Toby wasn’t new to heavy lifting. Be it piles of bricks or six string basses, lugging things around was one of his scant few specialties. However, after six years of accruing additions and twelve months of hand rides from his beloved girlfriend, moving his many possessions had proven far more back breaking than he’d envisioned. Most humans would have given in. ‘Let Mae carry it, dude!” one said to him. ‘Swallow your pride, lad, this ain’t worth wrecking your back!’ insisted another. But what did they know? . Burdensome as it was, nothing matched the immense pride he felt seeing his many, many earthly possessions loaded up and waiting in the cart, ready for the move. His hand came to rest atop a white box bigger than his torso. He grinned. This was the last time he’d be in Mae’s old apartment. The last time he’d be waiting on the edge of a table, hoping to be picked up. He had a new life ahead of him, and it was so, so close.

“You’re sure about this?” said a woman’s voice, reverberating behind him.

He knew it well. It was his best friend. His girlfriend. His big, timid drummer. Turning around, Toby saw none other than Mae, hunched over him in all her fluffy, snow leopard-ish glory. A house-sized backpack weighed down her shoulder, and muscle normally obscured by her shaggy, stripy fur rippled under her sleeves. She looked just about ready to collapse, but she was still more worried about him than herself. Poor old Mae. That was just like her.

“I have to carry it anyway, Toby,” she huffed, “you don’t have to do this.”

“But I want to,” Toby said, “what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t pitch in?”

“A smart one,” she deadpanned.

“Wow. Shit,” Toby scoffed, an arm reclined onto the box. “Sorry to disappoint.”

Mae rolled her eyes. For a moment, he thought she was genuinely annoyed with him, until her whiskers tickled his arm and her finger lavished his back with loving strokes. Warm, soft, and enrapturing. He was lost in her touch. She made it so easy, and he was all too eager to soak up the love. Palpably satisfied, Mae whispered, “I’d rather have you.”

“Glad to hear it,” was all he said in return. Mae slipped away and stood at her full sixty-foot height. Toby, not the least bit intimidated, kept eye contact all the same. He wasn’t about to let Mae forget what they were here for.

“Now you focus on the move, alright Mae? I’ve got this.”

Despite his intentions, that comment sucked all the life out of her. Mae’s ears drooped to the floor; her mouth agape. She was dead quiet, and yet she said so much. She was worrying about the future again, no doubt about it. A sigh left Toby’s lips. He had to step in for her again, for her sake, and his own.

“We’ve been over this,” he assured her, “you’re gonna be-”

“Fine, I know, I know!” she said. “But I want to make connections. Meaningful ones, like we have on Tebeish. You’ve seen how far our home will be from the others. Does it not strike you as odd? It’s like we’re moving to Terra just to lock ourselves away.”

Toby took a step back. He wanted to keep her thinking positive, but he couldn’t ignore what Mae told him. They had done so much to bridge interspecies gaps on this world, even lost a once in a lifetime record contract for it. But now, their circumstances would be reversed. She was going to be on a world mismatched for her size, unsure of how to connect to its natural rulers. But he couldn’t let those feelings fester. Leaving this place didn’t mean they had to leave their ideals behind as well, and he had to convince her of that.

“That’s not gonna happen,” Toby told her, unshaken.

“I-” Mae paused. Her ears fell flat. Her tail drooped. Toby ached when he saw it.

“You don’t believe me?”

Mae reeled back, unsure of what to say. She swallowed, “Well, it’s not that I don’t, but…”

“Mae, it’s alright. You wanna go out there, help people, make the world a better place. But if you want to fight for that, then I’ll be behind you every step of the way. There’s no chance in hell you’re gonna just rot in some mansion.” Toby put a hand on her finger, rubbing the fur hard enough for her to feel it. “Understand?”

Mae fell silent, ears flittering while she processed his speech. Then, to his relief, a tiny smile scrawled across her muzzle. “Even if it means you won’t have me all to yourself?”

Mae leaned down and gently nudged him with her nose. The push staggered him, but Toby never let such slights go unpunished. He launched himself at her, arms beneath her chin, scratching and stroking hard enough that even the biggest, scaliest people in the galaxy would have been sure to feel it. He didn’t stop until she purred.

“Like I don’t have you already,” he teased. Toby wet his lips with a kiss on the tip of her nose, only for Mae to pin him onto his back and lick him mercilessly before he could wipe off. He was never dry around her for long. She could have made a game of it if she tired.

“Silly little man,” she rumbled, a playful glint in her eye. Mae left a loving lick on his nose, then slipped her fingers around to find Toby’s cart at their side. With a smirk, she craned a hand towards it, raring to grab it. Toby jumped. No, she couldn’t find out what was inside. Not until he showed her.

“No, no, no, not yet!”

Mae froze. Her hand shot back to her side in clear panic, and suddenly she couldn’t stop staring at him. He was thankful, but it tore him up seeing her worry because of him.

“There’s, well,” he stopped to gather himself, “something you need to see before we go.”

Not wasting a second, Toby made his way behind the cart and gripped the sides of the white box. He couldn’t lift it, but he didn’t have to. He intended on making his mark in other ways. Toby took a deep breath. Now was the time. A year of knowing her, a month of talking things over with his parents, two weeks practicing in the mirror, and one harrowing hour of practice with his friends. It all led up to this. A moment he would remember for decades to come.

“Mae’eliis Delphin?” Toby cleared his throat, straightened his posture, looked her dead in the eye and asked her straight out; “Will you marry me?”

The crate’s lid flew open, and an enormous ring glimmered before her. Forged with an immaculate silver sheen, bedazzled with the finest clear jewels on the market, and immune to the smudges or grime that befell lesser material. It wasn’t cheap, but Toby was willing to lay down any sum they asked for. His fiancé deserved only the best.

“My little light…”

Mae’s hands shot straight to her mouth. Nothing could have held back her tears. Sharp, pointed huffs of air rushed through her chest.. Her whole body pulsed with sob after sob, falling on Toby’s head before he knew it. Yet, he didn’t raise any objections. His worries and doubts had been rinsed clean. Every credit he spent on that ring was worth it for that moment. That one priceless moment. Mae’s arms came around him, fast as a train, and she hugged him tight to her chest.

“Yes!” she cried. “Yes, yes, yes!”

Loud as she was, most of his senses were already engulfed by her. Her purring and the pounding of her heart filled his ears and racked his body. Her body heat made him sweat, and his nostrils were filled with her unique scent. Slightly perfumed, yet earthy and ever so slightly sweet. Still, all good things had to come to an end. Mae set him down. She had tears to wipe and breaths to take. Thus, her paw pads met her face, her chest’s convulsions slowed, and Mae came out the happiest she had been in weeks. No small feat, he was proud to say.

“Sorry about that, but I’ve waited all year for you to say those words,” Mae confessed, still sniffling.

“Glad to hear it.” Toby smiled and cracked his knuckles. Now that he heard what he wanted to, there was another step he had to carry out. One hell of a task, to be sure. “Right, now just let me lift this thing.” He knew he probably couldn’t have done it. Non-humans weighed literal tons, and their apparel wasn’t far off. Men of weaker mind and body would have used a crane right off the bat, but not Toby. Far be it from him to cave in the face of unfair odds. He was going to put that ring on his fiancé’s finger, and only death could stop him. At first, his efforts bore no fruit. He held it firm in his hands, veins bulged, skin turned beet red, but the blasted thing just didn’t want to move.

“Are you OK?”

Mae was worried about him. He couldn’t see her, but he felt it in his gut.

“Just a little more!” he groaned through gritted teeth. He needed to do this. For her. He didn’t care about what stood in his way. Size, gravity, common sense. He had overcome them all before, and he was going to do it again. So in a fit of stalwart, bullheaded determination, he heaved. Fast and hard. The ring hovered an inch higher, then another, and another. He was doing it. His aching back didn’t slow him down. The lightheadedness only spurred him on. Just one more push. Rallying all his strength, he roared a mighty roar, and the ring came to roost above his head. He did it. For her.

Then suddenly, the weight was gone. It was so odd, as if somebody else were lifting it. He soon understood. Mae. She snuck her finger in while he wasn’t looking, and the ring embraced it with remarkable ease. It was a perfect fit, thank god. Toby began to collapse. He needed rest, lots of it, and his will to keep standing had been spent. In turn, Mae’s hand caught his back, and he was high above his surroundings once again. Right where he belonged.

“I love you,” Mae cooed, lapping at his hair.

“Love you too.”