she began thinking about just exactly how she wanted to go about asking this man to become her husband. Local Roots, the company Matty works for, was throwing a Christmas Party on December 10th, 2017. Matty and Nikki had been recruited to play Mr. & Mrs. Claus and it set the perfect scene for a shocking proposal. After checking with the hostess that it would be okay to use the party as a vessel for the event, it came time to find the perfect ring. Recruiting a close friend to accompany her, on November 18th she went out in search of the ring. It didn't take long to find a beautiful and symbolic diamond and black sapphire band that was absolutely perfect. His birthstone is diamond and hers was sapphire -- it was meant to be. She ended up finding a matching ring set for herself, too, in preparation for when he said yes. The night of the party, Nikki was all nerves. By the time they were slated to change into costume she was barely holding it together. Where would she hide the ring?! They got downstairs and passed out gifts to the kids, but before they could open them Mrs. Claus had a gift for Santa. As she crossed the room, explaining how the last four and a half years had been the best of her life and that she wanted to ensure she got to spend the rest of hers with him, she dropped to one knee with rings in hand and asked him to marry her. Clearly, he said yes!