Well, it's been a stupidly long time since I've written anything, so hopefully my writing quality hasn't deteriorated. I realized that I also kind of fell out of the loop of what was happening in all of my stories while on my break. Apologies if anything feels disjointed, I'm trying to avoid that as I start writing for my stories again.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

Starting Anew

Another two weeks had passed, and the two Mars adepts were as chummy as could be. Since making up, Garet had returned to his old habit of picking Jenna up after work and walking her home. They talked and laughed about their everyday lives, wondered about the future, and, most importantly, kept any mentions of Isaac to a minimum in their conversations. Things between the two of them still weren't perfect, but this was much more favourable than avoiding each other every day.

Lingering in the back of Garet's mind was the notion that he still had to talk to Jenna about his own insecurities. Sure, the issue had been kind of resolved by taking Kyle's advice, but it almost felt like he had cheated to get to this state of happiness. It would be hard to tell his girlfriend, even more so since it would seem like he was causing tension for no reason, but Garet knew this was something he would have to do to clear his conscience.

"Hello, Jenna," Kay greeted as the two of them stepped through the doorway. "I haven't seen you here in a while."

"Yeah, it's been a while," Jenna chuckled, opting not to speak about the events of the other week. "My parents are out for the night and I didn't want to be alone."

"Mm, well, at least you made a smart decision. Who knows what this guy would have done if the two of you were alone at your house."

Garet groaned as he took Jenna's jacket for her. "Seriously, Kay, can you go, like, a day without saying something snarky about me? This is probably why you've never had a boyfriend."

"What was that?" Kay asked, an overly sweet smile appearing on her face as she formed a psynergetic fist over her brother's head. "I don't think I quite caught that."

"I-I said that you're too smart for a…uh…soy blend… You know, like the coffee, ehehehe…"

Jenna immediately burst out laughing at his terrible recovery, and Kay almost seemed to pity him over how bad that was. Either way, Garet was simply glad when the white hand faded away and Kay went back to whatever it was she had been doing before they got there.

"Garet, Garet, Garet! You got a package!" Aaron called to him as the small adept bounded down the stairs with a box in his hands.

"A package?" Garet repeated, cocking his head at the box his brother was holding. He rarely got mail, as most letters came by carrier pigeon or went to Jenna when addressed to the both of them. The only thing on the outside of the box was the recipient, being himself, and the town that they lived in.

He reached to take it, only to miss as Aaron swiped it away. "Heehee," the nine-year-old laughed, "if you want it, you'll have to pay me! I had to use my allowance to pick this up for you and bring it all the way back up here."

"Tch, learning exploitation from Kay already," Garet snorted, ignoring the dirty look his sister shot him. "Fine, how much do I owe you?"

"I had to pay five gold, so gimme ten!"

"What?! What kind of deal is that?!"

"Kay called it interest. I don't know why, probably because money is so interesting, haha!"

From the table, Kay laughed along with Aaron, and Garet couldn't ignore Jenna's giggles from beside him. With a grumble and some incomprehensible curses beneath his breath, the elder brother dug out ten gold coins from his pocket and immaturely scattered them on the floor. Having no interest in the package, Aaron tossed it up towards Garet and scurried around to pick up his doubled profits.

With all the distractions out of the way, Garet and Jenna headed up the stairs towards Garet's bedroom. He knew that Kay would probably scold him about doing so later, but he didn't care; they weren't going to do anything like she was thinking anyway.

"So, what's in the box?" Jenna asked as she plopped herself onto his bed.

"Hmm," he hummed, taking a seat beside her, "no idea. I never get packages, let alone mail."

"Weird," she said, gesturing for him to hand it to her. He complied watching as she shook it lightly and bounced it between her hands. "It doesn't make any noise, but it's heavier than I thought it would be."

Figuring there would be no point in speculating what might be inside any further, Garet took the box back from Jenna and used a pocketknife to cut the seams holding it together. With great anticipation building within him, he unfolded the top of the box and glanced inside. The result was a bit anticlimactic, but at least it didn't look like there was anything dangerous inside.

"A jacket?" Jenna asked as he pulled it out.

"Yeah, it's made of some pretty hefty leather," he commented, feeling the material with his fingers. "It kind of feels like light armour, but it just looks like a regular coat."

"That's actually kind of cool," Jenna remarked. Garet remembered how she sometimes complained about how ugly some of the armour they'd acquired on their adventure was, regardless of its extreme practicality. "Is there anything else in the box? I want to know who sent it."

Taking a peek into the box revealed to Garet that there was an enveloped letter beneath where the coat had been. He pulled it out and carefully removed the wax seal that held the envelope shut. The neat handwriting that revealed itself was quickly recognizable as Mia's before either of the Mars adepts had even read the name signed at the bottom.

Dear Garet,

Happy Luna Celebration! I don't think it is one of Vale's customs to celebrate, but essentially it is an annual event in which close friends and family exchange gifts with one another. If this comes as a surprise to you, please don't feel as though you are obligated to buy me a gift as well.

I have sent gifts to everyone from our adventure and hope you find some use for yours. To be honest, I had some trouble deciding what to get you (and also what size it should be), and I hope that the coat I picked out is to your liking. I am sure someone will be able to modify it in case I picked out the wrong size.

Write back soon!

Mia

Once he'd finished reading, Garet slipped on the hefty coat, smirking as it dangled lower than it was meant to.

"Heh, well, I suppose getting a few sizes too big is easier to fix than fixing one that's too small."

Jenna's giggles at the sight of him gradually built until she was laughing quite loudly. "Heehee, i-it makes me wonder, though…ahaha… H-How big does M-Mia think you are?"

"Man, Kay is just a bad influence on everybody. Jen, don't you dare turn out like her, you hear me? Just one irritating sister is bad enough."

"I can hear you!"

"Kay, shut up and stop eavesdropping!"

Jenna slowly began to settle her amusement as she looked over Mia's letter once again. Garet was curious as to what Mia sent to his girlfriend, figuring it would probably be more fitting of her than his gift was, both literally and figuratively.

"Say, do you think she might have sent Isaac's gift here as well?" Jenna asked cautiously.

"Dunno," Garet answered, sensing the unease in her voice. Trying to mask his own, he went about the topic as casually as possible, "I thought you mentioned that he'd left the village in one of your letters."

"I did, but when she wrote back, it seemed like she had misinterpreted it as him being gone for a few days. I, um, didn't really have the heart to tell her that I meant he was gone gone."

"Mm," he hummed, feeling the tone of conversation shifting to what he'd originally wanted to speak to Jenna about. This would probably be the best opening, even if it was rather different than what he actually had to speak about. Trying to swallow the lump in his throat, Garet mentally prepared himself for what he was about to say.

"Hey, um…about Isaac…"

Jenna's body language showed that she knew what direction this conversation was going in, but it seemed that she was not going to try avoiding it. After all, it must have been obvious to her as well that this was going to happen eventually. Neither wished to speak about it, but the truth was that it needed to happen or they would never fully return to the place they had once been.

"W-What about him?" she asked a bit shakily.

Garet stumbled over his words for a moment before finding a way to ease into it. "I… You don't need to be so nervous bringing him up around me… I know I sort of blew up at you before, which I'm sorry for by the way, and it was an overreaction. I…I do feel a little self-conscious when you bring him up all the time, but when it's occasional…"

His words trailed off. He wasn't entirely sure if his point was getting across or if he was making much sense. Jenna had obviously been frightened by his previous outburst at her, but the result had made her overly cautious of even mentioning their childhood friend's name.

Understandably, Jenna seemed slightly confused now as she squirmed in place. "I-It's hard to find a good balance," she mumbled after a short while. "Part of me still feels like his disappearance needs to get talked about, but I know that I can't keep doing that, especially because I can see why it upset you so much. I don't know, sometimes I feel like…like maybe I'm not cut out to be in a relationship until I get my head put on straight."

A squeezing discomfort filled Garet's chest as Jenna's words permeated his ears. It was easy to see why she would think that way, and as much as he wanted to tell her that that was taking it a step too far, he knew that it wasn't his choice to make. If she wanted to take some time to sort out her priorities, then all he could do was accept that.

"But even still, I'm too selfish to do something like that," she continued, her voice cracking slightly as she spoke. She turned to face him, their dark-coloured eyes meeting each other. "Even though I know I might hurt you, I can't let myself give you up, Garet. It's petty, a greedy act, but I…I don't want to lose you no matter what. I don't know what I would do if I lost both of my best friends."

He should have been having mixed feelings, but Garet could only feel warmed by her dedication to him, even knowing that she might hurt him again. Perhaps he should have looked beyond the face value of her words, but the smile that tugged on the edges of his lips would not cease its advance.

"W-Why are you smiling like that?" Jenna stammered. "It's creeping me out a little. Say something…"

"You're adorable, you know that?"

"Eep!" Jenna's face was hit with a burst of red, and Garet could practically see the steam hovering over her head. In an instant, he felt his pillow make contact with his face as he was knocked to the ground by the embarrassed girl's attack. "Geez, can't you take this seriously? I'm laying all of this out for you and you're not even paying attention!"

Even after being attacked, Garet still found that the grin would not remove itself from his face. His amusement at the situation almost made him feel guilty.

"Jen, I'm paying attention, but the more you say, the more I realize just why I fell for you. I can't help it if I'm too distracted by you to pay attention to, well, you."

"Idiot," she fumed, turning away from him and crossing her arms tightly.

The redhead used this opportunity to clamber back onto the bed and face his unimpressed girlfriend. Every few moments, her eyes would flick towards his direction, but she would quickly look away while he stared at her.

"Isaac," she said after a few minutes of silent staring.

"What about him?" Garet asked indifferently, still unable to stop smiling.

"Isaac, Isaac, Isaac, Isaac, Isaac!"

"…Uh… Felix, Felix, Felix?"

"Ugh, no, you dummy! You're supposed to get upset when I mention him too much! Wasn't that the whole point of this conversation?!"

Garet scratched some of the stubble on his chin as he tried to figure out what Jenna was trying to accomplish with all of this. "Well, we're kind of past that point now. And since you aren't actually talking about him, I'm not really bothered…"

"But that's not the point!" she groaned. "You're supposed to be paying attention to what we're talking about!"

"So…you want me to do what exactly?"

"You're supposed to be upset!"

"…Do you want me to get mad at you?"

"No, that's why we're talking about this!"

Women.

If Jenna's goal had been to get rid of Garet's smug look, then she had succeeded, but only because he was too confused to understand what was happening now. As she continued to rant, however, the redhead found the smile returning and soon his laughter was too much to contain. Ignoring the annoyed smacks that Jenna laid upon his arms and torso, he wrapped her in his arms, embracing her angered figure.

"You know, this is exactly like us," he chuckled.

"I don't get why bickering like this is so funny," she returned, trying to struggle from his grip. "Did you even listen to a word that's been said this entire time?"

"You bet I did, and I took one thing away from it that's more valuable than anything else I could think of."

"Tch, and what's that, that you think I'm too cute to be taken seriously?"

He laughed again and held her tighter until she complained that she couldn't breathe. Then, after loosening his grip enough that he could look her in the eye, he pecked her on the nose and said exactly what he was thinking.

"That I'll always love you more than my jealousy can drive us apart."

_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_,..-~^*^~-..,_

"Haha, Garet, your house is so little!"

"Aaron, you brat! Get down from there before you break something!"

"Make me, moustache man!"

The older Mars adept had no trouble wrenching his troublesome ten-year-old brother off the top of a cabinet in his newly purchased home. Almost as an afterthought, he tossed the young boy onto the sofa and continued unboxing his things.

Garet was twenty-one now, quickly closing in on twenty-two, and after the past year and a half he had spent working for Isaac's father, he had finally saved up enough gold to purchase his own home. Of course, it wasn't as luxurious as his family's place, but that was to be expected, especially since he didn't have to support seven people under one roof.

"Phew, I'm taking a break," Jenna said as she walked in from another room. "I didn't think you would have so much stuff, Garet."

"Heh, well, you could say that a lot of it's junk, but I like keeping nostalgic stuff from the adventure. You know, weapons, armour, treasure."

"Heehee, so you're a hoarder, then."

"Haha, see, Garet? Jenna thinks you're a loser too!" Aaron laughed from the couch.

Garet grit his teeth but continued unpacking some dishes his family had given him. "Kid, whose house do you think you're in right now?"

"Jenna's."

"Jenna doesn't…"

Garet let his sentence trail off and kept his eyes away from the other two in the room. He didn't have to look at Jenna to know she was probably behaving similarly.

While it wasn't official, Jenna was planning on moving in with him some time within the next couple of months. They were adults now, so their families couldn't have a say in whether or not it was right for them to do so, but it still felt a little strange to tell them. In all honesty, that was likely the reason neither of them had mentioned it to anyone, though it would have to be done at some point in time.

It was about four months ago when they started looking at homes in New Vale. While Garet had initially thought that building one from the ground up might be a good experience, the time and amount of labour it would take to actually do so would be much more trouble than it was worth. He also didn't know the first thing about carpentry, so that plan was a bust.

Instead, the two Mars adepts had looked for a small home that they would be able to renovate over time, making additions and changes when they saw fit, and having the room to actually do so. What they had ended up finding was a small house that was a bit isolated from the village, similar to how Kraden's was. Of course, it didn't look like much now, but with all the space surrounding a house that would be easy to improve, it was the ideal place for them to choose, and it was less expensive than they were afraid it might be.

"This house is cool though," Aaron said, ignorant of the unnatural stop in Garet's sentence. "It's kind of like a secret clubhouse. Can I come play here sometimes?"

"You and your buddies can play outside, but I don't want all of them in the house," Garet ordered, feeling oddly like a father laying out the ground rules for their child.

Aaron seemed fine with that rule. "I'm gonna tell Kay when I get home. Haha, she's gonna be mad!"

"Mad? Why would she be mad?"

"Kay always gets mad about stuff you do. She said that you should be doing all the mayor stuff instead of making swords that nobody is going to use."

Garet chuckled and walked over to where the other two were sitting. "She's just annoyed that I got to move out of the house before she did. Besides, I don't just make swords; Kyle and I make tools for normal everyday use too."

Aaron didn't seem to care much either way, going on about how it wouldn't be as much fun at home since teasing Kay wasn't any fun. Garet could sympathize with that feeling, and Jenna was sitting somewhere between amusement and disbelief over the two boys' actions.

The sky was coloured with a palette or reds and oranges when Aaron decided to head back home. Garet and Jenna waved to him as the ten-year-old ran off towards the river and turned to go up the hill. Even after he was out of sight, they remained at the doorway, staring off in the direction of the river streaming down the village.

They had found their niche, a place they could call their home and a way of life that suited both of them. Better yet, they were still young, and they could adapt to any unforeseen changes in the future. Life, it seemed, could not be any more perfect for the two of them.

"You know, you should shave that thing off," Jenna said unexpectedly, giggling as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"This thing is a moustache, and I happen to like it," he stated proudly. "As a man, I have to prove my masculinity by growing facial hair."

"Is that why you shave off your beard but not your lip rug?"

"It's all a matter of style, Jen; besides, I think you actually like it."

"Oh yeah, you caught me, Garet. I am so turned on by your gross moustache. I absolutely adore how it tickles my face when we kiss, even more so when you have bits of food or boogers stuck in it."

"Well, as long as we're on the same page."

She scrunched her face in disgust, but was quick to break into light chuckles soon after. With a grin formed beneath his moustache, Garet held Jenna a little closer to him, relishing in this moment of peace.

This past year and a half had been far from perfect and hardships seemed plentiful, but the redhead would not have changed anything even if he had been given the opportunity. Any small amount of bickering with Jenna did not come close to the fight they'd had before, and each small incident was resolved quickly and lovingly. He still found himself getting lost whenever Jenna tried to explain her logic behind her decisions or mannerisms, but she would always give a hopeless sigh and chuckle when she saw his clearly confounded face.

"Oh, I just remembered," Jenna said, lifting her head from Garet's shoulder and fumbling around in her pocket for something, "I got a letter from Ivan the other day. Shoot, I think I might have left it at home."

"Ivan, huh?" Garet mused, ignoring the fact that she had forgotten it. "Haven't heard from him in a while. What's he been up to lately?"

The brunette gave up looking for the letter, realizing she must not have brought it. "I don't remember exactly what it said, but he said he's in Contigo right now. Probably studying his lineage with Hama or something."

"…Not gonna lie, that sounds pretty boring."

"Don't be so insensitive! I bet you'd be doing the same thing if you didn't know a thing about your family, not to mention that he only found out he had a sister a few years ago."

"I guess I'd be curious if it were me, but I bet he's just buried himself in old texts or out examining some of those weird temples. I'm not really a bookworm like he is."

As expected, Jenna let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head as a small smile crept across her lips. "You really are hopeless, Garet. I'm surprised that he and Mia were able to put up with you for so long."

"Heh, well, I'm pretty sure Mia wasn't focused on me most of the time," Garet muttered. Jenna cocked her head to the side, but he simply waved off the statement and directed them back inside the house. "Anyway, if anything, I had to put up with Ivan. You never got to see him at his worst, but the little bugger was constantly playing tricks on me. Who'd have thought that the quiet, friendless kid we met right off the bat would turn into some mischievous prankster?"

Jenna giggled and sat down on the sofa. "Heehee, Sheba was kind of like that too, but I she didn't really show it until we started rebuilding Vale. I don't blame her, though; I mean, with how serious Felix, Piers, and Kraden were all the time, she probably climbed back into her broken shell."

Garet laughed as he recalled how well Sheba and Ivan got along during the reconstruction days. Had the two of them gotten to meet under normal circumstances, it would not be surprising if they had gotten together. Of course, that thought seemed rather odd now that Sheba was living with Felix and Ivan may have mentioned something about a girlfriend in a past letter.

As they started to reminisce more and more about their adventure, Garet began thinking about all sorts of different things. Where would they all be if Saturos and Menardi had succeeded in their goal? All the hostages – Kraden, Jenna, Felix, and the adults – would be sent back to Vale and life would continue, right? The Valeans would have built New Vale where it is now and the only difference would be that Ivan, Mia, and Piers would never have entered the picture. Sheba might have because they needed her for Jupiter lighthouse, but it isn't as though Isaac or Garet ever would have met her.

Of course, that was one of the tougher, more open-ended questions that popped into his head. Simpler, sillier things, like if Mia had been a boy or Ivan had been a girl, were also questions he pondered. It certainly would have changed the mindset of the team, and, if nothing else, it might have helped Mia warm up a little quicker than she did.

Now that the memories were fresh in his mind, Garet realized that he had been somewhat of a consultant for the female Mercury adept. Not that he ever had any advice to give to her, but she had often come to him when she wanted to confide her feelings to someone. Really, the very idea made him chuckle, as he was probably the last person a girl, especially a girly girl like Mia, should be talking to about her troubles. Nevertheless, he must have given her the impression that he was a good listener, as she usually came to him whenever she wanted to chat.

Well, to be fair, she couldn't very well go to Isaac about the things she chatted about, and knowing how devious Ivan could be, that really only left him as an open set of ears.

Garet smirked as he began to get lost in his own thoughts. Luckily, Jenna seemed too busy with some story about Piers to notice his lack of attention.

While she had never said it outright during any of their chat sessions, Mia was rather poor at hiding the fact that she grown infatuated with the leader of their group. Like a good friend, Garet had never gone to Isaac and hinted at it, nor had he shared this information with anyone; in fact, he didn't even let Mia know that he was aware until New Vale had been completed, and even then he wasn't sure if she knew that he knew.

When Jenna wrote to Mia explaining the situation with Isaac, her response had seemed rather flat and generic. Perhaps it was because conveying emotions into written words was rather difficult, but Garet was not able to get the sense that she was all too worried. Jenna was quick to reprimand him, saying that he was just being too thick to understand the subtext, but despite the fact that those two were girls, Garet probably knew Mia better than anyone else in their group of eight. Well, everyone except Isaac.

"Heh, wouldn't that be funny," he mumbled under his breath, imagining if Isaac had somehow managed to run into Mia after he'd run away. It would certainly explain why her message seemed so devoid of concern.

"Ah, I miss everybody," Jenna sighed once she'd finished her story. "I wonder when we'll be able to see Felix again. He and Sheba live so far away, I feel like it's been years!"

"Um…hasn't it been years?" Garet chuckled, noting that neither of those two had been here since Felix left the village.

"Well, yeah, but it seems like it's been way longer than just a few years. I want to see how much everyone's changed since we last saw them. I doubt Piers looks any different, but everyone else probably will, right?"

"Maybe, but who knows when–"

Before Garet could finish speaking, an erratic tapping at one of the windows stole both Mars adepts' attentions. They both glanced over to see what appeared to be a carrier pigeon with a rather thick letter tied to its leg. Garet hopped up to his feet and briskly walked over to the window. He hadn't lived in this house long enough for anyone's pigeons to know to come here, so it seemed somewhat odd that he would receive a letter so quickly.

Sliding the window open, he allowed the pigeon to hop inside and perch itself on the tap of the sink. After untying the parchment from the bird's leg, Garet mindlessly scattered some seeds on the counter and unrolled the message. There was something familiar about the writing, but he couldn't quite place his finger on whose it might be. It wasn't until he glanced at the bottom of the page that his eyes slowly grew to the size of dinner plates.

"Garet?" Jenna called from the sofa and stood up. "What is it? Is something the matter?"

"I-It…it's…" he stammered, too stunned by what it was to get the words out properly. Instead, he turned the page around so that she could see it for herself.

Jenna stepped towards the letter and skipped down to the bottom where the name was signed. Just as Garet had before her, Jenna's eyes widened to incredible sizes and she could do nothing than mumble some incomprehensible syllables.

It wasn't possible, and yet the evidence was right there before them. Neither of them had even gotten the chance to read what the letter said, and it seemed that they were too dumbfounded to attempt it right now. With a slightly quavering hand, Garet flipped the page back towards himself to confirm that they were not seeing things, but he was reassured by the simple letter-ender at the bottom of the parchment.

Yours,
Isaac

Ugh, contrived ending is contrived. In some ways, I feel like the break from writing benefited me, but in others it just completely messed with the style I had going before. It's better than nothing, I suppose, but I wish I could have done more with this chapter. I did get to build on Garet's relationship with Aaron a bit more, which is rather important (also his relationship with Kay, but that's not quite as important as Aaron), so I guess it wasn't completely filler material.

Anyway, I just want to reiterate it since I think two or three people reading this read WiH while I was absent. Please don't post any spoilers about the story in your reviews! As much as I love receiving your feedback and hearing about things you look forward to reading, it's no fun if I have to delete your review to save potential readers from having major plot points revealed before they happen. So far it's been great, but I always get a little more paranoid when I see that more people have read WiH.

Thanks to Matthew Terra for reviewing! Isaac and Garet's present locations aren't going to be revealed, partly because I don't have an answer for that and also because I don't plan on writing a true Dark Dawn sequel; I would rather leave that to people with more creativity than myself.

Thanks for reading and please review!

–GengaJupite