A/N: Final chapter! While I was writing this, I was listening to Need You Now, Lady Antebellum on repeat so that influenced this story-line.

Enjoy!


Lonnie never though her life would be like this.

No, that's a lie. She did have an inkling that this was how her life would turn out. If you were to talk to anyone that knew young Lonnie they would have all said the same. Lonnie was destined for great things, and that was without her parents story; it was just the sort of child she had been. She had been determined and resourceful and utterly destined for the life she was living.

If you were to see her you would think her life was pretty fabulous; her apartment was found in the heart of Auradonia, she had country homes in at least four kingdoms, she had various titles under her belt, and the medals that adorned her walls numbered the dozens. She had been a strong contender in three different sports, and she was affectionately known as the Triple Threat. But because she was so utterly lovely, beautifully genuine and didn't have a bad bone in her body, which made it all the harder for her competition to hate her.

But she was all alone.

She sat in her apartment, after having dinner with Chad and Audrey staring at her reflection against the dark skies above Auradon. She pressed the tumbler of whisky to her forehead and wiped away a tear. She hated being alone, she had smiled and said the appropriate things as Chad and Audrey discussed plans for their five-year anniversary. She had cooed and ecstatically congratulated the pair on the secretive news of their first baby, but it had left her feeling hollow.

She gave way to the melancholy that had threatened to overwhelm her for the majority of the evening. She had poured herself a hefty glass of the finest whiskey that Merida's estates could produce, and she sat on her sofa in her immaculate apartment staring at her reflection. She felt a little drunk, it was past midnight and she had locked her phone away, refusing to even be tempted.

It had never been a part of her plans to be alone. She had bemoaned it once to Jane, and the fairy had patted her softly on the arm.

"I do not doubt it's hard love. I imagine it hurts a lot." Jane had topped up her wine glass and let Lonnie loll on the sofa. "Pride is a terrible thing, and lord knows Carlos has a lot of it. He gets it in his head that his Isle upbringing means he has to prove more to me than I ever need him to." She had tapped her ring against the glass and Lonnie had refused to look at her. "He locks things up in that head of his and he's scared of showing me, showing anyone. Ben's pride is the same, Doug's not brilliant, Mal is absolutely awful… strange really, but I suppose it's a part of being human." Her comment had hung in the silence for a moment, but like the angel that she was, Jane steered the conversation onto something else instead.

Her words sat swimming in her head now, pride truly was the cause of her problems.

~Jay~

Jay had bid his best friend goodbye and was now sat in his own place looking at the floor and realising he should give it a clean soon. Running a hand over his topknot, he groaned and tugged the elastic free. He almost relished the sharp stab of pain as his hair caught but he tossed the band haphazardly in the direction of the table.

His life was so much more than he had ever expected. Young Jay expected to be running the Isle, maybe alongside Mal, maybe having overturned her, he was never sure. But he was sat in a sweet house of his own, his tourney career was flying beautifully, and he had just come back from an amazing home-cooked meal at his best friend's place. Jay actually had a best friend, and if he was being honest he had more than one. But Jane and Carlos had cooked this amazing meal and they were living a life that Jay almost wanted.

What he wanted was the connection that the pair had, the intimate way of moving in sync with one another, of knowing each other's movements and their teamwork was mind-blowing to him. He had mentioned this once to Mal once, when he had been less than sober and she had smiled indulgently at him.

"But they work because they're both quieter people, their teamwork is different to Evie and Doug's – she seems the stronger one, because she mouthier but without his support Evie would undoubtedly crumble. Their teamwork is also different to mine and Ben's we're both strong and opinionated people, but we have to find a method to suit us." She shrugged and Jay had stared at her blankly. He knew with that talk she was helping him to address the actual problem.

It was a speech that wound its way round his head quite often, sitting in his thoughts, bubbling along, with cogs slowly turning as he tried to fit her words into his situation. Because he did have a situation. His situation had caused him to up and move out to this modest house on the edges of Auradonia City, while the rest of the situation was still in their swanky flat in the capital's heart.

It had been six long months and it had been strained. He knew it had put his friends under pressure, and he had been determined to not make them choose sides. Everything had been so heated, they had both shouted and now, as stupid as it was, he could barely remember what had started the argument, it had been a pit of jealousy that the pair had sunk into; both had been so suspicious of one another, it had been sickening. He did remember how it ended, that memory was clear as crystal.

"Maybe we should take a break Jay."

"Maybe we should Lonnie."

It made his heart hurt to think about the coldness of their breakup. They had been a fiery couple, a pair with a temper but ways to sooth the hurts and pain. But their break had been so icy, each aloof from their emotions, their pride keeping them from reaching out that now as he thought about it again, Jay realised he wasn't doing anything again.

"Fuck this." He said to the thin air and made his decision.

~Lonnie~

She started as she heard the knock at the door. Putting down her glass, she picked up the remote (she knew three different ways to take down an assailant with a remote control) and padded towards the door.

Cursing the lack of peephole, she opened it a fraction and her heart skipped a beat. She had to make that decision, and she saw the look of relief on his face when she swung the door wider to allow him in.

"I am sorry." His words were shaky and she put the remote down on the sideboard.

"I am too."

There was a beat of silence as they processed one another's words and they stared at each other frantically hoping for something. Anything. She remembered Jane's words. He remembered Mal's words and in that moment they both broke, closed the distance and held one another close. Her arms had wrapped around his back, he held her shoulders in a vice like grip, and both of them would wipe away tears when they moved apart.

"I am so sorry." Lonnie choked out and Jay wiped away another tear with the pad of his thumb.

"I am too." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "These six months have been the worst in my life, and that's including my childhood." He held her close again and felt her wrap back around him.

"Don't leave again." She said against his chest.

"Never."