The fingers slowly folded into the palm, stayed still for a moment, before they stretched out again just like a blooming flower.

"How's it, Neil?" Iroha asked.

"…is good."

His short reply was enough to bring air of relief towards the blacksmith. Reine could see the dark shade under her eyes. "Thank you, Iroha," she said.

"I'm happy to be of assistance," the blacksmith replied with a graceful smile. It was as if the fact that the artificial limbs she had created worked well brought her just as much joy as—or perhaps even more than—the recipient.

Neil slowly reached out to Reine. She twitched slightly at the cold touch of his new fingers before putting her hand over them. He felt nothing at all.

"Thanks…" he murmured as Iroha looked at him apologetically. "This should be enough."

Afterwards, Neil dealt with all the paperwork that needed to be done before the grumpy doctor would discharge him. The latter, of course, did not forget the usual speech about not doing anything reckless, and this time he had went to an even greater length, which was understandable, remembering the severity of Neil's injury.

Reine had told Gwen that she was planning to help Neil to settle back into his house, so she walked back with him. He had tried to take his bag from her, but Reine was having none of it. All the way back to his house, they were bickering about the bag and Reine's plan to cook dinner for him.

"I told you it's fine, woman."

"And I told you I want to do it," Reine retorted as she put down his bag at the corner of the room. "What do you want to eat?"

Neil shrugged. "Anything that comes out not from Klaus' kitchen sounds good enough for me."

Reine chuckled. "I'm sure I can manage that. Just settle down while I'm whipping up something."

The silver-haired man stood on the tallest branch of the Elder Tree, looking over the town. The sun had just set but the moon was still too shy to make her appearance into the scenery, but there was still enough light to see the town, mainly from the lanterns placed outside of each house. His eyes were transfixed at a certain house, made of bricks; it was the house that Neil and Reine entered earlier. Everything was falling into places just like how he saw it.

"I hope you still remember the rules of the town," a familiar voice said below him. Vaughn looked down and the elderly town mayor greeted him with a calm smile. His looks suggested nothing but hospitality, but Vaughn knew better. Dunhill floated lightly and took the space next to him.

"You know they were humans from the beginning, didn't you?"

"The thought crossed my mind, but I was still surprised that it turned out to be the case."

"You know that mortals negated the barrier you erected against us, didn't you?"

Dunhill took a deep breath. "The town was created to provide safe haven for those who needs it… whoever they are, whatever they are. They were meant to find the town."

"From all place… from all people…"

"I have to admit, it still amazes me how the world could be so big and small at the same time."

Reine felt something heavy in her chest. It kept bothering her that she did not bother to start a conversation with Neil. The blond, on the other hand, also did not seem to feel the need to have a conversation with the pinkette. With that, they spent their dinner together in silence, except for small favors like passing the sauce. Neil made no comment on her dish, only a slight smile when he found out she was cooking stew—such a homey meal, he thought.

"Let me help with the dishes," Neil offered after both of them finished their meal.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Reine asked. "Your hand…"

"Iroha made it to be stainless."

Reine weighed her options for a moment before eventually nodding at the cloth next to the sink. "I guess I could use some help drying these." Without saying anything, Neil took the cloth and they started cleaning up. Soon, they fell into the comfortable pace of clearing up the dishes.

From where he stood, he could see Reine's tattoo. Just as expected, the red color had become very much visible. Anytime soon, it would reach the full bloom.

After the last plate had been washed and handed over, Reine dried her hand and turned around to find Neil looking at her. "What?"

"You're awfully quiet today."

She chuckled. "I am, am I not?" she admitted. "Honestly, I don't know why. I just feel… weird."

"Weird that I'm back?"

"You've been in the clinic for some time, that's for sure, but that's not it. I'm glad to have you back, but… I don't know. I really don't. I feel weird."

Neil brought up his hand, the hand that could feel the warmth of her skin, to touch her flushed cheek. "This isn't supposed to happen," he mused.

"What is?"

"Us."

Fear caught Reine's heart, enough to catch her breath. "You mean you regretted it?"

He looked into her eyes, green and full of life, so different from when he first saw her. One part of him wanted to tell her the truth; of just how much she could be—and would be—the death of him. Yet, he knew that some truths were better off as secrets, and this was one of them.

He traced his thumb over her warm lips and he noticed that the color of his tattoo was getting brighter by each moment. He leaned in and kissed her, letting the feeling of her lips touching his become the only thing he cared about for that moment.

Neil put his finger above Reine's lips, feeling relieved when he could feel the warm air hitting it. He then caressed her cheek, so fleetingly so that she wouldn't wake up. He couldn't suppress a chuckle when she curled like a baby in her sleep; he adjusted the blanket to cover her better as he got out from the bed himself.

He put his clothes back on and turned around, taking another look at the view before him: a peacefully sleeping Reine. He knew the more moment he took to stay, the harder it would be to leave. Steeling his resolve—not that he had any choice at this point, anyway—he touched the crown of her head once more and caressed her pink hair.

"You asked once whether you had a guardian angel," he mused in a low voice. "As a matter of fact, you do."

He planted a kiss at the top of her head and turned around. When he opened the front door, a young woman was standing on the other side. Their eyes met. She had green eyes, just like Reine. "Let's go," she said.

Neil nodded and left without looking back.

To be continued...

What would happen after Neil left?

Find out in Safe Haven Season 2!

Thank you for all your support and patience for this season ^^ I hope you guys enjoyed reading this story! See you in Season 2 ^^