Remember

By Risa

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

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Epilogue

            Fortuna walked out of the university, enjoying the feeling of the wind through her hair. Suddenly she stopped, staring in surprise.

            In front of her, leaning against the wall, his profile half in shadow was Darien.

            It had been a year since she had last seen him and she had thought of him so often since then, reliving all the time they had spent together, missing him. Tempted to look for him but resisting the temptation.

            Before she could turn to the other direction, he had spotted her and was walking towards her. "Hi," he said, softly, as he stood in front of her, hands in his pockets. But damn, he looked as good as ever.

            "Hi," she said, just as softly.

            For a while, the two of them just stood there, staring at each other. The noise of the traffic on the streets couldn't intrude into their own private world. They drank in the sight of each other, for the face that they had longed to see each night for so long.

            "What are you doing here?" Fortuna said, in an attempt to break herself from the daze that had come over her. There was a cough and a curt, "Excuse me" and Fortuna turned, alarmed to see an irritated cyclist glaring at her. Quickly, she moved aside.

            "C'mon," Darien said, grabbing her hand, "Let's go someplace where we can talk."

            The instant his hand touched hers, they both felt the familiar spark. Fortuna quickly broke the contact and nodded, as they walked together, side-by-side. "So how's Kevan?" Darien asked casually.

            "He's fine. He just went back to Shanghai awhile ago."

            "I thought you guys were getting married."

            "We didn't," Fortuna said, "Like you said, it wasn't fair to him." She paused, "You haven't answered my question," she said quietly.

            Darien sighed. "I needed to see you." He paused, taking a deep breath. "I've had a lot of time to think about things this past year. And I've reached one conclusion."

            "And that is…" Fortuna prompted, trying to ignore the rush of anticipation that went through her.

            "I can't take this," Darien said simply, "being away from you. I had three years of it and it was already too much. The only thing that kept me away from you then was the knowledge that being with you could get you killed. With that barrier gone…" he stopped, turning towards Fortuna, staring earnestly into her eyes. "Whatever barriers left between us are purely mental ones, Fortuna."

            "I know but – "

            He took her hands in his. "I know you've been scarred, you've been hurt. I know it's not going to be easy. We've both got too much baggage. But being apart isn't going to help things. I don't want to be alone again, Fortuna."

            "But can you put up with all my own guilt and regrets?" she said. "It could hurt you, stifle you…"

            "I'll take what I can get," he said, determined. "And you forget – I've got my own guilt and regrets. Can you deal with that?" He smiled wistfully. "Fortuna, we love each other. That ought to count for something. We could at least try?"

            She smiled at him as the tears came to her eyes. "So we're basically going to strangle each other with our own emotional baggage?"

            "Yep, and do it with a smile."

            "Then we'll try it once more," she said softly. Darien pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. This was where he had longed to have her; this was where she had longed to be. The road ahead was rough, but Fortuna had had enough of being alone. Happiness, love, regret, guilt, they were all part of the same coin. Fortuna knew she wasn't going to hide anymore. She was going to face up to the past and put it behind her, instead of just brushing it aside. And she knew that Darien would be there for her, every step of the way.

Author's Note:

It's finally finished! This was actually my first fanfic. I started writing it three years ago under the title of "Promises". I never managed to finish it, somehow I just couldn't write the last chapter. Last year, I edited it and the story became "Remember" and I still couldn't finish it. All my attempts at writing a conclusion were just awful. Finally, inspiration struck, I spent a few hours writing, and this is it. My original idea was to end it at Chapter 6. But I just couldn't keep Darien and Fortuna apart. The two of them have been in my head, bugging me to finish their story for the past 3 years. :-) I hope you enjoyed the story and any comments are really, really appreciated.